Kitap 1
22
Whether it is correct Latin for counsel for the defence to say superesse se, that he is appearing for those whom he is defending; and the proper meaning of superesse.
22
AN incorrect and improper meaning of a word has been established by long usage, in that we use the expression hic illi superest when we wish to say that anyone appears as another's advocate and pleads his cause. And this is not merely the language of the streets and of the common people, but is used in the forum, the comitium and the courts. Those, however, who have spoken language undefiled have for the most part used superesse in the sense of to overflow, be superfluous, or exceed the required amount. Thus Marcus Varro, in the satire entitled You know not what evening may bring, Fr. 340, Bücheler. uses superfuisse in the sense of having exceeded the amount proper for the occasion. These are his words: Not everything should be read at a dinner party, but preferably such works as are at the same time improving and diverting, so that this feature of the entertainment also may seem not to have been neglected, rather than overdone.
