Bill- In re: enigma<> Naturally, I defer to our resident classics'
scholar, Mister Thomas Carroll, on this matter of etymology. In
the words of Ben Johnson, I am given to "small Latin, and less
Greek." That being said, the true "enigma" may reside within the
mind of the aforementioned S.F. Bay area caller or, better, he
may lay claim to Mrs. Malaprop's comically regarded legacy of
verbal misapplication. In any case, following Dean Carroll's skill-
ful etymological reduction, it is noted that a subsequent distilla-
tion yields the Greek ainos or fable.
As an aside, it bears no repetition here that one of the twentieth
century's greatest gifts to humanity, Sir Winston Churchill, framed
the word, enigma, within a truly remarkable and justly famous sen-
tence. To wit, "Russia is a puzzle inside an enigma wrapped in a
mystery." |
