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4 The White Stag

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A View to a Death in the Morning
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FOURIITheWhd-eStagOhswiftandswiftcomesthroughtheforestThatwhitedeerwiththesilverhorns;Whofollowsthatunlikelyquarry,Drainedofmanhoodhereturns.Forthreemonthsofa silentwinterI chasedhimthroughtheglassywood;Andwhenheturnedandkneltforpity,Tookoutmyknifeanddrewhisblood.TheLadyoftheMountainsfeedshimAmongherinaccessiblerocks;Hiseyesarecleanerthancoldwater,Betweenhiseyesthecrucifix.-JohnHeath-StubbsFROMitsverybeginning,Christianityadoptedoneimportantpaganideaaboutwildnature:namely,thebeliefthatlivinginthewildernessinthecompanyofwildbeastsisa signofsanctity.TalesofholyreclusesdwellingaloneinthedesertareasoldasChristianityitself.lTheholinessofsaintlyhermitswasnotsomethingtheyabsorbedfromthewilderness,whichtheea!lyChristians(liketheirpaganandJewishcontemporaries)sawasa hostileterritoryassociatedwithexile,alien-ation,andthewrathofGod.Rather,itwasthehermit'sabilitytotamethewilderness-tobringrebelliousnaturebackunderhumandominion-thatprovedhissanctity.Thewildbirdsandbeaststhatbringfoodtosomehermitsaintinmanya Christianlegenddosobecausethesaintisgood,notbecausetheanimalsaregood.
© 2021 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

FOURIITheWhd-eStagOhswiftandswiftcomesthroughtheforestThatwhitedeerwiththesilverhorns;Whofollowsthatunlikelyquarry,Drainedofmanhoodhereturns.Forthreemonthsofa silentwinterI chasedhimthroughtheglassywood;Andwhenheturnedandkneltforpity,Tookoutmyknifeanddrewhisblood.TheLadyoftheMountainsfeedshimAmongherinaccessiblerocks;Hiseyesarecleanerthancoldwater,Betweenhiseyesthecrucifix.-JohnHeath-StubbsFROMitsverybeginning,Christianityadoptedoneimportantpaganideaaboutwildnature:namely,thebeliefthatlivinginthewildernessinthecompanyofwildbeastsisa signofsanctity.TalesofholyreclusesdwellingaloneinthedesertareasoldasChristianityitself.lTheholinessofsaintlyhermitswasnotsomethingtheyabsorbedfromthewilderness,whichtheea!lyChristians(liketheirpaganandJewishcontemporaries)sawasa hostileterritoryassociatedwithexile,alien-ation,andthewrathofGod.Rather,itwasthehermit'sabilitytotamethewilderness-tobringrebelliousnaturebackunderhumandominion-thatprovedhissanctity.Thewildbirdsandbeaststhatbringfoodtosomehermitsaintinmanya Christianlegenddosobecausethesaintisgood,notbecausetheanimalsaregood.
© 2021 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. Illustrations ix
  4. Preface xi
  5. 1 The Killer Ape 1
  6. 2 The Rich Smell of Meat and Wickedness 15
  7. 3 Virgin Huntresses and Bleeding Feasts 28
  8. 4 The White Stag 52
  9. 5 The Sobbing Deer 76
  10. 6 The Noise of Breaking Machinery 92
  11. 7 The Sorrows of Eohippus 112
  12. 8 The Sick Animal 134
  13. 9 The Bambi Syndrome 161
  14. 10 A Fatal Disease of Nature 189
  15. 11 The Spirit of the Beast 211
  16. 12 A View to a Death in the Morning 225
  17. NOTES 247
  18. BIBLIOGRAPHY 289
  19. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 321
  20. INDEX 323
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674029255-006

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. Illustrations ix
  4. Preface xi
  5. 1 The Killer Ape 1
  6. 2 The Rich Smell of Meat and Wickedness 15
  7. 3 Virgin Huntresses and Bleeding Feasts 28
  8. 4 The White Stag 52
  9. 5 The Sobbing Deer 76
  10. 6 The Noise of Breaking Machinery 92
  11. 7 The Sorrows of Eohippus 112
  12. 8 The Sick Animal 134
  13. 9 The Bambi Syndrome 161
  14. 10 A Fatal Disease of Nature 189
  15. 11 The Spirit of the Beast 211
  16. 12 A View to a Death in the Morning 225
  17. NOTES 247
  18. BIBLIOGRAPHY 289
  19. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 321
  20. INDEX 323
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