My father never used shaving cream, preferring literally to manufacture his lather: he rubbed a bar of soap in his wet hands. I picked up the trick from him, and until September of 2002 never used shaving cream. But then he died and his toiletries fell to me. Among them I found a couple of cans of Barbasol shaving cream. They must have been purchased by the nurses that cared for him near the end. The old man would never have spent money on such Unsinn.
But I couldn't throw away good shaving cream, could I? So I used the stuff, and used it up, those two cans lasting well-nigh three and a half years. But now I am back with the old hand jive method of procuring my lather.
It works fine, saves money, and is environmentally 'friendly' to boot. Just as water is the philosopher's drink (Thoreau), hand soap is the philosopher's shaving cream. After all,
Barba non facit philosophum, neque vile pallium.
A beard does not a philosopher make, nor does wearing a shabby cloak.
UPDATE: Mike Gilleland the learned Laudator Temporis Acti combs through some classical beard references. He also supplies the correct Latin without saying that I omitted the 'gerere.' The man has class. It should read:
Barba non facit philosophum, neque vile gerere pallium.
Mike also raises the question whether I still sport a beard. Yes I do. But it is a fringe affair that requires shaving of the cheeks and jowls. I cannot see myself without it. The depth of my attachment is indicated by the occasional bad dream in which it somehow gets shaven off.
See also here. And of course there are differences in hand soap. Tough guys might give Lava a try, while the tender-faced might prefer Dove.
Malcolm,
We may not agree on the necessary, but here we agree on the unnecessary. (That's a pun based on an equivocation, of course.)
Matthew,
I would be the first to insist that economic considerations are not paramount. And of course you appreciate that what I said above is not to be taken with full seriousness . . .
As any good disciple I of course weigh each of your keystrokes with the seriousness of the gospel! ;)
Thank you, that was a rather amusing article. I am still not convinced, I still rather like my shaving cream--a can lasts me for at least 4-6 months, frugal use anyone? So, I am tender-faced am I? Well, having soft skin has never been a problem for me, I don't need to be a "tough guy."
My father and uncle use soap when they have no SC, so I respect the sensibility of using it as a working substitute, or in your case the "SC".
You write:
Why do I suspect that what makes the dream really bad is that the shaving is being done by someone who shaves all and only those who don't shave themselves ...?
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