This is
going to be about my feverish disease about the language spoken by
the ancient Romans several centuries ago and in the Catholic empire (the Vatican) still today. My high school was a “scientific
Liceo” where – still today – the focus in on advanced math, physics, chemistry
technical drawing and one foreign language (German for me).
However a
pretty solid Italian literature, Latin, history and philosophy are part of the
basic curriculum to earn the graduation (maturità) at the end of the 5 years of (intense) studies.
Our
teachers – professors to be exact – used to be pretty high level for an Italian
college, fact is that this college (Liceo) has a very long and prestigious history and those who graduate there can usually make a difference both if work is the chosen
option or if going to any university in the country (among the first ones in EU).
My Italian
literature professor used to write books, usually published BUT in a very
specific field, that cannot generate a vast audience, in fact his books were
all about the “infiltration” of the German, French, Slovenian and Latin in the
dialect (slang) used in Verona, Veronese.
This man –
professor Bondardo – had an incredible knowledge of all that surrounded –
historically and economically – the writers we were learning about (i.e. Manzoni,
Macchiavelli, D. Alighieri, Petrarca, Montale etc. etc.) with a specific passion for the
writers of ancient Rome, Julius Caesar, Virgil, Seneca etc.
To this day
– about 40 years later – I clearly remember prof. Bondardo explaining that what
Caesar did with his “De bello Gallico” and with the several other commentaries of
wars he was part of, from the way this prof. explained it, I became convinced
that since Caesar all the war reports were all done following Caesar’s example.
I have it still very clear in my mind (watch Youtube) the very different words position of the
beginning of the “De bello Gallico” - Gallia est omnia divisa in tres partes – instead
of – Gallia divisa est omnia in partes tres – that my dad always said whenever
we were talking about my studies, specifically Ancient
Romans or Latin.
One time my
mother met with prof. Bondardo during a parent-teacher event and she still
tells me what Bondardo had said of me “Carlo is so smart and focused that I
wouldn’t be surprised if in his future he’ll become a journalist for the New York
Times”……… NO comment.
- https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar
- http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub369/item2066.html
- https://blogs.transparent.com/latin/25-latin-phrases-every-student-should-know/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commentarii_de_Bello_Gallico
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_ancient_Rome