Splendid text. Lees-Milne seems to have been a charming man indeed. So British and so Dostoevsky in his consideration of beauty. Beauty is everywhere, saving and infinite. As it is written in Ecclesiastes: „All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full”. If you don't appreciate the fine arts, you find beauty (or perfection) in sports, in science, in the work of a man. There are so many ways... you just have to hit the road.
Thank you David. I assumed it meant that his mannerisms were flamboyant and self-confident, but that's mainly because images of Cecil Beaton have this quality.
This older order is like another world, "another country"; sad and fascinating and infuriating. They spoke another language never quite understanding what everyone else was saying, or being understood themselves.
The Great War destroyed their world. The grief was the one thing they couldn't help but sharewith rest of us. Watching the slow motion passing of all that they represented, like the passing of family farms or the little family owned factories that once crowded NYC, where I live, has brought me closer to 'pathos' then I ever imagined I would be.
It's a shame that so many people insist on politicizing such a haunted aspect of our humanity.
The pathos, I think, is related to that sense of a "world" – a particular environment, its appearance and stories and language, and above all the experience of it – which can never be repeated.
I had a similar experience reading Patrick Leigh Fermor's stories of walking across Europe. Of course these are particularly poignant because his ramble took place between the Wars.
Splendid text. Lees-Milne seems to have been a charming man indeed. So British and so Dostoevsky in his consideration of beauty. Beauty is everywhere, saving and infinite. As it is written in Ecclesiastes: „All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full”. If you don't appreciate the fine arts, you find beauty (or perfection) in sports, in science, in the work of a man. There are so many ways... you just have to hit the road.
I heartily approve of this attitude!
Thanks! :)
Nicely done, Wessie, as always. Does "Twenty" refers to the man acting younger than his age, or dressing in outmoded fashion?
Thank you David. I assumed it meant that his mannerisms were flamboyant and self-confident, but that's mainly because images of Cecil Beaton have this quality.
This older order is like another world, "another country"; sad and fascinating and infuriating. They spoke another language never quite understanding what everyone else was saying, or being understood themselves.
The Great War destroyed their world. The grief was the one thing they couldn't help but sharewith rest of us. Watching the slow motion passing of all that they represented, like the passing of family farms or the little family owned factories that once crowded NYC, where I live, has brought me closer to 'pathos' then I ever imagined I would be.
It's a shame that so many people insist on politicizing such a haunted aspect of our humanity.
The pathos, I think, is related to that sense of a "world" – a particular environment, its appearance and stories and language, and above all the experience of it – which can never be repeated.
A bit like growing (somewhat) older.
I had a similar experience reading Patrick Leigh Fermor's stories of walking across Europe. Of course these are particularly poignant because his ramble took place between the Wars.