From the Classical Age
The harder you fall, the higher you bounce.
… Horace
Entry in Autograph Album
‘Tis done beneath the mistletoe,
‘Tis done “beneath the rose,”
But the proper place to kiss, you know,
Is just beneath the nose.
On Unitarianism
“My dear, what makes you always yawn?”
The wife exclaimed, her temper gone,
“Is home so dull and dreary?”
“Not so, my love,” he said, “not so;
But man and wife are one, you know;
And when alone, I’m weary.”
From the Word Lab
Cynic. The ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics was founded by Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates’, and made famous by his pupil, Diogenes. They were ostentatiously contemptuous of ease, luxury, or wealth, and were given their name because Antisthenes held his school in the Gymnasium, Cynosarges (white dog), so called because a white dog once carried away part of a victim who was there being offered to Hercules.
When Alexander went to see Diogenes, the young King of Macedonia introduced himself with these words: “I am Alexander, surnamed the Great,” to which the philosopher replied, “And I am Diogenes, surnamed the Dog.” The Athenians raised to his memory a pillar of Parian marble, surmounted by a dog, with this inscription: “Say, dog, I pray, what guard you in that tomb?”—“A dog.”—“His name?”—“Diogenes.”—“From far?”—“Sinope.”—“What! Who made a tub his home?”—“The same; now dead, amongst the stars a star.”
What’s in a Name?
Capamajian: Turkish in derivation, identified as a trade, capamaji is a dealer in all kinds of ready-made clothing, shoes, etc.
Be the first to comment