The Once and Future King
When I'm feeling down, I try to remember the advice given by Merlin to Wart (the young King Arthur) in TH White's The Once and Future King ...
The best thing for being sad, ... is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.
- Merlin teaches the young Arthur while Antor looks on ... BL Ms Add 12228 f. 202v
The best thing for being sad, ... is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.
- Merlin teaches the young Arthur while Antor looks on ... BL Ms Add 12228 f. 202v
posted by crystal | 7:55 PM
2 Comments:
I loved the Once and Future King! I read it three times between high school and my late 20s. haven't been back to it since though.
I oughta go back and re-experience it.
That's how old I was when I read it too. Same for Lord of the Rings, but I've kept re-reading that one up to the present :-)
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