There’s a saying, I’ve seen it written a bunch of ways and I can’t rememebr any of them exactly, that goes something like, “Shared joy increases, shared sorrow lessens.” Can I put this in a publication without a footnote? Where did it come from? How old is it? What is the real saying anyway?
Thanks,
What the heck happened? Everytime I tried to submit this I got and error telling me to press refresh. I refreshed and refreshed andfinally I get through and find a bazillion copies of this post. Sorry manhattan, I’m afraid I created work for you. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.
Don’t worry about it, VO, we’re all suffering with the slowness of the system (as it happens, the whole internet was slow today, as tracked by http://www.internettrafficreport.com ). That little tidbit about “refresh” equals “repost” may be quite helpful to the techs, though, and I’ll pass it on.
-manhattan
I have seen this statement before in a book.
Spider Robinson uses it quite a lot in his “Callahan’s crosstime saloon” trilogy.
Where he picked the phrase up I have not a clue.
Osip
The first time I read this saying was in Spider Robinson’s books set in Callahan’s bar. As I recall, it was in quotes as a summary of a longer discussion. It’s repeated several times in the books and is more or less the motto of the bar. BTW, the books are very entertaining and contain some incredible puns.
The ideas are not orignal, of course. But I don’t know if he originated the exact saying or not. I suspect the only way to find out for sure is to write to him. You might also ask on USENET on alt.callahans (set up in honor of his books). Read the FAQ first, of course. You could also check his official website (run by someone else) for more info.
In some places in the books he adds another clause at the end of the saying you quoted: “Thus do we refute entropy.”
Thanks, I actually own two of the books of that series so I’ll dig them out. Maybe there’s a clue there.
I’m actually writing a book on ethics for athiests and agnostics, a strange first book for someone who wants to eventually be a novelist. Anyway, I am starting with a section on motives for acting in the good of humanity. (That is where I where this thread relates.) I will follow with sections on a large variety of specific subjects: sex, politics, capital punishment, theft, lying, marriage, divorce, homosexuality, work ethic, family, racial prejudice … If there is a subject that you think I should be sure not to miss, let me know. (vileorb@netscape.net) I would appreciate any comments on this subject but would like to keep religion out of it as much as possible. I have some religious beliefs but they are in flux. I think it is better to develop an ethical stance and then find a religion to match rather than the reverse. Any significant contributions will be recognized appropriately. SDMB and TM will get at least a thank you in the book. If it’s never published, I will make the text available on a personal website and let you all know where that is. I’m thinking that I may finish by Xmas.
Thanks, I actually own two of the books of that series so I’ll dig them out. Maybe there’s a clue there.
I’m actually writing a book on ethics for athiests and agnostics, a strange first book for someone who wants to eventually be a novelist. Anyway, I am starting with a section on motives for acting in the good of humanity. (That is where I where this thread relates.) I will follow with sections on a large variety of specific subjects: sex, politics, capital punishment, theft, lying, marriage, divorce, homosexuality, work ethic, family, racial prejudice … If there is a subject that you think I should be sure not to miss, let me know. (vileorb@netscape.net) I would appreciate any comments on this subject but would like to keep religion out of it as much as possible. I have some religious beliefs but they are in flux. I think it is better to develop an ethical stance and then find a religion to match rather than the reverse. Any significant contributions will be recognized appropriately. SDMB and TM will get at least a thank you in the book. If it’s never published, I will make the text available on a personal website and let you all know where that is. I’m thinking that I may finish by Xmas.