A Merry Christmas Card from Terrance Lindall

'Falling for Christmas'

Terrance Lindall

(Image from Xmas Greetings 2010)

That contemporary Hieronymos Bosch, the absurdist-surrealist artist Terrance Lindall, recently sent out a Christmas card to various friends and acquaintances, and since I also received one, I thought that I'd share his Miltonic holiday wishes with Gypsy Scholar readers:

Dear Friends,

It must be remembered on Christmas that we would not be celebrating that day had not our parents in that happy state of Eden eaten of the tree of knowledge necessitating the birth of Christ to redeem us from that original sin and take that sin upon Himself. Herewith a Christmas card, not to celebrate, but to commemorate that fateful day that assured Christ's coming and made it possible for John Milton to write that greatest of all poems PARADISE LOST, for if no loss of Eden, no poem. Ironic is it not, such beauty coming from such origins.

BOOKS 9, 10, John Milton's Paradise Lost

As with new Wine intoxicated both
They swim in mirth, and fansie that they feel
Divinitie within them breeding wings
herewith to scorn the Earth: but that false Fruit
Farr other operation first displaid,
Carnal desire enflaming, hee on EVE
Began to cast lascivious Eyes, she him
As wantonly repaid; in Lust they burne:
Till ADAM thus 'gan EVE to dalliance move. (PL 9.1008-16)

Eternal Father from his secret Cloud,
Amidst in Thunder utter'd thus his voice.
"Assembl'd Angels, and ye Powers return'd
From unsuccessful charge, be not dismaid,
Nor troubl'd at these tidings from the Earth,
Which your sincerest care could not prevent . . ." (PL 10.32-7)

With his reference to the Fall, "that fateful day" that the angels "could not prevent," thereby "necessitating the birth of Christ" and making "possible for John Milton to write that greatest of all poems PARADISE LOST, for if no loss of Eden, no poem," which is perhaps a happy outcome, Mr. Lindall seems to be affirming a variant on the theology of felix culpa, the "fortunate fall" (and perhaps also pictorially punning on "tree of knowledge" and "carnal knowledge"), which might not accord with everyone's Christian views, but Christmas is a time for generosity of spirit, so I hope that all readers will accept his holiday greetings.

Moreover, as Christmas draws near, friends of art and artists might draw even more deeply on that same spirit of generosity to contribute here to the support of Mr. Lindall's Paradise Lost Project, which includes the production of his Elephant Folio edition of Paradise Lost. If you want to know more the project, go to Mr. Lindall's website and click around.

I should perhaps also note that I am a member of Mr. Lindall's Paradise Lost Committee, but I make no money out of promoting his art. Nor, I might add, does he personally benefit financially, for all contributions go to the Yuko Nii Foundation for the support of the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center.