Littera scripta manet - 'The written word will remain'. That's true, but it won't be that much comfort to me.
Interpretation
Written words have a lasting impact, but they may offer little solace to those affected by their content.
Christopher Hitchens' quote reflects on the permanence of written words, suggesting that while they endure and can influence over time, they may not always provide comfort or reassurance in difficult situations. The acknowledgment of the written word's lasting nature juxtaposed with personal discomfort highlights the complexities of communication and its emotional ramifications.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of literature, one could use this quote to emphasize the lasting power of written works.
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way β because itβs had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But youβve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
The most promising words ever written on the maps of human knowledge are terra incognita, unknown territory.
How can you make sense of the future when you only have data about the past?
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
My goal is this: always to put myself in the place in which I am best able to serve, wherever my gifts and qualities find the best soil to grow, the widest field of action. There is no other goal.
Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.
Start the practice of self-control with some penance; begin with fasting.
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