Page 5 - The Gluckman Occasional Number Five

Hillel (c. 110 B.C.-c. 10 A.D.)

A smart-ass to take Hillel down a peg,
Asked for instruction standing on one leg;
The Elder Sage gave him the Golden Rule—
But said he’d still have to spend years in school.

William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347)

With parsimony slashing in the gloom,
He missed the elephant god in the room;
When asked why, Master Occam said, “search me:
Somehow my razor became a church key!”

Descartes (1596-1650)

Having seen that drinks are drunk by drinkers,
He concluded thoughts are thought by thinkers;
In all the best circles travelled Descartes,
But this wasn’t one in which to take part.

Pascal (1623–1662)

What to do in life you should be able
To compute with Pascal’s fourfold table:
God is or isn’t, you believe or not;
But the deck is stacked—all that’s saved is thought.