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- "In the temple we speak quiet…
"In the temple we speak quietly."
Translation:In templo tacite loquimur.
September 1, 2019
10 Comments
Plus--I wonder why people are speaking in a temple at all! If there is a ritual underway, no one is supposed to speak, because it could mess up the ritual and force them to do it all over again.
Somewhere (Livy?) there's an anecdote about the shriek of a shrew causing the ritual to have to be repeated--imagine if you had to forgo the expensive sacrifice you'd already made, and find another really good animal!
Plus, as Horace says, "favēte linguīs": "Be favorable with your tongues," i.e., be silent (as appropriate hieratic language when a religious rite is about to begin).