a series of conversations (that never happened) documented in a series of letters (that were never sent)

horsemouth is up. a little later than usual. he's had his coffee. 

yesterday horsemouth turned the computer off and sat in the garden for a long steady read. as a result he was a little sunburnt and toasted by the time he went to bed (not quite british tourist lobster pink but still).  

he finished off mary and the giant (philip k.dick) which reminds him of cassavetes. it's the late 50ies.  

the book concerns a girl desperate to get out of her dull southern californian town (mary)  and a classical record shop (owned by the giant) but this is not to mention the black characters, for this is a novel about crossing the tracks, this is a novel that while, it has phil's love of western classical music, admits the pleasures of black music and black life. one of the black characters is a paul robeson type singer who sings in the town's only jazz club, the other (spoiler alert) is the pianist mary eventually runs off with to san francisco. except he isn't because the publishing company demanded a re-write and he becomes a white hipster.

already the paul robeson singer is seen as showbiz and phony (in this it resembles cassavetes). 

the folk scene is dealt with too. a bad news couple come to town and they bring a proto bob dylan with them - he talks and talks but he makes no sense. 

horsemouth also read the seventh provincial letter by pascal. 

he's had a go at reading the provincial letters before (so called because they are being sent from paris to the provinces to report on an abstruse theological dispute between the jansenists and their opponents the jesuits and the dominicans (who had ganged up upon them despite disagreeing on the matter under question). 

this book (like utopia) is a series of conversations (that never happened) documented in a series of letters (that were never sent). the seventh letter was allegedly sent on the 25th april 1656 (and that's why horsemouth chose to read it).

now pascal (and his sister) are jansenists and they just want to be left in peace, but ultimately they lose and the order is disbanded. the jesuits go on to be the order we know today but because of pascal's satire upon them they attain the uniquely besmirched reputation they have today. 

in letter seven pascal talks with a jesuit about directing the intention, how the laws of god (thou shalt not kill for example) may be adjusted to the dealings of men, or rather how the laws may stay the same but the man breaking that law (not to kill say) may still not have sinned as long as his intention was not to sin (kill) but to achieve something else (to avenge a slight upon his honour for example) which is permitted. 

by the end of it we are discussing when it would be permissible under jesuit interpretations for a priest to kill a slanderer with poison (and it still not be a sin as long as his intention  was right). 

it's an entertaining read (don't say it has given horsemouth ideas). 

letter eight was sent on the 28th of may (horsemouth will revisit it then).

today a work meeting (afternoon). before that a walk round (pleasant sunny morning).