Life with Jeeves

I have, up to now, neglected a very important pair of individuals, but no longer!  In this post I shall give you a little shower of quotations from a beloved duo... Jeeves and Wooster!



"If there was a defect in his lordships mode of life, it was that he was a little unduly attached to the pleasures of the table-"

"Ate like a pig, you mean?"

"I would not have ventured to put it quite that way, sir, but the expression does meet the facts of the case...."

- Very Good, Jeeves

"And which of us is going to tell Aunt Agatha that?"

"If I might make a suggestion, sir, I would advise that we omitted to communicate with Mrs. Spenser Gregson in any way. I have your suitcase practically packed. It would be a matter of but a few minutes to bring the car around from the garage--"

"And off over the horizon to where men are men?"

"Precisely, sir."

"Jeeves," I said. "I'm not sure that even now I can altogether see eye to eye with regard to your recent activities. You think you have scattered light and sweetness on every side. I am not so sure. However, with this latest suggestion you have rung the bell. I examine it narrowly and I find no flaw in it. It is the goods. I'll get the car at once."

"Very good, sir."

"Remember what the poet Shakespeare said, Jeeves."

"What was that, sir?"

"'Exit hurriedly, pursued by a bear'. You'll find it in one of his plays. I remember drawing a picture of it on the side of the page, when I was at school."

- Very Good, Jeeves

 



I don't know if you know that sort of feeling you get on those days round about the end of April and the beginning of May, when the sky's a light blue, with cotton-wool clouds, and there's a bit of a breeze blowing from the west? Kind of uplifted feeling. Romantic, if you know what I mean. I'm not much of a ladies' man, but on this particular morning it seemed to me that what I really wanted was for some charming girl to buzz up and ask me to save her from assassins or something. So it was a bit of an anti-climax when I merely ran into young Bingo Little, looking perfectly foul in a crimson satin tie decorated with horseshoes.

- The Inimitable Jeeves

"Jeeves," I said. "A rummy communication has arrived from Mr. Glossop."

"Indeed, sir?"

"I will read it to you. Handed in at Upper Bleaching. Message runs as follows:

"'When you come tomorrow, bring my football boots. Also, if humanly possible, Irish water-spaniel. Urgent. Regards. Tuppy.'

"What do you make of that, Jeeves?"

"As I interpret the document, sir, Mr. Glossop wishes you, when you come tomorrow, to bring his football boots. Also, if humanly possible, an Irish water-spaniel. He hints that the matter is urgent, and sends his regards."

"Yes, that's how I read it, too."

- Very Good, Jeeves

One Soul



"To each man one soul only is given; to each soul only is given a little power - the power at some moments to outgrow and swallow up the stars."

~Napoleon of Notting Hill, G. K. Chesterton

Swan Lake

Does music reach a higher perfection?  This is definitely one of the most beautiful musical compositions ever!

The Trial of Temptation



"Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without a strife"

~St. Leo the Great

"You want to know what I am..."

"You want to know what I am, do you? Bull, you are a man of science. Grub in the roots of those trees and find out the truth about them. Syme, you are a poet. Stare at those morning clouds. But I tell you this, that you will have found out the truth of the last tree and the top-most cloud before the truth about me. You will understand the sea, and I shall be still a riddle; you shall know what the stars are, and not know what I am."

-spoken by Sunday, from The Man Who was Thursday, by G. K. Chesterton

  

Yes, once again I am quoting The Man Who Was Thursday. I really can't help myself, so please don't hold it against me! This book is completely packed with wisdom and a depth of understanding that has a tendency to give me a tiny peek at the magnificence of God and fills me with wonder and awe. (I can't articulate very well on this point, as I usually express most of these sensations with sounds, or motions of the hand, etc. ;)) I'm sure you know what I mean. I can read something that I may recognize as beautiful without it actually gripping me, then I'll come across something that for some reason awakens me. Someone may express an old truth that I took for granted, but they'll put it in such a way that it hits home for the first time.  In the words of Saint Augustine:  "Thou hast enlightened, Thou hast shone forth, and my blindness is dispelled."

"You will understand the sea, and I shall be still a riddle; you shall know what the stars are, and not know what I am."

The purpose of this post was to give my take on this statement of Sunday's; to comment on it, and elaborate on the points of its awe inspiring meaning. But now that I come to it, I cannot. I will leave it to speak for itself. I can add nothing.

Pimpernel Smith (1941)

A bit of witty dialogue from Leslie Howard's Pimpernel Smith.

General von Graum: But we have one problem. "To be or not to Be?" as our great German poet said.
Professor Horatio Smith: German? But that's Shakespeare.
General Von Graum: But you don't know?
Professor Horatio Smith: Why, I know it's Shakespeare. I thought Shakespeare was English.
General von Graum: No, no, no. Shakespeare is a German. Professor Schuessbacher has proved it once and for all. Professor Horatio Smith: Yes, how very upsetting. Still, you must admit that the English translations are most remarkable.
General von Graum: Good night.
Professor Horatio Smith: Good night. Good night. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
General von Graum: What is that?
Professor Horatio Smith: That's one of the most famous lines in German literature.

Professor Horatio Smith: I'm so glad to find you're not busy, because I've been doing a little research for you...
General von Graum: That's just what I wanted to do.
Professor Horatio Smith: ...On the identity of Shakespeare.
General von Graum: I'd like to know how you spent this afternoon.
Professor Horatio Smith: What's the matter with you? You seem upset. I spent the afternoon at the library at the embassy. Now this, this proves conclusively that Shakespeare wasn't really Shakespeare at all.
General von Graum: No?
Professor Horatio Smith: No. He was the Earl of Oxford. Now you can't pretend that the Earl of Oxford was a German, can you?
Professor Horatio Smith: [Speaking to the German Officer] Can you?
German Officer: No!
Professor Horatio Smith: Well there you are.
German Officer: I didn't come here to discuss Shakespeare. If you want me, you know where I am.
Professor Horatio Smith: The Earl of Oxford was a very bright Elizabethan light.

"It's wonderful what one can teach when one tries."

Having been unjustly "sent down" for "indecent behavior" and having been temporarily - and conveniently - cast off by his Uncle, Paul Pennyfeather is looking for a job.  This is a rather humorous excerpt from his conversation with Mr. Levy of the employment agency, taken from Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh.  (I am in the middle of this book right now, and have little doubt that I shall have more to say about it when I have finished it ;-))



     "Private and Confidential Notice of Vacancy.

     "Augustus Fagan, Esquire, Ph. D., Llanabba Castle, N. Wales, requires immediately junior assistant master to teach Classics and English to University Standard with Subsidiary Mathematics, German, and French.  Experience essential; first-class games essential.

     "Status of School: School.

     "Salary offered: £120 resident post.

     "Reply promptly but carefully to Dr. Fagan ('Esq., Ph. D., on envelope), enclosing copies of testimonials and photographs, if considered advisable, mentioning that you have heard of the vacancy through us."

     "Might have been made for you," said Mr. Levy.

     "But I don't know a word of German, I've had no experience, I've got no testimonials, and I can't play cricket."

     "It doesn't do to be too modest," said Mr. Levy.  "It's wonderful what one can teach when one tries.  Why, only last term we sent a man who had never been in a laboratory in his life as a senior Science Master to one of our leading public schools.  He came wanting to do private coaching in music.  He's doing very well, I believe.  Besides, Dr. Fagan can't expect all that for the salary he's offering.  Between ourselves, Llanabba hasn't a good name in the profession.  We class schools, you see, into four grades: Leading School, First-rate School, Good School, and School.  Frankly," said Mr. Levy, "School is pretty bad.  I think you'll find it a very suitable post.  So far as I know, there are only two other candidates, and one of them is totally deaf, poor fellow."

Thoughts from Thursday

I would like to share with you one of my favorite Chesterton quotations.  An exerpt from The Man Who Was Thursday.  Spoiler Alert!



"I see everything," he cried, "everything that there is. Why does each thing on the earth war against each other thing? Why does each small thing in the world have to fight against the world itself? Why does a fly have to fight the whole universe? Why does a dandelion have to fight the whole universe? For the same reason that I had to be alone in the dreadful Council of the Days. So that each thing that obeys law may have the glory and isolation of the anarchist. So that each man fighting for order may be as brave and good a man as the dynamiter. So that the real lie of Satan may be flung back in the face of this blasphemer, so that by tears and torture we may earn the right to say to this man, 'You lie!' No agonies can be too great to buy the right to say to this accuser, "We also have suffered."

"It is not true that we have never been broken. We have been broken upon the wheel. It is not true that we have never descended from these thrones. We have descended into hell. We were complaining of unforgettable miseries even at the very moment when this man entered insolently to accuse us of happiness. I repel the slander; we have not been happy. I can answer for every one of the great guards of Law whom he has accused. At least —"

He had turned his eyes so as to see suddenly the great face of Sunday, which wore a strange smile.

"Have you," he cried in a dreadful voice, "have you ever suffered?"

As he gazed, the great face grew to an awful size, grew larger than the colossal mask of memnon, which had made him scream as a child. It grew larger and larger, filling the whole sky; then everything went black. Only in the blackness before it entirely destroyed his brain he seemed to hear a distant voice saying a commonplace text that he had heard somewhere, "Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?"

The Virginian

Ever since the first time I read it, I have loved Owen Wister's The Virginian. The nameless hero, some eight years later, is still one of my favorites of all time. Why do I love the Virginian? Here are a few of my reasons, in no particular order, with quotations to back me up!



　

　1. Something that always captures my attention is another man's opinion of the protagonist. This book is full of them!

"But no dinginess of travel or shabbiness of attire could tarnish the splendor that radiated from his youth and strength. The old man upon whose temper his remarks were doing such deadly work was combed and curried to a finish, a bridegroom swept and garnished; but alas for age! Had I been the bride, I should have taken the giant, dust and all."

　

　


2. I love that southern accent of his. The book is peppered with mentions of his accent.

"The voice was Southern and gentle and drawling..."

　

"Internal mirth seemed to highten the local flavor of his speech."

　

"The Virginian spoke with a reassuring drawl."

　

　


3. He frequently makes me laugh aloud. He's as mischeivous as a school boy!

"'Oh, don't go to get married again, Uncle Hughey! What's the use o' being married?'

"'What's the use?' echoed the bridegroom, with scorn. 'Hm! When you grow up you'll think different.'

"'Course I expect to think different when my age is different. I'm havin' the thoughts proper to twenty-four, and you're havin' the thoughts proper to sixty.'

"'Fifty!' shrieked Uncle Hughey, jumping in the air.

"The Southerner took a tone of self reproach. 'Now, how could I forget you was fifty,' he murmured, 'when you been telling it to the boys so careful for the last ten years.'"

---

"'Oh, you musn't mind him,' drawled the Virginian. 'He's one of those box headed jokers that goes around openin' and shuttin' doors that-a-way. We call him harmless.'"

　

　
4. He's determined.

"Molly Wood was regarding him saucily. 'I don't think I like you,' said she.

"'That's all square enough. You're going to love me before we get through.'"

　

　



5. He's not to be trifled with.

"...Trampas spoke. 'Your bet, you -----------------.'

"The Virginian's pistol came out, and his hand lay on the table, holding it unaimed. And with a voice as gentle as ever, the voice that sounded almost like a caress, but drawling a very little more than usual, so that there was almost a space between each word, he issued his orders to the man Trampas: --

"'When you call me that, smile!' And he looked at Trampas across the table.

"Yes, the voice was gentle. But in my ears it seemed as if the bell of death was ringing; and silence, like a stroke, fell on the whole room."

---

"'Hell!' he said, at the sight of the distant town. Then truculently, to the Virginian, 'I told you I was going to get a bottle here.'

"'Have your bottle, then, said the deputy foreman, and kicked him off into Dakota.... The Virginian had aimed his pistol at about the same time with his boot. Therefore the man sat in Dakota quietly, watching us go away into Montana, and offering no objections. Just before he became too small to make out, we saw him rise and remove himself back toward the saloons."

　

　


6. He has the admiration of nearly all of those who know him, and some who don't - both men and women.

"The player looked at the Virginian, doubtfully. 'Well,' he said, 'I don't know what you folks call a dangerous man.'

"'Not him!' excaimed the dealer, with admiration. 'He's a brave man. That's different.'"

---

"Molly was flustered. She did not at all want him to go. No one of her admirers had ever been like this creature. The fringed leathern chapperoes, the cartridge belt, the flannel shirt, the knotted scarf at the neck, these things were now an old story to her. Since her arrival she had seen young men and old in plenty dressed thus. But worn by this man now standing at her door, they seemed to radiate romance. She did not want him to go - and she wished to win her battle."

---

"Indeed, the male crowd now was a goodly sight to see, how the men edged close, drawn by a common tie.... All eyes watched the Virginian and gave him their entire sympathy....Even the Indian chiefs had come to see... They naturally understood nothing of it, yet magnetically knew that the Virginian was the great man. And they watched with approval."

　

　

　

I could go on and on and on... but I'll spare y'all! This post is already pretty long! Maybe someday I'll post on this topic again? We'll see...



Wonder

When I visited Christendom College a couple of summers ago, one of the professors gave the most beautiful description of wonder. He said that wonder is what one experiences when he sees part of the truth, knows that it is only a small part, and is filled with awe at the realization that there is so much more to learn. He described it as a young man seeing a beautiful young woman and realizing that there is so much more to know about her.

The desire to learn more that ensues from wonder is one of the greatest joys I have ever known. Wonder is, in a way, the delight of anticipation. Wonder is such a beautiful, exiting thing! The knowledge that there is always more to know! Just think about it! Each thing you read and learn opens the door to a new sphere. Perhaps this accounts for my love of winding roads. Where is my destination? Where will my life take me next? I have only experienced such a small part of it. There is so much before me that is hidden by the countless bends. What lies ahead? What joys lie in wait? What sorrows?

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

-J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring