Many a man lives a burden to the earth; but a good book is the precious life- blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life. ‘Tis true, no age can restore a life, whereof perhaps there is no greater loss; and revolutions of ages do not oft recover the loss of rejected truth, for the want of which whole nations fare the worse.
Good and evil we know in the field of this world grow up together almost inseparably; and the knowledge of good is so involved and interwoven with the knowledge of evil, and in so many cunning resemblances upon Psyche….And perhaps this is that doom Adam fell into of knowing good and evil, and that is to say knowing good by evil. Excerpts from Areopagitica, written by John Milton in 1644.
John Milton wrote this in a pamphlet form for an audience of the English Parliament while they were considering regulating written works (printings) books. John Milton felt strongly that this would stifle free speech. If you take the time to read Areopagitica in full, (about 30 pages long), you will easily see his passion about freedom of thought and expression as the bedrock to a healthy nation.
My aim, this month, is to highlight Milton for two reasons. One self evident reason; my journey of self -enlightenment has been anchored by books I have had the opportunity to read along with excerpts I have shared with you. The second reason; Milton’s Areopagitica is a beacon of light piercing the darkness of the constant drum beat from our President about fake news and his disparaging remarks aimed at anyone who appears to disagree with his self serving point of views.
Written three hundred and seventy five years ago, the Areopagitica has been described, as the right to freedom speech and expression, opposing censorship. Political unity is secured not by force but by a consensus that respects variety of opinion. Opinion that is not contaminated by authority in the interest of a party. Finally, constructive criticism is better than false flattery. (Italics courtesy of Wikipedia)
Of course our Constitution was influenced by Milton’s written treatise as it includes prohibition against prior restraint, or (pre) publication of censorship. It can also be noted that our Supreme Court has cited the Areopatica in some legal cases brought before the Court. ( Note; even though Milton published this passionate defense of freedom of speech (Per Se) in 1644. In England freedom of the press was not granted until 1695.) (Italics courtesy of Wikipedia). If you have our President’s ear please pass on to him this fact, our Founding Fathers ratified free speech and freedom of the press in the 1700s!
If I have digressed this month with too much opinion about current bleak, dark affairs well… well I do not apologize. Too much of it is taking my attention away from my intuitive journey.
The Honorable Elijah Cummings unexpected death this month was a loss to civil discourse. I didn’t agree with him on all his opinions and positions but I admired his passion and ability to disagree yet remain respectful of his opponents’ humanity. I paraphrase here the following attributable to the late Mr. Cummings.: Democracy is a beacon to humanity to be protected, nurtured and honored. When we dance with the angels the question will be asked , in 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing?
Being a father and a grandfather I love the following thought given to us by Elijah Cummings: Our children are a message to the future we will never see.
Finally this month I tore myself away from daily news and opinion and actually took time to visit our oldest son, our daughter-in-law and two of our grandsons. A visit long overdue but so gratifying. Without going into too much detail here I can absolutely state that even though they live far from the ocean, I was able to find my metaphorical lighthouse to lean against.
As I sat there I observed my two grand children follow their curiosity and zeal for each moment of their day. They live life to the fullest and totally stay in the moment. I am now re- learning how to do that. With part of my family around me I also realized all my dramas are best dealt with by my ability to create images of love. The journey of living love begins with the love of self, family, mankind, and progresses to the level of love of the world. This is my physical lesson, manifested in this physical world. Watching and listening to my grandsons, their parents and Granny J navigate their moments together was and is a blessing of love. I wonder, is their love one of the messages my children carry to the future I will never see? Maybe and just maybe I might see that future, (as Dinah Shore used to sing), “in my new Chevrolet”!
Thank you for reading.
Mark