LPPM MMV "Sit Tibi Terra Levis"

[Dave Monroe]

"Grossmann took to strolling in the moonlight with
only the most patrician of Radcliffe and Wellesley
girls; he discovered a wonderful make-out spot down
behind the minute man statue in Concord; he began
carrying a black umbrella and gave away all his loud
clothes, substituting flawless and expensive tweeds
and worsteds. Siegel was mildly disturbed at all this
but it was not until one afternoon in the early
spring, when he entered their rooms at Dunster and
surprised Grossmann standing in front of the mirror,
umbrella under one arm, eyebrows raised superciliously
and nose ached loftily, reciting 'I parked my car in
Harvard yard,' over and over, that he was struck with
the extent of his roommate's dissipation. 
   "The strong nasal r's Siegel had secretly admired
there now eneverated and pallid; and in that classic
shibboleth, Siegel recognized poor, innocent
Grossmann's swan song. A year later Siegel got a
letter, the last: Grossmann had married a Wellesley
girl and they were living in Swampscott. Sit tibi
terra levis, Grossmann." (MMV, p. 5)


Wellesley

http://www.wellesley.edu/


"the minute man statue in Concord"

At Minute Man National Historical Park, the Battles of
Lexington and Concord are brought to life through the
preservation, restoration and interpretation of
significant sites from "that famous day and year" when
Colonists took up arms in defense of liberty and
touched off the American Revolution.

At Concord's North Bridge, visitors can see the place
where, on April 19, 1775, Colonial militia men fired
the famous "shot heard 'round the world." Reflect on
the meaning of freedom in a tranquil, commemorative
landscape that includes Daniel Chester French's Minute
Man Statue. 

http://www.nps.gov/mima/

And see as well ...

http://www.yeodoug.com/resources/dc_french/concord_mman/dcfrench_concord_mman.html

http://www.concordma.com/magazine/marapr00/minuteman.html

http://www.concordma.com/magazine/sept98/minman.html


Dunster

http://hcs.harvard.edu/~dunster/


"his roommate's dissipation"

Cf. ...

"... by now--early Virgo--he has become one plucked
albatross. Plucked, hell--stripped. Scattered all over
the Zone. It's doubtful if he can ever be 'found'
again, in the conventional sense of 'positively
identified and detained.'" (GR, Pt. IV, p. 712)


shibboleth

Main Entry: shib·bo·leth 
Pronunciation: 'shi-b&-l&th also -"leth
Function: noun
Etymology: Hebrew shibbOleth stream; from the use of
this word in Judg 12:6 as a test to distinguish
Gileadites from Ephraimites, who pronounced it
sibbOleth
1 a : a word or saying used by adherents of a party,
sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as
empty of real meaning <the old shibboleths come
rolling off their lips -- Joseph Epstein> b : a widely
held belief <today this book publishing shibboleth is
a myth -- L. A. Wood> c : TRUISM, PLATITUDE <some
truth in the shibboleth that crime does not pay -- Lee
Rogow>
2 a : a use of language regarded as distinctive of a
particular group <accent was... a shibboleth of social
class -- Vivian Ducat> b : a custom or usage regarded
as distinguishing one group from others <for most of
the well-to-do in the town, dinner was a shibboleth,
its hour dividing mankind -- Osbert Sitwell>

http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=shibboleth


"swan song"

... swan song comes from Greece, where in ancient
times, swans (who actually never sing) were believed
to sing a song before death.

http://www.mosaicminds.net/science/inquiring_minds/2004-04.php

There is a legend that swans sing an exquisitely
beautiful song just before dying. There's no truth to
it, but that's the legend and the origin of the
phrase. The phrase swan song dates to 1831, although
English language literary allusions to the legend date
back to Chaucer, c. 1374. (And the association of
swans and singing is even older, stemming from Greek
myth.)

http://www.wordorigins.org/wordors.htm#Swan

A swan song is a reference to an ancient and false
belief that swans (Cygnus olor) are completely mute
during life, but sing one heartbreakingly beautiful
song just as they die....

The antiquity of the legend is indicated by Pliny's
denial of it in A.D. 77. Not only do "mute" swans not
sing as they die, but they produce snorts, shrill
noises, grunts, and hisses throughout life. But the
legend is so appealing that it has been used in
artistic works over the centuries.... 

By extension, swan song has become an idiom referring
to a final theatrical or dramatic appearance, or any
final work or accomplishment....
 
It generally carries the connotation that the
performer is aware of his or her imminent demise (or
departure/retirement, etc) and is expending his or her
last breath on magnum opus Magnum opus, from the Latin
meaning great work, refers to the best or most
renowned achievement of an author, artist, or
composer.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Swan%20Song


"Sit tibi terra levis, Grossmann"

sit tibi terra levis: May the earth lie light upon
thee. (An inscription often found on Roman tombstones;
frequently abbreviated to S.T.T.L.)

http://www.sacklunch.net/Latin/S/sittibiterralevis.html


		
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