Essays; “A Good Old Man” by John Earle (9/142)

In an effort to educate myself, I am reading The Oxford Book of Essays, chosen and edited by John Gross. [copies for sale here] There’s 142 of the blighters, so it will take me all year. To make this “stick” I am going to blog each essay.

This essay is online

Who was the author: John Earle (c. 1601 – 17 November 1665) was an English cleric, author and translator, who was chaplain to Charles II. Towards the end of his life he was Bishop of Worcester and then Salisbury.

What happened the year they were born (and the C02 ppm): 1601– 270ppm ish

The Big Events they were alive for: Er, English Civil War, beginning of Cromwell’s reign. Plague.  Missed out on the Great Fire…

What happened in the year they died (and the C02 ppm): 1665– 270ppm ish

My awareness of/appreciation of this author (if any): zero

What’s the essay?

The essay is called “A Good Old Man.” It’s 1 page long. For me, the key take-aways were… you can reach a place of acceptance/resignation, and that’s fine.

Best line(s)

“He looks over his former life as a danger well past, and would not hazard himself to begin again. His lust was long broken before his body, yet he is glad this temptation is broke too, and that he is fortified from it by this weakness.”

“…and fears more his recoiling back to childishness than dust.” – yep.  

“and the poetry of Cato does well out of his mouth, and he speaks it as if he were the author.”

Stuff I had to look up

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Stuff worth thinking about.

The antithesis of “Rage against the Dying of the Light”, isn’t it?

Stuff to look up

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Connects to (watch this space – if there are later essays that resonate with this one, I’ll come back and add a link to the post for that essay).