Lists

[Geoff Stacks]

My favorite non-Pynchon list . . .

from "The Analytical Language of John Wilkins" by Borges, which describes a
Chinese encyclopedia that divides all animals into the following categories:

1. those that belong to the Emperor
2. embalmed ones
3. those that are trained
4. suckling pigs
5. mermaids
6. fabulous ones
7. stray dogs
8. those included in the present classification
9. those that tremble as if they were mad
10. innumerable ones
11. those drawn with a very fine camelhair brush
12. others
13. those that have just broken a flower vase
14. those that from a long way off look like flies.