Dear John
Two sources for the "Man that is Born of Woman":
(1) Book of Job, xiv. 1 "Man that is born of woman is of few days, and full
of trouble."
(2) Book of Common Prayer, from the service for the Burial of the Dead,
First Anthem, "Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live and
is full of misery".
All good cheerful stuff that for a fine (well, fine-ish) Spring morning.
Yours,
Alastair
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Radcliffe" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Alastair Wilson" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 9:09 AM
Subject: New Readers' Guide
We have just published notes by John McGivering on "Namgay Doola", the
eleventh story in Life's Handicap, by Alastair Wilson on "The Devil and
the Deep Sea" from The Day's Work, and by David Page on a further story in
Abaft the Funnel, "A Fallen Idol".
We have had an interesting enquiry from a reader about a passage in "The
Head of the District" in Life's Handicap.
On Page 120, line 5 of the Standard Edition, Orde, who is dying, quotes
the phrase:
"Man that is born of a woman is small potatoes and few in the hill".
Has anyone any thoughts as to whether this a genuine quote, if so what are
its origins, and just what did Orde mean ?
Good wishes to all, John R
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