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

42 Autobiography
phrase “we Neanderthal Powyses” (260),
Jacquetta Hawkes, the distinguished
archaeologist, claims that she was able to
persuade JCP that his features really resembled
those of the Beaker Folk (Humfrey, ed.,
Recollections [249]).
Nebuchadnezzar (34, 133) — King of Babylon, also
known as Nabuchodonosor. His degradation,
when he was forced to eat grass, is recorded in
Daniel 4:32.
“Neither for God nor for His enemies”
(417) — From Dante’s Inferno (Canto 3, l.39), also
quoted in Ducdame (127).
Neo-Thomism (282), Neo-Thomists
(417) — References to the revival of interest in
Thomas Aquinas’s theology in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries.
Nepenthe (297) — A drug supposed to drive away
care, given by Helen to Menelaus and
Telemachus in Homer’s Odyssey (Book 4),
though Roland Mathias (90) argues that JCP’s
fascination with the word derives from Edgar
Allan Poe.
Nereus (263) — The “Old Man of the Sea,” father
of the Nereids or sea-nymphs. JCP gives a
different list of the Nereids, derived from
Hesiod’s Theogony, in Porius (835). Homer also
mentions them, and JCP lists some in Homer and
the Aether (227).
Nero (401) — The notorious Roman Emperor from
54 to 68, known for his cruelty and
irresponsibility.
“Never or always” (216) — A phrase borrowed
from Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister. It became the
last words of A Glastonbury Romance and also
appears in After My Fashion (155), The Meaning of
Culture (117), Dostoievsky (158), In Spite Of (304),
and Diary 1930 (169).
“never was but always to be blest” (470) — From
Pope’s Essay on Man (I 96).
Nevils (117) — This statement explains why
Montacute is named Nevilton in Wood and
Stone. Apparently, however, there is no evidence
for the Nevils owning the fief in ancient times.
new President (505) — F. D. Roosevelt (q.v.).
Newman, Cardinal (270, 311, 359) — John Henry
Newman (1801–1890), priest, poet, and prosewriter,
whose conversion to Roman Catholicism
in 1845 caused a great stir in Church of England
circles. His Apologia Pro Vita Sua appeared in
1864.
Nietzsche (135, 139, 190, 271, 286, 313, 356, 367,
376, 377, 386, 395, 403, 430, 431, 432, 476, 527, 546,
565, 610, 631; cf. 409) — Friedrich Nietzsche
(1814–1900), German philosopher, best known for
Thus Spake Zarathustra (1882), his numerous
other works including Ecce Homo (see 356). JCP
devoted chapters to him in Visions and Revisions
and The Pleasures of Literature. Nietzsche’s
opinion on Maupassant mentioned by JCP (256),
“a genuine Latin, of whom I am particularly
fond”, in “Why am I so intelligent?” (Ecce Homo
[Part 2, section 3]). So, “Nietzschean” (432, 565).
Nietzsche, Frau Föster (398) — In fact, Frau
Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, Friedrich’s sister,
who did so much harm in attaching his ideas to
proto-fascist principles. For an excellent article on
JCP’s visit, see Elmar Schendel’s “Taking Tea with
Nietzsche’s Sister.”
Nimrod (65) — The “mighty hunter before the
Lord” of Genesis 10:9. He appears in Dante’s
Inferno (Canto 31, l.77). He had been called a
giant by St. Augustine.
nine mouths left to him (229) — His wife and the
eight children still at home. Nelly had died (see
“certain little girl”), Theodore had begun farming
in Suffolk, and Littleton was at university.
1917 was the worst year of my whole life (592 [but
cf. 216]) — Jacqueline Peltier (“American” [59,
n25]) demonstrates that 1917 is an error for 1916.
nipping and eager air (395) — From Shakespeare’s
Hamlet (I iv 2).
“Non omnis mortuus est” (619) — Literally, “not
everything is dead” (Latin), adapted from Horace,
Odes (III 30). Also referred to (in English) in A
Glastonbury Romance (1137) and partly quoted in
The Art of Growing Old (213).
normal schools (469) — In North America at this
period, schools that provided preliminary training
for teachers.
Norna of the Fitful Head (66, 75, 231, 351) — A
prophetess in Scott’s novel The Pirate. Her “fate”
(66) refers to the fact that, after discovering that
she had helped to imprison her own child, she
renounced her title and all desire to interfere into
other people’s lives.
Northwold (37; cf. 134) — The village in Norfolk
where JCP’s maternal grandfather was rector, and
where JCP visited frequently when a child.
Norton (346) — Norton-sub-Hamdon, a village to
the west of Montacute.
Norwich (103) — The county town of Norfolk.
“not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”
(237) — 2 Corinthians 5:1. Also quoted in part in
Wood and Stone (11), The Pleasures of Literature
(576), and Obstinate Cymric (92).
Nothe, the (19) — A fortified promontory to the
south of the Esplanade at Weymouth. It is
mentioned in Wood and Stone (576) and in
Weymouth Sands (25, 43).
“Nothing is more unpleasant than to be
obscurely hanged” (583) — Not identified in
Voltaire, but JCP may be in error here. The