The Motor Bus

From: Johannes Patruus <JPatruus@aol.com>

Date: Thursday 13 June 2002 22:57:05

Groups: alt.language.latin

no references



The following macaronic verse, by A. Godley, is from an old Latin
school text of mine. On googling for it, I was surprised to find it in
as many as six websites and umpteen newsgroup postings though,
mirabile dictu, not this NG, so here it is:

  What is this that roareth thus? 
  Can it be a Motor Bus? 
  Yes, the smell and hideous hum 
  Indicat Motorem Bum! 
  Implet in the Corn and High 
  Terror me Motoris Bi: 
  Bo Motori clamitabo 
  Ne Motore caedar a Bo - 
  Dative be or Ablative 
  So thou only let us live - 
  Whither shall thy victims flee? 
  Spare us, spare us, Motor Be! 
  Thus I sang; and still anigh 
  Came in hordes Motores Bi, 
  Et complebat omne forum 
  Copia Motorum Borum. 
  How shall wretches live like us 
  Cincti Bis Motoribus? 
  Domine, defende nos 
  Contra hos Motores Bos!

NOTES

1. From postings in alt.usage.english and rec.humor.jewish, it appears
that the poem was penned in January 1914 and that the author was
Alfred D. Godley (1856-1925), British scholar, born in Leitrim,
sometime fellow and tutor of Magdalen College.

2. A posting in rec.music.clasical describes it as:
 "the famous motor bus poem which teaches 3d-declension masculine
  and 2d-declension neuter Latin declensions in all six cases
  and in both singular and plural"

3. There is a translation and a sung recitation with guitar
accompaniment in RealAudio (I kid you not!) at:
  http://www.dws.ndirect.co.uk/ra.htm
(about three quarters of the way down the page).

4. It appears that "Corn" and "High" in line 5 refer to the Cornmarket
and High Street (two streets in Oxford). Also, there is a varia lectio
in which line 5 reads:
  "Implet wheresoe'er they ply"

Johannes

Well, I laughed my bottom off. Have to grow a new one again, I guess.