As we Learn various Latin phrases, it is interesting to see more and more vocabulary words, and understand further where our English language has come from. Not all English words are derived from Latin or French, but many are! English is considered a Germanic language, and so there are many parts of our speech that belong to that language group, but there are other parts that belong to French/Latin. This appears to be the result of how England was ruled and conquered over the ages.
Interesting to note, I have heard that there is a group of people there that strive to only use the original English or Germanic roots of English, instead of combining in the Latin influenced words. Many of the shorter words we speak are the originals. And many of the multi-syllable words have come down to us via Greek and Latin.
In any case, today's phrase also comes from the book Amo, Amas, Amat and More, and deserves some explanation:
ab asino lanam
ahb AH-sih-noh LAH-nahm
blood from a stone
Importantly to note, the definition "blood from a stone" is not the literal translation. The author, Ehrlich, gives this explanation: 'Anyone who tries to achieve the impossible is doomed to failure. Thus, an attempt to get ab asino lanam, literally "wool from an ass," will inevitable fail.'
So this phrase is more a euphemism that to tell someone that they are attempting the impossible. We all know that wool does not come from a donkey, so why would you bother trying? So the author gives this the definition of "blood from a stone," because blood only resides within a living organism, not within a non-organic substance (unless if you were to wash out a red rock, maybe?).
You know, I don't think that this phrase should be something that gets you down. Sometimes our ideas can be impossible ones. But often times, our ideas and dreams aren't impossible. They are just out of reach until we obtain more knowledge, more training, more understanding. Our path in life is not a jump from here to there, but rather a journey.
Til next time, be strong!
Jonny