meaning of 3 sentences

[ehsanshekari]

I need an explanation for each of the sentences below.


"If any man will draw up his case, and put his name at the foot of the first page, I will give him an immediate reply. Where he compels me to turn over the sheet, he must wait my leisure."(Lord Sandwich)

what does "case" mean here? and i can not understand what this sentence says.
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"A fair question should be followed by a deed in silence."(Dante Alighieri)

with the meaning i know for "fair" and the meaning i found in my dictionary for "deed" this sentences doesn't make sense to me.
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"You will come here and get books that will open your eyes, and your ears, and your curiosity, and turn you inside out or outside in."(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

what do "inside out" and "outside in" mean?

thanks.

 

[Barb_D]

Tough questions!

"If any man will draw up his case, and put his name at the foot of the first page, I will give him an immediate reply. Where he compels me to turn over the sheet, he must wait my leisure."(Lord Sandwich)

Here, a "case" is what the person is asking for, or asking the person to think about. When people go to court, you refer to that as "a case." We also say to someone, "Okay, make your case" as a way to say "convince me of that."

The entire thing means that if the person making the request can do it concisely, Lord Sandwich will read and respond right away. If the person uses more than one sheet of paper to explain (giving more detail than is needed), he will not be nearly so quick to give his response.

"A fair question should be followed by a deed in silence."(Dante Alighieri)

This one is harder for me as well. I can guess that if it means that the person has asked a good, valid question, it deserves some time to think about it (in silence) and not an immediate response. But I am honestly not sure.

"You will come here and get books that will open your eyes, and your ears, and your curiosity, and turn you inside out or outside in."(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"Inside out" is a standard phrase. If you take off your shirt over your head, pulling from the hem up, and letting the sleeves reverse as you revove your hands, your shirt will be inside-out. Here, Emerson uses it figuratively to mean it will change the way you view things. He then uses "outside-in" which is NOT a standard phrase as a demonstration of exactly the type of new thinking and new perspectives that will come to you if you read the types of books he is describing.

{not a teacher}

 

[Anglika]

A fair question should be followed by the deed in silence

It means that something is asked for in a polite way, and the person asked carries out the request without argument or discussion.

 

[Barb_D]

Ah!

 

[ehsanshekari]

in this sentence "fair" exactly means in a polite way? can't it be acceptable or appropriate?

 

[Anglika]

There are several interpretations of the original Italian: [FONT=VERDANA, GENEVA, HELVETICA]la dimanda onesta [/FONT]in the many translations: fair; modest; honest; fit. They all imply a request made politely.


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