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| | Post New Topic | | An interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel – "Of Human Bondage" | Views: 229 | | Aug 26, 2009 5:24 am | | An interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel – "Of Human Bondage" | # | 
Venkatesan Iyengar | |
"Of Human Bondage"
W. Somerset Maugham
Chapter XIV
Then a wave of religiosity passed through the school. Bad language was no longer heard, and the little nastinesses of small boys were looked upon with hostility; the bigger boys, like the lords temporal of the Middle Ages, used the strength of their arms to persuade those weaker than themselves to virtuous courses.
Philip, his restless mind avid for new things, became very devout. He heard soon that it was possible to join a Bible League, and wrote to London for particulars. These consisted in a form to be filled up with the applicant's name, age, and school; a solemn declaration to be signed that he would read a set portion of Holy Scripture every night for a year; and a request for half a crown; this, it was explained, was demanded partly to prove the earnestness of the applicant's desire to become a member of the League, and partly to cover clerical expenses. Philip duly sent the papers and the money, and in return received a calendar worth about a penny, on which was set down the appointed passage to be read each day, and a sheet of paper on one side of which was a picture of the Good Shepherd and a lamb, and on the other, decoratively framed in red lines, a short prayer which had to be said before beginning to read.
Every evening he undressed as quickly as possible in order to have time for his task before the gas was put out. He read industriously, as he read always, without criticism, stories of cruelty, deceit, ingratitude, dishonesty, and low cunning. Actions which would have excited his horror in the life about him, in the reading passed through his mind without comment, because they were committed under the direct inspiration of God.
The method of the League was to alternate a book of the Old Testament with a book of the New, and one night Philip came across these words of Jesus Christ:
"If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig-tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
"And all this, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
They made no particular impression on him, but it happened that two or three days later, being Sunday, the Canon in residence chose them for the text of his sermon. Even if Philip had wanted to hear this it would have been impossible, for the boys of King's School sit in the choir, and the pulpit stands at the corner of the transept so that the preacher's back is almost turned to them. The distance also is so great that it needs a man with a fine voice and a knowledge of elocution to make himself heard in the choir; and according to long usage the Canons of Tercanbury are chosen for their learning rather than for any qualities which might be of use in a cathedral church. But the words of the text, perhaps because he had read them so short a while before, came clearly enough to Philip's ears, and they seemed on a sudden to have a personal application. He thought about them through most of the sermon, and that night, on getting into bed, he turned over the pages of the Gospel and found once more the passage.
Though he believed implicitly everything he saw in print, he had learned already that in the Bible things that said one thing quite clearly often mysteriously meant another. There was no one he liked to ask at school, so he kept the question he had in mind till the Christmas holidays, and then one day he made an opportunity. It was after supper and prayers were just finished. Mrs. Carey was counting the eggs that Mary Ann had brought in as usual and writing on each one the date. Philip stood at the table and pretended to turn listlessly the pages of the Bible.
"I say, Uncle William, this passage here, does it really mean that?"
He put his finger against it as though he had come across it accidentally.
Mr. Carey looked up over his spectacles. He was holding The Blackstable Times in front of the fire. It had come in that evening damp from the press, and the Vicar always aired it for ten minutes before he began to read.
"What passage is that?" he asked.
"Why, this about if you have faith you can remove mountains."
"If it says so in the Bible it is so, Philip," said Mrs. Carey gently, taking up the plate-basket.
Philip looked at his uncle for an answer.
"It's a matter of faith."
"D'you mean to say that if you really believed you could move mountains you could?"
"By the grace of God," said the Vicar.
"Now, say good-night to your uncle, Philip," said Aunt Louisa. "You're not wanting to move a mountain tonight, are you?"
Philip allowed himself to be kissed on the forehead by his uncle and preceded Mrs. Carey upstairs. He had got the information he wanted. His little room was icy, and he shivered when he put on his nightshirt. But he always felt that his prayers were more pleasing to God when he said them under conditions of discomfort. The coldness of his hands and feet were an offering to the Almighty. And tonight he sank on his knees; buried his face in his hands, and prayed to God with all his might that He would make his club-foot whole. It was a very small thing beside the moving of mountains. He knew that God could do it if He wished, and his own faith was complete. Next morning, finishing his prayers with the same request, he fixed a date for the miracle.
"Oh, God, in Thy loving mercy and goodness, if it be Thy will, please make my foot all right on the night before I go back to school."
He was glad to get his petition into a formula, and he repeated it later in the dining-room during the short pause which the Vicar always made after prayers, before he rose from his knees. He said it again in the evening and again, shivering in his nightshirt, before he got into bed.
And he believed. For once he looked forward with eagerness to the end of the holidays. He laughed to himself as he thought of his uncle's astonishment when he ran down the stairs three at a time; and after breakfast he and Aunt Louisa would have to hurry out and buy a new pair of boots. At school they would be astounded.
"Hulloa, Carey, what have you done with your foot?"
"Oh, it's all right now," he would answer casually, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
He would be able to play football. His heart leaped as he saw himself running, running, faster than any of the other boys. At the end of the Easter term there were the sports, and he would be able to go in for the races; he rather fancied himself over the hurdles. It would be splendid to be like everyone else, not to be stared at curiously by new boys who did not know about his deformity, nor at the baths in summer to need incredible precautions, while he was undressing, before he could hide his foot in the water.
He prayed with all the power of his soul. No doubts assailed him. He was confident in the word of God. And the night before he was to go back to school he went up to bed tremulous with excitement. There was snow on the ground, and Aunt Louisa had allowed herself the unaccustomed luxury of a fire in her bed-room; but in Philip's little room it was so cold that his fingers were numb, and he had great difficulty in undoing his collar. His teeth chattered. The idea came to him that he must do something more than usual to attract the attention of God, and he turned back the rug which was in front of his bed so that he could kneel on the bare boards; and then it struck him that his nightshirt was a softness that might displease his Maker, so he took it off and said his prayers naked. When he got into bed he was so cold that for some time he could not sleep, but when he did, it was so soundly that Mary Ann had to shake him when she brought in his hot water next morning. She talked to him while she drew the curtains, but he did not answer; he had remembered at once that this was the morning for the miracle. His heart was filled with joy and gratitude. His first instinct was to put down his hand and feel the foot which was whole now, but to do this seemed to doubt the goodness of God. He knew that his foot was well. But at last he made up his mind, and with the toes of his right foot he just touched his left. Then he passed his hand over it.
He limped downstairs just as Mary Ann was going into the dining-room for prayers, and then he sat down to breakfast.
"You're very quiet this morning, Philip," said Aunt Louisa presently.
"He's thinking of the good breakfast he'll have at school to-morrow," said the Vicar.
When Philip answered, it was in a way that always irritated his uncle, with something that had nothing to do with the matter in hand. He called it a bad habit of wool-gathering.
"Supposing you'd asked God to do something," said Philip, "and really believed it was going to happen, like moving a mountain, I mean, and you had faith, and it didn't happen, what would it mean?"
"What a funny boy you are!" said Aunt Louisa. "You asked about moving mountains two or three weeks ago."
"It would just mean that you hadn't got faith," answered Uncle William.
Philip accepted the explanation. If God had not cured him, it was because he did not really believe. And yet he did not see how he could believe more than he did. But perhaps he had not given God enough time. He had only asked Him for nineteen days. In a day or two he began his prayer again, and this time he fixed upon Easter. That was the day of His Son's glorious resurrection, and God in His happiness might be mercifully inclined. But now Philip added other means of attaining his desire: he began to wish, when he saw a new moon or a dappled horse, and he looked out for shooting stars; during exeat they had a chicken at the vicarage, and he broke the lucky bone with Aunt Louisa and wished again, each time that his foot might be made whole. He was appealing unconsciously to gods older to his race than the God of Israel. And he bombarded the Almighty with his prayer, at odd times of the day, whenever it occurred to him, in identical words always, for it seemed to him important to make his request in the same terms. But presently the feeling came to him that this time also his faith would not be great enough. He could not resist the doubt that assailed him. He made his own experience into a general rule.
"I suppose no one ever has faith enough," he said.
It was like the salt which his nurse used to tell him about: you could catch any bird by putting salt on his tail; and once he had taken a little bag of it into Kensington Gardens. But he could never get near enough to put the salt on a bird's tail. Before Easter he had given up the struggle.
He felt a dull resentment against his uncle for taking him in. The text which spoke of the moving of mountains was just one of those that said one thing and meant another. He thought his uncle had been playing a practical joke on him.
Private Reply to Venkatesan Iyengar | | Aug 26, 2009 8:15 am | | re: An interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel – "Of Human Bondage& | # | 
Denis Gibbon | | Thank you Venkatesan for your post. It has given me the opening to make some points that I have wanted to make for some time.
As I read this excerpt I couldn't help feeling very sad. Yes, I felt sad for this young boy who having done the best with the information that he had been given, was obviously very disappointed that his prayers to God did not heal his club foot. He hoped it would, but hope in having what we want so very often sets us up for disappointment proportionate to the intensity of our hope. Nevertheless, he probably learnt a valuable lesson, and that is that God does not necessarily give us what we ask for. He gives us what He, in His perfect wisdom and knowledge knows is best for us. This lesson should have been made clear to him in his biblical study, but so often for one reason or another the essential teachings are not delivered.
So many billions of people go through life believing things which are simply not true. This is the saddest part of this story. Many of these mis-informed people spend the rest of their lives hopping from one religion to another desperately trying to find the truth that will set them free from the pain and suffering in their lives. Others give up on religion all together and prefer to make the best of their lives in their own strength. I remember a comment made to me by a young Chinese student. She asked, "how can someone as educated as you believe in God?" In China, so many young people are brought up to believe in Science, not God. I remember when bibles were prohibited in China by Law. I asked the student if she had ever read Lao Tzu or Confucius. She recognized their names, but told me that she had never read their writings. Well, I told her that these great Chinese Philosophers actually taught a philosophy that came close to an understanding of God. Recently, I learnt that some essential aspects of this ancient Chinese philosophy correspond to the teachings of the Kabbalah.
God knows all our needs. Our faith must be in God and in nothing else. God does what God does, and whatever He does has the purpose of bringing us into a relationship with Him so that we can enjoy His comfort for all eternity. The acceptance of suffering of all kinds for His sake as a sacrificial gift to Him, attracts God's attention, because it is so un-natural for man who is so desirous of attaining pleasure and happiness, to gladly offer his pains to God. Accordingly, God blesses us with unseen blessings that help us in mysterious ways. God is present in all of our actions and is particularly interested in them. He wants our characters to become more and more like His. This is a process of transformation. We can never be good, but we can do good things, and every good thing we do which is in accord with the character of God attracts special graces.
I remember the story of a Surgeon who was tempted to terminate the life of an newborn baby because it had a club foot. Fortunately, the Surgeon decided against it, because many years later his son was diagnosed with a very rare blood disease. Providentially, he was given the name of an internationally acclaimed expert in this particular disease.
To make the point quickly, it turned out that this expert was the very same person who years before he was tempted to terminate because of his club foot.
COPYRIGHT 2009 Denis Gibbon, Dip. Couns. & Hyp.
Tell me how much extra money you need a week,
and I will help you get it. Call me now:
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Private Reply to Denis Gibbon | | Aug 26, 2009 9:21 am | | re: Interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel – "Of Human Bondage&quo | # | 
Peter Boaz Jones | | Very well said Denis!
In referring to the original article, of course many forget that the God of Israel was the same God from the beginning nearly 2200 years before Jacob was renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28), and the God of Abraham (“2055-1880BC) revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
“I call it Tao.
If forced to give it a name, I shall call it Great.
Now being great means functioning everywhere.
Functioning everywhere means far-reaching.
Being far-reaching means returning to the original point.
Therefore Tao is great.” - Lao Tzu
“A man who reviews the old so as to find out the new is qualified to teach others.” - Confucius
“After He had fashioned the image of the Chariot of Supernal Man, He descended into it and was known under the image of YHVH [the LORD], so that man might apprehend Him through His attributes, through each of them severally, and He was called El, Elohim, Shaddai, Zeva'ot, and YHVH [the LORD], so that man might apprehend Him through each of His attributes and perceive how the world is governed by kindness and by justice in accordance with men's deeds.” - bk. 2, 42b from the main Kabbalistic work, the Zohar
“It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive.” - W. Somerset Maugham
Pete :-) Moderator of: Exploring Belief Systems, God, & Spirituality
http://beliefsystemsgodspirituality-network.ryze.com
Author of The Gospel of the Four
http://www.new-millennium.co.uk
Private Reply to Peter Boaz Jones | | Aug 27, 2009 1:57 am | | re: re: An interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel – "Of Human Bond | # |
Venkatesan Iyengar | |
Denis,
I posted the extract just to highlight, through a childs poignant thoughts (as presented by Maugham), what a tricky affair faith is:
If you have faith, you can achieve things.
There are achievable things (like passing exam, getting money, curing mild illness) and unachievable things (like growing a new leg instead of a deformed one, moving mountains, etc.)
Interestingly, we, the faithfuls, pray to god with faith only for things that are achievable (even without gods help).
We dont pray, for example, to god with faith for things that are unachievable (like growing a new leg instead of an amputated one, etc.)
One can argue that with faith, one can move mountains.
And, when the mountain does not move, we can say that the person did not have enough faith.
And, no one knows what is the right amount of faith needed to move a mountain.
So, literal interpretation of religious texts is a slippery ground (like people interpret 666 as the sign of devil!)
And, unfortunately, at the same time, figurative interpretation of religious texts is subjective and hence is bound to differ from people to people.
The boy in the extract concludes, The text which spoke of the moving of mountains was just one of those that said one thing and meant another.
A win-win situation for faith, no doubt!
--
Re:
Your (Denis') words, "God does not necessarily give us what we ask for. He gives us what He, in His perfect wisdom and knowledge knows is best for us."
Take for example, pedophile victims (children) -- cases that you get to read in newspapers.
Did god "in His perfect wisdom and knowledge" knew this (sexual abuse) was what "best" for them? Is this what the children deserved?
Private Reply to Venkatesan Iyengar | | Aug 27, 2009 3:14 am | | re: Interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Of Human Bondage" | # |
Peter Boaz Jones | | Faith without the Holy Spirit is a dead faith and cannot on its own look forward to any miraculous end product, regardless of how much faith the person may have without God. That would be just coincidental.
The miracles that Jesus performed were to accentuate His ministry, and though He envisioned that greater miracles would over the centuries and in this modern age even in number in that sense be greater, Jesus did not perform any miracles that had not got some physical element still attached to the miracle.
The losing of limbs, though science in many ways are even growing certain aspects of tissue, the losing of a member is a costly mistake or an accident and though God can intervene in stopping an accident, time and chance is the freewill law that God put in motion so that humankind could not turn around to God and blame Him for everything in their lives.
Indeed faith can move mountains in the allegorical sense that even if we had faith which is a spiritual medium as compared allegorically to a grain of a mustard seeds size (Matthew 17:20), the power that it can exude at the correct time would indeed move mountains in the literal sense if needed. The discovery of splitting the atom made this also literally possible. Though the context where Jesus said this was when the disciples could not heal the deaf mute child.
Some seem to believe that you have to workup faith to a certain amount before it can work. Jesus as related in the above paragraph indicated that everyone can know what is the right amount of faith needed to move a mountain.
Also the classic mistake that many make in not understanding that a literal interpretation of religious texts is not a slippery pursuit since in true comprehension, everything is meant to be taken literally even if dealing with allegorical texts such as parables, which do have a literal meaning.
For instance 666 is the number of the prophesied Beast which is also the number of an individual and the very political system (past Roman Empire) which could depending on many factors if humanity was not aware, be the system that many would suffer from in the future (Revelations 14:11-18). Of course since this system is identified as being evil as such it is also linked to being related to the Devil.
Pete :-) Moderator of: Exploring Belief Systems, God, & Spirituality
http://beliefsystemsgodspirituality-network.ryze.com
Author of The Gospel of the Four
http://www.new-millennium.co.uk
Private Reply to Peter Boaz Jones | | Aug 27, 2009 5:36 am | | re: re: Interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Of Human Bondage&quo | # |
Venkatesan Iyengar | |
This is going nowhere.
All I can say is I understand the compulsions!
Private Reply to Venkatesan Iyengar | | Aug 27, 2009 5:43 am | | re: Interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Of Human Bondage&quo | # |
Peter Boaz Jones | |
The compulsion is that it is going back to the Garden.
Pete :-) Moderator of: Exploring Belief Systems, God, & Spirituality
http://beliefsystemsgodspirituality-network.ryze.com
Author of The Gospel of the Four
http://www.new-millennium.co.uk
Private Reply to Peter Boaz Jones | | Aug 27, 2009 10:30 am | | re: re: Interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Of Human Bondage& | # |
Denis Gibbon | | Ven.
The question you ask is why bad things (child abuse) happen to innocent people. I think I answered this question in a recent post. In Homoeopathic Medicine this subject comes up all the time. The simple answer is that through the many violations of God's Law by our ancestors from way back when, we are all born with a unique susceptibility to various kinds of diseases and disorders. So because of this, certain children are more lifely to attract child abuse than others and certain people are more likely to be child abusers than others. We certainly do not understand the complex causes which bring about these susceptibilities and ideosyncracies (e.g. allergies), but in general terms it is accepted that they are the residual effects of violations of God's Laws which after all include the Laws of Nature.
Nevertheless God is willing to poor out His Love and Help to provide the wisdom needed in dealing with these problems. Tis does not necessarily make the problems disappear, but simply enables them to work for our good in accordance with His Divine plan.
COPYRIGHT 2009 Denis Gibbon, Dip. Couns. & Hyp.
Tell me how much extra money you need a week,
and I will help you get it. Call me now:
Voicemail: +1-877-501-3399 helpforpain@gmail.com
Private Reply to Denis Gibbon | | Aug 28, 2009 2:56 am | | re: Interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Of Human Bondage& | # |
Peter Boaz Jones | |
Well said, Denis!
Pete :-) Moderator of: Exploring Belief Systems, God, & Spirituality
http://beliefsystemsgodspirituality-network.ryze.com
Author of The Gospel of the Four
http://www.new-millennium.co.uk
Private Reply to Peter Boaz Jones | | Aug 29, 2009 1:42 pm | | re: re: Interesting and poignant excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham's novel "Of Human Bondage& | # | 
Warrior Monk | | Being far-reaching means returning to the original point...
Uncanny how philosophers give you glimpses of the truth
very nicely put.
Monk.
Private Reply to Warrior Monk | | Aug 30, 2009 1:19 am | | re: Poignant Excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham | # |
Peter Boaz Jones | |
"The most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency". - W. Somerset Maugham
Pete :-) Moderator of: Exploring Belief Systems, God, & Spirituality
http://beliefsystemsgodspirituality-network.ryze.com
Author of The Gospel of the Four
http://www.new-millennium.co.uk
Private Reply to Peter Boaz Jones | | Sep 03, 2009 6:25 pm | | re: re: Poignant Excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham | # | 
Christina Daly | | Venkatesan, have you ever read "The Little Prince?" You might want to include it on your reading list. Children see the world through clear and uncluttered eyes. It's we adults who complicate it. Clearly, the child was much to young to understand allegory. Clearly, his mind was still simple and literal. It's a good question to ask why this passage didn't bear the test of trial. It was his Uncle/Aunt's place to explain allegory to him. Growing up, I think injustice and betrayal are the most difficult realities for children to comprehend. For Somerset Maugham, this story was slightly autobriographical. He suffered from a stammer, and partially because of this disability studied medicine and became a surgeon long before becoming a prolific author and playwright. I'm sure that writing this book/play must have been a cathartic experience for him.
Regarding Christianity, the only way I can learn from the Bible is to look at it as inspired allegory and story telling. Whether or not certain events actually happened, seems irrelevant to me. The stories are inspirational and reveal truths which can help me forge my own journey. The central truths are simple; like the Golden Rule. One doesn't have to be a scholar to learn. My view is slightly profane to the Catholic/Fundamental Church's teachings, but so be it. It's my truth.
Christina Daly
Private Reply to Christina Daly | | Oct 04, 2009 8:57 am | | re: Poignant Excerpt from W. Somerset Maugham | # |
Peter Boaz Jones | |
Truly well said, Christina, but Venkatesan is tripping.
Pete :-) Moderator of: Exploring Belief Systems, God, & Spirituality
http://beliefsystemsgodspirituality-network.ryze.com
Author of The Gospel of the Four
http://www.new-millennium.co.uk
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