How Aristotle Helped Me Understand Elizabeth Goudge

As mentioned in a previous post, I'm reading through Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics this year, and have found it to be surprisingly accessible. In Book Ten, he addresses the subject of pleasure and asks if pleasure is the "Chief Good." After all, everyone, from the most irrational to the most rational, seeks it. But just because everyone wants it, does that make it the best thing for us? Some are even inclined to call it one of the "least" goods because we can so easily become enslaved to it. So where does Arisotle land on this issue?

Back in Book One, he proposed that the highest good is actually "the working of the soul." And he continues that emphasis in Book Ten with a discussion about what brings true happiness. And (surprise!) it's not a life of unending pleasure. He proposes that the values of our pleasures rise and fall with the activity with which they are joined. Pleasure is therefore a necessary element in the best life, but it is not the principal ingredient.The value of life depends upon the nature and worth of the activity with which our pleasures are connected.

In contrast to hedonism (a relentless pursuit of pleasure), he advocates for eudaimonia (the ability to live well, to flourish), which includes virtuous activity in accordance with reason.

What does all this have to do with Elizabeth Goudge? I've been thinking a lot about her novels and of how often they lack the feel-good, happily-ever-after endings that most readers crave. Many times her characters set aside their personal desires and pleasures to do the hard thing. They shore up their souls to live a deeper, truer life. So the endings are always happy in the Aristotelian sense.

My next post will cover my favorite Goudge titles in case you are wondering where to start.

P.S. I read this book in bite-sized chunks (15 minutes a day, 4 times a week) and it took nine months. I took copious notes so that the ideas would have a better chance of "sticking" in my brain. I'm grateful for my dear husband who patiently listened to my ruminations over many an early morning breakfast. 

Blessings,

Three Reasons I've Gone Back to Rote Memorization

When I was a child, my sisters and I participated in a Bible memory club that gave kids prizes for memorizing Scripture. My husband's father used to pay him a dollar for every verse he memorized. Needless to say, we are highly motivated. But as he and I grew up, went to college and seminary, married, started a family, and moved to the missionfield, we left that practice behind. We still loved and studied the Bible, but somehow Scripture memory fell off our radar. 

When I read The Count of Monte Cristo many years ago, something began to stir in my heart. In one of the early chapters in the book, Dantés is in prison and feels like he is about to go mad. Then he meets Abbé Faria who tells him that at a certain point in his life he read and re-read the great classics and stored much of them away in his memory. Hence, his mind was constantly having meaningful dialogue with all the ideas he had stored away in his brain. I was intrigued by that! (The complete post is here.) I began to hope that "someday" I might have the time to do the same thing.

Then, about ten years ago, I read an article about how cell phones and the internet were robbing us of our ability to remember things. Phone numbers, addresses and other information were automatically stored for us on our devices. There were even apps for managing your passwords. With a click of a button you could access any Bible verse by typing in a few key words into your search engine. No need to try to remember anything! This was my second prompt to dive into action. 

The final step toward putting these thoughts into practice came when I stumbled upon Andrew Wilson's book An Approach to Extended  Memorization of Scripture, which clinched my resolve. (I've written an entire blog post about my journey here.) 

  

I've been at it for ten years now and I've memorized some wonderful Scripture verses, hymn lyrics and classic poetry. Sometimes my 65 year old brain doesn't cooperate and it takes me a whole month to get a short Bible passage down pat. (I've discovered that a chunk of twelve verses is my limit.) Poetry comes more easily because of its cadences, but whether it's Scripture, prose or poetry, constant review has been a necessity. 

Do you know what has surprised me most? How much fun it is! (I always get a warm glow when I recite Wentworth's letter to Anne from Persuasion.) and it's gratifying to always have something "nutritious" in my brain to think about. It's like having a secret chocolate stash that I can raid anytime that I have a quiet moment. It also keeps me from doomscrolling while waiting for a doctor's appointment or while standing in a long line. I just whip out the list of memorization projects that I keep in my wallet and start working my way through it. 

The purpose of the post is not to brag as much as it is to encourage you to give memorization a try. You might be surprised at how fulfilling it is. And your brain will thank you!

Blessings,