Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-01-07
A SQUABBLE IN LATIN.
Odd Dispute Born of the kaisers
Message TO the President.

odd Dispute Born of the Kafser's
Message to the President.
One Of the sad, sad thinge in this
beautiful world is the way scholars
Latin scholars-fght with one another.
Latin, as everybody knows, is dead
language. Not subject to the mouth
ings of The vulgar, classic Latin has re-
manned unaltered and unchanged Tor
thousands Of years. Thus, If Span
lard knows his Cicero, his Horace ana
his Virgil, but not Danish, he can make
himself ineligible TO the Dane VINO
knows no Spanish, but does know MS
Virgil, Horace and Cicero. Laun is
therefore used as the medium in when
to write abstruse scientific works. be
ing in Latin, they are intelhgloie 10
the men of science of the whole world
Being in Latin, they are not subject 10
tbe fluctuations In the meanings OF
words to which all spoken languages
are subject Such is the pretty theory
Rut in practice the case stands diner
emily. In practice no two Latlnists are
ever able to agree on single Latih
sentence. Let scholar crawl palniui-
w I'M n shaky ladder to inScribe on the
facade of q public building Latin
motto and all his scholastic brethren
begin N hurl at him hard rocks of crit
icism and vegetables of contempt lou
can bet on it. 1t never fails. Ana the
ksisers message to the president is
fine case in point. AS the scientists
say at is a beautiful specimen" What
the kaiser wrote was "Tuum quod DO
mum felix faustumQue sit populo Amer
lean" Instantly the word sharps leap
ed upon it with unholy joy. Professor
II A. Sill of Cornell devoted half col
umn In the New York Post-practieally
the organ of the univerSities-to an ex-
egesis. Professor n. w. H, in the
same journal, says that the word tuum
puzzled him considerably. Professor
James q. CroSwell contributes STICK
full of meaty comment and remarks III
conclusion. II forbear to translate, reel
ing that there are too many dangers III
ambush" Cautious man! Professor V.
v of Brooklyn writes, 1T is evident
that the slightly altered form OF the
we'll known Roman formula has leo
many of our minds astray as to the I'M
perial meaning" He suggests that q
comma be placed after bonum and that
est be supplied. Professor CharleS
II. Ward of Columbia wants to know
why all this pOther about the kaiser
Latin? 1t is perfectly good and simple
May that be thine which is well. hap
nv and fortunate for the American
peoplep" Professor II. thinks Profess
or Wards translation is mot gooC
sense" and suggests the addition o.
id. est. comma. the transposltiol
of ouod and the alteration of Ameri
can to Americana. And, finally, tn
Rev. Theodore c. Williams remarks
How hard it is to write good Latin
We quite agree with him in view o
the exhibits.
This sort of thing happens ever.
time. Even Secretary Hay was caugh
mapping the other day. He said IN
speech OH Roosevelt that many grea
men besides the hero of San Jual
have been soldiers. Even Horac
could say. Militant non sine gloria.
But a gentleman in the rear rises I
remark that it was in no bloody affra
that Horace fought, not without glory
but in the sweet wars Of love. Tn
couplet runs:
Wiki puells nuper idoneus
Eft militavi non sine gloria,
and Michael Monahan neatly construe
it:
have been a slick fellow with the girls
And have fought with glory in the wars
Venus.
So apparently there are pitfalls eN
erywhere for the feet of the Latinis
And what a commentary on scholar
ship when a dozen of the "Gelehrte
quarrel and jabber over a single SIN
Die sentence. After all, is it any VOL
der that the plain man of affairs view
the scholar with trace of contemI
and all his ways with more than
trace of superior and satisfied anus
\ment ?-Argonaut