Mel,
in response to your query, that I just read (so if anyone has already
done it, apologies) the greek saying is
nous ygeiis en somati ygeiee (as close phonetically as possible!!)
and it translates
mind in health in a healthy body
it was inscribed at the gymnasia in Ancient Athens and, if my memory
serves me right, it was advocated by all philosophers as the best
strategy to have a healthy thought process.
Now that coming from someone on 60-a-day!
By the way, am I the only greek here?
Regards,
Panos
<< this is just a comment regarding the whole Greek adage that has
been under
debate of recent days. The actual Greek quote is "Amino sana in
corpore
sano" and translates directly to "A healthy body, a healthy mind." >>
***The above quotation is Latin, not Greek, except that amino is not a
Latin word. We still await someone who is able to locate the original
Greek form that inspired the Latin form, "Mens sana in corpore sano".
In one of my earlier posts I gave the Roman author of that idiom and
asked if anyone knew of any earlier Greeks who may have coined
something like that phrase.
Judging from the origin of English words like "noumenon" (as opposed
to "phenomenon"), one of the Greek words for "mind" is "nous".
Checking through a Greek dictionary also offers the word "gnomi".
Similarly, the English terms "somatic" and somatosensory" are derived
from the Greek, "soma", meaning "body", while a Greek dictionary also
offers "somateio", "maza" and "omado".
"Healthy"and "hygiene" both come from the Greek word "ygieinos".
I would not even vaguely attempt an amateurish translation of what the
original Greek must have been. The words on their own suffice to show
that "mens sana in corpore sano" definitely contains no Greek roots.
Are there no Greek physios on this list or physios who know some Greek
professors at their universities to help us out? Melbourne in
Australia is reputed to have the second largest Greek speaking
community in the world and there are quite a few physios down there,
so maybe an Aussie Greek may be able to help. I have a few Greek
friends here and many back in South Africa, so I am also going to
approach them for their assistance.
If somebody doesn't solve this puzzle soon, some of us are going to
start displaying some early signs of "mens insana in corpore sano" !
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
[log in to unmask]
P. Barlas, BSc(Hons) PDD, DPhil, MCSP, SRP, Lic.Ac
Lecturer,
Physiotherapy Subject Group,
Coventry University,
Priory Street,
Coventry, CV1 5FB
Tel: 024-76-888980
Fax: 024-76-888020
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