I was impressed with the Biblical references from "the Old Testament" to "the Promised Land" but missed another a few lines further down in the same dialogue. When Barbara Brandon warns Hollister not to say such things, he inwardly parodies her attitude as:
"Get thee behind me, Satan."
-"The Big Rain," IV, p. 187.
(In this edition, all of these references are on pp. 186-187.)
"Get thee behind me..." is Matthew 16:23.
Maybe we will eventually catalogue every Biblical reference in Poul Anderson's works. Like Shakespearean verses, Biblical passages can be appropriate to multiple situations - without necessarily involving their theological meaning. An atheist called "Judas!" doesn't like it. He (usually) doesn't reply, "That's in the Bible! I don't believe that stuff!" "Pontius Pilate!" would be an accusation of passing the buck, avoidance of responsibility. But a secularist might willingly identify with Doubting Thomas or Barabbas.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I made a very incomplete stab at collecting Biblical references from some of Anderson's works.
But your mention of Barabbas puzzles me. Who would want to be favorably compared to a bandit and murderer like him?
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Because Barabbas is said to have led an insurrection and many would identify with this.
Paul.
Like many Imperial systems, the Romans tended to classify anyone they didn't like as a 'bandit'. Some, of course, actually -were- bandits.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: And not all rebels, or alleged rebels, deserves any sympathy.
Mr. Stirling: That is true, and some defeated rebels BECAME bandits.
Ad astra! Sean
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