[Bell Historians] Latin Inscription

[John Camp]

At 13:19 on 08 May 2011, Philip Denton wrote:
> I would be interested to discover the earliest known uses of the Latin inscription 
>  
> INTACTUM SILEO PERCUTE DUCE CANO
>  
> (which translates approximately as "Untouched I am silent, when struck
> I sweetly sing.")

Very approximately.

"Duce" should be "dulce", as has been pointed out.

I am not at all clear about "percute".  It appears to be an imperative.
One might expect an object, such as "me", somewhere, as it is a
transitive verb.  ("Strike me and I sing sweetly".) Alternatively,
"percussum" would translate more accurately as "when struck".

Probably just lousy mediaeval Latin.

John Camp