‘Give me silence, but not yet.’
For I was afraid lest You should hear me too soon, and soon deliver me from the disease of desire, which I wished to have satisfied rather than extinguished.
Augustine, Confessions
A fish trap is a means to get hold of fish. You can only forget about the fish trap once you’ve had your fish.
A rabbit snare is a means to get hold of rabbits. You can only forget about the rabbit snare once you’ve had your rabbit.
Words are a means to get hold of ideas. You can only forget about words once you’ve had your ideas.
How could I talk to someone who has forgotten words?
Zhuangzi
Note: I have slightly altered the quotations to my purposes. The ‘disease’ that Augustine is talking about is ‘sexual desire’. The translation of Zhuangzi is Hans-Georg Moeller’s.
tobybetenson.com 