@Bi: the noble savage from JJ Rousseau to John Dryden --- While it is true that Jean-Jacques Rousseau disseminated the concept and made it known worldwide, the term was originally coined by somebody else. You made me curious, so I called again my books for help.

In one of them (1), I found under the idiom ‚the noble savage’ a citation and an explanation.

„A quotation from Dryden, developed as a theory by the 18C French philosopher Rousseau”.

Bull’s eye! However, much to my embarrassment I did not know who Dryden was. I guess you all know, but just in case, for the records, John Dryden (the „glorious John’ apud Walter Scott) was an English writer.

The funny thing about him was that he is known as the first England’s „Poet Laureate”. In my infinite ignorance I thought he was bestowed a Prize, a kind of Nobel Prize for literature avant-la-lettre. But, no! “Poet Laureate” was a job!

He held this position many years (1668-1688), appointed by the King. Nice! He received a pension and, in exchange, he had to write poems to glorify England and his kings, from time to time! O tempora, o mores!

Bi, who is now the Poet Laureate of Her Majesty Elisabeth II?

(1) Dictionary of Idioms, An alphabetic guide to colourful and peculiar phrases and expressions, Wordsworth Reference, 1993, p.242

Source author: Petru Dumitriu PetruD@diplomacy.edu