Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-08-06
"DoG LATIN IN THE PROFESSIONS.


Among certain class there is strong
prejudice, to use the mildest term, against
the Latin technicalities of the learned pro-
fessions, especially those of the law and
medicine and of the sciences in general,
There are many standard jokes in use
among this class against the 'dog Latin"
of the one, and the long-winded words or
uninteligible authorizations of the others
which they, in imagination, use with very
effective force on special occasions.
An unfortunate, (either in ignorance or
accident,) druggist makes mistake in
preparing a prescription, and instantly our
croakers begin their TRADE against the GUS
tom of writing prescriptions in latin,
which has been in vogue from the time
when medicine first began to assume the
semblance of a science. They can see no
possibility of error other than the Latinityu
of the prescription. 1t isuseless addressing
any arguments to this class, for however
plainly the advantages of the present sys-
tenn might be placed before them, they
would fail to see them but a few words to
the less prejudiced may not be out of place.
The learned professions and the sciences
are of no one nationality, but belong to all
nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples
They are universal and being universal
they should have a language that is like
wise universal and common to all. There
is no living language at the present day
that is universal, and if there was, living
languages are so constantly changing that
words could not retain that fixity of mean
ing which is so necessary for the eXactness
of scientific nomenclature. Hence the
necessity for a language that is fixed and
unalterable and whose words have the
same meaning in Europe, Asia, America,
and the Islands of the sea. The only Ian
guages that are so unalterable are the so
called dead languages" The rules that
govern them are fixed and interchangeable
and are understood alike by the German,
| Frenchman, Englishman and Spaniard.
For instance when a physician of either of
! the above nationalities sees OLeun1 Ricini,
! he knows exactly what it means, though
to the German it signifies Ricinuol, to the
Frenchman, HUE de ricin, to the Span.
lard, AceytG dc TicinO, and to the English
man, castor oil. This common language
! thus enables medical and scientific men of
all nations to convey their meaning to
each other without the necessity of acquir-
! ing knowledge of the different languages.
! Such means of communication is emf
nently necessary for the furtherance of sci
entifc knowledge, and we can not we'll
afford to clog the wheels of progress
Just to crafty the whins and ca
price of few unreflecting OF
ignorant fault-finders, who are more
ready to see and point out the defects of q
system than to discern any of its virtues
The more nearly we can approach to ex
actness in anything, the more positive anC
certain will be our knowledge, and the
more benfit is there likely to accrue from
it. This eXactness in science can only b,
acquired among the investigators of tn,
different tongues, by having a Language
common to all. The apparent pedantrl
; among professional and scientific men is
necessary outgrowth of the internationa