Gabriel Gudding's Blog, page 34

Regarding Thomas Gray's "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College"

The other night I witnessed a friend being threatened with murder and was for some reason reminded of Thomas Gray's extraordinary poem, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College." It's a pretty palliative poem despite its drawing a woefully stark picture of the inevitability of pain and folly in our lives, and it comments principally on the fence of ignorance we maintain around our lives to keep out that collection of harsh truths we otherwise call reality.

David Lehman recently mentioned ...

"have I not taught from the very beginningthat with all t...

"have I not taught from the very beginningthat with all that is dear and belovedthere must be change, separation, and severance?"
 - DN 16 PTS: D ii 72, v. 58

congratulations on being here

A, person's, bo,dy, is a large, mob.ile, collection, of molecules, I, congratulate, id.ea, of, body.

I really, cannot, get over, a fact, that we, are here. I, congratulate, the not.ion, of, hereness, of here.

A, boulder is a, large, part.icle. I congratulate,  accident, of, boulder.
I congratulate, the, Vermilion, River, of, which, I kayak. I congratulate, the, bridge, thanks, for carrying, me, I congratulate, the bridge, for holding, babies, I, mean it, especially today, the Mill Street...

We must delight in each other, make others' conditions ou...

We must delight in each other, make others' conditions our own, rejoice 

together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before 

our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community 

as members of the same body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit 

in the bond of peace.

- John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony

happy birthday, Gandhiji 1869-1948

Kabira kharā bāzārameṅ, liye kuḷhārā hātha. 

Śiśa utāre, bhuīṅ dhare cale hamāre sātha.

Kabīr says, "I am here calling you, but I have an axe in my hand. 

Only one who is ready to chop off his head and throw it in the dust can come with me."

happy birthday to Gandhiji 1869-1948

Kabira kharā bāzārameṅ, liye kuḷhārā hātha. 

Śiśa utāre, bhuīṅ dhare cale hamāre sātha.

Kabīr says, "I am here calling you, but I have an axe in my hand. 

Only one who is ready to chop off his head and throw it in the dust can come with me."

internet as agglomeration of kindnesses

internet as agglomeration of kindness

the internet as an agglomeration of kindness

Herodotus on Laughter

There are three kinds of laughter, according to Herodotus:

- Those who are innocent of wrong-doing, but ignorant of their own vulnerability.

- Those who are mad.

- Those who are overconfident.

I like this because there is often something really wrong with laughter. But these are all reflections, more or less, of one of category. Those ignorant of their own vulnerability are by nature overconfident. Those who are mad are by nature ignorant. Those who are overconfident are naturally not mindful...