Thursday, November 8, 2018

Feast of Scotus 2018

Happy Feast, everyone! Generally busy these days, so nothing original today.

Here are some remarks on Scotus by the Franciscan Minister General.

And here I give you the famous poem by Hopkins for your delectation. Source.

Duns Scotus's Oxford

Towery city and branchy between towers; 
Cuckoo-echoing, bell-swarmèd, lark charmèd, rook racked, river-rounded; 
The dapple-eared lily below thee; that country and town did 
Once encounter in, here coped & poisèd powers; 

Thou hast a base and brickish skirt there, sours 
That neighbour-nature thy grey beauty is grounded 
Best in; graceless growth, thou hast confounded 
Rural, rural keeping — folk, flocks, and flowers.

Yet ah! this air I gather and I release 
He lived on; these weeds and waters, these walls are what 
He haunted who of all men most sways my spirits to peace; 

Of realty the rarest-veinèd unraveller; a not 
Rivalled insight, be rival Italy or Greece; 
Who fired France for Mary without spot. 





2 comments:

Jim Given said...


John Duns Scotus served, in a manner that is as yet unclear, as an inspiration for Gerard Manley Hopkins. There have been 3 or 4 books on this relationship in the past several decades, but I cannot recommend any of them. Perhaps they are answering a question which is poorly defined in essence. The latest by one, by John Llewellyn, discouraged me from buying it when it received this review:
https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/gerard-manley-hopkins-and-the-spell-of-john-duns-scotus/

As a poem which addresses the relationship between the two figures, I recommend, "Pied Beauty".

Lee Faber said...

Ouch! But I'm glad Williams took the time to read the book.