"Place me behind prison walls—walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground—there is a possibility that in some way or another I may be able to escape, but stand me on that floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of that circle? No, never! I’d die first!"
I confess that I've always found this hilarious. I applaud the honesty, but would like to offer a few additional suggestions for the person mind-bogglingly stupid enough to draw a circle on the ground and then promise never to leave:
* Lock yourself into the bathroom and then promise on your honor never, ever to go outside again, even for food.
* Promise to never, ever eat anything other than marshmallows for as long as you live (approximately two weeks by most estimates).
* Place your hand on a warming stove-top and then promise to never, ever raise it again.
Just a thought. You don't have to constrain yourself to the whole "starve to death in a circle" thing. Be creative.
You miss the point. Obviously an intelligent man would never promise the absurd. However, what the intelligent man does see fit to promise should always be followed through with. The author of the quote never intended for you to spend your life in a dirt circle...
ReplyDeleteI'm aware of that. But the premise is so absurd that I have trouble identifying with it. Frankly this was a pretty old post and were I to have addressed such a thing today I probably would have taken the analysis in a different direction.
ReplyDelete