“Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

  I HEARD a thousand blended notes   While in a grove I sate reclined,  In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts  Bring sad thoughts to the mind.  To her fair works did Nature link  The human soul that through me ran;  And much it grieved my heart to think  What Man has made of Man.  Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower,  The periwinkle trail’d its wreaths;  And ’tis my faith that every flower  Enjoys the air it breathes.  The birds around me hopp’d and play’d,  Their thoughts I cannot measure,—  But the least motion which they made  It seem’d a thrill of pleasure.  The budding twigs spread out their fan  To catch the breezy air;  And I must think, do all I can,  That there was pleasure there.  If this belief from heaven be sent,  If such be Nature’s holy plan,  Have I not reason to lament  What Man has made of Man?

Anti-Book Review

One downfall to being a bibliophile and active reader is that I like to read what others are reading because I have developed this strange desire to know what shapes thought. Reading becomes quite enjoyable, yet reading can become overwhelming--especially when I encounter a good quote, such as the twoI am about to share. Footnotes, bibliographies and "for futher reading" sections can be are quite destructive to my personal reading list. I don't even know why I have one as it keeps growing and growing and growing . . .

Regardless, here are a couple of thoughts that are going to drive me to pick up yet another book, hence the name of this post "Anti-Book Review." Perhaps the best name should be "Book Anti-review" because I have not read the book yet. I am not anti-books, just the ones that increase my "to read" list. ;-)

Here's the book I've yet to read: "The Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard.

Here are the two quotes driving me to it:

"Jesus knew how to suspend gravity and eliminate unfruitful trees without saw or axe. He only needed a word. Surely he must be amused at what Nobel prizes are awarded for today. He knew how to transform the tissues of the human body from sickness to health and from death to life. In fact, he knew how to enter physical death, actually to die, and then live on beyond death. Forget cryogenics!"

"He also lived with authority. He didn't teach chemistry; he turned water into wine. He didn't teach weather patters; he calmed a storm. He didn't teach medicine; he healed hurting people and instructed his followers to heal in his name. He didn't teach moral philosophy; he forgace and enabled us to forgive. He didn't teach a course on world hunger; he fed the multitudes and commanded his followers to feed them also. Jesus fired on all pistons."

I gotta see what happens next. Would'nt you?

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