Soon after life made men make-up civilization  --  it had them invent literature  --
to act as a psychological explanation for what they’d done.
You now find literature extant in two flavors:
that which reports on human behavior as it finds it,
and that which tries to see further possibilities,
(the same situation can be noted in each man’s mind, though only the rebellious few take the latter to be anything other than fiction, or after-death speculations).

Dreams  --  nightmares  --  beliefs, myths, superstitions and illusion,
(the necessary ingredients of man’s cultural reality)
all require the same, single support: seriousness,
(this is why in all truly civilized places it is a capital offense to make fun of cows).
 
 

In the many areas of matters intangible:
those who call themselves: “serious thinkers” are in fact comedians,
(they don’t happen to be laughing, or grasping the humor  -- but nevertheless.)
 
 

In one land, whenever the king says something,
everyone nods their head as though they thoroughly understand what he said,
and agree with it  --
whether they do or not  --
since (as any good rebel knows)  --
it doesn’t matter anyhow.
 
 

One man’s conclusion is:
“The unquestionable cause of all strictly human problems is  --  Surprise! --  humans!” (The way his lips continued to twitch, even after he had dropped to the floor
seemed to indicate he had more to say, but apparently was too depleted of energy
to do so by what he had already noted.)
Proverb Update: The way-of-the-world  (from the human view)
is the way of the weary:

Life sends everybody out on a mission (to wit)  --  to live!
This includes squids and orchids; horses and men.
But life has something a bit more specialized in mind for a few  --
but what it is.......well.......you kinda got to figure out for yourself.

Some blood clots were hangin’ out, chillin’ when one of them started reading
the warning label on the bottle they had been sharing: “Caution!’ it said:

A man who can see the distinction between instruction and talent
might have some of the latter.
Creativity cannot be imparted  --  only stupidity,
(which is why you find cows in groups, and novas in one man row boats).

If pushed hard enough  --  everyone will break;
if pushed hard enough  --  everyone will bend;
if pushed hard enough  --  everyone has a vague memory of killing someone.
 
 

As the march of progress in matters political moved steadily onward in one city,
those there went from calling enemies: “conflicting factions”
to calling conflicting-factions: “the loyal opposition”
to finally referring to the-loyal-opposition simply as: The Oakland A’s.
 (Had a rebel been asked he might have suggested they think:
“Me dressed out  as The A’s.”)

The solid sign of the rebel warrior is that none-of-it is ever too much  --
not even death, defeat & destruction itself;
how could a man ever achieve the impossible of stepping out of the mental fog
that is man’s natural environment unless he sees the totality of the fog;
a fish sticking the ten per cent of itself that is its head,
above water long enough to deliver a speculative discourse on the nature of water,
remains at best, still ninety per cent ignorant of water:
this be men’s ordinary mental activity and its grasp of life.

“If science is man’s study of the universe,
and culture, his attempted study of human nature,
then what is this activity you keep writing about?”
About some things: words can only open their mouth and cover perhaps,
one per cent of the subject at hand (okay: about one particular thing):
routine talk can speak effortlessly and endlessly in detail about the goings on in
Doctor Faustus’ den, but not a word can e'er be heard  --
even from the brilliant Professor himself  --
addressing the purpose and nature of man’s serious story telling.

Science is the attempt to understand the universe, and the biology of life;
culture is the attempt to understand the psychology of life,
and what the rebel is about is an investigation of the last-mentioned effort.