Monday, January 23, 2012

QUID REPETITUR, BIS PLACET [WHAT IS REPEATED PLEASES TWICE]

I am in a quandary.  I have set myself up in a situation where I will have to address an audience that has already had a one and one half hour of information about the same topic that I have to expound on in ten short hours, at least six of which I am going to spend in bed.  So my question is, should I go with my side of the topic [yes, it is wide enough and deep enough to accommodate three hours of discussion] or should I pull something out of my vast PowerPoint closet and hit them with something else?  There are somethings that I can add to the conversation.  I have first hand experience of the topic that the first speaker does not.  This is really a big advantage because I know some humorous, gossipy stories about the historical topic that can add some over-the-fence spice to the meeting.  Then I can always excuse myself and quote the fancy Latin saw in the title.  Then, however,  I have another small problem.  I had a professor in Rome who used that axiom once or twice a year when he reviewed something that he had covered earlier in the year.  I have forgotten his name and so I went to Google to see if I could find the original citation.
Know what I found?  You won't believe this.  I found a Dominican monk who taught that "Nunquam quid repetitur placet." [Repetition never pleases.] That was it.  So, you know what?  Tomorrow my people are going to hear the positive version.  By the way, my professor was a Dominican.
Why did I decide to put the Latin up there?  No other reason than to prove to myself that my Latin is still alive and well.  It is important when it comes to discussing the internal affairs of the Catholic Church whose official language remains Latin.  It also comes in handy when people invite me to attend Latin Mass with them.  I politely tell them that I only go to Mass with companions who understand the prayers as well as I do.  That works well.
So, if I can remember this tomorrow, I'll report to you if indeed the repetition gig worked out well or not.  In the mean time, Iter cum Deo facite.

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