1 a large, cylindrical or square hat made out of expensive fur or thick cloth, worn by rich men or by their wives 2 lack of common sense
by Alecu Russo (1819-1859)
excerpt "Nothing, says Mr. N., in an witty critique of Iaşi society, nothing is more boring than Iaşi for a foreign traveler whose name does not include the rewarding "of" particle, and whose only concern is to do business and not entertain the little civilized inhabitants of this capital. But if he is a poet or an artist, if he had the great advantage of being the coordinator of some monstrous musical that was a hit on the Iaşi theatre stage, if his name was recognized in some lyrics published in a collection or in a serial story column in Journal des Débats, then he is indeed a lucky mortal! He will enjoy warm receptions, celebrations, trips and diverse favours; he will have a good time inside this almost European society; he gets used to drinking Turkish coffee, smoking a long cigar and finding that islic1 is really an elegant hat (one learned Russian called it l'éteignoir du bon sens2). He himself will shout in his old man beard that it is vandalism to attack old values. Finally, if he is young and not ugly at all, he couldn't possibly help himself saying that all Europe's streets are boring because they are so straight and symmetric. On the other hand, Iaşi displays a wonderful variety by its repeated disruptions of harmony, present every ten steps. After walking on the heavily dusty streets, taking the risk of being run over by a cart or a carriage, he finally finds the waving lane at the outskirts. That lane takes him to a familiar house where he was expected, where he takes off his shoes on the porch, goes in very tired, crushed I could say, and sits at the table covered with several jams. What a pleasant custom!"Three great fires destroyed Iaşi, not very distant one from another. They could have rebuilt the city on a new architectural plan, more harmonious, but no one cared, and I think they were right. "I don't want to build my house along a straight line so the noise of coaches and vagabonds should disturb my afternoon sleep!". The people here enjoy silence and rest and a sort of far niente, which is certainly a way of living here; effort kills them. "Why walk if I have a carriage?". What answer can you offer to this rightful judgment?
1 a large, cylindrical or square hat made out of expensive fur or thick cloth, worn by rich men or by their wives 2 lack of common sense
by Alecu Russo (1819-1859)
1 a large, cylindrical or square hat made out of expensive fur or thick cloth, worn by rich men or by their wives 2 lack of common sense
by Alecu Russo (1819-1859)