The good king also believes it to be due to his position to have the larger portion, not of wealth or of pleasures, but of painstaking care and anxieties; hence he is actually more fond of toil than many others are of pleasure or of wealth. For he knows that pleasure, in addition to the general harm it does to those who constantly indulge therein, also quickly renders them incapable of pleasure, whereas toil, besides conferring other benefits, continually increases a man's capacity for toil. He alone, therefore, may call his soldiers "fellow-soldiers" and his associates "friends" without making mockery of the word friendship; and not only may he be called by the title "Father" of his people and his subjects, but he may justify the title by his deeds. In the title "master," however, he can take no delight, nay, not even in relation to his slaves, much less to his free subjects; for he looks upon himself as being king, not for the sake of his individual self, but for the sake of all men. . . .
They who come into his presence and behold him feel neither terror nor fear; but into their hearts creeps a feeling of profound respect, something much stronger and more powerful that fear. For those who fear must inevitably hate and want to escape; those who feel respect must linger and admire.
He holds that sincerity and truthfulness are qualities befitting a king and a prudent man, while unscrupulousness and deceit are for the fool and the slave, for he observes that among the wild beasts also it is the most cowardly and ignoble which surpass all the rest in lying and deceiving.
Though naturally covetous of honour, and knowing that it is the good that men are prone to honour, he has less hope of winning honour from the unwilling than he has of gaining the friendship of those who hate him. . . .
But I will pass over most of the details and give the clearest mark of a true king: he is one whom all good men can praise without compunction not only during his life but even afterwards. And yet, even so, he does not himself covet the praise of the vulgar and the loungers about the market-place, but only that of the free-born and noble, men who would prefer to die rather than be guilty of falsehood. Who, therefore, would not account such a man and such a life blessed? From what remote lands would men not come to see him and to profit from his honourable and upright character? What spectacle is more impressive than that of a noble and diligent king? What can give greater pleasure than a gentle and kindly ruler who desires to serve all and has it in his power so to do? What is more profitable than an equitable and just king? Whose life is safer than his whom all alike protect, whose is happier than his who esteems no man an enemy, and whose is freer from vexation than his who has no cause to blame himself? Who is more fortunate, too, than that man whose goodness is known of all?
In plain and simple language I have described the good king. If any of his attributes seem to belong to you, happy are you in your gracious and excellent nature, and happy are we who share its blessings with you.
May 2009 Archives
I just completed a few plays from Aeschylus, the Greek dramatist. I must admit that, for mythology, some of his writings can be quite absorbing. The Persians was interesting, especially the brief visit from the ghost of Darius. And I could not help but take sides with the Titan in Prometheus Bound.
-- Evangelium Secundum Ioannem
I would like to make a suggestion to my Christian readers. I put "serious" in the title of this post because I did not want the suggestion to be taken as a joke or a light-hearted remark. Rather, it is a serious challenge.
I would like you to consider getting into the regular habit of reading Scripture in a foreign language.
Let me clarify: if you have any experience or familiarity in a language which is not your native one, consider taking on the practice of regularly reading the Bible in that language. The ideal, of course, would be to read Scripture in one of its original languages (such as Hebrew or Greek) but any language you are familiar with will do.
For example, if you are a native English speaker, but know a little French, German, or Spanish from High School, then begin reading the Bible in that language. Find a translation of the Bible in that language and make it part of your routine.
One option is to read several verses out of that translation each day as part of your regular Scripture reading. Another option is to take that translation with you to Church services instead of your native translation, and "read along" in the foreign translation as the minister reads from the native one.
What reasons could there be for doing this? Let me list a few:
1. Unfamiliar wording. Having ready access to translations of the Bible in our native tongue is a privilege that we should be thankful for, as in some parts of the world this is not the case. Nevertheless, the downside of this is that we sometimes accept uncritically our understanding of the meaning of certain Biblical words. However, sometimes this is not the same as the meaning intended by the author. Rather, we inadvertently substitute a meaning passed down to us by our teachers or by our modern culture.
But when we come across that word in a foreign language, our minds are forced to process that word in terms of the senses listed in our foreign dictionary. And we sometimes find that our original, shallow understanding of the word is not even represented in the foreign translation. This, in turn, will force us be aware of the possible meanings and to do further study where it is needed.
2. Unloaded vocabulary. The second reason is similar to the first. Down through the ages, Christian theologians and Bible scholars have been actively working to develop systematic theology. That is, they have endeavored to bring our understanding of God's being and the Bible's teachings into a comprehensive, consistent whole. This is a good thing.
A consequence of this, however, is that theologians sometimes get into the habit of putting layer upon layer of meaning on top of Biblical words. Words that are fairly simple and straightforward sometimes take on complex and deep meanings, depending on the background of the reader. For example, english words like "justification", or "righteousness", or "election", or "predestined" take on the weight of entire theological systems, rather than communicating the more simple meaning intended by the author.
Reading in a foreign translation, however, tends to circumvent this entirely. When we read the foriegn word, as (relative) novices to the language we are forced to confront the more direct or literal meaning, rather than the theological one.
3. Fresh emphasis. Sometimes, even after multiple readings of a Bible verse, we completely fail to comprehend the significance of certain words in the verse. The reason for this might be that we are familiar with a particular word order, and consequently certain words seem more important than others, while others are ignored.
Even in our more literal translations, though, word order does not always follow the order given in the original language. But in any case, when reading a passage in a foreign language, the word order is very likely to be different, and consequently certain words will "stand out" to you which never received your attention before.
4. Beauty. Sometimes the characteristics of certain languages tend to enhance the experience of reading and speaking the Word of God. You may find that you enjoy reading a passage in a certain language for aesthetic reasons.
5. For the language. Translating Scripture from a foreign language can be a relatively easy way to learn that language, as you are already somewhat familiar with the text being translated. Scripture becomes a sort of Rosetta Stone. If you learned a language in the past, but have since left off your study, this is one tool you could use to get back into practice.
Of course, if you are a brand-new Christian, or have no taste for foreign languages whatsoever, this might not be the best path for you. But if you want to take your studies to another level of depth, please take it into consideration.
Being an Alaskan, I would like to provide a word of support for my state's governor. Obviously she has been overwhelmingly scorned by the national media and crude comedians, but I have also heard similar criticisms from students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (from women, interestingly enough).
I admit that I do not follow the intricacies of politics with any great fervor, but I have appreciated Sarah Palin for at least two reasons:
One reason is her determination to keep the Alaska state budget balanced. With other states drowning in the red ink, and the federal government abandoning forever the hope of a balanced budget, it is refreshing to see some fiscal sanity.
The media, likely in earnest for the slightest opportunity to make Palin look bad, has often reported that the state of Alaska is in a one billion dollar deficit. What rarely is reported, however, is that the deficit was in our budget reserve. (adn.com) As Palin explained recently in her State of the State address: in the last several years, when oil prices were better and we had a budget surplus, the state of Alaska put aside money in preparation for a "rainy day". When that rainy day came (a down economy) some of that savings account disappeared.
The other reason is her unapologetic pro-life position. Even after returning to her work as governor, she has been an active advocate for the right to life. Unfortunately her efforts have not been as successful as she would have liked. Recently she supported legislation that would require Alaskan parents to be notified if any of their children were planning to undergo an abortion. (lifenews.com). After debate and compromise in the State House, the legislation eventually was killed by a deadline. But Palin publically rebuked members of the House who opposed the legislation and who apparently felt that it was going too far to let parents help their children make decisions about abortion.
So, if it means anything: there is at least one Alaskan in the United States who is not embarrassed to have a social and economic conservative as a high-ranking elected official.
I suspect that there is something to be learned about God in this image.
The image was constructed very easily using Fraqtive, a FOSS "Mandelbrot family fractal generator", available for Linux, BSD, Mac OS X, and Windows.
One of my favorite quotes is from the
movie "Luther" (2003). Luther (Fiennes) is in hiding after
his trial at Augsburg, and decides to bide the time by translating
the New Testament into German. He is pondering over a text, and muses aloud: "The words of Scripture are like children... the more
attention you give them, the more they demand."
A servant working nearby corrects him: "More like women."
I have started a study on the Greek word σωμα ("soma") as it is used in the book of Ephesians. The literal and most common translation is "body". The word is of particular significance in Ephesians because Paul uses σωμα as part of an extensively developed metaphor for the church (εκκλησια). The church is described as not simply a loose connection of believers, or an institution, or a movement, but the very body of Christ, with a special relationship to him, and a special place in the Divine Plan.
Paul seems to draw out multiple connotations of the word, in order to illustrate various aspects of the church and its relationship to Christ. Three emphases in particular have stood out to me. For one, Paul utilizes heavily the direct and obviously physical imagery of the word, especially to illustrate the functioning of the church:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (του σωματος του χριστου) . . . . We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Eph. 4.11-12, 15-16, ESV)
Another strong emphasis is the relationship between Christ and the church, with Christ as the head (κεφαλη) and the church as the body. It is a relationship, respectively, of love and reverence, of leadership and submission, as in this passage:
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. . . .For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. (μελη εσμεν του σωματος αυτου, Eph. 5.23-25, 29-31)
And a third emphasis is this concept of the church being many, and yet one. That is, the church is composed of many individuals, and yet is one unique entity in the sight (and plan) of God:
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body (actually συσσωμα) and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Eph. 3.4-6)
Σομα - Body
Εν αρχη ην ο λογος - In the beginning was the Word
Δικαιωθεντες ουν εκ πιστεως - Therefore being justified by faith
The previous Greek phrases should show up in your browser as Greek symbols, as long as it is set to use Unicode (UTF-8) character encoding. I am hoping to do some word studies soon, and much prefer the actual symbols over transliteration.
