Sonntag, 29. März 2015

Time is Galleons

After Harry’s arrival at the headquarter of the Order of the Phoenix he meets the Weasley twins who have passed their Apparation test. Apparation is a form of travelling in the wizarding world which allows a wizard or witch to disappear from his or her current location and reappear at a completely different one. The twins Fred and George use this method in order to get from one part of the house to a different one. When they appear in Ron and Harry's room their younger brother shows his annoyance: “‘It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs.’ said Ron. ‘Time is Galleons, little brother,’ said Fred.”[1]
            The source of the proverb ‘time is Galleons’ can be found in the muggle proverb ‘time is money’. It has first been used in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin in Advice to a Young Tradesman where he wrote: “Remember that Time is Money.”[2] He refers to the fact that time is very valuable just like money and should, therefore, not be wasted. [3] In the wizarding world three different coins are used as currency. Instead of using the word money, they focus on the most valuable coin – the Galleon - and change the proverb into ‘time is Galleons.’ Fred and George, thus, refer to the fact that they don’t want to waste their precious time taking the stairs when there is a much faster way of travelling.




[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. London: Bloomsbury, 2000, p.66.
[2] Franklin, Benjamin. To a Young Tradesman. 1748.
[3] "Time Is Money." The Free Dictionary. Web. 22.03.2015. <http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/time is money>.

Keine Kommentare:

Kommentar veröffentlichen