Lord Salisbury said it was only a noun for the verb 'to undulate.'
**********
"Lord Salisbury"
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times in the latter half of the 19th Century. I don't know why he was weighing in on the possible existence of Æther except that people sometimes want to know what powerful politicians think. This guy seemed pretty smart if absolutely a model of conservative British politics. My favorite bit about him was his credo: "Whatever happens will be for the worse, and therefore it is in our interest that as little should happen as possible." Being the leader of the greatest imperial country of the 19th Century, this motto did not stop him from winding up with the most territory in the Scramble for Africa. I suppose that was more a case of the worst happening and less a case of as little should happen as possible. Because, you know, Britain could have sat out plundering Africa with the other imperialists, could they have not?
This guy looks like his credo.
"a noun for the verb 'to undulate.'"
I don't know if he really said this or this is just Pynchon fictionalizing some possible dialogues surrounding Æther at the time but it definitely sounds good! The main reason for Æther's existence was to give light waves something to travel, or undulate, through. The movement of light waves simply needed a medium, or noun, to make sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment