18 Comments

1. hentaidan  •  May 23, 2005 @11:48 pm
   

   It’s slightly jumbled and missing bits but it’s actually a quote from Horaces “The Art Of Poetry An Epistle To The Pisos”.

   Non satis est pulchra esse poemata; dulcia sunto,
   Et quocunque volent, animum auditoris agunto.
   Ut ridentibus arrident, ita flentibus adflent
   Humani vultus; si vis me flere, dolendum est
   Primum ipsi tibi: tunc tua me infortunia laedent.
   Telephe, vel Peleu, male si mandata loqueris,
   Aut dormitabo, aut ridebo: tristia moestum

   Yet Comedy at times exalts her strain,
   And angry Chremes storms in swelling vein:
   The tragick hero, plung’d in deep distress,
   Sinks with his fate, and makes his language less.
   Peleus and Telephus, poor, banish’d! each
   Drop their big six-foot words, and sounding speech;
   Or else, what bosom in their grief takes part,
   Which cracks the ear, but cannot touch the heart?

2. Charley Meakin  •  May 24, 2005 @1:32 pm
   

   Wow, i’m impressed with that. We have the very same cushion mark… in fact i’m not 100% sure that it was donated by my mother in one of those “take it! and take 4 microwaves, and take ten billion bed sheets….” moments when Ben moved out…. could be wrong of course it could just be a popular cushion.

3. Mark  •  May 24, 2005 @2:41 pm
   

   Yeah, I got the Horace thing.

   “Si vis me flere, dolendum” means, I think, “If you want me to weep, grieve”.

   Si = if
   vis = you want
   me = me
   flere = to weep
   etc…

   And yeah, it is a really popular pattern. It was my mum that foisted it off on me when I was leaving. I think she was glad to get rid of them.

   But these cushions have served us well! They keep us warm when it’s cold, they’re spare pillows for friends, and they’re worn on the head like hats when we want to be “whimsical” (ha ha ha ha!).

   It’s all good.

   I want to learn latin! I say more grammar to me!

   Oh yeah, Ridebo means “calamity” or “destruction”. It’s a happy poem… And dormitabo means “I sleep”, I think.

   Dormitabo ergo sum - I sleep therefore I am.

   Wow, latin is cool.

4. Anonymous  •  Jun 4, 2005 @10:11 pm
   

   I too have the exact same cushion. Is yours dark blue too?

   Searching the web for sentences you find on cushions may be a tad nerdy, but I couldn’t resist :)

5. Anonymous  •  Jul 13, 2005 @8:16 pm
   

   I have that same cushion in creamand red. Have long wondered what it was all about. Slightly closer to knowing!

   8:16 PM, July 13, 2005

6. Anonymous  •  Jul 19, 2005 @7:47 pm
   

   http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/MegaBBS/thread-view.asp?threadid=2145&posts=3

   My cushion is green.

7. Anonymous  •  Jul 26, 2005 @1:19 pm
   

   Relating to the comment on ” a tad nerdy ” Yes we must be !!! I have dark red cushions of the exact same nature, however, people seem to be dissing them, but to me - they give me an incentive. I have a new thouroghbred horse called Derek’s Bo - and so the word RIDEBO is giving me a message to get off my peach and go and ride bo instead of sitting on my jolly comfy cushions watching SKY+ coronation street at 9.00 in the morning. Don’t slag it off !

8. moniqueengelse  •  Aug 14, 2005 @2:52 pm
   

   In Holland we have red ones.
   I use it for my daily meditation.
   Now I know why it makes me feel so depressed.

   Si vis me flere is a Latin saying, I found out.
   It means:
   He that cannot make himself happy has a problem.

9. Anonymous  •  Aug 27, 2005 @7:29 am
   

   I’d like to find out who markets them. In Australia we have a dull gold on navy

10. Anonymous  •  Oct 24, 2005 @10:36 am
    

    I can’t believe that people are as sad as me! I bought two blue & gold cushions as I was in need of bringing a bedroom colour scheme and furniture together. That’s not the sad part………..the sad bit is that I’m sat here in my dressing gown (hungover!!) searching for info on what the hell those latin words mean!!

    Oh, it might help to know that it’s 10.35am in the U.K. !!

11. Mark  •  Oct 24, 2005 @6:47 pm
    

    This is the best post I ever made. I love the fact that people are still leaving comments on it.

    Gonna have to make a “classic posts” link or something.

12. Anonymous  •  Oct 25, 2005 @4:48 pm
    

    Wow, I have the same cushion too. It’s sorta tanned colour with a border and the writing in the middle.

13. TROADEC  •  Dec 14, 2006 @1:44 pm
    

    Pourriez-vous me traduire en français :
    LOQUERIS
    SI VIS ME FLERE, DOLENDUM EST
    TELEPHE VEL PELEU MALE SI IPSI
    DORMITABO AUT MANDATA
    ON SATIS EST PULCHRA
    RIDENTLBUS ADRIDENT, ITA
    RIDEBO

    je vous remercie d’avance.

14. Mark  •  Dec 14, 2006 @5:29 pm
    

    Que bonne idée!

    Le poém complète s’est trouvé içi. Et ma traduction française est:

    Avec ceux qui sourirent, nos visage en sourires apparaît;
    Avec ceux qui pleurent, nous fondrons en larmes.
    Si vous voulez que je pleure, vous-mêmes devez être triste.
    Tellement je sentirai votre chagrin comme celui du mien,
    Oh, Peleus ou Telephus!
    Mais si votre langue ne corresponde pas aux circonstances,
    je dormirai, ou sourirai.

    En échange, vous pouvez me corriger la français? Merci!!

15. Rob Hill  •  Jan 15, 2007 @12:25 am
    

    Dormitabo = first person future of dormitare ( to be drowsy) = I shall be drowsy?
    Ridebo = first person future of Ridere (To laugh) = I shall laugh

16. Hans Wobben  •  Jun 23, 2008 @8:10 am
    

    Can anybody translate it into dutch? Though the french trranslation gave me already a clear clue of the meaning of the poem.
    Thanks a lot
    dank je wel.
    H

17. Paul Veenboer  •  Jun 26, 2008 @8:58 pm
    

    De tekst op het kussentje (verkrijgbaar bij Leen Bakker) is potjeslatijn (doglatin): het zijn flarden, in een willekeurige volgorde en dus ongrammaticaal , uit een deel van een gedicht van Horatius, in april 2008 reeds vertaald door Gigano uit Dedemsvaart op Internet:
    Met hen die glimlachen verschijnt op ons gezicht een glimlach
    Met hen die wenen barsten wij in tranen uit.
    Als je wilt dat ik ween,
    moet jij zelf eerst verdriet voelen.
    Zo zal ik jouw verdriet ervaren als het mijne,
    O Peleus of Telephus!
    Maar als jouw taal niet passend is
    voor de omstandigheden, zal ik slapen of glimlachen.

18. aart  •  Nov 26, 2008 @1:41 pm
    

    Op de hoeken van dat kussen staat: N R V E
    Heeft dat nog een betekenis?
    Aart

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