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From: cjh@petsd.UUCP (Chris Henrich)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Latin Occult Palindrome
Message-ID: <618@petsd.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 18-Aug-85 15:42:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: petsd.618
Posted: Sun Aug 18 15:42:59 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 20-Aug-85 20:53:21 EDT
References: <442@ptsfc.UUCP>
Reply-To: cjh@petsd.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE)
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Summary: Possible place to start looking

[]
In article <442@ptsfc.UUCP> rjw@ptsfc.UUCP (Rod Williams) writes:
>There has been a spate of palindromes in net.bizarre recently
>which got me thinking about one I remember reading about years
>ago. It's a Latin phrase, dating from mediaeval times and
>apparently loaded with occult significance. If I remember
>correctly, it goes like this:
>
>                       SATOR
>                       AREPO
>                       TENET
>                       OPERA
>                       ROTAS
>
>In this format you can see that the palindrome works both
>horizontally and vertically. I'm sure that the five words each
>with five letters add to the occult value. Does anyone know
>what, if anything, it means in English or the significance or
>origin of the phrase?
>-- 
>
Flatfootedly translated, it "means" "The sower* Arepo holds
the wheels by his works."  If you think that means much.
	*As in he who sows grain etc.
At that, it isn't very grammatical Latin - the fourth word
ought to be "operibus", but this would bust out of the square.
And *w*h*o* is Arepo?

I think it's a joke, myself.  In the same spirit as the
constructor of palindromes, some Latin-speaker found this
up-down-and-backwards pattern which was pronounceable and
almost made sense.  

Claiming great magical/occult significance is a legitimate
extension of the joke.

I have seen this "magic square" in print, in a book entitled
"Science For The Citizen" by Lancelot Hogben.  What it was
doing there I don't know, since Mr Hogben professed a
fastidious disdain for all things magical, occult, traditional,
unscientific, or unutilitarian.

My favorite pseudo spell is to intone

	REX QUID CARGO ANGUS
	SUBGUM SIBELIUS MUMBO.

My favorite palindrome is

"Named undenominationally rebel, I rile beryl?  La, no!  I
tan.  I'm, O Ned, nude, Man."

Regards,
Chris

--
Full-Name:  Christopher J. Henrich
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