Swift’s Latin Puns
Among the nugæ of Dean Swift are his celebrated Latin puns. They consist entirely of Latin words, but, by allowing for false spelling, and running the words into each other, the sentences make good sense in English. The subjoined is one of his best—
| Mollis abuti, | Moll is a beauty. |
| Has an acuti, | Has an acute eye. |
| No lasso finis, | No lass so fine is. |
| Molli divinis. | Molly divine is. |
| Omi de armis tres, | O my dear mistress. |
| Imi na dis tres, | I’m in distress. |
| Cantu disco ver | Can’t you discover. |
| Meas alo ver? | Me as a lover? |