Stephanus and Maximus, anachronistic, time-travelling medieval monks, grapple with an outbreak of the plague.
Stephanus: Maximus. Maximus! I can see you but I can’t hear you. Can you hear me?
Maximus: Turn on your camera. You’ve got to UNMUTE your – oh there you are.
Stephanus: Oh hello Maximus. How nice to see your face on Zum. It seems like ages since I’ve seen you.
(crunching noise is heard)..
Maximus: Stephanus, what, are you eating? Do you have to eat during our virtual meetings?
Stephanus: (Crunching) Oh …um… these are pork rinds. It’s all that’s left in the larder for evening snacks.
Maximus: Well stop eating while we’re on Zum. I can’t hear a thing.
Stephanus: I can’t help it. I eat when I’m nervous.
Maximus: What ever do you have to be nervous about?
Stephanus: Why, the plague of course. They’re not allowing us out of our cells except for picking up food from the refectory window and bringing it back in here. And all the services in the chapel have been suspended, so we can’t sing the offices or have mass or anything.
Maximus: Why should that make you nervous? You’ve got no responsibilities. I should think you’d appreciate the extra time to study Greek and Etruscan like you’ve always wanted.
Stephanus: I am studying! But I have no way of measuring my achievement and it’s stressing me out. I feel like I am falling behind.
Maximus: Oh Stephanus that’s absurd. Why do you put such pressure on yourself. Maybe you just miss seeing your old friends in chapel?
Stephanus: No. I don’t think that’s it. I think I miss the sounds and the smells; the scent of freshly laundered wool habits and the creak of leather shoes; the sweet fragrance of wax candles burning, and the clouds of incense; the soft crinkle of velum pages turning slowly on the lectern, and the heavenly sounds of all our voices together chanting softly in the dark. (His eyes well with tears) I miss… I miss the singing.
Maximus: You haven’t said you miss praying!
Stephanus: Well, yes. Sure. But I can do that anywhere. On my own. (Sniffles)
Maximus: O there, there. You young softy. Look to my example. I’ve lived through worse than this. Why, in my day there were the wars, the invasions, the looting, the famines, and the great plagues. Buck up. This too shall pass.
Stephanus: I guess I miss the routine. 7 regular offices chanted in the chapel each day: matins, lauds, prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline, my favourite.
Maximus: Could you survive with just 5 services a day?
Stephanus: I suppose.
Maximus: How about just 3 a day?
Stephanus: Ha ha. Now you’re just teasing me. (He brightens slightly)
Maximus: Times like these are never easy Stephanus, when our lives are disrupted we are forced to take stock. I’ve heard there’s a wise woman. They call her ‘The Sibyl of the Rhine’. Hildegard is her name. She prophesied this revenge of Nature a few years back. She says that we philosophers spend all our time arguing about the rational self vs the emotional self, when the essential thing is to consider ourselves and our role as part of all Creation. She says there’s a divine spark in everything on Earth, and she predicts that if we don’t appreciate that, and respect Nature and all her power, we’ll rue the day.
Stephanus: I guess that day is now.
Maximus: That day is now.
Brilliant! So you’re obviously Stephanus, right? Is there anything you don’t do? I loved this.
It’s not that simple Howard. Stephanus and Maximus are both alter egos. In presenting opposite sides of arguments,they help me sort things out. You see – they’ve been blogging with me for many years.
Thanks for this, Steph. I obviously need to pay closer attention to your blog.
It’s June 6th and I am just finding this. We should have more time during this lockdown but I find that I have less because I am trying to do many, too many, of the things that I have left undone over the past two years. I can definitely identify with both of your alter egos.
I have identified the most important left-undones and am making headway on them while the bottom of the list continues to grow.
Alas, everything seems to take longer now than it did twenty years ago. Fact or illusion? I’m not sure.