The Wisdom of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799)
'The ordinary man is ruined by the flesh lusting against the spirit; the scholar by the spirit lusting too much against the flesh.'
'Whenever we change, a lot of things get too big or too small for us; useless, in a word. Just as we outgrow a pair of trousers, we outgrow acquaintances, libraries, principles, etc., at times before they're worn out and at times - and this is the worst of all - before we have new ones.'
'We must make people feel obliged to us in accordance with what they are, not we.'
[This last one is particularly amazing: I'm still not sure I have got my head around it. It's the kind of sentence that will require a lifetime to unravel...]
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And speaking of wisdom, this evening I watched Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936). Now old men will tell you that Chaplin is the greatest filmmaker who ever lived, the one indisputable genius of the cinema. I have always been suspicious of this view, seeing in it a rather too casual dismissal of at least half of film history. But Modern Times is the real deal. Chaplin supposedly stole the idea from Ren Clair's A nous la libert (1931) but, having watched both films this week, I can confirm that the quality and the quantity of the gags in Chaplin far outstrips that of Clair. Plenty of filmmakers have one or two ideas that last them a whole career but the sheer number of ideas, the rate of invention in Chaplin is something I've only seen matched in Godard, and possibly in Welles at his best. And, to paraphrase Jacques Rivette, I'm not talking about narrative or character here: these are ideas about camera placement, about framing, about performance.
'The ordinary man is ruined by the flesh lusting against the spirit; the scholar by the spirit lusting too much against the flesh.'
'Whenever we change, a lot of things get too big or too small for us; useless, in a word. Just as we outgrow a pair of trousers, we outgrow acquaintances, libraries, principles, etc., at times before they're worn out and at times - and this is the worst of all - before we have new ones.'
'We must make people feel obliged to us in accordance with what they are, not we.'
[This last one is particularly amazing: I'm still not sure I have got my head around it. It's the kind of sentence that will require a lifetime to unravel...]
**********************************************************************
And speaking of wisdom, this evening I watched Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (1936). Now old men will tell you that Chaplin is the greatest filmmaker who ever lived, the one indisputable genius of the cinema. I have always been suspicious of this view, seeing in it a rather too casual dismissal of at least half of film history. But Modern Times is the real deal. Chaplin supposedly stole the idea from Ren Clair's A nous la libert (1931) but, having watched both films this week, I can confirm that the quality and the quantity of the gags in Chaplin far outstrips that of Clair. Plenty of filmmakers have one or two ideas that last them a whole career but the sheer number of ideas, the rate of invention in Chaplin is something I've only seen matched in Godard, and possibly in Welles at his best. And, to paraphrase Jacques Rivette, I'm not talking about narrative or character here: these are ideas about camera placement, about framing, about performance.
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
Anyway, dear Lord, my little astronaut? I am SOooooooooooooooooooooooo flattered that someone would find him so attractive. I am practically enthralled by him; i threw a fit in the thrift store, i was so excited i have no idea how such an item could spark such joy for a person. No clue. For that reason i must decline--he is too unique! I love him very so. But tell your friend i appreciate his good eye! I'm sorry.
I read a few of your past entries and like the quote about the $1000 bed.
I keep forgetting that you are now "Sunfeather".
Everytime I scan past the names of friends, I glance at this one and think it is a new-ager from my San Francisco days.
I am glad it is you, though.