/lit/ - Literature

>>18845218
Just another vicarious pursuit bro

>>18845218
your 31 and you still believe in the myth of great men?

>>18845218
>Faulkner published The Sound and the Fury when he was 32
>Joyce published Ulysses when he was 30
>pretty sure Cervantes didn't start publishing Don Quixote till he was in his 60s
>McCarthy didn't publish Blood Meridian till he was 52
etc etc, you still got some time to achieve something great anon

>>18845218

>>18846725
>Joyce published his masterpiece when he was younger than me
That doesn't help, anon..

>>18846725
>>18847537
don't forget that Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was 30 either

>>18847509
That's a Gideons Bible

Kant did nothing but think until his 40s.

>>18845218
I’ve been reading this for the last few days. Enjoying it quite a bit desu and I don’t usually read non fiction.

There's a famous Japanese poet that didn't start publishing until she was in her 60s, I think she's in her 90s now.

In other words, stop being a bitch and spend your time getting good at something.

anything monistic
plato
plotinus
buddhism
age is just a number
your soul is eternal

LOL Caesar at that time was already great, Alexander had history's greatest kickstart on account of inheriting the greatest army of his time and being taught by arguably the single most intelligent person in history.

>>18845218
Mohammed was mostly known for being a really really nice and humble guy up until the last eight years of his life.

Jordan Peterson

>>18845218
May I advise that you read Kierkegaard instead?
>A despairing man is in despair over something. So it seems for an instant, but only for an instant; that same instant the true despair manifests itself, or despair manifests itself in its true character. For in the fact that he despaired of something, he really despaired of himself, and now would be rid of himself. Thus when the ambitious man whose watchword was "Either Caesar or nothing" does not become Caesar, he is in despair thereat.
>But this signifies something else, namely, that precisely because he did not become Caesar he now cannot endure to be himself. So properly he is not in despair over the fact that he did not become Caesar, but he is in despair over himself for the fact that he did not become Caesar.
>This self which, had he become Caesar, would have been to him a sheer delight (though in another sense equally in despair), this self is now absolutely intolerable to him. In a profounder sense it is not the fact that he did not become Caesar which is intolerable to him, but the self which did not become Caesar is the thing that is intolerable; or, more correctly, what is intolerable to him is that he cannot get rid of himself.
>If he had become Caesar he would have been rid of himself in desperation, but now that he did not become Caesar he cannot in desperation get rid of himself. Essentially he is equally in despair in either case, for he does not possess himself, he is not himself.
>By becoming Caesar he would not after all have become himself but have got rid of himself, and by not becoming Caesar he falls into despair over the fact that he cannot get rid of himself.
>Hence it is a superficial view (which presumably has never seen a person in despair, not even one’s own self) when it is said of a man in despair, "He is consuming himself." For precisely this it is he despairs of, and to his torment it is precisely this he cannot do, since by despair fire has entered into something that cannot burn, or cannot burn up, that is, into the self.

>>18846725
>>18847537
Pretty sure Joyce was almost 40 when Ulysses was published the first time.

>>18848857
He also said that there's no point in being famous or known in this world.
Abdullah bin `Umar said, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) took hold of my shoulder and said, 'Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler."

>>18846716
This

Luckily for you writers don't typically have prime age years, I've seen as equally good work made my 50+ as those between 30-50.

>>18845218

schopenhauer

his world as will and representation didn't get popular until he was an old man. before then it was sitting in some book store not being sold. i think it started to be sold after the publisher started selling it very cheap. some intellectuals got a hold of it and realized the value in it.

>>18848908
What's the book? Either/Or?

He wrote some random stuff since he was young but Michel Houllebecq didn’t publish Whatever until he was near 40 and was already in his 40s before he was making a living off his writing.

>Thursday afternoon at home
>all night on 4chan
>miss sleep forget what happens
>Its Saturday afternoon and all I did was browse 4chan for three days

I am going to be 31 years old before I learn how to use my time correctly.

>>18846716
>who is kanye west, napoleon, einstein

>>18849449
I have bad news for you , anon.

>>18847718
>LOL Caesar at that time was already great
He wasn't really, this was before he even invaded Gaul.

When he was 40, Muhammad reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave and receiving his first revelation from God.

He went on to conquer whole Arabia. Before that, I believe, Muhammad was some modest merchant

My only comfort is that one of my literary idols didn't get his first book published until he was 35 but went on to write 39 novels anyway

>>18845218
Murakami started writing fiction when he was 29.
He didn't care about literature before that.

And no, he's far from great, but still, for someone who started that late, he turned out quite well.

>>18845218
When did Jesus die? You still have time.

Matthew. Mark. Luke. And Thomas.

>>18848908
Yes, despair is illogical, but I still don't love myself. What next?

Abraham the tent dweller

>>18845218
Reminding you that in ancient Greece your "Acmê" (or floruit) was at 40 years of age.

>>18851083
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floruit
you retarded boy?

>>18845218
>>18846716
sadly this. the time for heroes and great men is dead and gone, OP, if it ever existed in the first place

>>18849417
The Sickness Unto Death

>>18849794
this must be bait you just mentioned kanye west in the same sentence as napoleon and einstein, three people you will never and have never met by the way so how the fuck do you know they're great?
all you know of supposed great men is their present image and reputation which is nothing more than an incredibly warped and likely even untrue version of how they really were. some people have virtues but none are truly great. great men only exist in retrospect but never in the present

>>18851582
Only someone who did not grow up with a father would say this, otherwise he would not hold such contempt for people

On his 30th birthday, he was only of millions of anonymous lost men without any possession.

Honestly, read the biography by Joachim Fest, best book I ever read.

Actually many people make most of their achievements in the latter half of their life. This is because they aren't distracted by the angst (and libido) of youth which often makes one into a functional retard.

>>18846716
>your

Oliver Cromwell was anonymous (albeit part of the landed gentry) until his late-thirties. In fact in his thirties he stooped even lower in social standing and had to live as a yeomen farmer for a while. He was also reported as having periods of depression and probably suffered some sort of nervous breakdown that inspired him towards puritanical Christianity.

Anyway, he started locally, I think getting involved in the politics of the draining of Fens (sort of like an old British swampland). One thing led to another, and within 20 years he was considering whether or not to accept the invitation to become King of England.

So I guess the moral of his story, is that you have to put in hard years of being involved in mundane local causes/politics to build up your reputation. And hope that you are in the right place at the right time. Even if you don't reach Cromwellian heights in the history books, I'm sure being involved in local politics and causes is probably good enough for most.

In today's instafamous world, that seems to be too hard for most. So if you don't have a million followers within a year you are doomed to failure.

>>18851719
my father was present for my entire childhood and you're right I do hold a general contempt for people and that's because most of them lack virtue and quality of character.
You're saying that because I don't believe in great people its because I didn't have a father to look up to and believe to me great. I looked up to my father but I became aware of his fallibility in my early teens. no body is without flaws and everyone is fallible despite what qualities they may have.

>>18852145
Yup. People don't grow up. People still look for someone to look up to, someone to strive to be. Or they grow up too fast and become complete nihilists, instead creating some ultimate ideal figure that hasn't been subsumed, hasn't been made a cynic like themselves and continues to fight ahead and achieve great things.

>>18852073
Based

>>18852073
Any book on him (or any any other part of British history) you can recommend?

>>18845218
Do you realise that men who achieved greatness later in life have been doing it since they were very young. They didn't simply start at 30 and suddenly crafted a masterpiece at 50.
With that said, it's very difficult even for people who have been doing it since they were kids. Out of thousands of writers and philosophers in the past two thousand years, only a dozen made it to the western canon.
It's still not to late to learn and produce something though but just do it for personal development, you will enjoy it much more.

>>18852073
>One thing led to another
namely the jews financed and propped him up

>>18849187
Any place I can read more of this? Kinda prescient

>>18845218

>>18851096
All the more reason to be one. A hero in a time of misery is the best time to be a hero. A worthless nigger like George Floyd can become a national icon for fuck all reason other than the fact he was filmed and actively drawing attention to his situation (I cant breathe, I can't breathe, ect. ect.), image what an actual hero could do

>>18849794
sad

Spengler is an example of someone who achieved success, recognition and impact later in life. By profession, he was a school teacher.