The foramen magnum is a large oval hole in the occipital bone of the skull through which the spinal cord passes. It is not the only foramina in the skull, but it is the largest. The position of the foramen magnum is highly significant in human evolution, as it moved forward as the successive species became better adapted for bipedalism.
foramen, foraminis n hole made by boring; hole
Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 20 makes a very profound point that is as relevant today as it was when the book of Ezekiel was written. In modern language, the verse endorses individual responsibility for actions rather than collective guilt of kin groups. To take a current example, this view stands in stark contradiction to the demands that the British taxpayers of today pay reparations for slavery that was ended in the British empire before our great grandparents were born.
In Latin, the full text of the verse is:
Anima quae peccaverit ipsa morietur: filius non portabit iniquitatem patris, et pater non portabit iniquitatem filii: iustitia iusti super eum erit, et impietas impii erit super eum.
In the English that is: "The soul that sinneth, the same shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son: the justice of the just shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
The key words from filius through to filii are really quite simple Latin:
filius, -i m son
pater, patris m father
porto, -are, -avi, -atum to bear or carry
portabit he will bear
iniquitas, iniquitatis f sin or crime
et and
Per mare per terram is the apt motto of the Royal Marines. It means by sea by land. The preposition per governs the accusative.
Interestingly, the English word marine is derived from the Latin adjective marinus, -a, -um of or pertaining to the sea, which is itself derived from the 3rd declension neuter noun mare, -is sea. Mare is cognate with the English mere meaning lake (e.g. Windermere), the German das Meer the sea and the French la mer also meaning the sea.
The Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger advises us that for the man who doesn't know which port he is making for, no wind is the right one. In other words, if you don't have an objective, you can't reach it. The idea of the modern English proverb - to fail to plan is to plan to fail - is not entirely unrelated.
Ignoranti is the dative singular of the adjective ignorans and means for the ignorant.
Quem is the masculine accusative singular of the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod.
Portum is the accusative singular of the noun portus, -us m a port, from which we get the English word port.
Petat is the third person singular present subjunctive of the third conjugation verb peto, petere, petivi, petitum, meaning among other things to make for.
Ventus, -i m wind is cognate with the French word le vent, the Spanish el viento and the English wind.
