I should be a living treasury of knowledge and wisdom
(This post was a merit winner in the 2009 Power of Fiction competition.)
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| Image: All Rights Reserved |
| London : Puffin |
| 1997 |
“That, if it had been my good fortune to come into the world a Struldbrugg, as soon as I could discover my own happiness, by understanding the difference between life and death, I would first resolve, by all arts and methods, whatsoever, to procure myself riches. In the pursuit of which, by thrift and management, I might reasonably expect, in about two hundred years, to be the wealthiest man in the kingdom. In the second place, I would, from my earliest youth, apply myself to the study of arts and sciences, by which I should arrive in time to excel all others in learning. Lastly, I would carefully record every action and event of consequence, that happened in public, impartially draw the characters of several successions of princes and great ministers of the state, with my own observations on every point. I would exactly set down the several changes in customs, languages, fashions of dress, diet and diversions. By all which acquirements, I should be a living treasury of knowledge and wisdom, and certainly become the oracle of the nation.
I would never marry after threescore, but live in an hospitable manner, yet still on the saving side. I would entertain myself in forming and directing the minds of hopeful young men, by convincing them from my own remembrance, experience and observation, fortified by numerous examples, of the usefulness of virtue in public and private life. But my choice and constant companions should be a set of my own immortal brotherhood; among whom, I would elect a dozen from the most ancient, down to my own contemporaries. Where any of these wanted fortunes, I would provide them at my table, only mingling with a few of the most valuable among you mortals, and treat your posterity after the same manner; just as a man diverts himself with the annual succession of pinks and tulips in his garden, without regretting the loss of those which withered the preceding year.
These Struldbrugg and I would mutually communicate our observations and memorials through the course of time, remark the several gradations by which corruption steals into the world, and oppose it in every step, by giving perpetual warning and instruction to mankind; which, added to the strong degeneracy of human nature so justly complained of in all ages…”
* Struldbrugg: people who can live forever
Extract from the book Gulliver’s Travels
By Jonathan Swift
All Rights Reserved
London : Puffin, 1997.
Call Number: Y English SWI
Extract contributed by Nathene Chua Qi Qi, Methodist Girls School
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What would you do if you were able to live eternally?
November 15th, 2010 at 11:31 am
i would go and try out different stuff…every kind of stuff out there
November 15th, 2010 at 11:54 am
well!!
i would stop caring bout my health and eat all the unhealthy food in the world
At the same time i would do risky and life-threatening stuff!
November 15th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I would spend time with my family and friends
November 15th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
i would simply wandering around the world, observing the nature, the animals and the human. I would not make myself outstanding or eminent or what so. being able to stay forever may not be a pleasant experience.
May 9th, 2011 at 12:28 am
If I am able to live eternally, please let me be a diamond ring. Which symbolizes true love and eternity, only the one with the strongest resolution shall own me. “Give me to your love one and the vow between you will never be broken.” I will said to him. As the time goes by, and many many years later, when I turned into an heirloom, the person inherited me will be blessed by me and by all the ancestors who owned me before. Finally, all the people in love will live in happiness, like me, eternally…
October 21st, 2011 at 9:19 pm
I would not want to live forever.
The beauty of life is not just in living it, but also in the knowledge that it could be gone any day. It is this knowledge that drives us in the pursuit of success, of happiness, of our dreams, because we know that we have a limited time on this earth, that all of us have an expiry date.
Living eternally would take the joy out of living. Human nature is such that once one gets something, one ceases to desire it. You would no longer enjoy living, it would become a chore to complete. Why do things today, if I have forever ahead of me?
March 6th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
If I was able to live eternally, I would try to bring happiness to as many people as possible. There must be something meaningful to live for if I was to live forever, if not there would be no point. And to me bringing happiness to others is equals to creating happiness for myself. Seeing others smile or laugh is something priceless. Even if it’s only a brief moment, I would be grateful for being the one to provide that moment of happiness for others. I believe in influences, and I trust that one can be truly happy only when the people around him/her are happy, and that is when happiness is shared.