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Showing posts from June, 2011

A Costly Joke of Richard Wilson

Richard Wilson was a landscape painter, and known as ''the Father of British Landscape". Though he achieved great fame, he died in poverty, just because of a costly joke. In 1776 he sent to the Academy a picture of "Sion House from Kew Garden", which attracted the notice of king George III., and which he thought of buying. The King told Lord Bute thought the price too high, whereupon Wilson smilingly said: "Tell His Majesty he may pay for it by instalments." Lord Bute took the laughing remark seriously and was profoundly shocked. Poor Wilson lost the little favour that the Court ever showed to artists, and for the last years of his life his income was no more than £50 a year.

Lies and Excuses

Pinocchio, the wooden puppet, often led into trouble by his propensity to lie. His nose grew with every lie. Kant believes that his moral theory prohibits lying under all possible circumstances, even those where there is a murderer at the door wondering if the innocent victim is in your house. But Confucius codemns a son who testified against his father for appropriating a sheep. He said: ' The father conceals the wrongs of his son, and the son conceals the wrongs of his father. ' A person have to lie to conceals a wrongs, and Confucius believes this is justice. Confucius lied himself, too. Once, one of his disciples Ju Pei wished to see Confucius, who excused himself on the ground of sickness, but when his messenger had gone out at the door, he took up his harpsichord and began to sing, so that Ju Pei might hear it. A mother makes excuse for her daughter not to the party on the ground of chickenpox.