[lit-ideas] A Roman Senator
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:09:27 EST
J. Evans:
"My point precisely -- that is, you illustrate precisely the attitude I had
in
mind.
The surveys I mentioned come, I should have explained, from organizations
allegedly working for older people's welfare. Yet they seek to ask what
(more) older people can do for 'the environment' while also being concerned,
allegedly anyway, with the effects on older people of the environment in
which they live. (But they do not use the term in that context, presumably
being of the 'environment'=little furry animals tendency.)
Incidentally, you mean the late Ned Sherrin, who may or may not have
indexed unindexed books to keep himself useful (just as Mary Warnock may
not follow her own precept and off herself before she becomes a burden
on society.... )"
-----
I should say that the quote was actually in Sherrin's (edited) Oxford Dict.
of Humorous Quotations, which I don't have to hand. The quote may not have
been his. I remember this other one, pro-smoking, and just as offensive, "They
say smoking gets you a few years
of your life, but I rather enjoy the ones I live that spend the last 5 in
Weston-Super-Mare"
Not having been there, but knowing it must be _very_ nice, I was reminded of
one philosopher who I know was _born_ in Weston, not died there (Michael
Clarke, Emeritus from Nottingham, I would think).
A Roman senator was a 'gerontes', i.e. an old person, hence the subject
line. The Wise and the Old.
Isherwood used to joke on the idea of 'wiser and older' (in "Down the
River", I think). On the other hand, I recall a bio of George Michael
offensively
entitled, "Older" (with the implicature, "but hardly wiser").
Cheers,
JL
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