Anderson almost snuck this one past me. He quotes:
"White on a throne or guarded in a cave
"There lives a prophet who can understand
"Why men were born -" (p. 364)
When I thought to check here, I found that it was Flecker yet again and even the Golden Road to Samarkand. See the image. (There is nothing that should not be known. See James Blish's After Such Knowledge here.)
12 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
A powerful being on a throne? What I thought was Isaiah 6, where the Prophet Isaiah' inaugural vision was of seeing the Lord on a high throne in the Temple, attended by the Seraphim.
Sean
Paul:
The Flecker quote as given in that image leaves out the first two lines of the stanza. And those first lines make very clear the kinship to Anderson's (under the name of Sanders) poem which David Falkayn quotes at the end of "A Sun Invisible." Because the full stanza reads:
"We travel not for trafficking alone;
By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned:
For lust of knowing what should not be known,
We take the golden road to Samarkand."
The last two lines could be spoken by "For SCIENCE!!!" researchers or "Because it's there!" explorers. The first two, though, specify that the speakers are merchants who also feel the thrill of boldly going where few or none they've talked to have gone before.
Kaor, DAVID!
I agree, eagerness for knowledge or desire for discovering new worlds will be why the first explorers will leave Earth. And, yes, keeping an eye open for profitable trade!
Sean
Paul:
For the record, I tried again to comment on James Blish Appreciation, specifically on the post you titled, "Wise As Serpents, And..."
I still haven't found a way of getting the system to let me do it. Any time I hit either the "Preview" or "Publish" button, everything I typed in is lost. The "Comment As" won't allow me to select an identity under which to comment.
The sentence below is what I was attempting to add to that post:
Possibly this "wise" is a reference to the biblical passage (Genesis 3:1) saying "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field." (KJV)
David,
Sorry to learn about your problem on the Blish blog. Ketlan will look into it but is not hopeful that Google will be helpful.
Paul.
David and Ketlan,
I was unable to comment on James Blish Appreciation. The screen suggested that I try "refreshing" the system or something.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Welcome back from your trip to Eire! I hope you and Mrs. Shackley had a good time!
I am sorry to know about David's problem. It reminded me of how, for a few months, for reasons unknown, I could not get comments I uploaded here to STAY there. Then, also mysteriously, the problem somehow cleared up.
Sean
Sean,
The visit was enjoyable but the long coach journeys through Wales and delays with the ferry both ways were horrendous.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Darn! Things like that has happened to me as well! Such as the connecting flight I was going to take to Hawaii getting cancelled due to the plane failing a safety inspection. I had to wait HOURS for the next available plane.
Sean
I have now been able to get a couple of "Testing" comments on James Blish Appreciation but I don't know whether that means anyone else can.
David,
Ketlan says that he has changed a setting and that the James Blish Appreciation combox is now working.
Paul.
Paul:
Mallard linearization tested. It still wipes out what I entered as soon as I hit the Preview button. I tried it as Google Account and as Name/URL. No joy.
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