Samuel Butler

Contemporáneo de Schliemann, Burne-Jones y la reina Victoria, Samuel Butler participó en algunas de las más notorias controversias de una época y un país particularmente fecundos en polémicas intelectuales y descubrimientos decisivos. Con curiosidad y entusiasmo de amateur, aunque amparado por una infatigable dedicacion al estudio, Butler ejercio de escritor, pintor, naturalista, compositor y filologo. Celebradas por Borges, sus versiones de los poemas de Homero han sido leidas durante generaciones, pero el traductor fue mas alla para defender que el segundo de ellos, la Odisea, era obra de una mujer, la Autora, una princesa siciliana de Trapani, en la costa occidental de la isla que habria elaborado bajo el signo de su predecesor el esplendido poema del regreso de Ulises, deslizando algo de su circunstancia en los rasgos del personaje de Nausicaa. Altamente especulativa, la sorprendente inquisicion de Butler no dejo de producir una obra deliciosa y llena de encanto, con la que el osado interprete se propuso discernir, aplicando un common sense que en la mejor tradicion britanica declaraba una guerra abierta al academicismo, donde y cuando escribio la muchacha porque a su juicio era una joven, cabezota y soltera semejante prodigio, quien fue, como se sirvio de la Iliada y como el poema crecio entre sus manos. Se trate de una broma erudita, de una tesis peregrina en la interminable querelle conocida como cuestion homerica o de una vision avanzada y hasta cierto punto precursora, el ensayo de Butler, desconocido hasta ahora para el lector en lengua española, refleja su fino ingenio literario y puede seguir siendo leido y disfrutado como una audaz, imaginativa y bienhumorada indagacion en la mas alta poesia de Occidente.

Vida y hábito es el despliegue de un conjunto de hipótesis que van destejiendo la trama fundante del pensamiento occidental: el abismo entre lo humano y la naturaleza. ¿Existe evidencia para negarle a los seres inferiores la amalgama de atributos que constituye el monopolio de lo humano: juicio, intencion, sentido de la necesidad, y principalmente memoria? ¿Es el "instinto" una explicacion, o es mas bien la confesion de que ignoramos como ciertos seres llegan a saber ciertas cosas? Y si la diferencia entre el hombre y una ameba es de grado y no de naturaleza, ¿no es el desarrollo actual de las civilizaciones, los hombres con sus habitos y sus maquinas a vapor, el modelo mas cercano de evolucion natural?Butler contrasta los datos y los debates de la ciencia con la experiencia de "un hombre corriente", a menudo con humor e ironia, y sin abandonar sus artes de novelista. ¿Como reaccionaria Londres si fuera viviseccionada como una rana? ¿Que le pasa a un grano de trigo que se descubre de repente en la molleja de una gallina? Y si un ser superior al hombre posara su microscopio sobre nuestras minusculas y caoticas ferias de frutas y verduras, ¿no elucubraria todo tipo de teorias absurdas acerca del "instinto" que le permite a cada verdulero reconocer su puesto ambulante? Vida y habito es en un sentido una obra literaria, la imaginacion de una utopia, de un lugar inexistente e imposible para la cultura occidental: pensar mas aca de la frontera entre lo humano y lo natural.

Written between 1873 and 1884 and published posthumously in 1903, "The Way of All Flesh" is regarded by some as the first twentieth-century novel. Samuel Butlers autobiographical account of a harsh upbringing and troubled adulthood shines an iconoclastic light on the hypocrisy of a Victorian clerical familys domestic life. It also foreshadows the crumbling of nineteenth-century bourgeois ideals in the aftermath of the First World War, as well as the ways in which succeeding generations have questioned conventional values.Beginning with the life of John Pontifex, a carpenter, the novel traces four generations of the Pontifex family, each of which perpetuates the frustration and unhappiness of its predecessor largely as a result of parental repression. Only Ernest Pontifex, the great-grandson of John, is able to break the cycle. After being ordained a minister, serving a prison term because of a naive misunderstanding, and unwittingly entering into a bigamous marriage with the familys sluttish servant girl, Ernest providentially inherits enough money from a favourite aunt to change his life and become a writer.

Erewhon: or, Over the Range is a novel by Samuel Butler which was first published anonymously in 1872. The title is also the name of a country, supposedly discovered by the protagonist. In the novel, it is not revealed where Erewhon is, but it is clear that it is a fictional country. Butler meant the title to be understood as the word "nowhere" backwards even though the letters "h" and "w" are transposed. The book is a satire on Victorian society.The first few chapters of the novel dealing with the discovery of Erewhon are in fact based on Butlers own experiences in New Zealand where, as a young man, he worked as a sheep farmer on Mesopotamia Station for about four years (186064), and explored parts of the interior of the South Island and which he wrote about in his A First Year in Canterbury Settlement (1863).

Erewhon: or, Over the Range is a novel by Samuel Butler which was first published anonymously in 1872. The title is also the name of a country, supposedly discovered by the protagonist. In the novel, it is not revealed where Erewhon is, but it is clear that it is a fictional country. Butler meant the title to be understood as the word "nowhere" backwards even though the letters "h" and "w" are transposed. The book is a satire on Victorian society.The first few chapters of the novel dealing with the discovery of Erewhon are in fact based on Butlers own experiences in New Zealand where, as a young man, he worked as a sheep farmer on Mesopotamia Station for about four years (186064), and explored parts of the interior of the South Island and which he wrote about in his A First Year in Canterbury Settlement (1863).

Ed.: R. A. Streatfeild

A semi-autobiographical novel that attacks Victorian era hypocrisy as it traces four generations of the Pontifex family. Butler dared not publish it during his lifetime, but when it was published, it was accepted as part of the general revulsion against Victorianism.

Erewhon: or, Over the Range is a novel by Samuel Butler which was first published anonymously in 1872. The title is also the name of a country, supposedly discovered by the protagonist. In the novel, it is not revealed where Erewhon is, but it is clear that it is a fictional country. Butler meant the title to be understood as the word "nowhere" backwards even though the letters "h" and "w" are transposed. The book is a satire on Victorian society.The first few chapters of the novel dealing with the discovery of Erewhon are in fact based on Butlers own experiences in New Zealand where, as a young man, he worked as a sheep farmer on Mesopotamia Station for about four years (186064), and explored parts of the interior of the South Island and which he wrote about in his A First Year in Canterbury Settlement (1863).

The epics of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, in Samuel Butler’s famous prose translation. An immortal poetry poem from greece that from ancient past teach us about philosophy, loves and war.

The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler is a semi-autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler that attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. Written between 1873 and 1884, it traces four generations of the Pontifex family.Butler dared not publish it during his lifetime, but when it was published (in 1903) it was accepted as part of the general reaction against Victorianism. In its posthumous publication in 1903, Butlers first literary executor, R A Streatfeild, made substantial changes to Butlers manuscript. The original manuscript was first published in 1964 by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, edited by Daniel F. Howard.The title is a quotation from the DouayRheims Bibles translation of the Biblical Hebrew expression, to "go the way of all the earth", meaning "to die", in the Books of Kings: "I am going the way of all flesh: take thou courage and shew thyself a man." (1 Kings 2:2).In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Way of All Flesh twelfth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

In "Evolution, Old & New," Samuel Butler presents a compelling critique of Charles Darwins theory of evolution, intertwining a deep philosophical inquiry with a critical examination of natural selection. Written in Butlers distinctive, candid prose, the work challenges prevailing scientific notions by positing an alternative view of evolution that incorporates elements of design and purpose. Throughout the book, he employs anecdotal evidence and rigorous reasoning, prompting readers to reconsider the mechanistic interpretations of life and its development, all while engaging with the broader cultural and intellectual currents of the late Victorian period. Samuel Butler, an iconic figure of the Victorian era, was not only an author but also a painter, philosopher, and social critic. His multifaceted interests and life experiencesincluding his time in New Zealand, where he engaged with both the natural world and indigenous culturesshaped his understanding of evolution. Butlers unique perspective, which combines literary artistry with philosophical depth, stems from his restless intellectual curiosity and an enduring challenge to orthodox beliefs in both science and society. This book is essential for readers interested in the intersections of literature, science, and philosophy. Butlers provocative arguments invite reflection on the nature of progress and adaptation, making "Evolution, Old & New" a significant contribution to the discourse on evolution that remains relevant today.