Excerpt: De Natura Deorum

There is, then, an element which holds together and maintains the entire universe, an element, moreover, which is not without sensation and reason. For it is necessary that every element which is not isolated or simple, but which is joined and linked with something else, should have in itself some ruling principle, as, for instance, mind in the case of man, and in the case of animals something similar to mind, which prompts their desires. In trees, and in things which spring from the earth, the ruling principle is supposed to be placed in their roots. By ruling principle I mean the principle which the Greeks call ἡγεμονικόν, which cannot but hold, and which ought to hold, the highest place in each genus. Consequently the thing in which the ruling principle of the whole of nature is contained, must in the same way be the most perfect of all, and the most worthy of power and dominion over all existence. Now we see that in parts of the universe (for there is nothing in the entire universe which is not a part of the whole), sensation and reason exist. These qualities must therefore exist, and exist more vividly and to a greater extent, in that part in which the ruling principle of the universe resides. Consequently the universe must be intelligent, and the element which holds all things in its embrace must excel in perfection of reason; the universe, therefore, must be divine, and so must the element by which the whole strength of theuniverse is held together. This fiery glow which the universe possesses is also far purer, clearer, and nimbler, and on that account better fitted to arouse sensation, than this heat of ours, by which the objects known to us are preserved and made strong. Since, then, men and animals are maintained by this heat, and through it possess motion and sensation, it is absurd to say that the universe is without sensation, when it is maintained by a burning heat which is unmixed, and free, and pure, and at the same time in the highest degree vivid and nimble, especially considering that the heat which belongs to the universe is moved by itself and its own action, and is not stirred by anything distinct from itself, or by impact from outside. For what can be mightier than the universe, so as to act upon and set in motion the heat by which the universe is to be held together?

-Cicero, 'De Natura Deorum.'

Looking for English to Latin translation.

“The philosophers of Greece deduced their morals from the nature of man rather from that of God. They meditated, however, on the Divine Nature as, ah, very curious, and important speculations, and in the profound inquiry they displayed the strength and weakness of human understanding,”

'de philosphi de Graecia…repeto suum mores ex vis de vir quinymo ex ut de Deus. Theoricus, vero, et Divinus Vis ut a valde curiosus, quod maximus theoricus, quod et profundus percunctor et propono vires quod infirmitas de humanus cogitum. Vero, eram ut recipero ut divinus verum situs fabula poeta, quod institutio de priscus, vel ut adore, ut filiolus, illud trunco res quos contemptus ut homo.’

“How indeed, was it possible that a philosopher should accept as divine truths the idle tales of the poets, and the incoherent traditions of antiquity, or that he should adore, as gods, those imperfect beings whom he must have despised as men?”

I'm looking for a good online translation service, (free,) for a current project. If you have any suggestions, please post it in the comments below.

@hyperlouis (Twitter.)

A humble aspiration.

When I got to a certain age, I began to reflect on some of the things that I had missed over the years. I'm convinced this is a common failing among men, but be that as it may, I came up with the proverbial 'bucket list.'

It was a time of introspection and self-examination, one not recommended for light entertainment.

Okay, so I never got married, never had kids, never had a long-term full-time job that lasted more than two or three years, and I still don't have any real prospects, and while I don't necessarily regret not being married, I do see the way parents look at their own children, with love and a kind of pride in their eyes and I sort of get it...no, really, I do.

It's just something that I'll have to get over. But there were certain things on the list. For one, I would like to get laid again before I die. Is that so bad? Seems pretty humble to me. Almost practical really, for all the guys that go postal and wind up in the news seem to be dealing with a kind of unspoken frustration, perhaps status-related.

At the top of the list, was a bicycle. That's right, a bicycle. That seems like a pretty humble aspiration, but another common failing is the longing, or the attempt to recapture lost youth.

I'll be honest with you, a bicycle is not very good for picking up chicks, but that wasn't the real purpose, although I may have joked about it from time to time. It gives people something to talk about.

In some ways it actually worked, for I did things and went places that I wouldn't have otherwise.

At about $400, to own one nice new thing, is not unreasonable. It really is better to ride a bike two blocks to the store once in a while.

On this particular day, I probably rode about twenty kilometres. I found the big tree I like, and said hello. I stayed away from the house for two or three hours, and sometimes that's important as well.

My needs are simple, and my wants are not complex.

Was haben wir diese Woche gelernt?

What did we learn this week?

Shyness is fear of social rejection.

Amazon is an awesome marketing machine.

Human beings need sleep.

Was haben wir diese Woche gelernt?

Schüchternheit ist Angst vor sozialen Ablehnung.

Amazon ist ein furchteinflößend marketing-Maschine.

Menschen brauchen Schlaf.

Block paragraphs and semi-colons.

Chapter 5 of Tom Clancy's 'Net Force,' from the 1999 volume entitled 'Hidden Agendas.'

c2012 (S)


The first thing I noticed was the first paragraph of each chapter was a block paragraph without any indents, whereas all other paragraphs whether exposition or dialogue are indented.

The other thing I noticed is that the book, which is fiction, has a few semi-colons.

Imagine my dismay, for at least one book rejection I received included the statement that I had 'too many semi-colons.' Lately I don't put any semi-colons in a story, and when I rewrite a story, I always take them out!

As far as format or layout goes, there is some variation in the way books are laid out, in the chapter titles, in the paragraph layout, etc. It's not that there are no rules, far from it, but the number one rule is clarity for the reader.

When it comes to criticism, it pays to take a moment and figure out who's talking, and whether they are competent, and what they are really saying, and why they are saying it.

Some of them might have a few hidden agendas of their own.

Long term care in crisis?

c2011 (S)


My dad has been moved from a retirement home to a long term care facility. The reasons are simple. The retirement home, while it offers certain services to the elderly, simply could not give him the level of care and attention he needed. They have two staff during the day and one at night, and he required help showering, going to the bathroom, getting to the dining room, and dressing.

The long term care facility has a lot more staff to help him and the other residents.

Still, the difference is stark. Before, he had a private suite of about 600 square feet, with a bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom of about ten feet by ten feet. Now he shares a space less than half that size.

All of this is useless to someone who is completely immobilized by Parkinson's disease, or any other serious affliction.

The long term care room is semi-private, and the bathroom is about five by six feet. It is shared by four residents. It has two doors, one on each side. There is no way I can maneuver my dad on and off the toilet, and in fact they have a lifting device not unlike a drywall lifter to get him up and down.

He hates the place, understandably enough. We are getting him a better wheelchair, as the one they found for him is downright dangerous. The thing almost fell over backwards yesterday.

"I've never been so humiliated in my life," he told me after two nurses helped him go to the bathroom.

This morning he told a nurse that my sister 'abandoned me here, and left me all alone.'

When I went in to visit, the nurse found him sleeping with his face jammed down onto his coffee cup in the dining room...

It's not good. Everything in the place seems small, cramped, and more than anything badly designed. He's on a waiting list for a bed in a more modern building, and hopefully he gets in there in the next few weeks or months.

In the meantime, the elder care crisis just gets worse, and with a recession that never seems to end, and governments tightening up all around, there is clearly no end in sight.

With a falling birthrate, and some pressure to limit immigration, we just aren't making new taxpayers fast enough. With capitalists thinking that keeping wages low is a substitute for investment in newer, more productive processes, we can't expect much help from the economy any time soon, either.

As for Canada's much-touted economic recovery, they've been telling that big lie for over three years now.