Alpha and Omega

ἐγὼ τὸ ἄλφα καὶ τὸ ὦ, ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος, ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος.

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’

(Rev. 22:13, Tyndale Greek New Testament)

These words may look familiar – a quotation from Jesus in the very final chapter of the Bible, in the book of Revelation. Particularly striking is the use of the first and last letters of the alphabet to describe Jesus. What is going on here? This seems like an interesting question to explore in the middle of the festive period. (Readers who want to pursue the question further might be interested in reading the articles given in the references below, which I have used in the preparation of this post.)

Mural painting from the catacomb of Commodilla (C4th AD). Image from HERE.

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Personal tragedy, winter haiku d’hiver tragédie personnelle – in the dead of winter = au coeur de l’hiver

Richard Vallance has posted some lovely Haiku’s recently but now this one is a sad one but I just had to re blog it.

Canadian Zen Haiku canadien ISSN 1705-4508

Personal tragedy, winter haiku d’hiver tragédie personnelle – in the dead of winter = au coeur de l’hiverin the dead of wintermy tortoiseshell cat Daisystone cold dead

au coeur de l’hiverma chatte écaille de tortue Daisy raide morteRichard VallanceI just found my adorable tortoiseshell cat, Daisy, dead in the bathtub upstairs today, Friday 28, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. She was 15 years old. I feel shattered by her death.Je viens de trouver ma chatte écaille de tortue adorable, Daisy, morte dans la baignoire, aujourd’hui, à seize heures quinze, vendredi, le 28 décembre, 2018. Elle avait quinze ans. Je me sens ébranlé par sa mort.    

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summer haiku d’été – baby elephant = un éléphanteau

Canadian Zen Haiku canadien ISSN 1705-4508

summer haiku d’été – baby elephant = un éléphanteaubaby elephantlost on the steppes -her mother shot

un éléphanteauperdu dans les steppes -sa mère abattueRichard Vallance

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spring haiku de printemps = white wolf – un loup blanc

Canadian Zen Haiku canadien ISSN 1705-4508

spring haiku de printemps = white wolf - un loup blanca white wolfon a rock in quiet waterin his own eyes

sur un rocher dans l’eau tranquille un loup blancdans ses propres yeuxRichard Vallance

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summer haiku d’été – puppy Koko = chiot Koko

Canadian Zen Haiku canadien ISSN 1705-4508

summer haiku d’été – puppy Koko = chiot Koko puppy Kokoon the terrace –study in peace

chiot Kokosur la terrasse –étude en paix Richard VallanceKoko is Rita Robert’s stunningly beautiful little dog.Koko est le chien d’une beauté éblouissante de Rita Roberts.

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summer haiku d’été – common loons = plongeons huards

Here is some information for those of you who are interested in this subject .

Canadian Zen Haiku canadien ISSN 1705-4508

summer haiku d’été - common loons = plongeons huardscommon loonsphantom howlerspierce the moon

plongeons huardsfantômes qui hurlentpercent la lune
Richard VallanceCommentary on the rhythm and format of Canadian haiku:In my view, the rhythm and assonance of haiku should be poetic, otherwise the haiku is not poetry.Moreover, the so-called 5-7-5 syllable convention = 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second and 5 syllables in the third line is not valid whatsoever, because it does not exist in Japanese. Haiku should be free form, allowing anywhere from 7 or 8 to 17 syllables. For instance, in the common loons haiku in English above, we have 3-4-3 = 10 syllables. And since the grammar and syntax of different languages is never the same, the same haiku in French runs to 4-4-3 = 11 syllables, which is scarcely surprising. All too many…

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summer haiku d’été – Vincent van Gogh

Here is a lovely Haiku from Richard Vallance. I especially like this particular painting of Vincent Van Gogh.

Canadian Zen Haiku canadien ISSN 1705-4508

summer haiku d’été - Vincent van GoghVincent van Goghat Saint-Rémy-de-Provenceon a starry night 

Vincent van Goghà Saint-Rémy-de-Provence -nuit étoiléeRichard Vallance JankeVincent van Gogh painted “Starry Night” in 1889 during his stay at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near  Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.Vincent van Gogh a peinturé “Nuit étoilée” en 1889 pendant son séjour à l’asile de Saint-Paul-de-Mausole près de Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.   

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Translating Homer, Criticizing Translations

SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE

Sir Leslie Stephen, Alexander Pope:

“It is hard to understand at the present day the audacity which could lead a man so ill qualified in point of classical acquirements to undertake such a task. And yet Pope undoubtedly achieved, in some true sense, an astonishing success. He succeeded commercially; for Lintot, after supplying the subscription copies gratuitously, and so losing the cream of the probable purchasers, made a fortune by the remaining sale. He succeeded in the judgment both of the critics and of the public of the next generation. Johnson calls the Homer ‘the noblest version of poetry the world has ever seen.’ Gray declared that no other translation would ever equal it, and Gibbon that it had every merit except that of faithfulness to the original. This merit of fidelity, indeed, was scarcely claimed by any one. Bentley’s phrase—’a pretty poem, Mr. Pope, but you must not…

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winter haiku in Mycenaean Linear B, ancient Greek, English and French, snow on the summit

Canadian Zen Haiku canadien ISSN 1705-4508

winter haiku in Mycenaean Linear B, ancient Greek, English and French, snow on the summit, with the English version below and all of the other languages on the haiku image of the mountain and the church:snow on the summitof a Cretan mountain −a church

Richard VallanceREPOST from 2017

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Minoan mythology: Britomartis

Under the influence!

Britomartis was a goddess of hunters, mountains and fishermen of the Minoan civilization that evolved on the island of Crete from about 2700 to 1450 BC.  There are many conflicting parts of the Britomartis story in Greek mythology. This may possibly be due to it having originated with an earlier civilisation before becoming adopted and adapted later by the Greeks as their civilisation grew in influence and power.  This process of adaptation can be found in other Greek legends. For example the birth of Zeus in Crete, Europa and the bull, Apollo brought Cretans to Delphi to be priests of his cult and there are many other instances.

The story of Britomartis – Public Domain

Minos falls in love with Britomartis

Britomartis was the daughter of Zeus and Carme and was born at Caeo on Crete as one of the Cretan nymphs. She became a huntress and hunted the wild…

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