Mercury Retrograde Project

One of my “Mercury Retrograde” projects is an older manuscript. Currently, the story is sort of set in the middle of naughty aughts, and reflects much of that, with an homage to old Austin, no longer visible under the sheen of new. Old Austin: Tech-Bro buried. The story might’ve been a thriller, at first, or even a legal thriller with an exciting denouement in a lawyer’s office, but as it sits? My current manuscript is just a novel-length exercise. Not my first. Won’t be my last, but I have to understand what I’m good at, and what is best left to others. In a similar vein, I know I’ve got a sample of me trying to read a passage from Shakespeare, and failing miserably at it. Made me think of the recent version of The Tragedy of MacBeth, and the titular character’s version of the “Tomorrow” monologue. There’s a hugely funny clip circulating, no linkage from me, about how to deliver the “To be or not to be,” as demonstrated by a pantheon of stage greats, each with a different take on just the first phrase.

Mercury Retrograde Project

But another Mercury Retrograde diversion for me? e–books. I went from being a doubter and anachronistic holdout until I discovered a local library that was nothing but digital. Do not misunderstand me, I still prefer a “book-book,” but when reading for pleasure, now I favor the digital downloads. Towards that end, an early criticism of my 99-cent books was some of the Kindle/iApple formatting. Think: lost in translation.

Mercury Retrograde Project

Mercury Retrograde 6/29 12:36 PM 26° Can. Full Moon 6/29 6:57 PM 8°14’ Can./Cap. Mercury direct 7/23 5:58 PM 16°18’ Can.

the Portable Mercury Retrograde

Book 3.xiii

I found the quote, looking for something, and then, after using my online resources, I looked it up in my copy of the updated translation, a book. Paper book.

Ὥσπερ οἱ ἰατροὶ ἀεὶ τὰ ὄργανα καὶ σιδήρια πρόχειρα ἔχουσι πρὸς τὰ αἰφνίδια τῶν θεραπευμάτων, οὕτω τὰ δόγματα σὺ ἕτοιμα ἔχε πρὸς τὸ τὰ θεῖα καὶ ἀνθρώπινα εἰδέναι, καὶ πᾶν καὶ τὸ μικρότατον οὕτω ποιεῖν ὡς τῆς ἀμφοτέρων πρὸς ἄλληλα συνδέσεως μεμνημένον. οὔτε γὰρ ἀνθρώπινόν τι ἄνευ τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ θεῖα συναναφορᾶς εὖ πράξεις οὔτ̓ ἔμπαλιν.

13. “Just as physicians always keep their lancets and instruments ready to their hands for emergency operations, so also do thou keep thine axioms ready for the diagnosis of things human and divine, and for the performing of every act, even the pettiest, with the fullest consciousness of the mutual ties between these two. For thou shalt never carry out well any human duty unless thou correlate it to the divine, nor the reverse.”

Book 3.xiii

Excerpt From Complete Works of Marcus Aurelius

“Doctors keep their scalpels and other instruments handy, for emergencies. Keep your philosophy ready too – ready to understand heaven and earth. In everything you do, even the smallest thing, remember the chain that links them. Nothing earthly succeeds by ignoring heaven, nothing heavenly by ignoring the earth.”

I couldn’t make out the exact date, other than it started with zero. Down in the naughty naughts. Quick search, though? 9-13-2005. Reused that quote in El Paso, 10-13-2007.

Book 3.xiii

Marcus Aurelius (meditations)

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius A free copy of Marcus Aurelius Meditations is available here & here.