"Iern stepped out of the darkness between wall and tower. Plik broke into a run, reached and embraced him. Iern gave back the hug till the Angleyman groaned. 'Please. My ribs may be poor things, but they are mine own.'" (p. 190)
The Bible and Shakespeare are the two main sources of quotes in English literature. Some quotes are buried so deep that they just seem like part of the language. Plik, an Angleyman, speaks with the voice of William Shakespeare. See here.
More generally, Plik avers that, although only mathematics can give an account of the physical world, only poetry and music can account for the human world. I agree that, although every particle in a human being's body, brain and environment is part of the physical world, it is nevertheless true that mathematics alone cannot describe or explain humanity. Reality is multi-leveled. On the physical level, "To be or not to be" is just marks on paper or configurations on a screen. And they would remain such to anyone for whom English was a dead or alien language. Universities must fund mathematicians, musicians, physicists and poets.
Plik also says that:
"'...humans are the least rational of the animals...'" (p. 188)
We are differentiated precisely by our reason but, of course, Plik uses the word "rational" to mean something like "consistent and comprehensible."
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, the Bible and Shakespeare are two of the sources we see Anderson often quoting or alluding to. And, even when English becomes a dead language, Shakespeare might survive, in translation. Anderson's THE LONG WAY HOME gives us a quote from HAMLET in a "futuristic" version.
Kipling was also a favorite of Anderson, and we sometimes see quotes or allusions from his works in Anderson's stories. See, e.g, THE GAME OF EMPIRE.
Besides being "consistent and comprehensible," I think a rational person should also be logical, in the Aristotelian sense.
Ad astra! Sean
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