Waiting For Thought

I understand little of the patience of scholarship, W. says. Scholarly work is slow and meticulous, W. says.  You need to accept that you’re in it for the long haul, and the results of thought will not come quickly, if at all. What has W. ever done but wait for thought?

Above all, we mustn’t expect quick results, W. continues. How many years did Marx labour on Capital in the British Library? How long did Engels give financial support to his friend by working at his detested family cotton mill in Manchester? But now imagine a Marx who did not finish Capital – an Engels who never left his job in the family firm. Imagine those poor idiots whose thought-paths led nowhere, petering out in the scrub.