“Should history tell of good men, the attentive listener is incited to…” — Bede the Venerable | V2Melody

“Should history tell of good men, the attentive listener is incited to imitate what is good.”

Presenting history as a practical guide to virtuous living · Preface to Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Art
Truth

Bede the Venerable

About Bede the Venerable

Bede the Venerable

c. 673–26 May 735

In the flickering candlelight of a Northumbrian monastery, a young boy bent over his wax tablet, carefully forming Latin letters under the watchful eye of his monastic teachers. This child, taken from his family at age seven and given to the abbey of Wearmouth, would grow to become one of medieval Europe's most…

More by Bede the Venerable

Poems by Bede the Venerable

Bede’s Death Song Listen

More remarks by Bede the Venerable

“Should it tell of wicked men, the devout and pious listener, by avoiding all that is harmful and perverse, is moved to pursue what he knows to be good and pleasing to God.”

Describing moral judgment as a proper response to historical knowledge · Preface to Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Faith
Truth

“The world is like a house, which is illuminated by the light of the sun while the sun is above the horizon, but darkened when it sets.”

Explaining cosmic order through an accessible image of light and darkness · On the Nature of Things

“When the fire is kindled in the middle of the hall, the sparrow flies swiftly through, entering at one door and quickly passing out through another.”

Using a fleeting natural image to express the brevity of human existence · Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book II