Category: Varia

Age Quod Agis

DocHollidayAge quod agis is a well-known saying which is a sort of Latin call to mindfulness: do what you are doing. Be here now in the activity at hand.

Legend has it that Johnny Ringo was an educated man.  (Not so: a story for later.) But so he is depicted over and over. In this scene from Tombstone, the best of the movies about Doc Holliday and the shoot-out at the O. K. Corral, Ringo trades Latinisms with the gun-totin' dentist, who was indeed an educated man and a fearless and deadly gunslinger to boot, his fearlessness a function of his 'consumption.'

I don't mean his consumption of spirits, but his tuberculosis. His was the courage of an embittered man, close to death.

The translations in the video clip leave something to be desired. Age quod agis gets translated as 'do what you do best'; the literal meaning, however, is do what you are doing. Age is in the imperative mood; quod is 'what'; agis is the second person singular present tense of agere and means: 'you do' or 'you are doing.'

Curiously, Doc Holliday did not die with his boots on. He died in bed.

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Maverick Philosopher: Latin Versus Italian: Differences

Examples of Outfits Not to Join

"Study everything, join nothing."  I am sometimes asked for examples.  Here are some from Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary under the entry Regalia. (Borrowed from Gilleland the Erudite):

. . . Knights of Adam; Visionaries of Detectable Bosh; the Ancient Order of Modern Troglodytes; the League of Holy Humbug; the Golden Phalanx of Phalangers; the Genteel Society of Expurgated Hoodlums; the Mystic Alliances of Gorgeous Regalians; Knights and Ladies of the Yellow Dog; the Oriental Order of Sons of the West; the Blatherhood of Insufferable Stuff; Warriors of the Long Bow; Guardians of the Great Horn Spoon; the Band of Brutes; the Impenitent Order of Wife-Beaters; the Sublime Legion of Flamboyant Conspicuants; Worshipers at the Electroplated Shrine; Shining Inaccessibles; Fee-Faw-Fummers of the Inimitable Grip; Jannissaries of the Broad-Blown Peacock; Plumed Increscencies of the Magic Temple; the Grand Cabal of Able-Bodied Sedentarians; Associated Deities of the Butter Trade; the Garden of Galoots; the Affectionate Fraternity of Men Similarly Warted; the Flashing Astonishers; Ladies of Horror; Cooperative Association for Breaking into the Spotlight; Dukes of Eden; Disciples Militant of the Hidden Faith; Knights-Champions of the Domestic Dog; the Holy Gregarians; the Resolute Optimists; the Ancient Sodality of Inhospitable Hogs; Associated Sovereigns of Mendacity; Dukes-Guardian of the Mystic Cess-Pool; the Society for Prevention of Prevalence; Kings of Drink; Polite Federation of Gents-Consequential; the Mysterious Order of the Undecipherable Scroll; Uniformed Rank of Lousy Cats; Monarchs of Worth and Hunger; Sons of the South Star; Prelates of the Tub-and-Sword.

I hereby nominate Hillary Clinton for membership in Associated Sovereigns of Mendacity and Harvey Weinstein for The Ancient Sodality of Inhospitable Hogs.

As for myself, I would not join any club that would have me as a member, to cop a line from Groucho Marx.

Minimalist and Maximalist Modes of Holiday Impersonality

'Tis the season for the letter carriers of the world to groan under their useless burdens of impersonal greetings.

Impersonality in the minimalist style typically takes the form of a store-bought card with a pre-fabricated message to which is appended an embossed name. A step up from this is a handwritten name. Slightly better is the nowadays common family picture with handwritten name but no message.

The maximalist style is far worse. Now we are in for a lengthy litany of the manifold accomplishments of the sender and his family which litany may run to a page or two of single-spaced text.

One size fits all. No attempt to address any one person as a person.

"It's humbug, I tell you, humbug!"

Happy Thanksgiving

To all States-side readers, and best wishes of the season to the rest of you.  Let's make it a politics-free day, shall we? I'll do my best, and you do yours.

I am indeed grateful for your readership!

If you care to read my Thanksgiving homilies and such, go here.

Happy Halloween!

Hillary-Ditch-the-witchThe more I know about Hillary, the gladder I am that Trump sent her packing. The cartoon appeared before the election, but proved to be prophetic. What is truly scary is that if she had won, all her recently-revealed greed-driven dirty dealings would never have come to light.

No Day Without Political Incorrectness

So today being St. Patrick's Day I think I will engage in some 'cultural appropriation.' I have been invited to a street party at which corned beef and cabbage will be served, and I shall partake.  I'm not big on parties, but a little socializing with one's neighbors is conducive to comity.

The wise do not multiply enemies beyond necessity; neither do they ignore easy opportunities to strengthen social relations.  We are social animals whether we like it or not.

An hour of my time, beer and banter, some Irish grub, and then back to the inner citadel.

Why No Posts Yesterday?

Because of a Typepad outage. Not my fault! Typepad, though, has served me well over the years.  I have been with them since Halloween, 2008.  Been blogging, though, since 2004. Total Typepad pageviews are now over four million.  I thank you for your patronage.  I'll write all the same, readers or no. I'm a natural-born scribbler.  But it is nice to be read and receive fan mail.  I'm only human.

If you are a person of good will, I wish you the best for the New Year.  If you are not, I wish you a belated bag of Christmas coal.

This is a good time to repeat MY PLEDGE:

You will never see advertising on this site.  You will never see anything that jumps around in your visual field.  You will not be assaulted by unwanted sounds.  You will never have to read anything against a black background. I will not beg for money with a 'tip jar.'  This is a labor of love and I prize my independence.

I also pledge to continue the fight, day by day, month by month, year by year, against the hate-America, race-baiting, religion-bashing, liberty-destroying, gun-grabbing, university-trashing, truth-intolerant, terror-appeasing fascists of the Left.  As long as health and eyesight hold out.

I will not pander to anyone, least of all the politically correct.  

And I won't back down.  Are you with me?

Afraid to show some civil courage? Buy guns and learn how to use them. That should enhance your self-confidence.