| E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| | | Spear. | | |
|
Cairbar asks if Fingal comes in peace, to which Mor-annal replies: “In peace he comes not, king of Erin, I have seen his forward spear.” If a stranger kept the point of his spear forward when he entered a strange land, it was a declaration of war; if he carried the spear on his shoulder with the point behind him, it was a token of friendship. (Ossian: Temora, i.) | 1 |
|
Achilles’ spear. Te’lephus, King of Mys’ia, in attempting to hinder the Greeks from marching through his country against Troy, was wounded by Achilles’ spear, and was told by an oracle that the wound could be cured only by the weapon that gave it; at the same time the Greeks were told that they would never reach Troy except by the aid of Te’lephus. So, when the Mys’ian king repaired to Achilles’ tent, some of the rust of the spear was applied to the wound, and, in return for the cure which followed, Telephus directed the Greeks on their way to Troy. | 2 |
| |
| “Telephus æterna consumptus tabë perisset |
| Si non quæ noc’uit dextra tulisset opem.” | |
|
|
|
|
The spear of Te’lephus could both kill and cure. (Plutarch.) (See Achilles’ spear.) | 3 |
|
The heavy spear of Valence was of great repute in the days of chivalry. | 4 |
|
Arthur’s spear. Rone or Ron. | 5 |
|
To break a spear. To fight in a tournament. | 6 |
| |
| | |
|
|
