Saturday, June 26, 2004
Two Plus Two
H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), A Mencken Chrestomathy (1949):
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A metaphysician is one who, when you remark that twice two makes four, demands to know what you mean by twice, what by two, what by makes, and what by four. For asking such questions metaphysicians are supported in oriental luxury in the universities, and respected as educated and intelligent men.Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799):
Doubt everything at least once, even the proposition that two times two equals four. (Zweifle an allem wenigstens einmal, und wäre es auch der Satz: zweimal 2 ist 4.)Albert Camus (1913-1960), The Plague (1947):
There always comes a time in history when the man who dares to say that two plus two equals four is punished with death. (Mais il vient toujours une heure dans l’histoire où celui qui ose dire que deux et deux font quatre est puni de mort.)
