In a message dated 01-09-25 18:15:09 EDT, Jay Heuman wrote:

<< I apologize to Peter, clearly offended by my foolishness.

 Thankfully, I do not suffer from "foolish consistency" as in
 Ralph Waldo Emerson's oft-quoted, "A foolish consistency is
 the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen
 and philosophers and divines." (Essays. First Series.
 Self-Reliance.)  However, I do ascribe to Pliny the Elder's
 "To laugh, if but for an instant only, has never been
 granted to man before the fortieth day from his birth, and
 then it is looked upon as a miracle of precocity." (from
 Natural History. Book vii. Sect. 2).

 Peter . . . I would suggest you watch or read a bit of
 Loretta Laroche.  >>

Jay,

Julia and Peter were right.  I don't think Peter was "offended" by your
mistake; he just wanted to correct it.  Your uninformed guess about "vitae"
was wrong.  Why not accept the information with grace and humility instead of
gratuitously and insultingly reviving that hoary cliche about "foolish
consistency"?  It's often misquoted, but you got it right, complete with
source.  However, it's also often misapplied, as it is here.  There's no
foolish consistency in correcting an error.  You were asking for it.

To expand slightly on what's already been said--you were partly right that
"vitae" means "lives," but only 1/3 right, since it also means "of life"
(genitive singular) and "to/for life" (dative singular).  "Curriculum vitae"
means approximately "course (or path) of life"; if "vitae" were plural
nominative in the phrase, it wouldn't make sense (path lives?).  You'd be
partly right if you translated French "le" as "the," but you'd be forgetting
that it can also mean "him" or "it."  Words in most languages must be
translated in grammatical context.

I don't know who Loretta Laroche is or what she says or writes.  While Peter
is consulting her wit and wisdom, why not consult your Latin grammar before
making hasty, inept translations?  Emerson's gem is so "oft-quoted" because
it's an easy refuge for those who don't want to admit a mistake.  Properly
translating a simple two-word phrase is hardly foolish consistency.  Thanks
for certifying your erudition with the Pliny quote, though: nice touch.

David Haberstich

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