Hal,
Interesting! ";And so on"; reminds me of Vonnegut's ";and so
it goes"; in _Slaughterhouse-Five_. But, as you say, indicate an
acceptance of or resignation to the the cyclical nature of things and
deny any real progress. I think Twain's use of the phrase comes
more from years of observing history's resistance to essential
change; Vonnegut's use suggests more of a catch phrase. And
Vonnegut's use seems to carry a more pessimistic outlook than
Twain's. Twain may be just refusing to conclude on any given
subject.
Oh well!
Jason G. Horn
Gordon College
Barnesville, Georgia