Henry's Favorite Latin Phrases
There were many things about Henry that were surprising to me. Though he grew up mostly on the streets until he found the Krakow YMCA and swimming, his mother did take on extra jobs when Henry neared high school and somehow paid the tuition for him to attend a Dominican Catholic high school. There he excelled at sports and languages, did not so great in math and science. He said more than once he loved Latin.
In high school he studied Latin, Greek and German. Languages would play a key role in his survival, both in the ability to speak the language of the camps (German), and to learn new languages (French and English) which have many words of Latin origin.
(Note – I’ve misplaced my Latin book of spelling/phrases – if you see errors let me know.)
One day Henry pulled out a sheet of favorite Latin phrases. Here’s just a few.
Tempora mutantur et nos mutamus in illis Time is changing and we are changing with it.
Mors certa hora incerta Death is certain, the hour is not.
Theoria sine praxis est currus sine axis Theory without practice is like a wagon without wheels
Carpe diem – (literally) Seize the day. Henry’s version “Live every minute. Enjoy something every day.”
And my favorite summary of Henry, which will be the initial quote for my book:
Per aspera, ad astra. From dreams to stars. Per Henry “Whatever you do you have to dream it.”