André
When Dean Stanley was invited to send an inscription for the André Monument at Tappan, it was a delicate and difficult task to avoid wounding the sensitiveness of either country, and he showed good taste not only in the composition of the English inscription, but also in the selection of the Latin one. In the latter case, however, the Dean was more happy in what he omitted than in what he admitted. He selected this very appropriate verse from Virgil: “Sunt lacrimæ rerum, et mentem mortalia tangunt.” But the whole of the beautiful quotation stands (Æneid i, 461–2):
“——Sunt hic etiam sua præmia laudi;
Sunt lacrimæ rerum, et mentem mortalia tangunt,”
which Dr. Anthon translates: “Even here has praiseworthy conduct its own reward, (even here) are there tears for misfortunes, and human affairs exert a touching influence on the heart.” What a bitter sarcasm the verse would have breathed if it had been cut in the André monument!