Compliments
<<you must be a pretty smart cookie!>>
Thanks! <g> Hopefully your use of the word "cookie" wasn't just another sophisticated play on the old Monica Lewinsky/Arkansas connection. <vbg>
<<I would respond to your inquirey about Abacan, but for some reason I didn't feel it was too sincere.>>
On the contrary, my point was very sincere. However, I will admit that it was a little rhetorical as well. ;^)
<<Too bad they couldn't teach you any couth at Harvard. I know its in the curriculum.>>
Now I have to admit, the word "couth" had me stumped for a while, so like any other good, little Harvard graduate <g>, I decided to look it up in the dictionary.
According to Merriam Webster, the word "couth" is defined as follows:
Main Entry: 1 couth
Pronunciation: 'kth
Function: adjective
Etymology: back-formation from uncouth
Date: 1896
: SOPHISTICATED, POLISHED
Main Entry: 2 couth
Function: noun
Date: 1956
: POLISH, REFINEMENT
Furthermore, "uncouth" (the anyonym of "couth") is defined as follows:
Main Entry: unúcouth
Pronunciation: -'kth
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English uncuth, from un- + cuth familiar, known; akin to Old High German kund known, Old English can know -- more at CAN
Date: before 12th century
1 a archaic : not known or not familiar to one : seldom experienced : UNCOMMON, RARE b obsolete : MYSTERIOUS, UNCANNY
2 a : strange or clumsy in shape or appearance : OUTLANDISH b : lacking in polish and grace : RUGGED <uncouth verse> c : awkward and uncultivated in appearance, manner, or behavior
- unúcouthúly adverb
- unúcouthúness noun
So you were actually describing me as uncommon, rare, mysterious, uncanny, outlandish, and rugged, eh? Gee! Thanks for the compliment! ;^)
All kidding aside, however, we appear to have a different perspective on this issue of supposedly "uncouth" behavior. I, for one, truly believe that sophistication, polish, and refinement are not always desirable, especially in public debate.
Consider, for example, the following perspectives...
<<I expected kindness and gentility... but there is such a thing as too much couth.>>
-- S. J. Perelman
<<There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.>>
-- Edward Burke, Observations on Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation. Vol. i. p. 273.
<<There is America, which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners, yet shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world.>>
-- Edward Burke, Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 115.
Suffice to say that there is a semblance of virtue in being direct. Whether or not you agreed with my comments about you, you have to admit that they were made directly to you, and not indirectly to someone else. Do your comments about me pass the same test? Which of the two approaches do you feel deserves the most respect?
Futhermore, did you disagree with the facts that I presented in my last post about HEC or ABACF? Or did you simply disagree with my uncouth style of presentation?
Once again, these are rhetorical questions.
Suffice to say that I firmly believe in the value of historical learning...
<<I have read somewhere or other, -- in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, I think, -- that history is philosophy teaching by examples.>>
-- Viscount Bolingbroke (1678-1751), On the Study and Use of History. Letter 2.
<<Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.>>
-- Burke, Letter i. On a Regicide Peace. Vol. v. p. 331.
<<I know no way of judging of the future but by the past.>>
-- Patrick Henry: Speech in the Virginia Convention, March, 1775.
In conclusion, let me leave you with one final thought relative to this debate...
<<He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.>>
-- Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 453.
Good luck on your investments, and may the ongoing debate benefit us all.
Razor |
