Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Silence, exile and cunning

4 comments:

Σφιγξ said...

http://www.theatlantic.com
/magazine/archive/2005/08/
writers-and-mentors/4101/

Σφιγξ said...

"The number and gratitude of these friends increased daily and in a short time the 'secret and private' secretary became a fully-fledged politician, surrounded by a cloud of insatiable place-hunters, who clustered round her as chickens do round the farmer's wife when she begins to scatter the grain from her lap at sunset.

Though she was concerned for all her friends Joanna had nothing to ask for herself; or rather, she only nourished one desire. Daily she implored the merciful Pantanassa to reward the virtues of the Pope Leo very quickly by transporting him to a better life. An ungrateful and impious enough prayer to address to the Virgin...But in Rome the faithful are on such familiar terms with the Virgin that they not only ask her for wealth, position, horses, honours and so on; they also plead with her for the death of an enemy or a rich relation; they ask for the death of a rival in love or any other such troubling creature. It is even said they request things which would bring a blush to the sober cheeks of a pimp. At any rate assassins leave their knives upon her altars before sinking them in their victims' backs, drunkards empty jugs and bottles to her, and so on. So Joanna was naturally only following the custom of the country when she addressed her prayer to the Virgin."

-Lawrence Durrell's 1960 translation of Emmanuel Royidis's The Papess Joanne (1866)

Σφιγξ said...

Is this about how your position forces you into the unique circumstances of deciding who gets the sack? Are they appealing to you to forestall such an eventuality?

Σφιγξ said...

As cogs in the revenue-generating wing of the hospital, we are bracing for the backlog of scheduled surgeries after May 1st. This is a bad thing because hastened hospitalizations usually repay in readmissions and complications.

This is an older article, but the same applies.

https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/clinical-care/ahrq-surgical-admissions-bring-48-hospital-revenue