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RosieG

What piece of writing do you think is the single greatest ever? Why?

American writer Thomas Wolfe once said "Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound". The Byrds wrote a song called "Turn Turn Turn" which included some lines from it. Abraham Lincoln used a line in one of his speeches from it. "One generation passeth away and another generation cometh but the earth abideth forever.  What follows is Ecclesiastes 3.1-3.8 and it isn't really religious per se. I think Atheists wouldn't object to it. "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to get and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to cast away . A time to rend and time to sew. A time to keep silence and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate.  A time of war and a time of peace". WHAT TIME IS THIS AND WHAT IS THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED?

Posted - February 8, 2017
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Responses


  • 170
    The greatest piece of writing is probably Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's shortest and yet it is possible to see something new in it every time is is performed.

    Failing that, Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. :) This post was edited by Plingsby at February 8, 2017 9:14 AM MST
      February 8, 2017 4:04 AM MST
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  • 113301
    Excellent choice Plingsby! The works of Shakespeare are like tapestries. Every time you look you see something else you missed. Thank you for your reply and Happy Wednesday! My favorite part of that magnificent play is

    "She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing!"

      February 8, 2017 4:13 AM MST
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  • Shakespeare was overrated. Sheesh! His work is chockablock full of old clichés. 
      February 8, 2017 9:16 AM MST
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  • 170
    I know what you mean. A cliché to most people is like a red rag to a bull.

    The great Welsh politician and social reformer Aneurin Bevan is supposed to have criticised a political opponent for the lack of substance in his speech saying. "I listened to what he said and it was just clitch clitch clitch, one after the other"

    His social awareness was rather better than his pronunciation.

    This post was edited by Plingsby at February 9, 2017 12:53 PM MST
      February 8, 2017 9:52 AM MST
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  • My father was Welsh but I don't know much about Bevan. Heard of him, of course, which probably means he was a stand-out, but my knowledge of UK political history is appalling. 

    But since you mentioned clitch, clitch, clitch, my favourite political clanger came from Ma Ferguson who took over as Governor of Texas when Pa Ferguson died in the 1920s. There was a movement to have Spanish taught as a second language in schools and she vetoed it with a memorable argument, She said, "If English was good enough for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, it's good enough for Texas."

    Fair dinkum! 
      February 9, 2017 12:56 PM MST
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  • 6124
    LOL Didge!
      February 9, 2017 6:30 AM MST
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  • I dunno, Rosie. It can only be a matter of opinion.

    If "great" means style and content then of course it's hard to go past a Shakespeare or a Tolstoy.
    If it means impact and endurance, we'd have to think about Paradise Lost or The Inferno. Both are powerful.
    If it refers to influence then we have to look back at the works of the old Greeks or perhaps the scriptures of the various religions. 

    But if I was to be deprived of all books except one of my choice it would have to be The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and, although I think Le Galienne's paraphrase is the more accurate, I'd have to go for Fitzgerald's version.  

      February 8, 2017 9:22 AM MST
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  • 3907
    Hello Rosie:

    In my view, the greatest book ever written is the one that PREDICTED fascist, Donald J. Trump's arrival on the scene..  I can't remember if it was Brave New World, or Animal Farm.

    It's true, I'm not an especially deep person..

    excon     This post was edited by excon at February 9, 2017 6:43 AM MST
      February 8, 2017 9:23 AM MST
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  • 22891
    probably the bible
      February 8, 2017 9:44 AM MST
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  • 6124
    Good Morning Rosie.  I am an avid reader.  I couldn't possibly decide which piece of writing is the greatest.  There are so many wonderful pieces of literature, poems, writings that have been written and, have yet to be written.

    I will say that I've always loved The Road Not Taken by Frost for it's beautiful simplicity and truth.

    From a political standpoint, I think Orwell's 1984 was rather prophetic for it's time.
      February 9, 2017 6:43 AM MST
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  • It is difficult to choose the greatest writing in history. it is certainly not any sacred texts. The Bible for example is full of gross ignorance of the real world, as we might expect ignorant men to write. it has many dumb contradictions a well. The plot is infantile, for it has become just fuel for a scam. It depends upon people to be overpowered by emotions, so that they cannot think rationally. Homer, Dante, Shakespeare and Goethe are often considered to be the greatest authors who ever lived. some of their writings are competitors for greatest writing in history.
      June 10, 2017 1:51 PM MDT
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