Lost in translation

I HAVE heard from Helen Lawrenson, a former Latin teacher at Morgan Academy in Dundee and Madras College in St Andrews.

She emails: “I. Lumsden’s watchword “Strive to learn” is an excellent motto which would offer a suitable approach to both school and life. Unfortunately, it is not an accurate translation of Kirkcaldy High’s motto “Usque conabor”!

“While a well-meaning teacher may have adapted the translation for the school’s purposes, the Latin does not speak of “learning” at all: as Gordon Brown — a respectable Latin scholar — correctly translated it, the motto means “I will try my utmost”.

“A worthy motto, whether applying to learning, to the world of work, or to life itself.”