Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
I’m driving myself crazy trying to track down the origin of the phrase “Far from the Things of Man.” It’s the sort of expression one might use when asked where one is going on a camping trip: “Far from the things of man.” I’ve encountered it in various places, most notably as the closing line of “Joe Versus the Volcano” but also in reviews of “I Dream of Jeannie” (“Tony Nelson returns from a one-man space flight only to find himself far from the things of man, save for one little bottle”) and as a quotation in an episode of “The West Wing.” In that example, President Bartlett also uses an Abenaki (Native American) phrase, “Awasiwi Odanak,” which means "beyond the village.” But every usage I find seems to refer to some previous usage which I can’t track down. Does anyone know where the phrase comes from, or where I might look next? Thanks!
Recalled Lovecraft
If the thing did happen, then man must be prepared to accept notions of the cosmos, and of his own place in the seething vortex of time, whose merest mention is paralyzing. He must, too, be placed on guard against a specific, lurking peril which, though it will never engulf the whole race, may impose monstrous and unguessable horrors upon certain venturesome members of it.
but I can't find reference to “Far from the Things of Man†by him
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)