Jan 24, 2018 11:51
6 yrs ago
English term
old orthodox Hades
English
Social Sciences
Religion
Most of us do not learn the whole alphabet of nature; we learn only a few of the capital letters; and the dunes are the capital letters of the story of the wind and its influence. To permit that wonderful beauty spot of nature to be done away with would be a crime for which an adequate punishment could hardly be devised. I can truthfully say that I should like to believe in the #old orthodox Hades# for the people who will not save the dunes now for the people who are to come.
--quoted from Report on the Proposed Sand Dunes National Park, Indiana (link: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q="old orthodox Hades"...
The above words were spoken by Zonia Baber who argued for protection of sand dunes of Indiana in 1916 in court.
What was her special purpose here with "old orthodox Hades"? Why did she just say "hell"?
Thank you in advance!
--quoted from Report on the Proposed Sand Dunes National Park, Indiana (link: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q="old orthodox Hades"...
The above words were spoken by Zonia Baber who argued for protection of sand dunes of Indiana in 1916 in court.
What was her special purpose here with "old orthodox Hades"? Why did she just say "hell"?
Thank you in advance!
Responses
| 5 +5 | the traditional Christian notion of hell |
Robert Forstag
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Responses
+5
40 mins
Robert Forstag
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
United States
Translating words, preserving meaning
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
56
Selected
the traditional Christian notion of hell
The speaker is making a rhetorical point and (as Sherri points out) the use of “Hades” is a euphemism.
Such usage was far more prevalent in the US 100 years ago than it is today.
Such usage was far more prevalent in the US 100 years ago than it is today.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Sheri P
3 mins
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Thank you, Sheri (with one “r”, sorry).
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| agree |
Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.
46 mins
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Thank you, Patricia.
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
2 hrs
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Thank you, AT.
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| agree |
Christopher Crockett
4 hrs
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Thank you, Christopher.
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| agree |
NishantM
8 days
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you!"
Discussion
"Hades" is the Greek word for the Underworld --which was actually quite different from the much later Christian "hell"; but nonetheless it serves very well as a euphemistic stand-in for a "naughty" word the use of which was strictly forbidden in 1916.
And remember that the Operative factor in 1916 was the absolute *necessity* of NOT using the "swear word" in any kind of public, formal setting --especially not in a courtroom, where the user was seeking to win a decision from a (perhaps prudish or straight-laced) judge.
Saying "hell" in public in 1916 would definitely have been a No-No --I don't think that that word was really permissible in, say, film titles until the mid-'50s
http://www.imdb.com/search/keyword?keywords=hell&sort=releas...
(And think of the uproar which Rhett's famous line "Frankly my dear, I don't give a dam" caused in 1939 --with the censors confusing "a tinker's dam" with the forbidden swear word.)
I remember this title
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048729/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
causing quite a stir in Houston (Texas) when it was first released in 1955.
So Ms. Baber's choice to use an acceptable circumlocution in 1916 --and in a courtroom, no less-- was quite understandable; especially since she was expressing the wish that those who opposed her environmentalism might end up "There".