andyfox
01-09-2005, 06:41 PM
I'm talking the famous Kepler the astronomer and our Zeno, the misanthrope. I thought our friend would appreciate Kepler's comments about his family and about himself.
About his grandfather: He was "arrogant, proudly dressed, short-tempered and obstinate . . . his face betrays his licentious past."
About his father: He was "vicious, inflexible, and doomed to a bad end." He had "many enemies, a quarrelsome marriage, a vain love of honors, and vain hope for them; a wanderer . . . 1577 he ran the risk of hanging. . . . Treated my mother extremely ill, went finally into exile and died."
About his mother: she was "small, thin, swarthy, gossiping, quarrelsome, and of bad disposition."
And finally, about himself, who he refers to as "that man":
That man has in every way a dog-like nature. His apprearance is that of a little lap dog. He liked gnawing bones and dry crusts of bread, and was so greedy that whatever his eyes chanced on he grabbed. His habits were similar. He continually sought the good will of others, was dependent on others for everything, ministered to their wishes and was anxious to get back into their favor. He is bored with conversation, but greets visitors just like a little dog; yet when the least thing is snatched away from him, he flares up and growls. He tenaciously persecutes wrongdooers--that is, he barks at them. He is malicious and bites people with his sarcasm. He hates many people exceedingly and they avoid him, but his masters are fond of him. His recklessness knows no limits yet he takes good care of his life. In this man there are two opposite tendencies: always to regret any wasted time, and always to waste it willingly. Since his caution with money kept him away from play, he often played with himself. His miserliness did not aim at acquiring riches, but at removing his fear of poverty--although, perhaps avarice results from an excess of this fear."
About his grandfather: He was "arrogant, proudly dressed, short-tempered and obstinate . . . his face betrays his licentious past."
About his father: He was "vicious, inflexible, and doomed to a bad end." He had "many enemies, a quarrelsome marriage, a vain love of honors, and vain hope for them; a wanderer . . . 1577 he ran the risk of hanging. . . . Treated my mother extremely ill, went finally into exile and died."
About his mother: she was "small, thin, swarthy, gossiping, quarrelsome, and of bad disposition."
And finally, about himself, who he refers to as "that man":
That man has in every way a dog-like nature. His apprearance is that of a little lap dog. He liked gnawing bones and dry crusts of bread, and was so greedy that whatever his eyes chanced on he grabbed. His habits were similar. He continually sought the good will of others, was dependent on others for everything, ministered to their wishes and was anxious to get back into their favor. He is bored with conversation, but greets visitors just like a little dog; yet when the least thing is snatched away from him, he flares up and growls. He tenaciously persecutes wrongdooers--that is, he barks at them. He is malicious and bites people with his sarcasm. He hates many people exceedingly and they avoid him, but his masters are fond of him. His recklessness knows no limits yet he takes good care of his life. In this man there are two opposite tendencies: always to regret any wasted time, and always to waste it willingly. Since his caution with money kept him away from play, he often played with himself. His miserliness did not aim at acquiring riches, but at removing his fear of poverty--although, perhaps avarice results from an excess of this fear."