Harry Chapin's odyssey: Story of a Life

This is a ballad song by Harry Chapin called "Story of a Life". The song reminded me of The Odyssey in that it considers life as "story"; Odysseus also seeks to have his life told as story both by him and by minstrels. The Odyssey is, essentially, a "story of a life".

Like The Odyssey, Chapin's song progresses from the narrator's boyhood to adulthood, where the narrator of Chapin's song undergoes a "nostos" journey. Ultimately, he finds the consummation of his life and story with his Love---a "Penelope"---in the last stanza. The music is folksie but solid. Listen to the YouTube clip while reading the lyrics.

Ideas vs. Bullets

"You can't kill ideas with bullets." ~ Jeremy Johnston

This interesting quote is brought to you by our own Jeremy Johnston. During our class discussion about the Greeks and their lasting civilization, Jeremy Johnston makes us think about the words written above. The Greek civilization and empire lasted as long as it did, solely because it was based upon ideals. For example, the war between Persia and Greece was a battle based on nothing more than two conflicting ideals; the Greeks had their emphasis on freedom while the Persians had theirs' on slavery. There was Greek victory. This alone is proof of how strong ideas really are. When a society, such as the Greek's, are so strongly united over a similar ideal, they are metaphorically indestructible. No matter the many conflicts that arose, this is what has allowed their civilization and culture to prevail against the crucible of time. Ultimately, their civilization cannot be defeated by even the greatest power, time, because they are so strongly united within the web of ideals.

"Ignorant Shepherds"

"[Allan] Bloom's book [The Closing of the American Mind] is a profound book, full of rewards to the attentive reader because of the richness of his thought and the clarity, energy, and wit of his writing. Near the end he offers a poignant metaphor of where we now stand in relation to the great tradition of human learning:

'We are like ignorant shepherds living on a site where great civilizations once flourished. The shepherds play with the fragments that pop up to the surface, having no notion of the beautiful structures of which they were once a part. All that is necessary is a careful excavation to provide them with life-enhancing models.'"

from Robert Nielsen's essay/book review, "The Closing of the (North) American Mind"

On Tradition...

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about."

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
English author & mystery novelist (1874 - 1936)

C.S. Lewis on Myth: "discovering reality"

C.S. Lewis wrote a review of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings when it was first published; in the review he comments on “the value of myth.”

“The value of myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by ‘the veil of familiarity’… If you are tired of the real landscape, look at it in a mirror. By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our mind, the real things are more themselves. This book (Tolkein’s) applies the treatment not only to bread or apple but to good and evil, to our endless perils, our anguish, and our joys. By dipping them in myth we see them more clearly.”

C.S. Lewis. Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. London: Harper Collins, 2000

Value of Mythology

Why has classical mythology endured? The belief in the gods on Mount Olympus has faded into history, yet human beings remain fascinated by the heroic deeds and infamous behaviour of Greek gods and goddesses, men and monsters. Donna Rosenberg suggests that “Myths have continued to capture the imagination and the soul of man for thousands of years because they depict and reveal behaviour and problems common to all human beings.”

Stating that myths depict “problems common all human beings” seems self-contradictory and paradoxical; when was the last time three goddesses asked our advice on who is the fairest? How many times have we been asked to design a labyrinth to imprison a king’s bull-headed son? Paradoxical is an understatement. Absurd is perhaps more accurate.

To evaluate myths on such criteria as “realism” or “accuracy” or adherence to the “laws of nature” is to miss the point of myths altogether. Rosenberg continues,

“With little interest in scenic detail or historical background, the myths immediately plunge into a human situation. They use a specific event, such as the entrance of a wild animal, a cataclysmic event, or a human challenge, to examine how man reacts to the problem of living. Through the actions of individuals, who are always portrayed in human terms even when they are divinities, the myths reveal the nature of man.”

The central point is that myths reveal the nature of human beings when faced with temptation, obstacles or injustice of any kind. Myths are perhaps the clearest means by which we can see ourselves. Compared to other forms of story, myths lack all the distractions of plot, poetic language and elements realism; the clothes and fat of story are pealed away, and the exposed skeleton of man’s fundamental and universal nature is laid bare.

Rosenberg concludes her essay by stating that “myths reveal eternal truths about the nature of man and his quests in life. They reflect attitudes and feelings that are common to all men, in any time. Artists and writers constantly allude to them and recreate them as they explore the relationships between man and man, man and society, and man and God.”

Quotes taken from Donna Rosenberg “Value of Mythology” Mythology and You

History as Story

“History is a narrative, a story; history is concerned foremost with major themes, even as it recognizes the significance of many fascinating digressions. Because history is largely about how and why people behave as they do, it is also about patterns of thought and belief. Ultimately, history is about what people believe to be true…”

Robin W. Winks “Preface” The Ancient Mediterranean World