Sunday 6 August 2017

"We Still Live!"

ERB's John Carter said, "I still live."
I have consistently misquoted this as "We still live!"
But "We still live!" makes more sense to me.
Carter fights to protect others, not just himself.
And I apply this phrase to any fictional hero whose death we have not been shown:
Nicholas van Rijn, David Falkayn, Dominic Flandry, Gratillonius...

There is an Upanishadic verse:

"From delusion lead me to truth
"From darkness lead me to light
"From death lead me to immortality"
-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.iii.28 -

- which I adapt as:

"From delusion, lead us to truth.
"From darkness, lead us to light."

We are mortal and in it together.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I certainly agree with you and John Carter! The Warlord worked and struggled not just for himself but also for the well being of all Barsoom.

I've said it before, but while ERB was fond of action adventure and perpetrated many scientific bloopers, you can still find serious ideas in his works. One example being in Chapter 20 of A PRINCESS OF MARS, where we see an interesting discussion of Barsoomian finances and economics.

Sean