I discovered a fascinating Latin Proverbs blog today:
http://audiolatinproverbs.blogspot.com
The proverb that drew me to the site was Gratia gratiam parit. It is a rather profound proverb, because gratia has so many diverse meanings. Consider that favour, esteem, regard, liking, love, friendship,agreeableness, pleasantness, charm, beauty, grace, loveliness, courtesy, service, blessing, obligation, gratitude return, requital and acknowledgment are all components of gratia.
In this proverb grace is both the subject (gratia) and the object (gratiam). Parit is the verb which means birth. Think of it as creating, making, causing something to be.
I’m no Latin scholar, but the brilliance seems pretty clear. Look at this list of definitions. Now mix and match:
|
Favour Esteem Regard Liking Love friendship agreeableness pleasantness charm beauty grace loveliness courtesy service obligation blessing gratitude giving back requital acknowledgment |
…creates | Favour
Esteem Regard Liking Love friendship agreeableness pleasantness charm beauty grace loveliness courtesy service obligation blessing gratitude giving back requital acknowledgment |
It’s kind of profound, isn’t it? What you put out, is what you get back, in all sorts of permutations. Think of what it means in the context of the theme of Grace Awakening. Grace herself is awakening to her birthright, Grace is creating Grace (and the 3 Graces create Grace, as well). Fascinating stuff.
Shawn L. Bird 
I keep coming back to this… it sure is food for thought and leaves me with a “warm fuzzy”. One word keeps popping out at me though. Obligation. I just can’t make that word associate with the others. Isn’t it more likely to create resentment? Shouldn’t we be giving of our selves because we choose to rather than out of obligation? I just can’t seem to manage wrapping a “warm fuzzy” around that word.
I think it fits in with requital (i.e. returning a feeling) and thankfulness. Obligation in this case isn’t a negative; it’s a ‘positive requirement.’ Kind of like having to sit down with the family for scheduled dinner- the sense of being a part of a loving relationship that involves a bit of sacrifice. We’re obliged to do certain things, and those things really are a blessing to us, even if sometimes we’d rather not do them… Eventually they become the joy- practising the obligation brings the happiness.
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