The thing about Gravity and Grace is that it is her journaling, published posthumously. If I can figure out where my copy is I'll post some quotes I liked a little better than those you chose <g>. Julie Krueger ========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Simone Weil (Was: Kataphatic, Negative and Apophatic Theology) Date: 8/6/2004 10:53:38 AM Central Daylight Time From: _erin.holder@xxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:erin.holder@xxxxxxxxxxx) To: _lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Sent on: Speaking of Simone Weil, I read Gravity and Grace. It was one of those books I read where, for the most part, I didn't have even the slightest clue what was going on. For example, here are some random aphorisms. Can anyone tell me what any of these mean? Erin Toronto "All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws of gravity analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception." "Gravity. Generally, what we expect of others depends on the effect of gravity upon ourselves, what we receive from them depends on the effect of gravity upon them. Sometimes, (by chance) the two coincide, often they do not." "Lear, a tragedy of gravity. Everything we call base is a phenomenon due to gravity. Moreover, the world baseness is an indication of this fact." "To come down by a movement in which gravity plays no part... Gravity makes things come down, wings make them rise: What wings raised to the second power can make things come down without weight?" "To lower oneself is to rise in the domain of moral gravity. Moral gravity makes us fall towards the heights." ----- Original Message ----- From: "Austin Meredith" <Kouroo@xxxxxxxxx> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2004 11:14 AM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Kataphatic, Negative and Apophatic Theology > > >What about Simone Weil? She surely embraced an aspect of negative > >theology as part of her paradox. > > In Negative Theology the meaning of a locution such as "the worship of God" > is negative in that it contains nothing whatever that is positive. It > contains no assertion whatever as to the existence or reality or > characteristics of God. It consisting totally and exclusively in a > thorough-going refusal to participate in any idolatry -- that is, in any > worship of anything that is not God. For instance, when a "religious" > person praises the power of God, as in the hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our > God," a practitioner of Negative Theology responds: "You are worshiping, > not God, but power. You are an idolator, and not superior to any other > idolator." > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html