rogue classicism

Vomitorium Watch

Alas … after going over a year without catching an example of the egregious misuse of the word,  Will Self in an opeddish thing in BBC Magazine (of all places):

For what I think we require, as a society, is some sort of collective vomitorium. Not, you appreciate, that I expect you – like those mythical Roman patricians – to void the contents of your stomachs then limp groaning back to the dinner table.

… oh, and by the way, the Roman patricians weren’t mythical either.

David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist

3 responses to “Vomitorium Watch”

  1. Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer) Avatar
    Terrence Lockyer (@TLockyer)

    I wonder if “mythical Roman patricians” wasn’t meant to imply that the whole scenario was mythical? At any rate, when I first saw it, the piece had a “The myth of the Roman vomitorium” inset, explaining what the word actual means (at Macrobius, Saturnalia 6.4.3), which tends to support that view.

    Reply
    1. David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist Avatar
      David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist

      maybe … not sure if that box was there when i first saw it, actually …

      Reply
    2. Manuela Avatar
      Manuela

      That’s the sense I understood too, that the idea of having a room for vomiting was mythical.

      Reply

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