Another proud member of the irony-based community.
When Fat'h Ali became the Shah of Persia in 1797, he was given a set of the Britannica's 3rd edition, which he read completely; after this feat, he extended his royal title to include "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the Encyclopædia Britannica."-- Wikipedia.
"Mysterious Jackson area lawyer's blog about history, literature, and whatever irks him." -- NMC
"Just a hypersensitive pantywaist probably of Gallic descent who still suffers nightmares over what Gaius Julius did to your people 2,000 years ago." -- Kingfish
And therefore, reader, I myself am the subject of my book; it is not reasonable that you should employ your leisure on a topic so frivolous and so vain.
-- Montaigne, Essays, "To the Reader.""I shall see myself, I shall read myself, I shall go into ecstacies, and I shall ask -- Is it possible that I have so much ésprit?"
-- Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.... the torturer has become – like the pirate and slave trader before him – hostis humani generis, an enemy of all mankind.
-- Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, 630 F.2d 876, 890 (2d Cir. 1980)
Twenty years ago my cousin tried to buy a set of World Books and they refused to sell them to him over the phone. They insisted on sending a salesman to his home. He had his secretary call back and tell them he would buy the best set they had, just sell them to him. They refused. So he bought his child the Encyclopedia Britannica.
ReplyDeleteThe child was definitely better off. I wouldn't sneeze at a Britannica set even in the age of Wikipedia. World Book was made to crib for jr-high papers.
ReplyDelete... The linked article has some great Britannica howlers btw.