<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/76d5d629-4488-4fc9-822f-f37b12940713/EA218250-0BE9-4AE0-92F7-B9BECC21421D/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html" href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html" style="font-size: 11px;">penelope.uchicago.edu</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">Curiosity concerning the origin and development of the expression "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" leads to an investigation which has traversed the fields of History, Philology, Literature, and Music. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">On examination its usage is found to hinge upon the meaning of the word <I>fiddle</I>.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html"><I>fiddle</I>, substantive, a stringed instrument of music; usually the violin</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">The verb, as given by the same dictionary, means to play a <I>fiddle</I>.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">There is another meaning of the word <I>fiddle</I> in use today. It is often employed to indicate the idea of accomplishing nothing,</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">"He's just <I>fiddling</I> around,"</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">It suggests a lack of proficiency and an aimless or frivolous attitude. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">Since musical historians agree that the viol class of instruments did not develop about the eleventh century, it is conclusive that Nero could not have <I>fiddled</I> in this sense of the word while Rome burned.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">Nero, who should have made himself useful, was <I>fiddling</I>.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/42/4/Nero_Fiddled*.html">it represents ineffectual effort.</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/EA218250-0BE9-4AE0-92F7-B9BECC21421D/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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