Well, I suppose one can do all kinds of tricks with the language to reach
beyond its natural limits.  Whoever doubts ought to take a peek at
Heidegger's pseudo-philosophical arm-twisting of the German language.
<grin>

==Reinhold

On Fri, 26 Mar 1999, Paul E. Doniger wrote:

> Reinhold Schlieper wrote:
>
> > Bob, I don't think that's an aphorism.  Actually, it's an argument, and,
> > as a petitio principii, a faulty one.  To assert existence, I suppose,
> > some might say "I am."  But ordinarily that sounds empty of meaning.  I
> > would expect that "I am a teacher" is a more sensible use of the copula.
> > Crane didn't say either, "A man said to the universe, / Sir, I am."   He
> > said, "Sir, I exist."  I think that "John is" sounds complete only if we
> > are tainted by philosophical forethought, no?
>
> I'm reminded of the Italian poet (I forgot who - if anyone can help me out
> ... ) who wrote of Napoleon: "Ei Fu." - "He was." - and of the line in
> Boito's libretto for Verdi's _Otello_, "Ah, gloria, Otello fu!" Does the
> intransitive "Be" work in Italian, but not English? Or is it only used as a
> literary device and not in spoken language? I find this a fascinating
> topic!
>
> Paul D.
>