In the early days of Christianity the exercise of chastity was frequently combined with a close and romantic intimacy of affection between the sexes which shocked austere moralists.

Americans' distrust of the conspicuously intellectual - a habit we learned, I suppose, on the frontier, but which remains a feature of the national character - has the virtue of puncturing the pretentious and exposing the fake, but it may also have impaired American listeners' patience for music that is especially complex or austere.

In masks outrageous and austere, The years go by in single file; But none has merited my fear, And none has quite escaped my smile.

The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling.

In the early days of Christianity the exercise of chastity was frequently combined with a close and romantic intimacy of affection between the sexes which shocked austere moralists.

In masks outrageous and austere The years go by in single file But none has merited my fear And none has quite escaped my smile.

Strong advocacy for education health care and worker safety will be indispensable if they are to get their fair share of President Bush's austere budget for the next fiscal year.

The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling.