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

lazaretto
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“Lay not up for yourselves trea sures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal: But lay up for
yourselves trea sures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
do not break through nor steal.” Walking through
the huge house cluttered with paintings and valuable
furniture while its own er lay dead in his bed reminded
her forcibly of the old adage lay not up trea sures upon
earth.
lazaretto lazbretō A hospital where people with
contagious diseases, especially leprosy, may be
treated in quarantine. <strong>The</strong> term lazaretto, or lazaret,
was arrived at through the combination of the
names of the beggar Lazarus (see dives) and Nazaret
(from Santa Maria di Nazaret), the name of a
church in Venice that housed a hospital. Lepers
have oftentimes been referred to as lazars in
Lazarus’s memory. “<strong>The</strong> Lieutenant- Governor had
arranged that he should not be driven to the ordinary
lazaretto, but to Fort Mannel, where apartments
were ready for him and his party” (J. G.
Lockhart, <strong>The</strong> Life of Sir Walter Scott, 1839).
Lazarus (lazbrbs, lazrbs) A person who unexpectedly
emerges revived after dying or renewed
after apparently ceasing to have anything further
to offer. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the raising of Lazarus
as described in the New Testament in John 11:1–44.
Lazarus was raised from the dead by Christ upon
the entreaties of his sisters Mary and Martha.
Christ recited the words “I am the resurrection,
and the life: he that believeth in me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die” ( John 11:25–
26), and when the stone that sealed the tomb of
Lazarus was rolled away, the dead man rose and
emerged at Christ’s command. “. . . the former
chancellor used his Lazarus- like return from a
four- year exile on the back benches to appeal for
tolerance and a search for the centre ground”
(Guardian, July 18, 2001). See also dives; lazaretto.
lead on, Macduff (mbkduf ) Lead the way. This is
based on a quotation from William Shakespeare’s
tragedy Macbeth (1606), although the line does not
appear as such in the play itself but as: “Lay on,
Macduff; / And damn’d be he that fi rst cries, ‘Hold
enough!’ ” In fact, in its original form, the phrase
was not an invitation to Macduff (Macbeth’s
enemy) to lead the way, but to open the fi ght.
“Lead on, Macduff, ” said the archbishop with a broad
grin, stepping aside so that his aide could get through
the door.
lead us not into temptation A plea not to be
tempted into doing something one should not.
<strong>The</strong> phrase is a quotation from the Lord’s Prayer,
as given in Matthew 6:13. In modern usage it is
usually voiced whenever a person is faced with
some tempting, mildly illicit opportunity. “ ‘Lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.’
But what is temptation? What is evil? Is this evil—
is this temptation?” (Anthony Trollope, Barchester
Towers, 1857).
lean and hungry look An appearance that suggests
a willingness to fi ght or to act in one’s own
interest. <strong>The</strong> phrase comes from William Shakespeare’s
play Julius Caesar (1599), in which Caesar
delivers the following speech to Antony: “Let me
have men about me that are fat; / Sleek- headed
men, and such as sleep o’nights. / Yond Cassius
has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much.
Such men are dangerous.” His son had a lean and
hungry look that suggested he was not to be trusted.