Pater Familias

Theories, observations, and articles, by Philip Schaefer · All posts · Categories

TO BE REMEMBERED FOREVER—WRONGLY—FOR BEING MEAN.

December 29, 2011 at 6:00 PM · Economics, Literature

TO BE REMEMBERED FOREVER—WRONGLY—FOR BEING MEAN. Dickens is quoted as saying in his diary about Ebenezer Scroggie: “to be remembered through eternity only for being mean seemed the greatest testament to a life wasted.” And that is a message of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. It is, of course, a great irony that Scroggie was not a mean man. Indeed, Timothy Taylor cites this post on the History of Leith, Edinburgh:

“In life, Scroggie was apparently a rambunctious, generous and licentious man who gave wild parties, impregnated the odd serving wench and once wonderfully interrupted the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland by grabbing the buttocks of a hapless countess.”