Thursday, December 15, 2005
Thursday Quote
My attitude toward progress has passed from antagonism to boredom. I have long ceased to argue with people who prefer Thursday to Wednesday because it is Thursday. GK Chesterton
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Hmmm....
ReplyDelete"This is talk we might listen to while eating buns at a Sunday School treat. ... I have been specially sent here to see that you show a due observance of Sunday." [GKC, The Man Who Was Thursday CW6:500,496]
Heh, heh, heh. (This is said in a somewhat sinister tone)
Just what is it about these days of the week, anyway? This might be something fun to investigate.
And if you have read the above book, here's a challenge: name another day of the week mentioned there which is NOT the name of one of the Council... (We already know "Sunday" is mentioned; see the above quote.) There's a special bonus if you find more than one! (No guessing. You will have to give the context in order to win our prize.)
By the way, GKC was born on a Friday, just in case someone was wondering.
The fifth day of the week was named after Thor, an old Norse god. Thunres also means thunder. Thor was the god of thunder.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid its been some time since I last read Thursday. I'll have to quickly brush up.
"I once saw the moon on Tuesday, I remember." - Syme
ReplyDeleteand quite near it Syme was reading Genesis chapter 1:
"It was that in which the fourth day of the week is associated with the creation of the sun and moon. Here, however, they reckoned from a Christian Sunday."
"Breakfast here next Sunday." - President Sunday
"[Syme] lost patience, and finding a Sunday teashop, turned into it to take shelter."
"Then [Syme] told himself that some degree of emptiness was natural; first because the snow-storm was even dangerously deep, and secondly because it was Sunday."
Dr. Thursday, I'd answer your trivia question except that I fear I'd give away a key plot point.
ReplyDeleteChestertonian: answer anyway. So far, everyone here has read the book, and I think there is always room to understand it better. So, go ahead and give away any key plot points--the more the better!
ReplyDeleteI guess the question is worded so I don't understand it. Everyone on the council is code-named for a day of the week. If you mean, who doesn't also have a real name, that would be, besides Sunday, Monday. Yeah, he's also called the Secretary, but that's a title, not a name.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry. I did not mean to confuse. "Joe" actually got the answer already, but I will rephrase the question so as to be clear.
ReplyDeleteIn GKC's The Man Who Was Thursday all seven English words for the days of the week appear, for they are used as the pseudonyms for the seven members of the Council: for example, Gabriel Syme is Thursday. However, there are some uses of these words in their usual or common sense, where they do not stand for a member of the Council. I had intentionally quoted "Sunday School treat" as an example. Question: is there any other name of a day of the week used in that manner? (Omitting Sunday, which indeed appears several times in that manner.)
"Joe" answered correctly; it is "Tuesday" - a day when once Syme saw the moon. I do not believe there are others. Alas, I will have to ask the prize committee if they have decided on a prize for this rather unexpected contest.
I wonder whether this mention of Tuesday is somehow related to GKC's "Picture of Tuesday" which can be found in CW14. Incidentally, if you do not have CW14 you really ought to get it; there are a number of great stories there which have never appeared in book form before. And if you did not know, CW is our "in-house" abbreviation for "Collected Works" - these are being published by Ignatius Press and are available through the American Chesterton Society.
To save time and typing, our usual form of reference is CWx:y where x is the volume number, and y is the page.
Another abbreviation you will want to know is "ILN" which stands for Illustrated London News - the London newspaper for which GKC wrote a weekly column.
Thank you Dr. Thursday.
ReplyDeleteThe prize committee is awarding Joe with a lifetime active membership in the ACS blog.
Thanks, Joe! Looking forward to more of your great commentary.
Ahhhh...I see: a name of the week used in a context OTHER than the Anarchists' Council.
ReplyDeleteWhen wording contest questions, always keep in mind that I'm a bit of a thickie.
WOO-HOO!
ReplyDeleteI've won a major prize!
A lifetime commenter award is better than a Leg Lamp any ol' day.
Joe (mostly of Chesterton & Friends)
Joe: Well, I suspected that you might like a Red Rider B-B Gun instead, but you know what they say about that.
ReplyDeleteChestertonian, since the contest rules apparently weren't spelled out very well (although Joe may beg to differ with you) I'll give you the consolation prize. When I think of it.
Since Joe considers the lifetime commentator awared superior to the Leg Lamp, I'll take a Leg Lamp, please. :-D
ReplyDeleteLeg Lamp! O Leg Lamp!
Lighting up my living room
The Christmas Tree bows low to you
You make it brighter than a tomb!
Leg Lamp! O Leg Lamp!
Sitting in my window bright
The neighbors stare when they pass by
You fill our lives with such delight!
You should save this (with melody) for the next Annual End of the Chesterton Conference Dinner Remarks and Songs.
ReplyDeleteCan you sing?
I absolutely can not sing, which is why I should belt it out in public as loud as possible.
ReplyDelete