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A Classification of Animals

Mythical Animal

These ambiguities, redundancies, and deficiencies recall those attributed by Dr. Franz Kuhn to a certain Chinese encyclopedia entitled Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge. On those remote pages it is written that animals are divided into (a) those that belong to the Emperor, (b) embalmed ones, (c) those that are trained, (d) suckling pigs, (e) mermaids, (f) fabulous ones, (g) stray dogs, (h) those that are included in this classification, (i) those that tremble as if they were mad, (j) innumerable ones, (k) those drawn with a very fine camel’s hair brush, (l) others, (m) those that have just broken a flower vase, (n) those that resemble flies from a distance.—Jorge Luis Borges, “The Analytical Language of John Wilkins”

5 thoughts on “A Classification of Animals

    • That’s a great idea. Congressmen can be classified as (a) Progressives (Are there any?), (b) Blue-Dog Democrats, (c) those beholden to the Koch Brothers, (d) those who hate women and think they are aliens from Outer Space, (e) those whose relationship with Jesus outweighs their responsibility to the electorate, (e) John Boehner, (f) those whose closest relationship is with corporate lobbyists, (g) those that tremble as if they were mad, (h) those that resemble turtles (McConnell), and (i) egregious swine.

  1. been thinking not an expert in Chinese but how about
    A large blank spot surrounded by swirling words , while dictionary’s watch in horror their pages chattering

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