EASTER (from) Saxon Goddess Eostre. A pagan "movable feast" based on the old lunar calendar and adopted by the Christians and named Easter in the Middle Ages. The rabbit association is from the moon-hare who was sacred to the Goddess. Eggs are a symbol of rebirth, spring, and were usually colored red, the life-color. The contemporary custom of a bunny hiding chicken eggs for children to find is only to confuse the uninformed faithful and hide the origins of so popular a Pagan holiday. I publish this entry after the fact in hopes you will forget it before next Eostre.

ECOLOGY (from) Greek oikos, house + study. A study of the relationships between organisms and their environments. Also called "bionomics." A nuisance that interferes with the normal capitalization of the resources of the planet, and the proper disposal of refined resources when we decide they are garbage.

ECONOMIST (from) Greek oikos, house, + nomos, managing. John Maynard Keynes, commonly described as a British economist, is best described as the architect of modern capitalism. I don't know when he made the following observation.

"Economists have not yet earned the right to be listened to attentively." -- John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)

ECONOMY (from) Greek oikos, house, + nomos, managing. The management of a household. Awarding a multi-billion dollar contract for weapons of war we do not need for the price of adequate education we cannot afford.

"If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's stone." -- Franklin

EDUCATION (from) Latin educare, to bring up, educate. To bring the best out of a person in order to set that person on a wholesome course to self-discovery and service to humanity. What is not readily available in the institutions of "hired learning," regardless of the amounts of money spent there. It is questionable whether or not The Bureaucracy really wants everyone educated since it is easier to pull the wool over the eyes of the illiterate.

"Education is that which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding." -- Ambrose Bierce

"The business of teaching is to stimulate thinking, not to implant belief." -- Neill

"Intelligence allows us to get along without education, education allows us to get along without the use of intelligence." -- Albert Wiggam

EGALITARIANISM (from) Latin aequalis, equal. The doctrine of equal political, economic and legal rights for all citizens. Unknown under the doctrine of capitalism.

EGYPT/ EGYPTOLOGY Until its fall a couple thousand years ago it was very popular to import Eqyptian obelisks into Rome. Emperors brought many to stand around town, and then the Christians knocked them down. A thousand years later Popes started finding and standing them back up, and reinterpreting the inscriptions on them.

EIGHTH GRADE (from) passing the seventh. About as far as the average American makes it.

EMBALM (from) French embasmer, to put balm on, from Hebrew basam, "spice." A feeble attempt by Christians to replicate mummification, the latter having fallen out of favor since Christians prefer angelic garments that do not fit so tight. Instead, they have developed a method of preservation using chemical by-products whereby they may arrive at the Pearly Gates dressed as if they were attending Sundy School. Once embalmed, the faithful are entombed in a metal box so that the toxic chemicals do not poison the worms and roses that otherwise would enjoy the feast. Embalming is indeed a curious act by those who have long preached the ecological ditty "ashes to ashes, dust to dust." We can only assume that embalming is required by Christians because they believe they will need their bodies when God comes back to get the "faithful." Christians should find this belief apocryphal, since, if their souls reinhabit their bodies, that is literally "re-incarnation." Their is no balm for this boo boo. Compare POSTHUMOUS

ENNUI (pronounced "on we") (from) Latin in odio, "in hate." Boredom and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest. Since few people hate the fact that heroes are made of criminals, on we go into the 21st Century with continued lack of interest in true democracy.

ENTERTAINMENT (from) Latin inter-, between + tenere, to hold. "To hold between" formerly meant maintenance, support, or employment. It is now used to imply an amusement, performance, art or hospitality.

"I enjoy being entertained by publishers." -- Roger Henry

ENTHUSIASM (from) Greek en-, in + theos, god. Ecstasy arising from supposed possession by a god. Inspiration. For example,"I feel a certain enthusiasm at being inspired by gods, but not possessed by them."

EUCHARIST (from) Greek eu-, good + kharis, grace. The elements of bread and wine used in sacrament to God. Not to be confused with flesh and blood, the sacrament of cannibals and not held in good grace anymore.

EUCHRE (origin obscure) A card game in which a different trinity wins.

EVOLUTION (from) Latin evolvere, to roll out. A movement which is part of a larger movement. One reason why church and state had to separate, the differences of opinion concerning the age of the Earth being irreconcilable. This author has come to believe that the actual age of the Earth to be somewhere between 2,000 and 4.5 billion years.

"The concentration of wealth is but one feature of a grand step in societal evolution. Capital, to be effective, must be in few hands, for the simple reason that there are very few men who are able to handle great aggregations of capital. The men who are competent to organize great enterprises and to handle great amounts of capital must be found by natural selection, not by political election." -- William Sumner

"A new idea can be formulated by the mind which is sufficiently evolved to recognize it and prepared by a discipline to express it." -- Raynor C. Johnson

EXCESSORIES (from) Madison Avenue (from) Latin excedere (exceed) < ex-, out + cedere, to go. As the planet's consummate consumers, we Americans are obliged to go all out in an attempt to exceed the planet's ability to support us. There is every indication that we have at least 200 years of consumption remaining before our excess pushes the limits of the planet, so move on up, get a larger house, and be proud to be able to fill 'er up with excessories, for we are the first and the last to be so privileged.

EXON (from) Latin ex-, not + onerare, to load, from onus, a load, burden. Exon, in England, is a commander of the royal bodyguard. The 1929 New Century Dictionary says he is a subordinate officer exempt from ordinary service. The 1983 Webster's unabridged says he is an exempt, but not from what. The 1969 American Heritage Dictionary dropped the word, probably at the request of a major oil company. Over the years this company has changed its name from Standard to Humble to Enco to Esso to EXXON. Exxon fits well, for that corpulent corporation has proven itself exempt from any responsibility for most of the messes it has caused around the world, and has exonerated itself from any liability for the cleanup.

EXTENDED FAMILY (from) our cultural beginnings. More than two generations living in the same household. The advantages are many. The disadvantage is that commerce suffers from the loss of another household (consuming unit).