Did you ever read a line from a work of literature that just stuck in your mind evermore? In Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, one such line has never been forgotten by me notwithstanding the many years since I've read it.
The internationally best selling novel is set in a medieval Benedictine Italian monetary and features Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, an English theologian who dabbles in crime detection. During his stay he is confronted with a series of highly suspect deaths which many are willing to attribute to diabolic mechanisms in accordance with the times. However, William senses a more earthly explanation as he investigates, much to the chagrin of some others as he opens up a metaphorical keg of worms with potentially profound implications.
One monk admonishes the amateur detective with: "William of Baskerville must always be right! No matter what the cost, he must always be right!" It seems that William simply will not allow sleeping dogs to lie as truth is paramount to his philosophical paradigm.
Have any here ever had reason to question yourself along similar lines? Perhaps a close friend of yours has become infatuated with another person and you just know (know!) this is going to be a disaster. Did you keep your mouth shut or counsel your friend at the risk of ending the friendship? Is burying one's head in the sand or looking the other way justified in at least some cases or is truth the only consideration that ever matters to you? Are you the sort of person who just can’t keep your mouth shut and reproaches yourself afterwards, yet nevertheless repeats this behavior time and again?
Is perhaps being at least a tad obsessive—accompanied by a naturally high degree of observation and perceptive insights into human nature—a hallmark of a good writer as well as that of a good detective?
The internationally best selling novel is set in a medieval Benedictine Italian monetary and features Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, an English theologian who dabbles in crime detection. During his stay he is confronted with a series of highly suspect deaths which many are willing to attribute to diabolic mechanisms in accordance with the times. However, William senses a more earthly explanation as he investigates, much to the chagrin of some others as he opens up a metaphorical keg of worms with potentially profound implications.
One monk admonishes the amateur detective with: "William of Baskerville must always be right! No matter what the cost, he must always be right!" It seems that William simply will not allow sleeping dogs to lie as truth is paramount to his philosophical paradigm.
Have any here ever had reason to question yourself along similar lines? Perhaps a close friend of yours has become infatuated with another person and you just know (know!) this is going to be a disaster. Did you keep your mouth shut or counsel your friend at the risk of ending the friendship? Is burying one's head in the sand or looking the other way justified in at least some cases or is truth the only consideration that ever matters to you? Are you the sort of person who just can’t keep your mouth shut and reproaches yourself afterwards, yet nevertheless repeats this behavior time and again?
Is perhaps being at least a tad obsessive—accompanied by a naturally high degree of observation and perceptive insights into human nature—a hallmark of a good writer as well as that of a good detective?
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