28 May, 2021
COLLOQUIUM 25-26 JUNE 2021 REGISTER HERE
Dear Reader,
I like to emphasize from time to time that the purpose of the Dawson Centre is not evangelization – others are better equipped for that. Our peculiar métier is quite different: to advance the good name of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, to demonstrate something that ought not to need demonstration, yet assuredly does in this age of anti-intellectual subjectivism and egoism. I speak, of course, of the enormous influence that Catholics and other Christians have had on the life of the mind, the culture and history and philosophy, and creative arts of poetry and art and music, of our country and of the whole world.
I make this point only to depart from it for the moment. We are flooded by opinions nowadays: every writer and commentator knows how to fix the world, and every newspaper, journal and blog gives us another viewpoint, another interpretation. But this Pentecost sermon by the Prior of Notre Dame Priory appears to cut through to the essence of the world’s problems. Can it really be that simple? Tell me what you think!
But to return to poetry. It has always been a strong ally of our Faith and our civilisation. The tricky thing, though, is that it’s hard to define: not everything that rhymes can be called poetry, and some of the greatest poems don’t rhyme at all. The essence of poetry is powerful economy: expressing a potent or moving idea in a few words that amaze or delight us, rather as music does. In a sense poetry and music are sisters.
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare describes the first light of dawn thus:
‘Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountaintops’
The coming day is personified: human, joyful, striving upwards. We see those smoking candles in our mind’s eye. It’s a striking, powerful picture that goes far beyond a mere prose description.
In the same poet’s The Merchant of Venice, are these lovely lines:
‘The moon shines bright: in such a night as this,
When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees,
And they did make no noise, in such a night,
Troilus methinks mounted the Troyan walls,
And sigh’d his soul toward the Grecian tents,
Where Cressid lay that night.’
A number of scholars (not surprisingly most have been Catholic, though not all) have been convinced that Shakespeare was a Catholic and that the inspiration behind those words was the Exsultet, the Holy Saturday proclamation:
‘This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land.
This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life.
This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.’
At first glance the similarity of the phrases in such a night and this is the night don’t amount to a strong argument, but there is a great deal of corroboratory evidence. In essence, the emotive language hints at the poet’s secret grief for the Faith that he was unable to speak openly about in those testing times.
To my mind the greatest of all hymn writers were the founders of Methodism, John and Charles Wesley. They were also the most prolific, having produced literally thousands of hymns, many of which are still sung (though sadly rarely in Catholic churches). Consider this stanza by John Wesley:
‘He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite his grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race.’
I find this inexpressibly moving. We are all familiar with the story, but its brevity and compactness – so much theology in so few words – almost takes one’s breath away. Poetry crystallizes human thoughts and feelings. Poems are like the blooms of language. Let William Wordsworth have the last word:
‘To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.’
SUMMER SCHOOLS
We are planning to run at least two one-week schools in January, in Western Civilisation (a completely new venture) and in Late and Medieval Latin. I’ll provide more information about these below. Another introduction to New Testament Greek is under consideration, if there is sufficient interest.
With best wishes always,
David Daintree
KEVIN DONNELLY ON CANCEL CULTURE
Dr Donnelly addresses the Sydney Institute on the origins and dangers of cancel culture and political correctness. This lecture is well worth hearing. This is a man who understands the issues thoroughly and urges practical action. Stay with it for the Q and A afterwards: good questions, good responses. The cheering thing is that Donnelly is an optimist!
LAUNCH OF DONNELLY’S CANCEL CULTURE
The full text of Senator Claire Chandler’s very fine address to the Dawson Centre on 20 May is available here.
NEW CONSERVATIVE BLOG
Erik Peacock, who contributed a fine paper in Heart to Heart, has launched a new blog and monthly newsletter covering cultural and political developments from a conservative perspective: local news in the international context.
SUMMER SCHOOLS 2022
10-14 January – Medieval and Ecclesiastical Latin – a one-week intensive reading course for people with some Latin, or a willingness to undertake some self-instruction or brushing up beforehand.
17-21 January – Western Civilisation – one day each on History, Philosophy, Epic Poetry, Theology and Art. Lectures by Xavier Young, Dr David Moltow, David Daintree. We are seeking somebody to teach a day on sculpture, painting and architecture.
Write for further details about either of these.
COLLOQUIUM 2021
Our annual conference will take place on 25–26 June 2021 at Jane Franklin Hall, one of the colleges of the University of Tasmania, in South Hobart.
The theme will be secondary education, with a particular focus on the development of the spiritual and religious dimension of human nature.
The guest speaker at the Closing Dinner on Saturday night will be Prof Robert Carver, inaugural Director, Ramsay Centre Western Civilisation Program, Australian Catholic University, Sydney.