Sometimes in the group a small side discussion starts, and, before I move on to do some more review texts, I thought I would just refer to one of those discussions which, if you're wanting to step into the literature, you will often come across in, among others, the works of Cicero.
2 images posted including
the one that started the discussion:
image #1: the tomb of Scipio
Barbatus in 298BC.
[i] In the absolute centre
of that tomb are three words summarising his positive
characteristics:
FORTIS (strong; brave)
│SAPIENS (wise) │VIRTVS (virtue)
[ii] In the line below,
there are three words summarising his positions of authority:
CONSOL │ CENSOR │
AEDILIS
If you were walking past his
tomb, those are the two groups of three concepts that would stand out.
Those were the ones that
whoever inscribed them wanted to be remembered.
In literature the Romans
used that technique which we now call the “rule of three” i.e. three short
memorable statements. For some psychological reason, we remember words or short
phrases in threes.
Cicero very often breaks up
his speeches into what as known as a tricolon i.e. three separate statements;
you will see that mentioned a lot in commentaries about Cicero as a public
speaker.
The most famous, of course,
is Veni, Vidi, Vici.
And SPQR:
[1] SENATUS [2]
POPULUSque [3] ROMANUS
But they don't just use it
in "slogans":
Pliny uses it to describe
the volcanic debris from Vesuvius, and he employs the rule of three in addition
to alliteration, and repetition of words, consonants and endings.
[i] Iam navibus
[1] CINIS INCiDebat, [2] CalDIOR et [3] DensIOR,
[ii] …. iam pumices
etiam [1] nigrique et [2] ambusti et [3] fracti Igne
lapides.
[i] by now [1]
ashes were beginning to fall upon the ships, [2] hottER and [3] thickER…
[ii] ... by now with
pumice-stones and [1] BLACK flints, [2] CHARRED and [3]
CRACKED by the heat of the flames.
More than that, if you were
to read out [ii] like a piece of Latin poetry, adjacent vowels would elide i.e.
one of each pair would be lost:
nigriqu-et-ambust-et-fract-ignes
lapides
2000 years later, we have
image #2, and identical techniques:
[1] three pieces
of main information: image / memorable phrase / product name
[2] image shown three times
[3] memorable phrase
(in three and, just like Pliny, using alliteration) Big,
Beefy, Bliss
[4] product name (in three)
I’m lovin’ it
In 298BC you may have been
walking past Scipio's tomb.
In 2024 you may be driving
past a huge McD billboard.
Both of them want to be
remembered - easily - but the Romans were lovin' it way ahead of McD!
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