Phoebus is dead, ephebe. But Phoebus was A name for something that never could be named. There was a project for the sun and is. There is a project for the sun. The sun Must bear no name, gold flourisher, but be In the difficulty of what it is to be.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Names like Phoebus fail to capture the sun; existence precedes naming.
- In plain terms
- Names fail to capture the sun; just be as you are.
- What can you take from it?
- Existence is harder than naming.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can you describe something without a name?
- What does it mean to exist?
Another view
Naming is often necessary for human interaction.
More from Wallace Stevens
The death of one god is the death of all.
Permalink to quote #93 So poisonous Are the ravishments of truth, so fatal to The truth itself, the first idea becomes The hermit in a poet's metaphors, Who comes and goes and comes …
Permalink to quote #95 Begin, ephebe, by perceiving the idea Of this invention, this invented world, The inconceivable idea of the sun. You must become an ignorant man again And see …
Permalink to quote #92
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