Dissertation on loathing & hatred

Page 6

I shall not wander outside the boundaries of truth, nor do I detract anything from anyone by this, but I freely leave to each their own praise, I grant it abundantly, and I bestow it generously, as all good men do. Nevertheless, the matter itself speaks to how wondrously narrow our understanding is here. Almost ALL, I say all, do not settle this intellectual debt, but in the meantime, in good faith and as a pledge—just as Scaliger Julius Caesar Scaliger (1484–1558), a celebrated Italian scholar and physician whose works on natural history were standard university texts. did (and what a man! how great a man!)—those of noble and sincere SOULS leave behind this single word: I DO NOT KNOW.

For in many things, and not rarely, we are like the stork, which licks at the glass vessel but does not reach the porridge; we are like the night-owl original: nycticorax, a bird of the night, often identified as a night-heron or owl, symbolizing those blinded by the "light" of complex truths., whose eye is too weak to gaze upon the Sun.

Now, this ABHORRENCE; this LOATHING; this ABSTINENCE; since it truly depends upon a cause—for whatever exists in NATURE outside of GOD also exists through causes, from causes, and within causes—behold, I, with the breathing of divine grace and according to the slimness of my little talent, shall inquire into, explain, and teach the fact and the reason why original Greek: τὸ ὅτι καὶ διότι (to hoti kai dioti). In Aristotelian logic, this refers to the difference between knowing that a fact exists and understanding the underlying cause or "why" of that fact.. Nor, I hope, will my sincere Listeners be envious or prevent me; as for the Rhadamanthuses In Greek mythology, Rhadamanthus was a strict judge of the dead. Here, the author uses the name to refer to overly harsh or pedantic critics. and those who gnaw at everything, I care not for them, but keep them at a distance. Indeed, I do not think I am stepping outside the boundaries of my profession and study, nor can I be seen as unmindful of that famous saying:

...nor am I entirely a stranger to this act—as my soul here vows and hopes—nor will it be unpleasant in the telling, nor disagreeable to the hearing, nor unworthy of being known; and you yourselves shall be the judges.

Therefore, what you see must be said by me, Listeners, is out of necessity by the mandate of our Vice-Chancellor; what is said in this place is by the petition of the Philosophical College; what is said on this subject belongs to my Profession, to this place, and perhaps to your pleasure; but that it is said briefly is due to the constraints of time; and that it is said feebly is due to my own weakness.