mos crudelis

See Works, 10.391 ‘mos’ has a contraction mark in the manuscript. At Works, 10.391 Ruskin suggests that there is a mark of contraction above the ‘o’ in ‘mos’ to indicate that it should be read ‘mortis’ to mean ‘despair the face of death is fearful’. It is not clear whether the mark of contraction is in the inscription, or simply a projection of Ruskin’s interpretation. Without the contraction the word ‘mos’ would mean ‘way of life’: ‘despair is a fearful / cruel way of life’. The question here is important in assessing Ruskin's use of evidence in his account of these capitals.

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