Gerald Berg

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Gerald Berg has posted 245 annotations/comments since 4 March 2013.

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About Saturday 17 March 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

"so home having a great cold, and so my wife and Mrs. Barbary have very great ones, we are at a loss how we all come by it together"

A viral joke!

About Tuesday 6 March 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Oranges! How expensive would they be? Could the household help eat some? Would this be a perk of working in the household? I wonder when bananas make an appearance?

About Sunday 25 February 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Not impressed with the foulmouthed Archbishop:

"and the foulest worde that can be spoke of a woman almost"

So much for casting the first stone and all that entails.

About Sunday 18 February 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Entry is well worth parsing.

Creed is no longer of interest because SP's schemes are all about making money and Creed is of no help in that. Creed's attempted rape is now publicly known so is that the reason he is of no help financially and the reason for the hate? Or, is it because he got caught that Pepys hates him?

I have also come the the conclusion the Pepys' writing plays the straight man to his life.

"sad company to me, nor was I much pleased with it"

About Monday 12 February 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

And I recall Elias Canetti's:

Peter Kien, an internationally respected scholar of Chinese studies who maintains a personal library of 25,000 volumes.

No windows only skylights provides less distraction.

About Monday 29 January 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Evelyn's entry: Interesting tone versus Pepys'. Both heavily dropping names but Evelyn comes across as rather dull and vain. No praise be to god for being noticed from him! For some reason I feel I can participate in Sam's life whereas Evelyn's continues to feel opaque and generic.

I am aware of some of Evelyn's many gifts. I am also guessing that Evelyn's life would not entail any 'demeurais u peu de temps besandola' as it were. Approving behaviour is not what we seek here.

So Sam, continue on you cad!

About Thursday 11 January 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

With you on the that Phil C.! A society on the verge of producing geniuses in all sorts of guises. Were it not for Newton, our Mr Hooke of this night might be better remembered than he is.

About Wednesday 3 January 1665/66

Gerald Berg  •  Link

Epic work what? Dictates a well thought, multi-optioned,19 page closely writ Pursers paper over a morning and afternoon. Read back by Mr. Gibson and copied fair by SP over the evening. Continue next day, all day. Party hard and an oops must sleep. Mailed following morning. Whatever the merits of the diary he was exactly where he should be as to job and competence. Wonderful!