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Saturday 27 June 2015

That secret depth: Thomas Traherne: A Serious and Pathetical Contemplation of the Mercies of God / Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga: In this world

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Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, March 2013

A Serious and Pathetical Contemplation of the Mercies of God

For all the mysteries, engines, instruments, wherewith the world is filled, which we are able to frame and use to thy glory.

For all the trades, variety of operations, cities, temples, streets, bridges, mariner's compass, admirable picture, sculpture, writing, printing, songs and music; wherewith the world is beautified and adorned.


       Much more for the regent life,
               And power of perception,
                      Which rules within.
       That secret depth of fathomless consideration
               That receives the information
                      Of all our senses,
       That makes our centre equal to the heavens,
               And comprehendeth in itself the magnitude of the world;
                      The involv’d mysteries
                              Of our common sense;
                      The inaccessible secret
                              Of perceptive fancy;
                      The repository and treasury
                              Of things that are past;
                      The presentation of things to come;
                              Thy name be glorified
                              For evermore.

                              O miracle
                                     Of divine goodness!
                      O fire! O flame of zeal, and love, and joy!
               Ev’n for our earthly bodies, hast thou created all things.
                                                 { visible
               All things    { material
                                                 { sensible
                      Animals,
                      Vegetables,
                      Minerals,
               Bodies celestial,
               Bodies terrestrial,
               The four elements,
               Volatile spirits,
       Trees, herbs, and flowers,
               The influences of heaven,
       Clouds, vapors, wind,
               Dew, rain, hail and snow,
       Light and darkness, night and day,
               The seasons of the year.
Springs, rivers, fountains, oceans,
       Gold, silver, and precious stones.
               Corn, wine, and oil,
       The sun, moon, and stars,
               Cities, nations, kingdoms.
And the bodies of men, the greatest treasures of all,
               For each other.
What then, O Lord, hast thou intended for our
Souls, who givest to our bodies such glorious things!

Thomas Traherne (1637-1674): from A Serious and Pathetic Contemplation of the Mercies of God, In Several most Devout and Sublime Thanksgivings for the same, 1699


Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Dorris, California]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, April 2015

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Vancouver, Washington]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, September 2012

Untitled | by el zopilote
 
Untitled [Salinas Valley, California]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, 2011

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, September 2012

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, August 2013

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizarraga, May 2013

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, July 2013
 
Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Pelton Dam, Deschutes, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, June 2013

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [La Grande, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, June 2013

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Willamette River, Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, January 2013

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, January 2013 
 
Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [La Grande, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, June 2013

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Samoa, California]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, April 2015

Untitled | by el zopilote

Untitled [Portland, Oregon]: photo by Jorge Guadalupe Lizárraga, April 2013

3 comments:

Hazen said...

Tom, Lizárraga has a wonderful eye for seeing, really seeing, the things of this world. His photos lend weight to the ordinary. They seem to say, quietly but without reservation, that everything is worthy of our contemplation. There's a caring, a concern for what's shown, in the same way that Traherne values "these glorious things".

TC said...

Hazen,

Yes, indeed -- "...weight to the ordinary. They seem to say, quietly but without reservation, that everything is worthy of our contemplation. There's a caring, a concern for what's shown..."

Very happy you have seen the connection here, and picked up on El Zopilote, as this terrific photographer calls himself.

"...a human geographer who studies and teaches about urban form, cultural landscapes, and the built environment."

"From any number of perspectives, Portland is a photogenic city... My eye, however, tends to follow the everyday life of the city, from [its] street life to its quickly disappearing industrial districts."

"All is in flux, nothing stays still."
– Heraclitus (c. 534 - 476 BCE)

Anonymous said...

para llegar al alma deberíamos apreciar el cuerpo y para llegar a lo espiritual deberíamos pasar por lo material (?)grandes imagenes !