Saturday, March 23, 2013

"A person who lives by philosophy and reason; a person who accepts things philosophically."

That's Definition #2 for "philosopher" in the the Oxford English Dictionary (which I'm reading because, as you can see in the previous post, someone, presumably mistakenly, referred to me as "the philosopher, Ann Althouse"). This definition goes back to the 14th century:
[c1380 Chaucer Second Nun's Tale 490, I recche nat what wrong that thow me profre, For I kan suffre it as a philosophre.]
1600 Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 35 For there was neuer yet Philosopher, That could endure the tooth-ake patiently.
1700 G. Farquhar Constant Couple ii. iv. 20 I'll beat him with the Temper of a Philosopher.
1855 Tennyson Maud iv. ix, in Maud & Other Poems 20 Be mine a philosopher's life in the quiet woodland ways.

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