In a captivating assembly, our pupils seamlessly blended oratory prowess, acting finesse, and powerful expressions to bring ancient Latin texts to life.
“I retold a Latin story of a spider waiting to eat two girls. In the text, it says the spider wounds them but the matron saves the day by killing the spider. The girls are very thankful.
I read the story in Latin, my friends acted it out and Sebby Knowles helped with translating parts of the dialogue so everyone could understand what was happening. It was really good fun.“ Monty Sutton Nelthorpe, Form 4
Form 5 told and acted the rather complicated text about a philosopher visiting King Croesus.
The Philosopher Visiting King Croesus
In the ancient kingdom of Lydia, there lived a king named Croesus who revelled in the abundance of all riches. This king celebrated his wealth and happiness extravagantly. One day, a wise philosopher named Solon came to the royal palace, and King Croesus, full of pride and a display of his riches, warmly welcomed him as his guest.
Solon, showing no signs of admiration or envy, did not respond flatteringly but spoke the truth. "O king," he said, "you should not judge anyone as fortunate too quickly. For a truly happy person is to be judged not before death but afterward."
Croesus was not content with this response and asked, "Why do you say so, O philosopher?"
Solon continued his discourse, "Because, O king, the fortunes and misfortunes of people often change. No one is truly happy unless their virtues have attained eternity. Mortals are often subject to misfortunes and are pressed by various and changing circumstances. Fortune is fickle and changeable. Therefore, neither should you nor anyone else be called happy before you have completed your life and endured the judgment of death."
King Croesus, upon hearing these words, pondered and thought about his wealth and happiness. He sought Solon's counsel repeatedly, and in the end, he realized that the words of the wise Solon were true. Not long after, Croesus lost his kingdom and suffered misfortunes. Then, in his humility and adversity, he acknowledged the truth of the wise Solon.
Hence, the fable teaches us to hold life and happiness humbly, so that true happiness can be attained after death.
Highly commended readers were Julian Sutton Nelthorpe who narrated the final part of the Croesus story in Latin and Xandie Milbank who played the part of King Croesus.
Alexander Mackenzie Ross who read a translation from Ovid on the creation and founding of Rome, and Bruno Porter whose pronunciation, clarity and expression in The Little Girl who Cries Wolf were appreciated by all the judges were the overall winners: magna cum laude!