Johnny Ringo
vs.
Doc Holliday

Listen to two of Hollywood's best as they spar in the language of the Romans. Two of the most feared men of the old west try to instill fear in each other in this scene from George Cosmatos' Tombstone. Ringo and Holliday once had another duel, in the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone. They were both heavily under the influence at the time (many of the Bird Cage's customers were in such a state) and they simultaneously drew and fired. Both gunshots missed badly, leaving their mark only on the walls of what is now a historic landmark.
The translation is provided by Donald H. Mills of Syracuse University and Keyne Cheshire of UNC. In the following page, Doc Holliday's lines are in white, and Johnny Ringo's are in gray.


The Duel

In vino veritas.

Age quod agis.
Credat Judaeus Apella, non ego.
Iuventus stultorum magister.
In pace requiescat.


The Translation

In wine there is truth.

Do what you do.
Let Apella the Jew believe, not I. Horace's Satires, book 1, satire 5, lines 100-101
Youth is the teacher of fools.
May he rest in peace. Poe's The Cask of Amontillado

The Duel in .wav format (481 K)


Big thanks to Keyne Cheshire, for pointing out the error in the original translation, and providing the following explanation for doc's second line:
The context in Horace: Horace is traveling through Italy. He sees some religiously related divine flame at a shrine. He does not believe in the miracle, so he says those words....

Keyne is a very keen Tombstone fan - send him and email if you'd like to discuss any of the duel, as his interpretation of it is quite impressive.

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