The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-01-04
NUS HARD TO CRACK
oUeSytpNs WHICH EXCITE STRONG
~ SNouls,Tive MINDS.

89 Dreams OF Chineso.
DaeeA doubtless had in his mind the
neopooDdor of unanswerable questions
when, IN his essay on Discourse, he ad-
Visea all seekers after knowledge to avoid
put1lag troublesome Queries-a practice
Whish Ae declared was fit only for poser.
Tho pssG, however, has existed time out
q mlha. He Is TO be found among all
classes sf mon, from emperors down to
private individuals who prepare scientific
oonundyuma
A, s1mewhat early example of the poser
Sure ard simple was the Emperor Tiberius.
The unfortunate philosophers whom he
used TO keep for pastime in his island re-
hreat at Capre were continually being
pdagued by absurd questions. Suetonius
Tails NJ that the emperor used to demand
~ these wise men whom Hecuba's mother
waG Il they refused to commit them
selves, the family tree of the Hecubas not
having come down to posterity, the en-
peror was wont to wax wroth at their ig-
noraDce and threaten them with corporal
punishment II on the following day they
did not come prepared with an answer. 9th
Or fAvorite questions of his were: What
name did Achilles pass under when he So
3ourned with the virgins at Scyros?"
"What particular song were the sirens
when seated on the rocks In the habit of
Uhanting In order to allure travellers to
their deathf" In vain was it for these wise
men to invent fictitious answers, for the
emperor invariably asked for authorities,
and II chapter and verse were not forth
coming some ingenious punishment fell
TO the lot of those unfortunate manufac-
tuyars of history.
Perhaps IL was because time hung heav-
lily on their hands that the holy men Of the
church during the middle ages pestered
their spiritual superiors with foolish ques-
ttons drawn from the Bible. A bishop In
those days had to know, or rather appear
10 know, even more than Macaulay's om-
tnisoient schoolboy. No small portion of
Ms time, 1t would seem, was spent in en-
0eavoring to find answers TO such ques-
Mons as the following: what was the use
OF the ladder which Jacob saw in his vi
don, seeing that the angels had wings,
and 90 did not require any other means Of
S)escent from heaven to earth?" "What
Kind Of implements did Adam and Eve use
when they sewed the fig leaves together and
made themselves aprons?" Far from
checking speculations such as the above,
1hc dignitaries of the church appear to
have encouraged them, and "the nicer the
points the better the bishop liked them"
The regal as well as the clerical mind
oelighted In propounding abstruse ques-
lions Was, for instance, q man who came
- stranger to city and being In ex-
creme want of food justified in stealing in |
order to save his life, Grotius, Puffendorf !
and whole host OF foreign jurists declare |
IN the affirmative. Cicero, Hale, Black |
stone and Others take the opposite side
The great Bacon himself suggests nice
point II two persons are shipwrecked and
get on the same plank, but find it is not
able to save them both, is either justified
II, In order to save his life, he thrust the
other from 1t.
Scientific men, too, have raised some
curious questions for posterity to argue
over. Many Of these, however, are similar
10 that which Charles III propounded 10
The Royal society-viz, "If fish Is put
INTO a globe full to the brim with water,
why Is it that the water does not overflow"
The society, being loyal subjects, took
decent time to look into this profound
question, and then informed his majesty,
In the poIitest terms which they could
that under the given circum-
stances the water would overflow There is
that ancient question, "What would hap
pen II an irresistible force came into con-
tact with an immovable bodys'
Equally fruitless Is the speculation as to
which came first, the hen or the egg. In
spite of the old Greek saying, 1.-THE begin
ming Of all life is an egg" we usually i'm
Agine hens eggs at least to have been laid
by hen. Perhaps the theory of evolution
can furnish an answer to this, for evolu-
tion can explain much. AS the Americans
say, 1--WE pass" anglice, we give 1t up.
% Does water wheel run faster at night
than in the dayf" The savants even Of
have studied this nice point and
own there Is no satisfactory answer.
Again, Does rest improve the cutting
properties of razorg" There is no answer
10 this either. "Does a man weigh more
at the equator than at the north polep" and
How do birds soar without moving their
wings" are both questions which seem to
imbitter the lives Of many apparently sane
people.
There is a story to the effect that a GER
tain gentleman, being commissioned to |
write an article on Chinese metaphysics,
looked up the words Chinese" and meta |
physics In the Encyclopedia Britannica |
and combined his information. Consider |
Ing the questions which the metaphyd- |
clans Of China are In the habit Of PROFOUND. |
Ing We think the gentleman did wisely In |
sparing his readers an introduction to the |
subtlstics Of the Celestial intellect Az an |
example Of what they thus escaped We ap- |
pend the following: A certain Chinaman |
fell asleep and dreamed he Was a butterfly. |
During the dream, while In the form of |
. butterfly, he dreamed he was a China
man. On awakening, terrible feeling |
CasDe over him. Was he now a butterfly |
dreaming he was n Chinaman, or had he |
1ast night been . Chinaman dreaming that |
10 was butterfly The question weighed |
upon this Chinese mans mind He sought |
ont tbe greatest thinkers of China, who |
pondcred over this question, but could |
make nothing Of It. 1t is said that the joy |
and beauty have gone out of that China. |
mans life Fortune may smile upon him,
hs may be decorated with peacock featb.
ers and yellow jackets, yet content will
not be his, for he can never be certain In
his own mind whether he be Chinaman
or butterfly. London Standard.