Re: The Poll ends! (Was: Are we too serious these days?)

[Nicola Pero]

> > > No.
> > > The Latin 'hora' means "hour".
> > > The Latin "ora" (with an accented long o) means "border", "brim" or
> > > "edge" and can be used as a synonym for "region" or "country".
> > yep, sorry, there was some confusion here.
> > The second significate of "ora" is the imperative of the verb orare
> > (=to pray).
> 
> 'To pray' is only one of its meanings. First of all it means 'to plead',
> 'to treat' or 'to argue'. Second meaning would be 'to pray' or 'to beg'.

(got interested by the Latin, even if it's totally off-topic I can't
resist)

... I though "ora" meant "mouth" (and from that "orator" (speaker),
"oratio" (speech [/prayer in the Middle Ages]), "orare" (to speak / give a
speech [/pray in the Middle Ages]) etc), but looking on the web I can't
find this meaning documented (the available dictionaries are pretty poor
though), still I believe it correct.

I'm pretty sure there is at least a verse from a psalm in the Bible with
"ora" with that meaning (it ends in something like "in ora mea"), but I
can't remember it and I don't have time to search for it now.

Wait - I remember something else ... "parvola ne nigras horrescat erotion
umbras / oraque tartarei prodigiosa canis".  That's classical stuff,
meaning something like "so that the small erotion won't be scared by the
shadows and the terrific mouth of the dog of hell" (you certainly find
great translations somewhere on the net, and possibly a more accurate
text, I don't have time to search for Latin stuff now).  Sexy. :-)

Anyway I'd say "ora" does mean "to pray" in all of Middle Age Europe, and
that is such a strong semantic that is almost dominates any other
perception of "ora" we currently have.  Just look at the Bible or at Latin
Christian prayers - they're full of "ora", "orate", "oratio" meaning
"pray", "pray" (plural), "prayer".  Eg even the last verses of the Ave
Maria ... "ora pro nobis peccatoribus nunc et in hora mortis nostrae"
(pray for us sinners now and at the time of our death).

Btw "ora" as a standalone word almost immediately calls for Saint
Benedictus' famous rule "ora et labora" ("pray and work"). [again, Middle
Age].

The rule in itself wouldn't be bad for GNUstep, but only taking the "ora"  
(thinking about a better world), and leaving out the "labora" (actually
doing material useful work now), doesn't seem a good way of presenting
ourselves ;-)