GR translation: the measure of his faith

[Mike Jing]

Right. My question was more about the meaning of the word "measure" in that
particular phrase and the phrase as a whole.


On Wed, Jul 13, 2022 at 11:54 AM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> And his faith is thus clearly described:
>
> “he wanted to *believe it* too, the same way he loved her, past all words—*believe
> that no matter how bad the time, nothing was fixed, everything could be
> changed* and she could always deny the dark sea at his back, *love it
> away*
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 13, 2022 at 11:23 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> That's certainly true. The (slightly) broader context:
>>
>> His life had been tied to the past. He’d seen himself a point on a moving
>> wavefront, propagating through sterile history—a known past, a projectable
>> future. But Jessica was the breaking of the wave. Suddenly there was a
>> beach, the unpredictable . . . new life. Past and future stopped at the
>> beach: that was how he’d set it out. But he wanted to believe it too, the
>> same way he loved her, past all words—believe that no matter how bad the
>> time, nothing was fixed, everything could be changed and she could always
>> deny the dark sea at his back, love it away. And (selfishly) that from a
>> somber youth, squarely founded on Death—along for Death’s ride—he might,
>> with her, find his way to life and to joy. He’d never told her, he avoided
>> telling himself, but that was the measure of his faith, as this seventh
>> Christmas of the War came wheeling in another charge at his skinny,
>> shivering flank. . . .
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 13, 2022 at 11:14 AM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Its meaning can only be revealed in the context of his story, not at all
>>> possible with this brief quote alone
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 13, 2022 at 8:37 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> V126.18-20, P128.30-32   He’d never told her, he avoided telling
>>>> himself,
>>>> but that was the measure of his faith, as this seventh Christmas of the
>>>> War
>>>> came wheeling in another charge at his skinny, shivering flank. . . .
>>>>
>>>> What does "the measure of his faith" mean exactly?
>>>
>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>>
>>>