Althouse: "Nothing makes for a festive spring like lettuce, bloodletting, and laxatives."

March 3, 2015

"Nothing makes for a festive spring like lettuce, bloodletting, and laxatives."

"How to Prepare for Spring, 1528" — spring, AKA "prymtyme" (prime time?).

19 comments:

Bobber Fleck said...: I was expecting to see an article about Michelle Obama's latest healthy living initiative for our schools.; 3/3/15, 1:18 PM
Unknown said...: and a bath.; 3/3/15, 1:25 PM
traditionalguy said...: But we have to wait until "whan the sunne entreth the sygne of Ayres..."

Spell check is very upset with me.; 3/3/15, 1:32 PM
Amichel said...: Whan that Aprill, with his shoures sooteThe droghte of March hath perced to the rooteAnd bathed every veyne in swich licour,Of which vertu engendred is the flour;Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breethInspired hath in every holt and heethThe tendre croppes, and the yonge sonneHath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,And smale foweles maken melodye,That slepen al the nyght with open ye(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages; 3/3/15, 1:34 PM
Charlie Currie said...: Scientific consensus...; 3/3/15, 1:38 PM
chuck said...: My barber won't even shave me, let alone let blood. We can thank the lawyers for that.; 3/3/15, 1:49 PM
lgv said...: In 500 years, there will be a blog referencing a current health care article recommending an organic, locally grown, gluten free and/or vegan diet. People will read it and chuckle.; 3/3/15, 1:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Yf wouldst maken pilgrymauge to Dayetonna, 'twere best that thou waytest nat for that Aprill with his shoures soote, for thanne longen alle yonge Clerkes, and eek Maidens Ygonne Wylde, to goon thence for Sprynge Breke.; 3/3/15, 1:59 PM
MadisonMan said...: That is an awesome blog.; 3/3/15, 2:04 PM
Michael said...: Svmer is icumen in
Lhude sing cuccu
Groweþ sed
and bloweþ med
and springþ þe wde nu
Sing cuccu; 3/3/15, 2:15 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: "In 500 years, there will be a blog referencing a current health care article recommending an organic, locally grown, gluten free and/or vegan diet. People will read it and chuckle."

In 500 years we will be amongst the barbarians again, scurrying like beetles through the shadows of the fallen cities searching for insects to eat and using centuries-old iPhones to crack open nuts.

I am Laslo.; 3/3/15, 2:32 PM
Tibore said...: "Nothing makes for a festive spring like lettuce, bloodletting, and laxatives."

Now that's a... party... :-S; 3/3/15, 2:34 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: Three things I would not have associated with spring, or festivities for that matter.

They really knew how to party back in the day.; 3/3/15, 2:34 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: Tibore's smiling airplane thinks the same way.; 3/3/15, 2:35 PM
MadisonMan said...: prymtyme is awful close to printemps, french for Spring.; 3/3/15, 2:38 PM
madAsHell said...: Wasn't this a Saturday Night Live skit with Steve Martin??; 3/3/15, 3:01 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: Puzzling over "And than is good to trauayle and to be laxatyfe." Could that mean to travel and relax, spring break style perhaps?

Merricam-Webster online has the origin of "travel" as "Middle English travailen, travelen to torment, labor, strive, journey, from Anglo-French travailler".; 3/3/15, 5:54 PM
bleh said...: printemps en francais; 3/3/15, 7:22 PM
Fernandinande said...: "We tend to scoff at the beliefs of the ancients. But we can't scoff at them personally, to their faces, and this is what annoys me." - Handy; 3/3/15, 9:31 PM