Re: Gnomes (Was: what is an aorist?)

On Jul 12, 2005, at 1:48 AM, Ray Brown wrote:

> He wanted names for the spirits of each of the 'four elements':
> salamanders - spirits of fire
> The name 'salamander' is ultimately from Greek _salamandra_, a kind of
> newt (Salamandra vulgaris). It was supposed by both the ancient Greeks
> and the Romams to be able to withstand fire, being able to quench the
> fire by the chill of its body. Reference to this belief may be found
> in Aristotle and Pliny and several other authors. Many of the
> medievals seem to have believed the creature actually lived in fire &
> Paracelsus simply adopted the word for his elemental spirits of fire.
Some real-life salamanders, at least, seem to be able to withstand fire
for short periods by secreting some kind of bodily fluid.


-Stephen (Steg)
  "You know, I rather like this God fellow.
   Very theatrical, you know.
   Pestilence here, a plague there.
   Omnipotence ... gotta get me some of that."
      ~ stewie griffin, _family guy_

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