[Ads-l] Quote: The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable

[Robin Hamilton]

For some reason, this reminds me of Sir Thomas Browne (who nevertheless later
engendered a son):

"I could be content that we might procreate like trees, without conjunction, or
that there were any way to perpetuate the world without this trivial and vulgar
act of coition ..."  

 _Religio Medici_, Section 9. [Cited from WIKIQUOTE]

There's also the Shakespearean sonnet beginning, "The expense [sic] of spirit in
a waste [or is it "waist"?] of shame ..."

In those far-off pre-viagra days, Renaissance poets (perhaps most notably, John
Donne) were much preoccupied by the fleeting nature of carnal pleasure.

And who can forget those luminous words of Saul of Tarsus [a.k.a. 'the
hatchetman of the Sanhedrin']: "Better to marry than burn."

R.H.

> 
>     On 17 April 2017 at 07:52 ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
> 
> 
>     Back in 2012 I shared some citations for the quotation in the subject
>     line. Now I've located an earlier close match in a letter sent to the
>     editors of "The Western Daily Press" in Bristol, England in 1902. The
>     subject was the standardization of equipment for golf, and the word
>     "amusement" was employed to avoid terms such as "intercourse" or
>     "sex". In addition, the taboos of the era dictated the replacement of
>     "damnable" by dashes:
> 
>     [ref] 1902 November 20, The Western Daily Press, Correspondence To The
>     Editors of The Western Daily Press, (Letter Title: Standardisation of
>     the Golf Ball, Letter From: W.L.B. of Clifton; Letter Date: November
>     17, 1902), Quote Page 3, Column 7, Bristol, England. (British
>     Newspaper Archive)[/ref]
> 
>     [Begin excerpt]
>     If there is to be no limit to the fancy or ingenuity of club and ball
>     makers, I am afraid the dictum of a certain American, speaking of
>     another amusement, will be applicable to golf, viz., "that the
>     pleasure is momentary, the attitudes ridiculous, and the expense
>     -----"
>     [End excerpt]
> 
>     An article is now available in the QI website:
> 
>     The Pleasure Is Momentary, the Position Is Ridiculous, the Expense Is
> Damnable
>     http://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/04/16/pleasure/
> 
>     Feedback welcome
>     Garson
> 
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>     The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org