Resiled from poor assent to Nature’s terms.1Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
Fragment ID: 20324
Resiled from poor assent to Nature’s terms.1
It [“resiled”] is a perfectly good English word, meaning originally to leap back, rebound (like an elastic) – so to draw back from, recoil, retreat (in military language it means to fall back from a position gained or to one’s original position); but it is specially used for withdrawing from a contract, agreement, previous statement. It is therefore quite the just word here. Human nature has assented to Nature’s terms and been kept by her to them, but now Aswapathy resiles from the contract and the assent to it made by humanity to which he belonged. Resiled, resilient, resilience are all good words and in use.
1937
1 P. 77 Sri Aurobindo’s note apropos of this line was written when the line occurred in a context no other phrases elaborating its sense. At present a further line follows:
The harsh contract spurned and the diminished lease