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In this edition. “bumbast titles” → “inflated titles” (DJR-041-17); “bumbast themselves” → “pad themselves out” (DJR-048-23); “talk big fustian” → “spout grandiose nonsense” (DJR-088-33). Inflated and pad themselves out preserve the image behind bombast. Grandiose nonsense conveys the contempt directed at pretentious speech.
Generation and corruption
Source forms: generation; corruption
The word. Generation and corruption mean coming into being and passing away. Corruption can also mean bodily decay. Neither use is primarily about moral dishonesty.
In Burton. The astronomical question asks whether the heavens undergo change or whether apparent novelties are previously created bodies that recur at set times. In the discussion of regimen, corruption concerns the body’s decay and the claim that moderation could prevent it. The word’s subject determines the kind of change at issue.
The places. Generation and corruption challenge the supposed changelessness of the heavens. (p. 252; DJR-075-01.) Corruption names bodily decay in the discussion of regimen. (p. 291; DJR-083-20.)
In this edition. “Whether there be generation and corruption” → “Whether things come into being and pass away in the heavens” (DJR-075-01); “all corruption” → “all bodily decay” (DJR-083-20). The astronomical rendering states the technical pair in ordinary English. Bodily decay supplies the local sense in the regimen passage.
See also. Matter.
Generous
Source forms: generous; generosity; generous wines
The word. Generous can mean noble in birth, disposition or spirit. Generosity can accordingly mean greatness of spirit, while generous wine is excellent or full-bodied. Willingness to give is not the common meaning of these examples.
In Burton. Noble spirits suffer intensely from disgrace and adversity. In the account of extraordinary endurance, generosity is reconsidered as frenzy or insensibility, and Burton intervenes to distinguish madness or desperation from melancholy. The death catalogue uses generous courage as attributed praise. Fine wines belong to another context altogether, the display of luxury.
The places. Generous minds suffer from public disgrace. (p. 99 [supplied]; DJR-040-29.) Generous spirits withdraw under adversity. (p. 160; DJR-053-47.) Generosity is reconsidered in an account of endurance. (p. 192; DJR-060-26.) Generous courage appears in reported praise of voluntary deaths. (p. 216; DJR-066-07.) Generous describes wine in a scene of luxury. (p. 270; DJR-079-05.)
In this edition. “Generous minds” → “Noble minds” (DJR-040-29); “generous spirits” → “noble spirits” (DJR-053-47); “this generosity” → “this nobility of spirit” (DJR-060-26); “generous courage” → “noble courage” (DJR-066-07); “generous wines” → “fine wines” (DJR-079-05). Noble and nobility preserve the social and moral register. Fine gives the different evaluative sense for wine.
Geniture
Source forms: geniture; casting a nativity; genitures; Genethliacal; Lords of the geniture; nativity; cast a Nativity
The word. Geniture can name a birth or its astrological figure. A nativity in these passages is a birth horoscope; genethliacal describes judgments based on births. Lords of the geniture are the planets thought to rule that figure.
In Burton. Burton uses natal astrology in his self-portrait and among supposed predispositions to melancholy. He can also ridicule genethliacal studies and, elsewhere, allow casting a nativity as an absorbing exercise. The vocabulary recurs across personal description, causal theory, satire and qualified recreation, with different argumentative purposes.
The places. Burton describes his birth chart. (p. 3; DJR-002-03.) An astrologer’s fee supplies a satirical comparison. (p. 60; DJR-015-40.) Adverse birth charts are listed as predispositions. (p. 33; DJR-027-24.) Genethliacal studies are ridiculed. (p. 167; DJR-055-21.) Planets are called rulers of the geniture. (p. 190 [first occurrence]; DJR-060-02.) Saturn’s predominance is linked with character. (p. 190 [first occurrence]; DJR-060-04.) Casting a nativity is permitted in some cases as an exercise. (p. 285; DJR-082-11.)
In this edition. “my geniture” → “my birth chart” (DJR-002-03); “casting a Nativity” → “casting a birth horoscope” (DJR-015-40); “genitures” → “birth charts” (DJR-027-24); “Genethliacal studies” → “studies of birth horoscopes” (DJR-055-21); “Lords of the geniture” → “rulers of the nativity” (DJR-060-02); “his nativity” → “a person’s nativity” (DJR-060-04); “cast a Nativity” → “cast a birth horoscope” (DJR-082-11). Birth chart and birth horoscope explain the common sense; nativity remains where the technical language is retained and locally glossed.
See also. Astrology.
Genus and species
Source forms: summum genus; specifical difference; genus; species
The word. Genus and species are levels of logical classification. Summum genus names the highest or broadest class in a definition; a specifical difference is the feature that distinguishes a species within its genus.
In Burton. The attempt to define melancholy asks both for its broad class and for what distinguishes it. The objection about imagination and the brain is therefore logical as well as medical. Elsewhere, genus and species become a comic shorthand for academic philosophy, forced to walk while medicine and law provide wealth and honours.
The places. Summum genus identifies the broad class in a definition. (p. 31; DJR-027-09.) The definition is criticized for lacking its distinctive features. (p. 31; DJR-027-08.) Genus and species stand for poorly rewarded philosophy. (p. 133; DJR-047-25.)
In this edition. “summum genus” → “highest general category” (DJR-027-09); “specifical difference” → “distinctive features” (DJR-027-08); “genus & species” → “genus and species” (DJR-047-25). Plain equivalents explain the logical role in the definition. The Latin terms remain in the verse because their personification carries the joke.
See also. Equivocation.
Glass
The word. Glass here means a mirror. It names the reflective object used in the reported divinatory procedure, rather than a drinking vessel or merely the material glass.
In Burton. Burton describes a mirror lowered on a thread at a spring near Ceres’ temple, where the outcome of illness was supposedly revealed. He groups this with another oracle and concludes that ordinary people have been deceived about future events. The procedure is divination, not a medical examination.
The places. A glass is lowered at the spring oracle. (p. 166; DJR-055-08.)
In this edition. “A glass let down by a thred” → “a mirror was lowered on a thread” (DJR-055-08). Mirror identifies the object immediately, allowing the reader to follow the procedure without importing another common sense of glass.
See also. Catoptrics and perspectives; Lodestone and adamant; Fascination.
Gossip
The word. Gossips can be familiar companions or associates, especially women in social company. In the second example a gossip is a familiar female friend. The noun need not identify a habitual spreader of rumours.
In Burton. The general account of rivalry finds factions even among small groups of companions. The later case describes a woman publicly reproached by one of her gossips after a quarrel, then withdrawing from society. Although the story involves disclosure, the noun first identifies the relationship between the women.