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

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks, R.H. Your associative memory is Shavian. The same phrase from
Shakespeare was cited by Shaw in a private letter in 1928 when he
mentioned the quotation and linked it to "The Aberdonian".
Garson

On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 4:39 AM, Robin Hamilton
<robin.hamilton3 at virginmedia.com> wrote:
> 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
>>
>>     ------------------------------------------------------------
>>     The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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