Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses/Proteus/038

Annotations
the black adiaphane   See the discussion on the previous page on Limits of the diaphane.

Basta !   (Italian) Enough!.

Frauenzimmer   (German) women. Originally the term was used when referring to women of the better classes, or ladies, but by the end of the 19th century it had acquired a pejorative meaning: wenches, drabs, slovens.

omphalos   (Greek) navel. See 007.31.

Aleph, alpha   (Hebrew, Greek) The first letters of the Hebrew and Greek alphabets respectively.

lex eterna   (Latin) eternal law. St Thomas Aquinas discusses the various kinds of law in his Summa Theologica. In the First Part of Part 2, Question 91, Article 1, he writes:

"... a law is nothing else but a dictate of practical reason emanating from the ruler who governs a perfect community. Now it is evident, granted that the world is ruled by Divine Providence ... that the whole community of the universe is governed by Divine Reason. Wherefore the very Idea of the government of things in God the Ruler of the universe, has the nature of a law. And since the Divine Reason's conception of things is not subject to time but is eternal, according to Proverbs 8:23, therefore it is that this kind of law must be called eternal ... the end of the Divine government is God Himself, and His law is not distinct from Himself. Wherefore the eternal law is not ordained to another end. "

Stephen argues that God himself is bound by the lex eterna, as this is nothing but a manifestation of God's reason. St Thomas discusses the nature of Eternal Law in Question 96.

omophorion   (Byzantine Greek) An omophorion is the distinctive vestment of a bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Originally made of wool or sheepskin, the omophorion now resembles a long broad scarf of white brocade decorated with four crosses and an eight-pointed star. It is worn about the neck and shoulders in such a manner that the ends cross on the left shoulder, one end falling to the knees in front, the other behind. As a presbyter, Arius would have been entitled to wear an omophorion. In the Western Church, the omophorion evolved into the pallium.

nipping and eager airs     Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 4