'memoria futuri'
Henry Weems is a prisoner of his own good fortune.
Who knows what happened, before the events of ‘The Goldberg Variation’, to make him realise his good luck was bad for others? On seeing it, he took responsibility, sought out a life for himself that wouldn't adversely affect those around him. Henry is a brave, heroic figure living a miserable life, a life which measures his greatness.
Henry Weems is the diametric opposite to the usual Monster-of-the-Week, the Yin to their Yang. Henry is not merely passive, he seeks passivity as a way to safeguard others, for he is every bit as dangerous to them as Rob Roberts and his need to feed on human brains.
Henry has, as the average MotW doesn't, what Pope Francis terms memoria futuri, a memory of the future.
I would suggest that most human beings are more akin to the MotW than Henry Weems. We act and we speak with little or no regard for the consequences of our own thoughtlessness. We either lack or blatantly disregard a memory of the future. We give no thought to the impact our decisions may have on others a minute, a day, a month from now.
Rationality, and its practical manifestation - Science - lacks memoria futuri. How could we do Science if we had to be constantly aware of our every decision, choice or action? Seeing the future, could Oppenheimer have done anything different? Better to be the Destroyer of Worlds than unacclaimed.
The bugger of it is, we cannot follow Henry Weem's example. As noble as his sacrifice is, it is one humanity cannot afford to follow.
We are the inquisitive spirit of the universe. We are stardust striving for planetude. We are God and the universe trying to understand itself. How can we possibly seek Henry's passivity? We would have to deny our very self.
It is the conundrum of sanctity. Those who seek God spiritually must become passive, open to God's Spirit. Inactive in the world. It is, as Henry shows us, a noble way of life. It can never be our way of life.
There is no contradiction between Henry and Scully. He seeks to do no harm and his only way of achieving his goal is a life lived monastically. Scully, in her pursuit of Science, must engage with the world. Scully has a sense of memoria futuri, if not a full comprehension.
Scully is the example easier for us to follow. But her lack of understanding will have fatal consequences as she becomes the judge and executioner of Donnie Pfaster.
A partial awareness is a dangerous thing. But, like Mulder, we can always find an excuse for our deviance from Henry's norm.
There is something supremely human about Henry’s passivity. The Western world decided on the yang too long ago for anything but the active life to hold sway. It shouldn't mean that we can't appreciate Henry's choice, that we should deride those who follow his path, that we don't gain from his presence in our world.
Who knows what happened, before the events of ‘The Goldberg Variation’, to make him realise his good luck was bad for others? On seeing it, he took responsibility, sought out a life for himself that wouldn't adversely affect those around him. Henry is a brave, heroic figure living a miserable life, a life which measures his greatness.
Henry Weems is the diametric opposite to the usual Monster-of-the-Week, the Yin to their Yang. Henry is not merely passive, he seeks passivity as a way to safeguard others, for he is every bit as dangerous to them as Rob Roberts and his need to feed on human brains.
Henry has, as the average MotW doesn't, what Pope Francis terms memoria futuri, a memory of the future.
I would suggest that most human beings are more akin to the MotW than Henry Weems. We act and we speak with little or no regard for the consequences of our own thoughtlessness. We either lack or blatantly disregard a memory of the future. We give no thought to the impact our decisions may have on others a minute, a day, a month from now.
Rationality, and its practical manifestation - Science - lacks memoria futuri. How could we do Science if we had to be constantly aware of our every decision, choice or action? Seeing the future, could Oppenheimer have done anything different? Better to be the Destroyer of Worlds than unacclaimed.
The bugger of it is, we cannot follow Henry Weem's example. As noble as his sacrifice is, it is one humanity cannot afford to follow.
We are the inquisitive spirit of the universe. We are stardust striving for planetude. We are God and the universe trying to understand itself. How can we possibly seek Henry's passivity? We would have to deny our very self.
It is the conundrum of sanctity. Those who seek God spiritually must become passive, open to God's Spirit. Inactive in the world. It is, as Henry shows us, a noble way of life. It can never be our way of life.
There is no contradiction between Henry and Scully. He seeks to do no harm and his only way of achieving his goal is a life lived monastically. Scully, in her pursuit of Science, must engage with the world. Scully has a sense of memoria futuri, if not a full comprehension.
Scully is the example easier for us to follow. But her lack of understanding will have fatal consequences as she becomes the judge and executioner of Donnie Pfaster.
A partial awareness is a dangerous thing. But, like Mulder, we can always find an excuse for our deviance from Henry's norm.
There is something supremely human about Henry’s passivity. The Western world decided on the yang too long ago for anything but the active life to hold sway. It shouldn't mean that we can't appreciate Henry's choice, that we should deride those who follow his path, that we don't gain from his presence in our world.
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