'Erasmus! What has he got to do with anything today?'
I should have known better than mention his name. Humpty thinks anything that happened more than 50 years ago is so much water under the bridge.
I explained. Five hundred years ago, I said, a tongue-in-cheek Erasmus, the outstanding scholar of the Renaissance, wrote ‘In Praise of Folly’ within a week while he was in England. It brought a smile to the face of the Pope and others. It also fired up outrage on the part of those humourless stalwarts in the Church who were in raptures about the status quo.
'So what?' said Humpty. Again, I made an effort to convince Humpty that we did well to learn from history. ‘Erasmus, I said, was a giant. He put the Church hugely in his debt by publishing a Rolls-Royce quality Greek New Testament.’
Humpty, I am sad to say, had switched off. But I persisted.
‘If Erasmus were alive today,’ I said, ‘he might well be writing in praise of our pet folly, obscurity. Better to soft-pedal precise statements of belief.’
When I said that, Humpty cheered up – kind of. I guess he thinks a sprinkling of religion is good for everybody, Let’s give society a dusting of stardust, provided it does not hamper the pursuit of pleasure. Goodwill, tolerance and co-operation are OK. Neighbourliness and helping lame dogs over stiles: that’s right and proper. Who wants to be told what to do? Who wants something more than getting along with each other? Who wants to hear that dread word ‘repent’?
By now Humpty was listening up. But I couldn't leave it there. I had to push harder – so I did. I put it to Humpty that necessity is laid upon us. (I was thinking of 1 Corinthians 9.16.) I suggested that there are times when we have to come down off the fence – or the wall. Of course, we have to recognise our limitations. They sometimes loom larger than we like to think. Even Jesus, I said, acknowledged his ignorance of some matters – see Mark 13.32. He was painfully clear on other issues. It’s possible that vagueness, calculated ambiguity, evading the issue, is a betrayal. We have to be wary.
'Wary!' exclaimed Humpty. 'I was wary sitting on the wall. And look what happened to me!'
FOUR CANDLES
‘He was my comedy idol,’ said David Walliams when Ronnie Corbett died at the age of 85. Four candles were on display at the funeral.
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