Sunday, August 17, 2008

Hitchens on Mortality...

In his "Letters to a Young Contrarian," Hitchens paraphrased David Hume's outlook on mortality. Hume said he was comfortable with death, because he was nothing before he was born, and he would be nothing once mortality kicked in. Hume lived at least 3 times (perhaps 4 times) longer than was the norm for an 18th century Scotsman. In any case, Hitchens said Hume's words did not comfort him as they did Hume. Today, Hitchens is taking action.

Weight: the same, only slightly better distributed. Life expectancy: presumably somewhat increased, but who’s to say? Smile: no longer frightening to children. Hair and skin: looking less as if harvested from a battlefield cadaver. Nails: a credit to the male sex. Ennui, Weltschmerz, general bourgeois blues: more palpable and resulting from virtue rather than vice (which somehow makes them worse and harder to bear) but arguably less severe. Overall verdict: some of this you can try at home and some of it you certainly should.

Still, we have to ask ourselves, Is Hitchens concerned about mortality, or is he getting ready to move to Boulder, Colorado?

3 comments:

Mr roT said...

Hitchens as omphaloskeptic sissy boy. Odd but interesting

Arelcao Akleos said...

He's skeptical of his Omphalos? Say it ain't so, JJ.

My Frontier Thesis said...

Hitchens is doing this shit because he's been living with the American Elite for some time, now. And the American Elite, like many Americans, want to LIVE FOREVER, and they are willing to give up good whiskey and marbled ribeye, if only they get a couple extra weeks to make 8 billion more dollars -- you know, so you can take it with you after death. Thus far, this has been translated onto Hitchens. We'll have to wait and see how he holds out.