First of all, thanks for the all the kind words. On Sun, 2004-10-24 at 21:06, Sander wrote: > Of course there's > some difference between nature/culture there, Some difference? Yeah. In fact, they are exact opposites. "Culture" refers to precisely that which is NOT nature. Originally, one referred to a "cultured" field, as opposed to a fallow field. In the same sense, biologists in the lab produce a "culture" which refers to organic growth under conditions that are NOT natural. Today we use culture to refer to the sum total of Man's technique and knowledge; that is, everything that has been developed out of our conflict with nature; of which art is, in my opinion, the highest product. On the other hand, I would be lying if I claimed to remember how much of that, if any, I had in mind when I wrote that book. It was a long time ago, and I no longer ever remember who that architect is. Sorry. -- Steven Brust skzb at dreamcafe.com "Preacher, don't the bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?" "Quite specific. It's rather fuzzier, however, on the subject of kneecaps." -- Firefly