J. C. Powys' Autobiography: A Reader's Companion - Site POWYS

30 Autobiography
became “some sort of convent” (99); see also
Gourlay (6).
Holy Road (117) — An unfortunate misprint for
“Holy Rood,” the cross upon which Jesus was
crucified, said to have been discovered by
Helena, the mother of Constantine. The find on
Montacute Hill is also mentioned in Wood and
Stone (1).
Homenas (229) — The Bishop of Papimany, “that
poor old doddipole of a pillar of the Church”
(Rabelais [318]), in Rabelais (Book 4, chs.48–54),
translated as “Greatclod” in the Penguin Classics
edition.
Homer (9, 105, 122, 138, 165, 182, 184, 206, 219, 253,
283, 387, 424, 426, 469, 471, 485, 505, 534, 546, 560,
610, 620–1, 650) — Greek epic poet, supposed
author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, constantly
alluded to in JCP’s writings. His view of the
poems as “the work of two quite different hands”
(621) is repeated in his preface to Homer and the
Aether (9). So, “Homeric” (1, 16, 20, 41, 65, 66, 71,
106, 205, 288, 351, 388, 393, 424, 494; cf. 642).
homo sapiens (15, 36, 496) — The Latin name for
the human species. Homo Sapiens (510) is a
Polish novel by Stanislaw Przybyszewski
(1868–1927), translated into English in 1915.
“honest as I am” (561) — Probably from
Shakespeare’s Othello (II i 202).
“honest cods” (401, 469) — The phrase “honest
cod” appears in Motteux’s completion of
Urquhart’s translation of Rabelais (Book 5, ch.5),
and was much loved by both JCP and Llewelyn.
Llewelyn founded a private club of this name
while at Cambridge; see a photo in Elwin (50).
“honest, honest” (460) — From Shakespeare’s
Othello (V i 155).
honeysuckle rogues (269) — Cf. “thou
honeysuckle villain ... thou honeyseed rogue” in
Shakespeare’s 2 Henry IV (II i 53–4). Cf. also
“honeysuckle rascals” (575), and “honeysuckle
villains” in Rabelais (290).
hoops of steel (237) — From Shakespeare’s
Hamlet (I iii 63).
Horace (599, 619) — Roman poet (65–8 BC), wellknown
for his odes and satires.
Hort, Dr. (646) — F. J. A. Hort (1828–1892), editor
with Bishop B. F. Westcott (q.v.) of the Greek text
of the New Testament.
Horus (400) — The falcon-headed sun-god in
Egyptian mythology, brother of Osiris.
hospitable café (392) — Florian’s, in St. Mark’s
Square, famous for its location and high prices.
Hospitallers (325) — The military-religious Order
of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem,
founded in 1113. They were later transformed
into the Knights of Malta.
House of Rimmon — See “bowed down ...”
“How much wood ...” (185) — A traditional
“tongue-twister” existing in many similar forms.
“How shall I ... sandal-shoon!” (219) — From
Shakespeare’s Hamlet (IV v 23–6).
“huffed” (496) — A term from the game of
draughts, when one player takes the counter of
another. Cf. “huffing” (Wolf Solent [350]).
hugger-mugger (122; cf. 431) — In disorder. A
favourite JCP word, possibly borrowed from
Shakespeare’s Hamlet (IV v 83). See also
Weymouth Sands (85, 526, 554) and Owen
Glendower (567).
Hugo (420) — Victor Hugo (1802–1885), French
poet and novelist. The work alluded to here is
Notre Dame de Paris (1831). JCP wrote an essay on
him in Suspended Judgments.
“human-too-human” (71, 178, 224, 445, 626) —
Alluding to the title of a work by Nietzsche (q.v.).
Hunter, Reginald (563–4) — An admirer of JCP as
lecturer; also the first husband of Gamel
Woolsey, with whom Llewelyn was in love in the
late 1920s. Hunter was also known as Rex.
“hybris” (165) — Pride (Greek), the ingredient of
the tragic flaw in Greek tragedy, a term used by
Homer and transformed by Aristotle in his
Poetics. Now usually transliterated as “hubris.”
hydrocephalic (11, 255) — Cf. Johnny Geard’s
condition in A Glastonbury Romance (136).
Hymettian (215) — Relating to the honey from the
bees of Mount Hymettus, three miles south of
Athens.
Hypatia (555) — A neoplatonic philosopher in
Alexandria, daughter of a mathematician, the
subject of a novel by Charles Kingsley (1851).
I
“I am that I am” (629) — Cf. Exodus 3:14. Cf.
Maiden Castle (473) and Porius (102, 418).
“I am the Truth” (360, 428) — John 14:6. Also
quoted in The Pleasures of Literature (51) and
Rabelais (385); cf. In Defence of Sensuality (138).
“I believe because it’s impossible” (465) — A
notorious assertion by Tertullian (q.v.).
I do not feel ... not completely realized (36) —
The double negative is awkward, perhaps not
intended. The second “not” may be an error.
“I do not set my life at a pin’s fee” (164) — From
Shakespeare’s Hamlet (I iv 45), also quoted in
Powys to Sea-Eagle (197).
I recollect ... left no memory (5–6) — For a brief
but excellent analysis of this paragraph, see
Southwick (16–7).