BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Anyone here good at Latin?

**Posted by crazybbcamerican** January 25, 2013 6:05 pm

I've been dying to ask this for years. I've tried several on-line translators, but it never makes much sense to me, some of them do not even translate all of the words, so I have had to look them up seperately. I have had to guess at the proper meaning. Anyway, this is the phrase that is at the very end of A Study in Scarlet:

"Populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo
Ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplar in arca."

This is my latest rough translation:
"People hiss at me, at my applause
His home and money, observe in the chest."

I think he is referring to the fact that he just gave both of the official detectives a boost in their jobs/accolades in the press but at home his wealth remains the same? I am really not sure. It would been really nice of ACD to tell us which "Roman miser" he was referring to, then I would have been able to search that way. Anyway, thanks for your help!

**Posted by tobeornot221b** January 25, 2013 6:17 pm

My Latin - it's been quite a while - but with the help of a German site I found out:

The people hiss at me, but I applaud myself
and at home I view the coins in the box.

Does this make sense to you?

**Posted by Mattlocked** January 25, 2013 6:20 pm

I learned some Latin "a while ago"... But in this case I simply searched for the whole phrase.
One of the results:

"People hiss at me, but I clap for myself at home while I count coins in a chest." (liberally "People boo and hiss at me, but I give myself a round of applause while I'm sitting at home counting my money.")

Original from Horaz, Carmina.

**Posted by crazybbcamerican** January 26, 2013 1:40 pm

Nice. thank you Tobe and Mattlocked. >Pulls out book to write in margins.<

**Posted by Mnemosyne** January 27, 2013 9:43 am

The Latin version of 'crying all the way to the bank then?'

**Posted by Mattlocked** January 27, 2013 9:45 am

Hm, I would say more likely "F*** you, I won a BAFTA!" ;-D

**Posted by Mnemosyne** January 27, 2013 10:16 am

Yes, perfect!