visitation, GREAT VISITATIONin 1665, dust, down on one's luck, yield to misfortunes, misfortune cookies, hack into

A Journal of the Plague Year

Title page of the original edition in 1722
Author	Daniel Defoe
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	E. Nutt
Publication date	1722

丹尼爾．狄福的《大疫年紀事》
A Journal of the Plague Year at Project Gutenberg

 A Journal of the Plague Year public domain audiobook at LibriVox

National Gallery of Art

In Piero di Cosimo's "Visitation," what do you notice first? This central scene depicts the meeting of the Virgin Mary and the elderly Saint Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. On the left we see Saint Nicholas, identified by his attribute of three gold balls. This alludes to his charity towards the daughters of an impoverished nobleman. Saint Anthony Abbot is on the right, identified by his cane, bell and ever-present pig.

These men sit in the foreground as studious witnesses to the event. Piero's composition, with a main central group and a saint on either side, recalls the traditional triptych format. Yet its pyramidal quality, with the saints forming a base and the heads of Mary and Elizabeth as the apex, reflects the influence of recent work by Leonardo da Vinci.

Piero di Cosimo, "The Visitation with Saint Nicholas and Saint Anthony Abbot," c. 1489/1490, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection

To lose one jumbo jet may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose three looks like carelessness.

Lost property: Malaysia seeks owners of three Boeing 747s abandoned at airport

Kuala Lumpur airport places advert in local newspaper asking for help…

THEGUARDIAN.COM|由 OLIVER HOLMES 上傳

 To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
— Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)


WINDS OF ECONOMIC CHANGE BLOW AWAY COLLEGE DEGREE
Peter Orszag writes in Bloomberg Businessweek: Many parents in the U.S. are legitimately concerned about the prospects for their college-age children. After all, today’s students face three overlapping challenges: a long-term structural shift as the world’s effective labor supply expands; rising tuition and growing concerns about the quality of public higher education; and the misfortune of graduating into a weak labor market.

Millionaires down on their luck now have a place to sell their mega-yachts, super-cars and family jewels without having to resort to the pawn shop.
時運不濟的富翁現在不用上當舖也有地方可以賣他們的大遊艇、豪華汽車和傳家珠寶了。管淑平





Spotlight

Bust of Virgil, Displayed in Rome

Virgil, the poet who wrote the epic poem Aeneid, was born on this date in 70 BCE. The poem told the story of Aeneas, who, in Greek mythology, escaped Troy after the Trojan War and eventually made his way to Italy where his descendants founded Rome. Virgil died before he could finish his poem, which was 12 books long; though the poem is considered complete, many of the lines are unfinished. The most famous translation of the Aeneid is by John Dryden, the 17th-century English poet.

Quote

"Do not yield to misfortunes, but advance more boldly to meet them, as your fortune permits you." — Virgil

dust 
noun [U]
dry dirt in the form of powder that covers surfaces inside a building, or very small dry pieces of earth, sand or other substances:
The furniture was covered in dust and cobwebs.
A cloud of dust rose in the air as the car roared past.
Many miners have suffered from the effects of coal dust in their lungs.

dust 
verb━━ vt. （粉を）ふりかける ((over, on, onto)); ちりを払う ((off, down)).

1 [I or T] to use a cloth to remove dust from the surface of something:
I was dusting the mantelpiece when I noticed a crack.

Susu-harai, which literally translates as "dusting off soot," is a traditional year-end ritual for exorcising the year's misfortunes and preparing for the new year. A haiku poem by Takashi Matsumoto goes: "While the house is being dusted/ People not involved escape outdoors."

2 [T] to cover something with a fine powder:
Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.

mis・fortune

━━ n. 不運, 不幸, 災難.
 have the misfortune to do　不幸にも…する.

visitation
n.

1. The act or an instance of visiting or an instance of being visited: rules governing visitation at a prison.
2. An official visit for the purpose of inspection or examination, as of a bishop to a diocese.
3. The right of a parent to visit a child as specified in a divorce or separation order.
4. 1. A visit of punishment or affliction or of comfort and blessing regarded as being ordained by God.
   2. A calamitous event or experience; a grave misfortune.
5. The appearance or arrival of a supernatural being.
6. Visitation Roman Catholic Church.
   1. The visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth.
   2. May 31, observed in commemoration of this event.

visit, pastoral：牧靈訪問。
visit ad limina（L.）：述職：教區主教每五年應赴教廷晉見教宗述職；詳見 ad limina。
visit to the Blessed Sacrament：（朝）拜聖體：到供有耶穌聖體的教堂，去朝拜聖體，與耶穌密談。
visitation：視察：教會上司，如主教、會長有視察轄區和部屬之權利和義務。
visitation, episcopal：主教視察：主教依法典要求，須視察其轄區的各個堂區和機構（396）。
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin：聖母訪親；聖母探親（往見）：聖母得知其表姐麗莎懷孕後，立即前往探視，共謝主恩；慶辰在五月卅一日。

━━ n. 訪問; （高官・高僧などの）視察, 巡視; （V-） 聖母マリアによる洗礼者ヨハネの母Elizabeth訪問, その祝日 ((7月2日?)); 天罰; 天恵; 〔話〕 長居 ((from)).

visitation rights　（離婚［別居］した親の）子供との面会権.

visitor, apostolic：宗座視察員：代表教宗（廷）視察教區或修會的專員。

down on one's luck

Afflicted by misfortune, as in They've been down on their luck ever since they moved out West. [Colloquial; second half of 1800s]

misfórtune[mis・fórtune]

[名]

1 [U]不運, 不幸, 逆境

a woman in misfortune
逆境の女

by misfortune
不運にも

endure［bear］ misfortune
不幸を耐え忍ぶ

He had the misfortune to lose his passport.
不幸にもパスポートをなくした.

2 不幸な出来事, 災難

a series of misfortunes
度重なる不幸

Misfortunes never come singly.
((ことわざ)) 災難は続くもの.

◎新聞辭典：
down on one’s luck：形容詞片語，倒楣的。例句：He’s been so down on his luck since he quitted his job last year.（自從他去年辭掉工作後，就一直不走運。）