|
John Dunn
|
John Dunn original writing
Dante
Crowned and mitred
Virgil urges Dante to explore the Earthly Paradise until he meets Beatrice. Before sending him off, Virgil blesses him with these words: ‘there I crown and mitre you over yourself.’ This is an expression of explosive political significance. Dante had attained the power of mind over which no secular or clerical authority can rule. He takes both crown and mitre upon himself. Dante’s decision to go beyond the garden shows it is not just a point of arrival, but the necessary pre-condition for moral life. Under his own self-mastery, his choice becomes a positive act of defiance that resonates with felix culpa, the happy fall. Dante was determined to explore beyond that which we see. Political, religious and psychological freedom coalesced and it was all down to a passing encounter.
From Child of Encounter
© John Dunn.
|
From the archive:
Only ‘the few’ are human
|
|
Marcion: inventor of the New Testament
Marcion’s brand of Christianity was so successful that there was no going back to any Christianity that did not have its own New Testament. So what did the “Nazoreans” do? They Judaised Marcion’s New Testament, modifying the existing text and adding text to re-connect Christianity to the Jewish tribal deity that is the God of the Old Testament.
John Dunn
|
|
Just a thought:
Approaching the Eden-like garden, Virgil eulogises over the ‘the grass, the flowers and little bushes which the ground here produces of itself’, as though the flora and fauna were symbolic of the man’s capacity for spontaneity and choice. John Dunn (Renaissance: Counter-Renaissance)
|
|
The Oxford to Cambridge Arc 4
Further additions to the project, starting with the Newport Pagnell to Bedford leg of Ogilby's Oxford to Cambridge route.
John Dunn
|
|
|
|
Highways and Byways with Dr John Dunn
YouTube Channel
In search of the historical, quirky and unusual features of the English countryside as seen from the saddle.
Join me as I follow maps, park up and take a look around. CLICK HERE
“Seeking out historical places of interest has given me wonderful motorcycling opportunities over the years… roads and little lanes, through a variety of landscapes that bear the scars, marks and imprints of those that have trodden, worked and fought on the land before us.”
“Any excursion, whether it be by motorcycle, car, bicycle or on foot, is always better for having an object, or goal in mind. I could take no pleasure in riding around just for the sake of it. There has to be a mission.”
“I ride my motorcycle to seek out things ancient, quirky and monumental, taking in the views, and ‘reading’ the landscape,its geology and history, as I do so.”
Original commentary to all videos researched, written and read by John Dunn.
© John Dunn.
|
|
You are visitor number 1139276
|
|
|
|