Angels & Beasts - Prelude.
What follows is an attempt to give poetic expression to an idea that I see at the heart of most historical discussions concerning humanities' relation to the divine and the natural.
Man is like a ship broken asunder on two great rocks in a stormy sea. On one rock, we discover Angels and Gods who would show us Truth and Beauty in our own reflections. On the other, we meet Beasts and Brutes that would teach us to tear our own flesh to shreds for Pleasure or Pain. And so often we deny that the ship wreck visible on the opposite rock is the same as the one found on the rock we fancy ourselves as occupying. But it is imperative that we recall, though torn and strewn, we are a single ship.
Comments, questions, and suggestions welcome.
1 comment:
For Kat:
"It is dangerous to make man see too clearly his equality with the brutes without showing him his greatness. It is also dangerous to make him see his greatness too clearly, apart from his vileness. It is still more dangerous to leave him in ignorance of both. But it is very advantageous to show him both. Man must not think that he is on a level either with the brutes or with the angels, nor must he be ignorant of both sides of his nature; but he must know both."
- Pascal
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