Latin for Pigs: 2An Illustrated History from Oedipork to Hog & Das

by Lisa Angowski Rogak, Virginia R. Blackert

A compendium of distinguished characters and their contributions features the profiles of Albert Einswine, Pablo Pigcasso, and Porkasus, the flying pig, as well as noting classic works of porcine literature including ""Oinkle Tom's Cabin.""

96 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's cute, but not that cute. Perhaps there's someone so into pigs that this becomes an achievement, but awkward to think who that might be.

[John J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book baffles me. Not the profundity of the content (none), nor the subtlety of the humor (again none)... but why it exists at all. Latin for Pigs primarily consists of amateurish illustrations of anthropomorphic pigs captioned with porcine puns. It is divided into six thematic chapters: Myths (e.g. "Oedipork Rex" & "Pigmalion"), The Arts and Sciences (e.g. "Harriet Beecher Sow" & "Pablo Pigcasso"), Leaders (e.g. "Mikhail Boarbachev" & "Sadham Hogsain"), and Legends (e.g. "Frankenswine" & "Robin Hog"). As noted, the character profiles of these first four chapters are laden with porky puns, for example:

Mickey Pourke: American sex-symbol film actor. His many fighting, drooling, and grunting roles in films such as Barpig and 9 1/2 Squeals won the hearts of French cinema goers.

If this is your sort of thing, then press on for more canned ham.

Chapter five, Language Legacies, consists of similar porkustrations (oh how clever of me), except the puns are in Latin (e.g. "Errare swinanum - To err is piggish" & "Cogito, ergo sum porcus - I think, therefore I am a pig"). Finally, Chapter six, Elements of Latin for Pigs, consists of a handful of Roman numerals and actual Latin words and phrases accompanied by more pig drawings. That's right, the book's rump roast won't even compel a salty snort from a porkullent pun.

I picked up Latin for Pigs long ago when I was studying classics in college, believing it would contain some Latin language humor. I was wrong. If you are obsessed with the even-toed ungulates of the Suidae family, and you enjoy a refreshing roll in the puns, then this book was probably written for you. If you are looking for Latin humor, look elsewhere.