Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Dante being his usual analytic self

[T]ragedy is tranquil and conductive to wonder at the beginning, but foul and conducive to horror at the end... Comedy, on the other hand, introduces a situation of adversity, but ends its matter in prosperity, as is evident in Terence’s comedies. And for this reason some writers have the custom of saying in their salutations, by way of greeting, “a tragic beginning and a comic ending to you.”

A tragic beginning and a comic ending to you!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why, thank you! :-D

- Nic

Anonymous said...

And the Russians wish someone luck by saying "Go to hell." (Of course there is some preamble that doesn't make sense in English, but this is the proper response.)
~Anna

Pinon Coffee said...

Oh boy. Anna, where do you learn... never mind. :-D