"IN your schooldays most of you who read this book made acquaintance with the noble building of Euclid’s geometry, and you remember—perhaps with more respect than love—the magnificent structure, on the lofty staircase of which you were chased about for uncounted hours by conscientious teachers. By reason of your past experience, you would certainly regard every one with disdain who should pronounce even the most out-of-the-way proposition of this science to be untrue. But perhaps this feeling of proud certainty would leave you immediately if some one were to ask you: 'What, then, do you mean by the assertion that these propositions are true?' Let us proceed to give this question a little consideration."posted by sluglicker at 2:19 AM on February 23, 2007
"To summarize: We have seen that computer programming is an art, because it applies accumulated knowledge to the world, because it requires skill and ingenuity, and especially because it produces objects of beauty. A programmer who subconciously views himself as an artist will enjoy what he does and will do it better. Therefore we can be glad that people who lecture at computing conferences speak about the state of the Art.
What energy, what spirit and happiness! What do they care about death? They will learn and grow and love and struggle and create, and lift life up one little notch, perhaps, before they die. And when they pass they will cheat death with children, with parental care that will make their offspring finer than themselves. There in the garden's twilight lovers pass, thinking themselves unseen; their quiet words mingle with the murmur of insects calling to their mates; the ancient hunger speaks through eager and through lowered eyes, and a noble madness courses through clasped hands and touching lips. Life wins.posted by inoculatedcities at 5:27 AM on February 23, 2007
- Will Durant, The Pleasures of Philosophy, closing paragraph
Toward the evening of a gone world, the light of its last summer pouring into a Chelsea street found and suffused the red waistcoat of Henry James, lord of decorum, en promenade, exposing his Boston niece to the tone of things.posted by cobra libre at 6:28 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
Der Name S e m i t e n ward von Schlözer... i. J. 1781 als gemeinsamer Bezeichnung für die Hebräer, Aramäer, Araber, und Abessinier, deren Sprachen unter einander verwandt sind, geprägt auf Grund der Völkertafel, Gen. 10, in der Hebräer, Aramäer und Araber von Sem abgeleitet werden. Dieser Name ist so kurz und zweckmäßig, wie ein künstlicher Name nur sein kann, und daß die moderne Wissenschaft mit ihm einen andern Sinn verbindet als der Verfasser von Gen. 10, spricht nicht gegen ihn.I like the fact that he casually refers to "the author of Genesis 10" a century ago, when we atheists were not the triumphant party we are today! On MetaFilter, anyway.
[The name Semites was coined by Schlözer in 1781 as a common designation for the Hebrews, Arameans, Arabs, and Abyssinians, whose languages are related to one another, on the basis of the Table of Nations in Genesis 10, in which the Hebrews, Arameans, and Arabs are descended from Shem. This name is as concise and appropriate as an artificial name can be, and that modern science gives it a different sense than the author of Genesis 10 is not a point against it.]
In his 1973 NLR/Penguin edition, David Fernbach claimed that it is doubtful whether Hegel ever said any such thing. On the other hand, Engels had recently written Marx a letter in which he observed, ‘It really seems as if old Hegel in his grave were acting as World Spirit and directing history, ordaining most conscientiously that it should all be unrolled twice over, once as a great tragedy and once as a wretched farce.’ Marx obviously thought it was a bit more dignified to cite Hegel than to say ‘Fred Engels was saying to me only the other day…’posted by languagehat at 5:52 AM on February 24, 2007
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