The contemplation of eternity makes the soul immortal
The contemplation of eternity makes the soul immortal… When my soul is in Eden with our first parents, I myself am there in a blessed manner. When I walk with Enoch, and see his translation, I am transported with him. The present age is too little to contain it. I can visit Noah in his ark, and swim upon the waters of the deluge. I can see Moses with his rod, and the children of Israel passing through the sea; I can enter into Aaron’s Tabernacle, and admire the mysteries of the holy place. I can travel over the Land of Canaan, and see it overflowing with milk and honey; I can visit Solomon in all his glory, and go into his temple, and view the sitting of his servants, and admire the magnificence and glory of his kingdom… Would men consider what God has done, they would be ravished in spirit with the glory of His doings…
-Thomas Traherne. excerpt from Centuries:55
Only an Englishman turned mystic could claim we would be ravished in spirit in with the glory of His doings. Ha!
But what Traherne is subtly exposing is the power of the written word as the portal to eternity and in a way immortality. The claim is bold. Its considerations profound. My mind still contested in its truth or if it is truly a mystery. Regardless of this charge’s veracity on the soul, it speaks in strength of the written word.
That line about walking with Enoch, seeing his translation and being transported with him is the closest thing we have to a time machine. A written word from scribes in the Levant, passed through the Greeks at Alexandria, stretched by the Romans to the isle of Albion, all to enable an Englishman four hundred years ago to consider what God has done throughout time itself.
When we write, regardless of the words we choose, we produce a referendum on our own position in the vastness of eternity and perhaps when we read, we align ourselves with the eternal, and our souls find their place in the infinite.
Still so much to consider with even this one meditation… where I have placed ellipses there is even more. But for now this contemplation I believe was well worth my time and I hope it stirred something in yourself.
An entirely light heart and clear conscience
In my ever ranging and soon to be recorded conversations with Alan Hibbard of Somewhat Scholarly among other projects, we discussed how it appears the tendencies of most politicians in the United States tend towards their own wealth and power instead of the prosperity of the people. A previous conversation came to mind with our mutual friend Grace where she plainly put it, “politicians seem slimy”.
In light of that general sentiment, this quote from Theodore Roosevelt early in his political career seems to be impossible to be spoken words by any other politician:
What my success as a politician may be I do not care an atom; but I do wish to be able to end my work here with an entirely light heart and clear conscience.
-Theodore Roosevelt at twenty five years old after his first national convention
As I complete Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough, I’m reminded how unusual and remarkable TR was as a leader. An incredibly wealthy man willing to go into the slums of New York City long before TV cameras could be in tow. A man forged in one of the biggest cities on earth, then remade in desolate badlands of the Dakotas. The man brokered peace in the east and gave his sons in the making of peace in the west. He put his own life on the line in a battle outside of Santiago and did it again by simply giving a speech.
Theodore Roosevelt’s life was the best of what it means to be an American and leaves me wondering how our politicians today haven’t been changed for the better by his example unless the constituents they represent have yet to be transformed themselves by that simple desire of living a life with an entirely light heart and clear conscience. It seems the most difficult thing any of us will ever do.
The End of the Future
I found this video recording of a talk Peter Thiel gave at Stanford recently both entertaining and enlightening. I wish more of us would consider the unity of classical liberalism and conservatism as that may be one of the fundamental pieces in uniting these fifty states and the nearly three hundred and fifty million people that make up our federation. After all, it takes two wings to fly.
What is the antonym of diversity? University.
Playful, observant, and right down the lane of Peter Thiel’s personal monopoly. This talk was a painful reminder of how specifically broken our world is right now. And just how this all really isn’t anything new.
The finale was well worth it too:
While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:3