Vita perennis ave, vita caduca vale."
Rt.
Warmington.
"Cane Decane," &c. (Vol. v., p. 440).—I cannot inform your correspondent who was the author of the punning couplet—
"Cane Decane, canis; sed ne cane, cane Decane,
De cane, de canis, cane Decane, cane."
But I think that he has injured the spirit of the original in his "free translation."
Decanus means a "Dean," not a Deacon: and the word canis, which is both masculine and feminine, was often used by the poets in a metaphorical sense. It seems to me that the author was alluding to some aged dignitary of his day, who had been in the habit of singing songs upon the ladies. I therefore submit to you my more free translation:
1.
"Dean Hoare!