[blml] Exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[Alain Gottcheiner]

At 08:45 8/05/2007 +1000, richard.hills at immi.gov.au wrote:


>Practical Latin website:
>
> >>>exceptio probat regulam: "the exception establishes the rule."


Yes, it's a very common error.

About 90% of English-speaking Frenchmen translate "the proof of the pudding 
..." as "la preuve du pudding...", which is ridiculous.
Why would it be impossible that the same error be committed here ?
(remark that "proof" is made on the same root as "probare". In English, 
"probare" gave both "probe" and " prove", but the substantive is the same. 
In French we have "éprouver" vs "prouver")

> >>It has often been suggested in reference works that _prove_ here is
> >>really being used in the sense of "test" (as it does in terms like
> >>"proving ground" or "the proof of the pudding is in the eating", or in
> >>the printer's proof, which is a test page run off to see that all is
> >>correct with the typesetting). It is said that the real idea behind
> >>the saying is that the presence of what looks like an exception tests
> >>whether a rule is really valid or not. If you can't reconcile the
> >>supposed exception with the rule, there must indeed be something wrong
> >>with the rule. The expression is indeed used in this sense, but that's
> >>not where it comes from or what it strictly means.

I'm an admirator of Quinion's work, but disagree with him on this point.
The problem is, he considers the English translation "prove" as the basis 
of his argumentation (that the second sense is too uncommon), but the error 
was committed upstream, when translating from Latin. The translation 
shouldn't have been "prove" in the first place.

Another well-known translation error from Latin has made Mary a virgin, 
when she only was a young lady (virgo). No need to invoke a double-entendre 
in the English word.

Come to think of it, what does an exception do ? Reinforce the rule, or 
weaken it ?

Best regards

  Alain