Finished

-

I just finished reading Chinua Achebe’s book, “Things Fall Apart.” This is perhaps one of the most beautiful books written. I do not intend to write a book review per se, but please find below a small collection of quotes that I believe reflects the beauty of this book:

“Proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.”


“The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them.”


“if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings.”


“You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too.”


“Beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth is like learning to become left-handed in old age.”


“As a man danced, so the drums were beaten for him.”


Whenever you see a toad, jumping in broad daylight, the know that something is after its life.


Favorite sentence: “Such was the excessive energy bottled up in Enoch’s small body that it was always erupting in quarrels and fights.”

Popular posts from this blog

The Smooth-flowing Life

-
Image
Legend has it that the astronomer Ptolemy (1st century A.D.) suggested that falling stars were caused by the gods moving in the heavens, thus knocking stars out of their places. Somehow people reasoned that that if the gods were moving, they must be getting close to earth so they would lift their "prayers" or "wishes" (literally, "desires") whenever they saw the stars falling in hopes the gods would notice and grant a favorable answer. But how does one wish on falling star? Once you see it, it's gone before the wish or prayer can be made! The answer is simple: meteor shower. That's how to get your wish. Mrs. Ann Hodges had a wish fall right into her lap. Sort of. In 1954 Mrs. Hodges was sleeping on the couch when a 8 1/2 pound meteorite fell through her house and into her living room where it bounced off the radio and struck her left hip leaving her with a bruise. Not sure what she was wishing, but that's not how to do it. Epictetus hel
Read more

A Reflection in Plato’s “Republic” Book 2

-
Image
Early in Book 2 of Plato’s “Republic,” the discussion turns into the story of a man named Gyges who finds a ring that makes him invisible. Using the powers of the ring, he reports to the court of his king, seduces the queen “and with her help conspired against the king and slew him, and took the kingdom.” What would happen if there were two rings, one worn by an unjust man and the other by a just man? The story attempts to make the case that a just man will act unjustly if given the opportunity to think he is doing right, if only by himself. But what if he doesn’t? What if there was no ring, and what if there was a perfectly unjust man and a perfectly just man and both had everything they needed in life? The unjust man must cover his steps in order to be distinguished and succeed. In the eyes of others, he appears to be just. But what about the just man, who appears to be unjust?    “They will tell you that the just man who is thought unjust will be scourged, racked, bound-will have hi
Read more