Tuesday 25 December 1660

Annotations

• N Todd Bernhardt on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 01:27am

  A Quiet Christmas.

  Interesting that the day involved no gift-giving at all, but that it’s essentially treated as a Sunday, at least by Sam & Co.

  And … though it’s been said, many times, many ways, thank you Gyford, for Pepys.

  And to all a good night.

• N language hat on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 02:20am

  Xmas gift-giving basically dates only to the 19th century.
  For Christmas history, see David Quidnunc’s extremely helpful series of quotes from a book on the subject at the background page here:
  http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/314.php

• N vincent on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 04:04am

  “Wot” ever happened to the “tom t” too raw to eat?

• N David Quidnunc on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 06:12am

  Ah, but there are at least two gifts today, Tom:

  Pepy gave his wife a mantle and a muff, which he mentioned buying for her on 21 December — without her being present:

  “By water to Whitehall (leaving my wife at Whitefriars going to my father

• N David Quidnunc on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 06:22am

  Christmas “Present”/Christmas “Past”

  This would have been the first Christmas in some time that the government in power did not officially discourage celebrating. Christmas would now be the trendy thing to observe, and a show of support for the new government that pays Pepys’s salary. Celebrating Christmas also would be an affirmation of Pepys’s less Puritanical religiosity.

  Last year, government offices would have been officially open. Around Christmastime, the Pepyses received a brawn from Elizabeth Mountagu and, from Edward Mountagu, a dozen bottles of sack on 2 Jan. 1660 as a “New Year’s gift” (L&M Vol. 1, p 4, note 1).

  The 2 January 1660 page:
  http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/01/02/index.php

• N Mary on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 08:44am

  No gift from Elizabeth.

  As a corollary to David Q’s note, it is unlikely that Elizabeth would have had control of any money apart from that which she was allowed for day-to-day household expenses and, from time to time, larger sums for specific purchases (e.g. substantial items for the house). Unless she were able to fiddle money out of the housekeeping, she wouldn’t have been in much of a financial position for gift-buying. As for the housekeeping, I suspect that Sam wanted fairly detailed accounts of the outgoings.

• N David Quidnunc on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 06:29pm

  Actually, Elizabeth probably did the shopping, but I still think it was a Christmas gift.

  I said in my first annotation above that Sam bought the mantle and muff for Elizabeth without her being present, but it seems much more likely that on Dec. 21 Sam and Elizabeth together boarded a boat near Seething Lane then went upriver, where Elizabeth debarked at Whitefriars — very close to John Pepys’s house on Salisbury Court — and Sam continued on without her upriver to Whitehall. She then went on the shopping trip with Sam’s father, not Sam.

  I think I misread the 21 December entry: “By water to Whitehall (leaving my wife at Whitefriars going to my father

• N dirk on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 08:39pm

  “To church…”

  It strikes me that on some sundays - and on this Christmas day - Sam goes to church service twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Not always though: he didn’t go a second time (or at least he makes no mention in the diary) on 9 and 16 December. Is there an explanation for this, or is it just Sam’s whimsy? It can’t have been for the (dull) sermon in the afternoon…
  

• N A. De Araujo on Fri 26 Dec 2003, 10:53pm

  “To church…” I think it was just for socializing;there was not much else to do; he could go to taverns also which he did quite often.

• N vincent on Sat 27 Dec 2003, 02:39am

  Are the taverns still closed while there is a sermon[homine] being read?

• N vincent on Sat 27 Dec 2003, 02:46am

  Gifts ? For those that want to share their joy and excess{wealth} [I believe not too many]. Then the rest of the gift giving is either for a little corruption of mind, body or persuasion for future benefits. The Puritans did see it as evil.

• N dirk on Sat 27 Dec 2003, 03:07am

  Gifts…

  “Timeo Danaos dona ferentes” as the Romans said.

  (transl. “I fear the Greeks when they are bringing gifts.”)
  

• N Mike Barnas on Sat 27 Dec 2003, 03:46am

  Sorry, dirk, I believe the line is:
  “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes,”
  meaning “I fear the Greeks even when they come bringing gifts.”
  ANEIDOS II, 48.

  MIKE IN CHICAGO

• N Charlezzzzz on Sat 27 Dec 2003, 06:35am

  Candlesticks for Coventry a gift?
  Well…sort of a “gift.” A couple of days back, Pepys wrote: “… Commissioner Pett … told me that he had lately presented a piece of plate (being a couple of flaggons) to Mr. Coventry, but he did not receive them, which also put me upon doing the same too…” In other words, Pett gave Coventry silver in the form of plate. Coventry gave them back (“did not receive them”) so Sam, hoping for the same result, decided to give the same kind of “gift.” In just the same way, some corporate executives today get “gifts” from the outside vendors they use; many keep the “gifts,” and some return the “gifts” with thanks. Corrupt? Or merely trade practice? It’s common today; in Pepys’ time it was universal.

• N David Quidnunc on Sun 28 Dec 2003, 09:02pm

  That gift & Tom’s reason for visiting

  “… my brother Tom (who this morning came to see my wife

• N vincent on Tue 30 Dec 2003, 08:23pm

  Re: gifts: It is said that gifts persuade even the gods.
  - Medea (964) [Gifts]
  Benefits are acceptable, while the receiver thinks he may return them; but once exceeding that, hatred is given instead of thanks.
  [Lat., Beneficia usque eo laeta sunt dum videntur exsolvi posse; ubi multum antevenere pro gratia odium redditur.]
  - Tacitus (Caius Cornelius Tacitus), Annales (IV, 18)
  To accept a favor is to sell one’s freedom.
  [Lat., Beneficium accipere, libertatem est vendere.]
  - Syrus (Publilius Syrus), Maxims

  
  http://www.giga-usa.com/gigaweb1/quotes2/qutopbenefitsx001.htm
  MONEY AND FRIENDS do not mix. It is better to be thought as money OR friends.

• N Pauline on Wed 31 Dec 2003, 12:13am

  …”(who this morning came to see my wife

• N Hic retearivs on Wed 31 Dec 2003, 05:22am

  Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

  Timeo Danaos et dona ferentis.

  Retearivs sed scholaticvs non svm

• N vincent on Wed 31 Dec 2003, 06:47am

  ‘tis pandora’s box: google says ” …es” to “…is “1460 to 161.
  “oxford” says
  Teucri.
  Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.
  Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts.
  Aeneid bk. 2, l. 48
  Lets here from Rome.
  enjoy

• N language hat on Wed 31 Dec 2003, 10:19pm

  dona ferentes
  Of course dona is plural; it’s the nom/acc plural of donum ‘gift.’ Ferentes modifies Danaos ‘Greeks bringing.’ With all due respect, if your Latin is that rusty, you shouldn’t be trying to correct quotes.

• N Glyn on Fri 25 Jun 2004, 05:50pm

  An article on how the Pepys celebrated Christmas, from “History Today”:

  http://www.historytoday.com/dt_main_allatonce.asp?gid=10434&g10434=x&g10421=x&g30026=x&g20991=x&g21010=x&g19965=x&g19963=x&amid=10434

• N Onion on Wed 7 Mar 2007, 10:24pm

  Ferentis is accusative plural.

  It goes with DANAOS, not dona.

  Allen/Greenaugh 118 shows the morphology of adjectives and present participles.

  -is is a proper accusative plural.

  Don’t claim factual knowledge before looking it up. Odds are good the OCT and Virgil know more latin than you.