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

serpent
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serpent A source of trouble; an evil infl uence.
<strong>The</strong> allusion is to the Serpent in the garden of
eden, which is described as “more subtil than any
beast of the fi eld which the LORD God had made”
(Genesis 3:1) and which tempts Eve into tasting
the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil, telling her that “in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis
3:5). <strong>The</strong> identifi cation of the Serpent with the
dev il is based on Revelation 20:2: “And he laid
hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Dev il, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”
<strong>The</strong> serpent of international terrorism has reared its
head, and suddenly no one is safe.
serve God and mammon See no man can serve
two masters.
serve two masters See no man can serve two
masters.
Set (set) Incarnation of evil. Set, or Seth, featured
in ancient Egyptian mythology as the god of
fertility, warfare, and storms. He was usually
depicted in the form of a dog and was described as
the implacable foe of his brothers Horus and
Osiris. <strong>The</strong> sorcerer called upon Set to help him in his
unearthly quest for revenge.
set the mark of the beast See mark of the
beast.
seven deadly sins <strong>The</strong> seven chief sins upon
which all the crimes of mankind can allegedly be
blamed. According to the Roman Catholic religious
writer Saint Thomas Aquinas (1227–75), in
his Summa <strong>The</strong>ologica (1265–74), the seven deadly
sins are pride, lust, wrath, envy, gluttony, avarice,
and sloth. Pride he rated as the most serious of all.
“It was only because she was a Christian woman,
with a clear view of the seven deadly sins, that she
pushed the bedclothes back fi rmly” (Susan Hill,
Gentleman and Ladies, 1969).
seven last words <strong>The</strong> seven last sentences of
Christ on the cross. <strong>The</strong>y are as follows: “Eli, Eli,
lama sabachthani? . . . My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; see my
god, why hast thou forsaken me?), “Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do”
(Luke 23:34; see father, forgive them; know
not what they do, they), “Today shalt thou be
with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), “Father, into
thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46),
“Woman, behold thy son! . . . Behold thy mother!”
(John 19:26–27), “I thirst” (John 19:28), and “It is
fi nished” (John 19:30).
seven pillars of wisdom <strong>The</strong> fundamental truths
upon which life depends. <strong>The</strong> phrase appears in
Proverbs 9:1: “Wisdom hath builded her house,
she hath hewn out her seven pillars.” Various
authorities have identifi ed the seven pillars with
the seven patriarchs—Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and Moses—while Augustine
linked them to the seven churches that united to
form the one true church. <strong>The</strong>se beliefs constitute the
seven pillars of wisdom upon which the city has burgeoned
over the last 20 years.
seventy times seven Many times; ad infi nitum.
<strong>The</strong> phrase alludes to Matthew 18:21–22, in
which Peter asks Christ, “Lord, how oft shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven
times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee,
Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
“ ‘Sir,’ I exclaimed, ‘sitting here, within these four