Latin English
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(Gaudeamus igitur Let us rejoice, therefore,
Iuvenes dum sumus.) /bis While we are young.
Post iucundam iuventutem After a pleasant youth
Post molestam senectutem After a troubling old age
Nos habebit humus. /bis The earth will have us.
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(Ubi sunt qui ante nos Where are they who, before us,
In mundo fuere?) /bis Were in the world?
Vadite ad superos Go to the heavens
Transite ad inferos Cross over into hell
Ubi jam fuere. /bis Where they were.
{OR: Hos si vis videre. /bis} If you wish to see them.
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(Vita nostra brevis est Our life is brief
Brevi finietur.) /bis Soon it will end.
Venit mors velociter Death comes quickly
Rapit nos atrociter Snatches us cruelly
Nemini parcetur. /bis To nobody shall it be spared.
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(Vivat academia! Long live the academy!
Vivant professores!) /bis Long live the professors!
Vivat membrum quodlibet; Long live each student;
Vivant membra quaelibet; Long live the whole fraternity;
Semper sint in flores. /bis For ever may they flourish!
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(Vivant omnes virgines Long live all girls,
Faciles, formosae.) /bis Easy [and] beautiful!
Vivant et mulieres Long live [mature] women too,
Tenerae, amabiles, Tender, lovable,
Bonae, laboriosae. /bis Good, [and] hard-working.
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(Vivat et res publica Long live the state as well
et qui illam regit.) /bis And he who rules it!
Vivat nostra civitas, Long live our city
Maecenatum caritas And] the charity of benefactors
Quae nos hic protegit. /bis Which protects us here!
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(Pereat tristitia, Let sadness perish!
Pereant osores.) /bis Let haters perish!
Pereat diabolus, Let the devil perish!
Quivis antiburschius And also the opponents of the fraternities
Atque irrisores. /bis And their mockers, too!
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(Quis confluxus hodie What a gathering
Academicorum?) /bis of academics is there today?
E longinquo convenerunt, From far away they gathered,
Protinusque successerunt Immediately they advanced
In commune forum. /bis Into the public forum
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(Vivat nostra societas, Long live our fellowship,
Vivant studiosi;) /bis Long live the students;
Crescat una veritas May truth alone thrive
Floreat fraternitas May brotherhood flourish
Patriae prosperitas. /bis and) the prosperity of the country
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(Alma Mater floreat, May our Alma Mater flourish,
Quae nos educavit;) /bis Which has taught us;
Caros et commilitones, Dear ones and comrades,
Dissitas in regiones (and) the scattered into places
Sparsos, congregavit /bis Various, she congregated.
This is a playful song and I've read some translations good, bad and
irrelevant, but all tend to oversee the obvious fact that such a
playful song must have playful wordplays in it, probably most people
think that latin was spoken by tedious scholars and not by common
folk. That being said and whilst the ceremony was reaching at the peak
of flatness the actress whispered her version to the bishop's agog
ears caressing them gently and rested her case howbeit unrested some
other member bored by the ceremony...
De brevitate vitae:
Used as an alternate title of the song is an essay by Seneca
pinpointing how life's wasted. The song was written in the 18th
century (based on a Latin manuscript dated back to 1287). When sung
the first two lines and the last line of each verse are repeated once.
academia:
Also euphemism for brothel (for obvious reasons), the latin
expressions in the verse strengthen my belief (see quodlibet and
membrum below or even better just read my cockamamy translation and
not my bloody comments)
res publica: meaning obviously
republic-democratic government but literally public affairs and also
public/common things, here's again a euphemism for entertainment
places, such as taverns-gambling dens-brothels-games-blood sports etc,
and in conjuction with the next line maybe also a mockery to
"democratic governance" since it maybe read in different ways "long
live democracy a boat without a captain" or "long live democracy and
it's tyrant", since rego beyond the main meaning here "to rule/lead"
means among other things to control, run something, keep straight,
excercise authority etc Mind you that a typical hail in latin would
have been Vivat res publica! Vivat Imperator/Rex (noster)! And may I
ask you who the heck would hail women before the state or hail the
King with "qui"?
quodlibet/quaelibet: whoever he/she(plural and it
plural) is/may be: has the writer forgotten his latin? One better way
to express the same thing in a definite manner would have been the use
of unusquisque/unaquisque (each and every male/female) so again the
intention was not to be accurate but to play with words. Let me also
stress the fact that although I don't know when the first college for
women was established I know co-educational colleges and universities
weren't available at the time the song was written
membrum: surely not
your standard latin word for a student or graduate
diabolus: it's
surprising how often one can encounter this sneaky bastard among
details ยน (anti)burschius: not found in a dictionary and I think
translated erroneously in the translations I saw, I can only guess
from the latin root burs (and chius meaning metaphorically luxurious)
that it is related with pouch and money and it may well mean a
penny-pincher, one who's against putting his hand in his pouch/wallet
(or opening his pouch). I've also read the Wikipedia explanation of
the word that originates from the german Bursch(fellow) which is root
to Burschenschaft(fellowship-fraternity) but I don't find it
convincing since the pronunciation is different, so I think it maybe
just another wordplay. The english counterpart of the word would be
anti-chios-walleted where Chios the home of many famous shipowners and
merchants, so again this maybe a mockery to tight-walleted benefactors
mentioned earlier, since mockers are mentioned in the next line with
no apparent reason. Even if this verse was added later on I consider
it as elaborate as the former.
irrisores: didn't I stress the word
apparent or haven't you been reading carefully, this word for obvious
by now reasons puts a full stop to the song and it would be
distasteful to go on singing but then again whilst the ceremony was
going up to the nadir of it's flatness the unrest member was placing
itself on apogee, a lowdown that didn't escape the actress's keen eye,
or her pointed nous that affirmed her membership was nigh And please
don't ask me I was an abutting member