Mini-U, 2024 (Part 3)

July 4

Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Our labour preserves us from three great evils — weariness, vice, and want. ~ Voltaire, Candide

This wraps up Mini-U for another year. I learned a lot; likely have forgotten even more. The impact of the coming worldwide baby bust is hitting with all of the impact of climate change data. The countries that need to address the problem the most are the most stringently anti-immigrant. Go figure. George Carlin figured it out a long time ago that homo sapiens’ reign over the planet is coming to an end, as it did for the dinosaur. All hail the coming of the Super Bug? ~ Me

In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense. ~ Voltaire, Candide

June 12

If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others? ~ Voltaire, Candide

When a man is in love, jealous, and just whipped by the Inquisition, he is no longer himself. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Fools admire everything in an author of reputation. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[So it was Moby Dick and a bunch of others . . . ]

I hold firmly to my original views. After all I am a philosopher. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Professor Canada dons an albatross, in what I seem to recall, as an accoutrement to his “Literature of the Sea” presentations . . . ]

Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[As the Mini-U students gathered for a group photo, who should happen by but our dinner host (Rick Van Kooten, executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, on the right) from the previous evening . . . ]

There are, however, some things good. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Ann Schertz discovers trying to arrange a photo shoot of senior citizens is actually more difficult than one for kindergarteners. That said, still waiting for access to the photos she took . . ]

Surely you must be possessed by the devil. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[No, move the other way, and come down two steps . . . ]

Misfortune gives sufficient excuse. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[As the floor mat says, this is where you put the “I” in “IU.” Rita leads us off . . . ]

That may be, but I know them not. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[All hail the IU Biddies!]

Wherever you go in France, you will find that their three chief occupations are making love, backbiting, and talking nonsense. ~ Voltaire, Candide

He was my equal in beauty, a paragon of grace and charm, sparkling with wit, and burning with love. I adored him to distraction, to the point of idolatry: I loved him as one can never love twice. ~ Voltaire, Candide

It is love; love, the comfort of the human species, the preserver of the universe, the soul of all sentient beings, love, tender love. ~ Voltaire, Candide

It is noble to write as one thinks; this is the privilege of humanity. ~ Voltaire, Candide

I am the best-natured creature in the world, and yet I have already killed three, and of these three two were priests. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[A medical doctor who talked off the cuff for the entire class – impressive . . . ]

A State can be no better than the citizens of which it is composed. Our labour now is not to mould States but make citizens. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Beautiful maiden, when a man is in love, is jealous, and has been flogged by the Inquisition, he becomes lost to all reflection. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Susan Kovacich, OD]

What is this optimism? Alas, it is the madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[I sat at an odd angle for this class. This was my only photo. A presentation of a complete anatomy of the eye and the maladies that can occur therein . . . ]

Miss, you do not know my birth; and were I to show you my backside, you would not talk in that manner, but would suspend your judgment. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[It’s just an eye patch and a cane. I am not a pirate. ~ Reetz]

If we cannot succeed in this world we may in another. It is a great pleasure to see new objects and perform new exploits. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Ruthie’s dorm, back in the day . . . ]

Things cannot be otherwise than they are and since, everything is made to serve and end, everything necessarily serves the best end. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Meanwhile, all the travellers whom Candide met in the inns along his route, said to him, “We go to Paris.” ~ Voltaire, Candide

[This was The Biddies campus pizza joint 60 years ago – and it’s still there. And the pizza was really, really good!]

Contemplation of the stupidity which deems happiness possible almost made Voltaire happy. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Fools admire everything in an author of reputation. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[The words of the prophets are written on the pizza joint walls . . . ]

Yes I have seen Paris; it is like all those kinds, it’s chaos, it’s a crowd in which everyone seeks pleasure and in which no one finds it, at least so it appeared to me. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Mankind were born to assist one another. ~ Voltaire, Candide

You looked so gay and content. ~ Voltaire, Candide

All men are by nature free; you have therefore an undoubted liberty to depart whenever you please, but will have many and great difficulties to encounter in passing the frontiers. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II.   He was killed by enemy fire on Iejima (then known as Ie Shima) during the Battle of Okinawa (Wikipedia).]

Secret griefs are more cruel than public calamities. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[This is located just outside the entrance gate to the Indiana Memorial Union . . . ]

. . . we must cultivate our garden. ~ Voltaire, Candide

I have seen the worst. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Is there no way of getting quickly out of this country where monkeys provoke tigers? ~ Voltaire, Candide

[The Indiana Memorial Union, where we lived and learned . . . ]

You lack faith. It is because I have seen the world. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Co-eds at the union . . . ]

Ever since 1759, when Voltaire wrote “Candide” in ridicule of the notion that this is the best of all possible worlds, this world has been a gayer place for readers.

[Co-eds, co-eds, everywhere I looked . . . ]

June 13

[i]f Columbus in an island of America had not caught the disease, which poisons the source of generation, and often indeed prevents generation, we should not have chocolate and cochineal. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[These guys are physics professors (and we have had them previously for classes) who have wandered off into the planet’s demography . . . ]

There can be no effect without a cause, the whole is necessarily concatenated and arranged for the best. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[And they did a great job with it . . . ]

He never told a story, but everyone laughed at it. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[This topic was so timely it made “The Week” a week later. As a geography major, always a big fan of demographics . . . ]

You mean you don’t have any monks to teach and dispute and govern and intrigue and burn people to death who don’t agree with them? ~ Voltaire, Candide

I have been in several provinces. In some one-half of the people are fools, in others they are too cunning; in some they are weak and simple, in others they affect to be witty; in all, the principal occupation is love, the next is slander, and the third is talking nonsense. ~ Voltaire, Candide

A fondness for roving, for making a name for themselves in their own country, and for boasting of what they had seen in their travels, was so strong in our two wanderers, that they resolved to be no longer happy; and demanded permission of the king to leave the country. ~ Voltaire, Candide

He vainly said that human will is free, and that he chose neither the one nor the other. ~ Voltaire, Candide

All that is very well, but let us cultivate our garden. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[The Tudor Room where we had the good fortune to lunch all week . . . ]

His face was the true index of his mind. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Alas, it was love; love, the comfort of the human species; love, the preserver of the universe; the soul of all sensible beings; love! tender love! ~ Voltaire, Candide

My friend, do you believe the Pope to be Anti-Christ? I have not heard it, but whether he be, or whether he be not, I want bread. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[The oversight committee . . . ]

Do you think that mankind always massacred one another as they do now? Were they always guilty of lies, fraud, treachery, ingratitude, inconstancy, envy, ambition, and cruelty? Were they always thieves, fools, cowards, gluttons, drunkards, misers, calumniators, debauchees, fanatics, and hypocrites? ~ Voltaire, Candide

[This was a travelogue of Tanzania. Ready for an IU adventure?]

Apparently, then, sir, you do not believe in original sin; for if all is for the best there has then been neither Fall nor punishment. ~ Voltaire, Candide

I have seen so many extraordinary things that nothing seems extraordinary to me. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[This is at least the second Mini-U class we have taken from Dr. Pilachowski . . . ]

We are at the end of all our troubles, and at the beginning of happiness. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[An amazing class with beautiful photos by the Webb . . . ]

It must also be noted that until the present time this malady, like religious controversy, has been wholly confined to the continent of Europe. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[h]e would tell us most amazing things in regard to the physical and moral evils that overspread earth and sea. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Martin especially concluded that man was born to live either in a state of distracting inquietude or of lethargic disgust. ~ Voltaire, Candide

I did not know it was a crime for a Christian to be found naked in company with a young Turk. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[a] plagiarizing enemy “steals much, spends little, and has nothing left. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Dining in Alumni Hall prior to the following evening class . . . ]

There is some pleasure in having no pleasure. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Imagine all contradictions, all possible incompatibilities–you will find them in the government, in the law-courts, in the churches, in the public shows of this droll nation. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[Pre-program stage mingling . . . ]

[t]he women are never at a loss, God provides for them, let us run. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[A selfie with The Biddies in the background as the auditorium fills . . . ]

Isn’t there a pleasure in criticising everything and discovering faults where other men detect beauties? ~ Voltaire, Candide

[At the time of this class, of course, nobody had any idea of the shenanigans SCOTUS was up to . . . ]

A great work must be novel without being far-fetched, frequently sublime, but always natural. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[We wrapped up another year of Mini-University this night with our annual favorite, Margie Hershey, a liberal, discussing the upcoming election. She was joined on stage by conservative Les Lenkowsky in the 400-seat Whittenberger Auditorium. It was wonderful to listen to two people discuss this with good humor, full and complete sentences in front of a surely liberal yet appreciative audience . . . ]

[t]he nose has been formed to bear spectacles—thus we have spectacles. ~ Voltaire, Candide

June 14

Music, to-day, is only the art of executing difficult things, and that which is only difficult cannot please long. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[West Side Story, with terrific video clips combined from the 1961 and 2021 movies, and Candide . . . ]

Alas…I too have known love, that ruler of hearts, that soul of our soul: it’s never brought me anything except one kiss and twenty kicks in the rump. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[My whole schtick for the Mini-U blog came from this class. The idea of using Lillian Hellman and Voltaire quotes throughout came from a Professor Glen slide containing a two-word phrase that I cannot recall for the life of me. I’m waiting for the slides of all classes to become available . . . ]

All is for the best in the best of possible worlds. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Let us work without disputing; it is the only way to render life tolerable. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[And even more eating in Alumni Hall . . . ]

[b]ut whether he be, or whether he be not, I want bread. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Fools admire everything in an author of reputation. For my part, I read only to please myself. I like only that which serves my purpose. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[w]ho demonstrated by A plus B minus C divided by Z, that the sheep must be red, and die of the rot. ~ Voltaire, Candide

My friend, you see how perishable are the riches of this world; there is nothing solid but virtue, and the happiness of seeing Cunegonde once more. ~ Voltaire, Candide

[On the way home, we stopped in Terre Haute, Indiana, to visit with Ruthie’s sister, brother, and their families. This is the impressive Vigo County Courthouse in Terre Haute (the courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983) . . . ]

Everywhere in the world, the weak detest the strong and grovel before them. And the strong treat them like flocks of sheep to be sold for their meat and wool. ~ Voltaire, Candide

We are also to observe that upon our continent, this distemper is like religious controversy, confined to a particular spot. ~ Voltaire, Candide

Up Next: The amazing life and times of Basketball Dan . . .