Lovely Latin
Somehow or another I tend to trip down the path of Latin around the time of year students examine Ancient Indians . Since so many of our references to time refer to B.C. I launch into a discussion regarding our system of time reference. B.C. and A.D. We learn about the Julian and Gregorian calendars and discuss the entire Before Christ (B.C.) or Before the Common Era (B.C.E.) thing. We learn that the Anno Domini dating system came to be mainly to figure out the dates for the Christian Eastern observance by a monk fondly remembered as Dennis the Little or Dennis the Short. The name was devised not because he was short in stature but because he was of the most humble sort. Until he devised the Anno Domini system the consular dating system relating to the various Consuls of Rome had been used. Our friend Dennis didn’t like the fact that folks were having to use the name of a particular nasty emperor (Diocletian) to refer to certain years. I also share a list of interesting Latin phra...