27 MAY 1899, Page 13

THE LAPIDARY STYLE.

[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR:I

Sra,—The advantage of Latin over English for monumental inscriptions is, of course, that it is so much more terse. For instance, could an epitaph on General Gordon, written in English, at a reasonable length, express what the following Latin one does ?— " Hic iacet quicquid mortale fait KAROL' GEORG' GORDON vizi inter paucos admirandi qui laude divitiis honoribus (muds spret:s ita me divinas vel a puero contemplatus rebus humanis minime defuit ut militiam apud Sarmatas tiro moz inter Seras imperator cum prmclarissime prosperrime gessisset tandem apud Aithiopas alienis auxilium unus ferens desertus proditus vitam intrepido quo viserat animo perdiderit invenerit. a.d. vi. Kal Mar A.D. MDCCCLXXX V."