The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.

Short Poem 05


Charles Dodgson or Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky is undoubtedly the greatest nonsense poem of all time. Deservedly it has a wikipedia entry here. What Carroll has done seems simple but you try it and see how very difficult it is in fact. It features in his Alice book Through the looking glass of 1871. the first verse appeared in a magazine where it was claimed to be in Anglo-Saxon. Chorltled, galumphing and frabjous have since been accepted as real words. I think brillig should be too.


'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

'Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!'

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

'And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

3 comments:

Family Blogs said...

My favourite.
Absolutely brillig!

Gary Brady said...

Glad you like it. It's also in Spanish but I couldn't find an Ulster Scots version.

Family Blogs said...

It might already be in Ulster Scots in the way Carroll wrote it!!

Keep 'er lit, as they say here in the Province.