Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Meaning always races ahead of words; that is why words never catch him completely.

In all great writing, meaning always races a few steps ahead of words, leading them into the zone of wordlessness, tempting them to carry on for just that one step extra to their final demise . Words are like little boats: they must take us to the shore so that we may abandon them. The better the words are, the quicker they will transport us uncomplainingly to the point of their own irrelevance and abandonment. Boats can't help us beyond the shores where they bring us. No mid-wife must stay beyond the child-birth. Words are sweet mid-wives. They help us get past the labours of truth.

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