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Julie-Anne asked this question about Foucault’s Pendulum:
This book uses the phrase "facies hermeticae" a few times and I've yet to figure out what it means in the given context. The top google results are quotations from the book, can anyone explain what Eco means by this?
Douglas Roberts I'm pretty sure it's a joke at the expense of the hermetic characters the publishers spend much of their time with, as when it's first used it's about…moreI'm pretty sure it's a joke at the expense of the hermetic characters the publishers spend much of their time with, as when it's first used it's about how they literally all have a certain look about them (Lorenza says "professional sorcerers with faces exactly like professional sorcerers", then describes them. Diotallevi quips "Facies hermetica", and from then on it's an in-joke).(less)
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Foucault’s Pendulum
by Umberto Eco
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