The best of all guides to thinking about anything is Oliver Cromwell's adjuration to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken." Life and the affairs of the living are so tangled, the world not only stranger than we imagine but stranger than we can imagine, that all questions are conundrums, no answers "correct." Is it certain that parallel lines never meet? No. Does water freeze at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit? Only probably. Shall I marry? Who can say.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Thought for the Day
Whatever your view of the candidates or the election, whatever you might imagine/hope/fear, it's probably a good time to recall the words of Irving Younger (quoting Oliver Cromwell) in the very first issue of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics:
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Hi Jeff: I have often considered using that quote when I reach the "hail mary" stage in dealing with Immigration Judges. The thing about using Cromwell to discuss the present situation regarding reaction to the election, is that a little research might lead to this quote:
ReplyDelete" if the remonstrance had been rejected i would have sold all i had the next morning and never have seen England more, and i know there are many other modest men of the same resolution.”
Oliver Cromwell on parliament’s passing of the revolutionary grand remonstrance, quoted in the earl of Clarendon, a history of the rebellion.
The English civil war.
Cromwell was no bonus, but it's still a good point. Of course, for Younger it was also a set up. Here's the Younger passage again, but this time with the next paragraph.
Delete"The best of all guides to thinking about anything is Oliver Cromwell's adjuration to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 'I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken.' Life and the affairs of the living are so tangled, the world not only stranger than we imagine but stranger than we can imagine, that all questions are conundrums, no answers 'correct.' Is it certain that parallel lines never meet? No. Does water freeze at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit? Only probably. Shall I marry? Who can say.
"And yet the world's work must be done. One Oblomov is enough. Thus we learn a conventional certitude, acting as though all were light by blinking the shadow. A simple proof demonstrates that parallel lines meet, but, on the assumption that they do not, the architect builds the skyscraper. Despite extensive knowledge of statistical mechanics, the engineer designs the refrigerator to maintain a constant temperature of thirty-one degrees. 'Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point,' and families are raised."