Vatic

Vatic (pronounced vat-ik)

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a prophet; oracular.

1595–1605: From the Latin vātēs (seer, prophet, poet, bard), the construct being vat + -ic.  Vātēs (the alternative form was vātis) was from the Proto-Italic wātis, from the primitive Indo-European wéhtis (seer), from weht- (to be excited).  The –ic suffix (-ick an obsolete form) is from the Middle English -ik, from the Old French -ique, from the Latin -icus, from the primitive Indo-European -kos, formed with the i-stem suffix and the adjectival suffix –kos.  It was used on noun stems and carried the meaning “characteristic of, like, typical, pertaining to” and on adjectival stems acted emphatically.  In the Ancient Greek the form was -ικός (-ikós), in the Sanskrit it was -इक (-ika) and in the Old Church Slavonic, -ъкъ (-ŭkŭ).  Vatic is an adjective occasionally used as vatical.

Dolores Ibárruri Gómez (1895–1989), known as La Pasionaria (the passionflower) for her anguished oratory, was a communist politician in the Spanish republic which, proclaimed in 1931, prompted the king (Alfonso XIII 1886–1941; King of Spain 1886-1931) to flee with a sizable chunk of the state exchequer.  It was a curious choice of moniker because the passionflower (Passiflora, a genus of over five-hundred species of the family Passifloraceae) had long been used as a calmative, a folk remedy for anxiety, insomnia and stress, all conditions hardly likely to be ameliorated by listening to Señora Ibárruri’s polemics.

By 1936, tensions between the leftist republic and the conservative factions of the old monarchial state were hinting at war and a fascist politician, José Calvo Sotelo (1893-1936; First Duke of Calvo Sotelo), threatened the new government with a military takeover.  At this arose the black-garbed figure of La Pasionaria who, pointing her finger at Sotelo, intoned: “Ese fue tu ultimo discurso” (That was your last speech).  It proved a vatic utterance; within days Republican assault guards dragged Sotelo from his house and shot him dead, dumping the corpse at Madrid’s East Cemetery.  This was the point at which General Franco (Generalissimo Francisco Franco (1892–1975; Caudillo of Spain 1939-1975)) concluded the government could no longer govern; the Spanish Civil War became inevitable.

Although La Pasionaria would always deny having said the words, they passed into the myths and legends of the conflict and, given it was about the bloodiest thing imaginable, of those there were plenty.  What she never disowned was another phrase, “No pasarán” (They shall not pass), one she used, with some variations, on several occasions, most famously in 1936 during the Battle for Madrid in a speech which concluded “Long live the Popular Front! Long live the union of all anti-fascists! Long live the Republic of the people! The Fascists shall not pass! THEY SHALL NOT PASS!”  This time her words proved not vatical, General Franco, upon the fall of Madrid in 1939 proclaiming "Hemos pasado" (We have passed).

It was a phrase with history, best remembered from the World War One Battle of Verdun when it was used by French General Robert Nivelle (1856-1924) and was soon adopted by other units of the French army, appearing in propaganda material after the Second Battle of the Marne (July-August 1918).  As late as 1940, it was an inscription on some uniforms worn by soldiers manning the Maginot Line but on that occasion, vatic though it was, the sense was soon ironic; the Germans didn’t pass the Maginot Line, by-passing it instead.

La Pasionaria had a feeling for a phrase.  Although on the other side, there were plenty of twentieth-century fascists who gleefully would have embraced (if not adopted) some of her epithets.  Such similarities between communists and fascists were noted by  Winston Churchill (1874-1965; UK prime-minister 1940-1945 & 1951-1955) and Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893–1946; Nazi foreign minister 1938-1945), for different reasons, both fair judges of such things.

Tea-towel available from the Radical Tea-Towel Company (a juxtaposition of words which can't often have been contemplated) at US$22.00, 19 x 27 inches (480 x 700mm), heavyweight, unbleached organic cotton with a hanging loop. Designed in Wales and ethically printed, cut and sewn in England.  The famous battle cry "No pasarán!" was taken up by British anti-fascists during the October 1936 Battle of Cable Street.   The Radical Tea Towel Company also offers Battle of Cable St and Spanish Civil War tea towels.

Statue of La Pasionaria, River Clyde, Glasgow. Scotland.