Quotes, quotes, quotes...
I think I'll make up for my utter lack of originality with some more quotations:
"Because we are creatures we must necessarily see and express the world poetically. All our knowledge is in some fashion metaphorical. Only God knows things immediately. For us, wound tight in our finitude, knowledge of the world must be mediated, that is, apportioned to us in the same way a toddler gets his mashed peas." ~Wilson & Jones, 181
"...the world is an enchanted place, and so when a scientist describes it for us as a great concourse of atoms banging blindly down the corridors of time, we should not commend his stark scientific realism. We should rather condemn the clunky poetry[...] Our choice is not between science and poetry, but rather between good poetry and bad poetry." ~Ibid. 182
And, along the same lines, here is Tolkien's view of the subject:
"Something really 'higher' is glimpsed in mythology [poetry]: Divinity, the right to power (as distinct from its posssession), the due of worship, in fact 'religion.' Andrew Lang said, and is by some still commended for saying that mythology and religion (in the strict sense of the word) are two distinct things that have become inextricably entangled..." ~On Fairy-stories, 25
Finally, on to some of the more mundane details of my life... I've started working at a vet clinic and find myself slightly overwhelmed by the sheer variety of tasks given to me. I do very basic things like laundry (which runs constantly) but also "restrain" animals during procedures and clean kennels, etc. The best (and most complicated) part is probably making and sterilizing surgery packets. And then there's the job of loading euthenized animals into garbage bags and taking them to a giant freezer- not the most glamorous job in the world, but also not as "icky" as I would have imagined. All-in-all, things have gone very well this week, and the people training me are so exceptionally patient :)
In other news, I have had time to catch up on a ton of reading...I LOVE summer! A Sayers mystery, James Joyce's Ulysses (which I have not yet started- it's rather daunting...), The Oxford History of the Crusades (I'm forcing myself to read it after seeing Hollywood's perversion of history in Kingdom of Heaven, Bulfinch's Mythology, and as many Chaim Potok books as I could find!
Labels: Quotes
posted by em²ile² @ 9:42 AM
4 Comments:
Because we are creatures we must necessarily see and express the world poetically. All our knowledge is in some fashion metaphorical. Only God knows things immediately. For us, wound tight in our finitude, knowledge of the world must be mdiated, that is, apportioned to us in the same way a toddler gets his mashed peas." ~Wilson & Jones, 181
I love this quote! It really goes along with how I've been feeling and thinking lately.
Loading euthanized animals into garbage bags, ugh. I'm not freaked out by dead animals, not in a eww thats gross way anyway, but it is just so weird to me when an animal dies, how they go from breathing and keeping themself going, to just limp and "not there" anymore. The difference between a dying animal, and a dead animal is just so complete. Thats a weird comment I guess, I think I'll stop thinking about it now.
Sorry if I grossed you out Marrie. It is very wierd though. The first day I worked one of the techs asked me to hold this really sweet (and old) dog while she "placed a catheter." About 5 minutes later she was like "There's smething for you to pick up in Room 4." I was astounded to see the change, and it was so quick- I had no idea what was going on. Then again, working at the clinic has given me an almost cold, sterile perspective on death; I'm kinda desensitized now, though it's only been a week.
Fantastic title for a blog - came across it by chance and the title caught my eye.
My favorite quote of the moment? "Hope oft deceives, yet twice blessed is hope unlooked-for." Tolkien
Ah, another Tolkien fan! Thanks for stopping by John!
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