01/02/2003

I keep remembering this text sent to me on 1 february 2003, which I took as a birthday present (I was born on 27 January). It gave me so much joy, that it became the parable of my whole life. That’s how I understood this text: it has the meaning of (my) life inside it.

HOMARD? 
Something wonderful has happened to me. i was caught up in 7th heaven. There sat all the gods in assembly. By special grace i was granted the privilege of making a wish. “Wilt thou,” said Mercury, “have youth or beauty or power or a long life or the most beautiful maiden… or any of the other glories we have in the chest? Choose, but only one thing.” For a moment i was at loss. Then i addressed myself to the gods as follows: “Most honorable contemporaries, i choose this one thing, that i may always have the laugh on my side.” Not one of the gods said a word; on the contrary, they all began to laugh. From this i concluded that my wish was granted, and found that the gods knew how to express themselves with taste; for it would hardly have been suitable for them to have answered gravely: “Thy wish is granted.” ~Soren 

Additional remarks:

-I have no idea what the first word is doing there. “Homard” means “lobster” in french and it has a question mark with it because WHY?

-Is this “~Soren” the name of the author? Is this Soren Kierkegaard?

-I like the semi-colons in this text.   ;
Nobody uses them anymore. This text has probably a specific source, an author from 19th century maybe. I’m not going to look for it, the real source is my database.