Ben Nagy
@rantyben.bsky.social
1.1K followers 250 following 780 posts
I turn latin poetry into long lists of floating point numbers
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lewismarkwebb.bsky.social
I am deeply honoured that the American Journal of Philology awarded my article 'Spectatissima femina: Female visibility and religion in urban spaces in Republican Rome' the AJP Best Article Prize for 2024.

Citation: muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

#AncientBlueSky #ClassicsBlueSky #BlueSkyClassics
rantyben.bsky.social
that's incredible, Lewis, congrats! 🎉
Reposted by Ben Nagy
partialhistorians.bsky.social
To enter the Underworld, first you must cross the river Styx. Charon will be your guide. This interpretation by Flemish painter Joachim Patinir is our pick for #ClassicsTober25 Day 12: Styx. With these delightful blues and greens, the entrance to the other side looks positively delightful…
‘Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx’ is an oil on wood painting dating to c. 1515–1524, held by the Museo del Prado, Madrid. The Styx is depicted as an aquamarine river that shimmers under a blue sky dotted with clouds. Charon is a bearded man with not many clothes but enough to cover his modesty. The far bank on the right has burning buildings and thunderous clouds.
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zyllable.bsky.social
I can't help but be pleased by the reclamation of the frog as an anti-fascist symbol.

Koax koax.
Reposted by Ben Nagy
amayor.bsky.social
Let me know in a message if you would like a free Spotify code for my audiobook Mythopedia, limited supply
rantyben.bsky.social
he worked at a substation. pumping was his life.
rantyben.bsky.social
shocked and disappointed to see such hurtful humour here. actually, my father *was* a water resource engineer, and also gay, but he sadly passed just yesterday from cancer of the bumhole, how dare you mock my pain
Reposted by Ben Nagy
lorenzofb.bsky.social
SCOOP: Spyware maker NSO Group confirmed to us that the company has been acquired by a U.S. investment group.

NSO's spokesperson said the group "has invested tens of millions of dollars in the company and has acquired controlling ownership," but declined to say who is behind the investment.
Spyware maker NSO Group confirms acquisition by US investors | TechCrunch
NSO Group confirmed to TechCrunch that an unnamed group of American investors has taken “controlling ownership” of the surveillance tech maker.
techcrunch.com
rantyben.bsky.social
highly evolved eating machines. like klingons, except extra organs for grass instead of combat.
rantyben.bsky.social
c.f. "I need to get to Antwerp but these stupid trains only go to Anvers" 🙃
Reposted by Ben Nagy
fonteslatini.bsky.social
SERV. in Aen. 6, 468: LACRIMASQUE CIEBAT sibi, non Didoni: vel profundebat: aut certe illud dicit, sermo quidem eius lacrimas exigebat—nam 'ciere' est proprie alteri fletum movere—sed illa inmobilis mansit.
Reposted by Ben Nagy
doccrom.bsky.social
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵

#LatinForTheDay – 9 October #Ovid

“quid iuvat in nudis hamata retundere tela
ossibus? ossa mihi nuda relinquit amor.
tot sine amore viri, tot sunt sine amore puellae!—
hinc tibi cum magna laude triumphus eat.
Roma, nisi inmensum vires promosset in orbem,...
rantyben.bsky.social
The point I am making is not the elitist "you should only read in the original", it is more to underscore the idea that we need translators with diverse experience and viewpoints, to push back some of these entrenched assumptions that, for some readers, might turn a poetic hit into a miss.
rantyben.bsky.social
In my head, this whole scene is Aeneas lacking the emotional intelligence to deal with the consequences of his actions, and thus being childishly frustrated that Dido won't just say "I forgive you, sweetie" (at which point he would say "yay, ok cool!" and refocus his tiny brain on ships and swords.)
rantyben.bsky.social
...or, indeed, just spontaneously tearing up because the encounter is not going the way he wants it to, and his excuses aren't being acknowledged!
rantyben.bsky.social
The translator has collapsed these possibilities by inserting 'her'. In some cases when this happens the best we can do is throw up our hands and allow the ambiguity to exist ("bring forth tears") BUT we could also see it as Aeneas "calling on" his own tears to try to break through ghost-Dido's rage
rantyben.bsky.social
"lenibat" -> "tried to soften", sure, this (conative) is legit because it's clearly not working, but "ciebat" is a trickier prospect. Is he 'trying' to rouse tears, or are they being raised? More to the point, *whose tears* -- there is no determiner here!
rantyben.bsky.social
"With such words Aeneas tried to soften Dido's spirit as it blazed and stared fiercely at him, and tried also to raise her tears." (transl. Horsfall)

The translator can, at best, write down the poem that happens in their head when they read. Here, let's look at these two imperfects....
rantyben.bsky.social
talibus Aeneas ardentem et torua tuentem
lenibat dictis animum lacrimasque ciebat.
(Aen. 6.467-8)

We're up to Aeneid 6 in our group, and this is yet another line that makes one reflect on the impossibility of "accurate" translation...
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neongrey.bsky.social
all discourse aside, there is one machine with consciousness. it's printers. they are alive and conscious and they hate you and they'd take your arm clean off if you let them. never trust a printer.
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schlawinerkreis.bsky.social
1/ I'm excited to share that Franz Knappik’s and my Cambridge Element on Hegel and Colonialism is finally out – open access below! We trace how Hegel defends European colonial rule, including transatlantic slavery, and how that defence runs through his entire philosophical system.

Thread below ⬇️
Hegel and Colonialism
Cambridge Core - Classical Philosophy - Hegel and Colonialism
www.cambridge.org