THE SONG OF THE STRANGE ASCETIC

Possibly the most articulate and powerful condemnation of the 'Protestant Ethic' that I know of... this again refers to the inherent confusion of the Protestant heresy, namely, in this case, how it is Pagan, without all of the delights & allure of Paganism; and that the strange asceticism of Lutherans and the like is of an entirely material nature, in the worst possible sense - that is to say, the sense of economics & of 'good health'....

This is also one of the finest pieces of poetry of the 20th Century (slight praise, I know, but you get the picture).... 

(the latter three illustrations courtesy of Ben Hathke)




THE SONG OF THE STRANGE ASCETIC



If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have praised the purple vine,
My slaves should dig the vineyards,
And I would drink the wine.
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And his slaves grow lean and grey,
That he may drink some tepid milk
Exactly twice a day.





If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have crowned Neaera's curls,
And filled my life with love affairs,
My house with dancing girls;
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And to lecture rooms is forced,
Where his aunts, who are not married,
Demand to be divorced.

If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have sent my armies forth,
And dragged behind my chariots
The Chieftains of the North.
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And he drives the dreary quill,
To lend the poor that funny cash
That makes them poorer still.




If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have piled my pyre on high,
And in a great red whirlwind
Gone roaring to the sky;
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And a richer man than I:
And they put him in an oven,
Just as if he were a pie.


Now who that runs can read it,
The riddle that I write,
Of why this poor old sinner,
Should sin without delight-
But I, I cannot read it
(Although I run and run),
Of them that do not have the faith,
And will not have the fun. ~ G.K. Chesterton