Born this day in 1870. I confess that I don’t read anywhere near as much Belloc as I do his friend the great GKC, but I thought it fitting, in honor of the day, to reprint here a short poem sent along this morning by my email quote-of-the-day source. Enjoy!
Now the faith is old and the Devil bold
Exceedingly bold indeed.
And the masses of doubt that are floating about
Would smother a mortal creed.
But we that sit in a sturdy youth
And still can drink strong ale
Let us put it away to infallible truth
That always will prevail.
And thank the Lord
For the temporal sword
And howling heretics too,
And all good things
Our Christendom brings
But especially barley brew!
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Especially barley brew!
– The “Pelagian Drinking Song” from The Four Men.
The Port Stands At Your Elbow 
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July 27, 2011 at 3:03 pm
diane
Drinking as a cure for doubt? I think I need to start reading Belloc…
July 27, 2011 at 3:37 pm
GroovyVic
Belloc? Isn’t that the dude from Raiders of the Lost Ark? “IT’S BEAUTIFUL!”
July 29, 2011 at 7:08 pm
ScurvyOaks
Always fun. May I add the first 4 stanzas of the poem, so that you have the whole thing?
Pelagius lived at Kardanoel
And taught a doctrine there
How, whether you went to heaven or to hell
It was your own affair.
It had nothing to do with the Church, my boy,
But was your own affair.
No, he didn’t believe
In Adam and Eve
He put no faith therein!
His doubts began
With the Fall of Man
And he laughed at Original Sin.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
He laughed at original sin.
Then came the bishop of old Auxerre
Germanus was his name
He tore great handfuls out of his hair
And he called Pelagius shame.
And with his stout Episcopal staff
So thoroughly whacked and banged
The heretics all, both short and tall —
They rather had been hanged.
Oh he whacked them hard, and he banged them long
Upon each and all occasions
Till they bellowed in chorus, loud and strong
Their orthodox persuasions.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Their orthodox persuasions.
Now the faith is old . . .
I wish we had more such bishops today.
August 1, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Christine
Apparently the Belloc club at Oxford always opens its sessions with this ditty.
If the man were alive today, I imagine he’d be one of those curmudgeonly traditionalists that Mark Shea & company would label “divisive” and “uncharitable.”