A reader sends this:
What life have you if you have not life together?There is no life that is not in community,
And no community not lived in praise of God.
Even the anchorite who meditates alone,
For whom the days and nights repeat the praise of God,
Prays for the Church, the Body of Christ incarnate.
And now you live dispersed on ribbon roads,
And no man knows or cares who is his neighbor
Unless his neighbor makes too much disturbance,
But all dash to and fro in motor cars,
Familiar with the roads and settled nowhere.
Nor does the family even move about together,
But every son would have his motor cycle,
And daughters ride away on casual pillions.
-- T.S. Eliot, Choruses from “The Rock”
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That T.S.Eliot is really a stupid guy.
Too bad when he was at Harvard, or England writing all his stupid poetry, that he never learned the idea that God was a myth. What do they teach at Harvard? What a waste land!
My recommendation to you, godisaheretic, is the very next time you see him, be sure to set him straight! Make sure you tell him his poetry sucks as well, being as mismatched with reality as it is.
And yet for all the expressed nostalgia for small communties of days gone by, or still to be found in rural Germany and even the rural US, how many of you are willing to leave urban life, accept a lower standard of living, and settle down in a small town - a really small town, say 500 or less - and try to integrate with the folks who have lived there for generations?
Me? Yeah, I'm doing it. Moved from downtown Houston to an East TX town of 637 (probably fewer now). The advantages outweigh the disadvantages now that broadband internet has come to town, but let me tell you, it isn't all rural paradise. The average age is probably around 68, much of the younger crowd is living on Social Security disability payments, and any youngster with ambition leaves for the big city after graduating from High School.
I looked up "pillion" and got several meanings:
1a : a light saddle for women consisting chiefly of a cushion
1b: a pad or cushion put on behind a man's saddle chiefly for a woman to ride on
2 chiefly British: a motorcycle or bicycle saddle for a passenger.
That last line is confusing. Do the sons and daughters of each family ride off together on a motorcycle, or does the son from family A ride off with the daughter from family B? I guess probably the latter. Well, at least they have each other.
Motorcycle imagery - weird!
I once had to spend a few years in a town of well under 200. As a New Yorker, I found this pretty stressful. Small towns MAY be "Our Town"--but they may also be "Spoon River". Or worse.
For those who like the idea of the "human-scale" town, there is a story by Frederic Brown called "The Waveries". In the story Earth is invaded by incorporeal creatures which "eat" electricity. We go back to horses, bicycles, and steam engines in small towns that have no movies or record stores, but a more participatory and therefore more humanly satisfying community theatre and town band. It is a good story, but I'm glad it's fiction.
By the way, in my previous comment the name should be Anthusa, not Anthsa.
rebeccat...
yes... you are most likely right about what he saw in his time...
your clarification is very helpful... thanks...
but though he didn't see it...
I think the evidence is solid that throughout history our ancestors invented Myths such as "in praise of God"...
the idea that God should be praised is clearly mythological...
an invention of ancient imaginations...
now to clarify...
I do have faith and hope in the Reality of God (whatever It is) who surely is far greater than what all Myths say...
in that faith and hope, I don't see any good reason to include "praise" for God...
like I said, I believe God is beyond that...
faith hope love joy peace to all...
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