Monday, December 12, 2022

"Ethics is [not] formally independent of the facts of human life and . . . human physiology."

The British Academy
"5. Ethics is formally independent of the facts of human life and, for example, human physiology."

     Elizabeth Anscombe, "Twenty opinions common among modern Anglo-American philosophers" (Rome, 7/12 April 1986), as reprinted in Faith in a hard ground:  essays on religion, philosophy, and ethics by G.E.M. Anscombe, ed. Mary Geach and Luke Gormally, St Andrews studies in philosophy and public affairs 11 (Exeter, UK; Charlottesville, VA:  Imprint Academic, 2008), .  Anscombe:  "there are a number of opinions which are inimical to Christianity which are very often found implicitly or explicitly among analytical philosophers.  A seriously believing Christian ought not, in my opinion, to hold any of them. . . .  In saying these opinions are inimical to the Christian religion I am not implying that they can only be judged false on that ground.  Each of them is a philosophical error and can be argued to be such on purely philosophical grounds."


"the most memorable thing Luther never said"

"He spelled out to the Emperor that without a conviction from 'scripture or plain reason (for I believe neither in Pope nor councils alone)', he could recant nothing.  It was such a momentous ending to his words that not long after his death, the first editor of his collected works, Georg Rörer, felt compelled to construct two tiny summary sentences in German, which have become the most memorable thing Luther never said:  'Here I stand; I can do no other.'"

     Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation:  a history (New York:  Viking, 2004), 127.  MacCulloch cites Eike Wolgast, Die Wittenberger Luther-Ausgabe:  zur überlieferungsgeschichte der Werke Luthers im 16. Jahrhundert (Nieuwkoop, 1971), col. 122.  But read also Thomas Kaufmann, "Luther auf dem Wormser Reichstag:  Person und publizistische Wirkung," in Hier stehe ich:  Gewissen und Protest – 1521–2021. Begleitband zur Landesausstellung 3. Juli bis 30. Dezember 2021, Museum der Stadt Worms im Andreasstift (Worms:  Worms Verlag, 2021), 280 (274–289; citation from Wikipedia).  Clearly, I am very far from done with this one!

The embolism (ἐμβολισμός) or Libera nos pre- and post-Vatican II

Extraordinary Form (1962)

Novus Ordo

Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present and to come; and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul and of Andrew, and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin, and secure from all disturbance.  Through.

Libera nos, quaesumus Domine, ab omnibus malis, praeteritis, praesentibus, et futuris:  et intercedente beata, et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beatis Apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andrea, et omnibus Sanctis, da propitius pacem in diebus nostris:  ut ope misericordiae tuae adjuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi, et ab omni perturbatione securi.  Per.

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.






Libera nos, quaesumus Domine, ab omnibus malis, da propitius pacem in diebus nostris, ut, ope misericordiae tuae adiuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi et ab omni perturbatione secure:  exspectantes beatam spem et adventum Salvatoris nostri Iesu Christi.

     It's surely more complicated than this historically (ODCC4 cites only "Jungmann (1958 edn), 2: 352–63; Eng. tr., 2: 284–93"), but this one comparison, at least, is rather striking.