MMCXCVI

Introduction
The First One | The Previous One | The Next One |  | The Last One

A tunic on the grass at morning.

Šawa thosraa eðworas šedawa.

Šawa thosraa eðworas šedawa.

"Wet grass makes one's clothes wet."

Many izanyožá are coined by famous (or infamous) individuals. Such is not the case with this izanyoža.

A middle-aged man later identified as Ispentha Imyežinel awoke one morning before dawn and felt satisfied with his life. After singing the sun up, he decided to go out into the field just beyond the palace to lay down and watch the sun rise. After the sun had risen, Imyežinel awoke to find that his thosraa, or tunic, was soaked. Water literally dripped off of it. Seeing as it was still rather early, the man doffed his thosraa, and made a mad dash for his home. Unfortunately, he ran straight into Rage Nasko, who was out for a morning constitutional. According to legend, Rage Nasko said to Imyežinel, "You may say one thing and one thing only: Choose your words carefully." Imyežinel replied, Šawa thosraa eðworas šedawa. A group of townspeople, who had gathered around, laughed at the simplicity and truth of this statement. Indeed, they applauded him, and, though naked, Imyežinel smiled with pride. Displeased at the crowd's reaction to Imyežinel's insolence, Rage Nasko withdrew his sword and brought it down on top of the wet, naked man's head, slicing it neatly in two (sagittally). Placing his foot on the man's chest, he kicked the body away and retrieved his bloodied blade. He then gazed at the crowd, without saying a word. The crowd quickly dispersed, and went about its business.

Sometime after the death of Rage Nasko, Anenthal Lapažel called for the creation of a statue dedicated to Ispentha Imyežinel, with the words Šawa Thosraa Eðworas Šedawa etched into the base. The intent was to remind all of the barbarity of the past, that it might be avoided in the future. Indeed, Lapažel championed the message of Imyežinel, suggesting that his act of defiance was not only courageous, but indicative of the humility of his soul. For, indeed, he was quite literally put on trial, with his life on the line, and, as Lapažel argued, when confronted with his own mortality, he responded with the simple truth. And, indeed, this was an example all should follow. Hence, the statue. Lapažel succeeded in getting the sculptor to sculpt the statue to his exact specifications (despite the sculptor's protests), and the statue was unveiled publicly on the steps of the palace. After the statue had been uncovered, there was a collective gasp, as all gazed upon the naked form of the middle-aged (and none too attractive) Ispentha Imyežinel. Parents were horrified, and covered the eyes of their children, many carrying them away bodily. The sculptor was humiliated, and the statue was removed later that week, at the behest of the viewing public. It was then taken to Twozol Untanyožaš, the Sathir Museum of the Visual Arts, where it sits to this day, and is seen by very few.

Today, this izanyoža is used primarily to let someone know that, while they've expressed an interesting, and, perhaps, profound idea, the way in which they've chosen to express their idea has made them and/or the idea itself appear ridiculous. For instance, if a speaker were to champion freedom of speech, and, at the end of an impassioned plea, were to, in order to drive his point home, belch the alphabet to a theretofore rapt audience, it might take the wind out of his sails a bit, so to speak. At the conclusion, one would definitely be within one's rights to approach the speaker and let him know (discretely, one would hope) that Šawa thosraa eðworas šedawa. While there's no way to recapture the audience at that point, at the very least, the speaker, thus enlightened, can amend their presentation so as to avoid any future embarrassment of a similar nature.


Vocabulary List

  • šawa (v.) to be wet; (adj.) wet
  • thosraa (n.) tunic (the type worn by the folks in the pictures)
  • woras (n.) grass
  • twozol (n.) great hall, or building
  • anyožaš (n.) visual art(s)

The First One | The Previous One | The Next One |  | The Last One
Introduction
Back to Sathir Main

This page was last modified on Friday, August 3, 2018.
This website was last modified on .
This page can be viewed normally, as a milk or dark chocolate bar, in sleek black and white, or in many other ways!
All languages, fonts, pictures, and other materials copyright © 2003- David J. Peterson.

free counters