Brendan's Fabulous Voyage: A Lecture delivered on January 19, 1893, before the Scottish Society of Literature and ArtBute, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, Marquess of
Religion
Brendan's Fabulous Voyage: A Lecture delivered on January 19, 1893, before the Scottish Society of Literature and Art
Bute, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, Marquess of
Brendan, Saint, the Voyager, approximately 483-577
And where
this day thou hast kept the Passover, there shall ye keep it every year,
and afterwards shall thou find that which thou hast set in thine heart,
even the land promised unto the Saints." And when the bird had so
spoken, it rose from the prow, and returned unto the others. And when
the hour of evening came, they all began to flap their wings, and to
sing as it were with one voice, saying, "Praise waiteth for Thee, O God,
in Zion, and unto Thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem, through
our ministry." And they repeated that verse even for the space of an
hour, and the song and the sound of their wings was like harmony (carmen
cantus) for sweetness. Then holy Brendan saith unto his brethren,
"Refresh your bodies, since this day the Lord hath satisfied your souls
by His Divine rising again." And when supper was ended, and the work of
God done, the man of God and they that were with him gave their bodies
unto rest until the third watch of the night. And the man of God woke
and roused the brethren for the watches of the night, and he began
holily to sing that verse, "O Lord, open Thou my lips." And when the
word of the man of God was finished, all the birds sang out with wings
and voices, saying, "Praise ye the Lord, all His Angels, praise ye Him
all His hosts." Likewise at even for the space of an hour, they sang
ever, and when the dawn glowed they began to sing, "And let the beauty
of the Lord our God be upon us," with the same harmony and length of
singing as in the Morning Praises: likewise, at the third hour that
verse, "Sing praises to our God, sing praises, sing praises unto our
King, sing ye praises with understanding:" at the sixth hour, "May the
Lord cause His face to shine upon us, and be merciful unto us:" and at
the ninth hour they sang, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in unity." So by day and by night these birds
gave praise to God.'
I have read this passage at length, not only because of its intrinsic
merit, but also because of its evident meaning. It is obvious that it is
meant to propound doctrines similar to those which a distinguished
writer has recently discussed under the title, _Happiness in Hell_. It
is remarkable that the Codex Salmanticensis omits the whole passage in
this sense. Possibly it did not suit the views of the transcriber.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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