The books of God
I found this article in today's Meridian Magazine, and post it here as proof positive that there are other people in the world who actually think the way I do. (With regard to some things, at least.) In support of his thesis that divine truth is taught and passed on primarily through symbolism and multiple shades and levels of meaning, the author of this article cites Don Quixote and Dante, which of course quickly caught and retained my attention. I agree with what he says, which perhaps helps to explain why a picture of a sunset that I posted a few weeks ago reminded me of a little-known passage in Isaiah, or why I saw a spark of the divine in a picture of a young woman talking on her cellphone -- and why one of my favorite passages in the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 11:4, which tells us that "all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him."
posted by Garry Wilmore at 11:57 AM
5 Comments:
And this caught my eye because you mentioned Don Quixote which Rose is now reading and has recommended for me to pick up next. :-)
She chose well, and you would be wise to take her advice. But I must say that reading Don Quixote is a bit like watching a baseball game: it can be a rewarding experience, but is not something to do when one is in a hurry.
I have read it a couple of times, including once in Spanish. I connect with it in much the same way I do to the Divine Comedy, in that I share the principal character's mania for books, his well-intentioned but sometimes misguided efforts to do good, etc.
Well, I'd better go see if I can kill a windmill or two before the work day ends in a few minutes. :-)
Another parallel passage: "And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me." (Moses 6:63)
ONCE IN SPANISH! Stop, you're killin' me! Just contemplating it in English is bad enough! You brainiacs never let well enough alone. :-0
Actually, that's nothing. I've read all the Standard Works of my church -- that is, the Bible, plus the other books, such as the Book of Mormon, which we also regard as scripture -- multiple times (at least twice for each of them) in three languages. (English, Spanish, and Italian. And this includes the Old and New Testaments, with all the "begats" and ancient Mosaic rituals included. Parenthetically, I might add that the Psalms are exceptionally beautiful in Italian.)Moreover, a little over a year ago, I finished reading Ian Kershaw's 2-volume biography of Adolf Hitler -- in Spanish. It was a good translation, too.
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