O Tempora, O Motu Proprio!
July 7, 2008, 1:22 pm
Posted by Robert P. Imbelli
In a recent issue of The Tablet a well-intentioned article exhorts priests to preside at liturgy with liturgical sensitivity and pastoral care. A sentiment to which we can all mutter a pious “Amen!”
But in developing his case the author speaks of the priest acting “in persona Christi capitas.” Surely you presume (as did I) a regrettable lapsus on the part of the venerable weekly’s copy editor.
Reading further, however, one comes upon the suggested complementarity of capitas and corpus — and doubt begins to darken the brow.
The case is sealed with a rousing flourish of ex opere operanto.
Ubinam gentium sumus?
Heu, as they say, I read the same piece. In saeculo Latine nescientium uiuimus.
It really ought to be amazing, especially as these are fixed expressions and not full lines of Latin prose, but judging from not a few books from academic publishers, the skill of copyediting in classical languages is now virtually extinct. The scholar/author is expected to be typo-free and gaff-proof, and if not, the mistakes go straight into the printed text. So my question (as I could not access the article) is this: who is its author? Is it someone with sterling credentials, thought to be beyond error-making? Magazines at least have the (possible) excuse that proofs are not sent to authors before publication.
Semper ubi sub ubi.
Okay, I’m sorry. That was inappropriate silliness. But at least it makes sense in some language!