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And into this land came a humble prophet, lowly like the humble carpenter of Nazareth.

RALPH ELLISON Invisible Mon, 1952

Job The Old Testament Book of Job relates how Job, despite the dire sufferings inflicted on him by God, remains humble and accepting: 'the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord' (Job i: 21).

Hunters

Most of the hunters grouped here are drawn from classical mythology.

ARTEMIS (or DIANA), the figure who most usually personifies hunting, her-

self plays a part in the stories of ACTAEON, ORION, and the CALYDONIAN BOAR

HUNT. • See also Quest

Actaeon In Greek mythology, Actaeon was a hunter who, because he accidentally saw Artemis (the virgin goddess of the hunt) bathing naked, was changed into a stag and torn to pieces by his own hounds.

Further up they saw in the mid-distance the hounds running hither and thither, as if the scent lay cold that day. Soon members of the hunt appeared on the scene, and it was evident that the chase had been stultified by general puzzle-headedness as to the whereabouts of the intended victim. In a minute, a gentleman-farmer, panting with Actaeonic excitement, rode up to the two pedestrians, and Grace being a few steps in advance he asked her if she had seen the fox.

THOMAS HARDY The Woodlanders, 1887

Artemis Artemis was a Greek goddess, daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo. She was a huntress often depicted with a bow and arrows, and noted for her strength and speed. The Romans called her Diana.

'Like a force of nature' he thought, as he watched her with bent head tunnelling her way through the damp wind. A great physical force. Such energy, such strength and health . .. Mary was a sort of berserker Diana of the moors.

ALDOUS HUXLEY Point Counter Point, 1928

Atalanta In Greek mythology, Atalanta was a huntress who was extremely fleet-footed. She refused to marry any man unless he first defeated her in a race. If the runner lost, he was put to death. Many suitors tried to outrun her, but all failed until one, variously identified as Hippomenes or Melanion, asked Aphrodite for help and was given three golden apples by her. When he dropped these at intervals during the race, Atalanta was unable to resist the apples' beauty and stopped to pick them up. • 5ee also CALYDONIAN BOAR HUNT.

Calydonian boar hunt In Greek mythology, when Artemis sent a huge boar to devastate the land of Calydon, its ruler, Meleager, assembled a band of heroes, including Castor and Pollux, Theseus, and Jason, to hunt the boar in

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what became known as the Calydonian boar hunt. Meleager himself killed the boar and gave the head to Atalanta, who had first wounded it. • See also

ATALANTA.

Diana •5eeARTEMis.

Nimrod In the Old Testament, Nimrod is named as the founder of the Babylonian dynasty and is described as 'a mighty hunter' (Gen. 10: 8-9). Thus any great or skilful hunter or sportsman can be described as a Nimrod.

It was not so positively stated, but the consensus seemed to be that Bertha Shanklin had shown poor taste in dying so soon and thus embarrassing the local Nimrod. ROBERTSON DAviEs Fifth Business, 1970

Orion In Greek mythology, Orion was a giant and hunter who at his death was changed into a constellation by Artemis.

Tristram Tristram (also Tristan or Tristrem) was a knight of medieval legend who was the lover of Iseult. He was renowned as a skilful hunter.

There hasna been a better hunter since Tristrem's time.

WALTER SCOTT The Bride of Lammermoor, 1819

Hypocrisy

Literature has provided us with several vivid embodiments of hypocrisy.

Two of the most memorable, Pecksniff and Uriah Heep, were created by

Charles Dickens. • See also Cunning, Lying.

Archimago Archimago is the evil enchanter in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590), who symbolizes hypocrisy and uses cunning disguises to trick and deceive people.

Uriah Heep Uriah Heep is the shrewd, deceitful clerk of the lawyer Mr Wickfield in Dickens's David Copperfield (1850). Under the guise of appearing 'so very 'umble', he insinuates his way into Mr Wickfield's confidence and becomes one of his partners. Heep uses this position to defraud people of money, until he is exposed, sent to prison, and condemned to transportation for life.

He began to wonder if there wasn't something of a Uriah Heep beginning to erupt on the surface of Sam's personality; a certain duplicity.

JOHN FOWLES The French Lieutenant's Woman, 1969

Pecksniff Seth Pecksniff is a character in Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit (1844). An architect by profession, Pecksniff is an arch-hypocrite with a 'soft and oily' manner, who uses an outward appearance of virtue and morality to win the affection and respect of old Martin Chuzzlewit, in an attempt to inherit his