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- "Ad sepulchrum ire soleo."
21 Comments
Keep in mind that this means going TO the grave, not INTO the grave. That would be in sepulchrum.
Well, there was the silicernium funeral meal, e.g., Aeneid 5.49ff. Note the important Greco-Roman custom of visiting the graves of the ancestors with ceremonial cakes and wine offerings. Particularly important holidays in that regard were Parentalia and Lupercalia, but the Manes required regular feeding, thus Romans typically put food and drink on graves. The custom was so vital and so ingrained that the practice is found in Jewish and Christian texts, such as Tobit 4:17 and Augustine's Confessions 6.2(2). A commonly known fact that may be new information to beginners: Latin inscriptions contain the acronym "DM" = diis manibus, "for the divine manes/spirits." This acronymic practice continued among Christians; it was later retroactively claimed that in Christian contexts DM meant "in memory of," but we cannot rule out the prevalence of henotheism.
In Catholic countries it is still customary to visit one's relatives' graves on or about the Feast of All Souls (2 November); to encourage it, the Church grants those who do visit the cemitery and pray for the souls in Purgatory a plenary indulgence.
In Mexico (admittedly due to influence from a Pagan tradition), the tradition is even stronger, and thus we have the Día de los Muertos celebrations.
Could anyone tell me if this particular sentence is going to come up again in future. My lovely 5 year old grandson is dying of cancer right now and the sentence gave me a shock I would rather not experience again. Really enjoying how much of long ago A level Latin turns out to be still in my old brain, but may have to stop doing the course if this sentence is going to appear unexpectedly.
I am so sorry to hear about your grandson's condition; please accept the condolences of a stranger. (I can't remember how often this sentence occurs, unfortunately.)
Not sure what's wrong (since it wasn't accepted) with: "I am accustomed to going to the tomb."
What is wrong with "I am accustomed to going to the grave."? If soleō means "I am accustomed to" there should not be anything grammatically wrong with that translation. So why is it not accepted?
Nothing. In Duolingo (DL) sometimes all the legit variations are not in the incubator. You can Report and then maybe someone will get around to adding the suggestion. For each tiny sentence in each DL course there are dozens of variations. The creators put in as many as they can think of, then when people Report, they add them sometimes. [Addendum: Buena suerte]
Right. Thanks for the confirmation. Unfortunately, "maybe someone will get around to adding the suggestion" and "when people Report, they add them sometimes" are not good enough. If my translation is correct it should be accepted, not prevent me from moving on with the course. Thus, I am done with using this service as a learning tool.
Grātiās, Duolingo, et valē.
Both spellings occur. The spelling without h is preferable, since it's more "Latin." There's no etymological h there, at all; the noun is related to sepeliō, sepelīre, sepelīvī, sepultum . Inscriptions from the 2nd cen BC often show the spelling with -ch- , apparently modeled on the Greek letter chi, even though the word is not Greek at all. (Info. from the Oxford Latin Dictionary.)
