"nor a more barbarous done by man" Evidently history was not one of the subjects Sam studied at Cambridge. The worst excesses of the Spanish Inquisition were less than a century in the past, as were the hunting and persecution of witches, primarily in Germany.
One of the three principal methods of torture of the Spanish Inquisition, incidentally, was the toca, or tortura de agua, what we now call waterboarding. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition) Just thought I'd mention that.
Here I think "tickets" has the following meaning from OED: 6. a. A pay-warrant; esp. a discharge warrant in which the amount of pay due to a soldier or sailor is certified. Also, any certificate of discharge from service, prison, etc.; freq. in phr. to work one's ticket, to obtain (by scheming) one's discharge. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 657/2 There should be a pay-master appoynted, of speciall trust, which should paye everye man according to his captaynes tickett, and the accompte of the clarke of his bande. 1665 Pepys Diary 5 Dec., Mr. Stevens, who is+paying of seamen of their tickets at Deptford. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xl, Gascoigne, having received his discharge-ticket, went on board of the Rebiera. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 299 The sailors were paid with so little punctuality that they were glad to find some usurer who would purchase their tickets at forty per cent discount. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Ticket, Seaman's, a register ticket given to seamen from the General Register and Record office of Seamen. 1869 Temple Bar XXV. 217 ‘Coiners’+as a rule returned to their profession as soon as they got their ‘ticket’. Prison is+a great punishment to such men. 1899 H. Wyndham Queen's Service xxxiii. 231 It is a comparatively easy matter for a discontented man to ‘work his ticket’. 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke iv. 77 He+attempted to work his ticket to one of these new-style open prisons. 1970 W. Smith Gold Mine xxiv. 56 My boss boy has worked his ticket.+ Can you see that I get a good man to replace him?
strong waters PHE, in this context it means alcoholic spirits. OED: 2. Any form of alcoholic spirits used as a beverage. Now only in pl. (somewhat arch.). a1613 Overbury Wife, etc. (1638) 178 His new Trade of brewing Strong-Waters makes a number of mad-men. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia iv. 160 After, with warme clothes and a little strong water, they had a little recouered him. 1687 Relat. De Chaumont's Embassy Siam 23 Eleven Barks full of Oxen, Sheep,+and Strong-water made with Rice. 1727 Gay Begg. Op. ii. iv, Strong waters will in time ruin your constitution. 1790 Act 30 Geo. III, c. 38 §9 Any distilled Spirituous Liquors or Strong Waters. 1820 Scott Monast. xxxv, Usquebagh—a liquor strange to Halbert, for the strong waters known in the south of Scotland came from France. 1855 Englishw. in Russia 9 He gave so much strong waters+, that everybody became so drunk that they could not move.
"Strong water" also was used in Sam's time as an English translation of aquafortis, or nitric acid. But if Sam had drunk that with his supper, the diary would have ended today.
Here "luxury" means 'lasciviousness, lust', a meaning it has since lost. OED: †1. Lasciviousness, lust; pl. lusts. Obs. 1340 Ayenb. 157 Þe dyeuel+assayletþ+þane sanguinien mid ioliuete and mid luxurie. c1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 827 O foule lust of luxurie. c1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 58 Leude touchinge and handelyng+makithe+folke falle into orible synne of luxurie. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 234 Therewithal he doth inclusiuely vnderstand all kindes of lust and luxurie. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. ii. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 96 Mellida is light, And stained with adulterous luxury. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 89 The ashes of the claws with that of the skinne, being applied helpe luxury in man or woman. 1728 Morgan Algiers I. v. 163 To say nothing of the Luxury and Debaucheries which reigned in the Camps, which he describes as the filthiest of Brothels. 1812 Crabbe Tales, Squire & Priest (1814) II. 91 Grov'lling in the sty+of shameless luxury.
Phil, those are great blurbs. Thanks for posting them for us to see. But I don't understand why the last one considers presenting diary entries daily "an odd approach." Seems the most natural approach to me.
Do other countries have official residences for their Treasurers?
Certainly not the United States, which only established an official residence for the Vice President, nominally the number two person in the government, in 1974. Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter's Vice President, was the first occupant. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numb…
John, I think that near coincidence relates to the near synchrony, which we've noticed before, of the lunar cycle in dictionary time and our time. The liturgical calendar, which is responsible for the date of Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras, depends in part on the lunar cycle.
As best I recall without looking it up, Sandwich owed Pepys in the neighborhood of 1000L. Sounds like they've whittled that down by 75%, to Sam's great relief.
It wasn't under the table. It was more like a settlement of a legal claim, by agreement between Pepys and Barlow. Barlow had some prior claim on the office of Clerk of the Acts at the Restoration, because of his previous tenure in that office. But Barlow was old and tired, and agreed to accept 100L per annum from Pepys in exchange for relinquishing his claim to the office. Sam has faithfully upheld his end of the bargain, when he might have gotten away with stiffing Mr. Barlow, so I think the cynical reactions to his comments are out of place. It sounds like a genuine expression of sentiment to me; Sam knows that his fortune has just improved, but he still feels some sorrow at Barlow's passing.
Sam didn't need to be pensioned off. He rose to a higher post (after the diary), and his protege Will Hewer became his successor as Clerk of the Acts.
R.I.P. Mr. Barlow. But for Sam's diary, he would be utterly lost to history.
It appears from the article CGS has referred us to that Newton's thermometer could not have been used to measure the melting point of lead, which is above the boiling point of the linseed oil that was Newton's expanding medium.
"Because of its high boiling point, linseed oil can be used for measuring temperatures up to the melting point of tin (232 C)."
GrahamT's note about Isaac Newton's temperature scale was new and fascinating to me. I did some research to try to find out why Newton picked 33 degrees for the boiling point of water. The only clue I found was a reference to a column by Isaac Asimov in the October 1959 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, titled "The Height of Up." A brief extract from the column says that Newton actually started with two fixed points, melting snow (i.e. the freezing point of water) at zero degrees, and human body temperature at twelve degrees, the number twelve being chosen on the same duodecimal principle that gives us twelve hours around the clock, twelve months in the year, twelve inches to the foot, etc. However, if human body temperature is 12 degrees, and water freezes at zero, then water should boil at a little over 38 degrees, not 33 (at sea level). I haven't been able to find access to the full original text of Asimov's column to see what he really said; it would be unlike him to make an elementary error like that. So the question remains open.
I toyed with another fanciful notion. Newton may or may not have been a Freemason, the subject is a matter of dispute, but he certainly had close friends who were heavily involved in the 17th century re-establishment of Freemasonry in England, and he was sympathetic to its principles. The highest order of Freemasonry is the 33rd degree. Coincidence? Maybe. I certainly found no evidence whatever for any connection.
"Pepys acquisition of books, prints etc., as well as his microscopy, globes and scientific pursuits in general, are all a statement of his aspiration to a particular sort of gentility"
That's probably true, but I've gotten the sense from the diary that this stuff isn't just for show, Sam is genuinely curious and genuinely enjoys reading his books and playing with his scientific toys.
"vexed she should get some body to write so much because of making it publique" Scribes/scriveners charged for their services, and since Jane hasn't received her final wages, I suspect she got a friend or relative to write the letter for her. If so, this would also add to Sam's unease, because the scribes surely kept their work confidential, or nobody would use them. A random person who could write for Jane, though, would be under no such constraint.
"there took occasion to show me her leg, which indeed is the finest I ever saw" Of course, when you think about it, Sam hasn't actually seen all that many legs. A visit to a modern beach would dazzle him.
Wonder why Mrs. Bland wanted to go to Tangier. From what we've heard about the place, it sounds about as inviting as a present-day trip to Baghdad.
Thanks to Dirk and Australian Susan for the fascinating explanations and links re Candlemas Day. I had no idea Groundhog Day had such venerable antecedents.
Comments
First Reading
About Saturday 25 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
"hath now choused this Colborne out of his house"
chouse: To dupe, cheat, trick; to swindle or defraud (OED)
About Thursday 23 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
"nor a more barbarous done by man"
Evidently history was not one of the subjects Sam studied at Cambridge. The worst excesses of the Spanish Inquisition were less than a century in the past, as were the hunting and persecution of witches, primarily in Germany.
One of the three principal methods of torture of the Spanish Inquisition, incidentally, was the toca, or tortura de agua, what we now call waterboarding. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition) Just thought I'd mention that.
About Tuesday 21 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
"the abuse now practised in tickets"
Here I think "tickets" has the following meaning from OED:
6. a. A pay-warrant; esp. a discharge warrant in which the amount of pay due to a soldier or sailor is certified. Also, any certificate of discharge from service, prison, etc.; freq. in phr. to work one's ticket, to obtain (by scheming) one's discharge.
1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 657/2 There should be a pay-master appoynted, of speciall trust, which should paye everye man according to his captaynes tickett, and the accompte of the clarke of his bande. 1665 Pepys Diary 5 Dec., Mr. Stevens, who is+paying of seamen of their tickets at Deptford. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xl, Gascoigne, having received his discharge-ticket, went on board of the Rebiera. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 299 The sailors were paid with so little punctuality that they were glad to find some usurer who would purchase their tickets at forty per cent discount. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Ticket, Seaman's, a register ticket given to seamen from the General Register and Record office of Seamen. 1869 Temple Bar XXV. 217 ‘Coiners’+as a rule returned to their profession as soon as they got their ‘ticket’. Prison is+a great punishment to such men. 1899 H. Wyndham Queen's Service xxxiii. 231 It is a comparatively easy matter for a discontented man to ‘work his ticket’. 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke iv. 77 He+attempted to work his ticket to one of these new-style open prisons. 1970 W. Smith Gold Mine xxiv. 56 My boss boy has worked his ticket.+ Can you see that I get a good man to replace him?
About Monday 20 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
strong waters
PHE, in this context it means alcoholic spirits.
OED: 2. Any form of alcoholic spirits used as a beverage. Now only in pl. (somewhat arch.).
a1613 Overbury Wife, etc. (1638) 178 His new Trade of brewing Strong-Waters makes a number of mad-men. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia iv. 160 After, with warme clothes and a little strong water, they had a little recouered him. 1687 Relat. De Chaumont's Embassy Siam 23 Eleven Barks full of Oxen, Sheep,+and Strong-water made with Rice. 1727 Gay Begg. Op. ii. iv, Strong waters will in time ruin your constitution. 1790 Act 30 Geo. III, c. 38 §9 Any distilled Spirituous Liquors or Strong Waters. 1820 Scott Monast. xxxv, Usquebagh—a liquor strange to Halbert, for the strong waters known in the south of Scotland came from France. 1855 Englishw. in Russia 9 He gave so much strong waters+, that everybody became so drunk that they could not move.
"Strong water" also was used in Sam's time as an English translation of aquafortis, or nitric acid. But if Sam had drunk that with his supper, the diary would have ended today.
About Tuesday 21 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
"the luxury and looseness of the times"
Here "luxury" means 'lasciviousness, lust', a meaning it has since lost.
OED:
†1. Lasciviousness, lust; pl. lusts. Obs.
1340 Ayenb. 157 Þe dyeuel+assayletþ+þane sanguinien mid ioliuete and mid luxurie. c1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 827 O foule lust of luxurie. c1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 58 Leude touchinge and handelyng+makithe+folke falle into orible synne of luxurie. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 234 Therewithal he doth inclusiuely vnderstand all kindes of lust and luxurie. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. ii. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 96 Mellida is light, And stained with adulterous luxury. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 89 The ashes of the claws with that of the skinne, being applied helpe luxury in man or woman. 1728 Morgan Algiers I. v. 163 To say nothing of the Luxury and Debaucheries which reigned in the Camps, which he describes as the filthiest of Brothels. 1812 Crabbe Tales, Squire & Priest (1814) II. 91 Grov'lling in the sty+of shameless luxury.
About Recent Press
Paul Chapin • Link
Phil, those are great blurbs. Thanks for posting them for us to see. But I don't understand why the last one considers presenting diary entries daily "an odd approach." Seems the most natural approach to me.
About Monday 20 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
haling > having
Methinks CGS is making overmuch of what is surely a simple scanning error by the Project Gutenberg folks.
About Tower of London
Paul Chapin • Link
Lest others share my confusion, "the owner of this site" in Terry's post is not Phil, but a lady in Tasmania.
About Friday 17 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
Do other countries have official residences for their Treasurers?
Certainly not the United States, which only established an official residence for the Vice President, nominally the number two person in the government, in 1974. Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carter's Vice President, was the first occupant. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numb…
About Talks at St Olave's Church
Paul Chapin • Link
If any of our number attend any of these talks, it would be great to get a brief report. I doubt they'll be streamed on the Web, more's the pity.
About Tuesday 7 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
John, I think that near coincidence relates to the near synchrony, which we've noticed before, of the lunar cycle in dictionary time and our time. The liturgical calendar, which is responsible for the date of Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras, depends in part on the lunar cycle.
About Friday 10 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
As best I recall without looking it up, Sandwich owed Pepys in the neighborhood of 1000L. Sounds like they've whittled that down by 75%, to Sam's great relief.
About Thursday 9 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
It wasn't under the table. It was more like a settlement of a legal claim, by agreement between Pepys and Barlow. Barlow had some prior claim on the office of Clerk of the Acts at the Restoration, because of his previous tenure in that office. But Barlow was old and tired, and agreed to accept 100L per annum from Pepys in exchange for relinquishing his claim to the office. Sam has faithfully upheld his end of the bargain, when he might have gotten away with stiffing Mr. Barlow, so I think the cynical reactions to his comments are out of place. It sounds like a genuine expression of sentiment to me; Sam knows that his fortune has just improved, but he still feels some sorrow at Barlow's passing.
Sam didn't need to be pensioned off. He rose to a higher post (after the diary), and his protege Will Hewer became his successor as Clerk of the Acts.
R.I.P. Mr. Barlow. But for Sam's diary, he would be utterly lost to history.
About Thursday 9 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
Michael, thank you. I think that's the best laugh I've had since Dave Barry retired.
About Monday 6 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
It appears from the article CGS has referred us to that Newton's thermometer could not have been used to measure the melting point of lead, which is above the boiling point of the linseed oil that was Newton's expanding medium.
"Because of its high boiling point, linseed oil can be used for measuring temperatures up to the melting point of tin (232 C)."
About Monday 6 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
GrahamT's note about Isaac Newton's temperature scale was new and fascinating to me. I did some research to try to find out why Newton picked 33 degrees for the boiling point of water. The only clue I found was a reference to a column by Isaac Asimov in the October 1959 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, titled "The Height of Up." A brief extract from the column says that Newton actually started with two fixed points, melting snow (i.e. the freezing point of water) at zero degrees, and human body temperature at twelve degrees, the number twelve being chosen on the same duodecimal principle that gives us twelve hours around the clock, twelve months in the year, twelve inches to the foot, etc. However, if human body temperature is 12 degrees, and water freezes at zero, then water should boil at a little over 38 degrees, not 33 (at sea level). I haven't been able to find access to the full original text of Asimov's column to see what he really said; it would be unlike him to make an elementary error like that. So the question remains open.
I toyed with another fanciful notion. Newton may or may not have been a Freemason, the subject is a matter of dispute, but he certainly had close friends who were heavily involved in the 17th century re-establishment of Freemasonry in England, and he was sympathetic to its principles. The highest order of Freemasonry is the 33rd degree. Coincidence? Maybe. I certainly found no evidence whatever for any connection.
About Sunday 5 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
"Pepys acquisition of books, prints etc., as well as his microscopy, globes and scientific pursuits in general, are all a statement of his aspiration to a particular sort of gentility"
That's probably true, but I've gotten the sense from the diary that this stuff isn't just for show, Sam is genuinely curious and genuinely enjoys reading his books and playing with his scientific toys.
About Friday 3 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
"vexed she should get some body to write so much because of making it publique"
Scribes/scriveners charged for their services, and since Jane hasn't received her final wages, I suspect she got a friend or relative to write the letter for her. If so, this would also add to Sam's unease, because the scribes surely kept their work confidential, or nobody would use them. A random person who could write for Jane, though, would be under no such constraint.
About Friday 3 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
"there took occasion to show me her leg, which indeed is the finest I ever saw"
Of course, when you think about it, Sam hasn't actually seen all that many legs. A visit to a modern beach would dazzle him.
About Thursday 2 February 1664/65
Paul Chapin • Link
Wonder why Mrs. Bland wanted to go to Tangier. From what we've heard about the place, it sounds about as inviting as a present-day trip to Baghdad.
Thanks to Dirk and Australian Susan for the fascinating explanations and links re Candlemas Day. I had no idea Groundhog Day had such venerable antecedents.