Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary isn’t written in the form of a modern cut-to-the-chase-synonym-brief-meaning style of modern dictionaries. He goes on and on. In his extended definition of contradictions, for example, he covers diverse topics, including brief overviews of men: Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Cromwell. His rambling definition ends with statements about order in the world and disorder in people: “It would be…mad to ask perfect wisdom of men; it would be wishing to give wings to dogs or horns to eagles.”
One wonders whether or not Voltaire, who challenged the thinking of his contemporaries, deemed himself a winged dog or horned eagle. He certainly wasn’t afraid of controversy, and his writings point to numerous contradictions in society. He challenged a number of “important” people, and off and on suffered their wrath, including being both imprisoned and exiled from more than one land. Nevertheless, he became relatively wealthy, and not long before he died he was praised by the audience at the performance of his play Irene. In 1791, thirteen years after his death, he was buried in the Panthéon in Paris with a procession of probably hundreds of thousands of Parisians.
Voltaire was both brilliant and shrewd, showing characteristics of both dogs and eagles. Like a dog on the hunt, he followed philosophies to their ultimate conclusion, taking, for example, the optimism of Leibnitz to its silly contradictions in Candide. And like an eagle dropping unexpectedly on its prey, he attacked thought from the heights of reason and logic.
A winged dog would have the advantage of its great stamina, speed, and intelligence plus the ability of an eagle to drop unexpectedly on a prey. A horned eagle with its great vision and perspective from above would have an extra "talon" to use in an attack. “What are you trying to say?” you ask.
You don’t have to be a controversial polemicist like Voltaire. Maybe that’s not your way. But there are contradictions all around you, and you shouldn’t be afraid of pointing them out. Why should you conform? You don’t have to be an “old grudge,” a complainer, or a loner to correct contradictions. Contradictions are probably unavoidable in all thought-systems, but those contradictions that negatively affect the quality of life are worth your effort to identify. You might not change the minds of those who live contradictions, but you might, like a winged dog or horned eagle, be able to change those whose contradictions affect others. Attack the contradictions in unexpected ways.
One wonders whether or not Voltaire, who challenged the thinking of his contemporaries, deemed himself a winged dog or horned eagle. He certainly wasn’t afraid of controversy, and his writings point to numerous contradictions in society. He challenged a number of “important” people, and off and on suffered their wrath, including being both imprisoned and exiled from more than one land. Nevertheless, he became relatively wealthy, and not long before he died he was praised by the audience at the performance of his play Irene. In 1791, thirteen years after his death, he was buried in the Panthéon in Paris with a procession of probably hundreds of thousands of Parisians.
Voltaire was both brilliant and shrewd, showing characteristics of both dogs and eagles. Like a dog on the hunt, he followed philosophies to their ultimate conclusion, taking, for example, the optimism of Leibnitz to its silly contradictions in Candide. And like an eagle dropping unexpectedly on its prey, he attacked thought from the heights of reason and logic.
A winged dog would have the advantage of its great stamina, speed, and intelligence plus the ability of an eagle to drop unexpectedly on a prey. A horned eagle with its great vision and perspective from above would have an extra "talon" to use in an attack. “What are you trying to say?” you ask.
You don’t have to be a controversial polemicist like Voltaire. Maybe that’s not your way. But there are contradictions all around you, and you shouldn’t be afraid of pointing them out. Why should you conform? You don’t have to be an “old grudge,” a complainer, or a loner to correct contradictions. Contradictions are probably unavoidable in all thought-systems, but those contradictions that negatively affect the quality of life are worth your effort to identify. You might not change the minds of those who live contradictions, but you might, like a winged dog or horned eagle, be able to change those whose contradictions affect others. Attack the contradictions in unexpected ways.
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