David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.


18 January 2016

If thine eye offend thee - Matthew 18:9

             
Islamabad, 16 January 2016: A Pakistan boy cut off his hand in a rare instance of self-punishment after he was accused of blasphemy, police said on Saturday.

The incident, which apparently stemmed from a misunderstanding, occurred in a village in the eastern province of Punjab.

Muhammad Anwar, 15, was attending a sermon when the cleric asked if anyone present was not a true lover of the prophet.

The boy misheard the question, and enthusiastically raised his hand, causing the others to accuse him of heresy, police chief Mehr Nausher Ahmad Kathia told dpa.

He was told that he had joined enemies of the prophet by raising his hand, so he vowed to remove the hand, Kathia said.

The teenager went home and cut off the appendage at the wrist, and later presented it to the cleric on a platter as a symbol of his repentance.

The extreme act was celebrated by the parents and fellow villagers as a token of his love for the prophet, the police chief said.

"Nobody lodged any report, but we are investigating it and a case will be registered if needed," Kathia said.

Blasphemy laws were introduced by former military ruler Ziaul Haq in the 1980s, and those accused of it are vulnerable to sudden mob violence.

- AAP

courtesy AAA_Art Archive Australia  
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