21
" I have given up hope, tonight, of ever understanding money.” “It’s simple, really…” “And yet it’s not simple at all,” Daniel said. “It follows simple rules—it obeys logic—and so Natural Philosophy should understand it, encompass it—and I, who know and understand more than almost anyone in the Royal Society, should comprehend it. But I don’t. I never will…if money is a science, then it is a dark science, darker than Alchemy. It split away from Natural Philosophy millennia ago, and has gone on developing ever since, by its own rules… "
― Neal Stephenson , The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World
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" Have you felt, Daniel, a certain annoyance, when one of your semi-educated Londoners speaks of ‘a vile rascal’ or ‘a miserable caitiff’ or ‘crafty knave,’ ‘idle truant,’ or ‘flattering parasite’?” “Depends upon who is calling whom what…” “No, no, no! Let’s try an easy one: ‘fornicating whore.’ ” “It is redundant. Hence, annoying to the cultivated listener.” “‘Senseless fop.’ ” “Again, redundant—as are ‘flattering parasite’ and the others. "
― Neal Stephenson , The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World