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Help[Opinions] Re: Septimus
in reply to a message by Belphoebe
Books aren't evidence. IRL, even if I met a Septimus who literally did have six elder brothers, I'd still think it showed a failure of imagination by the parents. And if I met a Septimus who was an only child, say, I'd regret the parents' choice. It sounds good, and of course Sextus would be impossible - Tertius happens, also Quintus and Quentin, possibly even Octavius though usually without the number meaning - but it's long enough to need a nn: Sep would be too close to Sepp (like the nasty Herr Blatter) and Seb, so there's a likelihood of confusion.
Thinking about it, I'd prefer Sebastian. Nicer name; same length; similar vibe.
Thinking about it, I'd prefer Sebastian. Nicer name; same length; similar vibe.
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I do, I do! Vielen Dank, Gladys - it doesn't sound very euphonious to my non-Catholic, non-German ears - all those -s endings - but, hey, it's wonderfully meaningful.
Have you ever read or seen "The Barretts of Wimpole Street"? A play about the 19th century poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, eldest child of a very large family - she was a distinguished poet in her day, not so much in ours, and an invalid. Falling in love with Robert Browning, also a poet and a wonderfully handsome, exciting man, she overcame her handicaps, learnt to walk, and walked out of her very repressed family for ever. Father was a total tyrant, and kept everyone firmly under control. Dreadful man. Anyway, he had I suppose 11 children by his late wife, who was horribly afraid of him; the 2 youngest boys were Septimus and Octavius. And there were 3 girls. Maybe the sheer awfulness of that long-ago family has warped my appreciation of Septimus!
Have you ever read or seen "The Barretts of Wimpole Street"? A play about the 19th century poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, eldest child of a very large family - she was a distinguished poet in her day, not so much in ours, and an invalid. Falling in love with Robert Browning, also a poet and a wonderfully handsome, exciting man, she overcame her handicaps, learnt to walk, and walked out of her very repressed family for ever. Father was a total tyrant, and kept everyone firmly under control. Dreadful man. Anyway, he had I suppose 11 children by his late wife, who was horribly afraid of him; the 2 youngest boys were Septimus and Octavius. And there were 3 girls. Maybe the sheer awfulness of that long-ago family has warped my appreciation of Septimus!
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