Happy St. Patrick's Day

(Photo taken by me at the Glendalough monastic site near Dublin, Ireland)

This Celtic hymn, "The Deer's Cry," or also known as "St. Patrick's Breastplate" is traditionally attributed to St. Patrick. The name for the hymn comes from a legend where St. Patrick and his followers escaped a persecuting king by calling upon God; God then turned them into deer to evade the king. The connection of natural imagery with God would have been significant to a pagan culture that worshiped nature, which is the same thing the Celtic Cross tries to accomplish. Here is the hymn, translated by Cecil Alexander (1889):

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

The Three Acts of the Mind

Unfortunately, this simple explanation of logic is not found on the web--at least not easily available. Of course this is not my original thinking on the subject, but something which Peter Kreeft presents in his book, Socratic Logic. This brief introduction has been one of the most helpful tools for my writing and thinking.

The 1st Act of of the Mind deals with definitions; words or terms must be clarified. The 2nd Act of the Mind focuses on propositions, or statements; the sentence is either true or false. The 3rd Act of the Mind is concerned with line of argumentation, e.g., the form of Modus Ponens--If A, then B. A, therefore, B.

Kreeft indicates that these are the three ways to reject or accept an argument. In the case of rejecting an argument, a term is ambiguous, a premise is false, or the form of argumentation does not guarantee the conclusion follows from the premise.

I think a short example should help explain this more clearly, if not, I suggest looking on page 33 of Kreeft's book, which includes a handy chart. If it is raining in Chicago, then it is raining in Illinois. It is raining in Chicago. Therefore, it is raining in Illinois. Beginning with the 1st Act of the Mind, it is helpful to define what you mean by the terms Chicago and Illinois. Chicago is usually assumed to be the midwestern city, the "Stacker of Wheat" as Carl Sandburg would say. Perhaps the most robust definition would indicate the degrees of longitude or latitude. But by doing this clarifying, a person avoids the objection of other towns named Chicago that exist in other states, or other places that use the name Chicago.

The next step is to look at the statements. If we understand Chicago as we defined it, and Illinois as the common understanding of the state in the midwest United States of America, it seems that we can accept that it is true "If it is raining in Chicago, then it is raining in Illinois." The second premise, "It is raining in Chicago" is either true or false, but has to be true in order for the conclusion to be true. A person would ask for evidence that it is raining in Chicago to agree with the premise.

The 3rd Act of Mind, concerned with the form of argument. In this case, the basic valid form of Modus Ponens is used, so the argument is valid.

Will Durant may be wrong in saying that "nothing is so dull as logic," but he is correct by adding that "nothing is so important" as logic.

Read articles and listen to audio by Peter Kreeft at http://www.peterkreeft.com/home.htm

First Post

I have been meaning to start a blog for some time but never took the initiative to create one. As the heading indicates, most of my posts will be centered around art (mostly literature) , philosophy, and theology. I am sorry to disappoint you if you are looking for an agricultural blog.

Thank you for stopping by.