Me No Speak Latin
Disembarking from the Stygian ship
New arrival: They just gave me this button and T-shirt. I know what the
button say. It's in English, but the T-shirt is in Latin. The
button says, "I support WWIII." Sir, can you tell me what
T-shirt says?
Joseph: I know not, dear comrade. Ask the little man preaching fire
over there
New arrival: Excuse me, sir. Do you know what is written on this T-shirt?
Adolph: I love button, herr doktor. Aaah ... shirt I know nothing. Ask
fellow countryman over there.
New arrival: Pardon me, sir. Perhaps you can tell me what this T-shirt say?
Harry: I suppose it must be mighty important to you, young fella.
Wish I could tell you. (Whispering low)
By the way, how did that big, big, big one turn out?
New arrival: Ugh ... I think we won. I'm not sure. Do you know anybody
here who can help me?
Harry: Yeah, I think I do know someone. He's over there wearing
one of them Roman togas. I hear he speaks Latin very clear.
(Voice trailing off) Hey, doc. Do you know you
got a lot of blood on your pretty white lab coat.
New arrival: Kind sir, can you please help me? I was told that you know
Latin, and can speak it very clear. Please, please tell me what
this T-shirt says, I beg you.
Nero: Yes, I speak Latin very clear, and I've been playing this fiddle
ever since I got here. But your lowly groveling annoys me. I
wish I could put you ... oh, never mind. You want to know
what the top garment bespeaks do you now. Have you any
coins of this realm in exchange for imbibing such hidden
seduce? You want to partake of the wine of knowledge from
the fountain of truth.
New arrival: No coins have I, but I have knowledge too. And in exchange
for yours, this I give you. Though Rome fell in your day, it
rose again, yet not right away. Your architect and literature
lives on in my day. My people we embrace the old Roman way.
We love to revel, we love to drink. We love to debate, we love
to think. But most of all, we love to sleep and snore. Having
everything is such a bore. And as every wise emperor knows
for sure, to keep domestic unrest from rising, give them war.
And our last war was the greatest ever to be told. Such
magnificent carnage, such destruction to behold. And you, by
your hand, would have loved to have started it all. For nuclear
fires are the best fires of all. Now please, dear sir, tell me, for
I must know, what is written on the shirt I hold?
Nero: (With a glowing smile on his face) Yes, yes, the
garment declares: "Let listener learn, let hearer beware. To
defeat all enemies is to win. But true victory is never to have
to ever fight again."
Copyright © Freddie Robinson Jr. | Year Posted 2016
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