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calumny KA-luhm-nee noun slander; defamatory statements 1757Benjamin FranklinPoor Richard 1757Act uprightly, and despise Calumny; Dirt may stick to a Mud Wall, but not to polish'd Marble1854Harriet Beecher StoweSunny Memories of Foreign LandsIn the conclusion of one of his speeches he says, 'Sir, it may not be given me to pass over this Jordan; other and better men have preceded me, and I entered into their labors; other and better men will follow me, and enter into mine; but this consolation I shall ever continue to enjoy—that, amidst much injustice and somewhat of calumny, we have at last lighted such a candle in England as, by God's blessing, shall never be put out.'1905Maxim GorkyThe March of ManIn the warmish heart of Friendship, Thought feels the calculating prudence, the cruel, empty curiosity, the foul ulcers of envy, with the germs of calumny in them.Labels: Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Maxim Gorky
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Entry By: CJ Cooney
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leaven LEEV-uhn noun, verb something which causes fermentation; something which enlivens 1901Maxim GorkyThe Man Who Was AfraidWhat is it?' said Mayakin, excitedly, trembling. 'That either comes to him from excessive drinking, or else—Heaven forbid—from his mother, the orthodox spirit. And if this heathenish leaven is going to rise in him I'll have to struggle hard with him! There will be a great conflict between us.1917William John LockeThe Red PlanetI was among farmers from Skye and butchers from Inverness and drunken scallywags from the slums of Aberdeen, and a leaven of old soldiers from all over Scotland. I had no idea that such people existed.1935T. E. LawrenceThe Seven Pillars of WisdomThis was the unleavened dough cake of yesterday, but crumbled between the fingers while still warm, and moistened with liquid butter till its particles would fall apart only reluctantly.Labels: Maxim Gorky, T. E. Lawrence, William John Locke
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turbid TUR-buhd adjective water darkened by sediment; muddy; foul 1901Maxim GorkyThe Man Who Was AfraidBlood was trickling from his bruised face on to the white bark of the birch wood; he wiped the blood off his face with the sleeve of his shirt, looked at his sleeve and, heaving a sigh, maintained silence, and when he went past Foma with the hand-harrows, two big, turbid tears were trembling on his face, near the bridge of his nose, and Foma noticed them.1922Sax RohmerTales of China Town: The Dance of the Veils...his wits were bright if his morals were turbid.1931Shinran ShoninBuddhist PsalmsWhoso believeth in the power of the Divine Promise shall verily be at one with the holy Essence, even as the turbid stream is clear and pure within the ocean depth when they have flowed together.Labels: Maxim Gorky, Sax Rohmer, Shinran Shonin
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verdure VUR-jur noun lush, green vegetation; the state of flourishing 1901Lew WallaceBen HurThe birds took to wing joyously; beasts great and small went about, each in its way; the trees shook their verdurous branches, nodding to the enamoured winds; the rivers ran to the seas, and the seas tossed in their beds and rolled in crested waves, and with surging and ebbing painted the shores with glistening foam; and over all the clouds floated like sailed ships unanchored.1901Maxim GorkyThe Man Who Was AfraidThe beautiful and mighty 'Yermak,' Gordyeeff's steam tow-boat, was rapidly floating down the current, and on each side the shores of the powerful and beautiful Volga were slowly moving past him—the left side, all bathed in sunshine, stretching itself to the very end of the sky like a pompous carpet of verdure; the right shore, its high banks overgrown with woods, swung skyward, sinking in stern repose.1916James R. McConnellFlying for FranceThe ravishing beauty of the Val d'Ajol, the steep mountain sides bristling with a solid mass of giant pines, the myriads of glittering cascades tumbling downward through fairylike avenues of verdure, the roaring, tossing torrent at the foot of the slope—all this loveliness, seen from an airplane at 12,000 feet, fades into flat splotches of green traced with a tiny ribbon of silver.Labels: James R. McConnell, Lew Wallace, Maxim Gorky
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