Difference between revisions of "Chapter 41: 410-421"
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According to unvarying tradition the Phrygians were most closely akin to certain tribes of Macedonia and Thrace; and their near relationship to the Hellenic stock is proved by all that is known of their language and | According to unvarying tradition the Phrygians were most closely akin to certain tribes of Macedonia and Thrace; and their near relationship to the Hellenic stock is proved by all that is known of their language and | ||
art, and is accepted by almost every modern authority.-- Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11 th edition. Pynchon's wit makes up the word Phrygioid to mean something like "like Phrygian" that is fake Phyrgian due to the prevalence of 'British modality'--preceding phrase. | art, and is accepted by almost every modern authority.-- Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11 th edition. Pynchon's wit makes up the word Phrygioid to mean something like "like Phrygian" that is fake Phyrgian due to the prevalence of 'British modality'--preceding phrase. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Page 417== | ||
| + | '''"Tho', I say, look here.....'Great Chain of Being this, Great Chain of | ||
| + | Being that,'..."lengthy Chain"..."dangling from its bottom end?"<br> | ||
| + | The great chain of being is a classical and western medieval conception of the order of the universe, whose chief characteristic is a strict hierarchical system.<br> | ||
| + | It is a conception of the world's structure that was accepted, and unquestioned, by most educated men from the time of Lucretius until the Copernican and Darwinian revolution and the ultimate flowering of the Renaissance. The chain of being is composed of a great number of hierarchal links, from the most basic and foundational elements up through the very highest perfection, in other words, God, or the Prime Mover.<br> | ||
| + | God, and beneath him the angels, both existing wholly in spirit form, sit at the top of the chain. Earthly flesh is fallible and ever-changing: mutable. Spirit, however, is unchanging and permanent. This sense of permanence is crucial to understanding this conception of reality. One does not abandon one's place in the chain; it is not only unthinkable, but generally impossible. The hierarchy is a chain and not a ladder.<br> | ||
| + | The natural order, earth (rock) is at the bottom of the chain; these elements possess only the attribute of existence. Moving on up the chain, each succeeding link contains the positive attributes of the previous link, and adds (at least) one other. Rocks, as above, possess only existence; the next link up, plants, possess life and existence. Beasts add not only motion, but appetite as well.<br> | ||
| + | Man is a special instance in this conception. He is both mortal flesh, as those below him, and also spirit. In this dichotomy, the struggle between flesh and spirit becomes a moral one. --abridged (slightly) from Wikipedia | ||
| + | |||
| + | Notice Pynchon's multimeaning playfulness with the "chains" of the Chainmen and, one must think, the chains of the slave trade. This joking on the concept by Lord Lepton seems to touch some deep themes of M & D. | ||
| + | |||
| + | What [creature] dangles at the bottom of the chain? Where does it "fall" if it 'fails to hold on'? One is reminded of the supposedly real witticism as joke about an Eastern creation myth. The Earth is held up by a turtle | ||
| + | which is held up by another turtle, someone explained. "And that turtle?" asks | ||
| + | the interlocuter. "Another turtle"...."And that one"?......."O No, you're | ||
| + | not going to trap me...it's turtles all the way down." | ||
Revision as of 08:58, 21 April 2007
Page 414
behave inconveniently
inconvenience again, see entry on page 401.
Calvert agent
Calvert County Realtors - Calvert Agents In Maryland.
Page 415
Brunswick style
worn with a petticoat, the Brunswick was an informal gown or Riding Habit. A riding habit consisted of a petticoat, jacket, and waistcoat.
wine-colored Cordovan
a favorite boot color of TRP's. There is a "wine-cordovan boot" on page 121 of ATD, also a female's.
French Court heels
Ladies of the French court once carried canes to support themselves on uncomfortable high heels. Heels became lower after the French Revolution, not surprisingly.
Phrygioid if not Phrygian
According to unvarying tradition the Phrygians were most closely akin to certain tribes of Macedonia and Thrace; and their near relationship to the Hellenic stock is proved by all that is known of their language and
art, and is accepted by almost every modern authority.-- Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11 th edition. Pynchon's wit makes up the word Phrygioid to mean something like "like Phrygian" that is fake Phyrgian due to the prevalence of 'British modality'--preceding phrase.
Page 417
"Tho', I say, look here.....'Great Chain of Being this, Great Chain of
Being that,'..."lengthy Chain"..."dangling from its bottom end?"
The great chain of being is a classical and western medieval conception of the order of the universe, whose chief characteristic is a strict hierarchical system.
It is a conception of the world's structure that was accepted, and unquestioned, by most educated men from the time of Lucretius until the Copernican and Darwinian revolution and the ultimate flowering of the Renaissance. The chain of being is composed of a great number of hierarchal links, from the most basic and foundational elements up through the very highest perfection, in other words, God, or the Prime Mover.
God, and beneath him the angels, both existing wholly in spirit form, sit at the top of the chain. Earthly flesh is fallible and ever-changing: mutable. Spirit, however, is unchanging and permanent. This sense of permanence is crucial to understanding this conception of reality. One does not abandon one's place in the chain; it is not only unthinkable, but generally impossible. The hierarchy is a chain and not a ladder.
The natural order, earth (rock) is at the bottom of the chain; these elements possess only the attribute of existence. Moving on up the chain, each succeeding link contains the positive attributes of the previous link, and adds (at least) one other. Rocks, as above, possess only existence; the next link up, plants, possess life and existence. Beasts add not only motion, but appetite as well.
Man is a special instance in this conception. He is both mortal flesh, as those below him, and also spirit. In this dichotomy, the struggle between flesh and spirit becomes a moral one. --abridged (slightly) from Wikipedia
Notice Pynchon's multimeaning playfulness with the "chains" of the Chainmen and, one must think, the chains of the slave trade. This joking on the concept by Lord Lepton seems to touch some deep themes of M & D.
What [creature] dangles at the bottom of the chain? Where does it "fall" if it 'fails to hold on'? One is reminded of the supposedly real witticism as joke about an Eastern creation myth. The Earth is held up by a turtle which is held up by another turtle, someone explained. "And that turtle?" asks the interlocuter. "Another turtle"...."And that one"?......."O No, you're not going to trap me...it's turtles all the way down."
