Personal Letter from Warren Buffett

[wachtwoord]

What does "Ted, no ideas re Twin Cities, but good luck!" mean? re Twin Cities? 

[Kraven]

What does "Ted, no ideas re Twin Cities, but good luck!" mean? re Twin Cities? 

The Twin Cities is the nickname for Minneapolis-St. Paul in Minnesota. They are essentially two large cities that have grown into each other over time. So the OP asked about opportunities in the Minneapolis area and Buffett used the nickname in reply to refer to the entire area.

[wachtwoord]

Thanks, but what is "re" did he mean "in"? I couldn't really decipher the meaning.

[ajc]

Thanks, but what is "re" did he mean "in"? I couldn't really decipher the meaning.

It's Latin. Basically, it can be interpreted as meaning 'with regards to/concerning'.

(Seems like you can't spend 3 years studying a dead language without picking up at least one minor scrap of useful information.)

[wachtwoord]

Thanks, but what is "re" did he mean "in"? I couldn't really decipher the meaning.

It's Latin. Basically, it can be interpreted as meaning 'with regards to/concerning'.

(Seems like you can't spend 3 years studying a dead language without picking up at least one minor scrap of useful information.)

Ah thanks, I took Latin for two years in high school but never picked that up.

Sorry for derailing the thread but I was really curious

[tede02]

Kraven and ajc are both exactly correct!     Sorry for not being more specific.   

[cobafdek]

"Sorry for derailing the thread but I was really curious "

(Since I started the thread, perhaps I have a right to derail it further!)  Two appearances of Latin in this thread!  Ben Graham would be pleased. 

Anyone know this one?:  Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum tendimus.

Someone quickly get this thread back on track.  I love hearing more of these Buffett autograph-hound stories!

[LC]

Through various hazards, through many difficulties we move

Another one, my favorite:

Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam fato profugus Lavinaque venit
Litora...

(Disclaimer: huge Virgil nerd...did anyone else translate the Aeneid in school?)

[Andy Dufresne]

Thanks, but what is "re" did he mean "in"? I couldn't really decipher the meaning.

wachtwoord - "re" is a preposition essentially meaning "about" or "with respect to" of course (here comes the nerdy part) its etymology is derived from the ablative singular of the Latin "res" meaning "thing" or "matter" from which we also get the word republic

LC - you'll surely find this one familiar ... Multa renascentur quae iam cecidere, cadentque quae nunc sunt in honore vocabula

[cobafdek]

Through various hazards, through many difficulties we move

Another one, my favorite:

Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam fato profugus Lavinaque venit
Litora...

(Disclaimer: huge Virgil nerd...did anyone else translate the Aeneid in school?)

As I said, Ben Graham would be glad to know of the Latin nerds on this message board.  But my quotation quiz is a bit of a trick question.

It's the epigraph Graham used prefacing The Intelligent Investor, although he used an English translation.   From my 4th edition 1973 (i.e., pre-Zweig) hardback. 

I don't know if it was in the 1949 1st edition.  Perhaps someone knows whether he was translating Greek and Latin at that stage in his career.