sábado, novembro 17, 2007

Epitome / Paragon

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epitome, noun, A person who or thing which is a perfect embodiment of a particular quality or type. Usually in a phrase such as 'the (very) epitome of ... .'

paragon, noun, A person of outstanding merit; a person who serves as a model of some quality; and, an object of outstanding quality or value; an object which serves as a model of some quality.


     from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).


Gentle, modest, little flower,
Sweet epitome of May ...
     W.S. Gilbert, The Bab Ballads.

Mighty maiden with a mission,
Paragon of common sense,
Running fount of erudition,
Miracle of eloquence.
     W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan, Princess Ida.

(from The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, and Wikipedia)

What actually happened was like this ... last night reading Northrop Frye's Biblical and Classical Myths, which is transcribed more-or-less from his lectures at University of Toronto, I began to sense his dark side. And this is what led to me wondering this morning about words like epitome and paragon; and I'm not going to explain much more than that.

The other thought was around the co-author of this book, Jay MacPherson - who turns out to be a woman; which took me down to Saturday Night Live and the 'Pat' skits.

A-and that, being more than is mete, is really all!

mete, n,
1. A particular point or position, especially a turning point or finishing point. Also: a mark or target. Also figuratively, obsolete.
2. A boundary or limit (material or immaterial); a boundary stone or mark. Usually (now only) (chiefly Law) metes and bounds. Also figuratively.
3. Extent (size, character, etc.) as ascertainable by measuring; a person's calibre or stamp; (more generally) a measure.


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