2012年12月27日 星期四

Agonistes


Abe agonistes



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The word Agonistes (pron.: /æɡəˈnɪstz/),[1] found as an epithet following a person's name, means “the struggler” or “the combatant.” It is most often an allusion to John Milton’s 1671 verse tragedy Samson Agonistes, which recounts the end of Samson's life, when he is a blind captive of the Philistines, described as being “Eyeless in Gaza at the mill with slaves”. The struggle thatSamson Agonistes centres upon is the effort of Samson to renew his faith in God’s support. E. H. Visiak wrote a study of Milton titled Milton Agonistes.

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[edit]Etymology and pronunciation

The word “agonistes” is a borrowing from Greek “agōnistēs” (ἀγωνιστής), where it means “someone who struggles for a cause”. The same Greek word has given rise to English “agonist” (including the forms “protagonist” and “antagonist”). This word is derived from “agōn” (ἀγών) meaning a struggle, contest or assembly. In English, “agon” usually refers to the conflict between the main characters in a literary or artistic work. Another related word is “agony”, which originally referred to mental struggle.
As in Greek, the word “agonistes” is four syllables long.

[edit]Post-Miltonic use

Probably the most famous post-Miltonic use of “Agonistes” is by T. S. Eliot, who titled one of his dramas Sweeney Agonistes, where Sweeney, who appeared in several of Eliot's poems, represents the materialistic and shallow modern man.[citation needed] Another well-known example is Garry Wills' 1969 political book Nixon Agonistes, discussing embattled President Richard Nixon. Today, the word occasionally appears in headlines in a similar fashion, e.g., Rumsfeld Agonistes, George W. Agonistes. Also, the term Gore Agonistes was used to describe Vice President Albert Gore's struggle during this 2000 Election recount imbroglio.

2012年12月25日 星期二

An Essay on Criticism /decorum

de·co·rum (dĭ-kôr'əm, -kōr'-) pronunciation
n.
  1. Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety: "In the Ireland of the 1940's ... the stolidity of a long, empty, grave face was thought to be the height of decorum and profundity" (John McGahern).
  2. decorums The conventions or requirements of polite behavior: the formalities and decorums of a military funeral.
  3. The appropriateness of an element of an artistic or literary work, such as style or tone, to its particular circumstance or to the composition as a whole.
 'Tis not enough no harshness gives offense;
The sound must seem an echo to the sense.
  • Line 162.
Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows,
And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows;
But when loud surges lash the sounding shore,
The hoarse rough verse should like the torrent roar.
When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw,
The line too labours, and the words move slow:
An Essay on Criticism was the first major poem written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688-1744).

[Latin decōrum, from decōrus, becoming, handsome. See decorous.]


[名][U]
1 (行為・言葉・服装などの)端正さ, 礼儀正しさ;((〜s))礼儀作法
with decorum
礼儀正しく
forget decorum
礼を失する.
2 適切なもの;適切さ.

2012年12月11日 星期二

Proverbs 16:1

 King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue,
 內心策劃在於人, 應允卻在於上主. (箴16:1)


 http://bible.cc/proverbs/16-1.htm

 King James Translators' Notes
preparations: or, disposings

 disposition章法, composition 句法
錢鍾書談藝錄
 transpire,disposings, disposition, indisposition,...

 思高版聖經 
第十六章
謀事在人成事在天
  • 內心策劃在於人,應允卻在於上主。
  • 對自己的行為,人都自覺無瑕;但審察心靈的,卻是上主。
  • 將你的作為委託於上主,這樣你的計劃必會成功。
  • 上主所造的各有其用意,連惡人也有不幸的一日。
  • 居心傲慢的,上主必厭惡;這一類的人,逃不掉懲罰。
  • 藉慈善忠誠,可補贖罪過;藉敬畏上主,可避免罪惡。
  • 世人的行徑,若中悅上主,他必使仇敵,再與他和好。
  • 收入少而守正義,勝於進款多而行不義。
  • 人心裏都策劃自己的行徑;但他的步伐卻由上主支配。