equal opportunity extinction

i wandered into town last week and checked out from the library wade davis' the wayfinders,* and picked up at a free table some old copies of the latin mass,** publications which at first might seem to have little in common.  davis' book describes the loss of wisdom to the world from the loss of  marginal cultures and languages, the sorts of pockets of tribalism that are described with subtle arrogance by the national geographic society in its television shows and publications (and which is the source of  much of davis' income, oddly enough).  the latin mass is a defense of the pre-vatical ii roman catholic liturgy and culture, the sort of culture that is usually described in the popular press as superstitious and limited to a few followers of some rabid french bishop who include mel gibson.

and yet i think the two publications illustrate just how subtle the modern intolerance is.  the changes of vatican ii, which were quickly adopted by large parts of the non-roman christian establishment, were far more than a mere translation of the same meanings and doctrines into the language of 'the people'.  they were a victory of scholarship over tradition that was very common in the wonderfully victorious and bloody twentieth century.  with a few encyclicals the last compilation of the traditional wisdom of the western church was declared obsolete.  with the latin of the mass was also discarded the lectionary of the mass and the breviary, which over the centuries had been developed as a wonderful tapestry of scriptural teachings and imagery, which one who has not experienced would never suspect existed.  the victory was, as much as anything else, a victory over the priesthood, the whole idea that priests are necessary to a living society.  we have already reduced the notion of prophets to the wild man on the street corner with the sign saying the end of the world is near, and kings hardly ever happen.  again and again we have been told how ignorant priests have been and are. 

alas, we scholars, bless our little hearts, tend to be idiots, a sort of precocious children, and those who look to us for wisdom are misguided.  wisdom is far more likely to be found in the accumulated knowledge and experience of the elders.  the little old grandmother who spent years kneeling with her beads as the priest did his part of the liturgy and she did hers knows 'the meaning' of the latin mass at least as well and probably much more profoundly than any number of scholars such as josef jungmann.  there is a wonderful description of how the elders, the grandfathers and uncles, in a traditional society, pass on tradition in  kenneth brower's a song for satawal:***   the priests at the official school think they are preparing their students for the world, a word which at best would make them low-paid hotel employees at some polynesian resort, while in the boat house the old men are quietly teaching the young men the ways of the ancestors.  if the official schools knew what was happening, they would probably try to abolish it.  but they official schools are run by scholars, who don't recognize education when they see it.

so, i am hopeful.  despite the efforts of modernity to wipe out anything 'superstitious', our version of  'pagan', real education does continue.  earlier this fall i was in santa fe, new mexico, and i had the previlidge of attending the latin mass at the church of san miguel, perhaps the oldest church in el norte.  the priest was a doddery old man whose voice, even when the rubrics call for a loud and clear voice, was faint.  but he was attended by two young men, still in their teens with their acne and tennis shoes, who were hanging onto every word of the dead language the priest spoke.

*http://www.amazon.com/Wayfinders-Ancient-Wisdom-Matters-Lecture/dp/0887847668/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321227913&sr=1-3

**http://www.latinmassmagazine.com/

***http://www.amazon.com/song-Satawal-Kenneth-Brower/dp/0060150939/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321228050&sr=1-1