Wednesday, December 28, 2011

So Let It Be With Great Aunt Catherine?

So over the holidays a family member passed away, and my wife and I drove down to attend the funeral.  She was elderly and in failing health, so this was not a surprise.

I wasn't prepared for the Shakespeare sermon.  When the priest said, "A long time ago, a man named William Shakespeare wrote...." and more than a few heads turned and looked at me :).  I perked up, curious.  Which Shakespeare would he be going with?

He continued, "Marc Antony spoke these words over the body of Julius Caesar..."  Really?  "The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.  So let it be with Caesar." That's different.  Great Aunt Catherine was not an assassinated potential dictator, after all.  At least, that I know of.

He then went on to focus his sermon on how Shakespeare was wrong, and how the good that you do in your life does live after you, and it's the bad stuff that should be put to rest.

I get his point. He spotted a line that gave him a launching point for what he wanted to say, and he snipped it out of context. No matter how much the words "Shakespeare was wrong" grate on me, I'm not going to debate with the priest on what Antony's true feelings were toward Caesar.

That's what this forum is for. :)

I have at least three different questions coming out of that service, and I think it's only fair to post them separately so that conversations don't all stomp all over each other.  Look for posts to follow shortly.

1 comment:

JM said...

"He then went on to focus his sermon on how Shakespeare was wrong, and how the good that you do in your life does live after you, and it's the bad stuff that should be put to rest."

Not particularly good advice in my estimation. On the other side of the coin, sweep the evil under the rug, history repeats itself.