The Division of the Waters (part 1)
Tuesday, according to the Chestertonian formula proposed in The Man Who Was Thursday, is dedicated to the "division of the waters" and such awkward things as the "firmament" - which I once struggled over, until one day I was lokoing at the sky and wondered about that big blue bowl hanging over my head. Then I realized it is just a obvious as the sun RISING and SETTING - it looks as if that bright blaze is HANGING from a big blue bowl... at night it is a big black bowl, set with lots of tiny gemstones, turning, slowly turning, always turning... That's what it looks like, anyway.
And then, as time went on, we found out the paradox. The smallest thing visible to us - those pinprick-size gems of the starry night - were actually the LARGEST things visible to us... and when we see that dim glow labelled M33 [Correction: should be "M31". Thanks, Joe!] - also known as the Andromeda Galaxy - we are seeing a vast array of trillions of stars some 2 million light years away - possibly the single biggest thing we can see at one time.
The paradox of division - of unity and separation - of big and small... We shall proceed to explore this by a somewhat more terrestrial pathway: the pathway of water.
So everyone go get a glass, drink it and be thankful, and be here next week for more. Note: for this particular assignment, the usual Chestertonian beverages are not permitted. He himself expressed it thusly:
"Feast on wine or fast on water,
And your honour shall stand sure;
God Almighty's son and daughter,
He the valiant, she the pure.
If an angel out of heaven
Brings you other things to drink,
Thank him for his kind intentions,
Go and pour them down the sink.
[GKC, The Flying Inn]
posted by Dr. Thursday @ 6/07/2005 12:29:00 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Belloc says that he "will not be plagued to look up technicalities." Chesterton, too, wrote this way.
Andromeda Galaxy is M31. M33, the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a hop away near the Triangulum. Some people, those blessed with very good eyesight, can see it unaided as well.
Ooops. Yes, that is true.
I wrote, as GKC did, from memory.
Yes, and there is a very good reason why there is that watery connection, as you shall see. Oy. You are pushing me into getting further on this now, and I thought it would not be until later...
Now that I am home where my books are, I found that I COULD recall that Andromeda is M31. So I looked up M33 in Burnham. Yes, about 2.4 million light years away, and thus in the Local Group. OK, a weekend trip, then - I wonder how their beer is...
"Local" - is that funny or what? And they laughed when GKC called the universe "cosy"...
But yes, as Marc points out, the angels perceive all this in detail, and yet are still astounded when we receive Holy Communion.
Post a Comment
<< Home