Volume IX, Issue IXa
The Crocus Chronicles
The first crocus made its appearance last week and the series of photographs I took of it suggested the coming of the much deferred Springtime in C. S. Lewis' classic, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Some thought provoking quotations from that work have been included with the photographs, which hopefully capture the anticipation the characters in that story had as Aslan, the King drew closer!
First Crocus I, Photo by Bob Kirchman
Well, sir, if things are real, they’re there all the time." "Are they?" said the Professor; and Peter did not quite know what to say." -- C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
First Crocus II, Photo by Bob Kirchman
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."
-- C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
First Crocus III, Photo by Bob Kirchman
Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." -- C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
First Crocus IV, Photo by Bob Kirchman
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
First Crocus V, Photo by Bob Kirchman
But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia
First Crocus VI, Photo by Bob Kirchman
None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning--either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in it's inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of Summer." -- C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
First Crocus VII, Photo by Bob Kirchman
It is as hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it if you think like this. You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking-glass. And as you turned away from the window you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different - deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard but very much want to know. The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia
"The Wood Between the Worlds." Painting by Bob Kirchman.
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” ― C.S. Lewis
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