" At the end of a Life
of St. Sebastian: "Illustrious martyr, remember the monk Gondacus who in
this slender volume has included the story of thy glorious miracles. May
thy merits assist me to penetrate the heavenly kingdom; and may thy holy
prayers aid me as they have aided so many others who have owed to them
the ineffable enjoyments both of body and soul." Wailly quotes the
following: "Dextram scriptoris benedicat mater honoris" ("May the mother
of honour bless the writer's right hand"). A very common ending is "Qui
scripsit scribat semper cum Domino vivat" ("He who wrote, let him write;
may he ever live with the Lord"). Another: "Explicit expliceat. Bibere
scriptor eat" ("It is finished. Let it be finished, and let the writer
go out for a drink"). Another ending is "Vinum scriptori reddatur de
meliori" ("Let wine of the best be given to the writer"). And again:
"Vinum reddatur scriptori, non teneatur" ("Let wine be given to the
writer; let it not be withheld"). Here is the recompense wished for by a
French monk: "Detur pro pen? scriptori pulcra puella" ("Let a pretty
girl be given to the writer for his pains," or "as a penance") The monks
enjoyed puns, as "bibere," a common pun on "vivere." One writer groans
thus: "Scribere qui nescit, nullum putat esse laborem" ("Whoso knows not
how to write, thinks it is no trouble").
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