Anoche mientras buscaba el "Jóven Arquímides" de Huxley para leerselo a una amiga, reencontré esta 'canción ' que fué compuesta por los miembros de la primera Mathematical Society en Inglaterra, para lisonjear a un tal Mr. Fletcher quién los había defendido ante tribunal público en una demanda que tenían por "...'dar conferencias públicas sobre temas filosóficos' (en realidad por pedir dinero a la entrada de un acto público sin tener el debido permiso)" que me pareció muy graciosa, espero que les divierta ;)
The Astronomer's Drinking Song
Whoe'er would search the starry sky,
Its secrets to divine, sir,
Should take his glass -In mean, should try
A glass or two of wine, sir!
True virtue lies in golden mean,
And man must wet his clay, sir;
Join thes two maxims, and'tis seen
He should drink his bottle a day, sir!
Old Archimides, reverende sage!
By trump of fame renowned, sir,
Deep problems colved in every page,
And the sphere's curved surface foud, sir:
Himself he would have far outshone,
And borne a wider sway, sir,
Had he our modern secret known,
And drank a bottle a day, sir!
When Ptolemy, now long ago,
Believed the earth stood still, sir,
He nevere would have blundered so,
Had he but drunk his fill, sir:
He' then have felt it circulate,
And would have learnt to say, sir,
The true way to investigate
Is to drink your bottle a day, sir!
Copernicus, that learned wight,
The glory of his nation,
With draughts of wine refresed his sight,
And saw the earths's rotation;
Each planet then is orb under way, sir;
The moon got under way, sir;
Thes truths from nature the imbibed
For he drank his bottle a day, sir!
The noble Tycho placed the stars,
Each in its due location;
He lost his nose by spite of Mars,
But that was no privation:
Had he but lost his mouth, I grant
He would have feld dismay, sir,
Bless you! he knew what he should want
To drink this bottle a day, sir!
Cold water makes no lucky hits;
On mysteries the head runs:
Small drink let Kepler time his wits
On the regular polyhedrons:
He look to wine, and it changed the chime,
His genius swept away, sir,
Through area varying as the time
At the rate of a bottle a day, sir!
Poor Galilleo, forced to rat
Before the Inquisition,
E pur si muove was the pat
He gave them in addition:
He meant, whate'er you think you prove,
The earth must go its way, sirs;
Spite of your teeth I'll make it move,
For I'll drink my bottle a day, sirs!
Great Newton, who was never beat
Whatever fools may think, sir;
Though sometimes he forgot to eat,
He never forgot to drink, sir:
Descartes took nought but lemonade,
To conquer him was play, sir;
The first advance that Newton made
Was to drink his bottle a day, sir!
D'Alembert, Euler, and Clairaut,
Though they increased our store, sir,
Much further had been seen to go
Had they tippled a little more, sir!
Lagrange gets mellow with Laplace,
And both are wont to say, sir,
The philosophe who's not an ass
Will drink his bottle a day, sir!
Astronomers! What can avail
Those who calumniate us;
Experiment can never fail
With such an apparatus:
Let him who'd have his merits known
Remember what I say, sir;
Fair science shines on him alone
Who drinks his bottle a day, sir!
How light we reck of those who mock
By this we'll make to appear, sir,
We'll dine by the sidereal clock
For one more bottle a year, sir:
But choose which pendulum you, will,
You'll never make your way, sir,
Unless you drink -and drink your fill-,
At least a bottle a day, sir!
Ahora que lo recuerdo esto se parece un poco a los FU, no? Deberian ellos hacer su canción The Freak's Drinking Song
