Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: September 13, 2025
Even a railroad generation, that should have faith in the miracles of velocity, lifts up its hands with an 'Incredulus odi! we know that Dr. Nichol speaks the truth; but he seems to speak falsehood.
"Odi profanum vulgus et arceo, as the Latin has it."
"Nec pueros coram populo Medea trucidet: Aut humana palam coquat exta nefarius Atreus; Aut in avem Progne vertatur, Cadmus in anguem. Quodcunque ostendis mihi sic, incredulus odi." HOR. ARS. POET. ver. 185.
INCREDULUS ODI. To select a singular event, and swell it to a giant's bulk by fabulous appendages of spectres and predictions, has little difficulty; for he that forsakes the probable may always find the marvellous. And it has little use; we are affected only as we believe; we are improved only as we find something to be imitated or declined.
Its fickleness is to be held true to men's purposes only by an undaunted resolution and by a sleepless, armed, jealous vigilance, in which, perhaps, there has always been more hate than love. Odi et amo may well be the confession of those who consciously or blindly have surrendered their existence to the fascination of the sea.
In such hatred was treason had, being a vice which the verie infidels and grosse pagans abhorred, else would they not haue said, Proditionem amo, proditorem odi; Treason I loue, but a traitor I hate.
Piozzi have related concerning himself, how much would he have found his observation illustrated. He was indeed so much impressed with the prevalence of falsehood, voluntary or unintentional, that I never knew any person who upon hearing an extraordinary circumstance told, discovered more of the incredulus odi . He would say, with a significant look and decisive tone, 'It is not so.
Read the lives of comedians, and closing them, you will see what good reason an actor has for exclaiming with the old-world poet: 'Odi profanum vulgus! We now turn to the testimony of actors themselves. Shakespeare is, of course, my first witness. There is surely significance in this.
After all, every people must have its own forms of ostentation, pretence, and vulgarity. The ancient Romans had theirs, the English and the French have theirs as well, why should not we Americans have ours? Educated and refined persons must recognize frequent internal conflicts between the "Homo sum" of Terence and the "Odi profanum vulgus" of Horace.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking