https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/dicta-aurea-apophthegma-aphorism-axiom<\/a><\/p>\n\n\tMacrobius <\/em>tells us this “facetia<\/em>” referred to Augustus <\/em>in his book Saturnalia, II 4 19-20<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tNormally, in the case of Augustus, I admire more the jokes he endured than those he made, because greater ring of glory is patience than eloquence, especially whenever he put up with serenity sarcasm that went beyond simple joke. A sharp spike by a provincial gained some notoriety. When the man came to Rome, the eyes of whole world were turned to him because he was the image of Caesar. Augustus ordered that he is brought to him and after seeing him asked: "Tell me, young man, was ever your mother in Rome?". The young Said no, and without restraint, he added: "But my father many times."<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tSoleo in Augusto magis mirari quos pertulit iocos quam ipse quos protulit, qui maior est patientiae quam facundiae laus, maxime cum aequanimiter aliqua etiam iocis mordaciora pertulerit. Cuiusdam provincialis iocus asper innotuit. Intraverat Romam simillimus Caesari et in se omnium ora converterat. Augustus perduci ad se hominem iussit, visumque hoc modo interrogavit: Dic mihi, adolescens, fuit aliquando mater tua Romae? Negavit ille, nec contentus adiecit: Sed pater meus saepe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tBut this joke already told it before the historian s. I B.C. Valerius Maximus<\/em> in his Memorable Deeds and Sayings, IX 14.3:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tThe man, however, everyone in Sicily was agreed that he was very similar to the governor of the province, was cheeky and insolent. Indeed, as the governor said he was amazed that this man could resemble him so closely, because his father had never been in Sicily, he replied, "But my father went to Rome." With this joke he avenged outraged chastity of his mother throwing in turn suspicion on the governor’s mother instead with more audacity than was suitable for someone who is subject to the rods and axes.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\t Ille uero, quem in Sicilia prouinciae <rect>oris admodum similem fuisse constat, petulantis animi: pro consule enim dicente mirari se quapropter sui tam similis esset, cum pater suus in eam prouinciam numquam accessisset, "at meus" inquit "Romam accessit:" ioco namque lacessitam matris suae pudicitiam inuicem suspicione in matrem eius reiecta audacius quam uirgis et securibus subiecto conueniebat ultus est.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tSo we have to assume that the story ran in antiquity, perhaps from the Orient<\/em>. It was repeated again and again in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance following the release of Macrobius, and even after, coming to us and without any difficulty crossing the Atlantic, as we have seen.<\/p>\n\n\tJohn of Salisbury<\/em> picks the story from Macrobius <\/em>in the twelfth century in his Policraticus<\/em>. Petrarch <\/em>also includes the two versions (one of the Valerius Maximus and another one of Macrobius) in his Rerum memorandarum libri III ( Books of things to be remembered), Lib. III, 3, 2<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tAbout the sharpness or witticisms. (Examples) from outside (of Rome)
\n\tA certain young
\n\tA certain foreigner young came to Rome and he was so similar in body shape to Augustus than everyone was surprised; when Augustus heard about it, watching the young man whom he had called and recognizing his image in their face, made him the following question:
\n\t"Young man, your mother has not ever been in Rome?
\n\tThe young man realized what was intended and said: "My mother never, but my father many times. He rejected the sent suspicion with his wit and motivated a new one. This story is told in the "Saturnalia". But Valerius Maximus tells it not about Augustus but about an anonymous praetor and not about the mother, but about the two parents, and further says he was asked and answered not in Rome but in Sicily, where a Roman magistrate asked a person of that province, very similar in body shape, telling him he was amazed, from where it came much resemblance when his father had never been in Sicily. But the young man answered, my father went to Rome many times. What is the truest and most faithful version? What faith, as they say, is in the hands of each author!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tDe dicacitate sive facetiis, Externi
\n\tQuidam iuvenis
\n\tIuvenis alienígena Romam venit, forma corporis tam similis Augusto, ut omnem populum spectaculi admiratione suspenderet: Augustus re audita, ad se iuvenem evocatum cernens, effigiemque suam in illius facie recognoscens, in hanc sententiam interrogavit: Fuit ne unquam o adoescens mater tua Romae?. Sensit ille quo pergeret. Et minime (inquit) mater, at pater meus saepe. Facete et illatam suspitionem repulit, et novam peperit: et haec quidem historia sic in Saturnalibus tradita est. Valerius autem Maximus: non Augusti, sed innominati praetoris,neque matris, sed duorum patrum mentionem facit, praeterea non Romae, sed in Sicilia interrogatum, responsumve commemorat. Percunctante enim magistratu Romano quendam eius provinciae, sibi forma corporis simillimum, et mirari se dicente, unde haec tanta similitudo cum pater suus numquam in Sicilia fuisset. At ille respondit: Pater meus saepe Romam venit, quaenam sane verior, fideliorque narratio , fides (ut aiunt) apud autores maneat.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tIn the fifteenth century the Mensa Philosophica<\/em> collects it. Mensa Philosophica is an anonymous work first published in 1470, which was a bestseller. The fourth book<\/em> is an anthology of 241 short facetiae<\/em> offered as a conversation piece for the banquet. It is a mixture of old jokes and exempla <\/em>(examples). The same compiler recognizes the debt to Macrobius <\/em>and states that the joke is necessary for relaxation of mind and that good jokes are needed for the table as well as good wine. In section 5<\/em>, about the emperors, it is contained the story that we are considering:<\/p>\n\n\tA certain man, very like Augustus Caesar in appearance, came to Rome. When Augustus saw the young man, he asked him:”Was your mother ever in Rome?”. “No,” replied the young man, “but my father was, frequently.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tIntravit quídam Romam simillimus Cesari quem cum vidisset quaesivit a iuvene. Fuit ne mater tua quandoque Romae. Cui adolescens ille.Non sed pater frequenter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tJohannes Pauli<\/em> also collects it from Macrobius <\/em>in his collection of anecdotes called in German "Schimpf (Scherz) und Ernst" (Jokes and seriousness)<\/em> in the early sixteenth.<\/p>\n\n\tOf course Erasmus of Rotterdam<\/em> includes it, without acknowledging any source, in its Apophthegmata<\/em> (IV Augusto, 33):<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tAs Augustus enjoyed joking with friendly banter at the expense of other, equally he endured with great patience that they were launched against him or they were returned, and sometimes they were very heavy. A young man from province had come to Rome , with as such wonderfully face as similar to Augustus, than he attracted to itself the eyes of all the people. Hearing this, Caesar ordered bring to his presence, and after contemplating him, he asked so: “Tell me, young man, was your mother ever in Rome"; he replied no, and realizing the joke, he returned the joke adding, "But my father many times." Augustus joking projected some suspicion to the boy's mother, suggesting she had been dishonored by him; but the young diverted swiftly the suspicion to Caesar's mother, or to her sister. Well the similarity tasted that he was the son of Caesar, as it was his brother or nephew.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tQuemadmodum Augustus gaudebat iocis liberalibus in alios ludere, ita in se iactos aut retortos interdum liberius, patientissime tulit. Adolescens quídam provincialis Romam venerat,oris similitudine tam mirifice referens Augustum, ut in se populi totius oculos converteret. Caesar hoc audito iussit ad se perduci, eumque contemplatus, hunc in modum percontatus est; Dic mihi, adolescens, fuit ne aliquando mater tua Romae? Negavit ille, ac sentiens iocum retorsit, adiiciens; sed patermeus saepe. Augustus ludens suspicionem intendebat in matrem adolescentis, velut ab ipso stupratam: at adolescens protinus eam suspicionem retorsit in matrem Caesaris, aut in sororem. Nam oris similitude non magis arguebat, illum esse Caesaris filium quam fratrem aut nepotem<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tIn Spanish there are several authors of the time they collect it, such as humanistic and chronicler of Carlos V, Pedro Mexia<\/em> (1497-15519) in your “Silva de varia lección<\/em>” (A Miscellany of Several Lessons<\/em>) (1540), Part 1, Chapter XLI<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\tIt also happened to Octavian Caesar another funny thing with a young man who came to Rome in the time that he reigned in it. It was this: that he came to Rome a young man who looked so much the same Octavian in the gesture, than he was regarded with wonder by all; and being advised of this Octavian, then he had him brought before it, and it was noted and certified more big similarity between them. The emperor, as he was of sweet conversation and prided by to say sometimes sharp and funny things, seeing that everyone said he looked much, told the young man, "Tell me, brother, your mother came ever to Rome"; the boy understood the malice and answered, "My mother, sir, never came to Rome; but my father came many times," applying to him it by what he had been touched.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\t“También le pasó a Octaviano César otra graciosa cosa con un mancebo que vino a Roma en el tiempo en que él imperaba en ella. Fue ésta: que vino a Roma un mancebo que parecía tanto al mismo Octaviano en el gesto, que a maravilla era mirado por todos; y siendo avisado de esto Octaviano, luego lo hizo traer ante sí, donde se notó y certificó más la grande similitud que había entre ellos. El emperador, como era de dulce conversación y se preciaba de decir algunas veces cosas agudas y graciosas, viendo que todos decían que le parecía mucho, le dijo al mancebo: “Dime, hermano, ¿vino tu madre alguna vez a Roma?” El mozo entendió la malicia y respondióle: “Mi madre, señor, nunca vino a Roma; pero mi padre vino muchas veces”, motejándole a él de lo que él había sido tocado”.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\tTimoneda <\/em>also collects it with some slight variation in Sobremesa (After dinner), Part 2, tale XLII<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\tA king was who advised about that a young man of same stature and age seemed greatly to him. Wishing the King to see if it was so, ordered to call him , and knowing to be true, he asked, "Tell me, young man: do you remember if your mother for some time was in this my home?" He replied, "Sir, my mother never; but my father was.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tFue avisado un rey que un mancebo de su mesma estatura y edad le parescía en grandíssima manera. Deseoso el Rey de ver si era así, mandóle llamar, y conociendo ser verdad, preguntóle: “Dime, mancebo: ¿acuérdaste si por dicha tu madre por algún tiempo estuvo en esta mi casa?” Respondió: “Señor, mi madre no; pero mi padre sí<\/em>”.<\/p>\n\n\tThe story, anecdote or joke is, of course in the collections of classic tales and jokes of any other country. So in Nouvelles récréations et joyeux devis Récréations de Bonaventure des Périers <\/em>(circa 1510-circa 1544); in Dreihundert gemeyner Sprichwörter<\/em> (sayings) of Johan Agricola<\/em>. Ludovico Domenichi<\/em> in his Universal History<\/em>, applies it to Pope Boniface VIII<\/em> and a pilgrim.<\/p>\n\n\tSo the joke has been repeated throughout the centuries from the first twenty, as does, for example Freud, who remembers him in his Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious<\/em>, who in the English version of James Strachev, New York, 1963 , p. 68-69 says:<\/p>\n\n\tThe joke can be found in every century from the fourteenth to the twentieth an is in Freud’s Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious (ch.2). The wittiest rendition are the tersest, like this one which leaves the reader to work out the point.
\n\t“Serenissimus” is touring the provinces. Seeing in the crowd a man who bears a close resemblance to himself, he inquires, “Was your mother at one time in service at the palace?” “No, your Highness”, was the reply, “but my father was”.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tNote<\/em>: "serenissimus<\/em>" is a conventional name for the actual characters in the stories in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\tEven the story was also known in Arabic <\/em>or Persian <\/em>Oriental literature; we can ask by it if the origin is not precisely in the East. The reference is in the very similar story that Jonathan Scott <\/em>gives us p. 300 of his "Tales, anecdotes and letters translated from the Arabis and Persian<\/em>", published in 1800 in London.<\/p>\n\n\tTHE FOLLOWING ANECDOTES ARE TRANSLATED FROM A MANUSCRIPT INTITLED UZZULLEAUT UBBEED ZAKKAUNEE, MENTIONED IN THE ADVERTISEMENT
\n\tA CERTAIN sultaun hearing that a man of wit was reckoned in person very like himself, was curious to see him, and sent for him to court. Upon his introduction, he said, “I remernber your mother well. She was a handsome woman, and used to attend the harams of the sultaun and
\n\tnobility with rich goods and jewellery, as a dullalla, reaping much profit from her honourable calling." The wit, understanding the sultaun's allusion, replied, " Not so; my mother was a secluded woman, who never left her house, and knew nothing of trade; but my father was an eminent designer, who was frequently called to the gardens of the royal and noble harams, to lay out, sow flowers, and plant trees." The sultaun admired his wit, and made him one of his intimate courtiers.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\tNota<\/em>: dullalla = a brokerefs<\/p>\n\n\tIn short, it is a joke with remarkable temporal and geographical success. What my friend, whose account has resulted in this article, did not say to me is if the Venezuelan landowner response the worker with the same sportsmanship that Emperor Augustus was taken.
\n\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Few days ago, in a coffe talk or beer talk, about an informal conversation about the physical resemblance between some people, a good friend, who has lived many years in Latin America, told a joke located in Venezuela:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-habits","category-language-literature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquitatem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}