Bonus language topic: The word "doom" originally meant statute. But then it meant "A judgement or decision, esp. one formally pronounced" (OED). The meaning that feels familiar — "Fate, lot, irrevocable destiny" — arrives around 1400. And the meaning that sounds exactly right — "Final fate, destruction, ruin, death" — is first found in a 1609 Shakespeare sonnet, Sonnet 14:Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck,And yet methinks I have astronomy—But not to tell of good or evil luck,Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons’ quality;Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,Pointing to each his thunder, rain, and wind,Or say with princes if it shall go wellBy oft predict that I in heaven find.But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,And, constant stars, in them I read such artAs truth and beauty shall together thriveIf from thyself to store thou wouldst convert;Or else of thee this I prognosticate:Thy end is truth’s and beauty’s doom and date.
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck
From The looming doom is creating main character energy by Ann Althouse.
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