Wonderful essay Rajeev — an essay that makes me proud to be a Tortugan.
I view Jack as rooted primarily in the power-immanent side of the triune; he's William’s inverse, acting within that realm through virtue rather than vice. He can also reach into the moral modality, seeing the cathedral not as a means to status or salvation, but as a higher calling to beauty & art themselves rather than his stepfather's calling toward divinity. Where he falters is in the Law modality; he tends to pursue quick, expedient fixes without weighing the larger structure of things. However, by the time he’s overseeing the building of Kingsbridge’s wall, you can sense that he’s starting to grasp it & understand that whill the chaotic can be a conduit toward creative inspiration — a society must have a common understanding (law) to allow for creation to flourish.
He's highly skeptical of Law qua Law & more amenable to Natural Law (math/physics).
I think of Jack's triune modality as power → beauty → law, instead of Tom’s law → power → morality or Philip’s morality → law → power.
What stood out to me most was the idea that England itself was maturing through these characters; like the country was figuring out how to unite order, strength, and faith into something stable. The cathedral as the physical symbol of that balance really stuck with me too.
Still wrapping my head around how the “artist-metaphysician” fits into all of it, but I like the thought that mastery isn’t just moral or intellectual but also kinda creative. Makes me think learning to compose with the forces instead of being ruled by them is sorta the theme.
Can't say I completely grasp it all but really enjoyed this eitger way!
Thanks for the comment; you have this exactly right. The next step after mastering the basics of some complex medium or activity is to learn to create through it. Great men (and great women) at some point in their lives ought to strive toward that, both within themselves and together with good friends.
There’s a lot of big words in that, but once I got to the triangle it all made sense. That really clarifies a lot of things, and not just in the novel either.
Wonderful essay Rajeev — an essay that makes me proud to be a Tortugan.
I view Jack as rooted primarily in the power-immanent side of the triune; he's William’s inverse, acting within that realm through virtue rather than vice. He can also reach into the moral modality, seeing the cathedral not as a means to status or salvation, but as a higher calling to beauty & art themselves rather than his stepfather's calling toward divinity. Where he falters is in the Law modality; he tends to pursue quick, expedient fixes without weighing the larger structure of things. However, by the time he’s overseeing the building of Kingsbridge’s wall, you can sense that he’s starting to grasp it & understand that whill the chaotic can be a conduit toward creative inspiration — a society must have a common understanding (law) to allow for creation to flourish.
He's highly skeptical of Law qua Law & more amenable to Natural Law (math/physics).
I think of Jack's triune modality as power → beauty → law, instead of Tom’s law → power → morality or Philip’s morality → law → power.
What stood out to me most was the idea that England itself was maturing through these characters; like the country was figuring out how to unite order, strength, and faith into something stable. The cathedral as the physical symbol of that balance really stuck with me too.
Still wrapping my head around how the “artist-metaphysician” fits into all of it, but I like the thought that mastery isn’t just moral or intellectual but also kinda creative. Makes me think learning to compose with the forces instead of being ruled by them is sorta the theme.
Can't say I completely grasp it all but really enjoyed this eitger way!
Thanks for the comment; you have this exactly right. The next step after mastering the basics of some complex medium or activity is to learn to create through it. Great men (and great women) at some point in their lives ought to strive toward that, both within themselves and together with good friends.
There’s a lot of big words in that, but once I got to the triangle it all made sense. That really clarifies a lot of things, and not just in the novel either.
This is amazing! And I agree mean girls is a great movie