A Brief Synopsis of Spinoza's Ethics, and: A Thursday in and Above the World

Abstract

A Brief Synopsis of Spinoza's Ethics, and: A Thursday in and Above the World Owen McLeod A Brief Synopsis of Spinoza's Ethics The sound of his sister's laugh fills the cove.Her children tumble from the sky like fruit,vanish, rise from the churn, return to the dockto do a cannonball, jackknife, or flying squirrel.He sits in the shade, snaps pics with his phone,a Pittsburgh Steelers sleeve hugging his beer. God is everywhere if anywhere, but right hereespecially—or so he nearly believes, if onlyin the moment before arguments rush in,reminding him the world makes zero senseif created and governed by a perfect being. Let it be imperfect, then. Let it be this beer,this family, this olive-colored lake. Let it bethe boat that brought us all here, the vanityof our striving, the shocking sight of bloodin urine, the sickness that will finally do us in.Let it be, till then, the now of her laughteras from heaven her children fall one by one. [End Page 122] A Thursday in and Above the World Seen in the right light, the lightof morning in October, the toaston your plate smiles up at you. Later, when the light is rightfor other things, you spot godsin the clouds above Burger King. You wait in traffic for the lightto turn green, you and millions moreon a mission to Home Depot. There the light is different, divinein its own way, ineffable, detectableonly with the aid of certain pills, pink and round, through whichthe plumbing aisle becomes a placewhere grace of a suburban sort descends and makes quick friendsof strangers. You see the saffron robein your helper's orange apron. As for this Fluidmaster fill valve,could anything be more sublime?The sun now shines on everyone. Back home, all alone, you repairthe upstairs toilet. The kids won't noticea thing. Your labor and love are lost on them, but the universe takes note.Or so to you it seems, its spiral ringsreflected in the water as it wheels. [End Page 123] Copyright © 2017 Pleiades and Pleiades Press