What Kind of Creatures Are We

CONTENTS foreword  1 | what is language? 1 2 | what can we understand? 27 3 | what is the common good? 59 4 | the mysteries of nature how deeply hidden? 81 notes 129 index 147 …………………………………… FOREWORD Akeel Bilgrami t h i s b o o k p r e s e n t s a lifetime of refl ection by a scientist of language on the broader implications of his scientifi c work. The title of this volume, What Kind of Creatures Are We? , conveys just…

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The Waste Land By T.S. Eliot

     I. The Burial of the Dead April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten, And drank coffee, and talked for an hour. Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch. And when we were…

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Doggo and Kitty Do Their Laundry

Once upon a time, there was a dog and cat, called Doggo and Kitty. Doggo was a very handsome dog, with long, thick fur that brushed along the floor, whereas Kitty was a charming and gorgeous cat, with soft, thin fur that felt like silk. The pair of them lived together in a little cottage next to a forest, but unlike most dogs and cats, they got on very well. Although Doggo and Kitty were only small little creatures, they had big dreams. They wanted to be like the Big…

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Robert Browning

Robert Browning, (born May 7, 1812, London—died Dec. 12, 1889, Venice), major English poet of the Victorian age, noted for his mastery of dramatic monologue and psychological portraiture. His most noted work was The Ring and the Book (1868–69), the story of a Roman murder trial in 12 books. The son of a clerk in the Bank of England in London, Browning received only a slight formal education, although his father gave him a grounding in Greek and Latin. In 1828 he attended classes at the University of London but left after half a session. Apart from a journey to St. Petersburg in…

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غلام مرتضیٰ ۔۔۔ دامن میں اک پہاڑکے۔۔۔۔۔۔

دامن میں اک پہاڑکے۔۔۔۔۔ (SAMUEL ROGERSکی نظم ’’A WISH ‘‘ کا آزاد ترجمہ) ۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔ دامن میں اک پہاڑ کے کٹیا بناؤں گا میں چھوڑ کر نگر، کوئی جنگل بساؤں گا ہر صبح بھیرویں مجھے گا کر سنائے گی کانوں میں رس پڑے گا، مگس بھنبھنائے گی چکّی مری چلائے گی بہتی ہوئی ندی جھرنوںکے نیلے جل سے، ہری گھاس سے بھری اس چھت کے نیچے رہنے ابابیل آئے گی گارے کے گھونسلے میں بہت چہچہائے گی مہمان تحفہ لائے گا اک جانماز کا کھائے گا ساتھ کھانا وہ زائر حجاز…

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The Two Scholars

Once upon a time there were two scholars. One was named Liu Tschen and the other Yuan Dschau. Both were young and handsome. One spring day they went together into the hills of Tian Tai to gather curative herbs. There they came to a little valley where peach-trees blossomed luxuriantly on either side. In the middle of the valley was a cave, where two maidens stood under the blossoming trees, one of them clad in red garments, the other in green. And they were beautiful beyond all telling. They beckoned…

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A Legend of Confucius

when Confucius came to the earth, the Kilin, that strange beast which is the prince of all four-footed animals, and only appears when there is a great man on earth, sought the child and spat out a jade whereon was written: “Son of the Water crystal you are destined to become an uncrowned king!” And Confucius grew up, studied diligently, learned wisdom and came to be a saint. He did much good on earth, and ever since his death has been reverenced as the greatest of teachers and masters. He…

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Romans in Dorset: A.D. MDCCCXCV by Louise Imogen Guiney

A stupor on the heath,             And wrath along the sky;             Space everywhere; beneath A flat and treeless wold for us, and darkest noon on high.             Sullen quiet below,             But storm in upper air!             A wind from long ago, In mouldy chambers of the cloud had ripped an arras there,             And singed the triple gloom,             And let through, in a flame,             Crowned faces of old Rome: Regnant o’er Rome’s abandoned ground, processional they came.             Uprisen as any sun             Through vistas hollow grey,             Aloft, and one by one, In brazen casques the…

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Prout’s Madeleine by Kenneth Rexroth

Somebody has given my Baby daughter a box of Old poker chips to play with.    Today she hands me one while    I am sitting with my tired    Brain at my desk. It is red.    On it is a picture of An elk’s head and the letters    B.P.O.E.—a chip from A small town Elks’ Club. I flip    It idly in the air and Catch it and do a coin trick    To amuse my little girl. Suddenly everything slips aside.    I see my father Doing the very same thing,    Whistling “Beautiful Dreamer,”   …

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