Vulgar words in Old Calabria (Page 1)
This book at a glance
|
~ ~ ~ Sentence 186 ~ ~ ~
Straightway this incongruous and irresponsible old buffoon was invested with a new dignity; transformed into a threatening Ifrit, the guardian of the gold, or--who knows?--Iblis incarnate.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 397 ~ ~ ~
They talked much of dollars; and I also heard several unorthodox allusions to the "angel-business," which was described as "played out," as well as a remark to the effect that "only damn-fools stay in this country."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 987 ~ ~ ~
"See here, I live fifteen years in Brooklyn; damn fine!
~ ~ ~ Sentence 1,309 ~ ~ ~
So Joseph used to speak of himself as _l'asinelio--_the little ass; and a pathetic scene was witnessed on his death-bed when he was heard to mutter: "_L'asinelio_ begins to climb the mountain; _l'asinelio_ is half-way up; _l'asinelio_ has reached the summit; _l'asinelio_ can go no further, and is about to leave his skin behind."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 1,425 ~ ~ ~
"But, damn it," he said (or words to that effect), "I told you not to cut the hair too short."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 1,437 ~ ~ ~
Which proves that fashions change; yes, they change, sir; and the wise man bends to them--up to a certain point, of course; up to a certain reasonable point----" "But, damn it----" "And in favour of my contention that hair should be worn short nowadays, I need only cite the case of His Majesty the King, whose august head, we all know, is clipped like that of a racehorse.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 4,642 ~ ~ ~
Pliny and Virgil and the Druids and Balaam's Ass are invoked as foretelling Her birth; the Old Testament--that venerable sufferer, as Huxley called it--is twisted into dire convulsions for the same purpose; much evidence is also drawn from Hebrew observances and from the Church Fathers.