
A mischievous blend of scholarly parody and mythic storytelling, this work opens as a “legend retold” from the obscure Dirghic of the ancient grammarian Sævius Nicanor. The author frames the tale with mock‑Latin epigraphs, elaborate dedication to a self‑styled censor, and a cascade of footnotes that wink at both academia and the absurdities of early‑20th‑century publishing. The tone is simultaneously erudite and irreverent, inviting listeners to savor the playful tug‑of‑war between high culture and the ever‑present threat of moral policing.
In the first act, the narrative introduces Sævius Nicanor through a series of witty anecdotes—like a tailor‑shop encounter that spirals into a goat‑riding escapade—setting a whimsical stage for a broader satire of scholarly pretension. The memoir‑style prose, peppered with faux‑historical references, creates a world where ancient grammar meets modern wit, promising an entertaining listening experience that delights in its own cleverness.
Full title
Taboo A Legend Retold from the Dirghic of Sævius Nicanor, with Prolegomena, Notes, and a Preliminary Memoir
Language
en
Duration
~27 minutes (26K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2005-11-22
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1879–1958
Best known for witty, fantastical novels that poked at romance, heroism, and social convention, this Virginia writer turned literary satire into something strange and memorable. His 1919 novel Jurgen became famous not just for its humor and imagination, but also for the censorship fight that followed it.
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