Rebecca - I agree with you about the uncomfortable elements in SW's
thinking..... there is a horror of the body and an undelying violence
there - something that your posts in the last few days have touched on in
other contexts. It is bedded very deep in our culture I think, and 'the
physical/nature' is so closely tied to the feminine in the framework..... a
whole trail of connections that are very pliable, strong and hard to dig
out. (I have been weeding in my little garden! A very comforting thing to
do. As Erin says 'gardening is always anti-war')
I saw a link here too with some of Alison's discussion of how to read a poem
in an ealier post, so I would like to quote SW again, this time from 'Letter
To a Priest' Section 26......
"... when one gives one's whole attention to a wholly beautiful piece of
music (and the same applies to architecture, painting, [poetry]ect)the
intelligence finds therein nothing to affirm or deny. But all the soul's
faculties, including the intelligence, become slient and are wrapped up in
listening. The listening itself is applied to an incomprehensible object,
but one which contains a part of reality and of good. And the intelligence,
which annot seize hold of any truth therin, finds therein nevertheless a
food.
I believe that the mysetery of the beautiful in nature and in the arts (but
only in art of the very first order, perfect or nearly so) is a sensible
reflection of the mystery of faith."
_square brackets are my inclusion_
Liz
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