Awkword Moments by Ross Petras & Kathryn Petras

Author:Ross Petras & Kathryn Petras [Petras, Ross & Petras, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale
Published: 2020-03-10T00:00:00+00:00

PANEGYRIC

“What is most unexpected and fascinating about Lipchitz [Waiting for Lipchitz at Chateau Marmont] is that at times the book becomes a panegyric to the virtues of living in Fresno, California.”

—LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS

Fresno, California, gets a bad rap, so that’s why the word panegyric in this quotation is unexpected (but the writer goes on to explain that it shouldn’t be).

Panegyric is a confusing-looking word with a simple meaning: it’s a formal and elaborate speech or composition praising someone or something usually important or powerful, or something especially praiseworthy.

The ancient Greeks coined the word (from pan, “all,” and aguryis, “assembly” or “marketplace”) to refer to a formal speech made during festivals, praising the god or gods who were associated with the festival (a good thing if you hoped to avoid rain or an earthquake), winning athletes, and, of course, the officials who were in charge, the supreme ruler, and basically anyone who was paying the bills. They were, in effect, public relations puff pieces.

After the Romans conquered ancient Greece, they took the panegyric idea and applied it virtually everywhere. Composing practice panegyrics became a mainstay for schoolchildren, and any aspiring mover and shaker had to be ready to compose a panegyric at the drop of a hat. Some panegyrics have survived to this day, most notably the Twelve Latin Panegyrics on the greatness of some latter-day Roman emperors who mostly, to be honest, weren’t that great. Neither were the panegyrics—they’re filled with flowery, turgid prose. Take this excerpt from one to the Emperor Constantine (which opens with the typical oily “I’m not worthy of this great honor” bit):

Even nature herself, Constantine, is obedient to your divinity, since in that depth of swirling currents foundations of very great strength are being cast, that will have sure and enduring stability.

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