"History is past politics,
and politics is present history."
This statement attributed to Sir John Robert Seeley (1834-1895), finds it origin in the works of John
Gower (1330-1408) and Geoffrey Chaucer (1334-1400). As a consequence of their world-view that perceived history, politics,
and religion as diversity in unity, it was impossible for these men to separate religion from history and politics. Thus,
religious commentary is to be found throughout their historical and political works.
For those who may wish to explore how these men addressed the relationship
between history, politics, and religion, start with their works cited below.
John Gower is best known for three long
poems united by common political and moral (religious) themes. They are: Mirror de
L’Omme (Mirror of the Man) composed in French, Vox Clamantis (The Voice
of Clamantis) composed in Latin, and Confessio Amantis (Confession of a Lover)
composed in English.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s works include: Book of Duchess, Troilus and Criseyde, and his best known work, the Canterbury Tales,
as well as lesser known poems. The Book of the Duchess is the earliest of Chaucer’s major poems. Overwhelming
evidence, although disputed by some, suggests he wrote the poem to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster
who was the wife of John Gaunt.
The poem tells the story of the poet’s dream. Wandering in the woods, the poet discovers a knight clothed in black and inquires of his sorrow. Throughout the poem, pieces of the knight’s story become more and more apparent, until the cause of his
mourning is plainly seen.
Troilus is a Trojan prince mentioned by Homer in the Iliad. In Medieval poetic form, Troilus is first set in the genre of courtly romance by Benoit de Saint-Maure
in his poem Roman de Troie. Giovanni Boccaccio re-wrote the story of Troilus
in Il Filostrato which was Chaucer’s primary source for his Troilus and Criseyde. Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida is
based in part on Chaucer’s rendition and the poem is continued in nuanced form in Robert Henryson’s,
Testament of Cresseid.
The Canterbury
Tales (two of them in prose, the rest in verse, some of which are originals and others not) are contained within a "frame
tale" and are told by a collection of pilgrims on a pilgrimage from Southwark
to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
Although the Canterbury Tales are considered to be Chaucer's
magnum opus, some scholars believe
the structure of the book is indebted to the works of Boccaccio's 14th century, The
Decameron, which Chaucer is said to have read on a visit to Italy.
John R. Seeley’s best known works
are Ecce Homo that deals with the humanity of Christ; The Expansion of England that relates the colonial and commercial aspects of Britain’s struggle with France;
and The Growth of British Policy that is a survey of the foundations of the British
empire from the reign of Elizabeth I to William III.
The Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Paine also knew the truth of the relationship between history, politics,
and religion. In fact, there is no other figure in American history, including America's "Everyman" Benjamin Franklin,
that so personified in both his personal and professional life the juxtaposition of these three currents central to the human
experience.
If not the first, Paine is certainly the
best known of America’s humanists
who embodied the higher values of the Enlightenment. It is the principles of the Enlightenment that informed Paine to write, The Age of Reason, which was a treatise that supported Deism and in which he states:
I do not believe in the creed professed by
the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church
that I know of. My own mind is my own church.
All national institutions of churches, whether
Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize
power and profit.
However, Paine is best known for his works Common Sense
and The Crisis. Common Sense was a
pro-Independence monograph and was the best selling work in 18th century America. After reading it, both George Washington and John Adams were compelled
to seek political independence from Great Britain.
Yet, The Crisis is the best known of Paine's works. He
begins The Crisis with the immortal words:
These are the times that try men's souls: The
summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands
it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation
with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it
is dearness only that gives every thing its value.
General George Washington was so moved by these words, he read them to his troops on Christmas morning, 1776.
It was all he could give them to sustain them through the long years of war to come.
My historical, political,
and religious commentaries are a tribute to John Gower, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Seeley, Thomas Paine, and their like-minded
brethren. Needless to say, the works of these men have greatly elevated my consciousness and informed my understanding of
the relationship between history, politics, and religion.
To that end, I consider myself not only indebted to them but also their heir. They
had the courage to stand up and speak out often in the face of derision and to a vitriolic response. Thus, in my own
small way, my historical, religious, and political commentary is my attempt to carry forward their ideals and message in the
form of new wineskins for the Twenty-First Century.
If anything I have written sparks your interest,
whether you agree or disagree, like John Gower, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Seeley, and Thomas Paine, I have achieved my purpose
in writing them.
