DT the linguist

[Terrance F. Flaherty]

>From 'The Gnostic Pynchon' Dwight Eddins, (1990)

Pynchon specifically identifies Calvinism, and in particular
the Puritanism of Slothrop's New England forebears, as the
precursor of this modern religion of death--an
identification echoed by Voegelin's analysis of Puritanism
as a form of gnosticism. Citing Thomas Hobbes, a
contemporary of the militant Puritans of seventeenth century
England, Voegelin points out that "he [Hobbes] diagnosed the
efforts of the puritan sectarians to  set up the Kingdom of
God as an expression of the libido dominandi of the
revolutionary who wants to bend men to his will. The
'spirit' that he saw inspiring these armed prophets of the
new world was not the spirit of God, but human lust for
power. 

"Terrance F. Flaherty" wrote:
> 
> Mark Wright AIA wrote:
> >
> > --- "Terrance F. Flaherty" <Lycidas at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> > (frag)
> > > The game is fixed, "the odds belong to the past,"
> > > but not to Eden and A&E and the forbidden fruit,  but to the
> > > Forbidden Wing, where control is the original sin and god
> > > has has juice running down his chin.
> >
> > Howdy TF et al,
> >
> > Do you refer to Burgess' fictional fragmentary essay "A Clockwork
> > Orange" embedded in "A Clockwork Orange" in which Man, as a creature
> > capable of moral choice, through good works ripens to sweetness until
> > he "...oozes juicily, at the last, upon the lips of God."  Or beyond
> > the Burgess I hear to another source?  I've often (well, more than
> > once...) wondered what his allusion might be.  Something in Shakespeare
> > maybe?
> >
> 
> The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and
> capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the
> bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and
> conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against
> this I raise my swordpen.
> 
> What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of
> goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some way
> better than a man who has the good imposed upon him?
> 
> Impose upon MAN, the big problem, FREE WILL and the
> forbidden, THE Fall, how to deal with this?  Milton's
> fortunate fall? Or the Control of Man of others? Is god
> gravity, pulling Man down and pulling rockets on his head?
> In slothrop's game, the preterite drink, god is the house,
> the object to lose. In the big game, god doesn't deal, he
> has professional dealers, and THEY have marked cards, fixed
> WHEELS, the odds belong to the past. To the forbidden wing,
> where CONTROL is total and absolute.
> 
> In terms of Shakespeare in Clockwork, I don't know, but when
> I keep reading brother, brother, I think Edmund, the bastard
> brother in Lear.
> 
> TF