On Names

Names, according to ancient belief, revealed the true natures of things; knowing someone's name could give one power over them.

In modern times, we tend not to think about names so much; we treat them as arbitrary handles allowing us to refer to things rather than as presentations of the true natures of things. But they still have influence on how we perceive things. The names "Robert Cooper," "Lao Tzu," "Dolores Rivera," and "Neal Hawkins," for some reason all sound as if they would have rather different personalities behind them, at least to my ear.

So, when naming a blog, how does one name it? Does one give it a straightforward name that clearly reveals what it is about--like "Throne and Altar" or "View From the Right"? Does one give it a paradoxical name that requires further reading--like "Unqualified Reservations"? Does one give it a name that alludes to some work of literature, covertly or clearly?

Each has risks. The straightforward can be boring. The paradoxical can be off-putting. The literary can be pretentious. All of them run the risk of being misleading to many or irritating to a few.

But, in the end, as in most human actions, one can just go with what appears best to one and hope that it does not work out badly. There is, wrote Yves Simon, usually no best actions for a man when he makes a decision; there are merely an array of goods before him, of which he must embrace one. So also in naming.

And so, I welcome you to "Thrice Night Over You." It alludes; it is perhaps unclear; it hopes to irritate like a gadfly; but it presents to you at least in some fashion what this blog will be about.