Making
good
‘Making
good’ means repairing something or bringing it up to a desired standard. It can
also mean restoring something to its previous condition.
It is a
term usually applied to construction, but can be used loosely for any repair or
restoration.
In the
sense that I am considering, it would be ‘making good better’, rather like a
Victorian school teacher:
‘Good,
better, best,
Never let
it rest,
‘Til your
good is better
And your
better is the best.’
This little
homily is attributed to St Jerome (c.342-347
– 420)
I tried to
discover its attribution and found, through a blog called Fauxtations, that
there is no evidence that he ever made such a remark. I quote from the blog:
The
saying itself has been around forever (relatively speaking). The Dictionary of Modern
Proverbs has a citation from 1904 (not St. Jerome!), but Google Books found it for me in Christian Work: Illustrated
Family Newspaper – Volume 62 – Page 195, published in 1897, and it’s given
there in a form that makes me think it was a well-known saying at the time.
Given
that the misattribution appears to have happened in the early 21st Century, I’m
going to point at the Internet and partial search results as the source for
this one.
What is in evidence is that Jerome translated the Bible into Latin. His version, known as the Vulgate or Latin Vulgate, was revised in 1592 and then used as the official version of the Bible for the Roman Catholic Church.
I remember first hearing this small verse when I took a class of children, seven-year-olds I think, all dressed up in an approximation of Victorian clothes, to the Victorian Schoolroom at Katesgrove Primary School in Reading. The Schoolroom is now situated at Reading Museum.
The experience was a shock to some of them for the ‘teacher’ was quite severe and there were a few pale faces and wobbling chins until they realised it was play-acting.
The verse stuck in my head and is still relevant today. We should all seek self-improvement . . . shouldn’t we?
Anyway, this ramble is by way of saying that my small great-granddaughter, Melia, had her heart operation on Tuesday. All went to plan and she is recovering well. She has now left the PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) and is on the ward. It is so good to see her little body without drains, though she is still being fed via a nasogastric tube. Children are so resilient!
Everything
is going in the right direction and everyone is relieved.
Good news for Melia (and the family). The little verse is one that F's grandmother taught here at a very young age. However, when we read your post title, our first thoughts were a reference to 'patching up relations with other peope, family and friends'..... not that we have anything of that nature that needs patching up right now but making good is something that could be applied to every relationship on a regular basis. xxx Mr T (who thinks his humans should be trying harder to please him).
ReplyDeleteYou're so right. Relationships can be taken for granted and thereby ruined.
ReplyDeleteTigger, I think you're being a little unfair to your humans. I don't know many cats who have their own transport . . .
I'm glad to hear that your little great-granddaughter is doing well. You are so right saying children are very resilient. It's amazing, isn't it? Best wishes for continued healing for the wee one.
ReplyDeleteI heard that little verse from an early age from my mother, who learned it from her father. The last line went somewhat differently: ". . . And your better, best". It's harder to make out the meaning of that when you are a little child but in time I understood it.
Often the things we hear as children don't make much sense or we mispronounce them, like 'most highly flavoured lady' in the Christmas carol 'The angel Gabriel'.
DeleteHah! That is a good one :)
DeleteI'm happy to hear that little Melia has come through her surgery well. May her healing progress quickly and completely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephanie. It was Melia's mother's birthday yesterday, and Melia's recovery is the best present she could have.
DeleteSo very thankful to hear Melia is doing so well now.
ReplyDeleteI remember that little poem, but didn't learn "Til" we learned "Until"
Thank you, River.
DeleteThat little verse seems to have travelled far and wide!
Glad to know that Melia is doing fine. Indeed, children are quite resilient. Take care, and wishing the little one good health and speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of you, Pradeep, thank you.
DeleteHow it is so difficult to see children with health problems so serious. I am glad she is recovering and hope it continues well. I haven't known of you for long, but my heart breaks over innocents who are sick. I enjoyed the verse and will write it down to memorize. Lynn
ReplyDeleteIt seems such a burden for a little one, but they are too young to understand or remember, which is a blessing.
DeleteGreat news about Melia, which must be such a relief!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading the little verse and its wrongly attributed origins. Striving for improvement is self-improvement is a good thing, only on some occasions the best you can is good enough! xxx
Very good news that your little great granddaughter is getting better what a relief for you ! I am very suspicious about bible translations, having been a translator myself. If you consider that the bible was translated more than 2000 times, I wonder how the original text really was. There are so many contradictions in it. I remember my grandma when she told me the story of the English word "corn". Germany needed badly Korn (grain) during the occupation and asked for Korn. The translator just changed the K into a c and Germany was covered with corn and had to bake corn bread etc. What a little letter can do in a bad translation.
ReplyDeleteSo easy to make mistakes, as you say.
ReplyDelete