The quote on the wall is in 15 inch letters in the national 9/11 Museum. It is supposed to refer to those whose bodies were never recovered from the rubble of the twin towers. It doubtless was chosen and (correctly) attributed to the Roman poet Virgil. The Latin text is it "nulla dies umquam memori vos eximet aevo."
Now we all studied Latin at Jesuit, though not everyone for all four years. I recall reading the Aeneid as a senior. I don’t believe we read the whole thing, and I know I didn’t understand most of it, not from the Latin text, anyway. Most of us thought Latin was pretty useless unless our career aspirations were the priesthood or to be scholars of ancient or medieval history or some such esoterica. I understand, however, that Latin is having a resurgence in many high schools today. Interesting.
Those who do indulge in those pursuits question the appropriateness of the quote. Virgil, we learned, wrote the Aeneid to celebrate the doughty band of Trojans who escaped their city’s Greek-made conflagration and journeyed westward, and after many perils, founded Rome.
The "you" Virgil were two young Trojans, probably homosexual lovers, who, akin to terrorists, murdered Greek soldiers in their sleep, supposedly to facilitate their compatriots escape. Their actions were more akin to those of the perpetrators of 9/11 (not to mention the Boston marathon bombing brothers) than to the victims.
But does this really matter?. Or, having been attributed to Virgil in his poem’s context, perhaps it does? The words quoted are not copyrighted (nor could they be) and probably have been written, spoken, or the sentiment paraphrased numerous time throughout history, and can apply to anyone. Having invoked Virgil for legitimacy, dignity, or merely to show off the memorial sponsors’ eruditeness, maybe it does?
Any thoughts?
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