In the beginning

(He opens a tolm and begins.)

It says: "In the beginning was the Word."
Already I am stopped. It seems absurd.
The Word does not deserve the highest prize,
I must translate it otherwise.
If I am well inspired and not blind.
It says: "In the beginning was the Mind."
Ponder that first line, wait and see,
Lest you should write too hastily.
Is the Mind the all-creating source?
It ought to say: "In the beginning there was Force."
Yet something warns me as I grasp the pen,
That my translation must be changed again.
The spirit helps me. Now it is exact.
I write: "In the beginning was the Act.

Labels: beginning, faust, force, goethe

[ 30 August 2007 8:06 am submitted by Unknown | 1 comments | Post your own? ]

A human being should

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Labels: humanity, robert a. heinlein, robert heinlein, what

[ 29 August 2007 9:43 pm submitted by Unknown | 0 comments | Post your own? ]