“Latin is dead language, as dead as it can be/It killed the ancient Romans and now it’s killing me!” Those words, or some reasonable facsimile thereof were opined by those of us who struggled in junior high to get through this taxing of all languages. I must confess I had little joy in that subject then; I only wish I had appreciated it more. It’s rare indeed if you hear of Latin being offered in public schools today. I guess too many generations of students died trying to succeed in mastering this ancient language. The closest you can get to having Latin appreciated today is by comments like, “Latin is for lovers.” Well, as it turns out, Latin is also for linguists and theologians. Now stay with me, I sense your eyes are glazing over! Every once in a while I run across a great Latin phrase that succinctly summarizes the need of the moment. Most of the time these phrases come from the great European Reformers, or their like. Let me drop a few on you. First, there are the five great “solas” of the Reformation. Sola fide: by faith alone; Sola gratia: by grace alone; Sola scriptura: by Scripture alone; Solus Christus: in Christ alone; Soli Deo Gloria: (for the) Glory of God alone. These were the spiritual battle cries of the Reformation, as the reformers moved further away from the Roman Catholic Church. There is also a great phrase that Calvin used to ward against (fabricating) “idols of the heart”—fabricum mycardium. Now for all of you who enjoy books as much as I do, Erasmus of Rotterdam leaves us with this thought: Tuum ipsius pectus bibliothemcam facito Christi. “Make your heart a library of Christ!” Augustine has given us one that I particularly enjoy. For me, other than the word of God, I will only consult spiritual wisdom from a book which—a Deo docetur, Deum docet, ad Deum ducit: Is taught by God, teaches God, leads to God. And for those who are just plain American-English at heart: e Pluribus Unum! “From many, one” For that you can thank your US government. So the next time you want to play a little Latin trivia…!