Phaedrus...What a Travesty!
Ah, a book review? Told'ya I was studying philosophy yestidy. Up 'til after midnight, it was so engaging. First "they" electrocuted Phaedrus, then some few years later Chris was murdered. Thus was destroyed Persig's precious pair. Of course if I talk of philosophy, can't I give my beliefs?
(sonnet #'s CCCCLVIII & CCCCIX)
You came so close as nigh to touch, and yet
So far as ne'er t'attain in searching, 'til
For that elusive gain, your life the bill
Of sale became: they killed you. Having met
Well-nigh the Truth, just missing it, the debt
For such expenditures is death? Its thrill
Throughout your veins quite crystallized; its fill
Scorned by your peers occasioned this regret?
I'm sorely grieved, for you've done very well.
As all good authors, you've entirely wooed
Me to the cause, nought else remains. The spell
Has ta'en my heart 'til its solicitude
No solace finds. All's lost. What's left's the shell.
Alas. The price we pay for altitude?
# II
In searching God we find Him not, for so
His Word's decreed. Man's wisdom e'er falls short.
The prize can't by our means be caught. The sport,
Aye, avid dear pursuit where'er we go,
However high or low we seek to know,
Eludes forever, since its grasp must thwart
Our ev'ry try. For this by each report
We think to find, is not the Truth's pure glow.
That Quality preceeding man quite threw
Dear Phaedrus out...of life. He half perceived
And nearly found, but missed by ev'ry clue.
It is a gift unsought, by whom received
Are "taught of God." His Word alone such drew:
Whom finding, by His faith, they've then believed.
13Jan12
D72a,b
My premise: "For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."(I Cor 1:21)
Great work Jenny - I am off to research Phaedrus too....
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
A dyed in the wool iconoclast like me can never admit to being affected by words of immense spiritual enlightenment such as these. I can wink, though ; )
Wow, Jenny. WIll have to research your Phaedrus. I think about your wisdom quote all the time. Outstanding sonnets.
I'm a Clamist but I'm a Believer too. sounds almost like proverbs. Nice! have a great day!
I remember this, and remember liking "The price we pay for altitude." Having ready it again, I think the halt in line four is deployed to good effect, and the sestet does a good job of giving credit where credit is due. Maybe a bill of sale is better than a bill of goods. Your answer in sonnet two seems to dwell, by necessities sake if the octet is to focus on the problem, on the theological assertion that seeking God is fruitless; I do not know about Phaedrus to understand the rebuke you offer in the sestet, but it seems firm, and seems characteristic of a religious rebuke in suggesting that he only just missed the answers. If so, it seems a shame that his punishment was death. The idea of faith as "a gift unsought" is an interesting and possibly strange one, and perhaps runs counter to much evangelicalism Having only met Phaedrus by way of a wiki, and only after reading your sonnets, I am afraid I don't know more than that. Interesting to read in any case, and not harmed by ignorance on the part of the reader, if my own experience is indicative.