The glory of the TRUE Eccentric

Morning thoughts. More about Hopkins today. I am just fascinated and charmed in the deepest sense by him. Here is a lovely quote from my book that shows why I am so enamored of his personality: It was written about him when he was a novice in the Jesuit order.

"The Jesuits had the civilized habit of betraying little curiosity about the eccentricities of others, but Hopkins could hardly help attracting some attention when he hung over a frozen pond to observe the pattern of trapped bubbles or, instead of drinking the chocolate provided as mild refreshment from the austerities of the Lenten diet, put his face down to the cup to study the 'grey and grained look' of the film on its surface. Some thirty years after his death one old lay brother remembered how he would sprint out of the Seminary building after a shower to stoop down on a garden path and study the glitter of crushed quartz before the water could evaporate.

"Ay, a strange yooong man," said the brother, "crouching down that gate to stare at some wet sand. A fair 'natural' 'e seemed to us, that Mr. 'Opkins."

Disregard of conventional behavior, like disregard of traditional rhythm, diction, syntax, and ways of perception, lay at the heart of the originality of Hopkin's poetry, which was all of a piece with his daily life" 

- Robert Martin

As one who has walked into the middle of bushes, or stooped very low to the ground to capture a bug crawling up a blade of grass, I understand why the lay brother might have shaken his head with a smile. The picture of Hopkins drawn here in this beautiful piece of writing is one of true eccentricity. Genuine. Unaware of itself. Not like our present day "hipsters" who cultivate an eccentricity which is an oxymoron. Hipsters bring out the "Hulk" in me. They are so despicable in a way. They give eccentricity a bad name. The key to Hopkins' charm was the last sentence. It was all a piece with his daily life. He was madly in love with nature on the smallest level. He even invented his own word for getting up close to the individual beauty of each and every thing he found and examined: Inscaping.

 

I would give anything to have quietly walked with him to see what he saw. To compare notes. To climb trees. To luxuriate in the feel of water on feet. I am SO glad people like him existed. It makes me feel less "alone in the Universe". Blessed be God in each and every eccentric person in the world.