The Growlery (May 2004), Essays by Michael Gilleland "Sit down, my dear," said Mr. Jarndyce. "This, you must know, is the growlery. When I am out of humour, I come and growl here." Charles Dickens, Bleak House , chapter VIII Lucubrations Aphorisms E.B. White Most Recent Essays ... Archives Lucubrations The Oxford English Dictionary defines lucubration as The product of nocturnal study and meditation, hence a literary work showing signs of careful elaboration. Now somewhat derisive or playful, suggesting the notion of something pedantic or over-elaborate. The following miscellany coincides with this definition in a couple of ways. First, I'm afflicted with insomnia, and usually I scribble in the wee hours of the morning. Second, pedantry is my hallmark. But "careful elaboration" is not a characteristic of anything I write. Liturgical Music Saint Augustine described his reaction to liturgical music in these words: Confessions 9.6 Translated by William Watts Quantum flevi in hymnis et canticis tuis, suave sonantis ecclesiae tuae vocibus commotus acriter! Voces illae influebant auribus meis, et eliquebatur veritas in cor meum, et exaestuabat inde affectus pietatis, et currebant lacrimae, et bene mihi erat cum eis. How abundantly did I weep to hear those hymns and canticles of thine, being touched to the very quick by the voices of thy sweet church song! Those voices flowed into mine ears, and thy truth pleasingly distilled into my heart, which caused the affections of my devotion to overflow, and my tears to run over, and happy did I find myself therein. | |
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