From http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0881991.html:
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The Nine Muses
The Nine Muses were Greek goddesses who ruled over the arts and sciences and offered inspiration in those subjects. They were the daughters of Zeus, lord of all gods, and Mnemosyne, who represented memory. Memory was important for the Muses because in ancient times, when there were no books, poets had to carry their work in their memories.


Calliope was the muse of epic poetry.
Clio was the muse of history.
Erato was the muse of love poetry.
Euterpe was the muse of music.
Melpomene was the muse of tragedy.
Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry.
Terpsichore was the muse of dance.
Thalia was the muse of comedy.
Urania was the muse of astronomy.

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Which brings to mind the words spoken to the Thrice Great Hermes (or Thoth to the Egyptians).
A comment about the effect of a new tool on knowledge, from the first chapter of my unpublished book on Typography for the Web (1997)

"This discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the
learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they
will trust to the external written characters and not remember of
themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not
to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not
truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of
many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be
omniscient and will generally know nothing;"

--- Thamus speaking to Thoth, "Phaedrus", Socrates
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Thoth was the Egyptian god of writing, and Thamus's complaint concerns the
invention of writing. Obviously, the world would now go to Hades in a
handbasket, and just as obviously, Socrates was right.

Although, as my very living has depended for decades on these very symbols, I can't say I regret the invention of writing ;-)

and on another track, this from AEsop, regarding my feelings about tolerance for the intolerant.

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The Farmer and the Snake

ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom. The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal wound. "Oh," cried the Farmer with his last breath, "I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel."

The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.

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Or,

No good deed goes unpunished!

In good part, progressive humanists have seen our world view undercut by the ignorant ravings of flat-earth 'intelligent design' free-market enterprise-zone schemers exactly because we have allowed their self-serving cynical fascist framing of the common enterprise to go essentially unchallenged in the public sphere.

I for one am absolutely fed-up with the bullshit* passing as 'ideas' from the so-called right wing.

There is no legitimate philosophy which allows the selfish, the corrupt, the deranged and the evil full and free access to the public purse, and gives them overwhelming means, under the color of 'legitimate authority', of fatally striking any who oppose their schemes.


* as defined in "On Bullshit " by Harry G. Frankfurt, bullshit is distinct from the mere lie, as the liar has at least enough respect for the truth to attempt to deny it, while the bullshitter will say whatever it takes to gain their desired result. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit