Ogden Nash and his search for his Noumenon

ABC Wednesday
October 11th, 2017

The letter is N for Nash and Noumenon

Ogden Nash, 1902-1971

1. A writer of droll and humourous verse

with unconventional rhyming

and spelling.

Regarded with great respect by the Literary Establishment!

A collection of his books have been on my shelves

since the mid forties...

and in the one entitled "Good Intentions"

is this verse.

"Has anybody seen my Noumenon"

There is one point which I am more than human on,

And that's a noumenon.

On due reflection we are apt to find

That it is noumenons which lead us to believe that just this once

two pairs will beat three of a kind.

It is noumenons which whisper to our heart

that our futures will be better than our yores

And noumenons which encourage us to laugh off

the black clouds in the west and go ahead

and move the supper table out of doors.

It is noumenons which convince you that you can meet

the next tax installment without have set aside

the sum that is requisite,

And noumenons which stir the fancy that M. Lavel

may someday reject an order from Berlin with a cry

of "Ze hequisite."

It is noumenons which, if you have no excuse

for flouting natural laws, they supply it,

Such as kindlng the hope that you can remain trim

and lissome at forty without the nuisance

of exercise or diet,

So now I shall go out and consume a hearty lunch,

but I know I shall remain trim and lissome in spite of it,

because I have a strong noumenon,

or overwhelming hunch."

Which brings us to the point where we must define a noumenon

Ogden Nash interpretation

* an object known only by intuition,

apart from any evidence of the senses.

In other words,  existence without sense or perception

can't see, can't touch

KANT explains all this in his philosophy

but I think I go with Nash

"an overwhelming hunch"

easier than trying to interpret Kant

More Ns here at ABC Wednesday

enjoy, with thanks to those who maintain ABC