June 24, 2011

Something Wonderful: To Seek A Newer World

... Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

-- Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Posted by Vanderleun at June 24, 2011 12:02 PM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Now I have a hankering for Holst. I need to feast on some Planets. Thanks, Gerard!

Posted by: Jewel at June 24, 2011 12:53 PM

Sorry, but all that seeking and striving nonsense has to be put on hold until we achieve social justice, and perfect equality.

So there.

JWM

Posted by: jwm at June 24, 2011 5:09 PM

I don't bother with the shuttle schedules any more. My windows rattle, the dog jumps and I look up.

At The Space Center they have a fabulous IMAX 3D movie touring the International Space Station. Then you go to The Saturn V exhibit. Prepare to stand in awe.

Posted by: Roy Lofquist at June 24, 2011 5:26 PM

Maybe, just maybe, now that the last Shuttle mission is on its way we can get on with fulfilling the promise of that poem, set down in (oddly enough) another Tennyson passage:

For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see,
Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be;

Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails,
Pilots of the purple twilight dropping down with costly bales;

This will either be the first century of the ages that lie ahead, during which humanity will spread to the farthest stars, and become forever immune to all the disasters of nature - or it will be the first century in the long slide back down into the primeval slime.

To quote a movie inspired by Wells; "The Universe or nothing - which shall it be?" I sincerely hope that the decision will not be made on the basis of how best to secure the pork for some Congressman.

Posted by: Fletcher Christian at June 25, 2011 1:19 AM