Jerry Pournelle’s old Western Civ professor used to do radio talks for something called the “University of the Air”. (Probably a university extension course like they have on television today.) It’s in the annoying RealAudio format, but of course there are ways to deal with that. This series deals with European cultural history from 1660 to 1870 (the Franco-Prussian War). It’s full of all kinds of everything, from Pascal to Marxism to Muscular Christianity. Check it out!
The Life of Antony continues, as St. Anthony of Egypt finishes his Know Your Enemy talk about those darned annoying demons. Definitely not Lovecraft’s kind of attitude, no! (In case you were wondering, next time we’ll get back to the spread of monasticism.)
The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath isn’t much like a typical Lovecraft story. It starts with a scene that’s pretty, not soul-shattering, eerie, or rugous and tentacular. But Lovecraftian elements (the Other Gods from Outside) are present, the main character is also the hero of other stories, the cats of Ulthar make their presence felt, and so forth. You get a lot of Dunsany-inspired writing (and sly side-remarks), too; but this isn’t a story that Dunsany really would have told. (Especially not the friendly and heroic cat parts.)
If you’re wondering why it’s forbidden to kill a cat in Ulthar, you might want to listen to Lovecraft’s story “The Cats of Ulthar” in Librivox’s Short Story Collection 7.
Legacy continues, as Trigger finishes her consultation with Pilch and tries to get things back to normal on Manon. But trouble’s the new normal for Trigger….
The Dialogue continues, with several extremely short chapters on the general uselessness of worrying about one’s worldly goods. I guess a writer in prison who’s awaiting execution wouldn’t be too worried about his house’s market value.
A Treasury of Humorous Poetry continues. This time, one of my ethnic oxen is gored, so you can tell I mean it about giving some love to dialect poetry! We also have a couple of ballads of romantic love gone wrong, a retelling of Robinson Crusoe’s contented castaway life, and a slice of parental life.
“Widow MacShane” by Robert Henry Newell (writing as ‘Orpheus C. Kerr’)
“Robinson Crusoe” by Charles Edward Carryl
“The Ballad of the Oysterman” by Oliver Wendell Holmes
“Only Seven: A Pastoral Story After Wordsworth” by Henry S. Leigh
The Life of St. Anthony of Egypt, written by St. Athanasius, was one of the most popular books among early Christians. It also helped make the budding desert monasticism movement wildly popular with Christians throughout the ancient world, as they saw a way that led to holiness in a world suddenly unthreatened by pagans’ persecution unto martyrdom.
Part 1 introduces us to St. Anthony, and shows us his motivation and early inspirations in living a holy life according to the evangelical counsels.
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