OT: language origin and creationism (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Right. "Imagined" corners are, in this case, imaginary (material, angled)
corners. The directions are "real" (immaterial, unangled, unbounded)
"corners," i.e., not "corners1" but "corners2."

Burns called them "airts."

BTW, since the four airts are the same almost everywhere on earth, Isaiah
was not, strictly, being Holy-Land-centric.

He was being Non-Polar-centric.

JL

On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 7:51 PM, Robin Hamilton <
robin.hamilton2 at btinternet.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Robin Hamilton <robin.hamilton2 at BTINTERNET.COM>
> Subject:      Re: OT: language origin and creationism (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I suspect John Donne might disagree with the OED definition (or be reading
> Isaiah  differently):  "At the round earth's imagined corners blow / Your
> trumpet, angel, and arise, arise you numberless infinities / Of souls."
>
> (I'm [mis]quoting from memory -- one of the Holy Sonnets.)
>
> Robin
>
> > As OED explains, "corner" doesn't mean "corner." It means "a direction or
> > quarter from which the wind blows."
> >
> > So Isaiah is not implying that the earth has corners.
> >
> > He is merely being Holy-Land-centric.
> >
> > And what, a religionist might ask, is so wrong with that?
> >
> > JL
> > On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 12:43 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
> > Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
> >
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> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> >> Subject:      Re: OT: language origin and creationism (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> >> Caveats: NONE
> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > A question: how do the bible literalists deal with the evidence that
> >> > the earth may in fact not have four corners?
> >> >
> >> > GAT
>
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