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

Spade, Sam
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original biblical context, it referred specifi cally to
the idolatry of the Israelites, which proved a precursor
to the Assyrian invasion. People who behave so
irresponsibly in the future will fi nd that they sow the
wind and reap the whirlwind. See also reap what
you sow.
Spade, Sam See sam spade.
Spanish Armada (ahrmahdb) A large fl eet of
ships or boats. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the Spanish invasion
fl eet of 130 ships that sailed to En gland in
1588, only to be defeated in the En glish Channel
by the En glish fl eet under the command of Sir
Francis Drake and then dashed to fi nal destruction
by storms on its way back to Spain. <strong>The</strong>re were so
many canoes and kayaks on the lake that it looked like
the Spanish Armada.
Spanish Inquisition See inquisition.
spare the rod and spoil the child Children who
are overindulged and never disciplined will grow
up to be unruly, maladjusted individuals. This
advice, often quoted in defense of corporal punishment
and other forms of fi rm discipline, comes
from Proverbs 13:24: “He that spareth his rod
hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth
him betimes.” Further support for such chastisement
may be found in Proverbs 23:13–14: “Withhold
not correction from the child: for if thou
beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou
shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his
soul from hell.” “ ‘I ain’t doing my duty by that
boy, and that’s the Lord’s truth, goodness knows.
Spare the rod and spile the child, as the Good
Book says. I’m a laying up sin and suffering for us
both, I know’ ” (Mark Twain, <strong>The</strong> Adventures of Tom
Sawyer, 1876).
sparrow’s fall See fall of a sparrow.
Spartacus (spahrtbkbs) Archetype of a slave who
rises up in revolt against his masters. Spartacus was
a Thracian slave who was forcibly recruited to the
gladiator school at Capua in Italy. He managed to
escape and raised an army of slaves, who achieved
a series of memorable victories in battle against
the legions of ancient Rome. Ultimately he was
killed when his army was defeated by Crassus in
71 b.c. <strong>The</strong> story of Spartacus has inspired a novel
by J. Leslie Mitchell (1951), a ballet by Aram Khachaturian
(1954), and a fi lm (1960), starring Kirk
Douglas in the title role. This lowly cleric long championed
the rights of the dispossessed but like some latterday
Spartacus was doomed to defeat in the end.
Spartan (spahrtbn) Austere; frugal; very strict,
especially in relation to a person’s lifestyle or
upbringing. <strong>The</strong> people of Sparta, the capital city
of Laconia, were renowned for their rejection of
comfort and sophistication (which they were
much given to early in their history) in favor of a
much more rigorous, self- denying existence—
adopted, it was said, at the prompting of the poet
Tyrtaeus (fl . c. 650 b.c.). Great emphasis was put
on physical endurance and self- discipline. Newborn
babies were commonly left exposed on bare
mountainsides so that the weak would die and
only the strong would live to maturity. Children
began military training at the age of seven, and
the only respectable career was that of a soldier;
mourning of those who fell in battle was discouraged.
As a result the Spartans were widely respected
in the ancient world as fi ghters, although the
primitive state of their cultural life was decried
by their more sophisticated neighbors, and their
reluctance to accept new thinking led ultimately
to defeat on the battlefi eld at the hands of the