Thursday, August 31, 2024
Maybe They Should Ask Harvey Mansfield
"What is a man?"
—from the cover of the new Barney's fall catalogue, which I just received.
The catalogue then includes various quotes purporting to answer the question.
"A wise man puts his eggs carefully in one basket and then watches the basket."
—Andrew Carnegie
Or this:
"Man is the only animal that blushes, or needs to."
—Mark Twain
Although if you ask me, Twain is referring to "man" as a species here, and not a gender, in which case his quote doesn't really belong. On the other hand, perhaps I am asking too much of the Barney's catalogue people.
But here's the really interesting thing: Watch how these quotes take on a new dimension of moral authority and existential despair when you add to them a small image of a hideous albino monster living deep in a cave.
"The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions."
—Alfred Lord Tennyson
"No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness."
—Aristotle
"The average man has carefully cultivated ignorance about household matters."
—Chrystal Eastman (Ed: Who the heck is Chrystal Eastman?)
"Manly men defend their turf, just as other male mammals do."
—Harvey Mansfield
(Okay, Barney's didn't really use that last quote. I found it online. But it kind of works, no?)
Your thoughts welcome on this important topic. What is a man?
—from the cover of the new Barney's fall catalogue, which I just received.
The catalogue then includes various quotes purporting to answer the question.
"A wise man puts his eggs carefully in one basket and then watches the basket."
—Andrew Carnegie
Or this:
"Man is the only animal that blushes, or needs to."
—Mark Twain
Although if you ask me, Twain is referring to "man" as a species here, and not a gender, in which case his quote doesn't really belong. On the other hand, perhaps I am asking too much of the Barney's catalogue people.
But here's the really interesting thing: Watch how these quotes take on a new dimension of moral authority and existential despair when you add to them a small image of a hideous albino monster living deep in a cave.
"The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions."
—Alfred Lord Tennyson
"No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness."
—Aristotle
"The average man has carefully cultivated ignorance about household matters."
—Chrystal Eastman (Ed: Who the heck is Chrystal Eastman?)
"Manly men defend their turf, just as other male mammals do."
—Harvey Mansfield
(Okay, Barney's didn't really use that last quote. I found it online. But it kind of works, no?)
Your thoughts welcome on this important topic. What is a man?
Comments:
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As a member of the Anti-Defamation League of Hideous Subterranean Albinos (there are exactly the same number of us as there are People with Butts for Faces from the infamous South Park episode of the same name, i.e., 11), I say, "Enough is enough!" How about picking on some other minority -- like, say, Big Bland WASPs Who Love To Hear Themselves Talk.
John McCain. He's right there in the dictionary, promise. So, the next president will indeed be a man.
I've always previously seen the "wise man ... basket" quote, here attributed to Carnegie, attributed to Mark Twain, ch 15 of Pudd'nhead Wilson
Interesting. Well, I double-checked the catalogue, and Barneys attributes it to Carnegie. Somehow I think I'll go with you, Anon 8:48.
that richard has to delete someone's comment is again just inexplicable to me. who are these nasty naughty people?
lmpaulsen
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