10 JUNE 1899, Page 15

[To THE EDITOR OF TUB "SPECTATOR. "] SIR, — Your correspondent " Olim

Harroviensis," in maintain- ing the advantages of Latin over English for memorial inscriptions, gives an honest challenge to our language, which I hope the Master of Trinity, Cambridge, will take up. True, we cannot adopt the pregnant antithetic single sentence of the Latin ; but are not our short, pointed Saxon sentences as effective ? Might not the epitaph be reproduced something in

this way ?—

" Panels notes Here Burton Iles. Few knew his

paucloribus ignotus face,

hlc jacet His fame with all is rife. Democritus Junior Sad melancholyproved his death, eni vitam dedit et mortem That was Ms theme through life.

melancolla."