Quo vadis?

Quō vādis? (Classical Latin: [kʷoː ˈwaːdɪs], Ecclesiastical Latin: [kwo ˈvadis]) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?".

This article is about the Latin phrase. For other uses, see Quo Vadis (disambiguation).
Domine quo vadis? (1602) by Annibale Carracci
Part of a series on
Saint Peter
In the New Testament
Other

It also may refer to a Christian tradition regarding Saint Peter. According to the apocryphal Acts of Peter (Vercelli Acts XXXV),[1] Peter flees from crucifixion in Rome at the hands of the government, and along the road outside the city, he meets the risen Jesus. In the Latin translation, Peter asks Jesus, "Quō vādis?" He replies, "Rōmam eō iterum crucifīgī" ("I am going to Rome to be crucified again"). Peter then gains the courage to continue his ministry and returns to the city, where he is martyred by being crucified upside-down.[2] The Church of Domine Quo Vadis in Rome is built where the meeting between Peter and Jesus allegedly took place. The words "quo vadis" as a question also occur at least seven times in the Latin Vulgate.[3]

In culture

The Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote the novel Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero (1895-96), which in turn has been made into motion pictures several times, including a 1951 version that was nominated for eight Academy Awards.[4] For this and other novels, Sienkiewicz received the 1905 Nobel Prize for Literature.

In a season four episode of M*A*S*H entitled "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?" the reference pertains to Jesus Christ. A shellshocked officer arrives at the Hospital believing he is the Christ. He has numerous conversations with the characters, including Father Mulcahy. He ultimately leaves the MASH unit for an evacuation hospital, still unrecovered.

References
  1. The Acts of Peter, by M. R. James
  2. "saint-peter-on-the-appian-way". www.nationalgallery.org.uk.
  3. Gen 16:8, 32:17; Iud 19:17; Iudith 10:11; Io 13:36, 14:5, 16:5; also, Ionas 1:8 Zacharias 2:2.
  4. "Academy Awards Database - AMPAS". awardsdatabase.oscars.org. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  • The dictionary definition of quo vadis at Wiktionary
  • Media related to Quo vadis at Wikimedia Commons
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.