That is why we do not injure, but rather rebutt the injuries that are cast, not so much at us but at
condemned
philosophy, pro- ceeding in such a way that other insults are not added to those already received.
Bruno-Cause-Principle-and-Unity
6 Instead, I will speak in common, vulgar language, like a man who has had other things on his mind than to go about distilling the juice of his brain and cerebellum to the point of withering his pia mater and dura mater.
What I mean is that I will talk as one who has no wits but his own, and to whom not even the garden- or kitchen-variety gods among the celestial court condescend to cast a straw, though they heap their favours ad infinitum even on their horses - those gods, I say, that ordinarily show themselves more intimate, more familiar and congenial with us.
I mean Bacchus, or the drunk mounted on the ass, or Pan, or Vertumnus, or Faunus, or Priapus: the ones who neither drink ambrosia nor taste nectar (unappre- ciative of nymphs and pure water), but quench their thirst at the bottom of the barrel with sour wines.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Toolongapreface.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Patience:theconclusion'sswift. Toputanendtothis,Iwould like to say that I will offer you words that need no deciphering, as if they had been distilled, passed through an alembic, condensed in a double-boiler
1 Numbers ? ? . 2 Virgil, Aeneid, ? ? , ? ? ? -? . 3 Seneca, Oedipus, vv. ? ? -? and ? ? ? -? . 4 ? Kings, ? ? , ? -? . 5 Virgil, Aeneid, ? ? , ? ? ? -? . 6 See Erasmus, In Praise of Folly, ? .
? ? ?
Cause, principle and unity
? and sublimated with a prescription of the quintessence, but such words as my wetnurse hammered into my skull - a woman as thick-skinned, big- chested, wide-hipped, ample-bellied and broad-bottomed as that Londoner I caught sight of in Westminister, who possessed such ample mammeries, like hot water bottles for her stomach, that they seemed the halfboots of the immense Saint Paragorio, and which if tanned would match a pair of Ferrarese bagpipes.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Thatisquiteenoughforapreface.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Well, then, to come to the rest - leaving a little to one side observations and opinions concerning light and the potential splendor of your philosophy - I would like to hear from you in what terms you wish us to greet, in particular, that brilliant doctrine which shines forth from The Ash Wednesday Supper. What animals are those that perform in The Ash Wednesday Supper? Are they aquatic, aerial, earthly or lunatic? And, leav- ing aside the observations of Smitho, Prudenzio and Frulla,7 I would like to know if they are wrong or right, who claim that you bark like a rabid dog, in addition to sometimes playing the monkey, sometimes the wolf, sometimes the magpie, sometimes the parrot, now this animal, now that, mixing grave and serious words, moral and natural, ignoble and noble, philosophic and comic.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Donotbesurprised,brother,forthescenewasindeedasup- per, where brains are guided by the passions aroused by the flavours and odours of food and drink. The supper will be verbal and spiritual as a log- ical consequence of its material and corporeal guise. The dialogue has parts as different and various, therefore, as those which ordinarily comprise that other supper. The former has conditions, circumstances, and means of its own that are as peculiar to it as those of the latter may be.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Helpmegetatyourmeaning,please.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Intheonecase(asisfittingandproper),therearethesalads and main dishes, fruits and common victuals, hors d'oeuvres and spices, warm and cold, raw and cooked, food of aquatic and terrestrial origin, cultivated and wild, ripe and green, food for the healthy and for the ill, dishes for gourmets and dishes for the hungry, ones that are light and sub- stantial, bland and salted, tart and sweet, bitter and mild. Similarly, in the other case and by a certain analogy, contradictions and differences have appeared, suitable to the various stomachs and tastes of those whom it may please to take part in our symbolic banquet, so that no one can complain
7 Secondary characters in The Ash Wednesday Supper. ? ?
? First dialogue
? of having attended in vain, and whoever does not like one thing can help himself to another.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . True. Butwhatisyouranswerif,inaddition,atyourbanquet, at your supper, things appear that are good neither for salads nor main dishes, nor good as fruits or fillers, neither cold nor hot, raw nor cooked, good for neither the healthy nor the sick, stuff that should never have left the hands of the cook or confectioner, stuff that stirs no appetite and satisfies no hunger?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Youwillseethat,inthis,oursupperdoesnotdifferfromany other that may be dished out. As with that other, as you are savouring your meal, you might scald your mouth with a bite that is too hot, so you have to either spew it back out or bandy it about your palate with tears and cry- ing until you can give it that cursed shove in order to speed it down your gorge, or you jar some tooth, or you bite into your tongue at the same time as your bread, or else there is a piece of grit that breaks up and sticks between your teeth, forcing you to spit out the whole mouthful. Perhaps some hair or whisker off the cook glues to your palate and makes you nearly vomit, or else a fishbone lodges in your gullet and makes you wheeze, or another small bone lodged sideways in your throat threatens to suffocate you. To our and to everybody's displeasure, analogous and equivalent things have been found at our supper. All that is due to the sin of the first man, Adam. Because of our ancestor, perverse human nature is condemned to find disgust joined to delight.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Spoken with sanctity and piety. But what is your answer to those who call you a raging cynic?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Iwillconcedethepointreadily,atleastinpart.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . But you know that it is less dishonourable for a man to undergo abuses than to inflict them?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yet it is enough that my actions are labelled vengeance, and the others' abuse.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Even the gods are liable to receive insults, suffer censure, and bear reproach; but to insult, censure and reproach are the business of people who are low, mean, cowardly and worthless.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . True.
That is why we do not injure, but rather rebutt the injuries that are cast, not so much at us but at condemned philosophy, pro- ceeding in such a way that other insults are not added to those already received.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Soyouwanttoactthebitingdog,sothatnoonedaresmolest you?
? ?
Cause, principle and unity
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Exactly,becauseIdesirepeace,andunpleasantnessdipleases me.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yes,buttheydeemthatyouproceedwithtoomuchseverity.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . That is to prevent them from coming back, and to daunt others from coming to dispute with me or someone else, and treating our demonstrations with such expedients.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . The offence was private, the retaliation public.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . None the less just for that. Many errors are committed in private, which are then justly chastised in public.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Butthatwayyouendupruiningyourreputation,andmak- ing yourself more blameworthy than those others, because the world will declare you impatient, fantastic, daft and bizarre.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . It does not matter, as long as they stop harassing me from now on, and if I shake the club of the cynic at them, that is so they will let me go about my business in peace. It is clear they do not want to do me kindnesses, but they should not exercise their coarseness on me.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . But do you think it is fitting for a philosopher to set about avenging himself?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . If those who harassed me were a Xanthippes, I would be a Socrates.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Don'tyouknowthatpatienceandlong-sufferingdoesevery- one good, and that through them we become like heroes and celebrated gods, who, according to some, defer their vengeance, and according to others, neither take revenge nor give way to anger?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . YouarewrongtothinkIcaredtohaverevenge.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Whatthen?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Iwasconcernedwithcorrecting-anactivitythatalsomakes
us similar to gods. You know that Jove ordered poor Vulcan to work even on holidays, so that his cursed anvil goes on receiving the fierce blows of the hammer eternally. No sooner is one raised than another comes smash- ing down, so that the righteous thunderbolts used to chastise the guilty and unlawful are never in short supply.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . There is a difference between you and Jove's blacksmith, husband of the goddess of Cyprus.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . It is enough, in any case, that I am perhaps not unlike the gods in patience and long-suffering. And those qualities were put to the test in this affair, in that I never gave full rein to my scorn and never spurred on my anger.
? ?
First dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . To be castigator - of the multitude, especially - is not the job of just anyone.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Add to that: especially when he has nothing to do with the multitude.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . They say that you must not be an agitator in a country not your own.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . And I say two things: first, one should not kill a foreign physician because he tries to administer cures not administered by the natives; second, I say that the true philosopher's country is all the world.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . But if they consider you neither philosopher nor physician nor countryman?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Toolongapreface.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Patience:theconclusion'sswift. Toputanendtothis,Iwould like to say that I will offer you words that need no deciphering, as if they had been distilled, passed through an alembic, condensed in a double-boiler
1 Numbers ? ? . 2 Virgil, Aeneid, ? ? , ? ? ? -? . 3 Seneca, Oedipus, vv. ? ? -? and ? ? ? -? . 4 ? Kings, ? ? , ? -? . 5 Virgil, Aeneid, ? ? , ? ? ? -? . 6 See Erasmus, In Praise of Folly, ? .
? ? ?
Cause, principle and unity
? and sublimated with a prescription of the quintessence, but such words as my wetnurse hammered into my skull - a woman as thick-skinned, big- chested, wide-hipped, ample-bellied and broad-bottomed as that Londoner I caught sight of in Westminister, who possessed such ample mammeries, like hot water bottles for her stomach, that they seemed the halfboots of the immense Saint Paragorio, and which if tanned would match a pair of Ferrarese bagpipes.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Thatisquiteenoughforapreface.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Well, then, to come to the rest - leaving a little to one side observations and opinions concerning light and the potential splendor of your philosophy - I would like to hear from you in what terms you wish us to greet, in particular, that brilliant doctrine which shines forth from The Ash Wednesday Supper. What animals are those that perform in The Ash Wednesday Supper? Are they aquatic, aerial, earthly or lunatic? And, leav- ing aside the observations of Smitho, Prudenzio and Frulla,7 I would like to know if they are wrong or right, who claim that you bark like a rabid dog, in addition to sometimes playing the monkey, sometimes the wolf, sometimes the magpie, sometimes the parrot, now this animal, now that, mixing grave and serious words, moral and natural, ignoble and noble, philosophic and comic.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Donotbesurprised,brother,forthescenewasindeedasup- per, where brains are guided by the passions aroused by the flavours and odours of food and drink. The supper will be verbal and spiritual as a log- ical consequence of its material and corporeal guise. The dialogue has parts as different and various, therefore, as those which ordinarily comprise that other supper. The former has conditions, circumstances, and means of its own that are as peculiar to it as those of the latter may be.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Helpmegetatyourmeaning,please.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Intheonecase(asisfittingandproper),therearethesalads and main dishes, fruits and common victuals, hors d'oeuvres and spices, warm and cold, raw and cooked, food of aquatic and terrestrial origin, cultivated and wild, ripe and green, food for the healthy and for the ill, dishes for gourmets and dishes for the hungry, ones that are light and sub- stantial, bland and salted, tart and sweet, bitter and mild. Similarly, in the other case and by a certain analogy, contradictions and differences have appeared, suitable to the various stomachs and tastes of those whom it may please to take part in our symbolic banquet, so that no one can complain
7 Secondary characters in The Ash Wednesday Supper. ? ?
? First dialogue
? of having attended in vain, and whoever does not like one thing can help himself to another.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . True. Butwhatisyouranswerif,inaddition,atyourbanquet, at your supper, things appear that are good neither for salads nor main dishes, nor good as fruits or fillers, neither cold nor hot, raw nor cooked, good for neither the healthy nor the sick, stuff that should never have left the hands of the cook or confectioner, stuff that stirs no appetite and satisfies no hunger?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Youwillseethat,inthis,oursupperdoesnotdifferfromany other that may be dished out. As with that other, as you are savouring your meal, you might scald your mouth with a bite that is too hot, so you have to either spew it back out or bandy it about your palate with tears and cry- ing until you can give it that cursed shove in order to speed it down your gorge, or you jar some tooth, or you bite into your tongue at the same time as your bread, or else there is a piece of grit that breaks up and sticks between your teeth, forcing you to spit out the whole mouthful. Perhaps some hair or whisker off the cook glues to your palate and makes you nearly vomit, or else a fishbone lodges in your gullet and makes you wheeze, or another small bone lodged sideways in your throat threatens to suffocate you. To our and to everybody's displeasure, analogous and equivalent things have been found at our supper. All that is due to the sin of the first man, Adam. Because of our ancestor, perverse human nature is condemned to find disgust joined to delight.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Spoken with sanctity and piety. But what is your answer to those who call you a raging cynic?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Iwillconcedethepointreadily,atleastinpart.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . But you know that it is less dishonourable for a man to undergo abuses than to inflict them?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yet it is enough that my actions are labelled vengeance, and the others' abuse.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Even the gods are liable to receive insults, suffer censure, and bear reproach; but to insult, censure and reproach are the business of people who are low, mean, cowardly and worthless.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . True.
That is why we do not injure, but rather rebutt the injuries that are cast, not so much at us but at condemned philosophy, pro- ceeding in such a way that other insults are not added to those already received.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Soyouwanttoactthebitingdog,sothatnoonedaresmolest you?
? ?
Cause, principle and unity
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Exactly,becauseIdesirepeace,andunpleasantnessdipleases me.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yes,buttheydeemthatyouproceedwithtoomuchseverity.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . That is to prevent them from coming back, and to daunt others from coming to dispute with me or someone else, and treating our demonstrations with such expedients.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . The offence was private, the retaliation public.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . None the less just for that. Many errors are committed in private, which are then justly chastised in public.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Butthatwayyouendupruiningyourreputation,andmak- ing yourself more blameworthy than those others, because the world will declare you impatient, fantastic, daft and bizarre.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . It does not matter, as long as they stop harassing me from now on, and if I shake the club of the cynic at them, that is so they will let me go about my business in peace. It is clear they do not want to do me kindnesses, but they should not exercise their coarseness on me.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . But do you think it is fitting for a philosopher to set about avenging himself?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . If those who harassed me were a Xanthippes, I would be a Socrates.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Don'tyouknowthatpatienceandlong-sufferingdoesevery- one good, and that through them we become like heroes and celebrated gods, who, according to some, defer their vengeance, and according to others, neither take revenge nor give way to anger?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . YouarewrongtothinkIcaredtohaverevenge.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Whatthen?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Iwasconcernedwithcorrecting-anactivitythatalsomakes
us similar to gods. You know that Jove ordered poor Vulcan to work even on holidays, so that his cursed anvil goes on receiving the fierce blows of the hammer eternally. No sooner is one raised than another comes smash- ing down, so that the righteous thunderbolts used to chastise the guilty and unlawful are never in short supply.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . There is a difference between you and Jove's blacksmith, husband of the goddess of Cyprus.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . It is enough, in any case, that I am perhaps not unlike the gods in patience and long-suffering. And those qualities were put to the test in this affair, in that I never gave full rein to my scorn and never spurred on my anger.
? ?
First dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . To be castigator - of the multitude, especially - is not the job of just anyone.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Add to that: especially when he has nothing to do with the multitude.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . They say that you must not be an agitator in a country not your own.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . And I say two things: first, one should not kill a foreign physician because he tries to administer cures not administered by the natives; second, I say that the true philosopher's country is all the world.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . But if they consider you neither philosopher nor physician nor countryman?
