₦airaland Forum

The Subterraneans is a book written by Jack Kerouac. I have always found it difficult to read. I become sleepy after reading few pages. I quit everytime I tried, but this time around, I will be leveraging on A.I models to read it and by the end of this week, I should have finished the whole book. I will be back with updates. ❤️😌✌️

If you have read it say "Hi"

No. You didn't understand what I meant there. "For in the end it is not merely the world that must be judged" that is not talking about judgement day. it is about the judgement we give to other people or events.

"It is the man within yourself" that means you should ways judge yourself first. Or you should judge yourself first, before the world. Assess yourself. Learn, retrace your steps when you've erred, correct yourself by owning up to it, tendering apologies etc. You make sure all your judgement is not only about other people while neglecting yourself. That would be self-righteousness and the result of that is catastrophic.

Lend me your ears! I come not to entertain, nor to trifle with idle words, but to awaken your judgment and stir your reason. These admonitions draw their spirit from Julius Caesar, that immortal work of William Shakespeare—where ambition, deception, and the frailty of men are laid bare before us.

First—beware of propaganda, most especially that which cloaks itself in politics and religion. For it is not truth that many seek to spread, but influence to be gained. Men will speak as though they champion your cause, as though they labor for your good; yet beneath their polished words lie motives far less noble. They are serpents concealed in the grass—subtle, patient, and dangerous—advancing their own interests while you, unguarded, become their instrument.

Second—beware of flatterers! Sweet words are not always honest words. Praise, when excessive, is seldom innocent. It is bait, carefully laid; a means to disarm your caution and win your trust. He who flatters you seeks not your good, but your weakness.

Third—remember this enduring truth: the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. Let this not discourage you, but rather sharpen your conscience. For though the world may forget your virtues, it rarely forgets your faults.

And finally—beware the man you think you know. For we live in an age where reason falters and judgment is cast aside. Men, once guided by wisdom, now yield to impulse and base desire. Trust, therefore, must not be given lightly. Deal with others cautiously, discerningly—yet do not descend into the same folly.

Instead, rise. Be the exception. Be governed by reason, anchored in principle, and steadfast in character. While others fall to chaos, let your conduct stand as order.

For in the end, it is not merely the world that must be judged— it is the man within yourself.

To me the Virgins here are young, naive, innocent folks of which I am one, and the advice I will give myself is to:. Seize the day. Seize the day while I may. Do not wait till tomorrow. For men who waited yesterday are now in the soil fertilizing daffodils. Make much of your time dear Segun. There is a lot to do and Christ is with you. Eat, drink and keep up the good work there is much to do. In your youthful days there are lots of opportunities. Maximize them. Below is a 17th Century poem by Robert Herrick "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time":

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying."