Healthy Limits

I really hate to juice the big-words average on my blog’s reading level, but this is too good. I’ve got to quote this. Much thanks to my old Classics & Literature Professor, Dr. Bob McMahon, who quoted the first paragraph of this to me, by heart, a month ago.

I soon found that it is too late to look for instruments, when the work calls for execution, and that whatever abilities I had brought to my task, with those I must finally perform it. To deliberate whenever I doubted, to enquire whenever I was ignorant, would have protracted the undertaking without end, and, perhaps, without much improvement; for I did not find by my first experiments, that what I had not of my own was easily to be obtained: I saw that one enquiry only gave occasion to another, that book referred to book, that to search was not always to find, and to find was not always to be informed; and that thus to pursue perfection, was, like the first inhabitants of Arcadia, to chase the sun, which, when they had reached the hill where he seemed to rest, was still beheld at the same distance from them.

I then contracted my design, determining to confide in myself, and no longer to solicit auxiliaries, which produced more encumbrance than assistance: by this I obtained at least one advantage, that I set limits to my work, which would in time be ended, though not completed.

From Samuel Johnson’s Preface to his Dictionary of the English Language, 1755

Ahem.

I’m not going to obey that. Not nearly. As if I could. But it’s really good advice. I’ll do my best, Dr. Bob! It’s going to be better to get this thing done, than for it to be perfect. I’ll get critics input later. Then I’ll do an update.

Simple, right?

Now, all I need is five years off work and a million dollar publishing budget! ;)