Winning Words 6/12/09
“Come, my friends: ‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.” (James Joyce, in his novel, Ulysses) I saw this quote in yesterday’s Free Press. The writer was describing his 82-year-old mother’s wedding. This isn’t necessarily about age or marriage; it’s about not being afraid to explore new worlds. ;-) Jack

FROM R.I. IN BOSTON: That's a worthy objective for all of us. I shall try harder to live for that.

FROM S.B. IN MICHIGAN: Actually, the quote was originally from the poem, "Ulysses," written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Joyce may have recited it later. It's one of my favorites, and thank you for your "Winning Words."

FROM CJL IN OHIO: Great to see, isn't it?

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: I would like the saying to read and newer..better...world, but I guess he assumes we would know that fact. It's always good to seek new and better (that's the key word here) worlds. JACK'S REPLY: Better is a relative term. Joyce took the idea from Tennyson in the mid-19th century. Ulysses, in old age, is seeking s new world as he did in the past. As the poem begins, Ulysses has returned to his kingdom, Ithaca, having had a long, eventful journey home after fighting in the Trojan War. Confronted again by domestic life, Ulysses expresses his lack of contentment, including his indifference toward the "savage race" (line 4) that he governs. Ulysses contrasts his restlessness and boredom with his heroic past. He contemplates his age and eventual death — "Life piled on life / Were all too little, and of one to me / Little remains" (24–26) - and longs for further experience and knowledge. His son Telemachus will inherit the throne that Ulysses finds burdensome. While Ulysses thinks Telemachus will be an adequate king, he seems to have little empathy for his son—"He works his work, I mine" (43)—and the necessary methods of governing—"by slow prudence" (36) and "through soft degrees" (37). In the final section, Ulysses turns his attention to his mariners and calls on them to join him on another quest, making no guarantees as to their fate but attempting to conjure their heroic past:
… Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.