Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Today's Enlgish

Lacrimation: The secretion of tears, especially when excessive.

I found this word in that translation of The Odyssey I mentioned (incidentally, it's W.H.D. Rouse's translation- one of the best ones I've seen). The translation is very conversational, unlike some of the ridiculously florid ones that came before it, but it contains the charmingly odd line: "eternal lacrimation is a sorry occupation." This is said to Penelope, who indeed spends most of the story crying and fending off suitors.

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