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Old April 22nd, 2005, 04:40 PM   #11 (permalink)
weelie
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Helsinki, Finland, Yer-up
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Re: uva uvam vivendo varia fit

Quote:
Originally Posted by RevMike
I'll buy a beer for anyone who can translate that, and give me the source!
There's plenty on the net about that, mostly pointing to the same conclusion:

Well it seems that McMurtry -- accidentally or on purpose -- was misquoting an old proverb attributed to the Roman satirist Juvenal, who lived almost 2000 years ago. The original and correct adage was "Uva uvam videndo (not vivendo) varia fit," which, roughly translated, means "one grape causes another grape to ripen." It's sort of the metaphorical opposite of the old saying that one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel. http://www.fmshrc.gov/new/hearingroomcereemony.html
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