Cui Bono
(from Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, Volume I: 1838)
What is Hope? A smiling rainbow
Children follow through the wet;
’Tis not here, still yonder, yonder:
Never urchin found it yet.
What is Life? A thawing iceboard
On a sea with sunny shore;—
Gay we sail; it melts beneath us;
We are sunk, and seen no more.
What is Man? A foolish baby,
Vainly strives, and fights, and frets;
Demanding all, deserving nothing;—
One small grave is what he gets.
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
We have not made much progress, have we?
ReplyDeleteThe essentials never change... no matter what we hope, no matter what we do, it's the eternal cycle of birth and death. In the end, life is just the in-between although - of course - we can make it more or less worthwhile.
Delete