The hand of God

The Church is like a hand: the thumb is the Pope, who gives stability, firmness and safety;
the fore finger are the missionaries, who walk along the paths indicated by the Lord: "Go and preach all over the world!"
the medium finger  are  sisters and friars, because if you raise your hands to heaven, that's what you get nearer to God by prayer;
the ring finger are the priests, that bring the faith into the homes and receive families in the parish  to transmit their faith;
Finally the little finger are the bishops and cardinals who, if do not try to prevail with arrogance and presumption on the other fingers of the hand, may beautify and complete the hole hand.

The devil tempts Jesus in the desert

From Chapter 4 of Saint Mathew's Gospel

VV 1-11

In that time the Spirit pushed

Jesus in the desert where the demon

 Proved Him. For forty days resisted

Jesus Christ, with fast and preaches,

the hunger and the thirst! Then He was hungry.

-    “Why don't you turn in flour of mintage

these stones?” The weaver of lusts

said! –“Not only of bread lives

the man, but of every word which

comes from God it's written!” -, Jesus answered!

He was conducted to the Temple of the City

and Satan still tried Him: - “Throw yourself down,

and ask your angels to hold  You up

because it's written he doesn't have to bump against a stone

his foot'”–“Between the true writings

there is”–Jesus answered to  Satan–

“Don’t try your God and your Lord!”

Again Belzeboo, above the tallest rock

conducted him, tempting Him again.

He showed all the kingdoms of the world to Him,

with their glory and their honor

and  said: “If you worship me

all these things I will give to you!”

But Jesus answered: “Go away dirty thing!

It's written  that You'll worship only Your God

And only to Him you will make your cult!”

Then the devil had  to surrender,

going away without anymore insult.

And the angels approached Him

serving Him of any need!

The first four apostles

From Chapter 4 of Saint's Mathew Gospel 

VV 18-22

-    “Follow me, I will make
-     fishermen of you !” –It was this way
that Jesus, walking along the galilean sea 

choosed two couples of brothers:

 James and Jhon with Peter and Andrew, 

who were fishing with their parents; 

but they left nets and boats behind them

 for following Jesus!

Manifesto for a new Literature's Magazine

Ars Poetica Magazine- Life and Poetry is a new literary review for classic and modern poetry, edited both in english and italian languages.

The first number will be issued very soon. The magazine won'nt follow a regular,   periodic publication but it will be issued as we need.

The name of the Magazine has been chosen thinkink at the contents of  the Horace's work (also known as the Epistle to Piso) incredibly pungent and present after more than 2000 years (the epistle attracted also the attention of Giacomo Leopardi who made, in 1811, a fine octave transposition in rhyme).

 The Magazine wants to deal with poetry in the conviction that poems are strictly tied with life and society, as the subtitle of the magazine shows.

 Our references will be directed to all  the great italic poets: between the Latins Horace,  Lucretius, Virgil, Ovidio; between the Italians Dante, Iacopone, Boiardo, Ariosto, Tasso Foscolo, Leopardi, Manzoni, Carducci, Pascoli ( the list is only an example and is not exhaustive).

This does not mean that our magazine won't take in the right count other great poets like the English Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Lord Byron, Sheller,, Keats, Eliot or Dickinson; or like the Americans Whitman, Poe, Pound, E.L. Masters or Ginsberg.

Nowdays there are so many poets writing so many poems so much long! And all seems to be so easy!

That's due to the general literacy which took place in the last century and there is nothing bad on it.

Nevertheless there is a precious heritage of poetic culture which is on risk to be lost.

Words are  like  rough stones: before they become verses or poetry, they need to be smoothed like river's stones.


Horace uses a more efficient metaphore in his epistole to Piso:" If you want to deserve altars or temples / wait at least nine years, dear brother / before to publish your poems/and work on them as blacksmith does to make the iron shape!!! " And forward in the poem: " But if you are in  search of  honor and praise / writing four verses, oh Piso  / show them to your  parents or to a wise and good censor ;/ keep them locked up for a long time / for if a man has once ever escaped/  he's not  coming back never indeed ! "

 Of great poets of the past I appreciate their skill on shortness and synthesis. A skill that does not belong to free versifiers of present days. and neither they seem to shine for rhyming. Again with the Horace's words:

" Meanwhile, everyone is kindly asked to be short  / and either delight or to be useful in his rhymes! "

Of course I the Magazine will deal and accept also plain verses and free versifiers will be welcome; though I think that poetry has paid a price for the democrat diffusion of popular literacy. The quantity gained by poetry in width has been lost in depth.

So many writers confuse poetry and prose misregarding of any distinction. So, some writers, who could be so cool in prose, become, with Horace's words, cruel poets:

" We can tolerate mediocrity in anything ;/ but not in  poetry: thus in honey /  choosey mouths do not like   / a bitter almond  inside . / The best would be to write on prose / if a versifier  is just too cruel / as the football player leaves balloon and balls / and  abandon the disc who is not too strong!

Naturally I believe the in poetry  contents,  meaning and even  social involvements are the most important things; nevertheless I like to underline that  metric patterns and poetic structures are not cages for prisoners but frames which bound to freedom and liberty is not equal to anarchy.

Poetry is nourishment for the souls and souls need  distilled food.

But whom readers does our Magazine apply to?

First of all we would like to recall those who love  poetry metrical structures (both poets or just readers); a poetry framed into patterns like terza rima, octaves and whatelse is made by syllables with the right accents.

Secondly our Magazine would like to approach the  Italian who live abroad (specially those who live in English speaking countries but not only them); either because they have emigrated or they live in foreign countries for different reasons;

Finally everyone who wants to have a free change of ideas, even with those who might have different points of view, are welcome for reading, commenting or contributing to our Magazine.

We'll give information of the web's site publishing the contents of Ars Poetica Magazine, as soon as we are ready for publication.

I hope you'll be joining us for sharing time and ideas together. In the meantime, I wish all the best on your life.

A Manifesto for a new Magazine

Ars Poetica Magazine is a new literary review for classic and modern poetry, edited both in english and italian languages. 

The first number will be issued very soon. The magazine won'nt follow a regular,   periodic publication but it will be issued as we need. 

The name of the Magazine has been chosen thinkink at the contents of  the Horace's work (also known as the Epistle to Piso) incredibly pungent and present after more than 2000 years.  

The work attracted the attention of Giacomo Leopardi who made i , in 1811 , a fine octave transposition in rhyme. 

 Our references will so swing between these two great poets: Horace and Leopardi.

This does not mean that our magazine won't take in the right count other great poets like Dante, Tasso, Ariosto or Manzoni; neither we aim to slide over the greatness of such a literary giants as Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Byron or Dickinson. But the two orienting poles will be the latin poet from Venosa and

the great recanatian author of the "Infinito" and of the transposition of the horacian  "Ars Poetica".

Nowdays there are so many poets writing so many poems so much long! And all seems to be so easy!

That's due to the general literacy which took place in the last century and there is nothing bad on it.

Nevertheless there is a precious heritage of poetic culture which is on risk to be lost.

Words are  like  rough stones: before they become verses or poetry, they need to be smoothed like river's stones.

Horace uses a more efficient metaphore in his epistole to Piso:" If you want to deserve altars or temples / wait at least nine years, dear brother / before to publish your poems/and work on them as blacksmith does to make the iron shape!!! " And forward in the poem: " But if you are in  search of  honor and praise / writing four verses, oh Piso  / show them to your  parents or to a wise and good censor ;/ keep them locked up for a long time / for if a man has once ever escaped/  he's not  coming back never indeed ! "

 Of great poets of the past I appreciate their skill on shortness and synthesis. A skill that does not belong to free versifiers of present days. and neither they seem to shine for rhyming. Again with the Horace's words:

" Meanwhile, everyone is kindly asked to be short  / and either delight or to be useful in his rhymes! "

Of course I don't have nothing against blank verses or free versifiers; but I think that poetry has paid a price for the democrat diffusion of popular literacy. The quantity gained by poetry in width has been lost in depth.

So many writers confuse poetry and prose misregarding of any distinction. So, some writers, who could be so cool in prose,, become, with Horace's words, cruel poets:

" We can tolerate mediocrity in anything ;/ but not in  poetry: thus in honey /  choosey mouths do not like   / a bitter almond  inside . / The best would be to write on prose / if a versifier  is just too cruel / as the football player leaves balloon and balls / and  abandon the disc who is not too strong!

Metric patterns and poetic structures are not cages for prisoners but frames which bound to freedom and liberty is not equal to anarchy.

Poetry is nourishment for the souls and souls need only distilled food.

But whom readers does our Magazine apply to?

First of all we would like to recall those who love  poetry metrical structures (both poets or just readers); a poetry framed into patterns like terza rima, octaves and whatelse is made by syllables with the right accents.

Secondly our Magazine would like to approach the  Italian who live abroad (specially those who live in English speaking countries but not only them); either because they have emigrated or they live in foreign countries for different reasons; 

Finally everyone who wants to have a free change of ideas, even with those who might have different points sf view, are welcome for reading, commenting or contributing to our Magazine.

We'll give information of the web site publishing the contents of Ars Poetica Magazine, as soon as we are ready for publication.

I hope you'll be joining us for sharing time and ideas together. In the meantime, I wish all the best on your life.

Horace and his lawyer

The distinguished jurist Gaius Trebatius Testa (I century B.C.), warned the sublime poet Horace, his great friend, the rigor of the laws to which it was likely to meet with his biting satire.

- "If a man has composed bad verses  against someone, he will be taken to court and sentenced" - said the careful lawyer  to his friend.

- "All right!" - Horace replied - "But if someone had written   good verses also pleased to publict?"

- "Then even the tables of the law would melt with laughter and solved you would go to home!" - Concluded the great jurist reassuring his poet friend.

Here's how I imagined the dialogue between the two, freely translatingfrom the First Satire of the Second Book of the Satires of the great poet Horace:

Gaius Trebatius Testa- ” Si mala condiderit in quem quis carmina, ius est iudiciumque!”- ego tibi moneo Horatius

Quintus Flaccus Horatius – ” Esto, siquis mala, docte Trebati; sed bona siquis judice condiderit?”

Gaius Trebatius Testa: – ” Solventur risu tabulae, tu missus abisis laudatus Flaccus.

Annulla modifiche

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The stabbing scream

You charge me for brainwashing

for pressing you down;

may be is right

who says the fault

is giving the life

though I  thank God for living!

But that stabbing scream

pierced my soul

from the darkness

of your strenuous girlhood.

The street's traders

“Go street-trader go

No one can teach you

How to live

Go, chaser of freedom

Temper of marble

Go, Go, street-lover

On the streets of the world

You’ll hit on your dreams”.

Ars Poetica

The Ars Poetica of Horace is incredibly pungent and present even though more than 2000 years have passed since the great Latin poet wrote this work, also known as the Epistle to Piso . The work attracted the attention of Giacomo Leopardi who made i , in 1811 , a fine octave transposition in rhyme.
Here are some pearls in all faithful to the original that inspired them .
" If you want to deserve altars or temples / wait at least nine years, dear brother / before to publish your poems/and work on them as blacksmith does to make the iron shape!!! "
" Meanwhile, everyone is kindly asked to be short  / and either delight or to be useful in his rhymes! "
" But if you are in  search of  honor and praise / writing four verses, oh Piso  / show them to your  parents or to a wise and good censor ;/ keep them locked up for a long time / for if a man has once ever escaped/  he's not  coming back never indeed ! "
" We can tolerate mediocrity in anything ;/ but not in  poetry: thus in honey /  choosey mouths do not like   / a bitter almond  inside . / The best would be to write on prose / if a versifier  is just too cruel / as the football player leaves balloon and balls / and  abandon the disc who is not too strong  ! "
Let us meditate on these verses together, all of us who want to be poets !

Erasmus Plus

 It's official now. From the 1st of January 2014 European's Lifelong Learning Projects Comenius will be replaced by Erasmus +.

As well known by the school enviroments Comenius has financed, trough the years thousands of projects, allowing several millions of students, all along European Union, to travel around changing emotions, languages and cultures.
The semestral Irish presidency has now financed the new culturul project from 2014 till 2020.


Detailed information about Erasmus + will be published on http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/ as soon as possible.
Then, boys and teachers: make up your projects and have a good journey with the new Erasmus + LLP!

Samson's Deeds - II

 Samson showed  very soon  his strongness
  fighting against the  Philistines
who at that time were plenty of guiltyness,
for a forty year long cruelty of crimes
to those tied with him through  Jewishness
never I had so strong a friend of mines;
whith naked hands he defeated a lion,
his strenght alone equalled  a batallion!!!

Birth,deeds,loves and death of Samson - I

Announcement of birth

Of his birth an embassy was made

 to a  barren woman who in Zorah stood!

To her  an angel of the Lord said

 - “ Beware you do not eat any unclean  food

nor you taste some  wine nor drink so bad

 and nor razor nor knife shall touch his  head:

you'll conceive  a Nazarite of God

to free Israel from Philistine’s rod!

A good book is for ever

Summer is almost gone. We're back at school (at least in the boreal emisphere). 

 Generally I prefer reading than writing, and so especially in the summer. 

When I don't find good new books I go back to classic books. This summer I have read, between others, Jack London's "The call of the wild".

 It's the story of Buck, a half breed dog, who by mean of a servant's treachery, is moved from his sunkissed masterhouse in Santa Monica to the icecold regions of the northlands, following the madness gold rush in the end of the XIX century. 

So Buck is thrown from the leisure of his south life to the fighting hard life of the freezy north. 

And it's a daily struggle for life. Buck has to fight against men, for they need led's dogs blindly devoted to their hard task, strong and obedient; and he has also to fight against the other dogs, for the struggle of the leadership is a natural, instinctual must in a  harnessed  sled score and even out of those laces. 

Memorable are the pages on which London describes the duel and the rivalcy between Buck and Spitz the two dogs who want the supremacy over the other huskies. The story represents a great metaphore of human life and the struggle of the man against the elements, the savage habitat, the animals and the other men in order to survive. 

The same daily struggle we assist nowdays, in the war time, as in peace time; workers against capitalists; men against women; good against evil; governements against financial powers all over the world: the eternal fight for primacy, for surviving. At last Buck, once rent all the ties with his masters, joins the wolves in the forest: and he's back at his natural feature, his real dimension. The call of the wild has won over all.

 I think a good book is a good friend for ever.

Poem of Creation

 

Chapter 6

Where we narrate the last deeds  of King David,  of Solomon and his greatness;

From the  two books of the Kings.

II

In fact the day has come right now,
10. that  David reigns since  forty years,
To put  his powerful scepter down
And ‘cause the oldness he  fears
He has to choose who’ll  wear the crown
And writes his will with ink of love and  tears
15. That Solomon must in the  throne  be sit
And Ebiatàr and  Ioàb instead be guilt.

...to be continued...

The Poem of Creation

 

Chapter 6

Where we narrate last deeds  of King David,  of Solomon and of his greatness;

From the  two books of the Kings and the two books of the Chronicles.

I

Now is David king feeling so cold 

To marry with a virgin feature; 

but with her is not so strong and bold,

although she’s warm and nice by nature

5. since a man who reaches to be old, 

behaves  like a celestial creature, 

Reaching the peak of brightness, 

Fading away  ‘till  nothingness.

…to be continued…

Titus Lucretius Carus - II

Since ever manhood,  on their reflections on life,  has been wondering the reasons why we were born and the reasons why we must suffer.

Lucretius in his fith book of  " de rerum natura" praises Epicurus for his endeavors  to cut out religion from human life.

When I was younger I thought that religion was just a way to dominate the men: a toil in the hands of the priests to control men's life; exactly what Epicurus said in the third millennium B.C. and Lucretius quotes in his masterpiece "de rerum natura".

According to Epicurus men must search for happyness; to do with this they must not fear death; as matter of fact, says the great greek philosopher , when a man is alive,  is not conscious of death; and when is dead, he cannot realize death.

The fear of Death is the key for superstions, passions and all the other conditioning of life.

Epicurus says that Gods do not exist and  men must search for happyness regardless of gods.

Then I found out my faith in God: in the truly, unique, God; and I have found Him out through the life, the words, the example of His Son, Jesus, who descended in the earth wearing clothes of man.

I know that my faith is not a rational answer to thoughts like those of Epicurus (and even those of Lucretius), but faith is not a result of reasoning; faith is a search of reasons: reasons of life, of suffering, of happiness...

On the other hand Epicurus, like most of ancient greek philosophers may consider to be illuministic thinkers (in an ante litteram sense) and to them can be told what theologists  have answered to Illuminism since 18th century A.D.(this is not the right place to undertake such an ardous task).

I don't want to diminish the value of their concepts against mines: I instead take much respect on their ideas though I can't share them in the light of God.

It must be said that probably western thinking must never approached even the religious thruths it now accepts, without such great contributes from greek and roman Writers.

Angelo Ruggeri, a bright scholar on classic studies, in his critique and analysis of Lucretius masterpiece, declares the powerlessness of Epicurus's thought against harmness and sufference in human life.

In his own words, he asks : "does the universe of Epicurus  really remove fears from human mind, enabling a happy life?" (I'll to try to give an answer, with the help of Angelo Ruggeri in a next post).

I present in the end of my post an English translation of some verses from Lucretius'  masterpiece's  Book VI, wich is one of the praises that the roman poet dedicates to his greek mentor through out all the six books.

About these verses Angelo Ruggeri himself explains:

"As in a system of tyranny who is defending its own just rights, defends the rights of all, so in this  society of dissatisfied individuals, who manages to be happy and teaches others the way to be such , shall cooperate to the happiness of all. The Roman poet Lucrezio placed the Greek philosopher Epicurus among the Gods  for having proposed this order."

Praise to Epicurus - from Book V - VV 1-51

English Version by Angelo Ruggeri

Who ever could have so much strength in the heart

to raise a song worthy of the  grandiosity

of the things treated and of the wonderful discoveries?

Or have so much value to be able with words

to compose a praise worthy of the merits

of the one who left us gifts so wanted ,

drawing  them from his own mind?

None I think, who is made of mortal body.

In fact, if we want to use words worthy

of the acknowledged grandiosity of the work

he was a God, noble  Memmius, a God certanly

he who first found the rule of life that today is called wisdom

and by means of this art, pulled the life from the darkness

of a stormy sea, and raised it in a quiet and enlightened place.

Compare this exploit with those of ancient Gods.

Cerere is said to have given harvest to mortals,

Bacco  the strong  and sweet juice  of the vine:

indeed we could live without those goods,

as it is fame that  live  some people,

but we cannot live happy without a  quiet heart ;

therefore with a just reason we think he is a God

who has taught us the comfort of sweet life

that even today, disseminated among men,

cheer up minds.

If you then thought that the undertakings of Ercole

are of greater value, you’re ages ago from the truth.

What evil could make us today the  Nemeus lion

with its big mouth or the terrible wild boar Arcadius?

What harm could make us the bull  of Creta

or  the pestiferous Hydra  of Lerna fitted with poisonous snakes?

Or the  trebled strength of Gerione  provided of three bodies?

What evil would do us  today the Harpies

who live in the Stinfali woods or  Diomede’s horses

which in Bistonia and in Ismaro blows flames from their nostrils?

What  harm could  do us the snake

wrapped around the tree with the enormous

body and the fierce look which guards

the splendid  golden apples  in the garden of Esperidi,

at the beaches of Atlas and the  stormy sea where nobody,

Roman and barbarian do ever  approach?

These and similar monsters, now disappeared, 

had them not been won and still lived

what evil could make us today? None I think:

even today the earth abounds up to satiety

of fierce beasts and  it is full of appalling

terrors within the great mountains,

the canyons and the deep forests,

but we are not forced to go there if we do not want.

But if the heart is not pure,  how many  dangers 

creep  in and how many inside battles

there are preparing  against our will!

How many  pungent anxieties tear man

 invaded by passions, and then how many fears!

And the pride, the dishonesty, the presumption,

 what they  do? How many massacres do!

What does shamelessness ,  what  apathy?

The man thus, who  has beaten all these evil

and thrown them out of the soul with the words,

not with the weapons, do not deserve  to be put among Gods?