From Jubilate Agno

from Jubilate Agno

BY CHRISTOPHER SMART

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.

For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.

For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.

For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.

For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.

For he rolls upon prank to work it in.

For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.

For this he performs in ten degrees.

For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.

For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.

For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.

For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.

For fifthly he washes himself.

For sixthly he rolls upon wash.

For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.

For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.

For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.

For tenthly he goes in quest of food.

For having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbour.

For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.

For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.

For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.

For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.

For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary.

For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.

For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.

For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.

For he is of the tribe of Tiger.

For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.

For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.

For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.

For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he’s a good Cat.

For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.

For every house is incomplete without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.

For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.

For every family had one cat at least in the bag.

For the English Cats are the best in Europe.

For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.

For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.

For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.

For he is tenacious of his point.

For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.

For he knows that God is his Saviour.

For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.

For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.

For he is of the Lord’s poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually—Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.

For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.

For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat.

For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in music.

For he is docile and can learn certain things.

For he can set up with gravity which is patience upon approbation.

For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.

For he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive.

For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.

For he can jump from an eminence into his master’s bosom.

For he can catch the cork and toss it again.

For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.

For the former is afraid of detection.

For the latter refuses the charge.

For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.

For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.

For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.

For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land.

For his ears are so acute that they sting again.

For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.

For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.

For I perceived God’s light about him both wax and fire.

For the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.

For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.

For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.

For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadruped.

For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.

For he can swim for life.

For he can creep.

The internet is being cut off in all the areas that are breaking out in riots and protests over the citizenship amendment bill all over the country. Just like to inform anyone who doesn't know this already. Please resort to other forms of communication and stay safe.

976 notes View Post

darthvoxpo

5 years ago

Where do you get your modern war and foreign policy news? Trying to figure out what's happening in with Turkey and Russia from a a strategic point of view but I can only find pieces from the big news outlets bogged down with unrelated politics and iffy knowledge on the subject.

In no particular order:

Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Defense One, The Cipher Brief, Brookings, RAND, Center for New American Security, Brookings, War on the Rocks, The Strategy Bridge, The Diplomat, School of Advanced International Studies, The Soufan Center, Divergent Opinions podcast, among others. Some of those require subscriptions, some do not. You might also want to look for the experts that are employed in places like RAND or Brookings for the AOR you’re interested in.

Thanks for the question, Luke.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

16 notes View Post

darthvoxpo

5 years ago

It’s 20fucking20 and here we are, still writing Barriss meta, apparently.

Tonight it’s lightsaber symbolism, because Anakin is very much fighting Barriss using her own lightsaber, and there’s a lot to unpack there.

On the one hand? This is…perverse. It’s viscerally wrong. It’s made very clear in TCW that lightsabers are powerfully magical weapons–soulbonded, in a sense. Your lightsaber is an extension of your being. “This lightsaber is your life.” The most powerful moments are the ones in which lightsabers willingly change hands.

Cody handing Obi-Wan his saber is literally him handing him his life back. Barriss and Ahsoka, trapped in a tank under a mountain of rubble. Ahsoka casually hands her lightsaber to Barriss to hold while she works to save them; when Barriss gives up and accepts that no one is coming for them (and this is a running theme–Barriss gives up and accepts her fate, while Ahsoka will never stop fighting for a chance at hope) she lets her own lightsaber fade. But Ahsoka’s she keeps lit, a thin blade of light against the darkness, as she takes her friend’s hand in the one that had previously been keeping her own flame lit so that neither of them will be alone when the end comes.

So let’s…talk about that.

Because there was no saber exchange this time. The first sign to Barriss that something is very wrong is that Anakin walks into her room and casually uses the Force to pick up her lightsaber where it rested on a small altar. He used the Force and immediately took control of her life with that casual movement. Picked it up against her will, to stop her from being able to take it, specifically to limit her options. And then he used it as a weapon against her–

Barriss is furious during that fight, and it’s not just because she’s finally expressing her pent-up rage. Anakin swung a live saber straight at her head at combat speed, in order to test her. If he had been wrong, he could very easily have killed her. With her own lightsaber.

Of course, there’s the flip side of that equation. Yes, Anakin fighting her with her own saber is…obscene. But he was also, this time, completely justified in taking it in the first place. Barriss is the one who set her Jedi lightsaber aside in the first place. Barriss is the one who chose instead to take up Sith blades, stolen by force. When Anakin attacked her, she didn’t use the Force to hold him off, or dodge, or try to take her lightsaber back. No. She reached for the Sith lightsabers she’d taken in order to pull off an elaborate deception to cover her own tracks.

(And spare Ahsoka. The only reason to try to frame Ventress in the first place is to spare Ahsoka, which is why it’s very clear Barriss didn’t intend to frame Ahsoka when she first bombed the Temple. She lost control of the situation, and framing Ventress would solve the clusterfuck she created by trying to solve the wild spiral.)

(But you’ll notice she doesn’t confess or try to come clean. If all that mattered was sparing Ahsoka from the mess Barriss accidentally created for her, if this was about righting a wrong–you’ll notice Barriss does not turn herself in.)

The reason Barriss doesn’t have her own lightsabers is because, well. She decided the Sith blades suited her.

Which is how we got to this scene:

Anakin wielding as a weapon against her the reflection of her own untainted soul.

344 notes View Post

darthvoxpo

5 years ago

1. Any calls you are seeing for a #DemExit2020 over Sanders losing are likely being amplified by Russian actors; remember, they want Trump in office and the US in disarray. They're all about dividing us and keeping us at each other's throats.

2. Biden, while scum, will be FAR easier to shove left than Trump, *especially* if we retake the Senate (or did you forget about downticket races...?) *We have a chance to get rid of Mitch McConnell this year*, but that only happens if you vote.

3. This is about harm reduction. Is Biden scum? Yes. Will he do far, far, FAR less damage than Trump? *YES*. This isn't just about the Presidency, it's about the Nazi troglodytes in the Cabinet. It's about keeping another anti-abortion justice out of the Supreme Court (and letting poor RBG rest).

4. Primary wise, we aren't out of the woods yet, go vote anyway, and remember your downticket races. If you are Sanders or were Warren, you have chances at putting in super leftists locally and into the Senate. Take them. Remember: Congress going blue in 2018 has made a HUGE difference in harm reduction. Remember the power AOC and Ilhan Omar have wielded, and now imagine what they could do with a democratic Senate. (Imagine Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Warren!)

5. Did I mention downticket races? I'll say it again. The *Senate* chooses to convict on an Impeachment. If we had a Democratic Senate, Trump would be *gone*.

(In case anyone accuses me of being a Biden stan, I am a long time Sanders supporter who also thinks Elizabeth Warren is cool & likes them both a lot. I think Biden sucks, but he's not *actively* trying to get me or my loved ones killed. Trump *is*.)

5K notes View Post

darthvoxpo

5 years ago

“You clap for us now.”

— Britain’s immigrants and children of immigrants who are key workers

Credit: created by Sachini Imbuldeniya

26K notes View Post

darthvoxpo

5 years ago

If you are scrolling through Tumblr trying to distract yourself from something you don’t want to think about, or you’re looking for a sign. It is going to be okay. Just breathe. You are alive and you matter.

454K notes View Post

darthvoxpo

2 years ago