Friday 16 April 2010

A Singèd Bottom All Involved With Stench and Smoke


Puerile as I am, my favourite description of a volcano's eruption comes from the first book of Paradise Lost.

...as when the force
Of subterranean wind transports a hill
Torn from Pelorus, or the shattered side
Of thundering Ætna, whose combustible
And fuelled entrails, thence conceiving fire,
Sublimed with mineral fury, aid the winds,
And leave a singèd bottom all involved
With stench and smoke.

When, in polite society, you involuntarily grasp the attention of the room by letting out an explosive fart, quoting the last two lines of that extract is sure-fire way of relieving the embarrassment whilst also demonstrating your knowledge of Milton.

But my flight to Edinburgh is still cancelled.

The digestive tract

2 comments:

  1. Take the sleeper car and have an adventure en route ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the tip. Will pass it on to some people I know ...

    ReplyDelete