I just spent seven glorious days with my wife, son, daughter- in-law, and grandchildren at Lewes, Delaware. The trip really was great, relaxing, too much to drink, etc., but now I’m back in my favorite room, the sub-deacon’s man cave. The joy and pleasure of just hiding up here with a great (to me) tome, my dog Garrett , my feet up, and a little libation is high living.
Father Guy once remarked “Wiley, you are going to have the best library of bibliographies I’ve known.” Next to my collection of genealogy books, my true love is history and theology. For example, take Jerusalem, the history by Simon Sebag Montefiore. It is a great book on the history of Jerusalem.
Now, my academic education ranks equal to or a grade above The Fonz from the TV series Happy Days, but in my old age my mind has cleared from the haze of the 60’s. I find that my curiosity about names, places, tribes, and religions is uncontrollable.
Back to Father Guy’s remark, Jerusalem’s Notes and Bibliography go from page 569 to page 627 and I am trying to buy all the books I can, from Baibars The First, by Abdul-Aziz- Khowaiter, to a book best under brown paper wrappers, The Secret History of Procopius, An Ecclesiastical History, by Eusebius, to Saladin In His Time, by P. H. Newby. All of which came from one bibliography list.
Colby thinks it’s a sickness when most days the postman brings packages from around the world to me (Thank you ABEBOOKS.Com). But I find that the more I can learn from writers on the past, especially the past as it relates to my savior Jesus Christ, the closer I am brought to knowing, loving, fearing, and worshiping my God.
It must be working, just look at the collar with electrical tape I’ve been sporting since March.
God Bless,
Sub-deacon Wiley
PS: I just bought a 6 volume set of C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Expositions on Psalms, 1882. One problem though, it stopped at psalm 125, so if anyone has Volume Seven I would love to study Psalm 137.
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