Monday, April 7, 2014

F is for Fruits of Solitude

    Have you ever taken a roundabout path to a favorite book? I do occasionally, but never more so than when a 21st century children's novel  led me to this 17th collection of  religious and philosophical maxims by William Penn, the great Quaker who founded the state of Pennsylvania.

It all began in July of 2007, when I sat down to my brand new, long awaited copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. On the front piece of the book, J K Rowling placed two quotes, both quite relevant to the book as it turned out; one was from a Greek tragedy, while the other was this from William Penn's   More Fruits of Solitude :

"Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still.
For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent.
In this divine glass they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure.
This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal."  

As excited as I was to get into the last Harry Potter book, the quote from William Penn caught my attention, as one of the best things I had ever read on death and friendship. I had 4 people standing in line waiting for me to finish Deathly Hallows, but I promised myself I would track the Penn book down once I was done.

A month or so after I finished Deathly Hallows I ran across a Harvard Classics edition containing both Fruits of Solitude and the
A  Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in a used book store, and snatched it  up. I learned there were actually 2 volumes, the first published in 1693, the other in 1702. 

Although  it takes a little getting used to the writing style, this book is much more readable than many works of the 17th century, especially once you get to the maxims.  Penn  wrote these books during several periods of exile and house arrest, and they do suggest the reflections  a person who has had a lot of time to think. He writes from a Quaker perspective, but there is much of value here for anyone, especially those who want to simplify the way they live their lives. For a book written more than 300 years ago, much rings true even today.  It's not a book many people would read cover to cover, I think, but its an excellent book to dip into for a little wisdom:
"""It is Reproach to Religion and Government to suffer so much Poverty and Excess".
"Never Marry but for Love; but see that thou lov'st what is lovely."
" If Love be not thy chiefest Motive, thou wilt soon grow weary of a Married State, and stray from thy Promise, to search out thy Pleasures in forbidden Places."
 T " There can be no Friendship where there is no Freedom. Friendship loves a free Air, and will not be penned up in straight and narrow Enclosures. It will speak freely, and act so too; and take nothing ill where no ill."

 "A true Friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a Friend unchangeably"

" Believe nothing against another but upon good Authority: Nor report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to others to conceal it."


There's a lot more wisdom in this book. But if Penn had written nothing else, I would still treasure  the section titled: "The Union of Friends" from which Ms Rowling took her quote:

"They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it.
Death cannot kill what never dies.
Nor can spirits ever be divided, that love and live in the same divine principle, the root and record of their friendship.
If absence be not death, neither is theirs.
Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still.
For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent.
In this divine glass they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure.
This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal."


   I have thought a lot about this quote, and especially the statements "They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it" and "Death is but crossing the worlds, as friends do the sea."  In William Penn's time people travelled from the old world to the new and one might not hear from them for years, if at all.  And persons also might return to England (as Penn himself did) leaving loved ones behind in the Americas. Even though one didn't hear from these friends, they were still there, on the other side of the world. going about their lives.  It is the most perfect expression I have ever found for the feeling of losing a loved one, they are out of sight and communication, and yet still around.  
I        If Penn had written nothing else he would still be important to me, because of this quote. But there is much of merit in Fruits of Solitude, for those who wish to take the time to explore it.

This post is part of the A-Z blogging challenge
click on the link above for more information

6 comments:

  1. I’m the kind of person who likes to be by herself. To put a finer point on it, I’m the type of person who doesn't find it painful to be alone. I find spending an hour or two every day running alone, not speaking to anyone. I've had this tendency ever since I was young, when, given a choice, I much preferred reading books on my own or concentrating on listening to music over being with someone else. I could always think of things to do by myself.

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    1. You would agree with Thoreau then that there is no companion more companionable than solitude. The wonderful thing about books is that they can allow you to separate yourself even in a crowded space.

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  2. So much I need to read! (and I am stuck in the middle of a book I am not even enjoying)

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    1. Oh, I know how that is. I recently read several books on the Holocaust back to back because the Girl had to read them in school and I wanted to be able to help her. They were excellent books but by the time I was done I really needed to read something funny or at least optimistic.

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  3. Wow, what a great story as to how you found that book. It's funny how things fall into our lives at just the right time.

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    1. It is, isn't it. I believe in synchronicity, and this was a great example of it in my life.

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