"Burn like a Christian"

June 27, 2023 12:24 PM

In a gallery of the works of William and Evelyn de Morgan, I came across the sentence: "Then, innocently expecting the hydrogen to burn like a Christian, with a lambent flame scarcely visible in daylight, we put a match to the hydrogen bottle." Can anyone tell me more about "burn like a Christian"? Clearly it's capitalised so must mean something. My research has brought zero results. TIA.
posted by parmanparman to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

A lot of the early Christian martyrs are supposed to have been executed by burning.
posted by slkinsey at 12:28 PM on June 27, 2023 [5 favorites]

In context, it seems like it may mean something like "mild and controlled".
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 12:35 PM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]

The burning fervor of faith, nearly invisible from outside, until witnessed or encountered somehow.

It's a strangely metaphorical thing to say, in reference to hydrogen. Evelyn de Morgan infused her art with her spirituality, and this might be an example of this outside of the art.
posted by the Real Dan at 12:36 PM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]

That is interesting. I also assumed it was a reference to burning martyrs, but then I would have guessed a more robust fire. So, did they use low flames to increase the suffering?
posted by yamel at 12:38 PM on June 27, 2023

Oh, the Real Dan has a better answer..
posted by yamel at 12:40 PM on June 27, 2023

Best answer: I've read a lot of mid-late Victorians (especially of a more literary or ironic bent) use "like a Christian" to mean something like "be civilized about this" or "come on now, fair play," that kind of thing. Like, imagine a dissipated young gentleman exclaiming that a tailor isn't behaving "like a Christian" by asking for his bill to be paid. In this case it's not something you're saying because you're really invested in your Christianity; you're calling for the normal, not-too-strict, lenient to me in particular way gentlemen Ought to act with one-another.

I think your authors are drawing a (probably humorous) analogy from that saying—this fire doesn't understand that burning out of control and really visibly is simply Not The Thing One Does in polite society.
posted by Polycarp at 12:40 PM on June 27, 2023 [22 favorites]

Best answer: Often in British English of this period "like a Christian" is used in a way that's less about religion than social expectation. "like a Christian" = normal, civilised. Things that are wild, savage and unmanageable are un-Christian (according to the norms of this particular place and usage).

"Heavens, Esmé, get your fingers out of the soup bowl. Use a spoon like a Christian."

"Having exited through the window, he elected to re-enter through the door like a Christian."

They expected the hydrogen to burn with a gentle, manageable flame. Instead, I'm guessing the result was more explosive.
posted by Pallas Athena at 12:43 PM on June 27, 2023 [19 favorites]

Best answer: I agree with Polycarp [edit: and Pallas Athena!]. See here for a little bit more on this usage, set in parallel to "mighty white of you" and its various distasteful relations: https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3179
posted by redfoxtail at 12:43 PM on June 27, 2023 [8 favorites]

Polycarp & co. have it right; chiming in only to stress that this is not a usage you should deploy in the present day.
posted by praemunire at 1:02 PM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]

I first thought it might be a reference to how Tacitus described Nero having coated Christians in pitch and used them as human torches to light his gardens. (You should take Tacitus with a generous pinch of salt). On further reflection, though, I think Polycarp's right.
posted by BlueNorther at 1:24 PM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: The capitalization of Christian is due to not being a proper noun, not due to its relative importance, by the way.
posted by eviemath at 6:00 AM on June 28, 2023