Salve! A very brief question. In the Vulgate, Genesis 22:4 has the phrase "elevatis oculis", which in the Douay-Rheims is translated as "lifting up his eyes". (drbo.org/chapter/01022.htm) The English phrase makes a lot of sense, but I just don't get the Latin one. According to wiktionary, elevatis is the second person plural in present tense. So the expression seems to be something like "lift your eyes", but that doesn't make sense!

What is the correct understanding of the verbal tense? Let me know if you prefer I ask a question about it. :)

@luchonacho I prefer seeing that asked as a question at the site. And I have an answer waiting for it. :)

@luchonacho As Joonas says, it would be a nice question on the site!

But it probably isn't a plural present in your example, but rather a past participle, from elevatus "lifted".

The construction looks like an ablative absolute.

But ask it!

@Cerberus It is, and I wrote up an answer to the question. I'm just waiting for the question to be posted.

Haha.

I'll wait with you.

How are things in Eng/Finland?

You're dressed in just the right colour for today.

It's King's Day here.

The biggest holiday of the year.

The city is swarming with people dressed in orange to honour the House of Orange.

Awful louts and bumpkins, but still.

Even the ambulance and the police were stuck in the crowds.

And the coming day will be much worse still...

@Cerberus Do you refer to the orange square thingy that is my avatar? I happen to wear orange clothes occasionally in real life, too, but that is coincidental.

Yes.

That is, I can't see the actual clothes you're wearing.

@Cerberus I'm still in England. It's busy, but that's for the best. I'm making some progress, but it never feels sufficient, no matter what. There should be a couple of nice articles coming out this year.

@Cerberus True. I wonder whether any of that orange clothing has made it to pictures online. Probably not.

Hmm do you experience lots of pressure?

Publish or perish?

@JoonasIlmavirta Now would be the right day to publish them!

@Cerberus I exert pressure on myself, mostly. There are very few hard deadlines, but it would be good if things moved forward.

You happen to be in this picture?

@JoonasIlmavirta Hmm.

I don't recall being in an orange crowd like that.

What's the famous expression again about mediocrity?

Whether I publish or not has almost no effect on my current position. The effect is on whether I get a next position.

Right.

So pressure...

@Cerberus Yes, but it's very implicit. Or structural, one might say.

I understand.

The Anglo-Saxon model.

I should hear back quite soon about a job application. It's hard to tell how good a chance I have. More publications would have made me a stronger applicant, but I might still be good enough...

@Cerberus Would this be an OK question for the site?

@Cerberus Hmm... I don't think I know what you mean.

@JoonasIlmavirta Hmm where have you applied?

@JoonasIlmavirta It's a famous expression in Latin.

@Cerberus If you think you've seen a famous Latin quote about mediocrity, that'd make a good question.

About the middle road, moderation, something like that.

But I find it hard to describe the expression.

It goes something like "everything in moderation".

@Cerberus It was a position in Finland. I expect to get a decision within about a month. I think I'll be happier to give more details after the decision, whether I get in or not.

Maybe it was mêden agan.

But I thought there was a Latin expression.

But I'm not even sure any more.

@JoonasIlmavirta I understand.

Is the waiting frustrating?

@Cerberus It is.

OK.

I'll pray to Athena.

Perhaps I shouldn't be frustrated since I can't do anything about it, but continuation of employment tends to be a big deal mentally.

@Cerberus Thanks! Can you sacrifice a white goat, too?

I'll do a hecatomb, will that be OK?

Hmm but if you should not get this position, you can get another, can't you?

@Cerberus I hope so, but there is a chance that Athena doesn't have a seat in it he hiring committee.

@Cerberus Yes, but not all positions are created equal. Similar positions in the same university might not come available every decade.

@Cerberus I just posted an answer to the meta question about answering in comments. Would it make sense to feature it to keep the discussion visible?

@JoonasIlmavirta Minerva, then.

@JoonasIlmavirta I understand it can be frustrating.

But in the end everything will turn out OK!

@Cerberus Oh yes, life will find its path.

@JoonasIlmavirta Maybe, but how many Meta-questions are there anyway...

@JoonasIlmavirta Somehow, that sounds very Finnish! Or very Antique.

@Cerberus That's actually the point. We don't get a new meta question every month (!), so people are unlikely to follow meta. Feature makes it visible on main so people might actually take a look at it.

@Cerberus But I should add that some paths look more lucrative than others...

@JoonasIlmavirta OK do it.

@JoonasIlmavirta Is this about money? I don't think Antique philosophers would approve...

@Cerberus Not really. When it comes to money, my primary concern is continuity of income, not amount. I was referring to content and circumstances of work, not reward.

Ah, OK.

Yeah, it really sucks what European universities have stooped to.

Even in the exact sciences.

It seems that the elevatis oculis question is not coming today. Hopefully tomorrow!

Videbimus!

Ita, sed nunc lavandum dormiendumque est.

Vale!

Utinam ne vexeris!

Vale et tu!