« The names of my daughters, should I have any | Main | Dawn, just as it came to Australian skies, a woman of bad character in a cloak of red possum skins »

September 11, 2007

Comments

When people say in medias res, they're not speaking Latin, they're using a borrowed Latin phrase which now has a fixed meaning in English that's different from its Latin origin.

I don't think they're under any compulsion to follow Latin grammar, just as legal scholars can use stare decisis and habeas corpus as nouns.

Sed si quis vere Latine loqui velit, sine dubio illi necesse sit "in mediis rebus" dicere.

We can stake out a middle and, in my opinion, better position here. Neither demand "rebus" (which deprives us of the fun of quoting Horace verbatim) nor tolerate "begin in medias"; rather in an English context we can use an appropriate verb. So Byron says

"Most epic poets plunge ‘in medias res’" (Don Juan)

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Your Information

(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)