Life in a Northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. B.M.A.T.C., and Etruscan typewriter erasers. Blogged by David Gorsline.
Thursday, 25 November 2004 
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Leta sent me a poem by George Wither from the 17th century with the lines
Be she meeker, kinder, than
Turtle-dove or pelican, If she be not so to me, What care I how kind she be? Kinder than a pelly-can? Well, it turns out that the pelican has an long-standing association in mythology with self-sacrifice, especially for one's children. The tradition was assimilated into Christianity. Allusions appear in Shakespeare.
To his good friends thus wide I'll ope
my arms;
And like the kind life-rendering pelican, Repast them with my blood. For either of the North American species, Pelecanus occidentalis or P. erythrorhynchos, my sources don't report any feeding of young in this manner, but one reference reports that they are fed with "regurgitated fish soup." posted: 1:01:07 AM |
 D. Gorsline, Proprietor
   
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