Filed under: Uncategorized
This is tentatively what I’ll be taking:
1. Shakespeare and Philosophy
2. William Blake
3. Literary Ethnicity (Concerning how various groups write as “Americans” — my requisite “multi-cultural” course)
4. Classical Epics in English Translation
5. Modern Philosophy (Appears to be primarily Descartes, Berkley, Hume, and Kant)
Either #4 or #5 will be cut out if time gets tight — but I sure hope it doesn’t. Anyway, that’s my final schedule for my final semester at LSU. *single tear*
A stanza of wisdom from Wordsworth:
If Thou be one whose heart the holy forms
Of young imagination have kept pure,
Stranger! henceforth be warned; and know that pride,
Howe’er disguised in its own majesty,
Is littleness; that he, who feels contempt
For any living thing, hath faculties
Which he has never used; that thought with him
Is in its infancy. The man whose eye
Is ever on himself doth look on one,
The least of Nature’s works, one who might move
The wise man to that scorn which wisdom holds
Unlawful, ever. O be wiser, Thou!
Instructed that true knowledge leads to love;
True dignity abides with him alone
Who, in the silent hour of inward thought,
Can still suspect, and still revere himself,
In lowliness of heart. (emphasis added)
Filed under: Uncategorized
This just in from “The Marriage Bed” Dot-Com:
Were you aware that the Sacred Song, the Holiest Canticle of Canticles, the mellifluous mystical draught of the Saints, actually promotes oral sex? True story! Read all about it:
Oral sex is using the mouth to sexually stimulate a spouse’s genitals. It can be done as foreplay, or as a way of causing orgasm. As with manual sex, there are no hints of prohibition in the Bible, and many scholars of the Song of Songs are convinced that several passages describe oral sex being performed on both the man and the woman. (SS 2:3, the woman preforming oral sex on the man, and SS 4:16 and possibly 8:2 for the man doing it to the woman).
That’s right, folks! “Many scholars” opine that, rather than being an expression of spiritual love for Christ and His Bride (Or YHWH and Israel, for the Jews), the Holy Spirit really wanted to give us an image of human lust and depravity. Disregard the millenia of words of the Holiest of Men throughout the Ages – the Jews historically (and presently) have treated the book as a allegory of YHWH’s love for Israel; the Catholic Church, from Origin, Augustine, Bernard, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Frances de Sales, has historically (and presently) taught the book as a mystical allegory for Christ and His Bride, the Church. What do they know, right?
Good thing we have “The Marriage Bed” Dot-Com to set us (and the rest of historical orthodoxy) straight! *headslap*
Filed under: Uncategorized
I am nearly one year past the legal drinking age of our dearest state, and as I’m wont to do from time to time, I must reflect. This has been my annus bibendi — my year of drinking. And what has come of it? What have I gained? What have I lost? It’s far too late for reflection — nearly midnight! — and with a dreadfully extensive philosophy midterm in just less than 12 hours looming in the distance, this is not an importune time to ponder. And yet we will ponder!
Let me first describe the nature of my drinking, which will illuminate my current reflections. First off, I have scarcely drunk hard liquors or wines. To be frank, I find hard liquor inappropriate for a Catholic. In my opinion, it by itself produces far too rapidly a drunken, stupid mind; it is associated, not with conviviality, but with excess and potency. As for mixing drinks, that is usually an expensive venture, which places liquor outside of my price-range. It is, as far as I can tell, a nearer occasion to the sin of drunkenness than I am comfortable with. Thus, I have largely avoided it, save during the heat of the summer when I splurged on a fifth of Jim Bean and some mint, making frosty mint-juleps to stave off the swelter. But, besides those tasty juleps, I haven’t touched the stuff in any real quantity.
As for wine, I could never oppose it on moral or social grounds — it is marvelously sacramental, bringing joy and laughter to those who enjoy it prudently. Still, I have yet to develop a taste for it, and so I rarely purchase it.
I am, as it were, a beer drinker. While I know of those who find that beer is some sort of “rot,” I thoroughly enjoy it. Its delights are diverse and complex. At times it is robust and nutty, at times crisp and bitter; sometimes spiced with herbs and cloves, and sometimes a straightforward amber brew. It brings forth in sensible men a jocular spirit, a deep warmth and friendship between bretheren. It is the drink of choice for the great activity of pub-house contemplation, in which men, young and old, can haggle out the grandest of mysteries. It’s true: I’m a fan of beer.
Considering the late hour, the reflection will begin in my next post.
