Prick up your ears, M. Davidson!

We are discussing a possible motto for "Grice".

From:


http://lsv.uky.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0809E&L=CLASSICS-L&P=R228&I=-3

M. Davidson suggests a

"line from Tennyson into Latin, "Live pure, speak true, right wrong, follow the King". My first attempt is "Integer vive, verum dic, malum corrige, Regem sequere"

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In fact, "monarcham" makes it gender-neuter, unless the person is prophetic? Recall that when Grice was first in Oxford there was a King. Only since 1953 has England got a Queen.

This relates to a previous post by M. Davidson. We were considering the analogy of 'boy' and 'man', as per Kipling:

He suggested:

>If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you... you must be a Membrum
>Virile.
>This may apply to certain people.

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True. But according to the OED, you can be _female_, e.g. a queen, and yet
prickful. Thus, the OED, notes 'prick' can be used for "annoying person" --
simpliciter. This is controversial. If 'penis' does indeed mean little tail (cf. post in LINGUIST list), technically, the clitoris should count as one. Unfortunately, the OED does not provide an unambiguous quote where 'prick'
is attributed to +FEMALE. On the other hand, it cites:

1973 J. WAINWRIGHT Devil you Don't 25
John Smith said: ‘Some men have big pricks.’ ‘Some men are big pricks.’
The only cite vaguely ambiguous I come across is this one by:

1822 W. HAZLITT Let. 31 May (1978) cxiv. 264
Her putting up with this prick of a fellow.

I would take it that the addition of "of a fellow" makes the Noun ('prick')
phrase gender-neutral (*This follows Grice's criterion of informative
quantity. In symbols: "Her putting up with x (= PRICK + MALE)", where we go on to
analyse 'prick' as "ANNOYING MALE", rendering the redundant, "Her putting up
with x = ANNOYING MALE + MALE".

Not to minimise the choice of motto, but what if the monarcha chooses wrong
(e.g. invade the Falkland Islands). I cannot see how you can _right_ wrong
and yet blindly follow _her_ -- who in turn, poor thing, is -- was -- only
following that prickess, Dame Thatcher!).

I would think the 'pure' is more like 'chastity' rather than 'integral',
which to me sounds like 'whole wheat'. Perhaps the motto should best be turned
into abstract values:

CHASTITAS, VERITAS, BONITAS, FIDELITAS

and then give it to a _nun_! :)