So did the computer
May 20, 2009 (Wednesday)
One of history’s greatest and most influential writers was Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). In 1837, he wrote a three-volume history of the French Revolution. He sent the only manuscript of Volume I to John Stuart Mill, whose maid burned it in the fireplace, thinking it was scrap paper. After writing Volumes II and III, Carlyle sat down with pen in hand, and wrote Volume I again. It was one of more than 30 major books he wrote during his lifetime.
Can you imagine writing a book about the French Revolution all over again after its being accidentally destroyed? What a brilliant accomplishment of a great mind.
Well, I didn’t write a three-volume major essay yesterday, but I wrote yesterday’s blog about words, definitions, etymology and usage. Then, out of the clear blue sky, without any warning, the electricity was cut off, and stayed off for 26 minutes. That meant that the blog I was completing on the word processor suddenly disappeared forever. So, when the power was restored, I wrote it again. The blog that appeared yesterday was not exactly the same as the one jerked from the computer monitor and sent into the great computer in the sky, but it was similar.
A few trivial remarks in a blog can hardly be compared to “The French Revolution,” and my name does not deserve mention in the same breath with Thomas Carlyle, but my experience helped me to sympathize with his literary plight 172 years ago.
Incidentally, J.S. Mill offered Carlyle 200 Pounds as compensation for the manuscript loss, but Carlyle would not accept it, eventually agreeing to 100 Pounds. You can buy a copy today from Amazon.com for about $11.00. You can download it free in PDF format from Project Gutenberg. I have no idea what the original manuscript, rewritten by Carlyle, or first editions of the book might be worth today. I’m sure they are worth a little more than $11.00.