The Pride of Man

Another reason my little nephew must learn to articulate his needs and desires, she pointed out, is that he needs to learn “please” and “thank you”, “yes” and “no”. This, of course, is another way of saying he needs to experience himself, and those around him, as persons.

As children we are all attracted to magic, both its mystery and power. When I asked a young woman at a farmer’s market in North Bay, Ontario, how they managed to keep everything so fresh she responded in a most delightful and childlike way. “O, I’m just an employee. I’m not allowed to know the farmer magic.”

This aspect of magic, and magical thinking, is an unmitigated delight to me. It’s the humble acceptance of the obvious fact – obvious to a child at least – that the universe is a place of infinite wonder filled with things we do not know, cannot know, don’t need to know, and perhaps don’t even want to know. But there is also the seductive power of magic. This aspect is more problematic, and should be viewed more sceptically.

We all want to exert power, to force our will upon the world. The discovery of this possibility is one of the primal experiences of infancy. Our demands (cries) produce desirable results, and then our smiles and gurgles do the same. We discover we can manipulate our hands, and the objects around us, including people. When we cannot manage a manipulation we can usually manage someone to manage it for us. One of the earliest games my children discovered was fetch. They would sit in the high chair and drop a spoon or cup or toy, and Mom, Dad, brother, sister would retrieve it. But if the retriever grew tired of the game and stopped retrieving the child would turn to angry shouts and cries in an attempt to get the job done.

A great stride in human development occurs, therefore, when a child first learns to ask politely. This move from demand to request is an acknowledgment that she or he is dealing with another person who also has needs and desires. Admittedly, this is just a new strategy of manipulation to begin with – “Say the magic word.” – so it’s very important that the polite request elicit a unyielding NO from time to time. As a child learns to take no for an answer a brand new notion begins to develop in her little mind and heart. She (or he) begins to entertain the strange possibility that those around her, and even the Universe in general, might be more than means by which her needs are met. And this gives rise to a companion notion that she doesn’t always have to get what she wants, and sometimes maybe doesn’t even want to get it. Sometimes what she wants isn’t good. Sometimes Mom, Dad, or the Universe may know better what is good.

Prayer of petition is a posture of humility toward God, the gods, the Universe. It is a request; never a demand. It’s always prepared to take no for an answer, because it acknowledges implicitly that it does not always know what is best, or even good. Sometimes it is said, “Be careful what you pray for; you might get it.”, but this is the great concern of magic, not prayer. We must always pray as little children, secure in the knowledge that the one who will not give a child a scorpion if he asks for an egg (Luke 11:12) will, likewise, not give a child a scorpion even if he should foolishly ask for one.

Something worth pondering:

Science is a powerful tool, but it is the child of alchemy, which is the child of magic. The power of Science is it’s amazing ability to manipulate the world, but this too is its Achilles heal. If something can be done, it must be done, it will be done. We laugh at the sorcerer’s apprentice who lacks the self discipline to behave, and the knowledge to really understand what he is doing, but is this just a matter of maturity and experience? What about the sorcerer, is there anything within the realm of science that can set limits on him? Is there anything too wonderful for us to know, or too dangerous for us to do?

Turn around, go back down, back the way you came.

Can’t you see that flash of fire ten times brighter than the day?

And, behold, a mighty city, broken in the dust again.

O God, the Pride of Man, broken in the dust again!

“The Pride of Man” written by Hamilton Camp

Surely this song is a call to prayer.