Saturday, May 22, 2010

A Walker Percy Quote



This life is far too much trouble, far too strange, to arrive at the end of it and then to be asked what you make of it and have to answer "Scientific humanism." That won't do. A poor show. Life is a mystery, love is a delight. Therefore, I take it as axiomatic that one should settle for nothing less than the infinite mystery and the infinite delight, i.e., God....I refuse to settle for anything less.

From an article comparing Walker Percy and Martin Buber's thinking. I've been sick the past few days and reading more than usual. Am thinking I'd like to read some Walker Percy but am not sure where to start.

3 comments:

Will said...

If I were new to Percy, I'd start with The Last Gentleman; although he won the National Book Award for The Moviegoer. His non-fiction is also very good.

Lucy said...

That's very fine. I heard a good radio programme the other day about William James, which gave me the same sense of excitement...

Hope you're feeling better now!

Brent said...

For fiction, I agree with The Last Gentleman suggestion, although I enjoy the Moviegoer and have re-read it a couple of times. But at first, I think it was The Last Gentleman that hooked me. Then I'd go for Love in the Ruins or The Thanatos Syndrome. And some people think The Second Coming is his best. For nonfiction, you can look at some of the essays in Signposts in a Strange Land, but eventually you've got to work your way through Lost in the Cosmos. It is my favorite. Okay, I admit to being a fan.