Let Ithaka be always in your thoughts.
To get there is your goal and destiny.
But do not hasten to your journey’s end:
it’s better if it lasts for many years
so that you'll reach the island when you’re old,
wealthy with all you’ve gained along the way,
not hoping Ithaka will make you rich.
Your marvellous journey is Ithaka’s gift.
Without her you would not have started out.
But she has nothing more to give you now.
And if you find she's poor, you’ve not been fooled.
So wise have you become, so much you’ve learned,
that you will know what Ithakas must be.
Source: Seen in passing on X-Twitter. Holler if you want the whole thing.
Author/Translator: Armand D'Angour, Professor of Classics, Oxford. Cello lover. Larkin about. Turning life into Latin verse, one hexameter at a time. Podcast “It’s All Greek (& Latin!) to Me”.
Posted: Feb 06
I suggest that our fear of dying is a lot less than our fear of dying alone and unloved. That doesn’t answer the MAiD question, but it deal with why some people find MAiD attractive.
Jim T
Jim T – Yes, that fear argues in the first case for better palliative care.
That is an interesting last word, Isabel. I will find time to read Andrew’s Views. I wrote too long an email on the topic that I did not send and it should be couched in yet a longer narrative. However, if I can make the world a more rational place with Focused Listening that will obviate some of these issues.
Laurna – And I should have been clear that it was offered as the last in a sequence only, not a definitive statement. And we’ll see what else comes my way on this challenging topic.