St. Lucia, January, 1851.
"_Ejusdem Farinæ._"--Your readers are acquainted with the expression
"ejusdem farinæ," and the derogatory sense in which it is employed to
describe things or characters of the same calibre. It was in common use
among clerical disputants after the Reformation; and Leland has it in the
following remarks respecting certain fabulous interpolations in the _Black
Book_ at Cambridge:
"Centum sunt ibi, præterea, ejusdem farinæ fabulæ."
I have no doubt, however, that the origin of the expression may be traced
to the scholastic doctors and casuists of the Middle Ages.
Will any of your correspondents be good enough to explain the circumstances
which gave rise to the adoption of "farina" as a term expressive of
baseness and disparagement?