| 词源 |
Cleopatra’s pearl. Cleopatra’s pearl concerns a sumptuous banquet Cleopatra gave for Antony. Her lover, the legend tells us, expressed astonishment at the costly meal, and she promptly removed a pearl earring, dropped it in a cup of vinegar and let it dissolve, saying, “My draft to Antony shall far exceed it.” Vin- egar cannot dissolve a pearl, however, and anything strong enough to do so wouldn’t have conveniently been on Cleopa- tra’s table—unless the wileful woman planted it there, in which case it is just as possible that she used a fake pearl. |