February 14, 2003
-
Toy Soldiers
From a website biography of John von Neumann:
It is noteworthy that he was uninhibited by ethical considerations in weaponry. I was surprised, therefore, when he died a Roman Catholic. To be sure, his first wife had been Catholic. I presume that he was a nominal one in those early days of his marriage. In his last illness, he asked for a clergyman, but he surprised them by insisting upon a Roman Catholic priest. A Benedictine was succeeded by a Jesuit for instruction. The attending Air Force chaplain told me that Johnny could quote the Penitential Psalms in Latin.
— “Von Neumann, Jewish Catholic,” by Raymond J. Seeger, in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 40 (December 1988): 234-236.
The sixth of the Seven Penitential Psalms is Psalm 129, “De Profundis.”
From the film “The Sixth Sense“:
CUT TO:
INT. CHURCH – DAY
Only a few people sit and pray in the sea of oak pews. Malcolm scans the majestic room and finds what he’s looking for in the last row of the church. He moves down the center aisle towards the back.
Malcolm finds Cole playing in his pew with a set of green and beige plastic soldiers. Cole makes the soldiers talk to each other.
….
MALCOLM
What was that you were saying before with your soldiers?
Day pro fun.
COLE
…De profundis clamo ad te domine.
Malcolm stares surprised.
COLE
It’s called Latin. It’s a language.
Malcolm nods at the information.
MALCOLM
All your soldiers speak Latin?
COLE
No, just one.
