Althouse: "I believe in the Book of Revelation. I believe in disclosure you know?"

October 18, 2012

"I believe in the Book of Revelation. I believe in disclosure you know?"

"There’s truth in all books in some kind of way. Confucius, Sun Tzu, Marcus Aurelius, the Koran, the Torah, the New Testament, the Buddhist sutras, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and many thousands more. You can’t go through life without reading some kind of book."

26 comments:

Pragmatist said...: It is one thing to read. It is another to understand. If you have no context then you will misunderstand. Whence people who cling to a literal interpretation of whatever document they are clinging to...be a reader yes, but be a good reader.; 10/18/12, 11:40 AM
Smilin' Jack said...: Good grief, what a nitwit.; 10/18/12, 11:41 AM
MSG said...: Pliny the Elder used to say that "there is no book so bad that some good cannot be got out of it."; 10/18/12, 11:44 AM
cubanbob said...: Wow man. That's deep! Stick to your day job Bob and leave philosophy to philosophers.; 10/18/12, 11:48 AM
Humperdink said...: Brain fry on display.; 10/18/12, 11:50 AM
ricpic said...: For forty years no one has had the audacity to tell this guy to tighten up his lyrics. Who knows? Maybe he is Althouse's worshipped genius. But who can say whether there's gold or there isn't gold at the bottom of the turgid stream?; 10/18/12, 12:04 PM
chickelit said...: I love how the fairweather Bob Dylan fans get all uppity and have to lash out. This is like 1979 all over again.

The writer of that article partially misreads the reference to "Leo" in "The Tempest"--dully [sic] noted.

Here's a Cat Power cover of a highly-mocked Dylan song from last time around: I Believe In You; 10/18/12, 12:05 PM
Askance said...: When a profound statement escapes the grasp of a language that has been constructed by the haphazard interaction of people preoccupied with describing when to plant the wheat, where to find the water, who controls the lightning and why to fear the darkness, it should be of little surprise that the statement appears insensible, contradictory or the product of a deranged mind.

Of course, statements made by deranged minds do sound about the same.

One of the understated facts of life is that some works of great talent can only be appreciated by people who have a great talent for appreciation.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.; 10/18/12, 12:05 PM
chickelit said...: "Carter" is in office again and so perhaps it is entirely appropriate to revisit 1979-80 again, even in terms of Bob Dylan.

Welcome Back!; 10/18/12, 12:08 PM
SteveR said...: No matter how you feel about Dylan, at this point in his life, nothing he says or does, will change that. This is a test, if you are being asked to form a fresh and inciteful opinion of Bob Dylan, you will be instructed to time travel back to the release date for Blood on the Tracks.; 10/18/12, 12:13 PM
Anonymous said...: "I ain't dead yet/ My bell still rings", now that is good stuff from Dylan. Again I harken back to his Forever Young, no one did it as good as him.; 10/18/12, 12:16 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Forever Young" is one of my least favorite Dylan songs.; 10/18/12, 12:17 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Crack bait.; 10/18/12, 12:20 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/18/12, 12:25 PM
Anonymous said...: It's my favorite actually, different strokes I guess. I did like Joan Baez's version too, almost as much as Dylan's.; 10/18/12, 12:27 PM
Scott said...: I've never bought a Bob Dylan CD, and he's released so many. Which one should be my first?; 10/18/12, 12:27 PM
wyo sis said...: Dylan, for me, is like Chip Ahoy. I don't understand most of what he says, but I love him.; 10/18/12, 12:28 PM
chickelit said...: Which one should be my first?

Depends on your age, I think. Older boomers will always say the earlier stuff. I would start with the best, "Blood On The Tracks" and go from there. Also, watch Martin Scorcese's "No Direction Home"; 10/18/12, 12:34 PM
rhhardin said...: Johnny Cash When the Man Comes around.; 10/18/12, 12:40 PM
traditionalguy said...: The voice of the prophet Dylan reveals the past as well as the future. Of course that is what Joan Baez saw in him.; 10/18/12, 12:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Hard to criticize somebody for liking Marcus Aurelius. I would venture the guess that he meant Lao Tzu rather than Sun.; 10/18/12, 12:57 PM
Methadras said...: And I can almost assure you, he's read none of them.; 10/18/12, 1:01 PM
ricpic said...: The voice of the prophet Dylan reveals the past as well as the future.

How many times do I have to tellya, tradguy, no booze till the sun is over the yardarm.; 10/18/12, 1:34 PM
SPImmortal said...: Bob Dylan is a great lyricist but a terrible singer. You put that together, and it's something I don't listen to.; 10/18/12, 1:40 PM
sakredkow said...: Always good to hear from untalented and uncreative people weighing in on why Bob Dylan sucks.; 10/18/12, 5:20 PM
From Inwood said...: He forgot the Kama Sutra.

Oh, wait....; 10/18/12, 5:48 PM