Edgar Allan Poe . C. Auguste Dupin
Arthur Conan Doyle . Sherlock Holmes
Agatha Christie . Hercule Poirot . Miss Marple
When I was in school learning and writing about Edgar Allan Poe — and invariably nodding off partway through “The Fall of the House of Usher” — I was introduced to C. Auguste Dupin, Poe’s creation and invention, the ratiocinating detective. I seem to remember Poe writing an essay on ratiocination. I wanted to use the word today and wasn’t sure what the verb form might be so I looked it up. The dictionary search also offered up a link to https://rogueclassicism.com/ which the author defines thusly: “rogueclassicism: 1. n. an abnormal state or condition resulting from the forced migration from a lengthy Classical education into a profoundly unClassical world; 2. n. a blog about Ancient Greece and Rome compiled by one so afflicted (v. “rogueclassicist”); 3. n. a Classics blog.” How cool is that. Thanks for sharing the Merriam Webster video; it covered everything I needed and wanted to know about this precious Poe gift of a word. I like the soft rasssiocination pronunciation of the word. My goodness, but how my spelling has suffered in my isolation.