06 November 2007

The Always Entertaining St. Augustine

In my reading this evening I came across this remarkable passage of St. Augustine. Enjoy!

"We do in fact find among human beings some individuals with natural abilities very different from the rest of mankind and remarkable by their very rarity. Such people can do some things with their body which are for others utterly impossible and well-nigh incredible when they are reported. Some people can even move their ears, either one at a time or both together. Others without moving the head can bring the whole scalp - all the part covered with hair - down towards the forehead and bring it back again at will. Some can swallow an incredible number of various articles and then with a slight contraction of the diaphragm, can produce, as if out of a bag, any article they please, in perfect condition. There are others who imitate the cries of birds and beasts and the voices of any other men, reproducing them so accurately as to be quite indistinguishable from the originals, unless they are seen. A number of people produce at will such musical sounds from their behind (without any stink) that they seem to be singing from that region. I know from my own experience of a man who used to sweat whenever he chose; and it is a well-known fact that some people can weep at will and shed floods of tears" (St. Augustine, The City of God, XIV, 24).

7 comments:

vince said...

makes me think of some uncertain nights and "concerts" ... very funny

Anna said...

Why even bother with St Augustine John? I could have told you all that.

Unknown said...

Anna,
Seriously?

Boniface said...

Oh my gosh! I came across that same passage only a few months ago when I was working through the City of God. I was so amused by it that I ran out and read it to my wife while she was cooking dinner; she was not amused. Then I grabbed a pen, flipped to the back of the book and jotted down the page number, with a little reference note reading "St. Augustine on Farts." How amusing that you came across the same passage and were so eager to share!

Anonymous said...

CRAZY!!!!

Anonymous said...

John,

Anna's in the Navy now. I'm sure she's exposed to all kinds of rare talents!

Will Bloomfield said...

John,

I am impressed by the passage from St. Augustine. I never realized that those sounds from the man's nether regions were musical. But alas, if Augustine says it, it must be so, and I will try to hold such individuals in higher esteem in the future.