More on Solzhenitsyn

On the question of Solzhenitsyn's belief in the practical, inevitable, political result of writing, even when in the Soviet gulag.

Obituary published in the Boston Review: http://bostonreview.net/BR34.2/boylan.php Obit from the Boston Review.

Obit from the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/2495704/Alexander-Solzhenitsyn.html

Solzhenitsyn appears to have been one of those men who have an unassailable self-confidence. That is wonder at which to focus attention on. And not on his belief that one word of truth could outweigh the whole world.

His belief is neither more nor less interesting than anyone else's opinion about such an unfalsifiable question. It sounds impressive but is as devoid of meaning as any rhetoric could be.

In this case, it's more instructive to observe the finger than the moon at which it points.

Or rather, the man who wields the finger. He is the wonder. He, not his belief, is what we can learn from. The confidence makes the belief. Most certainly it is not the other way around.