"Wherefore art thou" pretty much is old English for "why are you", and it fits in surprisingly perfectly.
I don't officially know if the official reason for the slur "Herbert" originated, though I'll happily take a guess. To cut a long story short, the following author may be the source of the episode's humorous attempt at making a slur.
To inflate the story longer:
While some postulated the name of a certain staffmember on the Star Trek production team whose surname is "Solow", I stumbled on what might be a contender for the title of "allegorical referential in-joke": A book called "HIPPIES - HYPOCRISY and "HAPPINESS" is the title and get a load of the author:
Herbert Armstrong
The book's synopsis reads, in part:
I'm not going to post links to the book, but reader discretion is advised...
Unfortunately Memory Alpha (& Beta) both do not know the official origin(s) of Adam and co. using the name "Herbert" as a pejorative. Or, perhaps, the name "Herbert" could be a complete coincidence...
But if it's true that "Herbert" was found and as a reference to a very anti-hippie person, that just feels like that's the case.
That makes a lot more sense than the belief some have in that "Herbert" was a reference to Herbert Solow, despite him being a staunch ally of the show, even during its darkest times (source: Memory Alpha). Despite that, Solow thought the moniker "great bird of the galaxy" was silly (source: Simply Syndicated's Starbase 66 -- try saying that while not sober but with Sally by the seashore.)
Which suggests Solow was not the "Herbert" that "Eden" was mocking and to be frank, Armstrong makes far more sense as real life hippies hated the culture that Armstrong allegedly exemplifies.
I might start looking into the making-of books to see if this book and author are mentioned, but I'd almost be more surprised if it wasn't the catalyst behind the slur's development. Hippies hated the establishment, of which Herbert Armstrong seems pretty much an exemplary member of. Indeed, Armstrong points out two types of hippies:
Note how "Eden" shows two types of hippies as well, given their dialogue: Rad being the latter, Irina and Adam being the former. Dr Sevrin may be a nutter but he is given enough exposition with Trek's penchant for giving villains an added dimension and even attempts at sympathy. But Sevrin is reacting to what a biological reaction gave him and conflated it into a societal one. Witness McCoy's own (slightly heavyhanded and one-dimensional) describing of the root cause:
Noting that bacteria and virii are known to mutate to adapt, and completely new diseases are very much possible, Synthococcus novae in the Trek universe was a real thing and McCoy reveals some accomplishments have been made, but not fast enough, with Sevrin taking things way too personally to the point of creating a solution that simply isn't feasible, hence the claim of "insanity" being implied. How can one not sympathize? The trouble is, going to an alien world and living there would introduce new problems that might be worse... of which Adam discovers firsthand and Sevrin outright ignores despite being a doctor and despite the raw evidence around him.
Also note, Sevrin managing to get people from numerous planets in on his... great cause to engage in radical de-evolution... going backwards never resolves anything...
For a much-hated story, "Eden" is far more complex than what many viewers (then or now) realize and I'm a bit late to this party in that regard.
But back to the main topic, though the tangent still pertained directly to "The Way to Eden"'s moralizing:
Spock (who seemed cognizant of both sides of the issue) pointed out in one scene without any emotional subcontext,
based on name association alone, I can understand why some would pin that on Herb Solow - a more direct take on the verbiage would imply a television show maker during the time in which the show was not doing well. But Memory Alpha's evidence prevailing, that contradicts and allegories are rarely direct as such. The best ones flip the opposite viewpoints, noting the Borg was a parody of the Federation despite superficial differences.
But I digressed again. I feel certain Armstrong was the catalyst for the pejorative being created. Not Solow. Or this is one heck of a coincidence that makes the grand canyon look like a crack in the sidewalk by comparison.
I don't officially know if the official reason for the slur "Herbert" originated, though I'll happily take a guess. To cut a long story short, the following author may be the source of the episode's humorous attempt at making a slur.
To inflate the story longer:
While some postulated the name of a certain staffmember on the Star Trek production team whose surname is "Solow", I stumbled on what might be a contender for the title of "allegorical referential in-joke": A book called "HIPPIES - HYPOCRISY and "HAPPINESS" is the title and get a load of the author:
Herbert Armstrong
The book's synopsis reads, in part:
I'm not going to post links to the book, but reader discretion is advised...
Unfortunately Memory Alpha (& Beta) both do not know the official origin(s) of Adam and co. using the name "Herbert" as a pejorative. Or, perhaps, the name "Herbert" could be a complete coincidence...
But if it's true that "Herbert" was found and as a reference to a very anti-hippie person, that just feels like that's the case.
That makes a lot more sense than the belief some have in that "Herbert" was a reference to Herbert Solow, despite him being a staunch ally of the show, even during its darkest times (source: Memory Alpha). Despite that, Solow thought the moniker "great bird of the galaxy" was silly (source: Simply Syndicated's Starbase 66 -- try saying that while not sober but with Sally by the seashore.)
Which suggests Solow was not the "Herbert" that "Eden" was mocking and to be frank, Armstrong makes far more sense as real life hippies hated the culture that Armstrong allegedly exemplifies.
I might start looking into the making-of books to see if this book and author are mentioned, but I'd almost be more surprised if it wasn't the catalyst behind the slur's development. Hippies hated the establishment, of which Herbert Armstrong seems pretty much an exemplary member of. Indeed, Armstrong points out two types of hippies:
Note how "Eden" shows two types of hippies as well, given their dialogue: Rad being the latter, Irina and Adam being the former. Dr Sevrin may be a nutter but he is given enough exposition with Trek's penchant for giving villains an added dimension and even attempts at sympathy. But Sevrin is reacting to what a biological reaction gave him and conflated it into a societal one. Witness McCoy's own (slightly heavyhanded and one-dimensional) describing of the root cause:
Noting that bacteria and virii are known to mutate to adapt, and completely new diseases are very much possible, Synthococcus novae in the Trek universe was a real thing and McCoy reveals some accomplishments have been made, but not fast enough, with Sevrin taking things way too personally to the point of creating a solution that simply isn't feasible, hence the claim of "insanity" being implied. How can one not sympathize? The trouble is, going to an alien world and living there would introduce new problems that might be worse... of which Adam discovers firsthand and Sevrin outright ignores despite being a doctor and despite the raw evidence around him.
Also note, Sevrin managing to get people from numerous planets in on his... great cause to engage in radical de-evolution... going backwards never resolves anything...
For a much-hated story, "Eden" is far more complex than what many viewers (then or now) realize and I'm a bit late to this party in that regard.
But back to the main topic, though the tangent still pertained directly to "The Way to Eden"'s moralizing:
Spock (who seemed cognizant of both sides of the issue) pointed out in one scene without any emotional subcontext,
based on name association alone, I can understand why some would pin that on Herb Solow - a more direct take on the verbiage would imply a television show maker during the time in which the show was not doing well. But Memory Alpha's evidence prevailing, that contradicts and allegories are rarely direct as such. The best ones flip the opposite viewpoints, noting the Borg was a parody of the Federation despite superficial differences.
But I digressed again. I feel certain Armstrong was the catalyst for the pejorative being created. Not Solow. Or this is one heck of a coincidence that makes the grand canyon look like a crack in the sidewalk by comparison.
.
I think you may very well be right.
