Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A sentence by David Lindsay

A couple of years ago, after stumbling upon Colin Wilson' s pronouncement that " Voyage to Arcturus is the greatest novel of the XX Century", I rushed to read David Lindsay's masterpiece, and other works of this neglected master. Lindsay was also a philosopher of sort, and some of his aphorisms are truly sparkling. Here is one, which I shall use in my own autobiography:

The conditions for extreme mental suffering are these; a strong will, a tender heart, and a clear intellect.

A strong will, a tender heart, and a clear intellect. Three pieces, with the middle one loose.
A sure recipe for pain..