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George S. Patton - Wikiquote
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May 12, 7:58pm
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•http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_S...
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Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!
It matters to me not whether George S. Patton really said this. Hopefully I say this not out of any thick-headed hagiography for the man, though. He himself was quite a magnificent bastard, and I'm quite sure if he did say this, he was projecting. To me, it is possibly one of the most brilliant quotes in context (real or imagined) of all time. It embodies a personal myth of the power of prose. And poetry, I suppose.
Longfellow said, once you understand an author's character, the comprehension of his writings becomes easy. Conversely-- and I think most literary analysts will agree with me here-- through inferential comprehension of an author's writings we get a certain sense of the bearing of their character (although this soft science's reach is blurred more and more with every passing period and movement, or at least by those who tend towards potentialities). This is perhaps most pressingly (or rather, directly) felt by a military scientist, but I believe it holds true for the idiosyncratic treasures transcribed in any author's output.
One of the most brilliant quotes in and out of context is rended (quite coincidently to this professed unpatriotic pacifist) by another accomplished American military general, John Paul Jones. Indominability, thy name is military quotations.
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