Monday, April 02, 2007

Saintly Notable Quotable

"A gentleman will walk but never run." - St. Ing

3 comments:

Paul said...

It seems the words of Sting have had a profound effect upon you. I have difficulty extracting a deeper meaning from lyrics. Especially since I almost never pay attention to them. If the tune's good, I like the song. Lyrics don't even come into the picture.

I think the deeper meaning of the above quote is something along the lines of "Be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day." Of course, then you have to think about all the contradicting quotes, such as "He who hesitates is lost."

Crypticity said...

Because the meanings are never inherent in the lyrics but the placement in a context. Why would I be emphasising walking over running? Hmmmm...

And besides, it came up on our 46km walk, when James ran across the road whereas I walked. "A gentleman will walk but never run." Later he caught me scampering across the road and paid me back in-kind. In particular, this is why I recorded it in the blog. I had the St. Ing idea on the way to the bus.

I don't see their being any contradiction in the aphorisms and phrases as, again, they are all suited to particular contexts and situations. "A gentleman will walk but never run" is for standard transportation on foot - but analogises well to other general situations - like eating, driving etc. "He who hesitates is lost" is for dynamic situations like in chess, or business when chances must be taken. "Rome wasn't built in a day" was for situations that require longer times to complete. If you were training for a marathon, I'd advise you such. "Fools rush in" would be for situations where there is risk attached to proceeding quickly.

Naturally there would be no absolute principle for all situations. No aphorism or quote deserves to be taken as an absolute.

Paul said...

I had a feeling that your Sting quote was in relation to the long walks you've been doing lately.

You are right in saying that all aphorisms are suited to particular contexts and situations. I came across a little nugget of wisdom today which would be very useful if you are trying to convince someone to do brain exercises: "He who hebetates is last." I'll leave you to work out the deeper meaning of that one...