tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20433842.post1548474410628956982..comments2024-03-07T12:57:35.296-05:00Comments on Varieties of Unreligious Experience: Stone, Water, AngelConrad H. Rothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916542057749474124noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20433842.post-76196704583758146512011-01-06T17:41:37.398-05:002011-01-06T17:41:37.398-05:00Thanks for this.Thanks for this.Conrad H. Rothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916542057749474124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20433842.post-43850936831327019162011-01-03T07:30:20.747-05:002011-01-03T07:30:20.747-05:00A minor historical endnote to your enjoyable piec...A minor historical endnote to your enjoyable piece: As well as being 'a guarded tumulus of Victorian industry' the Claremont Square reservoir conceals the little known presence on that site of the Fort Royal, one of London's girdle of civil war defences in the 1640s. It then became an open reservoir for the New River Company in 1708, and can be seen in many prints including one of London from the North by Canaletto (in BL Prints & Drawings). [See Robert Ward 'London's New River'Historical Publications (2003).]Tobynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20433842.post-40494782554366373552008-01-02T18:20:00.000-05:002008-01-02T18:20:00.000-05:00Cowan actually deserves a small *royalty payment* ...Cowan actually deserves a small *royalty payment* for that comment, I think.A. Ominoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13807400943709124236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20433842.post-1747553568200222572007-12-23T20:07:00.000-05:002007-12-23T20:07:00.000-05:00Talking of London, he observed, "Sir, if you wish ...Talking of London, he observed, "Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts. It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in the multiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that the wonderful immensity of London consists." -- I have often amused myself with thinking how different a place London is to different people. They, whose narrow minds are contracted to the consideration of some one particular pursuit, view it only through that medium. A politician thinks of it merely as the seat of government in its different departments; a grazier, as a vast market for cattle; a mercantile man, as a place where a prodigious deal of business is done upon 'Change; a dramatick enthusiast, as the grand scene of theatrical entertainments; a man of pleasure, as an assemblage of taverns, and the great emporium for ladies of easy virtue. But the intellectual man is struck with it, as comprehending the whole of human life in all its variety, the contemplation of which is inexhaustible.<BR/>- Boswell, <I>Life of Johnson</I>Greg Afinogenovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13529073439919307693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20433842.post-26145319688899196072007-12-21T18:22:00.000-05:002007-12-21T18:22:00.000-05:00"Well, it may be amateurish to say "the woman is o..."Well, it may be amateurish to say "the woman is on the left", but at least it's correct, unlike your description."<BR/><BR/>Ha ha, I love it!Conrad H. Rothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916542057749474124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20433842.post-48720429298021365312007-12-21T18:17:00.000-05:002007-12-21T18:17:00.000-05:00Well, it may be amateurish to say "the woman is on...Well, it may be amateurish to say "the woman is on the left", but at least it's correct, unlike your description. Hygeia is of course the dexter supporter, because everything on an achievement of arms is formally called left or right from the viewpoint of the armiger, not the onlooker. By the same token, Aquarius (on the right) is the sinister supporter.<BR/><BR/>Cloudesley to me primarily suggests Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovel (spelling varies), who was wrecked off the Scilly Isles in 1707 with the loss of four ships and all the crew save one man, leading to the passage of the Longitude Act (1714) and the eventual development of the lunar-distance method and the chronometer for accurately determining longitude at sea.<BR/><BR/>When I tell this story to Americans, what with Sir Cloudesley Shovel, and me properly pronouncing "Scilly" as "Silly", I always have to interject remarks like "I am so not making this up!" into the explanation before I can finish even the first sentence. Thus it is to know too much, and not be believed, like a trivia-question Cassandra.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.com