UNBURDEN
YOURSELF

“The western land, nervous under the beginning change. The Western States, nervous as horses before a thunder storm. The great owners, nervous, sensing a change, knowing nothing of the nature of the change. The great owners, striking at the immediate thing, the widening government, the growing labor unity; striking at new taxes, at plans; not knowing these things are results, not causes. Results, not causes; results, not causes. The causes lie deep and simply—the causes are a

“Nakiketas said: ‘There is that doubt, when a man is dead—some saying, he is; others, he is not. This I should like to know, taught by thee; this is the third of my boons.’ Death said: ‘On this point even the gods have doubted formerly; it is not easy to understand. That subject is subtle. Choose another boon, O Nakiketas, do not press me, and let me off that boon.’ Nakiketas said: ‘On this point even the gods have doubted indeed, and thou, Death, hast declared it to be not

The Rainbow, 1878, by George Innes This is the first post of a series I'm calling Conversation Deraillers. Each post will consist of two or more quotes and/or passages from various works, from books to scripts to lyrics. These quotes are generally topical or interesting, and are guaranteed to derail (or even end) any conversation when said, shouted, or sung aloud, as desired or required. The series as a whole (which I'll probably collect into an ePub file once it gets long e