Heart-rending

C.S. Lewis is heart-rending. But it is the content that makes it so. And he is not boring. He is not a fiction writer. Of the crafting of prose he is a master.

Jane, Jane, Jane

A defense of C.S. Lewis, for my reactive sister.

She calls him two things...

1. A Brilliant Character
2. An Accessible Theologian

Let's go beyond theologian, however, and say that he is also an accessible philosopher.

If a man takes a complex idea and expresses it accessibly, surely this takes some skill. If he does this consistently, to the benefit of thousands, it means that he does it very skillfully. If he is able to distill the highest ideas of many generations into concise, readable, and enjoyable prose, with an ear for a memorable phrase, and a true religiousity to boot, what can we say about him? That he is a great prose-writer. And so he is. To claim otherwise is absurd.

And David is correct. I said prose-writer, not fiction writer. I did set the whole thing up using Abraham Lincoln as my prime example.

prose--ordinary form of written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry and verse.

Historians can be extraordinary prose-writers. For that matter, I do not think Paul Johnson would make my list. I have not read Eudora Welty. From Jane's list, I considered Jane Austen and Edith Wharton. I like the Bronte's, but not for their prose style, per se.

I am talking merely about the way a writer puts words and sentances together.

David's Challenge

Namely, to name a president greater than Ronald Reagan, limited to the last 140 years, since we know that Lincoln blows everyone out of the water. I mean, listen to Lincoln...listen to his music:

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Here is another:

Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.

No president, and indeed, few writers in the English language have approached it.

Who, after all, are the greatest writers in the English language? I mean this in a very specific sense...those with the best prose-style.

Here is a short list...

1. C.S. Lewis
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. Charles Dickens
5. Shelby Foote
6. Tom Wolfe
7. Thorton Wilder

Additions?

Oh, back to presidents. I really do not see how you can dispute with David's choice in the last 140 years. Certainly not with that vastly over-rated pair of inbred East Coast aristocrats, Roosevelt and Kennedy. You could make a case, however, for Calvin Coolidge and Teddy Roosevelt. And on a good day, Harry S Truman.

What do you think?

Of my new computer?

Features include...

1. Type-able letters
2. Movable screen
3. Windows Vista Home Premium Edition (aka--ripped off from apple)
4. One tree planted somewhere to offset the cost of my carbon emissions
5. Three-year extended warranty for when it breaks next week
6. 80 somethings of memory, or something
7. Microsoft Paint!
8. The Internet

I can hardly wait.

Surprised

No comments? Really? No one has anything to say about that?

I'm surprised at you guys.

I have some things to say today.

1. This has been a great semester.
2. This is like a time of incredible new growth, where God is teaching me with gentleness and love, surprising me with his rich mercy.
3. The new creation is my obsession. The gospel is my passion. Spring is beautiful.

Observations

Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter, was enrolled in class called Contemporary Horror Fiction.

His teachers tried repeatedly to alert the administration of behavorial problems.

He was twice accused of stalking women.

The plays he wrote were filled with conflations of sex and violence.

My observations...

1. "Their feet are swift to shed blood/Ruin and misery mark their ways"

2. "He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done."

3. "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of the sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts."

Questions...

Thanks for answering everyone. That got a good response, with the exception of David Crawford, who ignores me.

Another Question

What are your three favorite days, not recurring days, but days of your life that you look back on with particular nostalgia? Here are mine.

1. When I lived in Burlington, Vermont...playing kickball in the morning...sandwiches in the park...picking blueberries...swimming for three hours in Lake Champlain...Brian Smith, Lori Bowman, Nate Forney...Dinner at a Sweet Water's...Deep conversation that night

2. Star Wars on the Imax with Ryan Dilisi...Walking back afterwards through Boston...Hanging out with Charlton and the Kellys...desert and cards on the top floor of the Prudential

3. Summer of 2004...Racketball with Matt...lunch with David and Caitlin...Champ's with Matt and David...cigars afterwards.

You get the idea. You have to think about this one. Don't pull out the stereotypical ones, but think of days when you felt a deep joy in fellowship with others.

Throw your hands in the air!

Which is of course what you are constantly told to do at rap concerts.

I saw Talib Kweli last night, and it was awesome. No doubt.

But the opening bands were terrible. Tell me, if you had to pick an opening band for a hardcore, political mc from Brooklyn, which would you pick:

A. A crappy emo band that no one has ever heard of
B. A two-hit wonder from about five years ago that plays pop-punk
C. A sweet up and coming hip-hop act

The answer is obviously C. But the first two bands were completely unrelated to Talib. And they were terrible.

But Kweli was pretty baller. The guy has some flow and his beats is done by Hi-Tek, who knows what he's doing. I enjoyed it heartily, especially since there was a white dude standing next to me who had no rhythm but could sing every line of every song.

A Question

I am very excited. Why? I cannot tell you.

The question is...

What are your three favorite places?

1. The Cottage
--By the will of God, I'll honeymoon there someday.

2. Rancho Betania
--Because of the summer I spent there with Thad, also several mission reunions, Spring Break trips, etc.

3. My current porch, in the evening
--Seriously. It is a good porch.