Interesting book
May. 2nd, 2003 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kengrHere's a quote. Lets see if anyone can place it:
To fit in with the change of events, words, too, had to change their meanings. What used to be described as thoughtless acts of aggression was now regarded as the courage one would expect to find in a party member; to think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one's unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant one was totally unfit for action. Fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man, and to plot against an enemy behind his back was perfectly legitimate self-defense. Anyone who held violent opinions could always be trusted, and anyone who objected to them became a suspect.
Ok, got your guess about what it's from ready?
It's from Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War written around 2500 years ago.
(translated by Rex Warner)
Some things never change.
The book? It's Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk (revised edition).
I've only read the introduction so far, but I got tidbits like the quote above, I disagree with the author about some things he says. He doesn't seem to grasp the idea that some "technical terms" (aka "terms of art") are *not* euphemisms, but rather intended to convey information missing from the term he considers them a euphemism for.
Two examples from the introduction. He mentions "entrenching tool" as an attempt to make a shovel seem more important. In reality, it's a reference to a very *specific* type of shovel.
Likewise, he mentions "above critical" as a way of avoiding saying that a reactor is out of control. But in the context of the quote he gives as a source, it's actually being given as a more precise way of saying *how* it's "out of control". <sigh>
Still, I expect to have fun going through this.
To fit in with the change of events, words, too, had to change their meanings. What used to be described as thoughtless acts of aggression was now regarded as the courage one would expect to find in a party member; to think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one's unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant one was totally unfit for action. Fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man, and to plot against an enemy behind his back was perfectly legitimate self-defense. Anyone who held violent opinions could always be trusted, and anyone who objected to them became a suspect.
Ok, got your guess about what it's from ready?
It's from Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War written around 2500 years ago.
(translated by Rex Warner)
Some things never change.
The book? It's Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk (revised edition).
I've only read the introduction so far, but I got tidbits like the quote above, I disagree with the author about some things he says. He doesn't seem to grasp the idea that some "technical terms" (aka "terms of art") are *not* euphemisms, but rather intended to convey information missing from the term he considers them a euphemism for.
Two examples from the introduction. He mentions "entrenching tool" as an attempt to make a shovel seem more important. In reality, it's a reference to a very *specific* type of shovel.
Likewise, he mentions "above critical" as a way of avoiding saying that a reactor is out of control. But in the context of the quote he gives as a source, it's actually being given as a more precise way of saying *how* it's "out of control". <sigh>
Still, I expect to have fun going through this.
