tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post1065970575539041996..comments2024-03-18T22:38:47.298-04:00Comments on Books, Inq. — The Epilogue: What is on my mind ...Frank Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-58482022475165594532011-02-24T21:48:15.460-05:002011-02-24T21:48:15.460-05:00Thanks, Dave. As must be apparent, I have not yet ...Thanks, Dave. As must be apparent, I have not yet read Moby Dick - only Bartleby the Scrivener, which I loved.<br />I like 'heaps' heaps, Frank, she said heaping praise on a slightly neglected verb.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-91577907346929434622011-02-24T17:05:37.143-05:002011-02-24T17:05:37.143-05:00Where would I be without Dave?
To zmkc: I like &q...Where would I be without Dave? <br />To zmkc: I like "heaps" as a verb, too.Frank Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-53635057536858768562011-02-23T23:38:28.039-05:002011-02-23T23:38:28.039-05:00Of course it's from "The Whale," fro...Of course it's from "The Whale," from a later chapter in which Starbuck confronts Ahab about his obsession. This is Ahab's speech in reply. I don't remember the number of the chapter, but I remember the scene well.<br /><br />And in some ways this speech is the parallel to, and echo of, the preacher's sermon at the beginning of the book. The morality is reversed, but the intensity is the same. (Which was part of Melville's genius, of course—all those echoes.)Art Durkeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463180236975988432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-90559564138047372092011-02-23T20:06:06.910-05:002011-02-23T20:06:06.910-05:00From the OED:
task, v.
[. . .]
3. transf. and f...From the OED:<br /><br /><em>task, v.<br /><br />[. . .]<br /><br />3. transf. and fig.<br /><br /> <br /> a. To occupy or engage fully or burdensomely; to subject to severe burden, labour, or trial; to put a strain upon; to put in a condition of stress or difficulty; to put to the proof; = tax v. 4.<br /><br /><br />a1616 Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. vi. 29 Doctor Caius‥Shall shuffle her away, While other sports are tasking of their mindes.<br /><br />a1616 Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. ii. 6 Some things of weight, That taske our thoughts.<br /><br />1741 S. Richardson Pamela IV. x. 61 You must not task me too high.<br /><br />1840 W. Irving Oliver Goldsmith I. 14 He tasked his slender means to the utmost in educating him.<br /><br />1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 115 It tasked his diplomatic skill to effect his departure in safety.<br /><br /><br /><br />b. spec. To test the soundness of (a ship's timbers, a plank, etc.).<br /><br /><br />1803 Naval Chron. 10 259 That‥frigate is‥to be, what is called in the language of the dock yard, tasked, to see if her timbers are sound.<br /><br />1867 W. H. Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Tasking, examining a vessel to see whether her timbers are sound.<br /><br />[. . .]</em>Dave Lullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01053227199985293516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-12439209912134689022011-02-23T18:03:26.097-05:002011-02-23T18:03:26.097-05:00Is this passage from Moby Dick? If it is, I'm ...Is this passage from Moby Dick? If it is, I'm really surprised to see 'task' used as a verb, as I'd thought it was a recent innovation.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.com