Today’s WOTD – 17 November 2012

hamartia

[hah-mahr-TEE-uh]

noun:

Tragic flaw.

What is Oedipus’ hamartia that leads to his self-fulfilling self-reversal? — Laszlo Versényi, Man’s Measure

We called it by many different things, such as hubris or hamartia, but given the way you butcher Latin, let’s stick with English. — Stephanie Draven, The Fever and the Fury

Hamartia stems from the Greek word hamartánein which meant “to err.” However, it entered English in the late 1800s.

Today’s aphorism

‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions’.

– Dalai Lama

On this day

17 November 1950 – 15 year-old, Tenzin Gyatso becomes the 14th Dalai Lama in Tibet, a position he holds to this day.

17 November 1973 – U.S. President Richard Nixon televises a speech in which he states, ‘I am not a crook’. This was in relation to allegations of his involvement in the Watergate Scandal, in which documents were stolen from the offices of the Democratic National Convention at the Watergate Hotel in Washington on 17 June 1972. Nixon was implicated in the break-in when recordings of conversations held in the Oval Office showed his involvement. Impeachment proceedings were commenced, however, Nixon resigned on 8 August 1974 and avoided being impeached, although he faced possible criminal proceedings. Vice-President Gerald Ford became President immediately following Nixon’s resignations, and on 8 September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon of any wrong-doing.