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And I don't want you if you ain't for me
I spent a portion of this evening composing a Bath-style defixio—a Roman curse tablet, directed specifically against theft rather than any other offense for which the victim might desire redress—for a classicist friend who has COVID-19. In case anyone else should need a template:
deae Suli Minervae pro [ablative form of name] tibi dono vim et salutem et sensus qui perierunt. quicumque haec involavit, si vir si mulier, si puer si puella, si personatus si effrons, nisi quantocius supradicta ad aegram pertulerit, non redimat nisi sanitate et sanguine vitaque sua.
"To the goddess Sulis Minerva on behalf of [name], to you I give the strength and the soundness and the senses that were lost. Whoever has stolen them, whether man or woman, boy or girl, masked or barefaced, unless they restore the abovementioned to the afflicted as soon as possible, let them not pay off the debt except with their health and their blood and their life."
Defixiones are usually written in the first person, but I rendered this one from the perspective of an agent for the person actually suffering; it seemed more respectful and less likely to tempt fate. I have also taken the liberty of substituting, in the formula which covers the binary bases of a potential thief, the more relevant si personatus si effrons ("whether masked or barefaced") for the traditional si servus si liber ("whether slave or free"). The phrase may equally be read "whether dissembling or brazen," which expresses many of my feelings about the anti-mask contingent of this country, anyway.
deae Suli Minervae pro [ablative form of name] tibi dono vim et salutem et sensus qui perierunt. quicumque haec involavit, si vir si mulier, si puer si puella, si personatus si effrons, nisi quantocius supradicta ad aegram pertulerit, non redimat nisi sanitate et sanguine vitaque sua.
"To the goddess Sulis Minerva on behalf of [name], to you I give the strength and the soundness and the senses that were lost. Whoever has stolen them, whether man or woman, boy or girl, masked or barefaced, unless they restore the abovementioned to the afflicted as soon as possible, let them not pay off the debt except with their health and their blood and their life."
Defixiones are usually written in the first person, but I rendered this one from the perspective of an agent for the person actually suffering; it seemed more respectful and less likely to tempt fate. I have also taken the liberty of substituting, in the formula which covers the binary bases of a potential thief, the more relevant si personatus si effrons ("whether masked or barefaced") for the traditional si servus si liber ("whether slave or free"). The phrase may equally be read "whether dissembling or brazen," which expresses many of my feelings about the anti-mask contingent of this country, anyway.
no subject
Thank you. It pleases the person it was written for, which is important.
Another maskless kid in my local shop today - it always seems to be young men.
I see older men, too, but overwhelmingly men, and it's not doing anyone any favors.
At least the woman behind the counter was kind enough to let me rant for a minute.
If I had to deal with maskless customers, I'd sympathize with ranting, too.
*hugs*
no subject
Always a good thing.
*overwhelmingly men*
Oh, I could get back on the soapbox and talk about machismo being everyone's enemy, but I think I've used up my anger rations for the day. I'll accept hugs instead. *returns them happily*
no subject
I see older men, too, but overwhelmingly men, and it's not doing anyone any favors
We have women who do this also around here (south Baltimore suburbs) but on the whole it's more likely to be women who have the mask covering their mouth but not their nose.