I possess an unwarranted, requited love of first sentences.
No special virtue or wisdom, just an obsession. Fiction,….non-fiction,….essays,….PowerPoints,….lectures,….text messages. I try to keep forefront in my mind Lucas/Barzun/Thomas/Turner’s 5 pillars of prose – Clarity, Brevity, Truthful, Meaningful,…….and of course Style, the gorgeous nonpareil. I fail a lot.
My all-time treasure (so far…..): “The world is my idea.” Arthur Schopenhauer’s spine-tingling inception to his magisterial The World as Will and Representation,…..published in 1818 when he was 30 years old.
#2 (a tie with 57 others….) – “When on board H.M.S. Beagle as naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent.” A characteristic understated gem from Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species. His curiosity, persistence, humility unsurpassed,…..much like Abraham Lincoln, maybe America’s finest writer.
If you have not read Darwin’s autobiography, you are in for a treat,….especially so in these times of disruption/discord/dread. CD restores optimism in Homo sapiens and our good nature,…..and good Nature.
Send me your personal favorites, if you wish.
So,….what is your impression of the first sentence in the attached manuscripts. All 3 articles discuss items of great importance,…..does any first sentence seize your mind’s eye,…..and say to you “Read this.”
Joe Kaempf, MD
District VIII Member Extraordinaire
Portland, OR
Volume 3, Number 38