Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Wednesday, September 29. 2010

QQQ

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.


Henry David Thoreau

Posted by Bird Dog in Quotidian Quotable Quote (QQQ) at 10:27 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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Much like the saying, "those who can, do". " Those who can't, teach."
#1 Cilla Mitchell, Galveston Texas (Link) on 2010-09-29 10:41 (Reply)
What does "stood up to live" mean? Sounds like pompous gobbledygook to me.

Some of our greatest novelists -- Jane Austen, or the Bronte sisters, for example -- led rather shelthered or parochial lives. That doesn't mean they didn't have any stories to tell, or meaningful thoughts to share.

In addition, the literary world has forever been riddled with depressives, alcoholics, drug addicts, suicides and numerous other neuroses. Is that "standing up to live?"

Dumb.
#2 D on 2010-09-29 11:19 (Reply)
What does "live" mean?
#2.1 Bird Dog on 2010-09-29 11:24 (Reply)
Well, I know for sure that there are lots of people who "live" fully without ever writing about it.

The more quotes you give us from Thoreau, the emptier his suit gets. it seems.
#2.1.1 D on 2010-09-29 13:46 (Reply)
I read that and immediately thought of Zero and his two autobiographies.
#3 Santay on 2010-09-29 11:29 (Reply)
Nice quote from Thoreau. A moment of self-insight on his part, I guess. I wonder what he did about it.
#4 tehag on 2010-10-02 07:28 (Reply)

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