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"The Ten Books That Influenced C.S. Lewis the Most,"

composed by Lewis in 1962 for a delightful series in THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY [a US magazine].

The ten books that influenced C.S. Lewis the most were:

PHANTASTES by George MacDonald

THE EVERLASTING MAN by G. K. Chesterton

THE AENEID by Virgil

THE TEMPLE by George Herbert

THE PRELUDE by William Wordsworth

THE IDEA OF THE HOLY by Rudolph Otto

THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY by Boethius

THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON by James Boswell

DESCENT INTO HELL by Charles Williams

THEISM AND HUMANISM by Arthur James Balfour

Perry Bramlett (founder of "C. S. Lewis for the Local Church" ministry) commented:

"In your calendar, I noticed with relish the section that listed "the ten most influential books" read by Lewis. I have taken displays of books that CSL read to several churches, and have had surprisingly good response. How's this for a 'second ten' (including books he liked the best for 'reading pleasure'):

S. Alexander's ‘Space, Time, and Deity’ (which I can't find anywhere); Sydney's ‘Arcadia:’ Tolstoy's ‘War and Peace’; Lindsay's ‘Voyage to Arcturus’; Bevan's ‘Symbolism and Belief’; Trollope's ‘The Warden’; Dante's ‘The Inferno’; Malory's ‘Morte d'Arthur’; Eddison's ‘The Worm Ouroboros’; and Barfield's ‘Poetic Diction’."

- from the C S Lewis Centenary Group's C S Lewis News Number 9, February 1998

Ed: An interesting list. Virgil is there, but no Homer. I'd have thought that Dante's entire DIVINE COMEDY (and not just the INFERNO) has to go into Lewis's top 10 in view of (a) the frequency with which his fiction alludes to Dante, and (b) his THE GREAT DIVORCE, which was an imaginative reworking of the theme of INFERNO.

Release International Prayer Alert
Friday, June 25, 2010

KENYA – Christians oppose new constitution as attack on religious liberty

Kenyan Christians are coming under fire for campaigning against a draft constitution which they say would threaten religious freedom.

Six people died and 104 were injured when suspected grenades were thrown into the crowd at a prayer rally in Nairobi's Uhuru Park on June 13, organised by the Kenyan church. Many were hurt because the explosions caused a stampede.

The church is advocating a 'no' vote in the August 4 referendum on the draft constitution because it would include – and legitimise – Kadhi or Islamic courts. These courts deal mainly with matters related to marriage and inheritance for Kenya's Muslim minority. Christians fear that their inclusion in the new constitution would undermine religious tolerance and could cause religious conflict.

Supporters of the draft constitution are reportedly already threatening to use 'hate speech' laws to stall the church's 'no' campaign.

(Sources: Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, BBC, Daily Nation, VOM Australia)

• Pray that, whatever the outcome of the vote on the constitution on August 4, political and religious leaders of all faiths will work hard to uphold religious freedom in Kenya.
• Pray against further violence and unrest over this issue.

Don Glossinger writes from the USA:

The Hamilton DNA Project has two major groups (among several others) called Group A and Group B.

See: http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/a/gah4/HamDNA/Results.html

Group A appears to share the same Y-DNA as Walter FitzGilbert who lived in the 13th century and was the founder of the family. The main line Hamiltons had a break in the line with Sir James Hamilton, 5th of Cadzow, an apparent non-paternal event. We know conclusively that he and the main line were and are of Group B.

While researching at Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana), I discovered the following quote:

"Archibald Moore of Tullykittagh may have had a sister Janet, Mrs. Hamilton. John Hamilton of Priestfield, Blantyre, Scotland (who was alive on 23 June 1579, dead by 8 June 1597) had a second son William Hamilton, who settled in Ireland. [Actually William was the eldest son according to House of Hamilton by George Hamilton.] Here William was taken prisoner by Irish rebels and carted off to Doe Castle in Co. Donegal, where he died of his sufferings in 1642. William's wife was called Janet Moore and their second son, James Hamilton, held leases of Clougher, Prospect, Moneygobbin and Longhnehardvernis from 1621 to 1637. His Will was dated 1651 and proved 1652 and he was buried in Ballymoney. All his lands were in the neighbourhood of that town, and he renamed Loghnehardvernis, very sensibly in view of the standards of literacy in the 17th Century, giving it its present name of Mount Hamilton. Priestfield is about 7 miles South of Glasgow and about 20 from Mure country. While Mount Hamilton is halfway between Tullykittagh and Larchfield, about 5 miles from each." From North Antrim Families by T.J.G. Bennett, page 9, Volturna Press.

Mr. Bennett gives no source for the above statement, but it is entirely possibly that the first owner was from the Priestfield in Blantyre family. The three sons of this family William Hamilton of Ballyfatton, Robert Hamilton of Caledon and Hew Hamilton of Lisdiven all went to Ireland. The family is supposed to be descended from Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kincavil, a natural son of the 1st Lord Hamilton. (From House of Hamilton). This belief agrees with the DNA findings, because a descedant of Hew Hamilton of Lisdiven is a participant in the Hamilton DNA Project and his results put him in Group B. The Lisdiven Hamilton held his land from the Earl of Abercorn who was of course of Group B, as the Abercorns are the main all male line Hamiltons.

This is where the possible royal connection comes in. Princess Diana had a Hamilton grandmother who was of the Abercorn family. So you may be related to their Royal Highnesses, Prince William and Prince Harry through a female ancestor should it turn out that James Hamilton who owned Mount Hamilton early on was a member of Priestfield in Blantyre family.

You may also be related to the Princes, in a scientifically verifiable way, should it turn out that the Dunnemanagh Hamiltons were also Group B. The Dunnemanaghs inherited Mount Hamilton, and it seems possible you may be descended from them. They held the townlands of Dullerton and Altrest from the Earl of Abercorn and could have therefore been close relatives of the Earl. We can speculate more on this in another post.

(James, a small matter, my last name has an L in it).

Ed: Sorry for the missing L. Will make appropriate corrections. Very interesting information on the Hamilton family!

Cllr Dr Ian Adamson comments on my post "Wheat-eaters": Part 1, Saturday, June 19. 2010;

Off to France in the morning to follow your two heroes [Ed: Ian means C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I look forward to reading his account.]

I don't know if you have read my book on the Cruthin (1974) but there I write;-

In AD 364 the Picts, Scotti and Attacotti decended in concert but by different ways (per diversa vagantes) on Roman British territory. The Picts at this time were divided into two great tribes,the Dicalidones (Caledonians) and Verturiones. The Attacotti were P-Celtic tribes and may well have included, or have wholly been Aithech Tuatha or "Vassal Tribes" of Cruthin in Ireland (under the Scotti , ie Gaels, derived from Old British "Guidel", modern Welsh "Gwyddel", meaning "Raider" or "Pirate").

In 383, during the reign of Gratian in the West, a native of Spain named Magnus Maximus was "made emperor in Britain through the treachery of the soldiers" according to a 5th Century Gaulish chronicle. Maximus (Macsen), with the help of the British troops, overcame Gaul and Spain before being killed in 388.

It was about this time that the Deisi (also Aithech Tuatha or Attacotti) who were in origin Belgae (Fir Bolg), were forced to migrate en masse from south-east Ireland to Pembroke in Western Britain, and the Ui Liathain from Cork settled west of them in Gower. Thus were the Belgae forced back again to Britain. How many of them spoke the Old British Language of the Erainn we shall never know.

The tombstone of ther first king, Eochaid Over-Sea, survives with his name in British and Irish Ogam. Coupled with later migrations to Cornwall it is by no means improbable that the numbers of Irish, Gael and non-Gael, living in Western Britain exceeded the various invading Germans, ie Angles, Saxons and Jutes, on the East until the sixth century.

Code: Picts

Ed: Many thanks, Ian. Of course I read your book Cruthin: The Ancient Kindred (1974), but that's a long time ago. There was a lot of detail to digest in it, as these few paragraphs would indicate.

I mentioned the Morris book in "Wheat-eaters": Part 2, Tuesday, June 22. 2010 i.e. The Age of Arthur, by John Morris (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1973, reprinted 1989).

Arthur

Morris held that Arthur was a historical figure (as opposed to many modern views that Arthur is either wholly mythical or that we can't tell whether there was any historical base to the legends). Morris held that Arthur first came to prominence as a British general who helped suppress the First Saxon Revolt, winning the victory of Mons Badonicus near Badon (Bath) c. 495. Then, as the British King, Arthur conquered and expelled the Irish from Demetia in West Wales c. 500/510. Arthur was killed at Camlann c. 515 (whereabouts unknown). With Arthur died the unity of Britain, and the hope of reviving it under British rule.

Continued from Part 1:

Here are some of my thoughts, to add to the opinions offered by Hartmut Richter in the last blog.

English views of their soccer team seem to lurch from one extreme to another. It may begin with the opinion that the team is stocked with football geniuses and has a good shot at winning the World Cup. After a mediocre performance, let alone an outright failure, abuse and vituperation are heaped on their heads.

To win the World Cup, or to do well, you need good fortune. England's problems in this campaign began early. Many of the highest-paid soccer stars seem to be S-H-One-T's (in the memorable description of Alan Clark made by his long-suffering wife). It was an issue in his personal life and his sexual behaviour that prompted Fabio Capello, the England Manager (though not the English manager) to strip the Central Defender, John Terry, of the England Captaincy. The issue caused Terry's former club colleague, Wayne Bridge, to withdraw his name from consideration from the England squad, to avoid playing on the same team as Terry. Despite Capello's urging, Bridge, who would otherwise have been on the squad, refused to reconsider out of his loathing for Terry.

In his Terry's place, Capello promoted the other Centre-back, Rio Ferdinand, to the captaincy. But Ferdinand was injury-prone and, as fate would have it, broke down in training shortly before the competition, ruling him out of the competition. So England started the World Cup with its 3rd Captain, Steven Gerrard. For Ferdinand's place in defence, Capello promoted Ledley King; but King too got injured so that Terry 's partner in central defence by the match with Germany was Matthew Upson.

England had problems with the goalkeeping spot as well. In the first match, against USA, Robert Green made a blunder to let in a goal. Capello dropped Green for suceeding games and I doubt whether Green can ever again wear an England shirt. Green's replacement, James, performed well enough but, in my opinion, could have saved Germany's third goal had he 'stood up', rather than commit himself prematurely to the wrong side.

Dissension in the England camp reached such a pitch last weekend that the former captain, Terry, attempted a 'dressing-room revolt' against the manager who had sacked him - but the other players, whom Terry had counted on, failled to support him. [Patrice Evra, the French Captain, had more success in organising a very public players' revolt against their Manager.]

Clearly any sucessful international team needs a sound defence on which it can rely with confidence; the England defence looked shaky and its limitations were exposed in the match with Germany. The squad included two talented "attacking" full-backs, Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole (another favourite of the gossip columnists). Yet talent in attack is a luxury. Full-backs should be first and foremost sound in defence. And to exploit their attacking skills, you need mid-field dominance as well as sound defensive cover. Suffice to say neither full-back created a single goal in the competition.

The English press, as usual, wrote up England's chances in the build-up to the competition (I'm not speaking of the tabloids, which I don't read). The bookies offered odds of 10:1 on their winning. One TV programme urged its male viewers to stop shaving to show support - as if any amount of stubble in England would affect the issue on the High Veld (f). The respected BBC TV commentator, Gabi Logan, said 10 days before the start, "It's about now that we start to think that the boys can really do it" (i.e. win the World Cup). Perhaps so, but disillusion and disappointment could be expected to follow as inevitably as night followed day. Of course, there were some more sensible voices who cried "Let us be realistic", but they were, in my opinion, drowned out.

In this atmosphere, Fabio Capello's statement that his goal was merely to reach the final of the competition, rather than to lift the Cup itself, was seem as the voice of sweet reason and a dampener on expectations. The England Captain, Steven Gerrard, put it like this "With all the talent that the England team has, reaching the Quarter-finals is just not good enough."

In my opinion, there is one factor which I have never seen mentioned, the influence of home advantage. Italy, Argentina, France and England have all won the Cup as the host nation, and the host nation generally does rather well. But this factor extends to continents as well. No European country has ever won the World Cup outside Europe. The only countries which have ever won outside their home continent have been Argentina (once) and Brazil (several times).

Realistically, no European side can be expected to win in South Africa. Instead we should look to Argentina (with the brilliant Messi) and Brazil (with a solid side) whose football does 'travel'. If we are looking for a European team capable of breaking the limits of playing 'away', I would suggest the potentially-brilliant Spain. Not England, nor even Germany.

Disillusion set in among English supporters and commentators with the first match, a draw with the USA which saw Robert Green's blunder. And even more so in the second match, a goalless draw with Algeria. At the end of the match, England supporters boohed their team off the pitch. Spirits revived somewhat with a 1:0 victory over Slovenia - a country appearing the the World Cup Finals for the first time, lacking any major stars, the smallest country participating in the Finals, with a population little more than that of Northern Ireland. As a result England scraped into the knock-out phase in second place. Since the USA (!!) had won the group, England qualified to meet their traditional nemesis, Germany.

On Saturday's outing with the Ballyholme Bombers (the John Terry Summer Plate indeed!) (g,) I wore my German peaked cap and my German shirt, acquired on the Bombers' tour to Germany in 2006 [see German gear on Mister Keep Fit]. Most Bombers are local Northern Irish, but we have as well a Greek (who wore his Greek shirt), a Welshman, a Southern Irishman (from Dublin) and Two Englishman. Both Englishmen joined us in recent years. One has this season been wearing an England shirt. We normally turn out in motley gear - people wear what they like. Brazil shirts are popular, Northern Ireland shirts can be seen but not this season, but rarely do we see an England shirt.

After Sunday lunch, with wine, I sat down to watch the England-Germany match on TV, though without my German gear. I enjoyed my customary Sunday afternoon doze through most of the first half, waking for the celebration after each of the German goals. A team will be in trouble if it cannot deal effectively with a goal kick from the goalkeeper. Yet this is whast happened for the first German goal. It was a good kick straight upfield from Neuer. This bounced in the English penalty area with Klose, the German centre-forward, and Upson, the English defender, chasing the ball. Upson fouled Klose in his vain attempt to stop the German (a red-card infringement, surely), but Klose proved the stronger and slid on his backside to direct the ball past James into the English net. Simple and direct, like much of the German play on that day.

Upson scored a headed goal from a corner for England before the break. Then that excellent shot from Lampard which should have levelled the score 2:2 at half-time.

Germany defended for much of the second half as England pushed forward ever more desperately. But the German defence held and the German breakaways always looked dangerous. Crisp passing, strong running and lethal finishing yielded the Germans two more goals. I thought it an efficient performance by the Germans, whose basic skills were exemplary. England? Wonderboy Rooney rarely threatened, and the chickens came home to roost in defence.

One English comment "At least we won the cricket and the World Angling Championship." Although this may not console the Richards the Lionheart dressed up in chainmail drowning their sorrows in South Africa.

Notes

(f) I mentioned the noble exception of James Corden, the comedian, to take part in the burgeoning xenophobia in World Cup starts, Thursday, June 10. 2010

g) See Ballyholme Bombers, Fixture List 2010 (Saturday, April 17. 2010)

Concluded

Hartmut Richter writes from Germany on the Curse of the 1966 Goal -

I well remember your entries in the Impala Publications blog four years ago on the World Cup (a) and was surprised to see that you weren't writing anything this time round. Well, whether you are interested or not and whether or not you want to write anything in the blog, I felt that I had to write about the Germany-England game today.

On the whole, I felt it would be closer than the final scoreline might suggest. I was somewhat disappointed at the English side - not just in this game but throughout the tournament. Whenever the opponent made it easy for them, they could play inspiring football - but they always needed the opponent to cooperate, they could never get there by themselves. On the other hand, Germany, very young side though they may be, always (just!) seemed in control. However, this game will almost certainly be remembered for the one goal that was, yet wasn't given.


I feel extremely relieved, almost free, at the moment. Why? Not because Germany won the game. Not even because they won it against England. I feel that way largely because of that one goal (b). It is as if fate decreed that there should be a curse on England for that one similar goal in 1966 - the one that wasn't, yet was given (c).

Certainly, since that time, they have never got further than Germany in any competition (European or World Championship) and on four occasions, we have sent them home. Even that one occasion where we were beaten (2000, in the European Championship - probably the worst team Germany have fielded in their history), England didn't profit since they only ended up third in the table and had to go home prematurely too. It was as if it didn't matter how many times we sent England packing, nothing could make up for that one defeat, largely because of that one goal (the fourth one should, of course not have been given either in 1966, for other reasons, so it still remains that this goal ws crucial to the outcome).

Now, we have more than beaten England - we have "gained our satisfaction" (4). I feel extremely relieved, feel as if justice has at long last been done. "The mills of God grind slowly but very fine indeed!"(5) It is the end of an era for me. The end of a long standing football hate relationship between our countries where any England-Germany match is practically elevated to WWIII. Now at last, we can hopefully just play football against each other.

(However, I suspect that "Bild" and "The Sun" will continue with the Panzer-mentality headlines before each game! A shame, really.....)

Editor's notes

(a) For links to the blogs all see World Cup blogs, Monday, February 19. 2007

(b) Hartmut is writing of what should have been England's second goal, scored by Frank Lampard shortly before half-time. The ball rebounded from the crossbar, bounced clearly over the goalline, but span back over the goalline. George Szirtes includes a link to a UTube video in his blog report of today Last Word on England.

(c) Scored by Geoff Hurst in the 11th minute of extra time of the 1966 Final, to give England the lead by 3:2. The ball rebounded from the underside of the crossbar on or just over the line. The referee, who was undecided, awarded the goal on the advice of the linesman. The goal has remained controversial ever since, because the film taken at the time does not permit a clear decision. The most recent research undertaken by the Engineering Department of Oxford University suggests that the ball was 6 cm away from crossing the line entirely, and so the goal should not have been awarded.

(d) Hartmut is using the the language of the duellist, where inflicting a cut on an opponent, producing blood, gives "satisfaction" for a wrong.

(e) ὀψε θɛῷν ἀλέουσίμύλοί, ἀλέουσί δε λɛρṯά, the mills of the gods are late to grind, but they grind small. Quoted in Sextus Empiricus Against Professors i. 287.

The German poet Friedrich von Logau wrote in 1694:

Gottes Mühlen mahlen langsam, mahlen aber trefflich klein
Ob aus Langmut er sich säumet, bringt mit Schärf' er alles ein

which the American poet Longfellow translated as -

Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.

http://www.answers.com/topic/the-mills-of-god-grind-slowly-yet-they-grind-exceeding-small and

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_said_'The_mills_of_the_gods_grind_slowly_but_they_grind_exceedingly_small'

Links

1966 FIFA World Cup Final - Wikipedia

Blog link

World Cup starts, Thursday, June 10. 2010

To be continued

Psalm 95 (New International Version)

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.

5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if you hear his voice,

8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, [a]
as you did that day at Massah [b] in the desert,

9 where your fathers tested and tried me,
though they had seen what I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways."

11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
"They shall never enter my rest."

Footnotes:
a.Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling .
b.Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing .

The last blog reminds me of a limerick that my father loved to recite. I love it too.

There was a young lady of Ryde
Who once ate green apples and died.
The apples fermented
Inside the lamented
And made cider inside her inside.

'God is the Truth. The Bible is the truth about the Truth. Theology is the truth about the truth about the Truth.'

-Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Release International, writing in Tortured for Christ (1967) (a)

This reminds me of Emeth a character in The Last Battle, the concluding tale in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. Emeth, we are told, is the Hebrew word for 'truth' [Lewis knew many languages and drew on many sources for the names of his characters]. The character Emeth is a Calormene and, as such, is brought up to believe in their false god Tash, to whom Emeth gives devoted service. Emeth takes part in the Calormene forces in the final battle with the Narnians, after which Narnia is destroyed. Nonetheless, his service is taken as worthy and Emeth is taken to heaven along with the Narnians - a controversial outcome for some Christian readers of the novel (b).

It reminds me as well of a mathematical saying of my father's who would explain;

"The number 'One' is the set of all unities. The number 'Two' is the set of all duals. The number 'Three' is the set of all triads - and so on for all succeeding numbers. Hence the concept 'Number' is the set of all set of all sets."

Notes

(a) Quoted in the current issue [July/August 2010] of Release, the bimonthly magazine of Release International. You can SIGN UP to get Release magazine by post every two months free of charge (UK & Ireland only) on the charity's website here -

http://www.releaseinternational.org/pages/resources.php

(b) The Wikipedia entry on Emeth has -

'Emeth (Hebrew אמת : "truth," "firmness," or "veracity") is a Calormene character from C. S. Lewis's book The Last Battle (from the Chronicles of Narnia series). As a Calormene, Emeth was raised to follow Tash, the antithesis of Aslan, and did so with an emphatic devotion and loyalty. Nevertheless, Emeth manages to travel to Aslan's paradisaical country after the destruction of Narnia, and is welcomed by Aslan. Because he worshipped a devil and not God, his acceptance has been controversial with some Christians who disagree with Lewis' soteriology.'

In season 2009/10 I won a Board Prize for the team that I play for - see Board Prizes, Tuesday, June 22. 2010. Here is one of my games. It's far from perfect, but at least it features a Queen sacrifice.

Paul McGuigan appeared for the Bangor Wanabees (the other Bangor team)and was returning from a few years away from Club chess, as one does. He chose a positional treatment against my French Winawer. Then Paul chose, in a reversal of strategy, to sacrifice a pawn for (hoped) attacking chances against my King, which was castled in draughty fashion on the queenside. Paul then dropped another pawn to give him a poor game.

On move 21 I failed to find the best move 21 ...c3! which would have cemented my advantage, choosing instead to sacrifice my queen for rook and bishop. Paul was clearly shocked by my sac and didn't find the best moves. I was happy with my pawn structure (and the advantage of two pawns). Then I was able to establish a blockade, followed by a bind, driving the White Queen to a dismal post. Mating threats forced the decision in my favour.

Bangor Wanabees v Bangor Winston
Board 2
4 March 2010
Time control: each player had 1 hour 30 mins on the clock for all his moves.

White: Paul McGuigan (Wanabees)
Black: James O'Fee (Winston)

French Defence, Winawer Variation (Positional treatment)

1 e4 e6
2 d4 d5
French Defence

3 Nc3 Bb4
The "Winawer" Variation, played by the Polish/Jewish player Winawer occasionally in the 19th century, but investigated deeply by Aron Nimzowitsch, the player and theoretician originally from Latvia who moved to Denmark after the end of World War 1.

4 e5 Ne7
5 a3 Bxc3+
6 bxc3 c5
7 Nf3
A positional treatment. 7 Qg4 can lead to some wild play in which I consider that Black is no worse.

7 ... Qa5
8 Bd2 c4
This is premature. 9 c4, exposing an attack on the Qa5 from the Bd2, is no threat since the Q can comfortably retreat to c7, while the pawn advance weakens White's pawn formation.

9 Be2 (3 mins gone in thought)
9 ... Nbc6 (5 mins gone)
10 0-0 Bd7
11 a4 0-0-0
A known position. The computer program Fritz 8 tells me that this is the last move in his 'book'.

12 Bc1 ?!
A questionable plan. White wants to attack Black's seemingly castled postion on the Queen's side and is prepared to sacrifice a pawn for open lines. But exdsperience has shown that in this closed position the Black King is not greatly vunerable. And White has lost 2 tempi in his manoevre with the bishop to d2 and back to c1 again.

12 ... Qxc3
Black grabs the offered pawn.

13 Ba3
Continuing with the plan and hitting the weakened diagonal a3-f8. But Fritz comments "13 Bd2 (better) would keep White alive. Then 13 ..Qb2 14 Rb1 with equality."

13 ... Nf5
Fritz considers that Black already has an advantage.

14 Qb1
Fritz considers that 14 Ra2 is better. Then 14 .. Nd4 15 Re1, Black still holds the advantage.

14 ... Nc6xd4
15 Nxd4 Nxd4
Black has won another pawn.

16 Bd1 Nf5
17 g4 ?
Fritz considers that 17 Bb2 Qb4 18 a5 is better for White, although Black maintains an advantage

17 ... Nh4
Fritz considers that Black now has a winning advantage.

18 f4?
Better 18 Be7 Qh3 19 Bxh4 Qxh4 19 f4 with advantage to Black.

18 ... Qe3+
19 Rf2 Bc6
Better is 19 ... Qd1+ where Black calls all the shots. 20 Rf1 Qe4 with a winning advantage.

20 Be7 Ng6+
21 Ra3
I hadn't forseen this horizontal attack.

21 ... Qxf2 ?!
I miss the best move, pointed out immediately by Eddie Whiteside after the game. After 23 ... c3! Fritz says that Black has achieved all his goals, then 22 Bxd8 Nxf4 with advantage. [Worse is 22 ...Kxd8 23 Kf1.]

22 Kxf2
Fritz considers that Black has lost his winning advantage.

22 ... Nxe7
23 c3 [1 hr 10 mins time left] d4 [1 hr 02 mins left]
24 Bf3 ?
Better is 24 Qb4 Nd5 25 Qxc4 Ne3 where Black has only a slight advantage

24 ... d3
Fritz considers better 24 ... Bxf3 25 Kxf3 d3 with advantage

25 Bxc6
Fritz considers that Black has only a slight advantage

25 ... Nxc6
26 Ra2
Fritz suggests 26 Ra1 d2 27 Qe2 Rd3 with advantage

26 ... f6
27 exf6 gxf6
with advantage

28 Rd2 Rd5
29 Qa2 [1 hr 1 min left]
29 ... Na5 [51 min left]

30 Qa3 Re8
31 Qb4 e5
32 f5 e4
33 Ke3 Kd7
34 Rd1 Kc6
35 Rd2 Rc5
36 Rd1 Nb3
37 Rb1 ??
Fritz comments - The position is going down the drain. Better is 37 a5 Rd8 38 Kxe4 Nxa5 39 Qa4+ Kc7 40 Kf4 with advantage to Black

37 ... d5 [40 mins left]
with advantage

38 Qa3 [50 mins left] d2
39 Rd1 Rd8
40 Qb2 Rd3+
41 Kxe4 Re5+
42 Kf4 Kd5
43 Resigns 0-1

At our midweek meeting on Wednesday we sang "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken", a hymn which deeply impressed me when I was a boy growing up as an Anglican. In fact, I could have said that it was my favourite hymn. The form in which we sang it on Wednesday was;-

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
God, whose word cannot be broken,
formed thee for his own abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded,
what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded,
thou mayst smile at all thy foes.

See, the streams of living waters,
springing from eternal love,
well supply thy sons and daughters,
and all fear of want remove.
Who can faint while such a river
ever will their thirst assuage?
Grace which like the Lord, the giver,
never fails from age to age.

Round each habitation hovering,
see the cloud and fire appear
for a glory and a covering,
showing that the Lord is near.
He who gives them daily manna,
He who listens when they cry:
Let Him hear the loud hosanna
Rising to His throne on high.

Saviour, if of Zion's city
I through grace a member am,
Let the world deride or pity,
I will glory in Thy name:
Fading is the worldling's pleasure,
All his boasted pomp and show:
Solid joys and lasting treasure,
None but Zion's children know.

But I've never yet heard the hymn sung in our church with these traditional words. I can remember it sung only once, and then in a modern form without the "Thee" and "Thy". There are more verses and different versions; and somewhere on the Net I've found this information on the hymn;-

Text: John Newton, 1725-1807
Music: Croatian folk song; arr. by Franz Joseph Haydn
Tune: AUSTRIA, Meter: 87.87 D

John Newton was the former slave-ship captain, then Anglican clergyman and hymn-writer, also an evangelical and leading campaigner against the slave trade. Christian Biography Resources: "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken": John Newton has-






His conversion [to Jesus Christ] was so complete that he became a minister of the gospel. This was in 1764, when he was thirty-nine years old. He settled in Olney, England, and there it was that he formed the beautiful friendship with William Cowper which has given to the world so many splendid hymns. Some think that it was with the desire to draw Cowper's mind away from his deep melancholy that Newton proposed that the two should compose a series of hymns together. Of the famous collection that resulted, "The Olney Hymns," Cowper is said to have written sixty-six, while Newton wrote the rest of the three hundred and forty-nine. But more of Cowper's hymns than of Newton's have become famous.

... but the greatest of all the hymns of John Newton is "Glorious things of thee are spoken." It is a noble description of the people of God, under the protection of their supreme leader.

The traditional tune to which the hymn is set, named as AUSTRIA above, is of interest as well. In National Anthems Part 1, Tuesday, June 17. 2008, I wrote -

During his stay in England, the composer Joseph Haydn had got to know and admire the anthem "God Save the King". He desired that Austria, too, should have a patriotic song to inspire the fight against the French. The task was completed in January 1797, with words written by Lorenz Haschka. The Emperor's birthday saw the first performance. It soon became the Empire's unofficial national anthem and was translated, ultimately, into the languages of many of the Empire's nationalities.

In its 1854 version Haydn's patriotic song began -

Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze
Unsern Kaiser, unser Land!

It is suggested above that Haydn took the tune from a Croatian folk song so that, very likely early on in the early 1800s, it became attached to Newton's hymn. Today Austria-Hungary has disappeared and the Habsburg dynasty with it, so that Haydn's tune is no longer has its original use. Yet it has enjoyed an important afterlife, alongside its association with "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken".

In National Anthems Part 2, Tuesday, June 17. 2008, I wrote;-

'In 1841, the German linguist and poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics of "Das Lied der Deutschen" to Haydn's melody while in Heligoland, at that time a British possession. .... The song was chosen for the national anthem of Germany in 1922, at the time of the Weimar Republic. .... In 1952, West Germany adopted the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied as its de facto national anthem.'

Von Fallersleben's first stanza opened with Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, but this is no longer sung today. The third stanza opens with Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit. This is the version that will be sung, to Haydn's melody, at the forthcoming Germany-England, along with "God Save the Queen", of which Josef Haydn was such a great admirer.

Blog Links

National Anthems Part 1, Tuesday, June 17. 2008

National Anthems Part 2, Tuesday, June 17. 2008

Links

John Newton - Wikipedia

Franz Joseph Haydn - Wikipedia

AJ Goldsby writes from Florida, USA;

A new web page on A. Lilienthal

I promised several friends that I would do a bit on my website on the great legend/player Andor Lilienthal when he sadly passed away last month. I just got around to posting it today.

http://www.ajschess.com/lifemasteraj/lili-capa_hastings3435.html

There is a crosstable of the event, a fair analysis of the game, Lilienthal - Capablanca; Hastings / England (UK) / 1934-1935. There are 13 diagrams, and many useful links. (I added a brief analysis of Euwe's win over G.A. Thomas from the same event.)

I included a brief biography and a few other details, I am hoping your (chess) readers will find it useful and entertaining.

Ed: Thanks, AJ! The annual tournament at Hastings, held over Christmas and New Year 1934/5, included three former and future World Champions.

José Raúl Capablanca, World Champion 1921-27, had retired from the game in 1931 after failing to secure a return match against his successor as World Champion, Alexander Alekhine. Hastings 1934/5 saw Capa's return to the lists and the great Cuban was understandably rusty. He was victorious over the 4 English tail-enders, but lost to Sir George Thomas as well as Lilienthal. Max Euwe (World Champion 1935-37) was in top form and went through the tournament smoothly and undefeated. Hastings 1934/5 saw the first appearance in the West of another future World Champion, the young Mikhail Botvinnik (reigned 1948-57, 1958-60, and 1961-63). Botvinnik had already won the Soviet Championship (1931 and again 1933); and he had drawn a match in 1933 with Salo Flohr. Hastings 1934/5 was, however, no triumph for Botvinnik, but rather a learning experience. He lost to Thomas and Euwe, while drawing with Flohr, Capa, Lilienthal and the English player Michell.

Sir George Thomas

Three players emerged as the joint winners of Hastings 1934/35; Euwe (mentioned above), Flohr and Thomas. Salo Flohr was one of the world's top players in the 1930s and in 1937 FIDE nominated Flohr its "official" challenger for the world title. Flohr went through Hastings 1934/5 undefeated, defeating four English tail-enders and drawing with Thomas and the other foreign players. Sir George Thomas (1881-1972) was the veteran English player who won the British Championship in 1923 and again in 1934 [and an expert badminton player as well!] so that Sir George Thomas was the reigning British Champion at Hastings 1934/5. This tournament would yield the English player his greatest-ever tournament victory. Although he lost to Euwe and the English player Michell, Thomas defeated Capablanca, Botvinnik and Lilienthal.

Blog Links

Andor Lilienthal: chess grandmaster, by Raymond Keene, Saturday, May 22. 2010

Ray Keene on Lilienthal's chess career, Tuesday, May 18. 2010

Andor Lilienthal (1911-2010):
- Part 1, Monday, May 10. 2010
- Part 2,Wednesday, May 12. 2010

Game 11: another fighting draw, Monday, May 10. 2010

ä ö ü Ä Ë Ö Ü ß ê î Î â  ă Ă Ş Ţ Ç ş šŠ ţ ç Á É Í Ó Ú á é í ó ú À à è Ő ő ű ñ ï ë Ł ź ¡ ć ï æ û
Αα Ββ Γγ Δδ Εε Ζζ Ηη Θθ Ιι Κκ Λλ Μμ Νν Ξξ Οο Ππ Ρρ Σσς Ττ Υυ Φφ Χχ Ψψ Ωω ᾲ ᾴ ῂ ῄ ὶ ί ῦ ώ ύ

A friend reminds me of the relationship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

For some years the standard work on the relationship between the two men has been The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and Their Friends, by Humphrey Carpenter (1978). This is currently available in a 2006 paperback edition.

Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005) was an author and radio broadcaster. He wrote a biography of Tolkien - J. R. R. Tolkien (1977) - and (assisted by Tolkien's son Christopher) edited J.R.R. Tolkien's published letters - The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981). Carpenter (who lived in Oxford for most of his life) had a curious family relationship with C.S. Lewis. Carpenter 's father, as Bishop of Oxford, denied permission to C.S. Lewis to marry Joy Davidman, a divorcee, in a Christian ceremony in the diocese.

Carpenter's book now has a competitor, which is The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community (2008), written by Diana Glyer whose Wikipedia entry has -

Diana Pavlac Glyer is an American author, speaker and teacher whose work centers on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings.

And the Azusa Pacific website has -

Dr. Glyer is a professor of English at Azusa Pacific University. She has published extensively on Lewis, Tolkien, and the Inklings, including contributions to The C. S. Lewis Readers’ Encyclopedia and C. S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy. She is the recipient of the Wade Center's Clyde S. Kilby Research Grant (1997) and APU's Chase A. Sawtell Inspirational Teaching Award (2002). Her latest book is The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community.

Dr Glyer's personal website adds -

She is the recipient ..... The Mythopoeic Society Scholarship Award (2008).

On her book The Company They Keep, her website has -

The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community is a labor of love, the work of my heart. It tells the story of the Inklings, a writing group that included Lewis, Tolkien, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, Warren Hamilton Lewis, John Wain, and others. They met in Oxford for a period of about seventeen years, reading their work out loud and encouraging, criticizing, and supporting each other in dozens of different ways.

Diana Glyer 2

In this book, I talk about their interaction, and I describe the difference it made to all that they accomplished. But this is not just a book about Lewis or Tolkien. It’s about community, the need that all of us have to connect with others who share our dreams. It’s about writing and the complexities of the writing process, the times of energy and vision and the times of discouragement and frustration. And it’s about creativity, and the things that help each of us to stay inventive, productive, and courageous as we press into the creative work we feel called to do.

Among the review comments given are -

“the best book on the subject, and that by a sizable margin”
Sherwood Smith, Author of Inda, The Fox, and Wren to the Rescue

“the definitive treatment”
Will Vaus, Author of The Professor of Narnia and Mere Theology
[Rev Will Vaus is a friend mentioned several times on Impala e.g. in The Professor of Narnia, Saturday, January 3. 2009]

and

“supersedes in scope and authority all previous treatments”
Bruce L. Edwards, Professor of English, Bowling Green State University, Author of Not-a-Tame Lion and Further Up and Further In, Editor of C.S. Lewis: Life, Works, & Legacy

I've read Carpenter's book, but must now read Diana Glyer's as well.

Diana Glyer has another book forthcoming. This is Clay in the Potter's Hands, scheduled for release in July 2010.

Cllr Dr Ian Adamson writes -

Herald has determined that since Baroness Paisley is already styled as such, Dr Paisley may not be styled Lord Paisley. Dr Paisley therefore wishes to be styled Lord Bannside. I think we should therefore describe our Dublin visit as that of Dr Paisley and not Lord Paisley. If it were not too much trouble would it be possible to change it. One might put Dr Paisley (Lord Bannside) visit and continue in the text with Dr Paisley and not Lord Paisley.

Ed: Will change the texts accordingly. "Bannside" was the name of the constituency of the Stormont parliament represented by Terence O'Neill for many years. Indeed, no-one had ever opposed O'Neill in the constituency. By 1969 O'Neill was Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, but his reformist policy was opposed by Ian Paisley and others. In February 1969 O'Neill called a snap General Election, generally called the "Ulster at the Crossroads" election. Paisley opposed O'Neill in Bannside. Although O'Neill was re-elected, the size of Paisley's vote humiliated O'Neill and he resigned as Prime Minister later that year, and from Stormont politics in 1970.

Dr Paisley (Lord Bannside) visit: Part 1, by Cllr Dr Ian Adamson OBE, Monday, June 14. 2010

Dr Paisley (Lord Bannside) visit: Part 2, by Cllr Dr Ian Adamson OBE, Monday, June 21. 2010

(later) In reply to Jonathan below, Terence O'Neill represented Bannside in the Stormont Parliament from 1946 onward - and he had been never opposed in an election for the constituency until the election of February 1969 when the voting went -

Terence O'Neill (Ulster Unionist) 7,745
Ian Paisley (Protestant Unionist) 6,331
Michael Farrell (People's Democracy) 2,310

O'Neill's majority was 1,414, but he, the serving Prime Minister, was humiliated. O'Neill resigned as Prime Minister a few months later and from Stormont politics the following year. At the ensuing by-election, Ian Paisley took the seat which O'Neill had come to think of as his own, having represented it for over 20 years. Voting in 1970 went -

Ian Paisley (Protestant Unionist) 7,981
B. Minford (Ulster Unionist) 6,778
P. McHugh (Labour [NI]) 3,514

so that Ian Paisley's majority was 1,203. The Bannside seat disappeared with the Stormont Parliament in 1972, and elections for the future NI Assemblies were by Proportional Representation for multi-member constituencies. By then Ian Paisley had established an even more important power base by winning the Westminster seat of North Antrim later in 1970 as a 'Protestant Unionist'. He would retain the seat until April 2010.

The title "Lord Bannside" is a further humiliation for the memory of Terence O'Neill (O'Neill took the title "Lord O'Neill of the Maine" when ennobled), and the Ulster Unionist Party.

Links

Bannside (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency) - Wikipedia

North Antrim (UK Parliament constituency) - Wikipedia

Ian Paisley - Wikipedia

Voice of the Martyrs Prayer Watch
from Voice of the Martyrs (Australia), an affiliate of Release International (UK & Ireland)
through Release International

1. IRAN: Christian Held in Solitary Confinement without Charge

On 29 April, agents from the Iranian National police entered Golchin's home in Varamin and confiscated several Bibles, his computer, identification cards, and other personal belongings. The police did not allow Golchin to call his father before taking him to an undisclosed location. On 30 April, the Intelligence Office in Varamin summoned Golchin's father, a Christian minister, to the local intelligence office. The intelligence agents interrogated him for several hours and threatened to further harm his son if he spoke publicly about Golchin's detention. The agents similarly threatened Golchin's wife.

The authorities have refused to provide any information about Golchin's condition or the reasons for his arrest despite repeated requests by his father and lawyer. Golchin has been allowed only three brief phone calls with his family. During one of these calls, he told his family that he was being held in Evin prison in Tehran. In his latest call, he informed his father that he is suffering from severe stomach pain. Golchin has been denied legal representation and until recently he was allowed no visitors. After numerous requests his father received permission to visit on 17 June. While the government purports to respect religious freedom, it continues to severely mistreat religious minorities. Source: Farsi Christian Network News

Please pray the meeting with Golchin's father will provide him with great encouragement. Ask the Lord to give him the grace and strength he needs to withstand this ordeal. Pray for his release!

2. SOMALIA: Family of 17-Year-Old Girl Abuses Her for Leaving Islam

The Muslim parents of a 17-year-old Somali girl who converted to Christianity severely beat her for leaving Islam and have regularly shackled her to a tree at their home for more than a month, Christian sources said. Nurta Mohamed Farah of Bardher, Gedo Region in southern Somalia, has been confined to her home since 10 May, when her family found out that she had embraced Christianity, said a Christian leader who visited the area. Her parents also took her to a doctor who prescribed medication for a “mental illness,” he said. Alarmed by her determination to keep her faith, her father, Hassan Kafi Ilmi, and mother, Hawo Godane Haf, decided she had gone crazy and forced her to take the prescribed medication, but it had no effect in swaying her from her faith, the source said. Traditionally, he added, many Somalis believe the Koran cures the sick, especially the mentally ill, so the Islamic scripture is continually recited to her twice a week. “The girl is very sick and undergoing intense suffering,” he said. Source: Compass Direct

Please pray Nurta’s faith will be strengthened, pray the Lord will intervene in this situation and pray she will make a full recovery. Pray for her parents.

3. PAKISTAN: Christian Woman in Pakistan Abused, Forced to Resign

A Christian woman says she has been falsely accused of theft, beaten, threatened with rape and forced to resign her job in a bid to keep her from obtaining full benefits as a regular government employee. Razia Bibi, a 38-year-old sanitation worker known as Rajji of village No. 47-NB (Northern Branch), was due to obtain regular status as a government employee at Aysha Girls’ Hostel at the University of Sargodha at the end of May.

On 7 May, however, Muslim office worker Safia Bibi accused her of stealing 10,000 rupees ($A135) from her cubicle – and when hostel warden Noshaba Bibi learned of it, she called female police officers and ordered them to beat her until she confessed, Rajji said. When she refused, she ordered male security guards to rape her. Her husband, Nayyer Aftab, arrived in time to spare her from rape by paying the amount of the allegedly stolen money, but the hostel warden forced Rajji to resign.

“As I am a Christian, the Muslim hostel officers Safia and Noshaba wanted a Muslim regular employee after their hearts instead of me,” Rajji told Compass. Noshaba Bibi initially refused to comment on the allegation that she falsely accused the Christian woman of theft in order to provide a job to someone of her choice, but after repeated questioning by Compass she yelled, “Yes, I have done it, do whatever you want!” Source: Compass Direct

Please pray for all Christians in Pakistan who face trails and suffering for their faith and have little protection from the law. Thank God Razia was spared from further violence and humiliation. Ask the Lord to provide for this family.