Deus ex machina is the term Mrs. Kursch translated for a group of sophomores earlier this week. She tells the students that theatrical productions used to feature huge props that would be used to represent gods. Unearthly voices often came from the props. Over the centuries, she said, the meaning of the literary phrase has come to describe a dilemma that is resolved by some outside force. She also spends the hour helping them translate about four paragraphs about a young Roman girl, Cornelia, who's feeling melancholy because she's not in school.
Translation relies on grammar, and the students often are asked for the tenses of many words.
If you know what every word is doing in a Latin sentence, then you know what every word in an English sentence is doing. The teen signed up for four years of Latin. Only two were required. She thinks a knowledge of Latin will help in her career pursuits, and she enjoys studying the language more than she does Greek and German. Beechwood Independent Schools in Kenton County also offers Latin courses.