Contradictions

[ellenkushner]

"It is not possible for a man to rise above himself and his humanity . . . . We are, I know not how, double in ourselves, so that what we believe we disbelieve, and cannot rid ourselves of what we condemn." -- Montaigne

"Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes." -- Muriel Spark, - one of my favorite modern novels; set in 1949, it opens with "How wonderful it feels to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century!" and ends "I went on my way rejoicing."


"I find there are many pieces in this one fabrick of man; this frame is raised upon a mass of Antipathies. I am one methinks, but as the World; wherein notwithstanding there are a swarm of distinct essences, and in them another World of contrarieties; we carry private and domestic enemies within, publick and more hostile adversaries without. The Devil, that did but buffet St. Paul, plays methinks at sharps with me." -- Sir Thomas Browne, Religio Medici (1635)


Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
-- Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

* * *
My thanks to Professor Edward Tayler of Columbia University, who set me on the path of contradictions.

Comments

[kayselkiemoon.livejournal.com]

I keep meaning to read some Muriel Sparks (I have Memento Mori and my dad highly recommends it); your post has reminded me and sparked interest in Loitering with Intent. thanks!

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

I read The Girls of Slender Means a while ago and quite enjoyed it; I'll have to look for that one too.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

Yay, Columbia!

Now, if only I could find time to read...

[abostick59.livejournal.com]

The Montaigne quote could be an epigraph for what I'm taking classes in for the next two weeks. It's a keeper.

[handworn.livejournal.com]

"Speak what you think today in words as hard as cannon balls, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance"

[poukledden.livejournal.com]

You know, I've always had a weak spot for the Whitman quote (but then, I tend to have a weak spot for Whitman in general). I especially tend to break it out when I'm feeling defiant, usually about people accusing me of not making sense and contradicting myself...