Friday, December 18, 2009

One's mediocrity

It is cruel to discover one's mediocrity only when it is too late.
-- W. Somerset Maugham, 'Of Human Bondage', 1915

Hmmm, "too late"? I wonder if ol' Dubya meant "after you're already successful"?

I like that the title 'Of Human Bondage' makes bondage non-gender specific. It's not just a gay thing, anybody can enjoy a nice game of bondage.
(Just kidding, I'm pretty sure he did not mean that kind.)

6 comments:

Michael Burton said...

In general, it's bad to discover your limitations after you're already in way over your head. You don't want to discover that you're not a very good sailor during a storm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, for example.

In the case of a different Dubya, "too late" might mean "after you've become President of the United States."

doug lukings said...

I remember a joke from Buffy the Vampire Slayer when she meets this guy at university who talks about that book being his favorite. She says that she is trying to cut back on her pornography.

Anonymous said...

In general, it's bad to discover your limitations after you're already in way over your head. You don't want to discover that you're not a very good sailor during a storm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, for example.

In the case of a different Dubya, "too late" might mean "after you've become President of the United States."


Give Michael Burton a hand, at least the poor dullard's trying! (Psst! You just restated, badly, what Eolake already said.)

hey my word verification is "ribless" as in "ribless for his pleasure"?

Bronislaus Janulis / Framewright said...

Eolake,

You should read the book; the first alternative culture book of the 20th. century.

Wobact? word verification. a cousin of the wombat?

Anonymous said...

Damn. If a moron like Bron recommends it, I don't know...I was going to give it a shot.

Bronislaus Janulis / Framewright said...

Eolake,

My bad, wrong book. I was thinking of "The Razors Edge" by W.S.M.