Oxford orations - Godfrey W Bond

The University Orator's job is to create formal presentations,
in Latin, to mark historic moments in academic life or, most
commonly, to present the honorary degrees which Oxford
periodically awards to leading international figures. The
distinguished Classical scholar Godfrey Bond, who held the post
of Orator between 1980 and 1992, was a master at creating concise
biographical portraits in clear, beautifully-constructed Latin.
This book contains a collection of his addresses to famous
figures, including Kiri te Kanawa, Cardinal Basil Hume, King Juan
Carlos of Spain, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Prince Naruhito of
Japan, Joseph Brodsky and Sir Vidia Naipaul. In all of these
elegant orations, the charm and the wit of the man who translated
jumbo jets as
balanenae ballistariae
(`catapulted whales') shines through.