Listen now to a further point: no mortal thing
Has a beginning, nor does it end in death and obliteration;
There is only a mixing and then a separating of what was mixed,
But by mortal men these processes are named 'beginnings.'
-- Empedocles

***

"Dream delivers us to dream, and there is no end to illusion. Life is a train of moods like a string of beads, and as we pass through them they prove to be many-coloured lenses which paint the world their own hue, and each shows only what lies in its focus."
-- R.W. Emerson

***
A conversation during Civil War. (From Bright, Terrible Spirit):

"But in days past, I was a lawyer. Yes, a lawyer, can you believe it? It seems….ridiculous now, doesn't it? An orderly system meant to govern human society, to establish justice, to advance the progress and enlightenment of the human race. Yet that system, that civil cosmos – to which I was so passionately committed – embraced and protected the most wretched evils, entrenched the powerful in their unjust privilege, oppressed the poor and weak most relentlessly and wickedly, yet at every step – at every step – sang hosannas to itself as some kind of divinity. The "Law" – oh, what a hush of reverence surrounded that word, how deeply that reverence and respect penetrated the heart. Well, my heart, anyway. But in these last few years we have seen – in intense, concentrated, microscopic view – the truth about the law, a truth which too often escaped us in the slow unrolling of peacetime. The truth that there is no law, no Platonic Form out there to which we give paltry representation. There is only power: power in conflict with power, power seeking to drive out power, to establish its dominance, maintain its privilege. Power…acquiesces to law – sometimes – but it never, never bows to it. Power goes along with the law when it is convenient to do so, when it is not too restrictive, when it demands little more than the occasional sacrifice – for the powerful are certainly not above throwing one of their own to the mob when circumstances require. But when it comes to the crisis, power shreds the law like a filthy rag and has its own way. And then you see that the law is nothing but a rag, to be torn and patched and fitted to power's aims. The worst atrocities I have seen or heard of in this war have been committed wholly and completely under the law. This thing I held in such reverence was, is, nothing but a scrap soaked with blood and shit.

"I know there are philosophical arguments to be made against this viewpoint. I have made them in the past, and could even now conjure them up like spirits and make them dance before us. It would be a solace to me, to believe once again. But it would only last a moment. For I know what I know. I know what life has taught me, what it has shown me, I see the evidence laid clearly before me and the jury of my mind returns the inescapable, indisputable verdict. I can tell by your expression that you know what I'm talking about."

"I have some inkling, yes," Jim said, warily. He was reluctant to give away anything of his own troubled thoughts. He was also not entirely sure that Malcolm Stuart was sane. Where was this bleak outpouring headed? Toward some mad act of despair? Or was it simply the overflow of a long-pent mind, giving vent to some of its pressures?

***

The dead sun drew
a smile of blood across my face,
spoke to me through
the shadow of my voice:

Man, it said, this might be next to nothing
and drawn through a bitter tap,
but it's all you'll ever have.
Don't spill a drop.
-- John Glenday, from Grain

***

And here's Emerson again, on organ, with a backing band:

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Comments (12)

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Sean O'Neil said:

	... Most excellent.
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April 26, 2010
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NomNomNom said:

	... the antipropaganda of the deed himself thx for the Bob and more for the article: fantastic "I know there are philosophical arguments to be made against this viewpoint. I have made them in the past..."
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April 26, 2010
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Pathology of Power said:

... the quotation from what you cite as "A conversation during Civil War. (From Bright, Terrible Spirit)" is brilliant and compelling. sounds like a piece of your writing -- i have to conclude that this is something you produced (or are working on currently)? i google searched for "bright terrible spirit", and basically found only matches for this site and another blog which you apparently secretly post things to occasionally, haha. i ask because in the future, if i want to reproduce this quote, i want to attribute it properly to the original source! thanks.

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April 26, 2010
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Jimmy Montague said:

	But, but, but, but . . . . That Civil War writer wrote "This thing I held in such reverence was, is, nothing but a scrap soaked with blood and shit." Jimmy asks "How can that be? Dubya told us it was 'just a goddam piece of paper'!"
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April 26, 2010
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Chris Floyd said:

	... To "Pathology": Yes, if you want to quote it, the Civil War passage is from a work in (glacially slow) progress by C. Floyd.
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April 26, 2010
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john kelley said:

	... "They dream all the time, and, I think, through them the great cosmic dreams come into fruition, because the universe dreams through our dreams, and I think that there is many different ways for the reality to bring itself forward, and dreaming is definitely one of those ways." (from the dialogue transcript from Werner Herzog's 2007 documentary, Encounters At The End Of The World)
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April 26, 2010
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mandt said:

	... How well we know that that first love, the limerance with the beauty of the written, which gives out finally to betrayal by our beloved when it's true deeds undermine the reality we assume.
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April 26, 2010 | url
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scott douglas said:

	Kelley? You're a Herzog fan?! K. I'm fallin' in Love...
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April 26, 2010
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philip said:

... As i sat watching an NBA playoff game sunday for some diversion from reality, an advertisement came on. It was a recruiting add for the air force. First i saw some obviously very special forces in their full battle dress. Then i saw a predator drone with camera focused on some obviously evil dudes, meaning they were in view, who knows who they really were. Then came the red button, with the implication that the evil dudes were soon to meet their maker. Then came the narrator telling us "It's not science fiction, it's what we do EVERY DAY". So all you kiddies come on down. You can do this every day, for real. I jumped off the couch and headed for the liquor store!!

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April 26, 2010
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jiao jiao said:

	... however, once the links of London bracelet naturallylinks of london rings falls off you’re entitled to one wish. Ilinks of london bangles love the idea of symbolizing a friendship with a simple bracelet,
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April 27, 2010
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john kelley said:

	... For at least 30 years now, Scott. Check out the four-part vocal polyphonies from Sardegna in the soundtrack to THE WILD BLUE YONDER. Blow your mind and reduce you to tears, simultaneously.
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April 27, 2010
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Sheila Waller said:

Dear Chris, Please Put My Name Down... ...on the subscription list for the oeuvre en cours, however glacial the progress. It's a joy to me that you're writing it. I thought the quote was you, too. It's a beautiful thing, and must be told. Oh and it's nice to find a thread sans the RWNJ's who seem to have staked out this site for their brainless, brainwashed pissing contests obnoxiously co-opting discussion and annoying the intelligent spirits here. What a bore.

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May 01, 2010
Votes: +2