sharing my love of books with you
Urbane – courteous in manners; polite; suave; elegant or refined
“It is true that Longfellow strove to present an unruffled, humane, urbane face to the world. The motto on his personal bookplate was non clamor, sed armor: not clamor, but love.”
Lawrence Buell, in the introduction to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Poems
Taciturnity – the quality or state of being taciturn (habitually silent; not apt to talk)
“When Longfellow wrote a grief-stricken acquaintance that “there are natures whose native strength and elasticity enable them to endure the worst, and yet live,” he was stating from experience a principle to which he clung in his own way as tenaciously as Hemingway did to his code of masculine taciturnity or Emerson to his self-imposed emotional detachment from all but his immediate family and sometimes even them.”
Lawrence Buell, in the introduction to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Poems
Palatial – of, like, or suitable for a palace; hence, large and ornate; stately; magnificent
“Throughout [Longfellow’s] life, he attached an extremely high value to politeness, common courtesy, dignity, and good citizenship, as well as to domestic comforts of a level of elegance that Ralph Waldo Emerson, on his visits to Cambridge from small-town Concord, found disorientingly palatial.”
Lawrence Buell, in the introduction to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Poems
Polestars (yes, it is pronounced like two words, pole stars) – that which serves as a guide or director
“Everyone knew Roosevelt was a man of action, however, and the new president, although trotting in McKinley’s path, had polestars of his own to guide him in national politics and in world affairs.”
Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald
Sylvan – of or characteristic of the woods or forest
“[Roosevelt] also tightened laws to prevent loggers from devastating sylvan ares, and he stopped pollutions in the Saratoga area by fiat.”
Lion in the white house, Aida D. Donald
Astrolabe – an astronomical instrument used in ancient times to determine the position of the sun or stars
“Man is the astrolabe of God; but it requires an astronomer to know the astrolabe. If a vegetable-seller or a greengrocer should possess the astrolabe, what benefit would he derive from it? With that astrolabe what would he know of the movements of the circling heavens and the stations of the planets, their influences, transits and so forth? But in the hands of the astronomer the astrolabe is of great benefit, for ‘He who knows himself knows his Lord’.
Just as this copper astrolabe is the mirror of the heavens, so the human being – We have honored the Children of Adam – is the astrolabe of God. When God causes a man to have knowledge of Him and to know Him and to be familiar with Him, through the astrolabe of his own being he beholds moment by moment and flash by flash the manifestation of God and His infinite beauty, and that beauty is never absent from his mirror.”
from “Two Discourses” by Rumi, translated by A.J. Arberry
“[An astrolabe] consists of rotating discs and rulers to show the positions of astronomical objects at any given time throughout the year.” (BBC Sky at Night Magazine) I am including this link to BBC’s Sky at Night Magazine article on astrolabes in case you would like to read more (and because I used their quote). I had no idea what these were, but it is fascinating to think astronomy has been so advanced for so many centuries. The image below is a replica of an astrolabe used in the ancient Islamic world, perhaps even in the time of Rumi. Image also courtesy of BBC’s Sky at Night Magazine article.
Redoubtable – evoking fear; fearsome; formidable; commanding respect or reverence
“Most of the nation’s fleet was in the Pacific, and it was a formidable force under the command of the redoubtable Admiral George Dewey.”
Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald
(Yes, the “T” is pronounced in Redoubtable, but not the “B”. I wasn’t entirely sure when I read the word, so I wanted to let you know as well.)
Flotilla – a group of small naval vessels, especially a naval unit containing two or more squadrons
“Despite great effort, however, Roosevelt was not able to accumulate an especially impressive flotilla. He sourly wrote to a friend that he had scored only one unarmed cruiser, two second-rate torpedo boats, and twelve tugs, yachts, and merchant steamers.”
Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald
Palaver – profuse and idle talk; a conference or discussion
“Almost inevitably, given the emotional state of the nation, Congress stepped into action, passing a bill authorizing fifty million dollars for the construction of three battleships, sixteen destroyers, fourteen torpedo boats, four submarines, and funds to buy auxiliary ships abroad.
Roosevelt was elated, if puzzled, by the sudden activity after so much delay and palaver.”
The Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald
(I have to add that this word, Palaver, is used in a song in Les Miserables, my favorite musical. I was delighted to find the word in my book so I could share it with you!)
Peregrinate – to travel from place to place, or from one country to another; to live in foreign countries
“The records for the fall of 1886 are sparse, for Roosevelt was carrying the biggest secret of his peregrinating life. He had fallen in love with Edith Carow and planned to marry her; he wanted no publicity.
Lion in the White House, Aida D. Donald
Hi! I'm Cadie. Welcome to my Collection of Bookish Thoughts where I will share with you everything I love about books.
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