Vincent Bourne

Vincent Bourne (familiarly known as Vinny Bourne; 1695 – 2 December 1747), was an English classical scholar and Neo-Latin poet. Quotes thumb|When children first begin to spell,And stammer out a syllable,We think them tedious creatures;But difficulties soon abate,When birds are to be taught to prate,And women are the teachers. Ardua discenti nulla est, res nulla docenti    Ardua; cum doceat fœmina, discat avis. Belinda and her bird! 'tis rare To meet with such a well-match'd pair, —    The language and the tone, Each character in every part Sustain'd with so much grace and art,    And both in unison. When children first begin to spell, And stammer out a syllable,    We think them tedious creatures; But difficulties soon abate, When birds are to be taught to prate,    And women are the teachers. Simile agit in simile, l. 19. Translated by William Cowper as "The Parrot" Concursus spectat, plateaque negotia in omni,    Omnia pro nugis at sapienter habet. Clamores, quos infra audit, si forsitan audit,    Pro rebus nihili negligit, et crocitat. He sees that this great roundabout The world, with all its motley rout, Church, army, physic, law, Its customs and its businesses, Is no concern at all of his, And says — what says he? — Caw. Cornicula, l. 15. Translated by William Cowper as "The Jackdaw" Vernantem in campum mecum descende, novique    Videris, ut surgat primula, veris honos. Dum populus circum cantat pennatus, amori    Quam mecum ad Tuedam lenta vacare potes! Come, let us go forth to the mead,    Let us see how the primroses spring; We'll lodge in some village on Tweed,    And love, where the feathered folks sing. Tueda, l. 9. Translated by Robert Crawford as "Tweed-Side" Quotes about Bourne I love the memory of Vinny Bourne. I think him a better Latin poet than Tibullus, Propertius, Ausonius, or any of the writers in his way, except Ovid, and not at all inferior to him. William Cowper, Letter to John Newton (23 May 1781); Haley, Life and Posthumous Writings of Cowper, vol. 3 (1804) p. 76. Quoted as epigraph in The Poetical Works of Vincent Bourne (Oxford: Talboys and Wheeler, 1826) front matter External links John Gilmore, "Parrots, Poets and Philosophers: Language and Empire in the Eighteenth Century", EnterText, vol. 2, no. 2 (Summer 2003) pp. 93–94 Category:1695 births Category:1747 deaths Category:Classical scholars Category:Poets from England Category:Neo-Latin writers Category:University of Cambridge alumni