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

Camelot
76
as hard to come as for a camel / To thread the
postern of a small needle’s eye” (William Shakespeare,
King Richard II, 1595). “It is easier for a
cannibal to enter the Kingdom of Heaven through
the eye of a rich man’s needle than it is for any
other foreigner to read the terrible German script”
(Mark Twain, Notebook, 1898).
Camelot (kamblot) A place of government or
an inner circle of advisers or colleagues. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to Camelot, the legendary court of king
arthur in En glish folklore. <strong>The</strong> home of the
knights of the round table, it was envisioned as
a palace in which the ideals of medieval chivalry
were celebrated and defended. Its site is variously
identifi ed with Cadbury Castle in Somerset or
Camelford in Cornwall, among other possible
locations. <strong>The</strong> name later came to be strongly
associated with the short- lived administration
(1961–63) of President John F. Kennedy, which
ended with the assassination of this dashing,
modern- day King Arthur in Dallas. Signifi cantly,
Kennedy’s period in offi ce coincided with the
success on broadway of the Lerner and Loewe
stage musical Camelot, which was reportedly a
great favorite of the president and his wife. <strong>The</strong>
name Camelot itself comes from the Celtic word
cant, meaning “circle” or “edge.” You need to have
the right connections to be admitted to this par tic u lar
Camelot.
Camilla (kbmilb) Personifi cation of a fast runner.
Camilla was identifi ed in classical mythology
as a Voscian princess and a servant of Diana. She
was described as being so fl eet of foot that she
could run over a fi eld of corn without bending
the stalks and could cross the sea without getting
her feet wet. “Margaret ran, swift as Camilla,
down to the window” (Elizabeth Gaskell, North
and South, 1854–55).
Camille (kbmeel) A prostitute with a heart of
gold. <strong>The</strong> title character of the 1848 novel La
Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas fi l s , which
is known as Camille in some En glish adaptations,
she is a Pa ri sian courtesan who renounces her
former life to be with her lover Armand, but is
then persuaded to abandon him in order to protect
his reputation. Tragically, she dies of tuberculosis
shortly after a tearful reconciliation with
Armand, who has just learned of her sacrifi ce. She
felt like the fi ctional Camille, sacrifi cing herself for
love.
Camp David (dayvid) A country retreat, particularly
one associated with po liti cal negotiations.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the U.S. presidential retreat at
Catoctin Mountain Park, Mary land, to which various
presidents over the years have invited prominent
foreign statesmen and stateswomen for
private top- level discussions (notably the Camp
David agreements between Israel and Egypt in
1978). It was fi rst used for such purposes by
Franklin D. Roo se velt, who called it shangri- la;
it acquired the name Camp David in 1953 when
Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it after his grandson
David. What this country needs is a Camp David
where international issues could be discussed and
resolved.
Cana, marriage in See water into wine.
Canaan, land of See promised land.
Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? See
good thing come out of nazareth.