Lethe, n. An infernal river whose waters caused those who drank them to forget all they knew; whereas the drinker of Spring Valley forgets nothing but the third commandment and the pious precepts of a sainted mother.
Matelda (Immersion in Lethe) by Gustave Dore
2005 Update: According to Dante, the river dividing Purgatory from Terrestrial Paradise. Manhattanites claim to have identified this as the Harlem although the consensus in the Quad Cities has the Mississippi.
21 comments:
Drink favored by politicians and CEO's.
Piggybacking Weirsdo's comment...perhaps true origin of the phrase "don't drink the water".
Now I really do understand why Evian spelled backward is naive....
Weirsdo and Sar, that's why in small companies we use Lethal Kool-Aid.
a4g, you must be right. I can never remember why I buy that stuff.
Spriritdancer, you think someone forgot how to print the label?
Love the comments, so far. Bright and witty people!
I think I unknowingly drank some of that water, because I forgot what I was going to say.
Which third commandment?
For Catholics and Lutherans, the third commandment is
"Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day."
For Jews, and for Protestants other than Lutherans, the third commandment is "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."
But I've forgotten where I was going with this... I think maybe I've been drinking too much.
water water everywhere and not a drop to drink
Heck, it's just fun to roll in that Mississippi mud!
Jamie Dawn, I have clever friends. You're an example.
Tan Lucy, I'm sure he meant the latter, But I'm glad you brought it up. I've been trying to figure the Sunday angle.
Karma, dear, the Melville site is two over :-)
You bet, Icy, from either side,
Who knew?
I knew. My grandmother told me one day as we were sitting beside the Potomac River looking, from a distance, at the Washington monument.
"
If the river leaves a lot of trash, it will come back some time soon to get it."
author unknown"
Aral, don't listen to Alice. I'm pretty sure it isn't the potomac.
I take that back. Isn't Potomac Fever memory loss?
Doug: What's this Melville business? Karma's quoting from Coleridge.
&*^%&^#$@#^!!!!, Weirsdo, I was afraid of that. Look, all I know about Coleridge I learned from Iron Maiden Happy?
Actonbell, Dogs and Dougs are affected the worst.
It is just plain ole tap water Doug!
Hey that was me...hit enter way to fast! In a hurry I guess!
haven't seen u ! u mad?
Morningdew! Tap water and oxygen both make me forgetful. Never mad at you. Be right over.
Lethe is also called the River of Oblivion...in that sense I can see the connection between politics and Greek mythology :)
Right, Monika. To paraphrase our President "You're either with us or oblivious"
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