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. . . . . entries for 20.1.11 . . . . . When I started to read about Emerson in Anathem, I started to cry, and I started to think "I will copy it all over into my blog" - like Bible verses, like prophet's words. There is too much to say about this book. But here is a short quote, a cute quote, because typing out huge passages would be too much: "The rule of thumb we've been using is that Deolaters [the religious of Arbre] are welcome so long as they're not certain they're right. As soon as you're sure you're right, there's no point in your being here." -Fraa Erasmus, speaking of the _______ of Saunt Orolo, Day 0, Year 0 of the Second Reconstitution - and earlier, on the train, returning after a day in the city thinking about becoming something that this book lacks (a psychologist-as-theor), I just wanted what - or rather, whom - the Arbrans have - or, as it were, what they might have had. I wanted the blessing of the conscious guardian, the human living in many possible worlds, delicately altering the course of the future through the power of mind and careful action. We should all have that in us, no matter what side of the wall we inhabit - whether we be cloistered or extramuros. Saunts Orolo and Jad: some will say they are fictional. But I wonder every day what fiction is to a living mind, and if the facts of it could save real life. They found me at a time when I needed them, when I still need them, so much - when this whole world needs them so much. "You must have this and hold to it or you'll die. By the time I awoke the next morning I could not recall whether this was something Orolo had said in so many words, or a resolution that had formed in my own mind. Anyway I woke up exhilarated and determined."
Comments:
I'll always remember one of the things Dad said in Mythology class my senior year: people create and tell stories as a way of seeking and imparting truth. These stories may not be factually true in the strictest sense, but that doesn't make them any less important or powerful.
Hell, I've devoted my life to the pursuit, creation, and performance of various fictions, precisely because I believe in the importance of the factually untrue. In short: I understand completely. Also, I think I want to read this book. xD
You definitely should. It might be an interesting lens on your religion and your choice not to be an academic.
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{ting} .:past:. April 2002 .:skin:. turtles! turtles! by araglas |