March 23, 19 16] 



NATURE 



81 



tions, it seems probable that sqch calcareous forma- 

 tions, beneath a stratified layer, would result. The 

 solutes in the gel and in the water might, of course, 

 be interchanged. Since the limestone would be denser 

 than the gel, the proportion of silica contained in the 

 formations would be reduced to a ver}- small figure. 

 The unaffected gel would shrink by loss of water- with 

 time, and might eventually be washed away by the 

 action of water containing alkali carbonates in which 

 hydrated amorphous silica is readily soluble. 



The zonal structure of some of the concretions them- 

 selves might be ascribed to the effect of different rates 

 of adsorption of the mixed solutes in the gel. In the 

 layer immediately surrounding the growing concretion 

 one of the solutes would be exhausted first, allowing 

 the deposition of pure carbonate. By the time the 

 second solute had been completely extracted from the 

 envelope, the precipitation of the first might have 

 recommenced, and so on. The effect of the adsorp- 

 tion on the concentrations of the solutes would be felt 

 at some distance from the adsorbing centres ; so that 

 different spheroids might be formed in regions of 

 different concentration. Moreover, the concentrations 

 of the solutes would gradually decrease as precipita- 

 tion proceeded. This would account for the varying 

 composition of the concretions. None of the argu- 

 ments quoted by Prof. Garwood {\oc. cit.) against the 

 stalactitic theory of the origin of these formations 

 apf)ears to be incompatible with an adsorption hypo- 

 thesis. S. C. BUADFORD. 



The Science Museum, South Kensington, 

 London, S.W., March 9. 



International Latin. 



• The small band of scientific men who have long 

 been convinced that in Latin we have at hand the 

 best possible universal language for scientific purposes 

 will be gratified to note the matter has recently come 

 to the tore in your columns, though the regrettable 

 cause be the death of an eminent man. The urgent 

 need of an international medium of scientific com- 

 munication has by now become sufficiently obvious, 

 and has led, not only to the advocacy of Esperanto, but 

 to the manufacture, mainlv in Germany and by typic- 

 ally German methods, of yet another " language," 

 understood to be specially aimed at scientific require- 

 ments. 



It seems desirable to point out some of the advan- 

 tages of Latin as a latter-day antidote to the curse 

 of the Tower of Babel. These may briefly be classi- 

 fied into the facts : (i) that Latin. is to a large extent 

 "on the spot"; (2) that it lends itself quite as well 

 to the purpose in question as any living tongue ; and 

 (3) that it is a language, a vehicle of thought and 

 style and expression, as distinct from a shorthand 

 written in longhand characters. 



(i) Do not let us be influenced by the notion that 

 Latin is a stone-dead language. Written and spoken 

 it survives to this day in the Roman Catholic world. 

 Pharmacy has never given up the use of it. Within 

 living memory the debates of the Hungarian Diet 

 were held in Latin, and in many Continental universi- 

 ties dissertations, scientific and other, were couched 

 in Latin, the use of which remains optional even at 

 the present time. The flame has indeed died down, 

 but there are smouldering embers waiting for the 

 whiff that will kindle it anew. 



The vitality of Latin stands on a far surer founda- 

 tion, however, than one or two picturesque survivals. 

 Is not a greater or less knowledge of Latin the hall- 

 mark of every man having some claim to education, 

 whatever his nationality? Our traditional school 

 system of teaching Latin would no doubt have to be 

 modified if readiness in the use of Latin as a medium 

 NO. 2421, VOL. 97] 



of communication were .the object aimed at (which at 

 present it is not) ; but even as things are, 1 venture 

 to think that most of us would find the refurbishing 

 and readjusting of whatever Latin we learnt at school 

 not nearly so difficult as might at first blush be sup- 

 posed. Knowledge acquired in early youth is a re- 

 markably tenacious thing. Furthermore, it is impos- 

 sible for an educated man ever to shake off a certain 

 familiarity with Latin, owing to the persistence of 

 Latin words and phrases, and of words derived from 

 Latin, in everyday language. 



(2) The priricipal requisite of a language for scien- 

 ' tific purposes is that it should be capable of rendering 



a wide range of concepts both clearly and concisely. 

 ! All those modern languages which have been brought 

 into the service of science perform the task of accurate 

 I presentation on the w-hole adequately. One reason for 

 I this — possibly the chief reason — is that scientific litera- 

 ! ture is thickly larded with words and phrases of common 

 I international acceptation, and these, we may note, are 

 mainly of Latin or Greek origin. They will fall into 

 their places with the utmost sweetness when Latin is 

 revived. As for conciseness, English, with the sim- 

 plicity of its inflexions and constructions, perhaps 

 bears the palm, but, it may be feared, rather at the 

 expense of clearness. The very terseness of English 

 often seriously hampers the writer or speaker who 

 would avoid ambiguity. Hence the somewhat richer 

 grammar of Latin is not really in the nature of a 

 defect, and in an}' case Latin composition makes con- 

 siderably less demand on the grammatical memory 

 than German or Russian. 



Is Latin sufficiently adaptable to modern scientific 

 needs? Surely, yes. Repeatedly Latin has risen ad- 

 mirably to the occasion when applied to a precise and 

 highly technical subject; one need only think of Jus- 

 tinian's "Code" and Newton's "Principia." A great 

 number of new terminological vocables would, of 

 course, have to be added to the limited Latin of 

 classical times, but to assign the proper form, in- 

 flexions, and connotation to these words would be an 

 easy task for an international committee, and would 

 incidentally have a most beneficial effect in the direc- 

 tion of clearing scientific parlance generally. Chem- 

 istr}', it may be mentioned, possesses a ready-made 

 Latin terminology, handed on through the centuries 

 by the pharmacists. 



(3) The question must be faced whether we want 

 an international language, like Latin, or an inter- 

 national Pidgin, like Volapuk, Esperanto, Ido, etc. 

 I plead confidently for the former. A true language 

 cannot be made to order; it must be evolved. The 

 various w^ll-meant attempts at artificial " languages," 

 each fully conscious of its predecessors' infirmities, can 

 only be regarded as a succession of experiments — 

 tending to what? We may expect further attempts as 

 time goes on, attempts yet more poverty-stricken, yet 

 more remote from the least approach to amenity, and 

 yet more incapable of expressing anything but bald 

 facts. The logical outcome of the series would doubt- 

 less be something not essentially different from the 

 system of algebraical signs, chemical formulae, and 

 arithmetical figures, which we already have. 

 Language, on the other hand, enables us not only to 

 state facts, but to modulate the statements of facts, 

 to exchange views, to express personality, and so on. 

 Language, moreover, has in itself the power of stimu- 

 lating understanding and imagination, much as the 

 savour of food stimulates its digestion. Science cannot' 

 dispense with notation, but no more can it dispense 

 with language. And if anyone doubts that Latin is 

 equal to any modern tongue in these ampler character- 

 istics of language, let him but read his classics. 



The scientific world, then, may do well to consider 

 seriouslv the revival of Latin as an international 



