ni THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS BULLETIN No. 3330: August 8, 1933 THE LATIN LEAFLET Issued by the Department of Classical Languages in the interest of Latin teaching in the high schools of Texas Roberta F. Lavender, Editor W. J. Battle, Ruby R. Terrill, Mrs. H. J. Leon, Associate Editors Number 27 TOURNAMENT NUMBER FOR 1933-1934 Price Five Cents a single copy or with Number 26, the Tournament Number for 1932-1933 PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY FOUR TIMES A MONTH AND ENTERED AS SECOND·CLASS MATTER AT THE POSTOFFICE AT AUSTIN, TEXAS. UNDER THE ACT OF AUGUST 24, 1912 The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are es.sential to the preservation of a free govern­ment. Sam Houston Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of Democracy,and while guided and controlled by virtue, the noblest attribute of man. Itis the only dictator that freemen acknowledge, and the only security which freemen desire. Mirabeau B. Lamar THE LATIN LEAFLET Number 27 TOURNAMENT NUMBER FOR 1933-1934 VARIA EDITORIAL NOTE Times being hard and there being an ample supply of last year's Tourna­ment Leaflet still on hand, the editors have decided to print only a small Leaflet this year. All the new tournament rules are given and all the requi­site new matter. For Work to Be Covered, Books Suggested, Word Lists and Word Studies, Synopsis and Diagram lore, Translation advice, the ad­vantages of Memorizing, Syntax of the Simile, Grammatical Nomenclature and Sentence Structure, and sample Tournament Questions consult Leaflet No. 26, The University of Texas Bulletin 3227. That bulletin and this may be had for five cents for either or five cents for both from the Publications Office, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas. It is not intended to disparage the· matter of this Leaflet not concerned with the tournament. Rather would we suggest that Mrs. Baley's article on Cicero's wit is not only valuable but interesting. If you begin, you will read it through. THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNIVERSITY There seems to be some misapprehension of the action taken by the Uni­versity last year in reference to the foreign language requirement for admission. The University has never really required foreign language for admission. For many years three units, recently two units, in one foreign language have been laid down as a standard for admission to the College of Arts and Sci­ences, but it has always been possible to enter conditionally without any foreign language at all. The condition had to be made up (usually by taking a foreign language in the University), if the student became a candidate for a degree, but if he did not become a candidate for a degree he need never make up the condition at all. The action taken in 1932 was to change the standard of two units in one foreign language to a requirement of two units chosen by the student from each of any two of the following groups: Foreign languages, natural sci­ences, social sciences. If the foreign language group be chosen, the two units must be in the same language. The same change that made foreign language elective also made history elective and made natural science elec­tive. The University had been charged with attempting to control the work of the high school too much. The action taken was intended to meet this criticism. For the B.A. degree the foreign language requirement has not been changed. Two courses after the beginners course are still required in one foreign language. If the student does not present the beginners course for admission, he is handicapped to that extent. Plainly it is to his interest to relieve his college work by taking his beginners course in high school and it would seem plainly the duty of the high school to give him that opportunity. Of course the real reason for teaching foreign language in the high school or anywhere else is its value to the student, but it should be remembered also that foreign language is one of the cheapest subjects to teach of all those included in the high school curriculum. It requires no laboratory equipment and can be taught well without pictures, maps, or charts, though a certain amount of these things is helpful. It can even be taught satisfac­torily without books other than the textbooks, though illustrative books for outside reading are highly desirable. Moreover, foreign language is pecu­liarly adapted for high school study because new words, new forms, new grammar are largely a matter of memory and memory is more retentive in youth than in maturity. THE LATIN LEAFLET LATIN B IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS The University of Texas wishes emphatically that every Latin student take three years of Latin in the high school and enter Latin 1, Section 1, here, or still better, take four years and enter Latin 1, Section 2 (for ad­vanced students). Latin 1 is the usual freshman Latin of American colleges everywhere, the traditional first college course. But some high schools give only two years of Latin. Obviously, students with two years of Latin cannot with advantage go into Latin 1, which requires three or four years of high school work for admission. For the benefit, therefore, of students with only two years of high school Latin, Latin B was established. Like the third year of high school Latin it includes some Caesar, some speeches of Cicero, some Virgil, and a bit of composition. On completing it the student goes into Latin 1. For the degree of Bachelor of Arts twelve semester hours of numbered courses in one foreign language are required. In French, German, and Spanish this means at least two years of college work beyond two years of high school work. In Latin, however, the first two numbered courses, Latin 1 (freshman work) and Latin 13 (sophomore work) imply three or four high school years, one or two more than in French or German or Spanish. Latin and the modern foreign languages are clearly not on the same basis. To put them on the same basis in this respect the University faculty in 1933 voted to allow Latin B, even though it is not called by a number, to count as a numbered course toward satisfying the foreign language requirement for the Bachelor of Arts degree. A student, therefore, who has had two years of Latin in the high school can by completing Latin B and Latin 1 obtain in two years the required twelve semester hours in one foreign language, while, if he changes to French or German or Spanish and begins it in the University, three years will be required. However, we do not recommend students to stop their Latin with Latin 1. That would violate the funda­mental educational principle that a thorough knowledge of a subject is far better than a superficial acquaintance. That would be not to know Catullus, the most charming, or Horace, the most human, of the poets of Rome. Perish the thought! GREEK 1 IN THE UNIVERSITY Because Greek is taught in no Texas high school and because it is ~en­erally regarded as harder than French, German, or Spanish, the University has always offered a beginners course and for many years has let that course bear a number (Greek 1). One can therefore by selecting Greek obtain the twelve semester hours required for his Bachelor of Arts in two years. This will give him a good knowledge of the rudiments of standard Attic Greek and a taste of Homer, the noblest of poets. Students who have had Latin find Greek 1 a bit less unfamiliar, but those who have not studied Latin frequently do as well as those who have. As a matter of fact, for many students Greek is easier than Latin. Its different alphabet and the expres­sion "It's all Greek to me" have given it an undeserved black eye. AN ALTERNATIVE FOR FRESHMEN MATHEJMATICS IN THE UNIVERSITY It is not to be supposed that the Leaflet does not believe in the study of mathematics. In fact we are glad we had mathematics in college, two years of it, even though to the best of our recollection we have never made the slightest practical use of it beyond the rudiments of arithmetic. Neverthe­less, there are people whom mathematics renders unhappy. For such people The University of Texas, following the example of a number of institutions of high standing, for several years has allowed a :mbstitute for the freshman mathematics set down for the Bachelor of Arts degree. This substitute is Latin 1 or Greek 1. A considerable number of students have taken the Greek alternative, but very few the Latin. As a snap, the alternative is not re­garded as a success, but it has the great interest of bringing something more than a speaking acquaintance with the cleverest and most artistic people the world has yet seen. A COURSE IN ROMAN CIVILIZATION AT THE UNIVERSITY Beginning with the fall term of 1933, the Department of Classical Lan­guages will offer a new course in Roman Civilization (Latin 304, 305) under the direction of Adjunct Professor H. J. Leon. The course will meet Tues­days, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 9 and is open to both freshmen and upper classmen. Either semester may be taken independently. Instruction will be carried on chiefly through lectures, many of them illustrated with lantern slides, and outside readings. The basic text will be Grant Showerman's Rome and the Romans. The course will offer a comprehensive survey of the civilization of the ancient Romans with particular attention to their influence on the culture of modern times. Among the topics to be covered are the following: Modern and ancient Italy and Rome; rapid survey of Roman history; the Latin lan­guage and its place in the family of languages; topography and monuments of ancient Rome; Roman public life, the magistracies, assemblies, senate, courts; Roman law, religion, art, etc.; Roman private life, outdoor sports, theatre; survey of Latin literature; spread of Roman civilization; rise of Christianity. THE WORK OF THE DISTRICT CENTERS On behalf of the Tournament Committee the Leaflet would like to express appreciation of the work of the chairmen and their associates in the several centers that hold each year the district Latin tournament. No small amount of labor is involved, and a very considerable financial outlay as well. The chairman and her co-workers must first win over the principal and superin­tendent. Then the Parent-Teachers Association and the Chamber of Com­merce, and other public-spirited citizens must be enlisted. Entertainment must be found for visiting teachers and students-a welcome first, oftentimes a place to spend the night, perhaps a drive about town. Meantime, arrange­ments for the examinations must have been worked out. Graders must have been secured. In the conduct of the examinations and the grading of the papers an astonishing number of problems arise, sometimes of considerable delicacy. Everything must go off with speed, and everybody must be kept in a good humor. Then comes the banquet with place cards and decorations and programs and prizes. All this costs money and the total runs far beyond the fees paid in by the contestants. Altogether, no small amount of work must be done, much of it pleasant but some of it also nerve-racking. Only a genuine enthusiasm for the cause of sound education as embodied in Latin makes it endurable. The Tournament Committee and the Leaflet believe the results justify it. We are certainly grateful and we wish the teachers and their co-workers to know it. TEACHERS AND VACANCIES In case of vacancies in Latin teaching positions the Leaflet would like to have it remembered that The University of Texas maintains a Teachers Ap­pointment Committee, under the administration of Miss Miriam Dozier as Secretary. This year there are some unusually good men and women avail­able, people of brains, training, personality, and experience in teaching. LATIN COMPOSITION The Leaflet is asked by the Tournament Committee to say a word about Latin composition. We comply gladly because long experience leads us to attach a very high value to Latin composition and to regret warmly that teachers so often appear to think otherwise. It is not a question of writing Latin orations or Latin philosophical treatises or Latin poetry. This sort of thing is fascinating, but it does not come till late in the student's Latin course and then, in America at least, by the student's own free choice. What we are now recommending is the writing of simple Latin sentences, at most the writing of the simplest Latin stories, in order to develop a feeling of at-homeness in Latin and to strengthen the student's knowledge of those most fundamental elements of Latin attainment, words, forms, grammar. THE LATIN LEAFLET Lord Bacon says that writing maketh an exact man. He was talking of English but what he says is equally true of Latin. Latin is no longer an international language that we must learn and we are not trying to make Latin authors. We are trying to learn to read and understand what the old Latin authors wrote and we ought to be willing to do what will most effec­tively accomplish this. Now unless we know the meaning of words, we· can­not tell what our author is talking about. Let us therefore work with the words and play with the words until we are good friends and we recognize them whatever dress they wear. . In the next place we cannot tell what relation the words bear to one an­other in the sentence unless we recognize forms and their significance. We cannot tell whether the dog bit the man or the man bit the dog. Let us try actual writing of simple Latin sentences as the Roman boy and girl did, such sentences as Caesar and Cicero would have understood and would have been glad to have their youngsters write. Then, gradually getting beyond the kindergarten stage, let us learn to do something besides make statements and ask questions. We should be wretchedly off in English if we could not tell when and how and for what purpose; could not command and beg; could not say what would happen if only something else should happen. This is nothing but syntax and it is perfectly natural and inevitable in every language. If we can express ourselves correctly in such matters-even if with no great fluency-we can far more easily understand the Romans when they do the same thing. And writing simple Latin is neither hard nor tiresome if we go at it right-simple sentences first with the same words over and over again in different connections, with life and movement, gradually working up to harder things-certainly not dawdling but not going on to something new till we have a good control of what we have already had. In fact, it is really great fun to be able to say a thing in another language than our own. Because he could speak and write three languages old Ennius used to say that he had three souls. NEW BOOKS To the list of classical books useful for reference and outside reading that was published in last year's Tournam.ent Leaflet we need add only Grant Showerman's Rom.e and the Romans, The Macmillan Company, school edi­tion, $2.40. This is an account of Roman life in most of its aspects, scholarly and well written. It contains a large number of illustrations that really illustrate. To be noted also is the appearance of new and improved editions of Penick and Procter's excellent Latin First Y ear and Latin Second Year, Charles Scribner's Sons, and of Lois Carlisle and Davida Richardson's handsome Fourth Latin, Allyn and Bacon. JOINT FOREIGN LANGUAGE MEETING Teachers would do well to be on the lookout for announcements of the joint meeting of the foreign language sections of the State Teachers Association in Austin at Thanksgiving. Such announcements will appear in the Texas Outlook and possibly special letters will be sent to teachers personally. The idea underlying the joint meeting is that fo.reign language teachers have in­terests, problems, and dangers in common and that very possibly help may be got and given by common consultation. Miss Rebecca Switzer of the Col­lege of Industrial Arts, Denton, and Mr. E. A. Sparkman of Baylor Univer­sity are active members of a committee on the subject holding over :from last year. They would be glad to receive suggestions. A VALEDICTORY FROM MISS COTHAM Dear Teacher of Latin: In this time of economic stringency and general bewilderment, financial and otherwise, there is greater need than ever before for teachers who will bring to their work an enthusiasm that will withstand the discouragement the study of the classics is receiving from the proponents of so-called prac­ticality. The expression, "the practical value of Latin," is uttered so fre­quently that it has become trite. The task now confronting the teacher of Latin is that of convincing the would-be practicalist that this practical value is not a trite expression, but a highly significant and evident fact. Since colleges will accept for entrance credit a minimum of two units in Latin, many schools in which Latin is taught are confining their courses to the work of the first two years. It goes without saying that a pupil will acquire very little knowledge or appreciation of Latin literature during his first two years of study. It becomes, therefore, all the more necessary that the pupil be made to realize that he has received, in return for the labor he has performed, some actual addition to his store of knowledge, some train­ing that he can actually apply to the solution of some of his life problems. The teacher's opportunity was never more inviting nor her responsibility more compelling. There is a challenge to meet, and there is at hand abun­dant material with which to meet the challenge. The fight is ours, and the reward worth fighting for. A more extensive and intensive study of derivatives will help the pupil realize more completely how much the English language depends on the Latin. Such a study will be found of inestimable value, and should be a part of each teacher's plan for the coming year. If by united effort we can con­vince the public that we are adding to the pupil's practical equipment when we give him a fundamental knowledge of the language that forms the basis of his mother tongue, we shall make a worthy bit of advancement. I am urging, therefore, that you accept, as one major objective of your year's work, the task of proving to your classes and your community that Latin, as you teach it, has a practical value. One other point I would bring to your attention. A student who enters The University of Texas and presents two units of entrance credit in Latin is eligible to register for Latin B, a college course of six semester hours of credit value. This is not a numbered course, but by recent faculty action may be counted as a numbered course in satisfying the requirement of twelve semester hours in one foreign language for a bachelor's degree. Again, I would urge that you keep before your advanced classes this fact: A student credited with four admission units in Latin will, on completing the work of Latin 1, Section 2, with an average grade of B, be given degree credit for four semester hours beyond the value of Latin 1, provided the total number of his admission credits be at least sixteen; for two semester hours if the total be fifteen and a half. It is probable that other colleges will give the same recognition for these courses that The University of Texas gives. I am afraid many pupils are unaware of this opportunity, and hence fail to take advantage of it. You are reminded that Mrs. Marian C. Butler, of Waco High School, is continuing as Chairman of the Latin Tournament. She will appreciate hav­ing you register early. Please keep in mind the following directions: 1. For information regarding the Latin Tournament, address Mrs. Marian C. Butler, 2316 Colcord Avenue, Waco, Texas. 2. For copies of The Latin Leaflet, address The University of Texas Pub­lications Office, University Station, Austin, Texas. 3. For copies of Bulletin 291, The Teaching of Latin, and for information concerning the organization and accrediting of courses in Latin, address State Department of Education, High School Division, Austin, Texas. If you will keep these addresses distinctly separate, your letters of inquiry will receive prompt response. I hope you will continue to enroll in our Classical Reading Guild. Two teachers registered for the entire course, and fifty-four registered for a part of the reading. Nine have reported that they have completed the reading for which they registered. I shall offer, later, further suggestions for this phase of our work. I am always glad to receive letters from you, and I like to know of your new plans. I have found one teacher, Miss Ina Mae Vaught, of Wharton, using our suggested plan for teaching Roman dates. When I visited her, unexpectedly, I found, to my delight, the date written in Latin on the black­board in her classroom. The Department of Education wishes for you a pleasant and prosperous year. Very cordially yours, MARGARET COTHAM, Supervisor of Latin. A LETTER TO THE HON. L. A. WOODS, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION Sir: The State Latin Tournament Committee of Texas begs to call attention to the following facts: First, that for the past ten years the three hundred Latin teachers of the high schools of Texas have fostered a Latin Tournament which has func­tioned through ten centers and has reached in its contests every spring at least fourteen hundred pupils and parents. Second, that through these contests the teachers have re-awakened a vigorous interest in Latin, which has been fighting for its existence in schools that have brought technical subjects into the curriculum. Third, that this work in Texas has inspired a similar undertaking in other states and has furnished a model for them. Fourth, that Latin still prevails in the high schools of the country, having an enrollment of over a million, and, according to the latest available statis­tics, above the combined enrollment of all other foreign languages. Fifth, that in this Tournament the teachers have kept as their goal not only the development of Latin in the secondary schools but an increase in the enrollment of the college classes. Sixth, that the college teachers of Latin and Greek have entered whole­heartedly into these annual contests and have felt the impetus of the work in the colleges themselves. Seventh, that if Latin is to hold its place in the high schools, there must be classes in college Latin for further study on the part of students who go to college, and for the training of those who desire to teach Latin. Therefore, even though college classes in Latin may be small, the State Latin Tournament Committee of Texas urges consideration of the foregoing facts with a view to allowing these classes to remain in the curriculum. Very truly yours, MARIAN C. BUTLER, Chairman. CICERO AS A WIT It should be a matter of some significance that Cicero himself once asked in his De Oratore (II. 235) quid sit ipse risus, quo pacto concitetur, to which he supplied no really adequate answer. Cicero himself, an acknowledged master of that more or less mirthful form of ingenuity known as wit, raised the question, "What is it makes us laugh?" and then neglected to settle a poser as yet unsettled. To be sure, Cicero does say further along in this same lengthy discussion of laughter and wit (De Or. II. chs. 54-71) that "the ground work and, as it were, the province of the ridiculous .. . lies in a sort of baseness and deformity (De Or. II. 236)." He further stipulates certain sure-fire comic devices; for example, a play upon the foibles and failings so conspicuous in the everyday lives of men; and, although this latter may seem a little jarring to modern humane notions, if not practices­even bodily defects, according to Cicero (De Or. II. 239), constitute a legiti­mate and suitable target for banter. Shocking as such a premise for fun­making may at first appear, it will surely fail to wear the usual strangeness of antiquity when compared with the endless persecution of the bald-headed or fat man of today. In common with other ancient writers, notably Quintilian, who aligns him­self with Cicero on the subject of the ludicrous and doubts if anyone has ever sufficiently explained laughter, Cicero fails to expose the real essence of wit. Perhaps in this matter of the essential nature of the comic, Cicero refrains from useless definitions in recognition of laughter as just one of those eternal, mysterious verities which no amount of labelling can make more palpable. At any rate, Cicero's silent forbearance seems all the more worthy in view of the diversity of modern theories which have devel­ oped in the light of modern physiology and modern psychology to explain this thing, ranging all the way from the most current explanation, that ever­ ready vade mecum, the Freudian "Superiority Complex," to M. Henri Berg­ son's highly technical expose in his famous Le Rire. And yet what is it makes us laugh, anyhow? Who really knows? Even if Cicero can claim no satisfactory definition of the prime nature and moving cause of laughter, his interest in the subject and in the wit that evokes laughter was certainly considerable. Proof positive of this is the space devoted to a discussion of the forms and uses of wit, and the reins with which the orator should bridle its free play, in his De Oratore-almost one-fourth of the second book, indeed. It is evident, then, that as early as 55 B.c.-the date of the De Oratore-Cice·ro had given conscious and rather close study to the subject of wit. His own renowned use of witticisms hence appears to be more a matter of forthright calculation than merely the ebul­ lience of a native gift. In full accord with all the ideas of Cicero set forth in the De Oratore, Quintilian, writing about a hundred years later, states in the third chapter of his own rather full discussion of wit (Book VI), that it is always asso­ciated with something low (hurnile). "Resemblances conduce most to jests," says Quintilian, "especially if the allusion is to something meaner and slighter." Following Cicero, he calls attention to the laugh that arises from surprise, or deceit of expectation, and from the turning of another person's words to express a meaning not intended by him. "These," we are told, "are the happiest jokes of all." Quintilian (VI. 3. 72-73) states that refutation consists in denying, rebut­ting, and defending, or making light of a charge, and each of these affords scope of wit. He tells us that sometimes we rebut a charge openly, as Cicero did when he refuted the extravagant lies of Vibius Curius, who was posing as a much younger man than it was possible for him to be. "Well, then, if what you say is true," countered Cicero, "in the days when you and I used to practise declamation together, you were not even born, were you?" On the other hand, we are told, we may rebut by pretending to agree. Cicero, for example, when Fabia, the wife of Dolabella, asserted that her age was thirty, acquiesced in her assertion, remarking, "Yes, that is bound to be true, for I have heard it for the last twenty years." Both Cicero and Quintilian recognized that certain restrictions are to be placed on the employment of wit by the public speaker. As has been said, in the De Oratore Cicero finds the sphere of the ludicrous in shortcomings and defects, in that which may be pointed out as discreditable in a manner not discreditable. It is quite within the province of the orator to excite laughter either in order to win favor-for mirth is contagious-or to arouse admiration for cleverness, to disconcert and discredit an opponent or to relax tension, and to counteract the effect of an argument that can not be refuted. In the use of wit, however, the public speaker must be extremely cautious not to overstep bounds. Wickedness and misery are not proper subjects for ridicule; and above all else one should have regard for the feelings of those who are dear to him. Also, he must be on his guard first that his jokes be not insipid, then that he himself always maintain his dignity and not descend to the level of a clown. Not only does Cicero limit the orator in his practice of raillery, but in the first book of the De Officiis, written eleven years later than the De Oratore, he mentions restrictions which are to be placed upon the exercise of wit in the normal intercourse of private life. The distinction is sharply drawn be­tween wit that is refined, keen, and clean, and that which is low, boorish, and disgraceful. We are told (Off. I. 29) that "just as we do not allow children in their sport a free rein, but limit them to fair play, so in our joking we should suffer only the light of an upright nature to shine forth." Yet admir­able as the restraint of wit seemed to him in theory, in practice Cicero had previously confessed it in the De Oratore to be a very different matter. "For men who are witty and sharp of tongue, it is extremely difficult to take an account of men and of seasons and to hold back the bright sayings that come into their minds." This lament for the wag who can not keep still is in all likelihood the key to Cicero's own reputation for unconfined repartee. Moreover, this reputa­tion is certainly not to be gainsaid, however much or little deserved. For it is attested by the direct evidence of several sources-Quintilian, Macrobius, Plutarch, and Dio Cassius, and no less by the indirect evidence of Cicero's own orations and letters and the tradition of the facete dicta, a few of which have come down to us. Quintilian, speaking as a professor of rhetoric (VI. 3. 3) records the view that Cicero was unduly addicted to jests, both outside the court and in his speeches; nevertheless, he freely acknowledges his own enjoyment of the orator's sallies and describes him as "possessed of a re­markable turn of wit," "for his ordinary conversation abounded in pleas­antry, while in dispute and in examining witnesses he uttered more witti­cisms than did any other orator. Macrobius (Sat. II. 3. 1) characterized Cicero as "most ready" in his wit "as in all else." Although everybody knows that the assertions of Plutarch are frequently to be taken cum grano salis, there is no good reason to doubt that he· was reproducing statements of a well informed earlier author when he wrote in the introductory chapters of his "Life of Cicero": "Cicero's manner of de­livery contributed much to his persuasiveness, and he would ridicule orators that spoke in a loud voice, saying that they had recourse to shouting just as lame men take to riding horseback. The readiness and sharpness of such wit seemed clever and well suited to the courts, but by giving it too free exercise, he hurt the feelings of many and gained the reputation of being malicious." Plutarch returns to the same topic in a later chapter, remarking that the orator often incurred bitter enmity by his extreme readiness to turn upon anyone for the sake of raising a laugh; whereupon Plutarch proceeds to supply actual examples of these stinging personal jests which made many dislike Cicero. Consequently, though Dio Cassius may elsewhere earn his classification in the category of Cicero's adverse critics, yet there is quite likely much truth in his similar declaration (38. 2) that "Cicero annoyed great numbers by his speeches, and those whom he aided were not so thor­oughly won to his side as those whom he injured were alienated." For this we all recognize inevitably to be the plight of an incorrigible jokester. Cicero's flair for forensic wit may be thought to have first displayed itself at his inception into the role of pleader, since in the case for Quinctius in 81 B.C. he is conceded to have waxed merry over the incredibility of various statements of the opposition. After his audacious arraignment of Verres, however, in 70 B.C. Cicero's reputation for rhetorical sprightliness was estab­lished. Quintilian credits to the invention of others the crude puns on the name Verres, meaning literally "boar," and suggests that Cicero merely in­troduced them as evidence of the contempt in which the Sicilians held their governor. When Caecilius, a freedman suspected of Jewish practices, wanted to thrust aside the other accusers and denounce Verres himself, Cicero re­strained him with, "What has a Jew to do with a Verres?" Probably the most famous retort which Cicero ever made in court was that which he turned upon Hortensius during this same prosecution. Hortensius had been persuaded to appeal in behalf of Verres, influenced it would seem, by several considerations, but in some degree, undoubtedly, by the gift of a costly ivory sphinx from Verres himself. Cicero threw out several dark hints calculated to nonplus Hortensius, who was finally goaded to protest, "I don't know how to solve riddles." "And yet," was Cicero's quick reply, "you have a sphinx in your house." Cicero's facetious manner toward his colleagues, the jurists who opposed him, may be judged by this very example of bow he baited Hortensius. Other instances, however, are not lacking. An anecd0te related by Plutarch is notable. We are told that on one occasion Publius Cotta, who wished to be thought an able lawyer but who was really both stupid and ignorant, was placed upon the witness stand. During some quizzing by Cicero he persisted in answering that he knew nothing whatever about the matter in question. "Perhaps," said Cicero, "you think you are being questioned on points of law." Already in 54 B.c., in the oration for Cn. Plancius, we find Cicero com­plaining (Plane. 35) with an air of patent self-satisfaction, that it was the fashion to attribute to him all the wise-cracks that gained currency in Rome. About three years later he playfully chided Volumnius in a letter written to him with dereliction in not defending his reputation against the bon-mots, "all sayings of all men," that were being circulated in his name. "Do your best, an you love me," he requests (Fam. VII. 32.), "to maintain on your solemn affidavit, that they are none of mine, unless ... really witty." In a letter to Paetus we are told (Fam. IX. 16) that Caesar was making a col­lection of maxims and that when sayings of Cicero were brought to him, he professed to be able to tell-by the ring, as it were-which were genuine and which spurious. After Cicero's death a collection of his witticisms was actually published, arranged in three books, probably by his freedman Tiro. This anthology was made use of by Quintilian, who expressed the wish (VI. 3. 5.) that it had included fewer selections, culled with a greater show of taste and dis­crimination. The same collection was known also to Macrobius, who was influenced by it in declaring (Sat. II. 1. 10) that Plautus and Cicero excelled all other Romans in the flavor of their jokes. This is also, in all probability, the original source of a few dozen witticisms attributed to Cicero, but not found in his writings, which, however, have been preserved to us chiefly by Quintilian, Macrobius, and Plutarch. These are usually published among the Fragmenta of definitive editions of Cicero's works. A few examples will suffice: Quintus Cicero, brother of the orator and a man of quite small stature, while governor of Asia caused a half-length por­trait of himself to be painted in heroic dimensions. Upon seeing it the orator exclaimed in mock surprise, "Why the half of my brother is greater than the whole!" Cicero was dining out as guest of a certain Damasippus who had some inferior new wine brought on, at the same time remarking, "Drink this Falernian, it's forty years old." "It certainly does bear its age well," was Cicero's rejoinder as he sipped it. Publius Vatinius, for whom Cicero entertained a feeling far from cordial, was troubled with a lameness which vanity made him wish to dissemble. Ac­cordingly, he once remarked in Cicero's presence, obviously in a tone that anticipated a compliment, that he was now walking two miles a day. "Oh, yes," said Cicero dryly, "the days are longer now." Through the favor of Caesar, in 47 B.c., this same Vatinius was raised to the consulship for a few days to fill out a vacancy. Cicero's waggish comment was, "A wonderful thing happened in the year of Vatinius, for in that consulship there was neither winter nor summer nor autumn." Just afterward Vatinius chanced to complain of not receiving a call, whereupon Cicero, with elaborate pre­tense at apology, offered this excuse, "I wished to come in your consulship, Vatinius, but the night overtook me." Even more hilarious are the jests which Cicero is reported to have made on the yet briefer consulship of Caninius Rebilus, and they are preserved in slightly varying forms in no less than four ancient sources-Macrobius (Sat. II. 3. 6), Trebellius Pollio (Tyr. Trig. 8. 2.), Dio Cassius (43. 4. 6), and in a letter written by Cicero himself to Manius Curius (Fam. 7. 30). It had come about that the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus chanced to die on the last day of December, 45 B.C., and Caesar had installed Rebilus to fill the vacancy for the few last remaining hours of the day. Cicero, who was ever ready with gibes at Caesar's expense, waxed gleeful over the proceeding, saying that Rebilus had caused the question to be raised in whose consulship he was consul; and again, "We had a watchful consul in Rebilus; during his consulship he did not once fall asleep." The most obvious comic device of all is the epithet, and Cicero applied it with deft advantage. Yet many of his epithets quite defy translation by a single word and are most aptly translated by a paraphrase; for example, those playfully applied to Pompey in allusion to the foreign airs he assumed after his return from eastern conquest. "Sampsiceramus" and "Arabarches" are perhaps rather accurately and certainly rather effectively rendered, "The Great Bashaw," "The Bhegum of Bhopul," or something of the sort. Epi­ crates is, of course, "the Conquering Hero." Pompey is also called by the mouth-filling phrase, "our friend the Jerusalemitish plebeian-maker" in anu­ s.ion to his connivance at the plebeian adoption of Publius Clodius Pulcher. Clodius is often "our Clodius" and "priest of the Bona Dea," in derision of his apprehension at Caesar's official residence during the strictly female rites in honor of the Bona Dea. Sometimes instead of Pulcher he is "Pulchellus," which taken literally is "Little Beautiful," and not so bad at that, and again he is merely "Once the only man at Caesar's house," with racy double entendre. Puns, that "lowest form of wit," abound in profusion in the letters as well as in the De Oratore and, unfortunately, or fortunately, as the case may be, many of them are quite hopelessly lost in translation. One rare one, almost as good in English as in the original, is this play on the consul, Piso, about whom Cicero remarks that "it is his face rather than his facetiousness which causes merriment (Fam. I. 13)." Cicero's remarkable faculty for caricature is everywhere in evidence. It is a truism that the stock method of caricature is exaggeration. With a deft heightening of color here, an overemphasis of detail there, a shading of line somewhere else, Cicero contrives to present the men and the manners of his time in bold relief. The jury panel which acquitted Clodius, "senators under a cloud, equites out at the elbow" are succinctly revealed to us by Cicero's declaration that "there was never a seedier lot round a table in a gambling hell." The vulgar curiosity of domestic servants, commonplace enough then as now, is admirably hit off by this comment upon letter-bearers: "How few of these gentry are able to convey a letter rather weightier than usual with­out lightening it by skimming its contents." If an attempt were made to catalogue the witticisms of Cicero according to the standards of modern authorities on the psychology of the comic, there would be found, perhaps, less of what is termed "harmless" wit and a pre­ponderance of the contrary and complementary species, "tendency" wit. In other words, in all that remains to us as evidence of Cicero's celebrated gift, there are fewer specimens of the lighter, blither sort of gaiety and there is a predominance of facetiousness, to some degree at least, envenomed. Cer­tainly this is by no means a surprising discovery to make in the case of a man who would most probably be dubbed in the parlance of this modern day a combination professional politician and criminal lawyer. Laughter is rarely ever, strictly speaking, quite "harmless" anyway. "Laughter," says Bergson, "is a froth with a saline base. Like froth it sparkles. It is gaiety itself. But the philosopher who gathers a handful to taste may find that the substance is scanty and the after-taste is bitter." This metaphorical defini­tion seems, somehow, to catch just the effervescent quality of laughter in general and Cicero's special genus of mother wit in particular. About Cicero's wit there is a tang and a savor of saltiness, and quite frequently there is the caustic after-taste, too. MAYNET THOMAS BALEY. THE LATIN TOURNAMENT FOR 1933-1934 TEXAS CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION President, Mrs. Clarence E. Baley, Childress First Vice-President, Anna M. Klapproth, Amarillo Second Vice-President, Laura Wallace, Mineral Wells Secretary and Treasurer, Edna McElroy, Waco LATIN TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE Mrs. Marian C. Butler, Waco, Chairman W. Sims Allen, Waco Myrtillie Br adfield, Dallas Mrs. Clarence E. Baley, Childress J. N. Brown, Denton William J. Battle, Austin Mrs. A. J. Clopton, Dallas Mary Bourne, Tyler Margaret Cotham, Austin Dora Flack, Dallas Catherine Flynn, El Paso Annie Forsgard, Waco W. W. Freeman, Commerce Helen Hill, Austin Roberta F. Lavender, Austin H. J. Leon, Austin Mattie B. McLeod, Kingsville Sue B. Mann, Austin Lourania Miller, Dallas Gladys E. Morgan, San Antonio Ruby R. Terrill, Austin Myrtle Trantham, Abilene Pearl West, San Antonio Trudie Wilson, Houston S. E. Wronker, Terrell ANNUAL MEETING OF THE TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE The annual meeting of the Tournament Committee was held in Waco, April 23, 1933, with a large attendance, including several invited guests. There was much discussion of sundry topics. The following new rules were adopted: No pupil taking his fourth year of Latin may enter a third-year contest. No examination may last over three and one-half hours. Except those in charge, nobody, not even visiting teachers, may be admit­ted to the room where final graders are at work. No papers are to be given back to contestants, but all except the winning papers are to be destroyed. All parts of winning papers are to be pinned together so that none be lost. The Leaflet was asked to express appreciation of the hospitality shown by the various Centers. In the turmoil of the contest contestants and, alas, grown-ups sometimes forget to thank their hosts. Miss Mann, successor to Miss Cotham as State High School Visitor, was elected a member of the Committee. The Chairman was asked to send word around that graders may be had from the University if expenses be paid. The Leaflet was asked to publish a note on the value of Latin composition. An honorarium of $150 was voted the Chairman, Mrs. Butler, in grateful appreciation of her untiring and most efficient work for the Tournament. A proposal was made to restore the Registration Fee to two dollars but a deficit seems certain to result and so the amount was regretfully kept at three dollars. Mrs. Butler was enthusiastically reelected Director of the Tournament for the coming year. Warm thanks were extended the Waco teachers for their most satisfactory arrangement for the meeting. Everything went off admirably. CENTERS AND CHAIRMEN FOR 1934 Amarillo, Anna May Klapproth Borger, Ruth Baird Brownwood, Frances Canon Corpus Christi, Lillian Walton Denton, Mary K. Tevis Eagle Pass, Mrs. Fred Thompson Gilmer, Eunice Roberts Houston (to be appointed) Waco, Annie M. Forsgard Wichita Falls, Lois Crouch GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHERS 1. In 1934 there will be contests in six divisions: First year (September Beginners); January Beginners; Third Term (open to pupils who at the time of the contest are taking their third term of Latin, that is, those who are doing the first half of the second year work); Second Year; Third Year; Fourth Year. 2. Each school is allowed two representatives for each Division. These shall be the two who make the highest grades in a Preliminary Contest to be held not more than two weeks before the date of the District Contest. 3. Third-term pupils may not contest with first-term pupils. 4. No senior shall take part in a first-year contest. 5. No pupil taking fourth-year Latin shall take part in a third-year contest. 6. No examination shall extend beyond three and one-half hours. 7. Every possible effort shall be made to have grading done fairly. No change in grades may be made after results are announced. 8. Graders may be had from The University of Texas for their expenses. 9. Except those in charge, nobody, not even visiting teachers, 11hall be admitted to the room where graders are at work. 10. After the contest is over, papers shall not be turned over to contestants or anybody else, but all except the winning papers shall be destroyed. 11. All parts of winning papers shall be fastened together so that noth­ing be lost. 12. As soon as possible after the District Contest the winning papers shall be sent to Mrs. M. C. Butler, 2316 Colcord Avenue, Waco, in order to deter­mine the State winner. 13. To defray the general expenses of the tournament each contestant's school shall pay a Registration Fee of three dollars. This Registration Fee and requests for information on any tournament question should be sent to Mrs. M. C. Butler, 2316 Colcord Avenue, Waco. It will greatly aid the tour­nament management if schools will register early. The form given below should be used. 14. On the day of the District Contest each pupil registering must pay an individual fee of one dollar to help meet the expenses of the Distric.t Contest. 15. To lighten the expenses of the entertaining Center each contestant will pay for his own lunch. In most cases lunch may be had at a low cost from the school cafeteria of the Center. 16. Each school must send its representatives to the nearest Center unless special permission is granted for a change. This rule is intended to protect the entertaining Center from being asked to house contestants for more than one night. 17. For the essay prizes one essay may be submitted by each contesting school for first, second, third, and fourth year under the following conditions: a. Contestants may do as much reading and study as desired previous to the day of the Local Essay Contest, but the essay must be written in the presence of the teacher without help from anybody. This original manu­script is to be submitted without correction or revision. b. Before the time of the Local Essay Contest the pupil may prepare his bibliography and a brief outline (without subdivisions, that is, main topics, not complete sentences). c. No essay may be less than five hundred or more than one thousand words in length. d. Essays must be written on one side of the paper only. e. An assumed name is to be written at the top of each page. Neither the name of the pupil nor the name of the school is to appear on the paper. f. Essays are to be sent to Mrs. M. C. Butler, 2316 Colcord Avenue, Waco, with keys to assumed names and must be in her hands not later than March 1, 1934. g. A student may enter the Essay Contest regardless of whether he repre­sents the school in the Latin Contest. h. The essay subjects for 1933-1934 are as follows: First Year 1. Farmer Heroes of Rome. 2. The Practice of Medicine in Rome. 3. Roman Money. 4. Ancient and Modern Beauty Culture. Second Year 1. An Early Explorer-Caesar. 2. Roman Commerce. 3. Gaul and Its People. 4. Roman Courage and Valor. Third Year 1. The Summer Home of a Roman Gentleman. 2. Roman Taxation. 3. Rome's Greatest Gift to the World-Law. 4. Roman Books and Their Publication. Fourth Year 1. The Sources of Our Knowledge of Virgil. 2. The Fate of Creusa. 3. The Cumaean Sibyl and Her Cave. 4. Virgil's Use of Figurative Language. 5. Art Inspired by the Aeneid (Painting or Sculpture). 6. Virgil the Magician (Superstitions and Legends). 18. Uniform prizes will be given throughout the State: to Latin Contest winners and Essay Contest winners, pins; to winning schools, loving cups. The prizes will be furnished by the State Committee but paid for by the entertaining Center. No prize will be given to any paper receiving a grade of less than 70 per cent. Bronze medals will be given to State winners. PRELIMINARY REGISTRATION SHEET TO BE SUBMITTED BY MARCH 15, 1934 MRS. MARIAN C. BUTLER, State Chairman for Latin Tournament, 2316 Colcord A venue, Waco, Texas. Enclosed find $3 to enrolL___________________________________________________________________________ School in the Latin Tournament of April, 1934. The most convenient center for us is________________________________________________________ . We expect representation as follows: 1. January Beginners_______________________________________________________ _ 2. First-Year -----------------------------------------------------------------------­ 3. Third-Term 4. Second-Year 5. Third-Year ---------------------------------------------------------------------­ 6. Fourth-Year Teacher -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------­ School ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------­ Date ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------­ TEXAS LATIN TOURNAMENT FOR 1933 SUMMARY 1932 1933 Schools participating ----------------------------------------------------_________________ 128 109 District contestants ------------------------------------------------------_________________ 654 460 Teachers attending District Contests ______________________________________ 153 100 Attendance at District Banquets_______________________________________________ _ 1349 948 Essays submitted ________________ -----------------------------------------------------------154 144 SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING, 1933 Amarillo District 1. Sam Houston Junior, Amarillo 10. El Paso High (essays only) 2. Buchanan Junior, Amarillo 11. Austin High, El Paso (essays 3. Central Junior, Amarillo only) 4. Amarillo Senior 12. Perryton 5. Midland 13. Borger 6. Lubbock Senior 14. White Deer 7. Canyon 15. St. Mary's, Amarillo 8. Pampa 16. Floydada 9. Lubbock Junior 17. Slaton Centestants, 64; Teachers, 16; At Banquet, 170. Brenham District 1. Gonzales 5. Brenham 2. Austin Senior 6. Bryan 3. Austin Junior 7. St. Henry's, San Antonio 4. Eagle Pass 8. Navasota Contestants, 38; Teachers, 7; At Banquet, 85. Dallas District 1. Forest Avenue, Dallas 8. Sunset, Dallas 2. Denton 9. Arlington 3. Technical, Dallas 10. Highland Park 4. Commerce 11. Cooper 5. North Dallas 12. Gainesville 6. Bonham 13. Forney 7. McKinney Contestants, 102; Teachers, 25; At Banquet, 208. Edna District 1. Corpus Christi 5. Incarnate Word, Corpus Christi 2. Edna 6. Victoria 3. Shiner 7. Cuero 4. Wharton Contestants, 27; Teachers, 7; At Banquet, 46. Galveston District 1. Incarnate Word, Houston 11. Albert Sidney Johnston Junior, 2. La Porte Houston 3. Sacred Heart, Galveston 12. Beaumont 4. Ball High, Galveston 13. Jasper 5. St. Anthony's, Beaumont 14. Danbury 6. Lufkin 15. St. Agnes, Houston 7. Reagan Senior, Houston 16. Texas City 8. Port Arthur 17. Pershing Junior, Houston 9. Jefferson Davis, Houston 18. Port Neches 10. Sam Houston, Houston 19. Hogg Junior, Houston Contestants, 107; Teachers, 19; At Banquet, 182. Longview District 1. 0. M. Roberts Junior, Tyler 10. Tyler Senior 2. Jas. S. Hogg Junior, Tyler 11. Jacksonville 3. Gladewater 12. Marshall 4. Pittsburg 13. Sacred Heart, Texarkana 5. Longview Senior 14. Greenville Junior 6. Longview Junior 15. Gilmer 7. Athens 16. Wills Point 8. Mount Pleasant 17. Grand Saline 9. Henderson Contestants, 73; Teachers, 17; At Banquet, 210. Mineral W ells District 1. Abilene 5. Brownwood 2. Reagan Junior, Wichita Falls 6. Mineral Wells 3. Newcastle 7. Brady 4. Zundelowitz Junior, Wichita 8. Breckenridge Falls 9. Stamford Contestants, 55; Teachers, 11; At Banquet, 83. Vernon District 1. Quanah 4. Seymour } went to Mineral Wells 2. Childress 5. Olney 3. Vernon Waco District 1. Cleburne 7. Waco Senior 2. Waco Academy 8. Calvert 3. West Junior, Waco 9. Cameron 4. South Junior, Waco 10. West 5. Temple Senior 11. Hillsboro 6. Mart 12. Goldthwaite Contestants, 58; Teachers, 14; At Banquet, 134. ESSAYS BY YEARS, 1933 First, 51; Second, 50; Third, 23; Fourth, 20. STATE LATIN CONTEST WINNERS (with grades) January Beginners 1. Eloise Lattimore, West Junior, Waco.... ---···-········································· 99 2. Herman Lovitz, Albert Sidney Johnston, Houston ................................ 98 3. C. A. Rogers, Zundelowitz Junior High, Wichita Falls........................ 97.3 First Year 1. Charles Nathan, Albert Sidney Johnston Junior High, Houston........ 98.3 2. Clarence A. Guittard, Waco High School, Waco.................................. 97.3 3. Violet Alkemeyer, Eagle Pass.................................................................... 96.2 Third Tenn 1. Ina Mae Sparkman, Tyler................................................................ ......... 89.8 2. Thad Gundy, Ball High School, Galveston.............................................. 87.9 -3. Dorothy Sue Collins, Austin....................................................................... 86.9 Second Year 1. Ruby Haley, Cleburne ................. ............................................................. 96 2. Ted Harris, Forest Avenue, Dallas.......................................................... 94.5 -3. Pauline Moser, Brownwood........................................................................ 89.4 Third Year 1. Woodrow Wilson, Cleburne.......... _ .......................... ·············-·················· 95.9 2. Mary Mathis, Lubbock ................................................................................ 92.6 -3. Ruth Garrison, Pittsburg..................................................................... _______ 86.9 Fourth Year 1. Mildred Roddy, Temple................................................................................ 91.8 2. Kathleen O'Shea, North Dallas.................................................................. 83.9 -3. Jean Craddock, Austin............................................................................... 75.9 STATE ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS First Y ear Third Year 1. Violet Alkemeyer, Eagle Pass 1. Margaret Simpson, Demonstra­ 2. Guenette Locker, Cleburne tion School, Denton 3. Roberta Gould, Zundelowitz 2. Ruby Mae Pilgrim, Eagle Pass Junior High, Wichita Falls 3. Erile Mead, Coleman Second Y ear Fourth Y em· 1. Joe Belden, Eagle Pass 1. Evelyn Moll, Austin High School, 2. Aleene Ripley, Coleman El Paso 3. Ruby Olive Haley, Cleburne 2. Elizabeth Staton, Wills Point 3. Minnegreg Butler, Waco FINANCIAL REPORT April 21, 1933 Receipts: Balance from last year______________ ---------------------------------------------------------$ 30.80 From registrations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------310.00 Refunded on prizes__________________ __ ________ ------------------------------------------------159.65 Unpaid checks made good ----------------------------------_______ -------------------------9.00 $509.45 Disbursements: For stamps and cards --------------------------------------------------------------------------$ 30.65 Secretary ___ _____ ___________________ ______ ___ _ ------------------------------------------------10.50 Printing and Mimeographing _________________________________________________________________ _ 54.19 Unpaid checks -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6.00 Prizes ____________________ ---------------------------_-----------------------------------------------------246.10 Check tax _________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.22 Balance on hand April 2L____________________________ _ 161.79 $509.45 Bills due _________________________________________________ -----------------------------------------------------------61.70