5/17: classics, classics everywhere

I thought I was in better health today, but by mid-afternoon I needed to retreat to my bed. I had more Hawthorne to read so I didn't (so much) mind. And near the end of The House of the Seven Gables Hawthorne uses a classical allusion (about the Aeneid's golden bough) to marvellous effect. It makes me want to re-read the book from the beginning to see if the other classical allusions in the novel are similarly productive. What a pleasure to stumble on and think about.