6 FEBRUARY 1932, Page 3

Latin Pronunciation We read with pleasure a letter from the

Headmaster of Eton in The Times last week, condemning the prevailing "reformed " pronunciation of Latin, which has been adopted in order to approach uniformity with con- tinental practice. He wrote on behalf of boys who may not pronounce the words as they see them. If we were convinced that the Romans pronounced their language according to the new fashion, we should feel in a weak position in clinging to the old. But does anyone wIM attends the Westminster Play want to find the "English " pronunciation abolished? Dr. Alington trounced the idea that the new style is needed for an appreciation of Latin', and referred to the quotations that used to be rife in Parliament. He is right. Never was language better appreciated than when Mr. Pitt, as the House discussed the Slave Trade until dawn, made supreme use of the Latin lines :— Not ubi primus equis Oricns afflavit auhelis, Illie sera rubens aceendit lumina Vesper.

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