Anselm's Proslogion vs. Aelred's Spiritual Friendship

St. Anselm's Proslogion is a book that St. Anselm wrote to prove the existence of God. St. Aelred's Spiritual Friendship is basically a conversation Aelred had with his 'imaginary friend' that provides insight about friendship and love.

It's easy to tell that Anselm is a very logical thinker. His writing has a set structure--"if this is true, then this is true, therefore *conclusion*". I couldn't find any uses of metaphors, similes, or other literary devices in his work. His work sounds like that of a scientist or mathematician--he seems to be a no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point kind of person.

Aelred, however, is a much more romanticized thinker. As he talks to the character of 'Ivo', he explains the aspects of friendship (which, if you think about it, is not always logical, therefore implying that Aelred is a different kind of thinker from Anselm). Aelred uses many metaphors, which to me make his writing much easier to read than Anselm's. An item or idea is easier to understand when you have something to compare it to.

Anselm serves his explanation of God's existence with a topping of logic and a side of rationality, which is not a bad way to present an argument. If you can explain something with solid logic, it means you understand it well. But Aelred presents his explanation of friendship as a fictional conversation between two friends. If you can place something against a different background and still understand it well, you probably understand that subject thoroughly.
Both methods of explanation are effective, but they are very different. Anselm's is strict non-fiction, while Aelred uses creative writing to bring an idea into the light.

In Which There is No Cicero, I Am a Bard, and St. Boniface is Awesome

 I realize that this post is pretty late (and short) and I didn't write anything last week so...sorry about that.

November 3--7th, 2014

The Dream of the Rood: So I had to read this for everyone over lunch on Monday and try to sound like an Anglo-Saxon bard. That proved a little difficult, because someone saying "Please pass the chicken" during your attempt at a dramatic pause kind of ruins the effect. All the same, I like how dramatic this poem is. I also thought it was interesting how similar this idea is to a modern writing prompt many writers use: telling a story (in this case, the crucifixion) from the point of view of a character no one really thinks about. Of course, the cross (or 'rood') is a very important element in the crucifixion story, but no one thinks about what it would have said if it could have talked. The rood is an interesting character. It sounds honored to have Christ hanging from it, making itself sound like a sort of throne for Him.

The Correspondence of St. Boniface:
Letter #1: I wish I could write persuasive essays like St. Boniface. He quotes Scripture eleven times (I counted) and obviously is passionate about what he's writing about. He says: "Can there be a more fitting pursuit in youth or a more valuable possession in old age than a knowledge of Holy Writ? In the midst of storms it will preserve you from the dangers of shipwreck and guide you to the shore of an enchanting paradise and the ever-lasting bliss of the angels." That was probably a whole lot more effective than just saying "don't do drugs, stay in school" like we say now.

Letter #3: This letter from Pope Gregory III makes St. Boniface sound like a government agent going on a secret mission. I think Christians took evangelization a lot more seriously at that time than we do now. I also like the line "bound by the shackles of paganism".

In Which Cicero is Mean, Lancelot is Depressed, and I Write an Anglo-Saxon Poem

October 27th -- 31st, 2014


Instead of writing about everything I do each day, from now on (I think) I'm going to write about the things (poems, certain aspects of stories, etc.) that stand out the most for me in my whole week's reading. And also science, because it's cool.

Idylls of the King (Lancelot and Elaine) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: I finished this poem today (Monday). It was a bit disappointing--I know it's supposed to be a tragedy, but (spoiler alert) why did Elaine die? It seemed kind of pointless to me. She learned that Lancelot didn't love her back, which made her sad at first, but then she told her father that she was able to die happy because she had loved the greatest of all men. And then she just...died. Did I miss something here? It seems like the only purpose her death served was to show Lancelot that Elaine had loved him much more than Guinivere did, because Guinivere's love was prideful and jealous while Elaine's was pure and honest. The story ended with Lancelot thinking he was a terrible person and realizing that Guinivere probably didn't love him after all.

Cicero: First Oration Against Cataline (Translation): Cicero's getting personal now. He says he's going to leave out the embarrassing, disgraceful details of Cataline's private life, but Cicero has a way of just glossing over some things and making them stand out all the same. It's interesting to see Cicero's use of repeating rhetorical questions ("What mark of domestic disgrace does not brand your life? What dishonor of private affairs does not cling to your reputation?" (lines 258-259), etc.). People still use questions the same way in public speaking today.

Caedmon's Hymn:  I found the literal translation here, which is interesting because I can see the connections between Old English and modern English. For example 'Weard' = 'guardian' (like 'ward' in modern English), 'Faeder' = 'father', and 'aelmihtig' = 'almighty'. And this website has a translation guide for Bede's story of Caedmon's life. It's pretty much the most detailed translation guide I've ever seen for anything. Ever.
Now onto the imagery Caedmon's Hymn conjures. Caedmon makes the earth sound like kind of a house for men, giving it a feeling a safety--calling heaven a 'roof', and God who built it for us the 'Guardian of mankind'. It makes me think that Caedmon saw the world as something that God made for us as a king might make a kingdom for his people.

Anglo-Saxon Poetry: Okay, so I'm really bad at riddles of any kind, but I actually liked these riddles. I wasn't able to guess any of them but the language and imagery of them was really cool. The Anglo-Saxons seemed to like to try to see the beauty and intrigue in their every day objects.
And finally, here's a riddle I wrote, which may be the most obvious riddle ever:

I die each autumn, but come alive in spring
I cannot move, but the slightest breeze tosses me
I shelter men by day, but my clawed fingers frighten them on moonlit nights
I am killed by men daily, though I am much stronger than them
What am I?

In Which Beowulf Makes a Bad Decision, Lancelot Goes Undercover, and Cicero is Smart

October 20th--24th, 2014


Monday:

Beowulf:  I read about how, after ruling his people the Geats for 50 years, Beowulf decided to go out and fight the dragon that was terrorizing the people. He admitted that he was not quite as spry as he was when he killed Grendel, but he wanted to defeat the dragon "for the glory of winning". Pretty impressive for a 70-year-old man, but something tells me this won't turn out quite the same as that encounter with Grendel did 50 years ago.

Idylls of the King (Lancelot and Elaine) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: I started a new poem today: Lancelot and Elaine. It starts out beautifully--telling how Elaine has Lancelot's shield and she makes up stories about how every scratch and dent came to be there. Then Tennyson tells how Lancelot's shield ended up with Elaine in her castle. Basically, Lancelot said he couldn't compete in a jousting tournament because an old wound was hurting him, but really he wanted to stay with Queen Guinivere (whom he secretly loved), who was sick at the time. But Guinivere got angry and lectured him until he agreed to go and compete anyway. Lancelot realized, however, that he'd look bad if he showed up at the tournament after telling King Arthur he couldn't compete, so he decides to go undercover. Everyone would know him by his distinctive shield, even with his visor covering his face, so he goes to the neighboring castle of Astolat, where Elaine and her father and two older brothers, Sir Torre and Sir Lavaine, live. None of them have any idea who Lancelot is because he won't identify himself, and Elaine promptly falls in love with him. Lancelot trades his shield for Sir Torre's, and he and Levaine set off for the tournament. I left off right after Lavaine learned who Lancelot was and Lancelot got a lance embedded in his side. Ouch.

Science Matters: I read around 12 pages about different types of radio waves. I didn't know that when you take your food out of a microwave oven it's actually vibrating, though on a molecular level. It's pretty interesting.

Campbell's Biology: I read section 51.2, in which the effects genetics have on animal behavior was covered. Some behaviors are controlled by only one gene, and if that gene is injected into individuals of other related species, those individuals start to exhibit the behavior that gene controls.

Cicero: First Oration Against Cataline: I had class today on Memoria Press, and we talked about how exactly Cicero knew what Cataline was up to. Apparently, one of Cataline's fellow conspirators had a mistress named Fulvia who was mad at said conspirator because he had become poor and couldn't buy her any more fancy presents. In order to get her revenge, Fulvia told Cicero's wife everything that Cataline & Co. had planned. Fulvia was kind of a terrible person, but in a way she saved Rome.


Algebra II: I factored some polynomials. A lot of polynomials.




Tuesday:

Summary Timeline 410 AD to 1066 AD - Anglo-Saxon England (website): The second king of England, Ethelwulf (ruled 838-858), had four sons named Ethelbald, Ethelred, Ethelburt, and...wait for it...Alfred. Yup.

Cicero: First Oration Against Cataline (Translation): Cicero explains that Rome is lucky Cicero is smart enough to know what Cataline was up to.

Beowulf: Beowulf faces off against the dragon. His trusty sword finally fails him, but none of his men are brave enough to help except one named Wiglaf. With Wiglaf's help, Beowulf kills the dragon. But Beowulf is badly injured and ends up dying. So now Beowulf's dead, and without an heir. This could be a problem.

The Swamp by Bill Thomas: I read the chapter about 'Swamp Lakes' (Reelfoot and Caddo Lakes). Both lakes were formed by the New Madrid earthquake, causing water from the nearby rivers to flood into lowlands. The book (written around 30 years ago) said that the locals expected Caddo Lake in Louisiana to be all marsh, instead of lake, by the year 2000. The lake is still there, though.

German: We listened to a snippet of a song by a German band called 'Die Prinzen' in class, which was pretty cool. We also learned about the 'der' words--welcher and dieser.

Algebra II: More polynomials! Yay.

Art: We drew some simple birds to help us learn to draw things using only simple shapes.


Wednesday:

Cicero: First Oration Against Cataline (Translation): Cicero explains further that he is smarter than Cataline. Cicero is so delightfully sarcastic and blunt. I love it.

 Algebra II: I had class today, and learned about fractions and simplifying and stuff. Except it's a lot more complicated than it was back in 5th grade--now there are variables and exponents and factoring involved. I also did my online quiz, and surprisingly got a 100%.

Virtual Anglo-Saxon Village: I found this link on the lesson plans on the blog Abandon Hopefully.
It was pretty interesting, and I liked the 'living history' aspect of it.

More History: I did a little bit of research on old British monasteries. Most of them seem to have been established after the French invasion in 1066.

Novel Planning: NaNoWriMo is approaching fast and I've just recently dived into planning my novel. Today I did some brainstorming and wrote an experimental scene just to get a feel for what I'll be writing in November.

Introduction to Catholicism: I read Chapter 6, which was about the Incarnation of Christ. The book explained that Christ is all man and all God, not simply a combination of the two. It also explained that Mary is the New Eve, the mother of all mankind. I liked the clear, concise explanations. I feel like I can explain it to a non-Catholic now, which is what I wanted to learn how to do when I started reading this book.


Thursday:

Cicero: First Oration Against Cataline (Translation): Cicero says that although he'd really like to kill Cataline, killing him wouldn't get rid of all his fellow conspirators so he tells Cataline to leave and take all his followers with him. He's not very nice about it, but to be fair Cataline did try to kill him. Twice.


Idylls of the King (Lancelot and Elaine) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Lancelot's disguise didn't actually work as well as he planned. Of course he got a new shield and even accepted Elaine's favor to wear on his helmet because Sir Lancelot never wore a lady's favor (because he was in love with the queen, of course). But King Arthur kept saying that the unknown knight who had won the tournament reminded him so much of Lancelot, and Queen Guinivere knew for sure it was him. I couldn't help but compare this story to the BBC TV show, Merlin, just a little bit. Guinivere is portrayed quite differently in Lancelot and Elaine than in Merlin. In this story she is furious that Lancelot would wear another lady's favor, having a mini temper tantrum and calling him a 'traitor'. In Merlin she is much more in love with Arthur, not to mention more mild-tempered.

Campbell's Biology: I read 51.3, which covered the effects an environment has on an animal's behavior. I thought it very interesting that some animals rely only on landmarks to navigate their environments, while some have something called a 'cognitive map', which is like a code entered into their brains that allows them to sort of 'sense' their environment. For example, digger wasps rely on landmarks, such as nearby pine cones, to locate their nests, whereas Clark's Nutcrackers can memorize the exact distance between two of their caches of food so they don't have to even look at the landmarks.

Beowulf: I finished Beowulf today. It didn't end so well: now all the Geats are terrified they will be attacked by the neighboring kingdoms because Beowulf is dead. They erect a monument in honor of Beowulf, according to his last request. I thought it was just a tiny bit selfish of him to request a giant monument in his honor moments before he died, but I guess he's kind of earned his super hero status. I looked up on YouTube, out of curiosity, Beowulf in the original Old English. This is what I found: a full on Anglo-Saxon  performance of it.


Friday:

Cicero: First Oration Against Cataline (Translation): Cicero's almost taunting Cataline now. I almost think he enjoys watching Cataline squirm. On a somewhat unrelated note, Cicero really likes indirect statements. They're better than all the ablative absolutes Caesar uses, though *shudder*.

The Swamp, by  Bill Thomas: I read the chapter about Great Dismal Swamp in North Carolina. I didn't know very much about it before I read this, so it was pretty interesting. Apparently George Washington tried to drain some of its land for farming by digging a canal, but the peaty soil wasn't fertile enough to grow anything. The canal is still there, along with one Patrick Henry dug, and many others, all dug as attempts to farm the land. The water is dyed the color of root beer due to tannin released by the trees, and the swamp is infested by red bugs, yellow flies, mosquitoes, and ticks. That part sounds pretty dismal, but the swamp also is home to many bird species and hundreds of butterfly and moth species.

Idylls of the King (Lancelot and Elaine) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: King Arthur sent Gawain on a quest to find the mysterious Sir Not-Lancelot, who disappeared after being seriously wounded and winning the tournament. Gawain must give him his rightful reward, a diamond, but he couldn't find him at Astolat. Instead he found Elaine, her father, and brother, Sir Torre. Gawain fell in love with Elaine, which was kind of pointless because Elaine still was hopelessly in love with Lancelot (whose name she still didn't know). Gawain saw the shield Lancelot left with Elaine, and knew immediately that it belonged to Lancelot. I don't think Lancelot really thought about the fact that Arthur probably knew him well enough to guess what he was up to.