Notes
What is a literary classic and why are these classic works important to the world?
A literary classic is a work of the highest excellence that has something important to say about life and/or the human condition and says it with great artistry. A classic, through its enduring presence, has withstood the test of time and is not bound by time, place, or customs. It speaks to us today as forcefully as it spoke to people one hundred or more years ago, and as forcefully as it will speak to people of future generations. For this reason, a classic is said to have universality.
Hermann Hesse was born in Calw, Germany, in 1877. He visited India in 1911; it was most likely this visit which formed the basis for the novel Siddhartha, first published in 1922. Hesse emigrated to Switzerland in 1912 and became a Swiss citizen about a decade later. He was strongly opposed to the militarism of Germany during both World Wars, and in 1943, the Nazis would not allow the publication of one of his most famous novels—The Glass Bead Game, which was then published in Zürich. Hesse won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946, and wrote no other major works after receiving this prize. Hermann Hesse died in 1962.
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abhorrent – hated
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“…the most perfect…the world has seen…” – Note that here Holmes is compared to a machine, possibly a reference to one made by Charles Babbage (1791 – 1871) that could calculate numbers mechanically.
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gibe – a sarcastic comment
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grit – a tiny piece of dirt
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loathed – hated
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“…which I merely…of the daily press…” – Watson, the narrator, is the person who supposedly wrote the numerous stories about Holmes' adventures for the newspapers, but, since he has been married, he must read about his friend in the papers, just as the rest of London must do.
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“for I had now returned to civil practice” – Watson has left the British armed forces and returned to being a private physician.
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spirit-case – a holder for liquor
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gasogene – an early type of machine for putting carbonation into a liquid
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introspective – deep in thought
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have been burned – burned at the stake
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incorrigible – very difficult to control
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malignant – evil
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slavey – a servant
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iodoform – a type of iodine
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nitrate of silver – a combination of nitric acid and silver used by doctors to kill unhealthy tissue
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post – the mail delivery
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capital – very large
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Boswell – a reference to James Boswell (1740 – 1795), the biographer of Samuel Johnson
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Hercules – an allusion to the Greek mythological figure, who was considered to be the strongest man in the world
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astrakhan – a fine wool
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brooch – a decorative pin
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beryl – a semi-precious stone
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opulence – fanciness
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vizard – a visor, the part of a helmet used for seeing
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obstinacy – stubbornness
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quench – to reduce; put out
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languid – relaxed; unhurried
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incognito – [Latin] in disguise
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docketing – making a list
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La Scala – an opera house in Milan, Italy
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Prima donna – the main singer; someone who overrates his or her importance
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reproachfully – wearily
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resolute – firm
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carte-blanche – [French] a blank paper; traditionally, however, carte-blanche means freedom to do as one pleases or being able to use unlimited resources.
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chamois – soft leather
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cabinet – a large sized photograph
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inextricable – very complicated and confused
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invariable – unvarying
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bijou villa – [French] a jewel of a house
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preposterous – ridiculous-looking
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ostlers – people employed to care for horses
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Inner Temple – an area of London where many lawyers live
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half a guinea – a gold coin
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landau – a carriage
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sovereign – a coin
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surpliced – a manner of dressing for religious figures
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expostulating – arguing
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“…only three minutes, or it won't be legal.” – In England at the time, all weddings had to be performed by 12 noon.
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smoke rocket – a tool used by plumbers to check for leaks
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succinct – brief
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averse – opposed to
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copper – a copper penny
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ulster – an overcoat
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over-precipitance – being overly hasty; done too quickly
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née – [Latin] formerly
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epistle – a letter
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inviolate – pure; unable to change
