Quotations for Christmas

"Prosperity discovers vice, adversity discovers virtue."  -- Francis Bacon

I must admit there are a few things that drive me really nuts. I am still striving and failing to get people to understand the difference between “cachet” and “cache”: the first means “the stamp of authenticity” while the second means “a hiding place.” What a difference a “t” makes. I know it is a hopeless fight thanks to years of incompetent English teachers. I plan to have it engraved on my tombstone, which should confound the coming semi-literate generations.

Both words have something to do with a story I came across about newly discovered documents confirming that Vladimir Lenin “…was a syphilitic whore-monger who sampled the delights of Paris and died raving mad,” as the Canadian columnist David Warren indelicately put it. At his death the Soviets mounted raids to confiscate medical evidence and kill those who knew too much—they missed some.

While doctors back home were cowed by terror, one famous scientist was not. Ivan Pavlov (of salivating puppy dog fame) rather brazenly brought up the subject at a Paris medical conference in 1928. His international fame must have saved his scientific butt because Stalin was in power by that time.

Gee, if Lenin had advanced syphilis, just think what was in Stalin’s brain. Let’s not go there. Lenin’s brain is a good example of what lurks doggo in history. Think of all the communist faithful gazing worshipfully at Lenin’s waxy body still lying in state outside the Kremlin—thanks to regular dusting and chemical injections.

Warren quotes one unnamed associate of Pavlov, who exclaimed when he heard the news, “The revolution was made by a madman with syphilis of the brain.” His observation was remarkably accurate. Murderously syphilitic certainly describes the USSR.

What annoyed me were some of the “comments” from Internet dumbos who, while squeezing their pimples, made drearily stupid remarks ranging from “Who cares?” to relentlessly witless jokes.

I have no doubt this story will have no great effect on the history as presently taught. Think of it: Lenin’s failing syphilitic mind allowed Stalin to easily grab power, institute his murderous rule, slaughter millions, impose a grandiosely dysfunctional system, destroy the heart and soul of Old Russia and establish a dreary pathological empire, which in turn provoked wars. Whew! Remember Stalin killed more victims than did Hitler but then he had many more potential victims to draw upon. The Jews were next but fortunately he died.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the archives of Soviet agencies were opened. All sorts of goodies popped out. An agent codenamed Zamestitel ("Deputy") turned out to be Harry Hopkins, the highly visible and close advisor to President Roosevelt.            

Other nasty secrets surfaced like bloated corpses. How about Walter Duranty the New York Times Moscow bureau chief for 1922 to 1936? He wrote fawning and deceitful articles downplaying or “refuting” Stalin’s murderous policies. For his dishonor and lies he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. After the fall of the Soviet Union documents revealed the extent of his despicable treachery. Yet the Pulitzer Prize Board refused to withdraw the award.   

The Soviet archives also revealed that the Rosenbergs were indeed spies, as was Alger Hiss, the quintessential East Coast liberal (check Google under “Venona project.”) Yes, who cares now? Liberal intelligentsia of that time vociferously defended Hiss, and their descendants have not changed their bad habits to this day. The depth of Soviet spying in the U. S. surely should be at least mentioned in our schools. Oh, never mind, they are busy trashing Christopher Columbus and banning Christmas decorations. Speaking of which…

I have a few suggestions for those of you with friends and relations who have obscure literary tastes. Some are best obtained from either of two websites: www.abebooks.com and www.alibris.com.  Both cater to folks looking for older books at reasonable prices. Think of them as huge used bookstores with national links to hundreds of used bookstores. 

I highly recommend Recollections of the Revolution and the Empire by Henriette-Lucy Dillon, the Marquise de La Tour du Pin, an aristocrat with an absolute genius for being at the right place at the right time to befriend the right people. She survived the Revolution and the Empire and beyond to die in 1862 at 83. She was ten when the Bastille fell in 1789 and went on to befriend the likes of Napoleon and Talleyrand. She kept a diary and made notes—heh, heh. What a woman, what a read.

Super Freakonomics by Steven B. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner is a new book. If you have read their first book, Freakonomics, you know what to expect. Both books reveal hidden economic underpinnings of seemingly disparate phenomenon such as why a prositute is like a department store Santa.

 Another new book is The 2012 Story by John Major Jenkins.  It’s an engrossing history of the Mayan calendar (or rather calendars within calendars.) He explains the origin of the hysterical brouhaha regarding 2012. Advice: do not sell all you have and go stand naked on a hill. Just remember, Apocalypse is a Christian notion, not a Mayan one.

 The calendars are amazingly accurate and the Mayans did it without telescopes or calculators.  The Long Count Calendar which ends December 21, 2012 and began August 11, 3114 BC, well before the Mayan calendar, marks the end of an age, not the physical world.

 I’ll end by wishing to all a Merry Christmas (or in Maya count, Happy 12.19.16.17.8) and offering another quote, this one by Will Rogers: “Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up. If it don't go up, don't buy it.”