Spirit and reason - Page 4

Ophiel Ophiuci · #16 11-30-2006, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paladin

"What need the periwinkle to the poet?
If ne'r there be a God
To add the majesty;
A common weed it be
No use, most certainly
No point to spring this year"
~~carefulcarpenter

Nah, Swift didn't say anything about God. He was against the intellectualism and academia of the likes of the Royal Society, but he was categorically not against reason. I referenced him specifically because he saw the importance of reason as a lens through which to observe the beauty and absurdity of the world, through satire and commentary. Had the strange countries Gulliver visited not been grounded allegories of our own societies, had they been pure flights of fancy cut loose from cynical reality, you'd probably never have even heard of him.

paladin · #17 11-30-2006, 05:54 PM

Quote:

"What use is a flower to intellect? If my husband had his way there'd be no flowers. He'd tear them all up to measure their mass, circumference and volume." ~~ Jonathan Swift

Quote:

Originally Posted by paladin

"What need the periwinkle or the poet?
If ne'r there be a God
To add the majesty;
A common weed it be
No use, most certainly
No point to spring this year"
~~carefulcarpenter

..

Ophiel Ophiuci · #18 11-30-2006, 06:14 PM