Horses run on grassoline

WHEN God said ‘Let there be light,’ He had named the thing before it came to be—indeed, the naming stands out as sure step to creation. Language will not be in accordance with the truth of things, as Confucius wrote, ‘if names are not correct.’

Islas de los ladrones was the not-too-savory name the nation was lashed with after natives of yore, likely the ancestors of unscrupulous government officials, filched provisions from Magellan’s fleet. It took a few more ages before the Spanish conquerors settled for a name that ascribes affinity to and dominion of their king over inhabitants of the archipelago.