Circean poison

English Etymology After the Greek mythological figure of Circe, who (in the Odyssey) tempted men to excess before turning them into pigs. Noun - A poison or potion that changes the body but not the mind. en 1926 Essays in memory of Barrett Wendell 77 And the riven Tree in the West withered; and the broken Car was changed by the Circean poison of the golden plumes into a two-natured monster, half-bird, half-beast — a mockery of the holy Griffin. Anything magically (and fatally) captivating, such as a potion or applause. 1834, Thomas Carlyle, "The Death of Edward Irving," essay from Fraser's Magazine 61 (1834): O foulest Circean draught, thou poison of Popular Applause! madness is in thee, and death; thy end is Bedlam and the Grave. en 1878 John Henry Newman An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine http://books.google.com/books?id=RN66gZdNnqoC&pg=PA242&lpg=PA242&dq=circean+poison&source=web&ots=NVj8L6CjGs&sig=SEaHqRT3_6UVjl9OGBbKL2m8qUc 242 "Is not this herd," he continues, "worse than Circean poison?" en 1908 John Ruskin St. Mark's Rest: The History of Venice Written for the Help of the Few ... http://books.google.com/books?id=cPQzAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA236&lpg=PA236&dq=circean+poison&source=web&ots=Rx-qETzhlA&sig=xZ2QLE2NcvofD_yevh7Yy5dYU6c 236 So soon the worm that dies not is also upon him—in its fang Circean poison to make the victim one with his plague... References circeanpoison c en eponyms