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Chapter 55
Framley Parsonage

Veto
A Latin verb meaning "I forbid". This word comes from the power that the Roman tribune of the plebeians had to put a stop to other governmental actions. When Mr. Robarts is explaining why Grace Crawley is staying at Framley Parsonage, he senses Mr. Oriel's disapproval of the situation but states that he did not feel it was necessary to "put a veto" on the visit.  [AM]    

You mean, she is a lady?
This inquiry is made by Mr. Oriel when he is told by Mr. and Mrs. Robarts of Grace's classical education. Mr. Oriel is taken aback because he understands Grace Crawley to come from an impoverished family. Yet she has been educated quite well in classical studies. To Mr. Oriel, her classical education qualifies her as a "lady".  [AM]

Chapter 56
The Archdeacon Goes to Framley

Presiding genius
Lady Lufton is described by the narrator as the "presiding genius" at Framley.  In Roman times, the genius was an honored household deity who was believed to protect the household and the members of the family. The Roman genius had a male association which was parallel to the paterfamilias (male head of household).  This Roman term applied to Lady Lufton conveys that she protects the her household and her family members.  Perhaps this term is likening Lady Lufton to a paterfamilias because it is she who protects the well-being of her house and her family.
OCD  [AM]

He could not drop into Framley as though he had come from the clouds
This statement is referring to Archdeacon Grantly's doubt about how to approach Grace Crawley at Framley and urge her not to marry his son.  This sentence may recall the device used in Greek theater called the deus ex machina or "god from the machine" that was used for lowering the actor portraying a god onto the stage.  The deus ex machina was used in a play when earthly characters could not solve a conflict among themselves and a god needed to come from above to resolve the conflict and to restore harmony.  This sentence conveys that Archdeacon Grantly feels that he--unlike a god--cannot simply appear at Framley; the archdeacon also understands that his visit will not easily restore harmony in his household or bring him peace of mind.  [AM & RR]  

Ruat coelum, fiat justitia
A Latin proverbial statement meaning, "The world may fall, let justice be done."  Trollope uses this Latin phrase in conjunction with his comments on the observation that people, when they speak in public gatherings, espouse certain ideals and convictions. However in smaller, more intimate groups what they say differs from the convictions that they stated in public. Trollope remarks that this Latin phrase is the sentiment spoken from an outside balcony to a group of people, conveying how people profess their external convictions and ideals when they are in larger settings.  See commentary for The Warden Chapter 4.  [AM]

Rem, si possis recte, si non, quocunque modo
This is a Latin phrase meaning, "If you are able to do a thing honestly, [do it honestly], but if not, [do it] in whatever way you can." The Latin phrase comes from Horace's Epistles Book I verse 66. This phrase continues Trollope's discussion of how people's external convictions differ from what they reveal when they are in small groups of people or among friends. This Latin phrase, as Trollope states, is whispered into an ear in a smoking-room. This shows how people in small setting with friends will diverge from their honest and externally professed ideals and reveal to their friends their true and perhaps selfish ideas that, for the most part differ from what virtues they profess in public.  In making this generalization about the difference between publicly and privately articulated views, Trollope uses Latin phrases to emphasize the fact that this is a time-proven pattern of human behavior.  [AM & RR]    

Chapter 57
A Double Pledge

A place where three roads met
This phrase recalls the description (in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex) of the location where Oedipus unwittingly killed his own father.  At such a crossroads in the novel, Archdeacon Grantly sees the card advertising the sale at Cosby Lodge where his son, Major Grantly, lives. It is at this point in Archdeacon Grantly's journey that he realizes that it is imperative that he must speak harshly with Grace Crawley to ask her not to marry his son, for if she does, his son will suffer ruin.  This allusion to Sophocles' play in the narrative may show how physical places mark turning points in the plot.  [AM]

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