Hic Rhodus, Hic Salta

"Here is Rhodes, jump here" (through the hoops of political correctness).  A graduate of Oriel College, Oxford University, sent me this statement concerning the Rhodes Must Fall petition.  A memorial to Cecil Rhodes, that is.  Can you say Der Untergang des Abendlandes?

"Here is Rhodes, jump here."  From Aesop's Fables #209, "The Boastful Athlete."  A man who had been off in foreign lands returns home.  He brags of his exploits.  He claims that in Rhodes he made a long jump the likes of which had never been seen before.  A skeptical bystander calls him on his boast:  Here's your Rhodes, jump here!

The moral?  Put your money where your mouth is.  Don't talk about it, do it!

Perhaps an erudite classicist such as Mike Gilleland could say more on this topic.  He would have to do at least the following:  dig up all the ancient sources in Greek and Latin; trace the saying in Erasmus and Goethe; comment on Hegel's variation on the saying in the Vorrede zur Philosophie des Rechts, explaining why he has saltus for salta; find and comment on Marx's comment on Hegel's employment of the saying.

Finally, if Alan Rhoda were to rename his cleverly titled, but now defunct, weblog Alanyzer -- and I'm not saying he should -- he might consider Hic Rhoda, Hic Salta.  He is a very tall man; I'm 6' 1'' and had to look up to see his face when I met him in Las Vegas some years back.  To jump over him would be quite a feat.

UPDATE 12/19:  Dave Lull, argonaut nonpareil of cyberspace and friend and facilitator of bloggers, informs me that Dr. Gilleland has taken note of my call for an erudite classicist.  This bibliomaniac, antediluvian, and curmudgeon does not, however, consider himself "truly erudite."  If his self-deprecatory consideration is just, then he had me fooled.

As for Mr. Lull, here is a tribute to him.

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"Here is Rhodes, jump here."  From Aesop's Fables #209, "The Boastful Athlete."  A man who had been off in foreign lands returns home.  He brags of his exploits.  He claims that in Rhodes he made a long jump the likes of which had never been seen before.  A skeptical bystander calls him on his boast:  Here's your Rhodes, jump here!

The moral?  Put your money where your mouth is.  Don't talk about it, do it!

Perhaps an erudite classicist such as Mike Gilleland could say more on this topic.  He would have to do at least the following:  dig up all the ancient sources in Greek and Latin; trace the saying in Erasmus and Goethe; comment on Hegel's variation on the saying in the Vorrede zur Philosophie des Rechts, explaining why he has saltus for salta; find and comment on Marx's comment on Hegel's employment of the saying.

Finally, if Alan Rhoda were to rename his cleverly titled, but now defunct, weblog Alanyzer -- and I'm not saying he should -- he might consider Hic Rhoda, Hic Salta.  He is a very tall man; I'm 6' 1'' and had to look up to see his face when I met him in Las Vegas some years back.  To jump over him would be quite a feat.

UPDATE 12/19:  Dave Lull, argonaut nonpareil of cyberspace and friend and facilitator of bloggers, informs me that Dr. Gilleland has taken note of my call for an erudite classicist.  This bibliomaniac, antediluvian, and curmudgeon does not, however, consider himself "truly erudite."  If his self-deprecatory consideration is just, then he had me fooled.

As for Mr. Lull, here is a tribute to him.

Related articles