Category: Impermanence
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Wer schreibt, der bleibt
I fondly recall my late German neighbor, Günter Scheer, from whom I learned this expression. "He who writes, remains." But for how long? Any mark you make will in the end be unmade by time, in time, for all time. We do not write in indelible ink. Old Will said it well: We are such…
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Vanity
This empty world obtrudes upon our senses so persistently and with such regularity of effect that thoughts about how real it could be hardly gain purchase. A material world has no trouble getting the attention of a material man. It punches us hard in our eyes and ears. One must retreat from the multiplicity-positing diaspora…
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It’s Later than You Think
Decay is inherent in all component things. Work out your salvation with diligence! This was the last word of the Tathagata. Mahāparinibbāna Sutta Substack latest.
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The Latest from Peter van Inwagen
This just over the transom: Dear Sir, Recently I have been looking for some work by Peter van Inwagen and found his recent book Being A Study in Ontology. I believe the subject could be very interesting to you, because, as far as I know, you have written several times on his ontological views (even if there…
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Doom and Gloom
America enters the doom loop. But look on the bright side! We have but one night to spend in this bad inn.
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On Her Deathbed
Substack latest. "I fear that there is nothing on the other side."
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Ash Wednesday
"Remember, man, thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." Memento, homo, quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris. This warning, from the Catholic liturgy for Ash Wednesday, is based on Genesis 3, 19: In sudore vultus tui vesceris pane, donec revertaris in terram de qua sumptus es: quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris. How real can we…
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And Heraclitus Wept
Substack latest.
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All is Fleeting
The 'is' gladdens; the 'fleeting' saddens.
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Dust and Ashes
"Remember, man, thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." Memento, homo, quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris. This warning, from the Catholic liturgy for Ash Wednesday, is based on Genesis 3, 19: In sudore vultus tui vesceris pane, donec revertaris in terram de qua sumptus es: quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris. Luther's German: Im Schweiße…
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Between Time and Eternity
Tom O. asks, How does one reconcile the temporal with the eternal, in a personal/spiritual or experiential manner? The political situation of our time strikes me as dire and incredibly important. Yet such things are transitory and will, ultimately, pass away, and so in another sense are not so important. I am torn between these…
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Boethius and the Second Death of Oblivion: Ubi nunc fidelis ossa Fabricii manent?
We die twice. We pass out of life, and then we pass out of memory, the encairnment in oblivion more final than the encairnment in rocks. Boethius puts the following words into the mouth of Philosophia near the end of Book Two of the Consolations of Philosophy. Where are Fabricius's bones, that honourable man? What…
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Life’s Fugacity
Substack latest.
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The Monk and the Worldling
Monk: The world you love cannot last and betrays its vanity thereby. Its impermanence argues its unreality. It is unworthy of your love, noble soul! Worldling: The God you love is worthy of your love should he exist, but he does not, or at least you have no proof that he does; no proof sufficient to…
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All is Fleeting
The 'is' gladdens; the 'fleeting' saddens. The 'All' reminds us that man is a metaphysical animal.