Haha. And I was really enjoying the thought that anytime Cheerskep agrees with me he does so with a sigh of bemused remorse. Alas! The word alas is a wonderful, purely aesthetic expression because it serves no purpose whatsoever than to add a bit of elegant hyperbole to a sentence. In today's popular, vulgar, culture, lots of words, also four letter words, replace the delightful quaintness of 'alas' with disagreeable images and odors. I prefer the brittle, delicate, lacy, gloved, precise exclamation "Alas!" to any of its modern replacements and wish the word could be normalized again, brought in from the cold, resurrected from the graveyard of discarded words and refitted to the articulated body of everyday language.
wc ----- Original Message ---- From: Tom McCormack <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, June 9, 2012 9:25:09 AM Subject: Re: Scott Fitzgerald quote and "the definition of an artist" Oy. A clarification I myself should have made. When I said, "Alas, I have to agree with William." I did not want to convey dismay about my ever agreeing with William. Despite our frequent wrangles, I often agree with him. I should have said something more like, "Alas, admirer of Fitzgerald though I am, I have to agree that his often-quoted remark is more than a little muddled." On Jun 9, 2012, at 9:58 AM, [email protected] wrote: > In a message dated 6/8/12 7:29:59 PM, [email protected] writes: > > >> Frankly, I don't find this [the Fitzgerald quote, "The test of a >> first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed >> ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.] >> to be a very revealing >> idea . . . . It's one of those >> quips that sounds much more intriguing than it really is, despite >> originating >> with a truly great writer. >> wc >> > Alas, I have to agree with William.
