I'm not that good, actually, in English, but rock-drill is a
computer/industrial thing, right? Notably, rock-drill is a word Wyndham
Lewis uses often in describing mechanical thinking of his current
Zeitgeist.

Learning through hard repetition doesn't seem to be such a sweet
thing. It's Gertrude Stein's kind of a thing, isn't it?

Cabman endowed with a perfect knowledge (I remember similar anecdote
somewhere about Pound's guard, only it happened in a bar; there also
was an article in Paideuma by some 'cabman', who was moved by Pound
in the mystical discoveries about world conspiracies -- quite
impressive) of Chines history is just some kind of a Victorian story,
remember Browning?

"My Father was a scholar and knew Greek."

In 19th century the merchant knowing Homer by heart did not seem to
be such a miracle, but what does this change? Ideas into action, right?

The obvious problem with Pound's fans is that they keep on repeating
same slogans, "what thou lovest well remains" etc. Their sensibilities
do not seem to be much 'hitched'.

'The man's paradise is his good nature' is not a very powerful spell,
and not gaining much from repeating. Quite solipsistic. Besides, it's
a less powerful then Pound's own statements in postscript to Natural
Philosophy of Love concerning nature of hell and paradise.

I think that Pound is mostly interesting as economist. And, speaking
from McLuhan's point of view, "Usura rusteth the chisel / It rusteth
the craft and the craftsman / It gnaweth the thread in the loom" is
the most perfect illustration of the statement "Medium is the
Message", in fact the whole canto is perfectly McLuhian. And
ideograms...

There are really so many interesting things about Pound, but when
reduced to decadent 'truth and beauty' (that is Keats, BTW, and W. C.
Williams had some words to say about 'truth and beauty'), he makes no
sense at all, being so easily adopted into official literary canon for
this reason...

I sat on the Dogana's steps
Musing upon the king my brother's wreck,
By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept,
For the gondolas cost too much, that year...

And also 'Hieronymo's mad againe' sometimes...


Nikolay



--
Best regards,
 Nikolay                            mailto:[log in to unmask]