Today’s WOTD – 23 September 2012
tartuffery
[tahr-TOOF-uh-ree],
noun:
Behavior or character of a Tartuffe, especially hypocritical piety.
When Terry had finished showing his contempt and had left the office in disgust at the head’s Tartuffery, Jan had calmly got up from her seat and looked hard at the shell-shocked, speechless woman before addressing her.
— Derryl Flynn, The Albion
Not the sophistry, the malevolence, the restless apathy of the masses, the arrogance and insensitivity of the ruling class, the vulgarity, the bigotry, the intemperance, the maniacal piety and the ungodly Tartuffery.
— W.E. Gutman, Nocturnes
Tartuffery comes from the comedy by French playwright Molière. The central character of the eponymous play Tartuffe was a hypocritical pretender.
Today’s quote
‘Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed’.
Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1819-1891)
On this day
23 September 63BC – birth of Augustus Caesar, founder of the Roman Empire and first Roman Emperor.
23 September 1122 – The Concordat of Worms, sometimes known as Pactum Calixtinum, which was an agreement between Pope Calixtinum and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, near the City of Worms, to end the first phase of the power struggle between the Papacy and the Emperors by granting Kings the right to grant Bishops in their territories with secular authority, but not sacred authority. Bishops then swore allegiance to the King and the Pope. The Kings could also call on them for military support.
23 September 1215 – birth of Kublai Khan, of the Mongol Empire. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan. In 1271, Kublia Khan established the Yuan Empire ruling over modern-day Mongolia, China and Korea. He became the first non-Chinese Emperor to conquer all of China. He died on 18 February 1294.
23 September 1913 – French aviator Roland Garros, becomes the first person to fly across the Mediterranean Sea.
23 September 1949 – birth of Bruce Springsteen (a.k.a. The Boss), American rocker.