I know those little phrases that seem so innocuous and, once you let them in, pollute the whole of speech. Nothing is more real than nothing. They rise up out of the pit and know no rest until they drag you down into its dark.
~ Samuel Beckett, Malone Dies
In the intro to his essay collection titled On Nothing and Kindred Subjects (I’ve quoted it before), Hillaire Belloc asks about Nothing: “Is it not that which Mankind, after the great effort of life, at last attains, and that which alone can satisfy Mankind’s desire?” Verbal paradox is acceptable as comedy but not as philosophy. It makes fun reading, rarely good thinking. Too liberally indulged (Chesterton is best in small portions), it stops up the bottle of intelligence.
Hi, I am from Australia.
Please find the most superb set of paragraphs ever written on the all important topic of death.
http://www.easydeathbook.com/purpose.asp
They were written by the “philosopher” and Artist introduced via this essay.
http://www.adidaupclose.org/Art_and_Photography/rebirth_of_sacred_art.html
Plus how to live Right Life (or how to avoid obesity, as in the case of Chesterton)
http://www.adiam.org/teaching/aletheon/truth-life.aspx
Whoops that should have been
http://www.adidam.org/teaching/aletheon/truth-life.aspx
It’s a relief to know that someone has all the answers.