As In, To Fuck

Drost

Shared on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 14:25
Among the Spartans the work of war is demystified and depersonalized through its vocabulary, which is studded with references both agrarian and obscene. Their word which I translated earlier as "fuck," as in the youths' tree-fucking, bears the connotation not so much of penetration as of grinding, like a miller's stone. The front three ranks "fuck" or "mill" the enemy. The verb "to kill," in Doric theros, is the same as "to harvest." The warriors in the fourth through sixth ranks are sometimes called "harvesters," both for the work they do on the trampled enemy with the butt-spike "lizard-stickers" of their eight-footers and for that pitiless threshing stroke they make with the short xiphos sword, which itself is often called a "reaper." To decapitate a man is to "top him off" or "give him a haircut." Chopping off a hand or arm is called "limbing."

-- Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire

Comments

OldManRiver48's picture
Submitted by OldManRiver48 on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 14:40
Are you saying: War is a cluster fuck? :) Or just a cornucopia of copulation....... perhaps a montage of the non vertical mombo? Hmmmm.....I wonder......just what are you tryin to say? :)
Drost's picture
Submitted by Drost on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 14:44
read the book. trust me on this.
okjerm's picture
Submitted by okjerm on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 14:55
Pressfield's book is a great companion piece for anyone that enjoyed 300 in theaters.
SoupNazzi's picture
Submitted by SoupNazzi on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 15:23
I can't wait to read this book.
codemonkey's picture
Submitted by codemonkey on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 15:34
I thought only World of Warcraft used the verb: to grind.
SamBrick's picture
Submitted by SamBrick on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 16:06
I just saw 300 and loved it. Thanks for the recommendation...
th3midnighter's picture
Submitted by th3midnighter on Thu, 03/22/2007 - 16:26
Does this book have pictures?? I refuse to read a book without pictures. Been my stance since i was 4 and thats not changin any time soon.

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