The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

whammy
500
whammy See double whammy.
What hath God wrought! What great things God
has done! <strong>The</strong> sentiment comes from Numbers
23:23 and is remembered today chiefl y through its
being chosen as the fi rst message to be transmitted
by telegraphy on May 28, 1844. A suggestion that
trips to the Grand Canyon should be publicized under
the slogan “What hath God wrought!” was not taken seriously
by most present at the meeting.
What is a man profi ted, if he shall gain the whole
world? Material wealth and power is ultimately
of no consequence. <strong>The</strong> sentiment was voiced by
Christ in Matthew 16:26 and Mark 8:36, in which
he compares transient earthly riches with a person’s
immortal soul: “For what is a man profi ted, if
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?” “Only last Sunday dear Mr. Scoles had been
so witty in his sermon, so sarcastic: ‘For what,’ he
had said, ‘shall it profi t a man if he gain his own
soul, but lose all his property?’ ” ( John Galsworthy,
<strong>The</strong> Forsyte Saga, 1922).
What is man? A reminder that human beings are
but one element in the order of things. According
to Psalm 8:4–5 human beings rank below God and
a little lower than the angels but above the beasts:
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the
son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast
made him a little lower than the angels, and hast
crowned him with glory and honour.” “What is man
but a mass of thawing clay? <strong>The</strong> ball of the human
fi nger is but a drop congealed” (Henry David Thoreau,
Walden, 1854).
What is truth? What value does the truth have?
This cynical observation is recorded in John
18:37–38 as Pontius Pilate’s reply to the following
assertion by Christ: “To this end was I born,
and for this cause came I into the world, that I
should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that
is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto
him, What is truth?” “ ‘<strong>The</strong> whole truth?’ Miss
Bart laughed. ‘What is truth? Where a woman is
concerned, it’s the story that’s easiest to believe’ ”
(Edith Wharton, <strong>The</strong> House of Mirth, 1905).
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap
See reap what you sow.
whatsoever thy hand fi ndeth to do One should
dedicate oneself fully to the task in hand or to
one’s work in general. <strong>The</strong> expression comes from
Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatsoever thy hand fi ndeth
to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work,
nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the
grave, whither thou goest.” <strong>The</strong> old cleric rolled up
his sleeves and beamed at them both. “Whatsoever thy
hand fi ndeth to do,” he said, with a shrug.
wheat and tares See parable of the wheat and
tares.
wheel of fortune Fortune; fate. fortuna was the
Roman goddess of fortune, who was variously
prayed to, thanked, or blamed for the fi ckle workings
of fate. She was conventionally depicted with a
wheel in her hand, a symbol of inconstancy. Humans
were often represented bound to the wheel and rising
or falling as Fortune turned it. “Fortune good
night; / Smile once more; turn thy wheel” (William
Shakespeare, King Lear, 1607).
wheels within wheels A complicated and interconnected
arrangement of forces or circumstances
that typically exerts an obscure or surreptitious