辞書で意味、用例が全く見つからない単語・表現は意外とないものですが、Anne of Green Gablesにあった次ぎの表現 "Lawful heart" はどの辞書にも記載がありません。
"She's terrible skinny and homely, Marilla. Come here, child, and let me have a look at you. Lawful heart, did any one ever see such freckles? And hair as red as carrots! Come here, child, I say."
文脈からして、間投詞の役割りのようで、大して意味がないと言うよりも、意味が分からなくても文章全体の意味把握には支障はありませんが、気になるので最後の手段としてAsk the English TeacherのMr. Crawford Kilianに質問したら次ぎの回答がきました。
"Lawful heart" is a new expression to me, but I think I understand its meaning. First, some background:
Christians are told not to take the Lord's name in vain--that is, they should not talk about God just to express their emotions. So they should not say "God damn it!" when they are upset, or "Jesus Christ!" when they feel annoyed. Even talking about Hell can be dangerous.
So since the 18th and 19th centuries, Christians often use gentler terms: "Gosh darn it!" "Jeepers creepers!" And "What the hell" becomes "What the heck." Another expression is "Lord have mercy!" That means "I have done wrong, but I hope God will forgive me!"
I think "Lawful heart" is a way of saying "Lord have mercy," speaking about God without mentioning God directly. I Googled the expression and got these results:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&as_q=&as_epq=lawful+heart&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=30&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images
It does seem to have been a common expression in the 19th century, but by the 1920s it must have been very old-fashioned.
と言うわけで、 "Gosh!" などと同じようなものでしたが何故辞書に全く用例がないのが不思議です。
"She's terrible skinny and homely, Marilla. Come here, child, and let me have a look at you. Lawful heart, did any one ever see such freckles? And hair as red as carrots! Come here, child, I say."
文脈からして、間投詞の役割りのようで、大して意味がないと言うよりも、意味が分からなくても文章全体の意味把握には支障はありませんが、気になるので最後の手段としてAsk the English TeacherのMr. Crawford Kilianに質問したら次ぎの回答がきました。
"Lawful heart" is a new expression to me, but I think I understand its meaning. First, some background:
Christians are told not to take the Lord's name in vain--that is, they should not talk about God just to express their emotions. So they should not say "God damn it!" when they are upset, or "Jesus Christ!" when they feel annoyed. Even talking about Hell can be dangerous.
So since the 18th and 19th centuries, Christians often use gentler terms: "Gosh darn it!" "Jeepers creepers!" And "What the hell" becomes "What the heck." Another expression is "Lord have mercy!" That means "I have done wrong, but I hope God will forgive me!"
I think "Lawful heart" is a way of saying "Lord have mercy," speaking about God without mentioning God directly. I Googled the expression and got these results:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&as_q=&as_epq=lawful+heart&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=30&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images
It does seem to have been a common expression in the 19th century, but by the 1920s it must have been very old-fashioned.
と言うわけで、 "Gosh!" などと同じようなものでしたが何故辞書に全く用例がないのが不思議です。
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