My Brother Rowan is an Hairy Man...

I am indebted to Dr. Mabuse for reminding me of a sketch from "Beyond the Fringe" even more apropos the Archbishop of Canterbury than the one quoted in the posting below: the sermon given by the dithering clergyman (Alan Bennett) based on the text, "My brother Esau is an hairy man but I am a smooth man." Dr. Mabuse also provides an excerpt from it new to me; it apparently didn't make it into the version that played on Broadway but is Rowan Williams to a tee (minus a few academic degrees, perhaps).

Perhaps I might say the same thing in a different way by quoting you the words of that grand old English poet, W.E. Henley, who said:

"When that One Great Scorer comes
To mark against your name
It matters not who won or lost,
But how you played the game."

'But how you played the game.' Words very meaningful and significant for us here, together, tonight. Words which we might do very much worse than to consider. And I use this word 'consider' advisedly. Because I am using it, you see, in its original sense of 'con-sid—er', of putting one's self in the way of thinking about something.

I want us here, together, tonight to put ourselves in the way of thinking about ... to put ourselves in the way of thinking about, ummh ... what we ought to be putting ourselves in the way of thinking about.

Another fictional cleric who comes to mind when thinking on His Grace Rowan is the doddering Rev'd Henry D'Ascoyne ("The Parson"), played so brilliantly (as are the seven other D'Ascoynes) by Sir Alec Guinness in the picture "Kind Hearts and Coronets."