Ηρώων τέκνα

The particular agony of walking into a room where everyone already knows each other.

It was, then, into the midst of this tumult and disorder that our young man advanced with a beating heart, ranging his long rapier up his lanky leg, and keeping one hand on the edge of his cap, with that half-smile of the embarrassed provincial who wishes to put on a good face. When he had passed one group he began to breathe more freely; but he could not help observing that they turned round to look at him, and for the first time in his life d’Artagnan, who had till that day entertained a very good opinion of himself, felt ridiculous.

The Three Musketeers · Alexandre Dumas

Το μόνο κατόρθωμα των διορθωτών της γλώσσας: να κάνουν τη ζωντανή μας γλώσσα θαλάσσιο τέρας.

Μόνον κατόρθωμα τῶν δῆθεν διορθωτῶν τῆς γλώσσης ὑπῆρξε ν᾿ ἀτιμάσωσι καὶ νὰ καταστήσωσιν ἄχρηστον ἐν τῷ γραπτῷ λόγω τὸν πλοῦτον τῆς λαλουμένης, χωρὶς νὰ μεταδώσωσιν εἰς τοὺς ἐκταφέντας ἀττικισμοὺς ζωὴν πραγματικήν, ἥτις διὰ μόνου τοῦ στόματος, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ τοῦ καλάμου, δύναται νὰ ἐμφυσηθῇ. Τὴν αὐτὴν δυσάρεστον αἴσθησιν κατήντησεν οὕτω νὰ προξενῇ εἰς ἡμᾶς καὶ ἡ προσθήκη καὶ ἡ παράλειψις τοῦ ἀναδιπλασιασμοῦ, καὶ ἡ χρῆσις καὶ ἡ ἀποφυγὴ τῆς δοτικῆς πλείστων ὀνομάτων, καὶ τὸ «σεῖς» καὶ «ὑμεῖς», καὶ ἡ «μύτη» καὶ ἡ «ρίς», καὶ τὸ «ἐπρόσφερα» καὶ τὸ «προσήνεγκον», καὶ τὸ «ἐδάγκασα» καὶ τὸ «ἔδηξα» καὶ ἀναρίθμητα ἄλλα, μεταξὺ τῶν ὁποίων ταλαντεύεται ὁ γράφων ὡς ναυτιῶν θαλασσοπόρος μεταξὺ Χαρύβδεως καὶ Σκύλλης.

Πάρεργα · Εμμανουήλ Ροΐδης

Being starved by someone who calls it love.

The more my wrong, the more his spite appears: What, did he marry me to famish me? Beggars, that come unto my father’s door, Upon entreaty have a present aims; If not, elsewhere they meet with charity: But I, who never knew how to entreat, Nor never needed that I should entreat, Am starved for meat, giddy for lack of sleep, With oaths kept waking and with brawling fed: And that which spites me more than all these wants, He does it under name of perfect love; As who should say, if I should sleep or eat, ’Twere deadly sickness or else present death.

The Taming of the Shrew · William Shakespeare