sullen & solo

According to today's New York Times, the mother of mass murderer Seung-Hui Cho, viewed her son as "sullen."

Synonyms of "sullen" include "morose," "resentful," and "sulky." Such words are descriptive at the surface level, but they don't shed insight on the inner workings of the mind. Etymology takes us deeper.

"Sullen" derives from the Middle English "solein," meaning "alone, soliary," which in turn comes from a Latin word "slus," with the same meaning. We do know that Mr. Cho lived a lonely existence even in the midst of a crowded campus.

"Slus" also gives us "solo" and "solitude," words with positive creative and spiritual connotations.

We might speculate that a limited amount of "slus" is desirable. On the other hand, an excess of aloneness--either impossed deliberately as in solitary confinement or randomly as the result of one's genes or upbrining--may produce horrific results such as the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

As my father used to warn: "All things in moderation."