This poem to Dic Aberdaron, the celebrated Welsh linguist, was published in the collection 'Welsh Airs' (Poetry Wales Press, 1987). R. S. Thomas (1913-2000) based this poem on a painting of Dic Aberdaron (Richard Robert Jones), which hung in his home. Richard Robert Jones or 'Dic Aberdaron' (1780-1843) as he was commonly known was a travelling linguist from Aberdaron, Caernarfonshire. Despite receiving very little formal education, he is said to have been fluent in at least 14 languages. He spent many years travelling the country with his books and his cat! He was buried at St. Asaph in 1844.

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