Latin inscription

Probably 2000 or more years old, this inscription in Latin has been preserved, among

others, in the Colosseum, Rome. If there had been a translation, I didn't see it, so I

have no idea what it says. I'm from a generation that did Latin at school, where it

was starkly obvious I had no aptitude for languages. It's only now, in later life, that I

wish I'd made more effort in both Latin and French - the other mystery we had to

endure - to be able to at least stumble through a chance encounter with Johnny

Foreigner. As a cameraman abroad, it was a relief to (usually) be able to find

someone who spoke English - however roughly - when we've been in places as

remote as Bhutan, Ecuador, Jordan, etc. Sadly, the Bhutanese, Ecuadorians and

Jordanians would get little help if they were to visit Britain without speaking the lingo...

Probably 2000 or more years old, this inscription in Latin has been preserved, among others, in

the Colosseum, Rome. If there had been a translation, I didn't see it, so I have no idea what it

says. I'm from a generation that did Latin at school, where it was starkly obvious I had no

aptitude for languages. It's only now, in later life, that I wish I'd made more effort in both Latin

and French - the other mystery we had to endure - to be able to at least stumble through a

chance encounter with Johnny Foreigner. As a cameraman abroad, it was a relief to (usually) be

able to find someone who spoke English - however roughly - when we've been in places as

remote as Bhutan, Ecuador, Jordan, etc. Sadly, the Bhutanese, Ecuadorians and Jordanians

would get little help if they were to visit Britain without speaking the lingo...

Latin in the Colosseum