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The University of Cambridge's Latinists were at full stretch last week for the university's new batch of honorary degrees (see page 1), since the nomination speeches are performed in both English and Latin. They had to get it right because one of the nominees, Noam Chomsky (Instituti Technologiae de Massachusetts Professorem) happens to be the world's leading authority on languages.

Another, Jacques Friedel, is an expert "de turbato principiorum metalli ordine librum," ie in disruptions in the atomic structure of metals. But first prize goes to the translation of Paul Judge's business career, which was so successful "ut alii occupandi causa permulta pendere uellent." In other words, a takeover bid came in for his company.