¶ Of The Day: A Writer's Great Fear

Perhaps it was melancholy that made me read this passage from "The Encyclopedia of Philosophy" last night:

KAIBARA EKKEN (1630 - 1714), or Eiken, Japanese Confucianist influential in popularizing Confucian ethics among ordinary people. Kaibara was born in Fukuoka. ... Blessed with an extraordinary capacity for work but little originality, he wrote on many subjects. ... His books were a great success.

If it wasn't melancholy that led me to Mr. Kaibara Ekken, surely it was melancholy that led me away from him. As Confucius might say, "Man with much bottle but no genie still makes big wind." Or, perhaps, the Great Sage might say, "The artist who is without talent might still become Madonna."

I wonder what readers think Confucius, or the editors of the "Encyclopedia of Philosophy", might say about my legacy.

"If Gnade played football, he would hold press conferences like Peyton Manning, but only after having thrown the pigskin like Rex Grossman."

"Gnade is a bit like a solar eclipse: there is much passing excitement about a cold stone that gets in the way of sheer brilliance. But we're talking total eclipse all day long. It's more nuisance than magic. By the end of the day, we welcome the night sky with great joy."

Ah yes, but he who laughs at himself makes good friend. And very good lover. Or so says Confucius.

Somewhere.

Peace.

BG

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