Impus Felinus
A donation was made in memory of Impus Felinus by Doctors and Staff of the Animal World Veterinary Clinic on Feb 07, 2012.
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happenstance" ---
A Tribute to a cat named "Impus Felinus"
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress made the unanimous Declaration of thirteen united States of America. The word “united” is deliberately written without a capital letter because the states were independent at that time, and not yet truly united.
The Declaration of Independence contains the words , "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
"Happenstance"
Perhaps no other phrase in the English language is used so often, but the meaning of the words used by the Founding Fathers of this country are not well understood by people in today's world. Our language has evolved, and words do not have the same meanings now as they did more than two hundred years ago.
It is due to the evolution of our language that I have titled this as "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happenstance." It is when we understand the meaning with both our minds and our hearts that we recognize the great wisdom of the Founding Fathers.
I shall take the last word first – and write it spelled as "Happenstance." It is a word that is not common in our current language. The word “happiness” that was written more than two hundred years ago when the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were written had the same meaning then as does the word "happenstance" in our current language.
Since the word "happenstance" is not common we need to understand what it means. Then we can understand what "happiness" really means when we read the Declaration of Independence. “Happenstance” was an American word that was formed from combining the words “happen” and “circumstance.” It meant a chance or accidental happening.
For example, a blacksmith has been pounding out red-hot steel to produce a knife. He accidentally kicks over his normal water bucket, so instead uses a barrel filled with waste water to rapidly cool (quench) the steel. What he may not know is that the waste water contains a weak solution of nitric acid.
In the months that follows, he notices that this “special” knife retains a sharp edge much better than any other he has ever made. He does not realize it, but he has discovered a chemical process the produces a superior steel. However, he keeps this as his own “trade secret” and uses it to produce knives and other tools that are far superior to those produced by other blacksmiths.
The pursuit of that accident, whether we use the word “happenstance” or “happiness,” is something that brings him wealth.
The above story does have a basis in fact. An old engineer with whom I worked told me the story close to fifty years ago. When he was a boy, fifty years earlier than when he told me the story, he and a friend quietly climbed into the hay loft of the town's blacksmith shop. The watched the blacksmith carefully lock up his shop, then collect waste water from the trenches cut in the floor near the horse stalls. This waste water was stored in a barrel near the blacksmith's forge and anvil. The blacksmith then heated up the forge and proceeded to work on many tools that needed to have the special "heat treatment" that came from getting the steel red hot, then quenching in that special barrel. The blacksmith was using chemistry to case harden, and then temper the steel at 500 degrees.
The Right of a person to take advantage of "happenstance" was written into the United States Constitution. Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 8 gave the United States Congress the right (and responsibility) to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventgors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
"Liberty"
"Liberty" is another interesting word that is used in our language. It is not the same as the word "freedom" because "liberty" requires us to recognize the responsibilities attached to our actions. A person who does not recognize the difference between these two words may think that his (or her) "right to free speech" allows them to open their mouth and say anything. They do not give any thought as to their choice of words, whether what they say is truthful, or anything else.
There have been a series of United States Supreme Court decisions, starting in 1919 with Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. wrote the unanimous opinion that held that Schenck's criminal conviction was constitutional. "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic."
Our "Liberty" to do as we so desire must recognize that we cannot infringe on the rights and liberty of others. At the same time, our liberty is what allows us to use our knowledge, skills, and talents not only to support ourselves, but to help others.
"Life"
The unalienable Right granted by our Creator is that which we probably understand least. It is hard for us to recognize that we are perhaps something much more than the physical body which we inhabit. We use the words "soul" or "spirit" to attempt to describe that which is within our body, and which gives us our personality.
There is a certain irony in that the more we learn in life, the more we are aware of just how little we know. That which God created is something that we know exists, but cannot understand. I believe that we have as much ability to grasp the magnitude of the Universe as a jackrabbit has to understand quantum physics!
What we are now, both in terms of our spirit or soul, and our body, may be equal to that of a child in kindergarten. We may be only at one stage in a much greater scheme of things, one that we cannot even understand.
Our lives exist because we have been created by God. Our lives, at least as we know them on this Earth, shall end according to His timetable. What exists beyond our existance on this Earth for each of us may well be determined by how we have lived. We shall not know until after we have died.
We should live our lives with recognition that we shall be held accountable for our thoughts and actions. We recognize that there is both "good" and "evil" in this world, and that it is our choice as to what we do in life. The simple term for that is "free will."
"Impus Felinus"
I am writing these words as a tribute to a very special cat.
I cannot say whether it was pure happenstance that brought a young black Manx cat to our door on Halloween Night in 2003, or whether he was guided to our doors by a couple of angels. All I really knew was that we had seen a coyote in our back yard a few days prior, and the coyotes kill cats! I picked up this perhaps six month old cat and placed it in our laundry room.
My wife and I drove the neighborhood looking for any signs posted requesting help finding a lost cat. We placed an advertisement in the local paper stating we had found this cat. We called the local animal shelter, and asked them to have anyone looking for the black Manx to call us. There were no signs, and no phone calls.
We took the cat to our vet, and had him checked for any problems, and given shots such that he would integrate with the other cat we had at that time. We accepted him, and came to believe in time that his being with us was no accident. He knew how, in his own special ways, to teach us that cats can communicate their love for people.
It was about three weeks later that he, by his actions, told us his name --"Impus Felinus!" The words looked like Latin, but were not. However, they looked like they would translate from Latin with the meaning of a "impish or devilish cat." It seemed most appropriate based not only on his behavior, but also his being an all black cat that appeared on Halloween Night.
My son, who called him "Buddy" fully understood that there was a special bond between them. It showed in the way that they played together, and the way my son would hug him.
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" relate to the fact that our Creator has given us these unalienable Rights. Our Liberty is constrained by our responsibilities, to both our Creator and to each other. We, ourselves, shall answer to our Creator for what we have done with our lives.
The greatest gift that has been given to us is our ability to both give, and accept, Love! It is something that we cannot touch, smell, taste, or directly see. But it is something that we can feel. It is something that we can give and share. It is the proof that there is something inside of us which is called the soul, or spirit, that we cannot truly understand.
I believe that the soul, or spirit, and the ability to love exists not only within us (humans), but also in many animals including our dogs and cats. I believe that our Creator has given them to us as a way of teaching us about Love (as well as many other lessons).
Perhaps one of the most important, and seemingly the most painful, is that we are mortal, and that our time here on this Earth is that which is given to us. I write these words of "Thank You" to our Creator, and tribute to one of the greatest gifts that was loaned to us for the past several years – that of the little cat we called "Impus Felinus!"
"Impus Felinus" died a few days ago, on January 4, 2012, due perhaps to a sudden heart attack. I had seen him sitting on my wife's lap not even five minutes earlier before I had walked out of the room. I then heard him come running toward the room where I was sitting. And I heard one of the most gut wrenching sounds from him that I have ever heard. By the time that I could get to him, his body was lying on the floor. There was nothing I could do, or say.
Perhaps he had been running to me to say his last "goodbye"! Perhaps he knew that he was being called to what we believe is a far better place. My wife and I pray that we are correct, and that indeed we will meet him and all our other friends, family, and pets in that which is called Heaven.
The pain and loss that we feel right now is only a measure of how much he taught us about Love! We thank our Creator for having "loaned" this wonderful creature to us. He will be with us for the rest of our lives. Not in his physical body, but with his spirit that seems to be within us. And it was not only about Love, he also taught us much about the meaning of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!
When you live with a cat, think of the words that have been written here. Then observe how well they teach the meaning of the words Love, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
Thomas F.
A Tribute to a cat named "Impus Felinus"
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress made the unanimous Declaration of thirteen united States of America. The word “united” is deliberately written without a capital letter because the states were independent at that time, and not yet truly united.
The Declaration of Independence contains the words , "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
"Happenstance"
Perhaps no other phrase in the English language is used so often, but the meaning of the words used by the Founding Fathers of this country are not well understood by people in today's world. Our language has evolved, and words do not have the same meanings now as they did more than two hundred years ago.
It is due to the evolution of our language that I have titled this as "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happenstance." It is when we understand the meaning with both our minds and our hearts that we recognize the great wisdom of the Founding Fathers.
I shall take the last word first – and write it spelled as "Happenstance." It is a word that is not common in our current language. The word “happiness” that was written more than two hundred years ago when the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were written had the same meaning then as does the word "happenstance" in our current language.
Since the word "happenstance" is not common we need to understand what it means. Then we can understand what "happiness" really means when we read the Declaration of Independence. “Happenstance” was an American word that was formed from combining the words “happen” and “circumstance.” It meant a chance or accidental happening.
For example, a blacksmith has been pounding out red-hot steel to produce a knife. He accidentally kicks over his normal water bucket, so instead uses a barrel filled with waste water to rapidly cool (quench) the steel. What he may not know is that the waste water contains a weak solution of nitric acid.
In the months that follows, he notices that this “special” knife retains a sharp edge much better than any other he has ever made. He does not realize it, but he has discovered a chemical process the produces a superior steel. However, he keeps this as his own “trade secret” and uses it to produce knives and other tools that are far superior to those produced by other blacksmiths.
The pursuit of that accident, whether we use the word “happenstance” or “happiness,” is something that brings him wealth.
The above story does have a basis in fact. An old engineer with whom I worked told me the story close to fifty years ago. When he was a boy, fifty years earlier than when he told me the story, he and a friend quietly climbed into the hay loft of the town's blacksmith shop. The watched the blacksmith carefully lock up his shop, then collect waste water from the trenches cut in the floor near the horse stalls. This waste water was stored in a barrel near the blacksmith's forge and anvil. The blacksmith then heated up the forge and proceeded to work on many tools that needed to have the special "heat treatment" that came from getting the steel red hot, then quenching in that special barrel. The blacksmith was using chemistry to case harden, and then temper the steel at 500 degrees.
The Right of a person to take advantage of "happenstance" was written into the United States Constitution. Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 8 gave the United States Congress the right (and responsibility) to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventgors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
"Liberty"
"Liberty" is another interesting word that is used in our language. It is not the same as the word "freedom" because "liberty" requires us to recognize the responsibilities attached to our actions. A person who does not recognize the difference between these two words may think that his (or her) "right to free speech" allows them to open their mouth and say anything. They do not give any thought as to their choice of words, whether what they say is truthful, or anything else.
There have been a series of United States Supreme Court decisions, starting in 1919 with Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. wrote the unanimous opinion that held that Schenck's criminal conviction was constitutional. "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic."
Our "Liberty" to do as we so desire must recognize that we cannot infringe on the rights and liberty of others. At the same time, our liberty is what allows us to use our knowledge, skills, and talents not only to support ourselves, but to help others.
"Life"
The unalienable Right granted by our Creator is that which we probably understand least. It is hard for us to recognize that we are perhaps something much more than the physical body which we inhabit. We use the words "soul" or "spirit" to attempt to describe that which is within our body, and which gives us our personality.
There is a certain irony in that the more we learn in life, the more we are aware of just how little we know. That which God created is something that we know exists, but cannot understand. I believe that we have as much ability to grasp the magnitude of the Universe as a jackrabbit has to understand quantum physics!
What we are now, both in terms of our spirit or soul, and our body, may be equal to that of a child in kindergarten. We may be only at one stage in a much greater scheme of things, one that we cannot even understand.
Our lives exist because we have been created by God. Our lives, at least as we know them on this Earth, shall end according to His timetable. What exists beyond our existance on this Earth for each of us may well be determined by how we have lived. We shall not know until after we have died.
We should live our lives with recognition that we shall be held accountable for our thoughts and actions. We recognize that there is both "good" and "evil" in this world, and that it is our choice as to what we do in life. The simple term for that is "free will."
"Impus Felinus"
I am writing these words as a tribute to a very special cat.
I cannot say whether it was pure happenstance that brought a young black Manx cat to our door on Halloween Night in 2003, or whether he was guided to our doors by a couple of angels. All I really knew was that we had seen a coyote in our back yard a few days prior, and the coyotes kill cats! I picked up this perhaps six month old cat and placed it in our laundry room.
My wife and I drove the neighborhood looking for any signs posted requesting help finding a lost cat. We placed an advertisement in the local paper stating we had found this cat. We called the local animal shelter, and asked them to have anyone looking for the black Manx to call us. There were no signs, and no phone calls.
We took the cat to our vet, and had him checked for any problems, and given shots such that he would integrate with the other cat we had at that time. We accepted him, and came to believe in time that his being with us was no accident. He knew how, in his own special ways, to teach us that cats can communicate their love for people.
It was about three weeks later that he, by his actions, told us his name --"Impus Felinus!" The words looked like Latin, but were not. However, they looked like they would translate from Latin with the meaning of a "impish or devilish cat." It seemed most appropriate based not only on his behavior, but also his being an all black cat that appeared on Halloween Night.
My son, who called him "Buddy" fully understood that there was a special bond between them. It showed in the way that they played together, and the way my son would hug him.
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" relate to the fact that our Creator has given us these unalienable Rights. Our Liberty is constrained by our responsibilities, to both our Creator and to each other. We, ourselves, shall answer to our Creator for what we have done with our lives.
The greatest gift that has been given to us is our ability to both give, and accept, Love! It is something that we cannot touch, smell, taste, or directly see. But it is something that we can feel. It is something that we can give and share. It is the proof that there is something inside of us which is called the soul, or spirit, that we cannot truly understand.
I believe that the soul, or spirit, and the ability to love exists not only within us (humans), but also in many animals including our dogs and cats. I believe that our Creator has given them to us as a way of teaching us about Love (as well as many other lessons).
Perhaps one of the most important, and seemingly the most painful, is that we are mortal, and that our time here on this Earth is that which is given to us. I write these words of "Thank You" to our Creator, and tribute to one of the greatest gifts that was loaned to us for the past several years – that of the little cat we called "Impus Felinus!"
"Impus Felinus" died a few days ago, on January 4, 2012, due perhaps to a sudden heart attack. I had seen him sitting on my wife's lap not even five minutes earlier before I had walked out of the room. I then heard him come running toward the room where I was sitting. And I heard one of the most gut wrenching sounds from him that I have ever heard. By the time that I could get to him, his body was lying on the floor. There was nothing I could do, or say.
Perhaps he had been running to me to say his last "goodbye"! Perhaps he knew that he was being called to what we believe is a far better place. My wife and I pray that we are correct, and that indeed we will meet him and all our other friends, family, and pets in that which is called Heaven.
The pain and loss that we feel right now is only a measure of how much he taught us about Love! We thank our Creator for having "loaned" this wonderful creature to us. He will be with us for the rest of our lives. Not in his physical body, but with his spirit that seems to be within us. And it was not only about Love, he also taught us much about the meaning of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness!
When you live with a cat, think of the words that have been written here. Then observe how well they teach the meaning of the words Love, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
Thomas F.
