The Sign of Jonas

by Thomas Merton

Laughlin is a fundamentally simple person. He is basically religious because he is mundo corde, clean of heart. I suppose that the last thing in the world that would occur to the superficial observer would be that the publisher of Henry Miller and others was “pure of heart.” But there are many different aspects of integrity and some of them escape the attention of religious people who ought to know better. And though I don’t remember having liked Henry Miller, there is a kind of integrity about him too. He insists on saying exactly how he feels about things; namely that there is evil in the world and that he is unhappy. He is to-some extent more honest than the people who think things are better than they are, or believe that all is well with the world for the wrong reason. But I still remember having been revolted by Henry Miller even in the days when I thought I could not be revolted by anything The first chapter of Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans has a great deal to teach us about the world we live in and it remains the only explanation for writers like Miller.

An appreciation explanation. (4 myself)