Sep 30– From “Manners” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1844)

Is Josh Groban a good Sweeney Todd?

Sep 30– From “Manners” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1844)

Summary: Gentlemen are not gentle!

Commentary: After complaining about the lack of pairings last night, I thought this might be a little etiquette guide that would kind of go with the Confucius. It's more of an essay on class philosophy. Gentleman=upper/ruling class=power. Not uninteresting, just unexpected. 

 "to talk of happiness among people who live in sepulchres, among the corpses and rags of an ancient nation which they know nothing of." There's the next T5FSOB RPG sourcebook epigraph.

I think this is also the origin of, "how the other half lives"

Sep 29– From "The Sayings of Confucius"

 I think I posted the MA versions of this already.

Sep 29– From The Sayings of Confucius

Summary: Be a good son. Also, humility.

Commentary: Apparently these are usually translated as the Analects. I can't find any information about this translation anywhere, which is unusual. Usually the translator is listed. If not, I can try to match it to an existing one, but the translation here doesn't match any of the others I can find from that time period. Even the Bartleby version isn't quite the same. This is another one when I wish Eliot would've grouped similar readings together. Comparing this with Meditations or the Enchiridion maybe Franklin's virtues would've been interesting. On the whole, I feel like these are a little more "obey your elders" and "serve your country" than the others. The format is also a little different, almost like a dialogue. I think the love parts are most interesting:

The Master said: "A friend to love, a foe to evil, I have yet to meet. A friend to love will set nothing higher. In love's service, a foe to evil will let no evil touch him. Were a man to give himself

to love, but for one day, I have seen no one whose strength would fail him. Such men there may be, but I have not seen one."

 I don't recall seeing anything like this in the others.

Sep 28– The Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine and Surgery (Revised) by Louis Pasteur (1878) translated by H.C. Ernst

Speaking of Anthrax

Sep 28– The Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine and Surgery (Revised) by Louis Pasteur (1878) translated by H.C. Ernst

Summary: Different germs prefer different environments.

Commentary: "All things are hidden, obscure and debatable if the cause of the phenomena be unknown, but everything is clear if this cause be known."

That's a good quote. I especially like the use of debate here. Anytime you have a debate with someone that you can't reconcile, think about whether you can find out what the root cause is.

Sep 27– From Pascal’s "Thoughts" translated by William Finlayson Trotter

 Music

Sep 27– From Pascal’s Thoughts translated by William Finlayson Trotter

Summary: Strawmanning and circular logic.

Commentary: On the surface, this is the same "Christian Fundamentalism is incompatible with a liberal education" rant that I've done three or four times this year.

But Pascal is by far the worst of them all. At no point in this do any of his arguments even begin to make sense, and he does a fantastic job of insulting everyone he can and (accidentally) painting God as evil.

The Christian religion then teaches men these two truths; that there is a God whom men can know, and that there is a corruption in their nature which renders them unworthy of Him

This is Pascal's main point, repeated at least a dozen times throughout the essay. At no point does he actually manage to muster any support for it, it's just accepted as a given and rephrased 9001 times. And it's a terrible foundation to build an argument on. The Bible itself claims that we can't know/understand God many times, and most mainstream Christian sects will point to this unknowability as a key tenant of the faith. I don't know what Pascal is actually arguing for, but it doesn't seem to actually be Christianity as it was commonly understood at any time. He can't even seem to make up his mind on how the Trinity works within the essay itself, flipping between Jesus being a separate, independent being vs an eternal part of God paragraph to paragraph. Also, unlike the very knowable God, the fall of man is apparently completely incomprehensible. And don't try to reason your way through it since "reason may be bent to everything." 

He spends a good amount of time shit talking Jews (who he calls "irreconcilable enemies" of Christians) , and even attempts to claim some OT Jews as Christians. I'm reasonably sure Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not followers of Jesus.

If you handed this to me, I'd assume an modern day internet athiest wrote it in his fedora to mock Christians. But now, it's an actual passage by one of the most respected Christian Philosophers of all time:

Objection. The Scripture is plainly full of matters not dictated by the Holy Spirit.—Answer. Then they do not harm faith.—Objection. But the Church has decided that all is of the Holy Spirit.—Answer. I answer two things: first, the Church has not so decided; secondly, if she should so decide, it could be maintained.

Not only does he do the obnoxious philosophical dialogue, "I'll write my own questions to make me smart" thing, but he builds a ridiculous straw man and creates an impossible "objection." "We didn't say that, and if we did, it'd be true."

Great, really settling the argument there. Not that we can accept reasoning anyway.

In the end, it all comes down to spiritual eugenics:

577

God has made the blindness of this people subservient to the good of the elect.

578

There is sufficient clearness to enlighten the elect, and sufficient obscurity to humble them. There is sufficient obscurity to blind the reprobate, and sufficient clearness to condemn them, and make them inexcusable.—Saint Augustine, Montaigne, Sebond.

You couldn't write a better argument for anti-theism if you tried. 

 

Sep 25– From John Stuart Mill’s Autobiography (1873)

I'm doing it anyway.

Sep 25– From John Stuart Mill’s Autobiography (1873)

Summary: John Stuart Mill really liked his wife. 

Commentary: I was fully prepared to make just make the STOP SIMPING joke and leave it at that, but Mills actually makes a great case for how girls can be smart too and we should let them into society.

Sep 24– From "Themistocles" from Plutarch’s Lives translated by Dryden and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough

 Let's do the time warp again!

Sep 24– From Themistocles from Plutarch’s Lives translated by Dryden and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough

Summary:

Commentary: I have no idea why I thought yesterday was the 26th. Still, streak unbroken. Happy Rocky Horror day (and appropriate for my little time/date shenanigans)! Dates will line back up Friday.

Themistocles was an Athenian leader during the Persian Wars. He talks a Spartan admiral out of running away from the fight, and tricks Xerxes into a naval battle at a disadvantage. The Persians outnumber them more than four to one, but the narrow strait stops them from sailing in more ships and restricts the maneuverability of the ones that do fight.. This is kind of familiar...

Bacchus the Devourer is apparently a thing. That's cool. He gets human sacrifices, which seems reasonable for someone named "THE DEVOURER". Also Phanias the Lesbian.

Sep 26– From "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Thomas Shelton

 Arise! Sir Loin of Beef!

Sep 26– From Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Thomas Shelton

Summary: An innkeeper knights Don Quixote so he'll leave their village alone.

Commentary:  This whole chapter is just people trying to get rid of DQ while he's even crazier than usual. Him getting into a fight about if knights carry money (if they don't explicitly say it in the book it can't be real) is a great fanboy moment.

Sep 23– “That To Philosophise Is To Learne How To Die” (1580) by Michel de Montaigne translated by John Florio

 We who are about do die...

Sep 23– “That To Philosophise Is To Learne How To Die” (1580) by Michel de Montaigne translated by John Florio

Summary: The best way to die is to enjoy life.

Commentary: I think you could broadly classify this essay as hedonistic, which really gets a bad rap today. When people think of hedonism today it's like, "do a shit ton of drugs, eat too much food, and scam people." But there's room for a more altruistic (helping people makes you feel good) or ambitious (accomplishing things, especially ones that're difficult, makes you feel good) strain. Montaigne even talks about the virtues a person should have to enjoy life and not freak out about death. Don't be afraid and run from it (especially by living a miserable long life of poor health) but be honest and accept it. His hedonism is forward thinking. Have feasts and enjoy yourself, but don't forget about the consequences of your actions.

Beyond that (I think I said this before) I'd like to read more Montaigne in a different translation. Florio's translation is almost satirically olde-fashioned, and even T5FSOB says it's not particularly accurate. I do enjoy the footnotes for words that aren't that hard to understand. Tracts=Course!

Sep 22– From "Chronicles" by Jean Froissart translated by Lord Berners and edited by G. C. Macaulay

 

Sep 22– From Chronicles by Jean Froissart translated by Lord Berners and edited by G. C. Macaulay

Summary: A lot of people (including a king) get captured/ransomed in battle. Some get killed.

Commentary: I learned the word puissance. It's something powerful, like the opposite of nuissance.

Sep 21– From "The Aeneid" by Virgil (~25BC) translated by John Dryden

I don't think I've posted this yet, which surprises me.

Sep 21– From The Aeneid by Virgil (~25BC) translated by John Dryden

Summary: Aeneas goes TO HELL.

Commentary: Virgil really leaning into the Odyssey on this one. He talks to his dad instead of his mom, so that's different at least. He meets the heroes of the Trojan war, a close friend, plus a few other mythological figures, it's creepy, etc. He does see a bunch of mythological creatures (Hydra, Chimera, Centaurs) which is a more interesting add on. 

Sep 20– From the Quran translated by E. H. Pal

I know nothing about this movie, but it looks interesting.

Sep 20– From the Quran translated by E. H. Pal 

Summary: Allah punishes many things, but also forgives.

Commentary: I'm just going to start off with Eliot's lead line from 15MAD here, "Women's Rights in the Harem." At first, kind of titillating. Oooh, harem! Exotic! Sexy! But also, intrigued by the implication/question of what rights you get as a sex-slave/concubine. Good tagline.

But that's not actually what this is about. There's a little about who you can and can't marry, punishment for fornication, etc. but the first chunk is really about inheritance, followed by some about disbelief in Allah in general.

Rather disappointing, overall.

Sep 19– From "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Thomas Shelton

 Someday, I would like to shop at Don Quijote

Sep 19– From Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Thomas Shelton

Summary: Book burning!

Commentary: I wanted Don Quixote to ride in and save the books.

Sep 18– From "Two Years Before the Mast" by Richard Henry Dana Jr. (1840)

My local Renn Faire band doing a shanty

Sep 18– From Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr. (1840)

Summary: Finally making it home!

Commentary: I guess I'm officially in the home stretch now (just over seventy percent by the math). There's actually one more Two Years Before the Mast excerpt, but it's from earlier. Today's was chosen since it matches the day he makes it home. Dana is always enjoyable, and Two Years... is one of the books from the collection I'm most looking forward to actually reading sometime.

Sep 17– Poems by John Greenleaf Whittier

 The fact that you used to be able to get records of poetry is kind of wild

Sep 17– Poems by John Greenleaf Whittier 

Summary: Good poems!

Commentary: Most nights (if the author is new, which is rare these days) I take a minute and skim a little about them. Whittier was supposedly inspired by Burns, so I wasn't too excited. He's actually solid. He avoids one of my biggest complaints about the poems in T5FSOB by keeping a nice rhythm and avoiding too many awkwardly forced rhymes. He's got impressive range as well. Romance, battles, childhood, nature. All in the space of a half dozen poems. My favorite couplet comes from "Maud Muller"

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,

The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’

 Unlike the more conventional (but absolute) , "LIVE LIFE WITH NO REGRETS!" *insert motivational animal here* Whittier can acknowledge the negativity of dwelling on the past without pretending it's not inevitable to do it somewhat.

Sep 16– From "Holinshed’s Chronicles" (1577) edited by Raphael Holinshed

 Crimes

Sep 16– From Holinshed’s Chronicles (1577) edited by Raphael Holinshed

Summary: England only tortures people OR kills them. They (mostly) don't torture them to death. They're not barbarians.

Commentary: In a twisted way, the "we don't enslave people, only execute them. We're a free society" mostly makes sense. I can see how forcing someone to live in prison is a worse imposition on their liberty than being dead (can't be oppressed if you're dead!)

Most interesting was learning the etymology of felon= FEL ONE 

It's a lot easier to accept horrible punishments if you call the person a demon. Stop dehumanizing people.

Sep 15– George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)

 Presidents

Sep 15– George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)

Summary: Parties+Alliances=Bad, Unity=Good

Commentary: A lot has been made of this address's warnings against political parties and foreign entanglements. What no one seems to mention is that Washington spends better than half the speech saying how important it is to maintain the union, and that our government should work to support the people and people should keep faith in the government.

The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize.

 I think we often see the founders portrayed as only uniting the colonies out of convenience or reluctantly, trying to keep them as separate as possible. Washington is clearly very supportive of America as a single country, not just a loose confederation of states.

Sep 14– From "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri (1321) translated by Henry F. Cary

 Sometimes, I don't even know what I post here.

Sep 14– From The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1321) translated by Henry F. Cary

Summary: Heaven is beautiful, and we should all be Christian.

Commentary: The DC bits are the hardest to follow with jumping around, since it's really three books worth of jumping in one. This is pretty near the end, about two-thirds of the way through "Paradiso" which is the final book. No illustrations tonight, which is a shame, I always enjoy them in these.

Dante does possibly literature's first instance of "your mortal tongue/ear/mind cannot comprehend it" with Beatrice showing a flame/song too beautiful for Dante to transcribe. 

With so divine a song, that fancy’s ear

Records it not; and the pen passeth on

And leaves a blank: for that our mortal speech,

Nor e’en the inward shaping of the brain,

Hath colours fine enough to trace such folds.

Sep 13– From The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678)

 Pilgrim

Sep 13– From The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678)

Summary: The Pilgrim starts his quest.

Commentary: Another one of Elliot's Chapter 1 after Chapter X choices. It's an okay beginning, I guess. Kind of a let down after the sword fight with Satan. Some of the allegory (his name is Christian, the village is Mortality, someone else's name is Civility) is a bit on the nose.

Sep 12– Poems by Elizabeth Mary Browning

 Probably the most famous one

Sep 12– Poems by Elizabeth Mary Browning

Summary: I really really really really love you.

Commentary: If you actually sent a poem like this to someone, they wouldn't think you were romantic, they'd think you were an insane, codependent loser. MY LIFE IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT YOU! I CAN'T EXIST WITHOUT YOU!

Please leave before I call the cops to 302 you, thanks.

Sep 11– From The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (1776) edited by C. J. Bullock PHD

The union makes us strong

Sep 11– From The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (1776) edited by C. J. Bullock PHD

Summary:  Adam Smith explains why you need a union.

Commentary: If Libertarians actually read Adam Smith, they wouldn't be Libertarians anymore. Smith succinctly explains the need for unions (workers uniting to make sure employers don't undervalue their labor) as well as casually discarding any pretense that the minimum wage should be less than sufficient to support someone (and their family). Then he talks about how men should want to marry widows with lots of kids. Adam Smith loves stepdads.

There's an interesting bit (and relevant today) about how America's economy is doing better than Britain's not because it's larger (though it is now) but because it's growing faster.

Now, this is technically an edited version, but my understanding is that Bullock mostly trimmed Smith's rambles, so I doubt it was much less "progressive" in the original. 

Sep 10– Poems by Oliver Wendell Holmes

 Vanilla Ice

Sep 10– Poems by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Summary: Four very different poems

Commentary: "Old Ironsides" is definitely the best of the four (which makes sense, since it was the featured one in 15MAD). Just a good old fashioned badass-ship poem. "The Chambered Nautilus" could probably drop a stanza, but was decent. 

"The Last Leaf" and "Contentment" would've been rather tired, even in the 1800s. How many poems about old age and nature do we need?

Sep 9– “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1844)

 I think they had Waldos in Seaquest

Sep 9– “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1844)

Summary: Nature is good for you.

Commentary: Nature is good for you, but Emerson's descriptions are as long as they are unromantic.

Sep 8– “Ice and Glaciers” by Hermann von Helmholtz (1865) translated by Edmund Atkinson

 Glacier Calving

Sep 8– “Ice and Glaciers” by Hermann von Helmholtz (1865) translated by Edmund Atkinson

Summary:

Commentary: This one as kind of a pain to find. In the end, I read the copy out of my scan (thanks St. Michael's College!) since I couldn't find it illustrated anywhere else. Earth is covered in "obscure heat rays" which sounds like an 1800s sci-fi defense system, but is really just radiant heat.    

This is a talk that'd probably go a lot better today. While slide projector ancestors did exist back in 1865, they weren't super common. There's a lot of "and this is near this place, which is in this direction from this place" which would probably benefit from a Powerpoint. He'd probably wind up using too many and ruining it anyway.

The glacier part of this (the latter half) fine, but I actually liked the introduction (on climate/ice more generally) more.

Sep 7– From "The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel" translated by Whitley Stokes D.C.L

 Stories like this are really better out loud

Sep 7– From "The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel" translated by Whitley Stokes D.C.L

Summary: Raiding? These are fun, but hard to follow.

Commentary: A fragment of a myth in the middle of a larger cycle. There have been a few of these in 15MAD and they're always challenging. Who are these people? Where are they? What are they doing? Usually there's a lot of ritual/cultural stuff that you can sort of infer, but aren't really clear.

It's interesting how it shifts between a more descriptive style: "White as the snow of one night were the two hands, soft and even, and red as foxglove were the two clear-beautiful cheeks." into simple summary to move between time/events. 

I appreciate the nudity. The phrase, "stark-naked" appears four times in about a page. 

Sep 6– From “Sir Walter Scott” by Thomas Carlyle (1838)

 Ivanhoe

Sep 6– From “Sir Walter Scott” by Thomas Carlyle (1838)

Summary: "No man lives without jostling and being jostled; in all ways he has to elbow himself through the world, giving and receiving offence. His life is a battle, in so far as it is an entity at all."

Commentary: This one is kind of odd. It starts out with a couple paragraphs devoted to the almost tautological, "men to look at any man who has become distinguished."

There's then a somewhat awkward summary/commentary on Sir Walter Scott and his biography. In the end, the best part is when Carlyle talks about how too many biographers pull their punches and don't want to offend their subjects or paint anything less than a fully positive picture. In the quote above, he notes how no one gets through life without somehow offending somebody. It's a great reminder that the modern push for inoffensive art/entertainment isn't has modern as some people think.

Sep 5– From "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin (1859)

 Countdown to Extinction

Sep 5– From The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859)

Summary: Things go extinct when other species or their environment change and they can't keep up.

Commentary: I think most people focus too much on the "positive" aspects of evolution, or even assign it a kind of consciousness. They act like a goat goes, "I'd survive better if I had a bigger horn," and then grow a bigger horn (which is almost Lamarckian), where it's really more: this goat happens to have a bigger horn which happens to be helpful. Of course, it's equally possible a bigger horn (requiring more resources and/or being more unwieldy) could be a disadvantage, and lead to more goats dying. In the end, the goats don't all work to get bigger horns, the big horn goats just die less/breed more, and eventually replace the smaller horn ones. It's the same as how if you're trying to roll a five or above you're better off with an eight-sided die than a six. The die isn't "doing" anything, it's just existing in a way that's more compatible with the condition.

Casually Completing Classics #7: The Odyssey Book 9

 Book 9

Summary Notes: Origin Story! Odysseus blinds Polyphemus and is cursed by Poseidon

I actually just read this book out loud with my kids today (8/27). I use it as one of my intro lessons most years. Partially to teach about storytelling, partially because I like it, and partially because I get to stand on chair and do my best WWE yell. ("X Gon' Give It To Ya" is Odysseus's entrance music.) Odysseus is telling is story to Alkinoos. He escapes Circe (having never given consent) raids some other islands (upsetting Zeus in the process) weathers some storms, and makes it to the land of the Cyclops. Homer spends some time explaining how stupid and uncivilized the Cyclopses are, before Odysseus and his men head inland. This is the beginning of the part of the book that I like to call, "The dumbassholing of Odysseus" where he seems to get less smart and admirable every few pages. He takes an oversized share of the goats they find on the island, and when the men find food and want to return to the ships with it, he insists they wait instead. This leads to a bunch of them getting eaten. Polyphemus calls him a ninny, so he agrees with me. They're trapped, they manage to fashion a spear from some wood they find in the back of the cave, Odysseus gets the cyclops drunk, they stab him in the eye, and escape by hiding under some giant sheep.

Much like the Trojan Horse is only vaguely and sparingly described. Homer doesn't say they have one eye until about 80% of the way through the chapter. Maybe his audience just knew? It appears they existed in other bits of Greek mythology beforehand.

Odysseus's Nobody (rendered as Nohbdy in this translation) trick is always fun. Likewise, Odysseus's boasts (which reads half WWE intro and half Team Rocket motto to me) are entertaining. Again, Odysseus is a moron, even after his crew tells him to stop, and keeps taunting Polyphemus. 

if ever motal man inquire
how you wre put to shame and blinded, tell him
Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye:
Laertes' son, whose home's on Ithaca! 

This is my personal, "If you only read one book of the Odyssey..." Odysseus is still (mostly smart), you get a cool monster, and it shows how he gets lost in the first place.

Here, have a good mashup:

Sep 4– From "Letters on the English" by Voltaire (1733)

 Kind of surprised I haven't posted this yet.

Sep 4– From Letters on the English by Voltaire (1733)

Summary: Voltaire knows a lot of stuff about England.

Commentary: This veers all over the place. England is both a bastion of freedom, and a horribly oppressive home of slavery. It is a great country, but also a terrible one with holy wars. I appreciate the balance, but the wide range of topics (and opinions within the topics) makes it hard to really say what this is about in any concrete sense. 

Sep 3– “Treaty of Paris” (1783)

 I think I've posted most of the obvious 'Murica videos on Youtube. 'Member Nethack? Nethack had a reference to this song if you didn't name your pony. Still the best Roguelike.

Sep 3– “Treaty of Paris” (1783)

Summary: Great Britain finally admits the colonies are independent (approximately two years too late).

Commentary: T5FSOB has this listed as "Treaty With Great Britain". I can't find any evidence that this was a later adopted name, so I'm curious about why Eliot didn't use what, as far as I know, is both the more common and correct name. 

Other than that, it's an ok historic document. Lots of rules for fishing and super specific agreements to use as fodder for your historical fiction novel.

Reflections on Week 35 (Aug 26-Sep 1)

 Link to readings

And there goes my buffer...

Quick review on this week's readings:

Aug 26 Froissart's Chronicles : 1/5 This is a list of names, not an actual reading.

Aug 27 BURRRNSSSS: 0/5 Off to a great start this week!

Aug 28 Faust by Goethe: 4/5 Faust is literature's most delightful villain protagonist.

Aug 29 Antony by Plutarch: 3/5 A good Lives!?

Aug 30 Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: 3/5 Even a questionable translation can't keep MA down. (Although it probably could've gone up to a 4 in a better edition)

Aug 31 "The American Scholar" by Emerson: 2/5 This got a point for being a historical example of a crappy commencement address.

Sept 1 Some Fruits of Solitude by Penn: 3/5 This goes in the "I was sleepy when I read it, but I can tell it was good" category. Will read the whole thing later when I'm more awake.

Average: 2.29 Mostly the usual suspects dragging this one down. "Saved" by a surprisingly good lives.

Overall Thoughts on The Project:

This was a drag of a week (not helped at all by several longer selections). Burns and Emerson continue to be disasters. Froissart flips the script, after scoring a FOUR last time, down to a one. Plutarch swoops in with a surprisingly interesting lives to keep the score from absolutely cratering.

This was one of the "themiest" weeks, with Aurelius, Emerson, and Penn covering a lot of the same ground in their own ways. I think of the three I liked Penn the best, but I think a stronger translation of Aurelius could've pulled ahead.

I haven't talked about the, "you don't have to like everything, but you should hopefully learn from everything" angle of T5FSOB in a while, and Emerson's speech is a strong showing. It's astounding how little you'd need to change to make this a modern commencement address. Obviously, modernize the language a bit, but otherwise it's the same self-important, navel-gazey, faux-inspiration drivel that millions of people pay to be "strongly encouraged" to listen to.

Sep 2– From "All For Love" by John Dryden (1677)

 A different "All For Love"

Sep 2– From All For Love by John Dryden (1677)

Summary: Everyone dies.

Commentary: I feel like whenever I have a night where I don't have a lot of time to work, I get a play. I'm sure it's one of those things where I only remember the times it's a play, not an actual trend. Couldn't find a full performance of this one, so at least it was quickish to read. The plays are by far the hardest things for me to parse (even the weirdly convoluted translations of Greek and Roman philosophy are easier). I think some of this is the inherent difficult in reading vs seeing a play, and some of it is that they're denser, so there's less "cushion" to help me figure out a scene from the middle of one than of a novel. This is especially true since a lot of the fiction in T5FSOB is very episodic (Don Quixote) or a collection of stand alone stories (fables, fairytales, etc.) 

Sep 1– From "Some Fruits of Solitude" by William Penn (1682)

 Pennsylvania Guys

Sep 1– From Some Fruits of Solitude by William Penn (1682)

Summary: Overthinking is the root of misery.

Commentary: Eliot is really leaning into these rambly life advice lists lately. This one is decent. Mostly good advice, if a little overwritten.

His take on frugality is a little different and interesting: 

   50. Frugality is good if Liberality be join'd with it. The first is leaving off superfluous Expences; the last bestowing them to the Benefit of others that need. The first without the last begins Covetousness; the last without the first begins Prodigality: Both together make an excellent Temper. Happy the Place where ever that is found.

I had a friend that said, "money is to buy the things that make your life better," which I think is a fair way of presenting it.