...today I had a pleasant morning reading the 1966 biography of Junipero Serra, by M.V. Woodgate. Here is a typical Western missionary set on conversion of savages. At the Franciscan university and convent, on the island of Majorca, Spain, he seems to have had the capacity to excel at whatever was placed before him whether of a scholarly nature, or music. It sounds to me he was a bit of a polymath, able to do anything. And finally settling upon the conversion of pagans.
Maybe the Spanish were better off when they were muslim.
Mildred Violet Woodgate was born in 1904.
Everyone has to be content. And forgo happiness. And go on adventures to distant lands. Instead of trying to create his own happiness he writes off his parents and goes to California to convert "savages." And give others happiness?
Everyone has to be content. And forgo happiness. And go on adventures to distant lands. Instead of trying to create his own happiness he writes off his parents and goes to California to convert "savages." And give others happiness?
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ReplyDeletewhile Ms. Woodgate's book sucked, looking at the google search results for - junipero serra, - spanish was actually worse. Weird. It was such a bad book. I was going to write how the book was so terrible it made me feel some hope that I too could be a writer but at the same time it WAS enjoyable toying around with the book this morning. And I was able to put together a consistent picture of the hero of the hagiography. But when I searched the i-net I was not able to learn anything whatsoever. They were something like politically correct encyclopedia entries with "balanced" views.
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