“A well regulated [sic] militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
The United States has a well-regulated militia, so “the security of a free state” is not endangered, except by those who misread the Second Amendment. If the goal of the Second Amendment is to promote the “security of a free state,” it forbids the wearing of deadly weapons.
In short, the insufficiently-controlled use of firearms has just led to the death of nineteen (19) innocent children and two (2) teachers. So, the American National Rifle Association could be described as a parallel government. The bearing of arms currently threatens the security a “free state” should promote. Proponents of the bearing of arms have become advocates of social disorder and great sorrow.
My love and sincere condolences to all who have lost a child or a dear one at Uvalde, Texas.
I will soon post an article about La Fontaine’s Preface to his first collection (Recueil) of Fables. He uses The Fox and the Goat as an example, hence the picture above. The Goat should be in the well, not the Fox. The Fox and the Goat were on friendly terms, and both entered the well to quench their thirst. The Fox climbed out of the well using the Goat’s shoulders and horns. He then preached and left without helping the Goat, his companion, escape.
The War in Ukraine
But that Fox is Vladimir Putin who invaded Ukraine for reasons that cannot justify the deaths of Ukrainians and their flight out of their country to escape. Putin’s army is also destroying public and private quarters. It could be that we are seeing the natural face of Vladimir Putin, but something may have gone very wrong. I doubt very much that he will win this war. He is also silencing Russian citizens who oppose the war. He has too few, if any, supporters. We cannot afford a Third World War,
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Illness
It has been a long illness, but I have started to feel better. The pain is less severe, so I will attempt to return to normal activities.
I do not regret being vaccinated against Covid, but I could not have imagined how painful and disabling Pericarditis could be. I am now medicated, but I have not been prescribed a pain killer, except briefly, in Magog. Moreover, this illness is in its 5th month, so I suspect Pericarditis will recur.
I have been in Magog for a week but will return to Sherbrooke on 17th March 2022. Sherbrooke is home, and work must be done to my bathroom. I was asked to remove the old whirlpool bathtub because it could leak. Replacing the whirlpool tub was extremely expensive. Moreover, I must fight the Domino effect. The faucets are different; a hand shower is included. The tub surround was wood, which will not do unless the wood is treated. I considered buying an oval shower rod. But my idea was not popular. I should also replace the large vanity, the shower, and everything else, to match the tub. I must resist.
We are about to read the Preface to Jean de La Fontaine’s first collection of fables. The first collection (Recueil) consisted of six books published in 1668. The second collection, five books, was published ten years later, in 1678. In 1793, La Fontaine published his third collection, one book. He was born in 1621 and died in 1695, shortly after his third collection was published.
The apparently incoherent Preface validates Milo Winter’s illustration. Unfortunately, I have not found a picture of The Fox and the Goat by Félix Lorioux.
Milo Winter illustrated the Æsop for Children. In both Æsop’s fable and La Fontaine’s The Fox and the Goat (III.5), the Fox climbs out of the well using the shoulders and horns of the Goat. Therefore, the Goat should be inside the well.
The Æsopic moral of the fable is the ell knows: “Look before you leap.” La Fontaine’s is « En toute chose il faut considérer la fin. » (“In every matter we should mind the end.”)
Tombeau du chanoine Guilain Lucas, cathédrale d’Amiens(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Dear Readers,
As you know, I am on a short holiday. However, I am aware that the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan. I am watching desperate Afghans attempting to leave their country, and it saddens me enormously. If allies of countries that fought the Taliban are not evacuated, they may be tortured and executed.
United States President Joe Biden and many Americans believe that there is no good time to leave Aghanistan. They are quite right. It has been a twenty-year war and many have died or been disabled. Hostilities could continue for several more decades.
It also saddens me that human life is currently threatened by persons who look upon Covid-19 as a conspiracy. How can the pandemic end if people refuse to wear a mask and also oppose vaccination? These individuals are fuelling the pandemic, but do not know they are.
Dear readers, I apologize for attempting to update my last post. In fact, an apology is no longer essentiel because the few lines I wrote have disappeared.
I had modified the paragraph that precedes the conclusion. I wrote that, ironically, Cameron of Lochiel’s decision to a refuse a promotion that would not allow him to help the d’Habervilles reinforced James Murray’s conviction that their “sovereign” could not do without the services of so loyal and grateful an officer. Cameron of Lochiel richly deserved a promotion. He is the hero in Aubert de Gaspé‘s Anciens Canadiens.
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I also wrote that I would be closing my post in the not-too-distant future. My memory plays tricks on me. I will resume my career as an artist. I do watercolours, sanguine, drawings… Once in a while, I will dip the brush in my coffee instead of the water, but it does not affect the coffee. I really do not know what will happen to me. Nor do doctors. I can still function but I make spelling errors, repeat myself, etc.
Fortunately, scientists have now determined that Covid-19 attacks the brain and they have started to map out the harm inflicted by Covid-19. Forty-five years ago, no one knew. For 15 years, I did not dare tell anyone that I could not attend meetings that took place in the evening, or go out, whatever the event. In 1991, a Spect scan revealed a seriously slow rate of perfusion of blood to the brain and extensive damage. I was not expected to do anything anymore.
I tried to return to work. However, a new Chair, who wanted to avenge the dismissal of a colleague, would not look upon me as a full-time member of the Department. For four years, I taught on a part-time basis. I re-entered the classroom after he resigned. However, once I resumed my duties, my workload kept growing. I was teaching in several areas of learning. I fell ill and made decisions that I regret.
James Murray was a good man and Cameron of Lochiel, the bon Anglais. It seems that the only person who would harm the citizens of New France and the Amerindians who lived among them was Jeffery Amherst.
I will quote Wikipedia:
Amherst’s legacy is controversial due to his expressed desire to exterminate the race of indigenous people during Pontiac’s War, and his advocacy of biological warfare in the form of gifting blankets infected with smallpox as a weapon,notably at the Siege of Fort Pitt. This has led to a reconsideration of his legacy. In 2019, the City of Montreal removed his name from a street in the city, renaming it Rue Atateken, from the Kanien’kéha Mohawk language. The town of Amherst, Nova Scotia is controversially named for him, as is the town of Amherstburg, Ontario.
Dear readers, I had to rearrange my post on the Battle of Jumonville Glen. I added quotations I could no longer find when I finished writing on the Jumonville Skirmish, and I deleted repetitions. I did not rewrite my post.
After the action, Washington retreated to Fort Necessity, where Canadien forces from Fort Duquesnecompelled his surrender. The terms of Washington’s surrender included a statement (written in French, a language Washington did not read) admitting that Jumonville was assassinated. This document and others were used by the French and Canadiens to level accusations that Washington had ordered Jumonville’s slaying.
The Battle of Jumonville Glen, Wikipedia
We will never know whether Washington admitted Jumonville was assassinated. Coulon the Villiers, Coulon de Jumonville’s half brother may have written the confession.
There is information that may never be disclosed. Monceau, the man who escaped, did not see the assassination. So, we do not have a witness. Monceau ran to newly-built Fort Duquesne. However, I found quotations I could no longer locate when fatigue “hit.” I have now retrieved the information I required.
We will never know irrefutably what happened at Jumonville Glen. However, Coulon de Jumonville was assassinated. There was, seemingly, an ambush, a skirmish, and a massacre. George Washington was only 22 years old. He recovered, but always remembered the battles of the Ohio Country. Coulon the Villiers, Coulon de Jumonville’s half-brother, avenged Coulon de Jumonville‘s murder. Fort Duquesne (1754) had just been built and so had Fort Necessity (1754) and Washington was defeated at Fort Necessity. The British were also defeated at Battle of Monongahela (1755), but it was a disorderly battle and a massacre.
Philippe Aubert de Gaspé’s Manoir à Saint-Jean-Port-Joli
Dear friends,
I have been sick for several days. It’s not Covid-19. I am fully vaccinated. But my memory plays tricks on me and I have terrible headaches.
I have written a post on the good gentleman. Aubert de Gaspé has reasons to look upon Amerindians as better that the white man. However, it is a main theme in his novel.
We also have battles. These have been somewhat rearranged. There was a second Battle of Sainte-Foy, faught on 28 April 1760. France won, but the motherland did not send reinforcement. Britain did.
Setting a Mass to a secular song, the 15th-century L’Homme armé, is an oddity. But the title of this Mass is otherwise intriguing. Sir Karl Jenkins (b. 1944), a Welsh composer, dedicated his Armed Man: a Mass for Peace to the victims of the Kosovo genocide, giving his Mass a “contemporary resonance.” (Early Music Muse.)
The genocidal wars that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union reflect ethnic discrimination in Eastern Europe. Such discrimination is probably rooted in the very last Crusades, the fall of Constantinople.
On 29 May 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Empire. Greek scholars fled to Italy initiating or buttressing the Renaissance. Moreover, Ottoman Turks invaded neighbouring countries, creating Muslim communities. In 1529, they nearly reached Vienna.
By the 15th century, the expanding Ottoman Empire overpowered the Balkan Peninsula, but faced successful rebellion and resistance led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. By the 17th and 18th centuries, a substantial number of Albanians converted to Islam, which offered them equal opportunities and advancement within the Ottoman Empire. Thereafter, Albanians attained significant positions and culturally contributed to the broader Muslim world.
The composition of the secular L’Homme armé has been attributed to Johannes Regis (c. 1425 – c. 1496), but it appears that Antoine Busnois (c. 1430 – 6 November 1492) is the song’s composer. Sources differ. Both Regis and Busnois were younger members of the Burgundian School, younger than Guillaume Du Fay (5 August 1397 – 27 November 1474). However, all three composers lived in the 15th century and were active in or after 1453. Busnois, Regis, and Du Fay were members of the Burgundian School, whose chief purpose was the development of polyphony. Although the Greeks invented polyphony, “the term polyphony is usually used to refer to music of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.” (See Polyphony, Wikipedia.)
Conclusion
The fall of Constantinople and the conquest by Ottoman Turks of several European countries, the future Balkans mainly, led to battles and bloodshed. So, it is less surprising that 15th-century composers set the Ordinary of the Mass, the Mass’ permanent elements, to L’Homme armé, its cantus firmus, or fixed melody. “Some have suggested that the ‘armed man’ represents St Michael the Archangel.” (See L’Homme armé, Wikipedia.)
As for compositions of L’Homme armé that followed the breakdown of the Soviet Union, they reflect distant conflicts. Karl Jenkins’ Armed Man: a Mass for Peace, composed in 1999, is a commemoration. One is also reminded of Benjamin Britten‘s War Requiem, an anti-war piece.
L’homme armé / The armed man: the remarkable life of a 15th century song and its contemporary resonance. (Early Music Muse.)
L’homme armé doibt on doubter. On a fait partout crier Que chascun se viegne armer D’un haubregon de fer. L’homme armé doibt on doubter.
The armed man should be feared. Everywhere it has been proclaimed That each man shall arm himself With a coat of iron mail. The armed man should be feared.
Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises When we will sing the time of cherries
Le gai rossignol et merle moqueur The gay nightingale and the mocking blackbird Seront tous en fête
All will rejoice Les belles auront la folie en tête
Pretty ladies will have crazy heads Et les amoureux du soleil au cœur
And lovers (will have) sunny hearts Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises
When we will sing the time of cherries Sifflera bien mieux le merle moqueur The mocking blackbird will whistle better
Mais il est bien court le temps des cerises
But it is so short the time of cherries Où l’on s’en va deux cueillir en rêvant When two go to cull while dreaming Des pendants d’oreilles … Pendants for the ears Cerises d’amour aux robes pareilles
Cherries of love in dresses alike Tombant sous la feuille en gouttes de sang Falling through the leaves like drops of blood Mais il est bien court le temps des cerises But it is so short the time of cherries Pendants de corail qu’on cueille en rêvant ! Pendants of coral one culls while dreaming
Quand vous en serez au temps des cerises When you have reached the time of cherries Si vous avez peur des chagrins d’amour. If you fear the pain of love Évitez les belles Avoid (stay away from) pretty ladies Moi qui ne crains pas les peines cruelles I who do not fear cruel pains Je ne vivrai point sans souffrir un jour … I will not live without one day suffering Quand vous en serez au temps des cerises When you have reached the time of cherries Vous aurez aussi des peines d’amour ! You too will have (know) the pain of love
J’aimerai toujours le temps des cerises I will always love the time of cherries C’est de ce temps-là que je garde au cœur It is since that time that I keep in my heart Une plaie ouverte ! An open wound Et Dame Fortune, en m’étant offerte And whatever (luck) Lady Fortune offers Ne saura jamais fermer ma douleur Will never close (soothe) my pain J’aimerai toujours le temps des cerises I will always love the time of cherries Et le souvenir que je garde au cœur ! And the memories I keep in my heart
I would urge you to provide an income to all American employees whose benefits do not include paid sick leave. Would that I could say, help them when they fall ill, but such advice would make no sense. They must leave the workplace now. People who stay in the workplace will catch the virus and transmit it. The number of victims will then grow at an exponential rate.
One may be tempted to say that the economy will be hurt. Not necessarily. Pandemics are an industry. So much has to be manufactured: respirators, ventilators, the best masks, testing facilities, treatment facilities … It’s like a war effort and the United States has fought wars and thrived.
Make sure that the people working in the Pandemic industry are protected from head to toe.
I’ve listened to many videos and heard about measures taken in various countries. Containment is essential. There is no better strategy than containment. But one must eat.
Let us listen to what our experts have to say. They are the authorities. They can organise the war on Covid-19. We also have economists, experts. They can keep the boat afloat as the battle rages and wipe up the mess when it subsides.
Accountability
By ensuring that drastic measures are taken to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus you will reassure the markets. It’s the responsible choice. This choice will also comfort the people of the United States and the world.
I am posting this article, but the situation has already started to change, for the better. People must leave the workplace.
No country should allow the spread of a potentially deadly virus, which will happen if the little guy cannot get away from the working place. Not only would he or she be in the line of fire, but the virus would not be contained and the state would be accountable.
I did not intend to write an article today. But I just realized that today is the anniversary of D-Day, and I have a story to tell. In fact, it is a story I have already told, but …
One of my uncles survived D-Day for reasons he cannot understand. He then went north to Holland where he was asked to accompany prisoners of war who were being transported. They were seated at the back of a truck. All was well.
Out of the blue, one of the prisoners leaped from his seat and lowered my uncle’s body. My uncle nearly fell and he lost his rifle. The prisoner of war then helped him get up and retrieved the rifle. My uncle could not understand what had happened. So, the soldier showed him a metal wire the truck had just driven past. It would have decapitated my uncle had this “enemy” not seen it and acted promptly.
This was a moment of grace and innocence. It was a moment so precious that my uncle never forgot. In peacetime, the two young men would have enjoyed a long conversation over coffee. War had separated them.
It has been seventy-five years. Yet, tears still come to my uncle’s eyes when he remembers.
Schubert, Trio op. 100 – Andante con moto Par le Trio Wanderer (Voyage d’hiver 2007 – Carte Blanche au Trio Wanderer, réalisation Jean-Pierre Barizien – CLC Productions)
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