There is a particular word puzzle that has come down to us from Roman times. It first appears in the ruins of Pompeii, but it is also found in far-flung corners of the Roman Empire:
S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S
The puzzle is a palindrome that reads the same left-right and up-down.
The words are in Latin (although scholars aren’t entirely sure what to do with “arepo”). One possible translation is, “The sower in his field controls the workings of his tools.” Actually, however, there have been no shortages of possible interpretations. Some (most?) believe it is a cryptic Christian message. John T. Cullen thinks he’s found the solution: “God Holds the Plough, But You Turn the Furrows.” Cullen believes the saying is a bit of folk wisdom from the early agrarian culture of the Tiber valley. A farmer I know in Terre Haute, Indiana, has a little saying on display in his den: “Pray for a good harvest but keep plowing.” The English and Latin aphorisms convey somewhat the same meaning.
Although not Christian in origin, Cullen shows how this saying communicates a philosophical message about human free will that fits easily within the scope of Christian theology.
Is he right? Who knows? It is an interesting hypothesis, nonetheless.
(H/T: Mike Aquilina)
