WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Welcome to a brand new deep dive for those of 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:05.540 you out there who are always looking for that 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:08.220 next great aha moment. Yeah, that spark of insight. 00:00:08.419 --> 00:00:10.400 But, you know, without the massive information 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.419 overload. Exactly. And today we have a really 00:00:13.419 --> 00:00:15.759 fascinating source material. We're looking at 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:19.019 an excerpt from a Wikipedia list of Latin phrases, 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:21.059 specifically the ones beginning with the letter 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:24.500 V. Right. The V list. And OK, let's unpack this 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:26.960 because my mission today is to prove to you that 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:30.769 Latin isn't just some like dusty dead language 00:00:30.769 --> 00:00:33.250 reserved for old textbooks. It really isn't. 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:36.030 I mean, it's so foundational. It is. And we want 00:00:36.030 --> 00:00:38.969 to uncover how these ancient V phrases act as 00:00:38.969 --> 00:00:41.649 this timeless mirror reflecting human psychology, 00:00:42.210 --> 00:00:44.530 the arrogance of rulers, our obsession with truth, 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:47.250 and honestly, even our everyday office vocabulary. 00:00:47.409 --> 00:00:49.810 It's a great lens to use because, well, while 00:00:49.810 --> 00:00:51.789 ancient Greek rhetoric started centuries before 00:00:51.789 --> 00:00:54.909 Latin, these specific Latin phrases have uniquely 00:00:54.909 --> 00:00:57.009 embedded themselves into our modern institutional 00:00:57.009 --> 00:01:00.990 DNA. Oh, totally. But instead of starting with, 00:01:00.990 --> 00:01:03.490 you know, boring grammar lessons, let's dive 00:01:03.490 --> 00:01:06.590 right into the most dramatic individuals who 00:01:06.590 --> 00:01:09.530 actually spoke the language. The rulers and emperors. 00:01:09.629 --> 00:01:12.510 Yes. Because looking at them shows how their 00:01:12.510 --> 00:01:16.989 words reveal both immense ego and some really 00:01:16.989 --> 00:01:18.930 surprising humor. Oh, definitely. Like, let's 00:01:18.930 --> 00:01:21.489 look at the ultimate flex of Julius Caesar. It's 00:01:21.489 --> 00:01:24.769 47 BC. He just fought this major battle against 00:01:24.769 --> 00:01:27.769 King Farnus's II. Right, near Zela. Yeah, and 00:01:27.769 --> 00:01:29.989 he sends this message back to the Roman Senate. 00:01:30.670 --> 00:01:34.250 And it's supposedly just three words. Vinni vidi 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:36.790 vici. I came, I saw, I conquered. I mean, it 00:01:36.790 --> 00:01:39.329 is the ancient equivalent of a devastating three 00:01:39.329 --> 00:01:42.340 -word mic drop tweet. It's just... So impossibly 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:44.459 arrogant. It's pure confidence, yeah. Yeah. But 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:46.980 the brilliance of veni, vidi, vici is actually 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:49.420 in the mechanics of classical Latin. OK, wait, 00:01:49.459 --> 00:01:51.640 how so? Well, because it's a highly inflicted 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:53.819 language, Caesar didn't even need to use pronouns. 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.340 Oh, right, because the subject is baked in. Exactly. 00:01:56.819 --> 00:01:59.299 The I is implied by the I suffix at the end of 00:01:59.299 --> 00:02:01.680 each word. Plus, these are all in the perfect 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:04.920 active indicative tense. So it's very symmetrical. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:08.960 Highly symmetrical. Veni, vidi, vici. It's this 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:12.580 percussive, almost marching rhythm. Wow, so he's 00:02:12.580 --> 00:02:15.280 not just saying what happened, he's... He's structurally 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.259 mimicking a military march. He's telling the 00:02:18.259 --> 00:02:21.159 Senate, you know, that coming, seeing, and conquering 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:23.659 all took the exact same amount of effortless 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:26.099 energy. That is so intimidating. But then, you 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:27.759 know, you contrast that with Augustus, who had 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:29.620 a completely different vibe. Very different. 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:32.099 Augustus had to master the art of looking like 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:34.860 an ordinary citizen while holding absolute power. 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:37.060 Right, because looking like a dictator got Caesar 00:02:37.060 --> 00:02:40.240 assassinated. Exactly. So, Suetonius records 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.340 this phrase ascribed to Augustus when he wanted 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:45.300 to to describe something being done very quickly, 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.120 he used the phrase, uh, velocius quam asparagi 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:53.120 cuquantur. Huh. Which means faster than asparagus 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:55.659 can be cooked. Right. Or as quick as boiled asparagus. 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:59.240 OK. I have to ask, why asparagus? I mean, out 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:02.020 of all the fierce, militaristic things the Roman 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:05.080 emperor could use to describe speed, why a mundane 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:07.259 vegetable? Well, what's fascinating here is how 00:03:07.259 --> 00:03:09.840 it highlights the relatable domestic reality 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:12.050 of ancient life. Like, it brings him down to 00:03:12.050 --> 00:03:15.189 earth. Precisely. It strips away the marble statue 00:03:15.189 --> 00:03:17.629 facade of these rulers. I mean, asparagus cooks 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:20.169 incredibly fast. If you leave it in boiling water 00:03:20.169 --> 00:03:22.449 for an extra minute, it turns to mush. Oh, true. 00:03:22.789 --> 00:03:25.189 So Augustus is basically using a kitchen timer 00:03:25.189 --> 00:03:28.810 as his metaphor. That is brilliant PR. It's the 00:03:28.810 --> 00:03:31.069 ancient equivalent of a politician eating a hot 00:03:31.069 --> 00:03:33.729 dog at the state fair. Exactly. It humanizes 00:03:33.729 --> 00:03:36.090 him completely. And speaking of humanizing, we 00:03:36.090 --> 00:03:39.669 have to talk about Vespasian's dark comedy. because 00:03:39.669 --> 00:03:41.930 his last words are just incredible. Oh, they 00:03:41.930 --> 00:03:45.009 are famously cynical. He's literally dying and 00:03:45.009 --> 00:03:49.090 his last words are, vai puto Deus Fio. I think 00:03:49.090 --> 00:03:51.710 I'm becoming a god. I mean the self -aware humor 00:03:51.710 --> 00:03:54.610 there. He's realizing his own mortal failing 00:03:54.610 --> 00:03:57.729 body while simultaneously poking sun at the Roman 00:03:57.729 --> 00:04:01.099 tradition of defying dead emperors. It's a brilliant 00:04:01.099 --> 00:04:03.560 juxtaposition. He's mocking the bureaucratic 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:05.900 machinery that's about to turn his very human 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:08.639 corpse into an immortal deity. Right. And that 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:11.300 actually transitions us perfectly. Right. Because 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:14.580 building on this Beijing's realization of ultimate 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:17.100 reality and mortality, let's talk about the ultimate 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:19.959 reality humans have chased for millennia. Truth. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:23.779 Yes, truth. Because veritas is arguably the most 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:26.259 repeated word in the V list when it comes to 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:28.459 mottos. It's ubiquitous. And you see different 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:30.920 institutions adopt it to establish immediate 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:32.939 authority. Look, Harvard, right? Yeah, Harvard's 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:35.579 original motto was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae. 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:39.060 Truth for Christ and Church. Exactly. But over 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:41.939 the centuries, they shortened it to just veritas. 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.120 They removed the religious meaning to make it 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:47.319 a universal claim to ultimate reality. And it's 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.180 not just schools. The CIA's clandestine service 00:04:50.180 --> 00:04:53.019 uses it, too. Right, their motto is veritanum 00:04:53.019 --> 00:04:55.740 cognacere. To know truth. Okay, let me play devil's 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:57.319 advocate here for a second, though. Go for it. 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.459 Does slapping veritas on a cresc actually mean 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:03.899 anything? Or is it just the ancient version of 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:06.480 hollow corporate synergy jargon? Like, did these 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:09.019 institutions actually care about truth or just 00:05:09.019 --> 00:05:11.040 the branding of it? That is the core question, 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:13.759 isn't it? Because claiming truth is really about 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.459 claiming permanence. Permanence, how so? Well, 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:18.680 we can synthesize this by looking at the philosopher 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:21.220 Seneca the Younger. He gives us two great quotes 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:24.000 here. Veritas odit morass, which means truth 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.000 hates delay. OK. And Veritas numquam parrot. 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.839 Truth never expires. Ah, truth never expires. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.379 Right. So claiming truth is the ultimate power 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:36.100 move because it outlasts any single ruler's reign. 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.139 You attach yourself to something eternal. Oh, 00:05:39.139 --> 00:05:42.319 I see. Even if your institution is flawed, the 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:44.889 concept you're claiming isn't. Exactly. Even 00:05:44.889 --> 00:05:47.089 the occultist Ollister Crowley used it for his 00:05:47.089 --> 00:05:50.870 magical motto. He went with, uh, vi very universum 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:54.389 vivus vici. By the power of truth, I, while living, 00:05:54.870 --> 00:05:56.769 have conquered the universe. Notice the rhythm 00:05:56.769 --> 00:06:00.310 there. Vi very universum vivus vici. Wait, five 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:02.610 V words. That's a direct phonetic escalation 00:06:02.610 --> 00:06:04.889 of Caesar's three V words. It absolutely is. 00:06:04.970 --> 00:06:07.970 Wow. But, okay, if we revere truth so highly, 00:06:08.370 --> 00:06:10.920 why do we constantly fail to live up to it? Well, 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.220 if we connect this to the bigger picture, the 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:15.860 V -List actually contains some brutally honest 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:18.480 observations about human fallibility. It really 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.040 does. Like the struggle of acrasia. Yes, the 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:24.129 weakness of will. Right. Ovid perfectly captures 00:06:24.129 --> 00:06:27.790 this in the phrase, video meliora proboki deteriora 00:06:27.790 --> 00:06:29.790 sicor. I see, and approve of the better, but 00:06:29.790 --> 00:06:32.610 I follow the worse. I mean, that is just so incredibly 00:06:32.610 --> 00:06:34.829 relatable. It's the ultimate summary of setting 00:06:34.829 --> 00:06:37.490 your alarm for a 6 a .m. workout, hitting snooze 00:06:37.490 --> 00:06:40.009 three times, and then just eating a donut instead. 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:43.009 Yeah, that's a craja in a nutshell. You logically 00:06:43.009 --> 00:06:45.730 know the better choice. You approve of it. But 00:06:45.730 --> 00:06:48.209 your actions completely follow the worst path. 00:06:48.329 --> 00:06:50.709 And it scales up to society, too. It's the illusion 00:06:50.709 --> 00:06:53.910 of change. Oh, like the cool from Titus. Right. 00:06:56.230 --> 00:06:59.790 The fox changes his fur, not his habits. It's 00:06:59.790 --> 00:07:02.910 the sobering reminder from antiquity. Humanity 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:05.629 can change its outward attitude or its branding 00:07:05.629 --> 00:07:08.550 without ever changing its core objectives. Which 00:07:08.550 --> 00:07:10.389 perfectly loops back to our corporate synergy 00:07:10.389 --> 00:07:12.870 conversation. Yeah. You can slap a new logo or 00:07:12.870 --> 00:07:15.029 a Latin motto on something, change the fur, but 00:07:15.029 --> 00:07:18.339 the underlying habits are exactly the same. Exactly. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:21.120 And another massive human flaw on the list is 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.740 the failure to follow through. Oh, Hannibal. 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:27.019 Yes. The quote directed at Hannibal after the 00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:31.420 Battle of Cannae in 216 BC. Vincisius Hannibal 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:34.639 victoria utinesis. You know how to win, Hannibal. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:37.720 You do not know how to use victory. He pulled 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:40.560 off this tactical masterpiece and circled and 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:43.000 destroyed the Roman army. But then he hesitated. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:45.889 He didn't march on Rome. No, he didn't. He failed 00:07:45.889 --> 00:07:49.089 to follow up. It perfectly encapsulates the failure 00:07:49.089 --> 00:07:51.930 to capitalize on an advantage. It's like nailing 00:07:51.930 --> 00:07:53.790 a job interview but then being too nervous to 00:07:53.790 --> 00:07:56.350 negotiate your salary. Precisely. You win the 00:07:56.350 --> 00:07:58.850 battle but you lose the momentum. Man, human 00:07:58.850 --> 00:08:01.649 nature really hasn't changed. And, you know, 00:08:01.889 --> 00:08:03.949 you don't even need to be Hannibal or an emperor 00:08:03.949 --> 00:08:06.509 to use these phrases. Not at all. In fact, if 00:08:06.509 --> 00:08:08.889 you're listening right now, you are likely using 00:08:08.889 --> 00:08:11.550 V Latin every single week. without realizing 00:08:11.550 --> 00:08:14.689 it. It's heavily embedded in our everyday vocabulary. 00:08:14.810 --> 00:08:18.069 Take the word veto. I forbid. Right. Its origins 00:08:18.069 --> 00:08:21.250 are in ancient Roman voting procedures. Tribunes 00:08:21.250 --> 00:08:23.910 would literally step in and say veto to block 00:08:23.910 --> 00:08:26.209 a piece of legislation. It's literally an ancient 00:08:26.209 --> 00:08:29.110 pause button. And then there's vox populi. Voice 00:08:29.110 --> 00:08:31.949 of the people. Which modern media truncates all 00:08:31.949 --> 00:08:34.309 the time to just vox pop. Yeah, for those rapid 00:08:34.309 --> 00:08:36.850 fire street interviews you see on the news. Invading 00:08:36.850 --> 00:08:39.899 me come, meaning go with me. which evolved to 00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:42.100 describe a handbook or a manual that you carry 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.279 around. Okay, but here's where it gets really 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:46.740 interesting. Think about the phrase vice versa. 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:50.120 Meaning with position turned. Right, but the 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:52.360 pronunciation revelation with this one completely 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:54.570 blew my mind. Because we all walk around saying 00:08:54.570 --> 00:08:56.970 vice versa. We do. But if an ancient Roman heard 00:08:56.970 --> 00:08:59.210 us, they would have no idea what we were saying. 00:08:59.350 --> 00:09:02.370 And none at all. Because in classical Latin pronunciation, 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:05.669 the letter C is always a hard K sound. Always 00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:08.909 a K. Yes. And the consonantal V actually represents 00:09:08.909 --> 00:09:12.370 a W sound. Wait, so. Put that together. How would 00:09:12.370 --> 00:09:14.370 Caesar have pronounced vice versa? He would have 00:09:14.370 --> 00:09:17.330 said, we -e -k -we -air -saw. We -k -we -air 00:09:17.330 --> 00:09:19.669 -saw. Yeah. That doesn't sound stern or imposing 00:09:19.669 --> 00:09:21.970 at all. It sounds joyful. It really does. It 00:09:21.970 --> 00:09:25.169 sounds like a spell from a cartoon. We -e -k 00:09:25.169 --> 00:09:28.509 -w -e -h -r -saw. It just completely shatters 00:09:28.509 --> 00:09:31.129 that illusion of these perfectly serious marble 00:09:31.129 --> 00:09:33.710 statues. It makes the ancient world sound much 00:09:33.710 --> 00:09:36.149 more alive, much more human. So what does this 00:09:36.149 --> 00:09:39.350 all mean? We've journeyed from Caesar's battlefield 00:09:39.350 --> 00:09:42.950 flexes to the boiled asparagus of Augustus. Through 00:09:42.950 --> 00:09:45.629 the institutional branding of truth. Right, all 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:49.190 the way to the phonetic surprises of We E. Key 00:09:49.190 --> 00:09:53.190 W. P. H. R. Psy. And it just goes to show this 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:55.730 language is far from dead. It's a living roadmap 00:09:55.730 --> 00:09:58.809 of human nature. And understanding these phrases 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:01.009 really gives you an incredible lens for viewing 00:10:01.009 --> 00:10:03.870 modern institutions and even your own human flaws. 00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:06.110 Absolutely. It reminds you that your modern struggles 00:10:06.110 --> 00:10:09.730 are beautifully, timelessly ancient. Well said. 00:10:10.149 --> 00:10:12.129 And on that note, I want to leave you with a 00:10:12.129 --> 00:10:14.629 final provocative thought to ponder on your own. 00:10:14.789 --> 00:10:17.570 Okay. We've seen how a random metaphor about 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:20.870 boiled asparagus survived for over 2000 years, 00:10:21.309 --> 00:10:23.470 simply because an emperor used it in passing. 00:10:23.470 --> 00:10:26.190 Right. So if a future civilization uncovers our 00:10:26.190 --> 00:10:28.409 digital archives thousands of years from now, 00:10:28.649 --> 00:10:32.070 which of our mundane everyday text message abbreviations 00:10:32.070 --> 00:10:34.669 are they going to meticulously catalog? Will 00:10:34.669 --> 00:10:37.870 they treat our casual texts with the same profound 00:10:37.870 --> 00:10:40.789 reference we give to Roman quotes? Like, will 00:10:40.789 --> 00:10:44.529 a simple modern idiom or BRB become the new boiled 00:10:44.529 --> 00:10:48.139 asparagus? That is a fascinating thought. Something 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:50.259 to mull over. Thanks for joining us on this deep 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:50.539 dive.