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Reviews Paul, Paulus or São Paulo by Teixeira de Pascoaes (1

PILGRIMSPLAZA

Active Member
Reviews Paul, Paulus or São Paulo by Teixeira de Pascoaes (1)

Here my pilgrim friend Ernestien gives a first review of Paul or São Paulo (1934) by the Portuguese nobleman Teixeira de Pascoaes (Joaquim Pereira Teixeira de Vasconcelos). In my own copy in an old and yellow paper clipping a review by GJ Geers begins with: "I wrestled with this book and it conquered me." The same happened to me and it helped me understanding the true nature of our 'James' better!

Here's Ernestien's review:

------------------------------

PAUL (Paulus) by Teixeira de Pascoaes

Should a pilgrim have read this book?
Possibly you can only judge this after you have read the whole book. This is a comparison with what you should go to the end of a pilgrims route, or not, because then you can never know how it felt when you had reached the end! Due to circumstances (a new study) I only read Paul as far as page 200.

For anyone who has ever made a pilgrimage, there are familiar aspects - the seemingly never ending walking, the hardships and never knowing what you might encounter along the way.
With Paul (Paulus) everything is much more dramatic; his eyes are red and their rims are feverish; he was often beaten up in a new town. That for a modern pilgrim would be an exception rather than a rule!

There was a time when I felt this, and this was in Finisterre and later there was Muxia:
Page 78: At certain rigid times the victims of these memories of Finisterre dominate all others. In contrast are the creatures of hope that appear in creative, diluvial times when a renewed effervescent flood of the Spirit appears to occur at the opposite side of the universe (Muxia).

While walking in loneliness and silence a great deal of fine reflections come into my head. Some of them seemed to be lessons about life, intended to be lived in my daily life. The book of Paul is full of fine thoughts, some of which I will repeat here:
Page 63: All who long for something different, will be united by one common factor.
... A star has descended on earth as a fire, that can shine as a twinkle in our eyes.
Page 103: What would good be without evil?
Page 109: All souls have two aspects.
Page 122: Every soul that will be renewed, will at the same time renew heaven and earth, at it is recreated by a stream from the original well.
Page 170: Pain does not weaken the living - it strengthens them.
... The only ones who are weakened are those who are lived.

When you have been in Santiago de Compostela and see how many people embrace the statue of Jacobus (James), then you are convinced that this is right. This must have been a Holy man, not just someone who has been declared as Holy.
When you read the book of Paul, you ask yourself frequently if there were more than one Jacob (Jacobus).
The Jacob in this book was a Jew who had a fixation for the old jewish law and rules. That's allright for us to do as long as we leave others their values. But, in the same way as often has happened in religious wars, this Jacob followed Paul and seized every opportunity to have the man arrested and scourged. He instigates people!
When Paul still was called Saul, he did this also. He had many Christians killed, assisted at the stoning of Stefanus and as a result carried the shadow of this Apostle on his conscience for ever.

I don't know how things go for Jacob and his accomplices further in this book, but I found it terrible to read, up to page 200, that everywhere that Paul was successful, Jacob showed hate and envy.

As a pilgrim I can only hope that there was another Jacob or that this Jacob later drastically changed his life for the better. I hope to finish this book later!

Ernestien
The Hague
March 6, 2009

-----------------

- More on Paul or São Paulo by Teixeira de Pascoaes (1934 - in Dutch: Paulus, de dichter Gods, translated by the German Albert Vigoleis Thelen and our Hendrik Marsman - 1939) in Re: Pilgrimage to Heresy: Don't Believe Everything They Tell You on miscellaneous-topics/topic3554.html?hilit=Teixeira#p20259

- Re: The Santiago Enigma -Ja’akov & Jacobus– is the name a sign? on miscellaneous-about-santiago/topic3794.html?hilit=Paul#p20932 in 7. Ja’akov en Jacobus – Is the name a Sign here?

- (next review on Paul, God's poet will follow asap) Thinking of Jacobus (yes, the one at Santiago!) I always remember his image that the unforgettable Portuguese writer Teixeira de Pascoaes created in his book …

More on Teixeira de Pascoaes:
- http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teixeira_de_Pascoaes -
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_Marsman -
- http://portugal.poetryinternationalweb. ... bj_id=4658 -
- http://fadofortheworld.blogspot.com/200 ... opher.html -
- http://www.assirio.pt/livraria.php?id=1 ... eccao=6953 -
- http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/3910.pdf -
- http://www.agencia.ecclesia.pt/institui ... iaid=12893 -
- http://fontedofimdomundo.blogspot.com/2 ... lhada.html -
- http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/cvc/filosofia/1910a.html -
- http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/braa002verz04 ... 1_0018.htm -
- http://klickeducacao.ig.com.br/2006/mat ... 6-,00.html -
- http://www.perlentaucher.de/buch/5453.html -

on Paul:
- St Paul revisited on miscellaneous-about-santiago/topic6393.html?hilit=paul#p37488 -
- Re: St Paul revisited on miscellaneous-about-santiago/topic6393.html?hilit=paul#p37583 -
- Paul, the poet of God on pilgrim-books/topic5746.html?hilit=paul#p33591 -
- Reviews Paul, Paulus or São Paulo by Teixeira de Pascoaes (1 on
pilgrim-books/topic5502.html -
- More in http://king-early-days.blogspot.com .
 

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