CELL - a question about Latin (possible spoilers)

[Lissi]

Hi there everyone! I have a query about the Latin used in Cell. (Just so you know, I study Latin - I'm a bit of a geek about it ^^;;; )

The Raggedy Man / President of Harvard calls Clay, Tom, Alice and Jordan insane. (Or, possibly, enthusiastic, but I doubt that's the intended translation). Here's a quote, it's the best way to get across what I mean:

Tom was on one end of the line. A man had walked to him, a special man, and put a hand over his head. [...]And he'd said, 'Ecce homo - insana.' And the crowd - thousands of them - had roared back, 'DON'T TOUCH!' in a single voice. The man had gone to Clay and repeated this. With his hand above Alice's head the man had said, 'Ecce femina - insana.' Above Jordan, 'Ecce puer - insanus.'

Basically, 'ecce homo/femina/puer - insana/us' means 'Look, man/woman/boy - insane!' That's not a great translation, but you get the idea.

My point is, 'insana' is the feminine form of the adjective; 'insanus' is masculine. King's using the feminine form of the adjective for Tom and Clay, who are clearly male. This could be a mistake. It could be a deliberate mistake, accounting for the fact that most of the phoners probably don't know Latin. It could be an obscure reference to Tom being gay. In which case - why is the same used of Clay?

Does anyone have an explanation for this? I'd love to hear other people's views. Of course, if my Latin is wrong, then correct me, but I'm pretty sure it's not. Anyway, help and opinions are appreciated! ^^

[Photosynthesis]

Possibly it's just a typo in your book, in mine the Raggedy Man calls Tom and Clay Ecce homo insanus.

[brandon]

I took latin in high school for 2 years and I can say with a straight face that it was the most useful class I ever took. You are probably right in your observations. I never really took an interest in conjugations and such so I cant remember. I know probably 150-200 latin words and can usually at least get the gist of what a writer is trying to say. Also helpful in figuring out meanings of unknown contemporary and foreign words.

[E.Freemantle]

Ecce Homo -Insana," Behold, The Man Effeminately Insane" I doubt it is a typo. I believe you have read it right. Sai King has a way of dropping thought spores that connect into larger importance as Constant Reader reads more. It might be a sort of Harvard Joke or Jab against Yale scrambled in the Mind of Harvard phoner. I guess,it is intentional - with Mr. King All Things Are In The Details. Thanks E. Freemantle AKA Beambounder.

[GNTLGNT]

Probably unintentional...but appreciate the Latin update.I had two colossal years of Latin in HS-as old as I am it was probably still the spoken word of the day-anyway, the only thing I recall is how to tell someone to "Go to Hell" in the vernacular and "You have a face of a female frog". Neither of which is scintillating conversation starter nor does it allow me to catch "errors" such as you describe...

[nickiscool_94]

it's not a typo, that is what it says in my book as well. cell is a great book!