The better part of 2012 has witnessed a great tempering of my intellectual faculties. I feel more alert, confident, humble. Acute. I feel more in-tune with myself, aware of strengths and weaknesses. And I have the growing mental musculature to overcome many self-imposed obstacles and will myself to action - which is key. This maturity has been brought about not only by aging or an increase in domestic and ecclesiastical responsibility. Prior to the better part of 2012, I was still the same age and possessed the same amount of responsibility. I even graduated with honors, having successfully pulled my GPA up from the pits where I had left it years ago. All of these are but minor influences to my intellectual tempering. The true fire continues to come from my studies of Latin and spending some of my leisure time playing FromSoftware's 2011 title Dark Souls on PS3.
Do not furrow your brow. Perhaps one might have a knee-jerk reaction to the claim that a video game possess a tempering quality, to claim that a video game has been more of an impact than a college course. And this reaction is perfectly valid because many popular console 3rd person Role-Playing Games do deserve a furrowed brow. Despite the fantastic technical strides that developers have reached, gameplay has suffered. But developer FromSoftware created an exception with Dark Souls. This game is intricate, foreboding and purposefully constructed. It shares these qualities, and many others, with the gnarly, enduring linguistic system of Latin. Undertaking Dark Souls and Latin at the same time yields remarkable results.
As a primer, pop this sucker into full-screen. Give it due attention.
Ne timeam; cum arte sapientiaque superbo
I first watched this video when I was well into my first playthrough of Dark Souls, and I have watched it many times since. And every time - every.single.time - I watch with wonder and pride. The trailer is true to the game's immensity. Although its focus is Dark Souls the same sensations felt can also be applied to the study of Latin.
Similar to the general misplacement of Dark Souls, sharing my desire to learn Latin has witnessed many furrowed brows. "Who the hell speaks Latin anymore? It's a dead language." This post will not be the place for my in-depth reaction. But allow me - a blooming intermediate Latin student - to posit: Latin is not the official or national language spoken within any current geopolitical border, yes, but its prestige remains; its history is rich and vast. It is a fascinating and frightening linguistic jigsaw puzzle, and I have reaped only benefits from its study. One of which includes the realization that I am far more analytical than previously thought. It has given me a stronger command of my own natural language. Latin has altered the way that I see the world as I do not just read but cannot help but try to parse sentences, break them down to their grammatical components and intents. And in doing so I am more aware of the bedeviling nature of language. Indeed, I have glared down the rabbit hole after asking 'What is language?' and felt more than I saw, and saw more than I can say. These are not the effects of a dead language.
Dark Souls has also unjustly earned an antagonistic reaction, even from players who separated the game from the ever-growing blob of mediocre RPGs. Many feel that the game is too difficult, unfair - a pathos that may spook off interested players. But the perception here, as with Latin, is shallow and misaligned. Believe the hype that surrounds the game, but do not be mislead by those who have failed. Dark Souls is not notoriously, unmercifully difficult; it is demanding. Many players will not meet the game’s high level of expectation - and they fail, blaming everything and everyone but themselves. As for myself, the average gamer fairly inexperienced with HD 3rd person RPG: I started in April 2012, flabby and proud (ignorant); I came out chiseled and humbled. It is a transformation that is earned, and treasured with reverence. Advancement in Dark Souls requires grit, patience and forward-thinking. Until Dark Souls I gamed, and lived, far too passively.
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| tuus ferrum in ventrem mollem timoris treudete! |
Undertaking Latin and the gameplay of Dark Souls are behemoth situations in which I was suddenly thrust without a clue or a lifeline. Overtime, I began to see how their mechanics phased in and out of one another. Just as in the paragraphs above, certain adjectives, certain concepts, may be directly addressing one but can surely be applied to the other. Indeed, these are universal attributes that lend themselves to intense intellectual tempering. And so begins a series of posts about the parallel forges of Latin and Dark Souls, and how they are contributing to my transition into this stupidasscrap called adulthood.
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