The American Spectator

br> Re: Mark Hughes’s letter (under “Ignoring the Heretics”) in Reader Mail’s In Souter’s Shadow : /p>

Boys and girls, today we will be treated to a lesson in etymology conducted by the prescient and distinguished instructor, Mr. Mark Hughes, who, it appears, takes exception to Mr. James Philbin’s lack of erudition with regard to his knowledge of Aramaic.

The fact that Mr. Philbin was discussing quite another matter — the failure of the current Cardinal of the Washington Diocese — seems not to have entered Signor Hughes’s mind. In fact, his tirade can be easily labeled in Latin: ignoratio elenchi; the translation into Aramaic, unfortunately, escapes me.

Mr. Hughes, with indispensable assistance from Signor Lamsa, George W., endeavors to inform us how Jesus would have spoken the word, “God.” And how about, “one God”? Well my Aramaic is a bit rusty, so I will have to pass on that one, too, but I do hope that such ignorance does not demonstrate my contempt for praying and lack of erudition.

Mr. Hughes, I am sure that you know that Aramaic had disappeared as a working language, and Greek was the first language of the Church. You must also know — or should — that when the Church moved west to its current digs, Church, as opposed to Roman, Latin became its lingua franca, and has so been for more than 1500 years. There are small fragments of Greek within the Latin Mass — but Aramaic was too remote a linguistic medium to be considered practical to spread the Gospel, even if Christ spoke the language, so please forgive Mr. Philbin’s failing.

Since you started this enterprise, I have to inform you that your philippic is, frankly, silly, and shows your “…lack of either erudition or linguistics…” Ubi deficient equi trottant aselli. Class over.

p>Pax tecum — how would I say that in Aramaic? br> — Vincent Chiarello br> Reston, Virginia /p>