Music, Life, the Universe and Everything

Having just finished George Steiner's Real Presences, and then having stumbled across R. Browning's Abt Vogler (via a YouTube comment quoting the same, no less), I am reminded of my longtime vow to actually write down some sort of tract-cum-testimony at some pt. G. Steiner's 237-page essay essentially argues that the "otherness" or "deja-entendu" of art (something like Joyce's epiphany) is an indication of the divine, &co., & co. Steiner often refers to music in this argument, since its extra-lingual emotionality suggests (acc. to Steiner) the extra-logical nature of emotionality. Then, we have Browning's Abt Vogler, which takes the form of an organist's monologue and, in addition to producing a spectacular approximation to music, manages to combine man's existential longing/a hope for a new creation with the tonic key. I need to read more Browning.

This comes on top of another recent kertwang moment, when I discovered the label of "fideistic skepticism" in reference to Montaigne, Rabelais and Cervantes (and, I argued in a paper for class a few days later, Shakespeare). Essentially: recognizing the limits of reason, one recognizes the need for faith (a common line among Christians I have heard). Thus it is a positive, optimistic skepticism and not wholly negative or deconstructive. I found a paper using the term in reference to Tristram Shandy/Laurence Sterne, oddly (but fittingly) enough -- it argued that Shandyism =  creative or regenerative chaos (again, a positive, rather than a nullifying aspect).

I now have backers. And material to rip off of.

le propre de l'homme

Picked up a copy of Rabelais' to read in the near future, noticed the introductory verses 'aux lecteurs' which conclude:

...
Mieulx est de ris que de larmes* escripre, [=tears]
Pour ce que rire est le propre de l'homme.

Roughly, " 'tis better to write of laughter than of tears / since laughter is the peculiar quality of man."

This should be the rallying cry/motto of all comedians.

Picked up Rabelais since it was apparently (Wikipedia-level apparent) one of Sterne's favorite works (I'm reading Tristram Shandy at the moment. Just finished Slawkenbergius's Tale.)