I was preaching last Sunday about forgiveness, and I felt that not to forgive was just to send one to the hell of our little universe. Not to be forgiven and taken in by any human heart is the worst mishap that can befall. May I be taught a lesson hard to learn. You do not need it so deeply as I do--you only break out in thunder and lightning! I have a cold smile deep in my heart like a moth-eaten hole, when I feel really wronged....
Forgiveness
My Gutenberg project this week has been a biography of George M. MacDonald by his son Greville MacDonald. I've never been able to read the father's books, though I wanted to like them upon reading C.S. Lewis's raptures about "Lilith" and other stories. Lewis thought highly enough of MacDonald to make him the central teacher in "The Great Divorce," a favorite of mine. I'm going to try again with "The Princess and the Goblin." In the meantime, here is an excerpt from one of MacDonald's many letters to his wife, which made me see why Lewis was so devoted to the man:
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I have likewise found him inaccessible somehow, despite wanting to read him for Lewis's sake and because his biography is compelling. Oddly, I did like "Sir Gibbie," which is considered one of his worst. The Wade Center podcasts are good in small doses, so you might check their index to see if one of those opens a door for you.
I thought Phantastes and Lilith worthwhile reading, though both took a lot of getting used to. Partly the difficulty came from the popular style he wrote from, and partly that the hero was sometimes inexplicably stupid (because he was Everyman). But he managed to hit mythic notes, and was worth it for those.
But... I promised myself I'd re-read Phantastes a couple of years ago, and started--and failed.
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