Dear Loxias,                        Sunday, August 03, 1997

  Someone included the following quotation in an email message.
  I was severely traumatized by High School Latin and never 
  recovered. I will appreciate your help.

  "Boni pastoris est tentere pocus non deglubere."

  I find your site tremendously interesting; it's on my 
  Favorites List.

The Latin quotation itself has also been severely traumatised! It should read:
boni pastoris est tondere pecus non deglubere.
It was apparently a favorite saying of the Emperor Tiberius (Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Tiberius 32) and means "A good shepherd shears his flock, he doesn't skin them". Tiberius used it with reference to taxation - possibly it's a motto which some modern governments should adopt!