Wednesday, August 10, 2011

saeva indignatio



saeva indignatio [ˈsaɪvə ɪndɪgˈnɑːtɪəʊ] n. phr.

1.) An intense feeling of contemptuous anger at human folly. Originally and in later allusive use with reference to the epitaph of Jonathan Swift (O.E.D. 2nd Ed.).

Etymology: Latin, lit. "savage indignation".

"Swift beating on his breast in sibylline frenzy blind
Because the heart in his blood-sodden breast had dragged him down into mankind,
Goldsmith deliberately sipping at the honey-pot of his mind,
And haughtier-headed Burke that proved the State a tree,
That this unconquerable labyrinth of the birds, century after century,
Cast but dead leaves to mathematical equality;
And God-appointed Berkeley that proved all things a dream,
That this pragmatical, preposterous pig of a world, its farrow that so solid seem,
Must vanish on the instant if the mind but change its theme;
Saeva indignatio and the labourer’s hire,
The strength that gives our blood and state magnanimity of its own desire;
Everything that is not God consumed with intellectual fire" ("Blood and the Moon", William Butler Yeats, 1929).

(De toren van Babel, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563)

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my, I do like this one. Plus, I truly am becoming an English teacher - I read that poem and picked out all the figurative language features and tried to work out how I could use it to teach my students.

Melanie said...

Completely feeling this one today.

Bibi said...

Oh I hadn't seen this one anywhere before ^^ Works well with current issues too. Glad to hear you're doing okay. Now keep doing okay.

Kevin Faulkner said...

An apt choice of phrase for present-day events, was that intentional or coincidental ?

Thoon said...

Ooh. Could be a very useful word this time.

Drake Sigar said...

This feels amazing to say.

Mai Yang said...

this kinda hard. lol

Debra She Who Seeks said...

There should be more of this around than there is.

Zombie said...

I still feel like an idiot not being able to pronounce that correctly. lol.

Diego Sousa said...

just like in london :P

Anonymous said...

i think that last comment was abit out of line dont u? but i forgive you because i like your blog so much ;)

D4 said...

I like how it's pronounced. Sounds classy but not outdated. To me, anyway.

nowaysj said...

Yeah, this one is not working for me. Despite my near constant experience of this emotional state.

GMSoccerPicks said...

Wow, that painting is awesome. Never seen it before.

A Beer for the Shower said...

This is a new one for me. The word, not the feeling. Actually, the feeling is with me about 70% of the day.

Shaw said...

What a cool phrase

Unknown said...

This one is perfect for me. I've been feeling this for the past week and your blog gives me the word for it. As always thank you.

MRanthrope said...

A good term to describe the current US Congress =/

A Beer for the Shower said...

Dude, no way. Are you really at UCB?

Nicole Linette said...

I'm definitely feeling the saeva indignatio today. Meh.

Cheers,
nicole.

poorfags said...

cool. I haven't been around here in a while.

DEZMOND said...

sounds quite grand!

Post a Comment