Pisteology

Pisteology (pronounced pi-stol-uh-jee)

(1) In theology, the branch dealing with the place and authority of faith.

(2) In philosophy, a theory or science of faith.

Circa 1870s: From the German Pisteologie, the construct being the Ancient Greek πίστις (píst(is)) (faith) + -eo- (faith) (akin to peíthein to persuade) + -logie.  The English form is thus understood as píst(is) +-e-‎ + -ology.  The Ancient Greek noun πίστις (pístis) (faith) was from the Primitive Indo-European bheydhtis, the construct being πείθω (peíthō) (I persuade) +‎ -τις (-tis); πεῖσῐς (peîsis) was the later formation.  Although in English constructions it’s used as “faith” (in the theological sense), in the original Greek it could impart (1) trust in others, (2) a belief in a higher power, (3) the state of being persuaded of something: belief, confidence, assurance, (4) trust in a commercial sense (credit worthiness), (5) faithfulness, honesty, trustworthiness, fidelity, (6) that which gives assurance: treaty, oath, guarantee, (7) means of persuasion: argument, proof and (8) that which is entrusted.  The suffix -ology was formed from -o- (as an interconsonantal vowel) +‎ -logy.  The origin in English of the -logy suffix lies with loanwords from the Ancient Greek, usually via Latin and French, where the suffix (-λογία) is an integral part of the word loaned (eg astrology from astrologia) since the sixteenth century.  French picked up -logie from the Latin -logia, from the Ancient Greek -λογία (-logía).  Within Greek, the suffix is an -ία (-ía) abstract from λόγος (lógos) (account, explanation, narrative), and that a verbal noun from λέγω (légō) (I say, speak, converse, tell a story).  In English the suffix became extraordinarily productive, used notably to form names of sciences or disciplines of study, analogous to the names traditionally borrowed from the Latin (eg astrology from astrologia; geology from geologia) and by the late eighteenth century, the practice (despite the disapproval of the pedants) extended to terms with no connection to Greek or Latin such as those building on French or German bases (eg insectology (1766) after the French insectologie; terminology (1801) after the German Terminologie).  Within a few decades of the intrusion of modern languages, combinations emerged using English terms (eg undergroundology (1820); hatology (1837)).  In this evolution, the development may be though similar to the latter-day proliferation of “-isms” (fascism; feminism et al).  The alternative spellings are pistology & pistiology.  Pisteology is a noun and pisteological is an adjective; the noun plural is pisteologies.

The early use of pisteology was in the context of theology and it appears in an 1880 essay on the matter of faith by the Congregational minister Alfred Cave (1847–1900).  The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) refers to the word as exclusively theological but in later editions noted it was also used to mean “a theory or science of faith”, reflecting its adoption in academic philosophy although the embrace must have been tentative because pisteology was (and remains) “rare”, listed as such by those lexicographers who give it a mention though what is clear is that it seems never to have been cross-cultural, remaining implicitly a thing of Christendom.  In a sense, it’s surprising it hasn’t appeared more, especially in the troubled twentieth century when matters of “faith and doubt” were questioned and explored in a flurry of published works.  Perhaps it was a division of academic responsibility, the devoted studying belief and the scholars the institution, the pragmatic settling for the Vatican’s (unofficial) fudge: “You don’t have to believe it but you must accept it.”

Pondering cross-cultural pisteology: Lindsay Lohan carrying the Holy Qur'an (Koran), Brooklyn, New York, May 2015.

While clearly the universities got involved and the intersection between pisteology epistemology (the study of knowledge and belief) does seem obvious to the point when the former might be thought a fork of the latter, its roots and concerns remained theological and Christian, exploring how faith functions in religious traditions, doctrines, and human understanding of the divine and many famous thinkers have written works which may be thought pisteological landmarks.  Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430) wrote so widely it’s probably possible to find something which tracks the path of some direction in Christianity but underling it all was his famous admission: “I believe in order to understand”, more than a subtle hint that faith is a prerequisite for true comprehension of divine truth.  Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) lived 800-odd year later and was better acquainted with the philosophers of the Classical age.  Aquinas is sometimes said to have “integrated” Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology and while this is misleading, he understood the spirit of reasoning from Antiquity was compelling and in a way that’s influential still, he argued faith and reason complement each other, defined faith as a virtue by which the intellect assents to divine truth under the influence of the will.  A central figure in Reformed theology, John Calvin (1509-1564) explored faith extensively in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. He described faith as a firm and certain knowledge of God's benevolence toward us, founded on the promise of the gospel and revealed by the Holy Spirit.  Martin Luther (1483–1546) probably thought this not so much a fudge as a needless layer, arguing that it was faith alone (rather than a virtuous life of good works) by which one would on judgement day be judged.  Faith then was the cornerstone of salvation in his doctrine of sola fide (faith alone), a rigor which would have pleased John Calvin (1509–1564).  The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was not a theologian but his writings had an influence on theological thought and in a nod to Aquinas highlighted the paradox of faith and what he called “leap of faith” as essential to authentic religious life and although he never explicitly discussed the “You don’t have to believe it but you must accept it” school of thought, it does seem implicit in his paradox.

For the bedside table: Karl Barth’s Kirchliche Dogmatik.

Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834) is often styled “the father of modern liberal theology” and to him faith was an experiential relationship with the divine, rooted in a “feeling of absolute dependence.”  More conservative theologians didn’t much object to that notion but they probably thought of him something in the vein William Shakespeare (1564–1616) in Julius Caesar (1599) had Caesar say of Cassius: “He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.”  John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was one of those conservatives (albeit something of a convert to the cause who had a strange path to Rome) and he wrote much about the development of doctrine and the role of faith in understanding divine truth but it was the Swiss Protestant theologian Karl Barth (1882-1968) whose Kirchliche Dogmatik (Church Dogmatics (in English translation a fourteen-volume work of some six-million words and published between 1932 and 1967) that appeared the modern world’s most ambitious attempt to recover the proclamation of the word of God as the place where God's message of salvation meets sinful man: faith as an act of trust and obedience to God's self-revelation.  Barth’s contribution to pisteology was a rejection of natural theology, emphasizing faith as a response to God's revelation in Jesus Christ; it wasn’t exactly Martin Luther without the anti-Semitism but the little monk’s ghost does loom over those fourteen volumes.  Pius XII (1879-1958; pope 1939-1958), a fair judge of such things, thought Barth the most important theologian since Aquinas.

Barth though was a formalist, writing for other theologians who breathed rarefied intellectual air and he didn’t make pisteology easy or accessible and although Albert Speer (1905–1981; Nazi court architect 1934-1942; Nazi minister of armaments and war production 1942-1945) claimed to have read all fourteen volumes while serving the twenty year sentence (he was lucky to receive) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, (he had more time than most to devote to the task), he did acknowledge the conceptual and textual difficulties.  Barth seems not to have done much for Speer’s faith in God but, being Speer, he took from the six million works what suited him and decided he was atoning for his sins: “There is much that I still cannot comprehend, chiefly because of the terminology and the subject.  But I have had a curious experience.  The uncomprehended passages exert a tranquilizing effect.  With Barth's help I feel in balance and actually, in spite of all that's oppressive, as if liberated.”  Speer continued: “I owe to Barth the insight that man’s responsibility is not relieved just because evil is part of his nature. Man is by nature evil and nevertheless responsible.  It seems to me there is a kind of complement to that idea in Plato’s statement that for a man who has committed a wrong ‘there is only one salvation: punishment.’  Plato continues: ‘Therefore it is better for him to suffer this punishment than to escape it; for it sustains man’s inward being.’”

For those who want to explore Christocentric pisteology, Barth’s Kirchliche Dogmatik really isn’t a good place to start because his texts are difficult and that’s not a consequence of the English translation; those who have read the original in German make the same point.  Nor will those tempted by his reputation to try one of his shorter works be likely to find an easier path because his style was always one of dense prose littered with words obscure in meaning to all but those who had spent time in divinity departments.  When writing of German Lutheran theologian Isaak August Dorner (1809–1884) in Protestant Theology in the Nineteenth Century (1946) he wrote: “The assertion of a receptivity in man, the Catholic-type conception of the gratia preveniens which runs alongside this receptivity, the mystical culmination of this pisteology, are all elements of a speculative basic approach which can even be seen here, in Dorner.”  Is it any wonder some might confuse pisteology with piscatology (the study of fishing)?

Bossloper

Bossloper (pronounced baws-loh-per)

Variously, an inhabitant of the woods; a trapper or hunter; a soldier or irregular combatant of some sort who operates in the forest.

1600s: From the Dutch boschlooper (“forest walker” or “woods walker”), the construct being bosch + looper.  Bosch (also as bos) (“forest” or “wood”) was from the Old Dutch busc, from the Proto-Germanic buskaz which may in some way be linked with the Latin boscus (forest).  Looper (latterly more common as loper) was from the Dutch verb lopen (“walker” or “runer”), from the Proto-Germanic hlaupaną (“to leap” or “to run”).  Historically, in Europe, boschloopers (or boslopers) were those individuals valued by military and paramilitary forces as trackers, scouts, guerrilla fighters because of their skill in moving undetected through forests.  In particular, it was used to describe Dutch and Flemish soldiers, rebels or other irregulars who hid in and navigated the woods during conflicts in the Low Countries, most famously during the like the Eighty Years' War (1566–1648).  During the European colonial period, it was used of those who lived (usually semi-nomadically) in forests, often connected to indigenous or mixed communities, like those in Suriname (long an overseas possession of the Dutch Empire).  In colonial North America, the form was Anglicized as “bossloper” and described trapper, hunters and others lived for extended periods in the wilderness, dependent often for survival on the own skills and knowledge of their environment.  Bosslope is a noun; the noun plural is bosloper.

The American Mountain Men (AMM) is an association of individuals dedicated to the preservation of the traditions and ways of those it describes as “our nation’s greatest, most daring explorers and pioneers, the Mountain Men” and to the “actual conservation of our nation’s remaining natural wilderness and wildlife; and to the ability of our members to survive alone, under any circumstances, using only what nature has to offer”.  The AMM describes their members primary characteristic as “first and foremost, a Brotherhood of Men” (and it does appear to enjoy an exclusively male membership).  The core of the AMM’s “fraternal concept” appears to be to “keep alive the skills of the freest men our great nation ever birthed; to preserve his abilities and emulate his way of life as historically accurately as possible.”

Lindsay Lohan during Bossloper training for canoe handling (requirement 12); maybe one day women will be admitted to the AMM as “associate members”.  The image is from Georgia Rule (2007), 

The AMM has layers of membership and (by invitation only) and new members must be sponsored by two AMM members who hold the Bossloper degree, or one member who holds the Hiveranno degree (both of these designations of membership status).  To obtain Bossloper membership, once a prospective candidate has entered the Pilgrim phase (another layer), within two years it’s necessary to complete any ten of a list of requirements with (1) & (2) being mandatory and (16) not required (for technical reasons).  During this period, a candidate will mentored by their sponsor(s) and other “seasoned AMM members” will provide “guidance”.  Upon the minimum ten requirements being within two years fulfilled, Bossloper status will be granted and a membership number issued.  The AMM’s twenty requirements ((16) not required) to become a Bossloper are:

(1) Must have a full set of hand-cut and sewn clothing and handmade accoutrements. These must be researched for authenticity of the 1800-40 period and be of a type which would have been seen on men in, or moving to, the Rocky Mountains. Rifles, saddles, traps, blankets, and other accoutrements that would normally have required the work of a specialized craftsman need not be handmade, but must be as authentic as can be purchased today.

(2) Must have spent at least two days and one night in a primitive camp during each season of the year.

(3) Must have spent an accumulative time of two or more weeks in the wilderness under primitive conditions in the company of no more than one other member. Each stay must be at least three full days and two full nights.

(4) Must have spent at least one full week in a primitive encampment in the company of other members at the territorial AMM Rendezvous (Eastern or Western) and/or the National (Rocky Mountain) AMM Rendezvous.

(5) Must be able to demonstrate the skills needed for primitive survival in the wilderness of his area and must be willing to teach said skills to other members when requested by a Party Booshway or Director of this Association.

(6) Must be able to demonstrate trapping ability using steel traps, snares, and traps made from natural materials found in the area. As many states do not allow the use of some, or any, of these traps, the actual taking of game is not required, although it is suggested where possible and legal.

(7) Must be able to demonstrate ability to track man or animal under natural wilderness conditions.

(8) Must be able to demonstrate the ability to properly pack a horse, canoe (or bullboat), or a man for distance travel under possible adverse conditions.

(9) Must be able to properly field dress (clean and skin) a game animal under primitive conditions.

(10) Must be able to start a fire in wet, as well as dry, weather using flint and steel or fire drill using tinder and wood found under natural conditions.

(11) Must be able to show ability to tan or Indian-dress hides.

(12) Must have spent at least five days traveling on foot, snowshoe, canoe, and/or horseback: (a) One method or a combination may be used, (b) Bullboat may be used in place of canoe, (c) You are expected to gain as much distance as possible, (d) This trip must be under primitive conditions, taking nothing that would not have been available to the mountain man between 1800-1840. Rifle, hunting bag, powder horn, and knife must be along.

(13) Must be able to cook a meal of meat using only the meat, fire, a knife, and materials found in nature.

(14) Must be able to converse using Plains Indians hand talk. The 200 words on page 64 of Tompkin’s book “Indian Sign Language” will be used as a basis for conversation. To complete this requirement, you must demonstrate your ability to read the signs for 50 words, as well as to give the signs for 50 words.

(15) Must have hunted for and killed at least one game or fur animal with a muzzleloading firearm or primitive bow and must have used the skin and/or meat for food, clothing and/or accoutrements. The hunt must be made from a strictly primitive camp, the hunt accomplished under primitive conditions within the limits of local game laws.

(16) Must have at least three full years of membership in the AMM.

(17) Must be able to properly skin an animal and prepare the skin for market.

(18) Must have served as a Booshway for at least two activities of the AMM.

(19) Must spend three days and two nights totally alone under primitive conditions and aux aliments du pays [“off the nourishment of the land”].

(20) Must have made a study of the life style of the mountain man, frontiersman, or American Indian before 1840 and must submit a report of this study to the association.

AMM Logo.

The American Mountain Men is a non-profit (501(c)3) organization registered in the state of Wyoming.  In the 2024 presidential election, effortlessly, Republican Party candidate Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021; president elect 2024) secured Wyoming’s three Electoral College votes, winning a reported 72.3% of the vote against the 26.1% received by the Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris (b 1964; US vice president since 2021).  Mr Trump improved his vote compared with his performances in 2020 & 2016 when on each occasion he gained 70% of the vote, Joe Biden (b 1942; US president 2021-2025) in 2020 receiving 27% which was something of an improvement from 2016 when Wyoming’s voters rejected crooked Hillary Clinton’s (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013) crooked crookedness, crooked Hillary attracting a derisory 23% of the count.

Both Wyoming’s senate seats and its single seat in the House of Representatives (Wyoming one of six states with only one representative, the others being Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota & Vermont) have for generations been held by the Republican Party and the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state was Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1963-1969) in 1964 who in 1964 won the national election with 61.1%, the highest number of any candidate since the voting system was adopted in 1824.  LBJ won Wyoming with 56.56% against the 43.44% achieved by Senator (Republican-Arizona) Barry Goldwater (1909–1998) who, despite the disappointing numbers, was in 1964 more popular in the state than was crooked Hillary in 2016 so there was that.  An urban animal whose experience of wilderness regions has been restricted mostly to “the rough” if he’s hooked a drive off the fairway, Mr Trump might be granted honorary AMM membership because there’s some overlap between their values and the ones he professes.

"Solidly red" Wyoming spoiled by the aberration of "defiantly blue" Teton County.

Political scientists describe Wyoming as “solidly Republican” or “deeply red” and while that’s true in terms of the aggregate numbers which matter, there is the anomaly of Teton County which in 2024 voted 66.9% Harris against 31.6% for Trump.  Clearly, recalcitrant Teton is a subversively liberal enclave, rather like Austen in “deeply red Texas”, that state capital noted also as the site of one of nation's first mass-shootings at a school when, on 1 August 1966, Charles Whitman (1941-1966) shot 46, killing 15.  Although for most of the twentieth century Teton County voted Republican, in the last 20 years it has been “solidly Democratic”.  Whether related to the electoral behaviour or not, it’s in Teton County that the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is held, a gathering under the auspices of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City which attracts central bankers, finance ministers, academics, and financial market players from around the world.  While the city’s inhabitants now refer to the valley as Jackson Hole, Bosslopers and other AMM members probably stick to the original "Jackson's Hole" because the old ways are the best.

Ballistic

Ballistic (pronounced buh-lis-tik)

(1) A projected object having its subsequent travel determined or describable by the laws of exterior ballistics, most used in denoting or relating to the flight of projectiles after the initial thrust has been exhausted, moving under their own momentum and subject to the external forces of gravity and the fluid dynamics of air resistance

(2) Of or relating to ballistics.

(3) In slang and idiomatic use, (as “go ballistic”, “went ballistic” etc), to become overwrought or irrational; to become enraged or frenziedly violent.  For those who need to be precise is describing such instances, the comparative is “more ballistic” and the superlative “most ballistic”.

(4) Of a measurement or measuring instrument, depending on a brief impulse or current that causes a movement related to the quantity to be measured

(5) Of materials, those able to resist damage (within defined parameters) by projectile weapons (ballistic nylon; ballistic steel etc), the best-know use of which is the “ballistics vest”.

(6) As “ballistics gel(atin)”, as substance which emulates the characteristics and behavior under stress of human or animal flesh (used for testing the effect of certain impacts, typically shells fired from firearms).

(7) As “ballistic podiatry”, industry slang for “the act of shooting oneself in the foot”, used also by military doctors to describe soldiers with such self-inflicted injuries.  The more general term for gunshot wounds is “ballistic trauma”

(8) In ethno-phonetics, as “ballistic syllable”, a phonemic distinction in certain Central American dialects, characterized by a quick, forceful release and a rapid crescendo to a peak of intensity early in the nucleus, followed by a rapid, un-controlled decrescendo with fade of voicing.

(9) As “ballistic parachute”, a parachute used in light aircraft and helicopters, ejected from its casing by a small explosion.

1765–1775: The construct was the Latin ballist(a) (a siege engine (ancient military machine) for throwing stones to break down fortifications), from the Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα (ballístra), from βάλλω (bállō) (I throw). +‎ -ic.  The -ic suffix was from the Middle English -ik, from the Old French -ique, from the Latin -icus, from the primitive Indo-European -kos & -ḱos, formed with the i-stem suffix -i- and the adjectival suffix -kos & -ḱos.  The form existed also in the Ancient Greek as -ικός (-ikós), in Sanskrit as -इक (-ika) and the Old Church Slavonic as -ъкъ (-ŭkŭ); A doublet of -y.  In European languages, adding -kos to noun stems carried the meaning "characteristic of, like, typical, pertaining to" while on adjectival stems it acted emphatically; in English it's always been used to form adjectives from nouns with the meaning “of or pertaining to”.  A precise technical use exists in physical chemistry where it's used to denote certain chemical compounds in which a specified chemical element has a higher oxidation number than in the equivalent compound whose name ends in the suffix -ous; (eg sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) has more oxygen atoms per molecule than sulphurous acid (H₂SO₃).  The modern use (of the big military rockets or missiles (those guided while under propulsion, but which fall freely to their point of impact (hopefully the intended target)) dates from 1949 although the technology pre-dated the label.  The term “ballistic missile” seems first to have appeared in 1954 and remains familiar in the “intercontinental ballistic missile” (ICBM).  The figurative use (“go ballistic”, “went ballistic”) to convey “an extreme reaction; to become irrationally angry” is said to have been in use only since 1981 which is surprising.  To “go thermo-nuclear” or “take the nuclear option” are companion phrases but the nuances do differ.  The noun ballistics (art of throwing large missiles; science of the motion of projectiles) seems first to have appeared in 1753 and was from the Latin ballist(a), from the Ancient Greek ballistes, from ballein (to throw, to throw so as to hit that at which the object is aimed (though used loosely also in the sense “to put, place, lay”)), from the primitive Indo-European root gwele- (to throw, reach).  In the technical jargon of the military and aerospace industries, the derived forms included (hyphenated and not) aeroballistic, antiballistic, astroballistic, ballistic coefficient, quasiballistic, semiballistic, subballistic, superballistic & thermoballistic.  In science and medicine, the forms include bioballistic, cardioballistic, electroballistic and neuroballistic.  Ballistic & ballistical are adjectives, ballisticity, ballistician & ballistics are nouns and ballistically is an adverb; the wonderful noun plural is ballisticies.

The basilisk was a class of large bore, heavy bronze cannons used during the late Middle Ages and in their time were a truly revolutionary weapon, able quickly to penetrate fortifications which in some cases had for centuries enabled attacks to be resisted.  Although there were tales of basilisks with a bores between 18-24 inches (460-610 mm), these were almost certainly a product of the ever-fertile medieval imagination and there’s no evidence any were built with a bore exceeding 5 inches (125 mm).  As a high-velocity weapon however, that was large enough for it to be highly effective, the 160 lb (72 kg) shot carrying a deadly amount of energy and able to kill personnel or destroy structures.  Because of the explosive energy needed to project the shot, the barrels of the larger basilicks could weigh as much as 4000 lb (1,800 kg); typically they were some 10 feet (3 m) in length but the more extraordinary, built as long-range devices, could be as long as 25 feet (7.6 m).  Despite the similarity in form, the name basilisk was unrelated to “ballistics” and came from the basilisk of mythology, a fire-breathing, venomous serpent able to kill and destroy, its glace alone deadly.  It was thus a two part allusion (1) the idea of “spitting fire” and (2) the thought the mere sight of an enemy’s big canons would be enough to scare an opponent into retreat.

As soon as it appeared in Europe, it was understood the nature of battlefields would change and the end of the era of the castle was nigh.  It was the deployment of the big cannons which led to the conquest of Constantinople (capital of the Byzantine Empire now Istanbul in the Republic of Türkiye) in 1453 after a 53 day siege; the city’s great walls which for centuries had protected it from assault were worn down by the cannon fire to the point where the defenders couldn’t repair the damage at the same rate as the destruction.  In an example of the way economics is a critical component of war, the Austrian cannon makers had offered the cannons to the Byzantines but the empire was in the throes of one of the fiscal crises which determined to outcomes of so many conflicts and had no money with which to make the purchase.  The practical Austrians then sold their basilisks to the attacking Ottoman army and the rest is history.  Despite such successes, the biggest of the basilisks became rare after the mid sixteenth century as military tactics evolved to counter their threat by becoming more mobile and the traditional siege of static targets became less decisive and smaller, more easily transported cannon, lighter and cheaper to produce, came to dominate artillery formations.

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, Navy, Army and Air Force Institute Building, Dover Castle, Dover, Kent, England.

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol was a basilisk built in 1544 in Utrecht (in the modern-day Netherlands), the name derived from it being a presented to Henry VIII (1491–1547; King of England (and Ireland after 1541) 1509-1547) as a for his daughter (the future Elizabeth I (1533–1603; Queen of England & Ireland 1558-1603) although the first known reference to it being called “Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol” dates from 1767. Some 24 feet (7.3 m) in length and with a 4.75 inch (121 mm) bore, it was said to be able to launch a 10 lb (4.5 kg) ball almost 2000 yards (1.8 km) although as a typical scare tactic, the English made it known to the French and Spanish that its shots were heavier and able to reach seven miles (12 km).  Just to makes sure the point was understood, it was installed to guard the approaches to the cliffs of Dover.  Modern understandings of the physics of ballistics and the use of computer simulations have since suggested there may have been some exaggeration in even the claim of a 2000 yard range and it was likely little more than half that.  Such use of propaganda remains part of the military arsenal to this day.

It was fake news:  Responding to viral reports, the authoritative E!-News in April 2013 confirmed Lindsay Lohan did not "go ballistic" and attack her ex-assistant at a New York City club.  For some reason, far and wide, the fake news had been believed.

Despite the costs involved and the difficulties in maintaining and transporting big cannons, some militaries couldn’t resist them and predictably, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945), who thought just about everything (buildings, tanks, trains, monuments, cars, battleships et al) should be bigger, oversaw some of the most massive artillery pieces ever built, often referred to by historians as “super heavy guns”.  The term is no exaggeration and the most striking example were the Schwerer Gustav and Dora.  With a bore of 31.5 inches (800 mm), the Schwerer Gustav and Dora apparatus weighed 1350 tons (1225 tonnes) and could fire a projectile as heavy as 7.1 tons (6.4 tonnes) some 29 miles (47 km).  Two were built, configured as “railway guns” and thus of most utility in highly developed areas where rail tracks lay conveniently close to the targets.  The original design brief from the army ordinance office required long-range device able to destroy heavily fortified targets and for that purpose, they could be effective.  However, each demands as crew of several thousand soldiers, technicians & mechanics with an extensive logistical support system in place to support their operation which could be fewer than one firing per day.  The Schwerer Gustav’s most successful deployment came during the siege of Sevastopol (1942).  Other big-bore weapons followed but success prove patchy, especially as allied control of the skies made the huge, hard to hid machines vulnerable to attack and even mounting them inside rock formations couldn’t resist the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) new, ground-penetrating bombs.

Schwerer Gustav being readied for a test firing, Rügenwalde, Germany, 19 March 1943, Hitler standing second from the right with Albert Speer (1905–1981; Nazi court architect 1934-1942; Nazi minister of armaments and war production 1942-1945) to his right.  Hitler referred to huge gun as “meine stählerne faust” (my steel fist) but it never fulfilled his high expectations and like many of the gigantic machines which so fascinated the Führer (who treated complaints about their ruinous cost as “tiresome”) it was a misallocation of scarce resources.

It was the development of modern ballistic rockets during World War II (1939-1945) which put an end to big guns (although the Iraqi army did make a quixotic attempt to resurrect the concept, something which involved having a British company “bust” UN (United Nations) sanctions by claiming their gun barrel components were “oil pipes”), the German’s A4 (V-2) rocket the world’s first true long-range ballistic missile. The V-2 represented a massive leap forward in both technology and military application and briefly it would touch “the edge of space” before beginning its ballistic trajectory, reaching altitudes of over 100 km (62 miles) before descending toward its target.  Everything in the field since has to some degree been an evolution of the V-2, the three previous landmarks being (1) the Chinese “Fire Arrows” of the early thirteenth century which were the most refined of the early gunpowder-filled rockets which followed a simple ballistic path, (2) the eighteenth century Indian Mysorean Rockets with the considerable advance of metal casings, the great range a shock to soldiers of the British Raj who had become accustomed to enjoying a technology advantage and (3) the British Congreve Rockets of the early nineteenth century, essentially a refinement of Mysorean enhanced by improved metallurgy and aerodynamics and made more effective still when combined with the well organized logistics of the British military.

Loop

Loop (pronounced loop)

(1) A portion of a cord, ribbon, etc., folded or doubled upon itself so as to leave an opening between the parts; the opening so formed.

(2) Anything shaped more or less like a closed curve, as a line drawn on paper, a part of a letter or other symbol, a part of a path, or a line of motion.

(3) A curved piece or a ring of metal, wood, or the like, used for the insertion of something, as a handle, etc.

(4) In clinical slang, an intrauterine device (IUD), so named for the “loop” shape.

(5) In aeronautics, a maneuver executed by an airplane in such a manner that the airplane describes a closed curve in a vertical plane.

(6) In urban mass-transportation, a circular area at the end of a trolley line, railroad line etc, where cars turn around; (transport); a public transport (bus, rail, tram etc) route that starts and ends at the same point.

(7) In highway design, an arm of a cloverleaf where traffic may turn off or onto a main road or highway.

(8) In road design, a ring road or beltway.

(9) In physics, the part of a vibrating string, column of air or other medium, etc, between two adjacent nodes.

(10) In electricity, a closed electric or magnetic circuit.

(11) In computing, the reiteration of a set of instructions in a routine or program (which can be intentional or an error); a sequence of instructions repeated until or while a particular condition is satisfied.

(12) In biological science, a wire, usually of platinum, one end of which is curved to form a loop, used for transferring microorganisms from one medium to another.

(13) In biochemistry, a flexible region in a protein's secondary structure.

(14) A sandbar enclosing (or nearly enclosing) a body of water.

(15) In figure skating, a school figure in which a skater traces a large half circle, a small oval within its arc, and another large half circle to complete the figure while remaining on the same skating edge.

(16) As “The Loop”, the main business centre in the CBD of Chicago, Illinois.

(17) A small or narrow opening in a wall; a loophole (archaic).

(18) In metalworking, a hot bloom of pasty consistency, to be worked under a hammer or in rolls (the old alternative spelling was loup (mass of iron)).

(19) In graph theory, an edge that begins and ends on the same vertex.

(20) In topology, a path that starts and ends at the same point.

(21) In algebra, a quasi-group with an identity element.

(22) In North American use, a sports league (now rare).

(23) In dactylography (the study of fingerprints), one of the three primary shapes assumed by the ridges (arches, loops, and whorls).  (Dermatoglyphics is the broader scientific study of the patterns of ridges on the fingers, palms, toes, and soles).

(24) To form into a loop.

(25) To make a loop in.

(26) To enfold or encircle in or with something arranged in a loop.

(27) To fasten by forming into a loop, or by means of something formed into a loop (often followed by up).

(28) In ballistics, to cause a missile or projectile to trace a looping or loop-like trajectory while in flight.

(29) To fly an airplane in a loop or series of loops.

(30) In electronics, to connect conductors in the shape of a loop within a closed electric or magnetic circuit.

(31) In film, television etc production, to complete by recording dialogue, sound effects, etc onto an existing film track or soundtrack; an endless strip of tape or film allowing continuous repetition.

(32) In zoology, to move by forming loops (certain worms, caterpillars et al).

1350–1400: From the Middle English loupe & loup (loop of cloth; loophole; noose), from the earlier lowp-knot (loop-knot), of North Germanic origin, from the Old Norse hlaup (a run), used in the sense of “a running knot”, from hlaupa (to leap), ultimately from the Proto-Germanic hlaupaną (to leap, run) (and related to the Swedish löp-knut (loop-knot), the Danish løb-knude (a running knot) and the Danish løb (a course)..Etymologists are divided over whether loop has any connection with the Middle Irish & Old Irish lúb (bend, fold, loop) and perhaps akin to “leap”; nor is it clear if there was any relationship with the Middle Dutch lūpen (lie in wait, peep, peer).  The special use in metalworking dates from 1665-1675 and was etymologically unrelated; it was from the French loupe, a special use of loupe (wen, knob, gnarl), ultimately from a Germanic source.  The verb was derived from the noun.  Loop & looping are nouns & verbs, looper is a noun, looped is a verb & adjective and loopable & loopy are adjectives; the noun plural is loops.

Inner hippie: Lindsay Lohan likes the peace sign but in an age when high definition photography makes possible, even at a distance, the precise capturing of the arches, loops, and whorls of fingerprints, it’s now a potential risk.  AI (artificial intelligence) engines are now reported as achieving a success rate in excess of 50% in generating fake fingerprints so accurately they can “fool” biometric scanners.

As an acronym, LOOP can mean (1) loss of offsite power, (2) Listed on Other Page (online marketplaces), (3) Law of One Price (finance; economic theory) and Long-Range Open Ocean Patrol (admiralty jargon).  In dactylography (the study of fingerprints), the three primary shapes assumed by the ridges (arches, loops, and whorls) were first formerly defined in 1880.  It was first used of magnetic recording tape or film in 1931 while in computer programming in the sense of “a sequence of instructions, executed repeatedly”, the first known reference dates from 1947.  The noun looper (plural loopers) can mean (1) someone who loops (in various contexts, (2) an instrument or tool, such as a bodkin, for forming a loop in yarn or cord etc, (3) A moth having a caterpillar which arches its body into a loop in order to bring the back part of the body forward as it walks due to having fewer prolegs (an appendage of the abdomen of some insect larvae), (4) a (no almost always electronic) tool for creating music loops, (5) a golf caddy and (6) in baseball, a synonym of blooper (a fly ball that is weakly hit just over the infielders).  The adjective loopy can describe (1) something in such a shape or (2) (in slang) someone thought crazy or deranged.  The latter meaning dates from as late as 1923 but a century earlier it had entered English in the sense of “crafty or deceitful) in the novels of Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832).

Lindsay Lohan in Loop magazine.

There are literally dozens of derived “loop” phrases and idiomatic forms, some of the better known being: “infinite loop” (also as endless loop) (in computer programming a series of instructions which repeats until interrupted), “feedback loop” (a self-reinforcing or self-weakening effect which was used in the language of the military, political science, psychology, physics and other fields before becoming popular in discussions of global warming, “close the loop” (in managerial jargon, to follow up; to tie up loose ends; to resolve), “in the loop” (being well-informed; up to date; having current knowledge; being part of the discussion; the companion antonym being “out of the loop”, “fruitloop” (someone thought crazy or deranged (Fruit Loops originally a brand of sugary breakfast cereal), “death loop” (in video gaming the situation in which a player is killed and then respawns in the exact same time and place, destined thus endlessly to be killed, usually in a gruesome way, “belt loop” (the fittings on trousers & skirts through which one’s belt passes), “Lebanese loop” (in slang the “skimming device” fitted to an automatic teller machine (ATM or “cash dispenser”) used by criminals to collect personal information (such as pin numbers), “loophole” (in figurative use an ambiguity or exception in a rule or law that can be exploited in order to avoid the usual consequences (and originally "a slit in a castle wall used for observation or mounting a weapon)) and “loop quantum gravity” (a mysterious theory which attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity, according to which space can be regarded as an extremely fine fabric of finite loops).

In the loop: MECCA MAXIMA, Bondi Junction, Sydney, Australia.

MECCA is an Australian cosmetics house with a presence in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the PRC (People’s Republic of China), its private label brands including Mecca Cosmetica, Mecca Max, Kit and Mecca-ssentials.  It runs a programme (a kind of hybrid of a loyalty & reward scheme) called “Beauty Loop”, organized into layers, the parameters of which are based on one’s annual spend; as one spends more, one ascends to a higher level and, the higher one’s level, the greater the rewards (ie an effective discount).  The MECCA Beauty Loop has four levels of recognition (1, 2, 3 & 4) and purchases made online or in-store contribute to one’s annual total.  MECCA labels the customer profile in the Beauty Loop layers progressively as (1) Beauty Discoverer, (2) Beauty Devotee (3) Beauty Aficionado and (4) Beauty Connoisseur, explaining the Beauty Loop mechanics thus:

Level 1: Aus$300.00–Aus$599.99 spend per year: As a Beauty Discoverer, every day is a beauty adventure: exploring new products, new brands, new categories and experiencing them for the very first time.  Come with us on this beauty journey where we will share with you our love of beauty with four rewards each year, including Beauty Loop Boxes (a curation of special samples) and Beauty Loop Bonuses (extra beauty products we just need to share!).  Plus, a gift to celebrate your birthday, when you spend $300 AUD per year (12 months).

Level 2: Aus$600.00–Aus$1,199.99 spend per year: As a Beauty Devotee, you are immersed in the world’s best in beauty. And just like us, you love to hear about the latest beauty trends, breakthroughs and products.  As a Level 2 member you will receive seven rewards each year, including Beauty Loop Boxes (a curation of special samples) and Beauty Loop Bonuses (extra beauty products we just need to share!).  Plus, a gift to celebrate your birthday, when you spend $600 AUD per year (12 months).

Level 3: Aus$1,200.00–Aus$3,499.99 spend per year: As a Beauty Aficionado, you live and breathe all things beauty: you know all about the tried-and-trusted classics but also love to explore what’s fresh and new. We’ll bring you more of the world you love with eight rewards each year, including Beauty Loop Boxes (a curation of special samples) and Beauty Loop Bonuses (extra beauty products we just need to share). Plus, one complimentary makeup application, a gift to celebrate your birthday, pre-launch access to new and limited-edition products and events by invitation – and more! All this when you spend $1200 AUD per year (12 months).

Level 4: Aus$3,500.000+ spend per year: As a Beauty Connoisseur, your passion for beauty is unmatched. You would go to the ends of the earth for beauty’s most coveted (as would we!). As our most beauty-obsessed members, you can expect our most exciting, luxurious rewards. You will receive nine rewards each year, including Beauty Loop Boxes (a curation of special samples) and Beauty Loop Bonuses (extra beauty products we just need to share). Plus, one complimentary makeup application, pre-launch access to new and limited-edition products, access to exclusive invitation-only events, and of course, a birthday gift from us to you with love. All this and more when you spend $3,500 AUD per year (12 months).

Beauty Loop is a popular scheme, said now to enjoy a membership in excess of 4½ million Beauty Discoverers, Devotees, Aficionados & Connoisseurs (MECCA doesn’t publish a breakdown) but in 2023 there was on-line speculation there may be an exclusive, secret layer of the loop (presumably known as Level 5) for those who spend much more.  It all sounded quite Masonic and there was speculation at least some MECCA staff must know about the mysterious Level 5 but were not permitted to discuss it and, if asked, were instructed to deny the existence of such a thing.  What Level 5 Beauty Loop members would be called attracted speculation and the most popular suggestions were “Beauty Addict”, “Beauty Obsessive” & “Beauty Cultist”, the consensus being floor staff would be able to confirm the identity of Level 5 members by some unobvious and ambiguous flag in the MECCA database rather than something Masonic like a secret handshake.  Fueling the conspiratorial atmospherics, MECCA seems to have adopted the Pentagon's "neither confirm nor deny" policy (invoked usually when questioned about the existence of nuclear weapons in certain places) so the hunt for a MECCA "deep throat" continues.  

Lindsay Lohan’s daring display of naked belt loops; note the hooking of the thumbs (right).  A belt will usually include a loop next to the buckle, used to keep the end of the belt in place.  This is called the "keeper".

Sycophancy

Sycophancy (pronounced sik-uh-fuhn-see)

(1) The usually self-seeking, servile flattery or fawning behavior of a sycophant.

(2) The character or conduct of a sycophant.

(3) An informer, a bearer of tales (obsolete).

1537: From the Latin sȳcophanta (informer, trickster), from the Ancient Greek sykophantia (false accusation, slander; conduct of a sȳcophanta) from συκοφάντης (sykophántēs), the construct being sûkon (fig) + phaínō (I show).  The gesture of "showing the fig" was an “obscene gesture of phallic significance”, made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig and was symbolic of a vagina (sûkon also meant “vulva”), the gesture understood in many cultures in many places.  Technically, it was a way of expressing one’s thoughts without actually speaking an obscenity.  The politicians in Ancient Greece were said not to use this vulgar gesture but urged their followers to deploy it in the taunting of opponents, a tactic familiar to observers of modern politicians who like to delegate the dirty work to others.  It was cognate with Italian sicofante and the Spanish sicofanta and the later Greek form was sykophantia, from sykophantes.  Sycophancy, sycophantism & sycophant are nouns, sycophantize is a verb, sycophantic & sycophantish are adjectives and sycophantishly is an adverb; the noun plural is plural sycophancies (sycophants is more commonly used).

When young, Lindsay Lohan had her troubles and in a 2012 interview blamed them on loneliness, “sycophants and bad influences”, adding “be careful who you surround yourself with”.

As late as the sixteenth century, sycophancy was still used in the now long obsolete sense of “informer, talebearer, slanderer” which was from the French sycophante and directly from Latin sȳcophanta.  Such was the influence of the often fanciful notions of Medieval scholars whose writings were copied with such frequency that by virtue of sheer volume they assume authority that it wasn’t until the twentieth century the old tale that a sycophant was “one who informed the authorities against someone unlawfully exporting figs” was universally discredited.  The general sense of “a parasite; mean, servile flatterer” (especially of those in power) was in use in English by the 1570s.  The phrase “yes-man” (a man who agrees from self-interest or fear with everything put to him by a superior) was first used in 1912, a creation of American English, the male-centric wording indicative of the predominance at the time of men in corporate structures but there's no exclusivity of gender, women too can be “yes-men” although “yes-women” doesn't as easily roll from the tongue and nor does the collective “yes people”.  To even suggest someone is a “yes man” or “yes woman” may be at least a micro aggression so to avoid compounding the offence with another “yes person” is recommended.

The sexy fig.

The modern meaning is that of the "insincere flatterer", the "yes man", the motive presumed usually to be personal gain.  Historians from antiquity suggest the origin of the word lies in agricultural policy, Plutarch (46–circa 120) writing that the source was in laws forbidding the export of figs, and that those who made accusations against others of illegally exporting figs were therefore called sycophants.  Plutarch was citing "Solon's Laws" which included regulations which stipulated also: “(1) trees should not be planted within five feet of a neighbour’s property, except in the case of olives and fig-trees, which were not to be planted within nine feet (for these trees spread out their roots farther than others, and spoil the growth of any others by taking away their nourishment and by giving off hurtful juices), (2) Trenches and pits must be dug as far away from another man’s property as they were deep and (3) no hive of bees was to be placed within three hundred feet of those already established by another man.”  Because the laws permitted only the export of oil, the export of figs was forbidden and the men who informed against those who had done so were therefore called sycophants (fig-shower).

Later, Sir William Blackstone's (1723–1780) Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1770) noted there were laws making it a capital offense to break into a garden and steal figs, and that law was thought so odious that informers were given the name sycophants.   Another variant in the fig jam was that a sycophant was a shaker of trees: before the court, the sycophant's false accusations makes the accused yield up the truth; in the fig grove, sycophant's shaking forces the tree to yield up its fruit.  Certainly, the fig linkage runs strong in the language, the making of false accusations held to be such an insult to the accused it was said to be "showing the fig", an obscene gesture “of phallic significance" and that false charges were often so flimsy as to be worth “not a fig".

Modern historians enjoy the explanations but tend to be dismissive of their veracity though all seem to agree the original sense is of a word used to disparage one who, by the levelling of unjustified accusations, has perverted the legal system beyond a mere abuse of process.  Pervading all is the suggestion the term was thought always at least slightly obscene, the linkage presumably because of the symbolism of the fig in ancient Greek culture in that sense.  The attachment to legal process in Athenian culture, separate from any hint of obscenity, did grow and the net was cast wide, sycophants not only vexatious litigants but also those who issued writs merely to try to induce defendants to make a payment in exchange for dropping the case or third parties otherwise unconnected to the sometime ancient matters before the court, appearing only to seek an undeserved profit.  In time, to accuse a litigant of sycophancy became a serious thing, such was the opprobrium society had come to direct towards the conduct and there are surviving texts written by those defending themselves from the charge.  Athenian law responded, imposing fines on litigants whose matters were found vexatious or which were clearly an abuse of process and there are echoes still of these acts in modern Greek domestic law where, as in France, sycophant is used still in the original sense.    The phenomenon attracted the playwrights too, explored by Aristophanes (circa 446 BC-circa 386 BC) in his satires.

Impact Of Wealth (1563) by Philips Galle (1537–1612) & Hadrianus Junius (1511–1575).

In the English-speaking world, the meaning shift seems to have happened during the Renaissance, meanings old and new running in parallel until the sense of the "insincere flatterer" came to prevail.  It was an organic linguistic morphing, not something induce by some event or individual, the common thread probably that both behaviors were perceived parasitic and insincere. 

Notable Sycophants in History and Literature

Dr Joseph Goebbels (1897-1975; Nazi propaganda minister 1933-1945) had been an early critic of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) so to redeem himself, spent the rest of his career in fawning devotion, initiating the Heil Hitler salute and insisting on the use of Der Führer (the leader, originally just a party title) as an official title. His letters and diaries are full of groveling praise and his propaganda campaigns created the modern personality cult.  In fairness to Goebbels, his work was inspired and sometimes brilliant and when the fortunes of war turned there was even the hint of criticism (his acute sense of things picking up the difference between a "leadership crisis" and a "leader crisis") but other sycophants in the Third Reich were less impressive.  While Goebbels’ work sparkled, youth leader, Baldur von Schirach (1907-1974; party functionary 1931-1945), wrote verse after verse of dreary poetry in praise of Hitler though there’s no suggestion the Führer much troubled himself to read his oeuvre.  At least Goebbels and Schirach stayed loyal to the end (though the latter would recant when on trial for his life in Nuremberg (1945-1946) and avoid the hanging he deserved.  Sycophant number one and head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945; head of the SS 1929-1945), called himself “the truest of the true” and Hitler agreed, often referring to the Reichführer-SS as “der treue Heinrich" (the faithful Heinrich), and, although never part of the inner circle, was much valued for his sycophancy and unconditional obedience.  Himmler though, by 1944 and perhaps earlier, worked out things weren’t going too well and eventually, in negotiating with the enemy and planning ways to ingratiate himself to General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969; US president 1953-1961), delivered the Führer a final stab in the back and the one which seems to have hurt the Führer the most.  By then it was already too late and Hitler has long concluded none of his sycophants were worthy enough to be his successor, deciding Rudolf Hess (1894–1987; Deputy Führer 1933-1941) had gone mad and Hermann Göring (1893–1946; leading Nazi 1922-1945) had lost the sympathy of the German people.  Both judgements were fair enough but his reason for rejecting Himmler made sense only in Hitler's bizarre world view: He thought the Reichführer-SS "unartistic".

Julia Gillard looking at Penny Wong.

Appointed to cabinet by Prime Minister Julia Gillard (b 1961; Australian prime minister 2010-2013), Australian politician Penny Wong (b 1968) Australian minister for Foreign Affairs since 2022 (and one of the Australian Senate's three "mean girls")) was never reticent in praising Gillard’s fine judgment and feminist solidarity.  That was until she finally worked out things weren’t going too well and so voted to back-stab Gillard and resuscitate the previously knifed Dr Kevin Rudd (b 1957; Australian prime-minister 2007-2010 & 2013).  Modern identity politics helpfully provides Wong with handy cover; any criticism, however justified, she can condemn as misogyny, homophobia or racism.  Centuries before, early in the reign of Caligula (Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, 12–41; Roman emperor 37-41), he fell ill, inspiring one Roman to offer to sacrifice own life if the emperor recovered. This kind, if extravagant, vow was declared publicly, in the hope his show his deep loyalty would elicit some generous award.  Caligula did recover but the sycophant’s tactic backfired; the dutiful emperor decided to accept the chap’s offer and ordered his execution.

Secretary of State Dr Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon, East Room, White House, 22 September 1973.  

There are many who list former US National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, Dr Henry Kissinger (1923-2023; US national security advisor 1969-1975 & secretary of state 1937-1977) as among the famous sycophants, a reasonable achievement in Washington DC, a city full of the breed, but it’s probably unfair although, in his fascinating relationship with President Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974), he certainly aimed to please.  Kissinger met with Israeli prime-minister Golda Meir (1898–1978; prime-minister of Israel 1969-1974) in 1973 and she asked him to pressure Moscow to allow more Soviet Jews to emigrate to avoid persecution.  Nixon, intent on détente with the USSR, sought to avoid the request. Kissinger, himself Jewish, responded “…the emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy and if they put Jews into gas chambers in Russia, it’s not an American concern… maybe it’s a humanitarian concern”.  Not for nothing was Dr Kissinger thought dean of the school of power-realists.

Plácido Domingo (b 1941) in Giuseppe Verdi’s (1813–1901) Otello (1993), a studio recording from Paris noted for its technical perfection.  It featured Cheryl Studer (b 1955) as Desdemona and in Act IV she delivered perhaps the loveliest version of the Willow Song available on disc.

In David Copperfield (1849-1850), Charles Dickens (1812–1870) created one of literature’s most repulsive sycophants, the reptilian Uriah Heep.  Dickens, never one to understate his characters, ensures readers will revile Heep by emphasizing his physical creepiness: cadaverous and lanky, with clammy hands and sleepless eyes.  Trained in being “umble” by his father, Heep is always quick to affirm his lowly station and abase himself.  Chaplain to the Bishop of Barchester, the duplicitous Obadiah Slope in Anthony Trollope’s (1815-1882) Barchester Towers (1857), epitomizes the "lick up-kick down" sycophant,  fawning before the powerful, tyrannical towards subordinates.  For Australians, one of the real pleasures in reading Barchester Towers is imagining Bronwyn Bishop (b 1942; speaker of the Australian House of Representatives 2013-2015) when picturing the bishop’s wife (both deserving the memorable phrase "that ghastly woman").  Nobody however did it better than William Shakespeare (1564–1616) in Othello (1603).  The play is a roll-call of strategies for ingratiation, subversion, and destruction, as Iago corrupts the mind of the noble Othello. No work in English better shows the devastating personal consequences of sycophancy or so starkly renders its intricate ties to other vices for Shakespeare knew the sycophant is capable of every fraud, every hypocrisy, every deceit.

Mr Dutton in one of his happier moments.  Interestingly, despite many opportunities, Mr Dutton has never denied being a Freemason.

In politics, the word sycophantic seems surprising rare, probably because punchier forms like “arse-kisser”, “arse-licker”, “brown noser”, “suck-up”, “lap-dog”, “flunky” & “lackey” are preferred, at least behind closed doors because all these would probably be ruled “unparliamentary”.  Of course it’s behind closed doors the more amusing stuff happens, the internecine party squabbles and factional battles more intense and pursued with more passion than the often confected sturm und drang between actual opponents.  Still words like “obsequious” and “sycophantic” have the advantage they can be used on the floor or parliament and in May 2024, in the Australian House of Representatives, sycophantic made a rare appearance when Peter Dutton (b 1970; leader of the opposition and leader of the Australian Liberal Party since May 2022) spoke: “Why did this weak and incompetent prime minister [Anthony Albanese (b 1963; prime-minister of Australia since 2022)] put his close and sycophantic relationship with Jacinda Ardern ahead of the safety of Australians?”

The context of Mr Dutton’s waspish attack was the matter of Ministerial Directive 99 (MD-99) of 23 March 2023, issued by Andrew Giles (b 1973; Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs since 2022), an instruction to his department which required the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the AAT, a statutory authority soon to be replaced by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) & Administrative Review Council (ARC)) to consider the cases of non-citizens facing deportation pursuant to section 501 (as revised in 2014) of the Migration Act (1958) by applying a number of criteria including “Strength, nature and duration of ties to Australia”.  Previously, the law required mandatory visa cancellations for any non-citizens sentenced to jail for twelve months or more, or those convicted of a child sex offence.  The way MD-99 was applied by the tribunal resulted in a number of serious offenders not being deported, some of whom subsequently re-offended, one currently awaiting trial for murder.

Two Fabians: Jacinda Ardern and Anthony Albanese, press conference, Sydney, July 2022.  It has been confirmed the man taking the photograph is not Mr Dutton.

The origin of MD-99 was in a dinner in July 2022 between Mr Albanese and Jacinda Ardern (b 1980; Prime Minister of New Zealand 2017-2023).  The matter of criminals who hadn’t lived in New Zealand for decades, sometimes having left as infants, had been a matter of concern to successive New Zealand Governments but until 2023 no Australian government had been prepared to alter the policy.  However, Ms Ardern was at the time something of a political pin-up of the left and a role model to social democrats around the planet and their admiration for her progressive policies and general “wokeness” at least verged on the sycophantic.  Mr Albanese and Mr Giles are both members of the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) Socialist Left (or Progressive Left) faction, a label which means less than once it did and shouldn’t be taken too literally but the tribal aspect of the factionalism is as strong as ever.

The idea of dozens (literally) of violent criminals being released into the community whereas prior to MD-99 they would have been deported created a furore and not even the usual suspects felt it wise to leap to a defence of the policy.  Following the manual, Mr Giles for a few toughed it out with the usual obfuscation but seldom has the tactic sounded so unconvincing.  He was defended (at least to the extent of not being sacked) by the prime minister which really he was compelled to do because it would have been his instruction to Mr Giles which resulted in MD-99.  Mr Albanese also stuck to the manual, having the department trawl the archives so he could quote instances of criminals being released into the community a decade-odd earlier when Mr Dutton was immigration minister.  Unlike the Nuremberg trial (1945-1946), there was no International Military Tribunal (IMT) to deny use of the tu quoque defense.

Andrew Giles, House of Representatives, Canberra, Australia, May 2024.

However, after a few days it became obvious deniability was never going to become plausible and the issue couldn’t be spun out of the media cycle.  Mr Albanese announced MD-99 would be dumped, replaced by the overriding direction that “…community safety must be considered the top priority in deciding whether to allow someone to remain in Australia”.  Mr Giles said the new direction would “…ensure the protection of the community outweighs any other consideration", adding this had always been the government's “highest priority”.  Neither Mr Albanese nor Mr Giles have commented on the tone of their discussions behind closed doors and it’s assumed an account is unlikely to appear in any memoir either may write.