Grief

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

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• From The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988)

  He told me of a family reunion shortly before his brother’s suicide, when both boys had been on leave from the hospital and the whole family had celebrated by going to the Lyric Opera. They sat together in the family box, but during the second act they, the brothers, started fighting. Everyone including the parents was dead drunk, a knife flashed out of a pocket, Lou was spurting blood, his mother was shrieking above the soprano, ushers and then the police were coming through the door, the orchestra was breaking up and bleeping into silence, the audience was in an uproar, and the houselights came up. “That’s when I got this,” Lou said, pointing to his stomach scar. “Not from my brother. I lost so much blood I passed out, and when I woke up I was in Methodist Central. A stupid cunt of a nurse had left me with a thermometer in my mouth, she’d gone out of the room—can you imagine, you never do that with a patient in a coma—and I knew it could be the basis for a really stiff malpractice suit, so I just chewed it up very slowly and swallowed it, all the broken glass and the mercury too, and I knew I’d either die, which was cool, or wake up rich enough to leave my parents for good. I woke up. They’d sliced me open and removed several feet of gut, that’s why I have to eat so often now, otherwise the food goes right through me—” “But you don’t eat!” I wailed. “That’s precisely—” Lou silenced me by laying his open hand over my mouth; then he played a little tune on my lips with his fingers. “But I hadn’t counted on my habit, which was becoming so expensive that before I got the settlement money I had to rob my father’s house, which triggered some goddam new alarm he’d installed since I’d split, so I was nabbed, the fuzz found the tracks on my arms, it was all pretty bogue so the only way out of a sentence was to go back to the same bughouse.” I don’t know how aware Lou was of the sexual longing he awakened in me, but as he told me his story, he kept hitching me tighter and tighter in his embrace. Or he used me as a guitar to strum or a flute to pipe, something inert but expressive he could play. “Then my brother killed himself—he was seeing a woman in town and only visiting the hospital every afternoon, and the woman, a local girl, couldn’t take him anymore, he was too crazy for her, so he O.D.ed, maybe he wasn’t even intending to die, just shake her up.” Although I wanted to comfort him, or suggest through gestures that he, at least, was safe from such a fate, safe in my arms, I knew there was no room for me in this story.

• From The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988)

  “There’s nothing secure about suffering,” she said. “Dick is frustrated and wounded. He wants to have sex all the time; I never knew people could be so horny, and I can’t bear for him to touch me. I sit near the window for hours hoping to catch a glimpse of Peg. I invent excuses for going over there. I’m sort of the ringleader for the whole neighborhood, all the women admire me; but I create activities just to involve Peg and have another excuse for being with her. The kids—I love my kids, but they make me nervous, and I suppose I sometimes snap at them because I think that without them I could leave Dick.” I feared my sister would suffer for years to come. Although her coming out meant that I’d lost my sole hostage to normality, at the same time her homosexuality exonerated me. There was something—genetic or psychological—in our family that had made us both gay. I asked her if she’d told our father. I wanted her to share my culpability in his eyes. But she wept and pleaded with me not to give her away. I understood that just as I was married to our mother, she was married to our father. Maria would stop off in Chicago now to see my mother and sister on her way home to Iowa. When I was growing up, my mother had had a horror of evenings out with the girls and had frequently said, with a smile, “I like men.” But now, without ever renouncing that theoretical preference, she grew closer and closer to Maria. And my sister, bewildered by the tough lesbian world she saw at the bars (she and Maria went back to the Volley Ball in Chicago), found in Maria someone she could emulate. I did not travel. I didn’t experience the melancholy of tramp steamers or of mornings waking up cold in tents. I stayed on in New York. I went out a lot and I had new adventures, but I never forgot Sean. At last he wrote me that he’d found a lumberjack for a lover and they’d opened a dude ranch in Arizona. He said I’d been “too gay” for him. I lived too much in the “ghetto.” But I hadn’t caused his breakdown. His suffering had been due to money pressures, intellectual self-doubt, and the “usual” coming-out anxieties. What he liked about his lumberjack, he said, was that no one would ever guess he was gay, not in a million years. A million years passed. Lou called me one day. “Wanna turn a trick? I’ve got a double for us. Two johns from Akron in a midtown hotel room.” He gave me the address and I joined him.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  32 When Mary came [to the place] where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her sobbing, and the Jews who had come with her also sobbing, He was f deeply moved in spirit [to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death] and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him [as a close friend]!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the blind man’s eyes, have kept this man from dying?” 38 So Jesus, again deeply moved within [to the point of anger], approached the tomb. It was a cave, and a boulder was lying against it [to cover the entrance]. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an offensive odor, for he has been dead four days! [It is hopeless!]” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe [in Me], you will see the glory of God [the expression of His excellence]?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes [toward heaven] and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 “I knew that You always hear Me and listen to Me; but I have said this because of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You have sent Me [and that You have made Me Your representative].” 43 When He had said this, He shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 Out came the man who had been dead, his hands and feet tightly wrapped in burial cloths (linen strips), and with a [burial] cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and release him.” 45 So then, many of the Jews who had come to [be with] Mary and who were eyewitnesses to what Jesus had done, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went back to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Conspiracy to Kill Jesus 47 So the chief priests and Pharisees convened a council [of the leaders in Israel], and said, “What are we doing? For this man performs many signs (attesting miracles). 48 “If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our [holy] place (the temple) and our nation.” 49 But one of them, g Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year [the year of Christ’s crucifixion], said to them, “You know nothing at all!

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him.” 11 He said this, and after that said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him.” 12 The disciples answered, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 However, Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was referring to natural sleep. 14 So then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 “And for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas, who was called Didymus (the twin), said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, that we may die with Him.” 17 So when Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb c four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away; 19 and many of the Jews had come to see Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning [the loss of] their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house. 21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give to You.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise [from the dead].” 24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise [from the dead] in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “ d I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, relies on) Me [as Savior] will live even if he dies; 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me [as Savior] will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed and continue to believe that You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of God, e He who was [destined and promised] to come into the world [and it is for You that the world has waited].” 28 After she had said this, she left and called her sister Mary, privately whispering [to her], “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.” 29 And when she heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. 31 So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her, saw how quickly Mary got up and left, they followed her, assuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  3 ‘You will not escape from his hand, for you will definitely be captured and handed over to him; you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face; and you will go to Babylon.’ ” ’ 4 “Yet hear the word of the LORD , O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you, ‘You will not die by the sword. 5 ‘You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for [the memory and honor of] your fathers, the former kings who reigned before you, so shall a [ceremonial] burning be made for you; and people will lament (grieve) for you, saying, “Alas, lord (master)!” ’ For I have spoken the word,” says the LORD . 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, against Lachish and Azekah, for these were the [only] fortified cities among the cities of Judah. 8 The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant (solemn pledge) with all the [Hebrew] people who were [slaves] in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them: 9 that every man should let his Hebrew slaves, male and female, go free, so that no one should make a slave of a Jew, his brother. 10 So all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that everyone would let his male servant and his female servant go free, and that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free . 11 But afterward they backed out [of the covenant] and made the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free return [to them], and brought the male servants and the female servants again into servitude. 12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying, 13 “Thus says the LORD , the God of Israel, ‘I made a covenant (solemn pledge) with your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 14 “At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself [into servitude] or who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall release him from [serving] you; but your forefathers did not listen [submissively] to Me or obey Me. [Deut 15:12 ] 15 “So then you recently turned and repented, doing what was right in My sight, each man proclaiming release [from servitude] to his countryman [who was his bond servant]; and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My a Name.

• From Henry Miller on Writing (1964)

  I proved to my satisfaction that, like any other mortal, I too could write. But since I wasn’t really meant to be a writer all that was permitted me to give expression to was this business of writing and being a writer; in short, my own private struggles with this problem. My grief, in other words. Out of the lack I made my song. Very much as if a warrior, challenged to mortal combat and having no weapons, must first forge them himself. And in the process, one that takes all his life, the purpose of his labors gets forgotten or sidetracked. Sometimes I say to myself, quite seriously, I mean: “when will you begin to write?” Write like other writers do. Like Larry, for instance, who is definitely what is called “a born writer.” Or, to put it another way, like Larry who has respect and reverence for his tools, his material. What I have done all through my work is to repeat: “This is the best I can do; take it or leave it.” Or again: “If it isn’t literature, call it what you like. I don’t give a damn.” This, I suppose, is the “je m ’en foutisme ” you refer to. And there is truth in it. When I said that I only approximated what I wanted to say in writing I meant that I do understand what writers are about when they undertake to give us a book. And that I too am aware of what I am about during the genesis of a book. But I never seem capable of submitting to the discipline demanded of an author. And you are again right when you speak of this day by day business. I would even stretch it and say hour by hour. My whole life is a kind of sparking activity. I spark, I don’t glow steadily, like a sun. Hence my adoration for the sages, the masters, the great teachers of life. In a word, my infatuation with “serenity.” It must strike you as quite fatuous, my saying this. Did you ever suspect anything of the sort of me? I seem to hear you laughing, saying to yourself—“he’s in another mood today.” But the truth is that from a very early age this thought formed itself and led me to seek out strange individuals, strange books, even strange adventures. When I come into the presence of the serene at heart I am completely myself, thoroughly stilled, at one with the world, and only then living, living in the full sense of the word. All other times, and they may be good, bad or indifferent, I am not myself but another—“l’autre .” Many others. There’s no harm in it, to be sure. It may not be in the least injurious—to the psyche or the immortal soul or what have you.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  14 “I will make you [Tyre] a d bare rock; you will be a dry place on which to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken,” says the Lord GOD . 15 Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre, “Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst? 16 “Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones and remove their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you. 17 “They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you, ‘How you have perished and vanished, O renowned city, From the seas, O renowned city, Which was mighty on the sea, She and her inhabitants, Who imposed her terror On all who lived there! 18 ‘Now the coastlands will tremble On the day of your fall; Yes, the coastlands which are by the sea Will be terrified at your departure.’ ” 19 For thus says the Lord GOD , “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead), to the people of old, and I will make you [Tyre] live in the depths of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory and splendor in the land of the living. 21 “I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more. Though you will be sought, yet you will never be found again,” says the Lord GOD . Ezekiel 27 Dirge for Tyre 1 T HE WORD of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 “Now you, son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for Tyre, 3 and say to Tyre, who lives at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD , “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ 4 “Your borders are in the heart of the seas; Your builders have perfected your beauty. 5 “They have made all your planks of fir trees from a Senir; They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. 6 “Of the oaks of Bashan they have made your oars; They have made your deck of boxwood from the coastlands of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory. 7 “Your sail was of fine embroidered linen from Egypt So that it became your distinguishing mark (insignia); Your [ship’s] awning [which covered you] was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah [of Asia Minor].

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  13 Clothe yourselves with sackcloth And lament (cry out in grief), O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing], O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God. Starvation and Drought 14 Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly, Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD [in penitent pleadings]. 15 Alas for the day! For the [judgment] day of the LORD is at hand, And it will come [upon the nation] as a destruction from the c Almighty. [Zeph 1:14–18 ] 16 Has not the food been cut off before our eyes, Joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The seeds [of grain] shrivel under the clods, The storehouses are desolate and empty, The barns are in ruins Because the grain is dried up. 18 How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered and wander aimlessly Because they have no pasture; Even the flocks of sheep suffer. 19 O LORD , I cry out to You, For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field. 20 Even the wild animals pant [in longing] for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness. Joel 2 The Terrible Visitation 1 B LOW THE trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment], Sound an alarm on My holy mountain [Zion]! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble and shudder in fear, For the [judgment] day of the LORD is coming; It is close at hand, [Ezek 7:2–4 ; Amos 5:16–20 ] 2 A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and of thick [dark] mist, Like the dawn spread over the mountains; There is a [pagan, hostile] people numerous and mighty, The like of which has never been before Nor will be again afterward Even for years of many generations. 3 Before them a fire devours, And behind them a flame burns; Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden, But behind them a desolate wilderness; And nothing at all escapes them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, And they run like war horses. 5 Like the noise of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, Like a mighty people set in battle formation. [Rev 9:7 , 9 ] 6 Before them the people are in anguish; All faces become pale [with terror]. 7 They run like warriors; They climb the wall like soldiers. They each march [straight ahead] in line, And they do not deviate from their paths. 8 They do not crowd each other; Each one marches in his path.

• From The Decameron (1353)

  Therewithal she fell into such a passion of woe that she was like to cast herself down from the tower to the ground; but, the sun being now risen and she drawing near to one side of the walls of the tower, to look if any boy should pass with cattle, whom she might send for her maid, it chanced that the scholar, who had slept awhile at the foot of a bush, awaking, saw her and she him; whereupon quoth he to her, 'Good day, madam; are the damsels come yet?' The lady, seeing and hearing him, began afresh to weep sore and besought him to come within the tower, so she might speak with him. In this he was courteous enough to comply with her and she laying herself prone on the platform and showing only her head at the opening, said, weeping, 'Assuredly, Rinieri, if I gave thee an ill night, thou hast well avenged thyself of me, for that, albeit it is July, I have thought to freeze this night, naked as I am, more by token that I have so sore bewept both the trick I put upon thee and mine own folly in believing thee that it is a wonder I have any eyes left in my head. Wherefore I entreat thee, not for the love of me, whom thou hast no call to love, but for the love of thyself, who are a gentleman, that thou be content, for vengeance of the injury I did thee, with that which thou hast already done and cause fetch me my clothes and suffer me come down hence, nor seek to take from me that which thou couldst not after restore me, an thou wouldst, to wit, my honour; for, if I took from thee the being with me that night, I can render thee many nights for that one, whenassoever it liketh thee. Let this, then, suffice and let it content thee, as a man of honour, to have availed to avenge thyself and to have caused me confess it. Seek not to use thy strength against a woman; no glory is it for an eagle to have overcome a dove, wherefore, for the love of God and thine own honour, have pity on me.'

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  They will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.” 5 For thus says the LORD , “Do not enter a house of mourning, nor go to lament (express grief) or bemoan [the dead], for I have taken My peace away from this people,” says the LORD , “even My lovingkindness and compassion. 6 “Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, nor will they be lamented (mourned over with expressions of grief in death), nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them [in mourning]. 7 “People will not offer food to the mourners, to comfort anyone [as they grieve] for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother. 8 “And you [Jeremiah] shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” 9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I will remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and the shout of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. 10 “Now when you tell these people all these words and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD decreed all this great tragedy against us? And what is our iniquity, what is the sin which we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11 “Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your fathers have abandoned (rejected) Me,’ says the LORD , ‘and have walked after other gods and have served them and bowed down to the handmade idols and have abandoned (rejected) Me and have not kept My law, 12 and because you have done worse [things] than your fathers. Just look, every one of you walks in the stubbornness of his own evil heart, so that you do not listen [obediently] to Me. 13 ‘Therefore I will hurl you out of this land [of Judah] into the land [of the Babylonians] which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no compassion.’ God Will Restore Them 14 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD , “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries to which He had driven them.’ And I will bring them back to their land which I gave to their fathers.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  He said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” 15 But they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” The Crucifixion 16 Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified. 17 So they took Jesus, and He went out, h bearing His own cross, to the place called i the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. [Matt 27:33–44 ; Mark 15:22–32 ; Luke 23:33–43 ] 18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. [Is 53:12 ] 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription [on a placard] and put it on the cross. And it was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” [Matt 27:33–44 ; Mark 15:22–32 ; Luke 23:33–43 ] 20 And many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but, ‘He said, “I am King of the Jews.” ’ ” 22 Pilate replied, “What I have written I have written [and it remains written].” 23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer clothes and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and also the tunic. But the j tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout. [Matt 27:35 ; Mark 15:24 ; Luke 23:34 ] 24 So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture, “THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER CLOTHING AMONG THEM , AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS .” [Ps 22:18 ] 25 So the soldiers did these things. B ut standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, His mother’s sister [k Salome], l Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [Mark 15:40 ] 26 So Jesus, seeing His mother, and the m disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, “[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple (John), “Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own home. 28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said in fulfillment of the Scripture, “I am thirsty.” [Ps 69:21 ] 29 A jar full of n sour wine was placed there; so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a branch of] hyssop and held it to His mouth.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  11 “He has also kindled His wrath [like a fire] against me And He considers and counts me as one of His adversaries. 12 “His troops come together And build up their way and siege works against me And camp around my tent. 13 “He has put my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14 “My relatives have failed [me], And my intimate friends have forgotten me. 15 “Those who live [temporarily] in my house and my maids consider me a stranger; I am a foreigner in their sight. 16 “I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore him with words. 17 “My breath is repulsive to my wife, And I am loathsome to my own brothers. 18 “Even young children despise me; When I get up, they speak against me. 19 “All the men of my council hate me; Those I love have turned against me. 20 “My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth. 21 “Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has touched me. 22 “Why do you persecute me as God does? Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)? Job Says, “My Redeemer Lives” 23 “Oh, that the words I now speak were written! Oh, that they were recorded in a scroll! 24 “That with an iron stylus and [molten] lead They were engraved in the rock forever! 25 “For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, And at the last He will take His stand upon the earth. [Is 44:6 ; 48:12 ] 26 “Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death], Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God, 27 Whom I, even I, will see for myself, And my eyes will see Him and not another! My heart faints within me. 28 “If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’ And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’ 29 “Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves, For wrathful are the punishments of that sword, So that you may know there is judgment.” Job 20 Zophar Says, “The Triumph of the Wicked Is Short” 1 T HEN ZOPHAR the Naamathite answered and said, 2 “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me answer, Because of the uneasiness that is within me. 3 “I have heard the reproof which insults me, But the spirit of my understanding makes me answer. 4 “Do you not know this from the old days, Since the time that man was placed on the earth, 5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless is only for a moment?

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  [Matt 27:48 , 50 ; Mark 15:36f ; Luke 23:36 ] 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] o gave up His spirit. Care of the Body of Jesus 31 Since it was the day of Preparation [for the Sabbath], in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high holy day) the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs p broken [to hasten death] and the bodies taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who had been crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came [flowing] out. 35 And he (John, the eyewitness) who has seen it has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also [who read this] may believe. 36 For these things took place to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIS SHALL BE BROKEN .” [Ex 12:46 ; Num 9:12 ; Ps 34:20 ] 37 And again another Scripture says, “THEY SHALL LOOK AT HIM WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED .” [Zech 12:10 ] 38 And after this, Joseph of Arimathea—a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body. [Matt 27:57–61 ; Mark 15:42–47 ; Luke 23:50–56 ] 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred [Roman] q pounds. 40 So they took Jesus’ body and bound it in linen wrappings with the fragrant spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb [cut out of solid rock] in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore, because of the Jewish day of Preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 20 The Empty Tomb 1 N OW ON the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw the stone [already] removed from the [groove across the entrance of the] tomb. [Matt 28:1–8 ; Mark 16:1–8 ; Luke 24:1–10 ] 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the a other disciple (John), whom Jesus loved (esteemed), and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and b we do not know where they have laid Him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  After examining Him before you, I have found no guilt in this Man regarding the charges which you make against Him. 15 “No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and indeed, He has done nothing to deserve death. 16 “Therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.” 17 b [ Now he was obligated to release to them one prisoner at the Feast.] 18 But they [loudly] shouted out all together, saying, “Away with this Man, and release Barabbas to us!” [Matt 27:15–26 ; Mark 15:6–15 ; John 18:39–19:16 ] 19 (He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection that happened in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate addressed them again, wanting to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting out, “Crucify, crucify Him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what wrong has He done? I have found no guilt [no crime, no offense] in Him demanding death; therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.” 23 But they were insistent and unrelenting, demanding with loud voices that Jesus be crucified. And their voices began to prevail and accomplish their purpose. 24 Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. 25 And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he handed over Jesus to their will. Simon Bears the Cross 26 When they led Him away, they seized a man, c Simon of d Cyrene, who was coming in [to the city] from the country, and e placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. [Matt 27:32 ; Mark 15:21 ] 27 Following Him was a large crowd of the people, including women who were mourning and wailing for Him. 28 But Jesus, turning toward them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 “For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have never nursed.’ 30 “Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS , ‘F ALL ON US !’ AND TO THE HILLS , ‘C OVER US !’ [Is 2:19 , 20 ; Hos 10:8 ; Rev 6:16 ] 31 “ f For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be executed with Him. [Is 53:12 ] The Crucifixion 33 When they came to the place called g The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. [Matt 27:33–44 ; Mark 15:22–32 ; John 19:17–24 ] 34 h And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing His clothes among themselves.

• From Another Country (1962)

  “I remember Rufus,” the girl said, “from when he was a big boy and I was just a little girl—” and she tried to smile at the front-row mourners. Cass watched her, seeing that the girl was doing her best not to cry. “—me and his sister used to sit around trying to console each other when Rufus went off with the big boys and wouldn’t let us play with him.” There was a murmur of amusement and sorrow and heads in the front row nodded. “We lived right next door to each other, he was like a brother to me.” Then she dropped her head and twisted a white handkerchief, the whitest handkerchief Cass had ever seen, between her two dark hands. She was silent for several seconds and, once again, a kind of wind seemed to whisper through the chapel as though everyone there shared the girl’s memories and her agony and were willing her through it. The boy at the piano struck a chord. “Sometimes Rufus used to like me to sing this song,” the girl said, abruptly. “I’ll sing if for him now.” The boy played the opening chord. The girl sang in a rough, untrained, astonishingly powerful voice: I’m a stranger, don’t drive me away. I’m a stranger, don’t drive me away. If you drive me away, you may need me some day, I’m a stranger, don’t drive me away. When she finished she walked over to the bier and stood there for a moment, touching it lightly with both hands. Then she walked back to her seat. There was weeping in the front row. She watched as Ida rocked an older, heavier woman in her arms. One of the men blew his nose loudly. The air was heavy. She wished it were over. Vivaldo sat very still and alone, looking straight ahead. Now, a gray-haired man stepped forward from behind the altar. He stood watching them for a moment and the black-robed boy strummed a mournful hymn.

• From The Decameron (1353)

  He left me a little child in Palermo, where being grown well nigh as I am now, my mother, who was a rich lady, gave me to wife to a worthy gentleman of Girgenti, who, for her love and mine, came to abide at Palermo and there, being a great Guelph,[97] he entered into treaty with our King Charles,[98] which, being discovered by King Frederick,[99] ere effect could be given to it, was the occasion of our being enforced to flee from Sicily, whenas I looked to be the greatest lady was ever in the island; wherefore, taking such few things as we might (I say few, in respect of the many we had) and leaving our lands and palaces, we took refuge in this city, where we found King Charles so mindful of our services that he hath in part made good to us the losses we had sustained for him, bestowing on us both lands and houses, and still maketh my husband, thy kinsman that is, a goodly provision, as thou shalt hereafter see. On this wise come I in this city, where, Godamercy and no thanks to thee, sweet my brother, I now behold thee.' So saying, she embraced him over again and kissed him on the forehead, still weeping for tenderness. [Footnote 97: _i.e._ a member of the Guelph party, as against the Ghibellines or partisans of the Pope.] [Footnote 98: Charles d'Anjou, afterwards King of Sicily.] [Footnote 99: _i.e._ Frederick II. of Germany.]

• From How to Deal with Angry People (2023)

  That is ok too. Take Care of Yourself It is undeniable that this sort of interaction will take an emotional toll on you. If you do have the conversation, it can be emotionally draining and uncomfortable. Be aware of the fact that you might need a break or that you might even need to call it quits for the day in order to get some rest and some distance from the situation. Using some of the strategies to stay calm, discussed in chapter 7 , might be really important here. At the same time, if the person doesn’t respond and you never have the conversation, it can be emotionally draining and painful in a different way. Them making the decision that they no longer want you in their life, regardless of what led to them making that decision, will likely be hurtful and distressing. You might blame yourself and feel ashamed and responsible for the problem. It’s important to do what you can to take care of yourself, stay resilient, and learn from the experience. ANGER FACT A damaged relationship is one of the most common consequences of maladaptive anger, with most Anger Project survey respondents saying they have harmed at least one relationship in the past month because of their anger.61 The Hostility of the Internet The outcome for Anne was not such a pleasant one. Anne reached out to her friend via email, asking for an opportunity to talk about what had happened and even issuing an apology for her part of it. What she got back from her friend was an exceedingly hostile response, making it clear – maybe even a little too clear – that she did not wish to be friends anymore. Anne was hurt and therapy quickly shifted from “How can I repair this friendship?” to “How can I get over this loss?” It does open up a really interesting question, though, about how to deal with an angry email. Or, more broadly, how do we deal with various forms of “e-anger” (social media, texting, dating apps, and so on)? Much of the anger we experience isn’t face to face, but screen to screen. What are some effective strategies for navigating the hostility of the internet? The next chapter is all about that. * I will admit to being pleasantly surprised by the amount of research that’s been done on “ghosting.” There’s about 20 research articles in the past decade, which is a good amount considering it’s a relatively new topic. I was not disappointed with the titles either which ranged from the punny (When your boo becomes a ghost ) to the excessively jargony (Disappearing in the age of hypervisibility: Definition, context, and perceived psychological consequences of social media ghosting ). * The internet is of two minds on this topic.

• From Another Country (1962)

  He looked out of the window, drying his eyes. They had come out on Lenox Avenue, though their destination was on Seventh; and nothing they passed was unfamiliar because everything they passed was wretched. It was not hard to imagine that horse carriages had once paraded proudly up this wide avenue and ladies and gentlemen, ribboned, be-flowered, brocaded, plumed, had stepped down from their carriages to enter these houses which time and folly had so blasted and darkened. The cornices had once been new, had once gleamed as brightly as now they sulked in shame, all tarnished and despised. The windows had not always been blind. The doors had not always brought to mind the distrust and secrecy of a city long besieged. At one time people had cared about these houses—that was the difference; they had been proud to walk on this Avenue; it had once been home, whereas now it was prison. Now, no one cared: this indifference was all that joined this ghetto to the mainland. Now, everything was falling down and the owners didn’t care; no one cared. The beautiful children in the street, black-blue, brown, and copper, all with a gray ash on their faces and legs from the cold wind, like the faint coating of frost on a window or a flower, didn’t seem to care, that no one saw their beauty. Their elders, great, trudging, black women, lean, shuffling men, had taught them, by precept or example, what it meant to care or not to care: whatever precepts were daily being lost, the examples remained, all up and down the street. The trudging women trudged, paused, came in and out of dark doors, talked to each other, to the men, to policemen, stared into shop windows, shouted at the children, laughed, stopped to caress them. All the faces, even those of the children, held a sweet or poisonous disenchantment which made their faces extraordinarily definite, as though they had been struck out of stone. The cab sped uptown, past men in front of barber shops, in front of barbeque joints, in front of bars; sped past side streets, long, dark, noisome, with gray houses leaning forward to cut out the sky; and in the shadow of these houses, children buzzed and boomed, as thick as flies on flypaper. Then they turned off the Avenue, west, crawled up a long, gray street. They had to crawl, for the street was choked with unhurrying people and children kept darting out from between the cars which were parked, for the length of the street, on either side. There were people on the stoops, people shouting out of windows, and young men peered indifferently into the slow-moving cab, their faces set ironically and their eyes unreadable. “Did Rufus ever have you up here?” she asked. “To visit his family, I mean.”

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  ] ” 22 When they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies]; 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised [from death to life] on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved and distressed. The Tribute Money 24 When they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the e half-shekel [temple tax] went up to Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the half-shekel?” [Ex 30:13 ; 38:26 ] 25 Peter answered, “Yes.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly rulers collect duties or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt [from taxation]. 27 “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them [to pay the temple tax] for you and Me.” Matthew 18 Rank in the Kingdom 1 A T THAT time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” [Mark 9:33–37 ; Luke 9:46–48 ] 2 He called a little child and set him before them, 3 and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Therefore, whoever a humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives and welcomes one b child like this in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. [Mark 9:42 ; Luke 17:2 ] Stumbling Blocks 7 “Woe (judgment is coming) to the world because of stumbling blocks and temptations to sin! It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person on whose account or through whom the stumbling block comes! [Luke 17:1 ] 8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble and sin, cut it off and throw it away from you [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into everlasting fire.

• From The Canterbury Tales (2009)

  ‘You will find the rest of the jewellery in my bedchamber, safely stored. I came naked out of my father’s house, and naked I will return. I will follow your orders in everything. But may I ask you this, sir? Is it your intention that I should actually leave your palace without clothes? ‘It would be a great dishonour to you, and to me, if the belly in which your children lay was paraded before the people. Let me not go as naked as a worm upon its way. Remember, sir, that, unworthy though I be, I was still once your wife. ‘So in requital for the virginity I gave you, and which can never be restored to me, I plead with you to let me have as my reward a simple smock. Just like the smock I used to wear before I met you. I would then be able to cover up the womb of the woman who was once your wife. Now I will bid farewell to you, sir, in case I have angered you.’ ‘Keep the smock you are wearing now,’ he said to her. ‘Take it back with you.’ That was all he said. He could say no more. Overwhelmed by sorrow and by pity, he went on his way. So Griselda removed her other garments, in front of the whole court, and then returned to her father’s cottage in the simple smock. She walked back with bare head and with bare feet, accompanied by many people bewailing her fate and cursing the misadventures of Fortune. But Griselda did not cry. She never shed a tear. And she never said a word. Her father, on the other hand, wept and cursed when he heard the news. He did not want to live a day longer. In fact the poor old man had always harboured doubts about the marriage. He had always suspected that the marquis would get rid of his daughter as soon as he had had enough of her. He believed that the lord would regret having wed a poor woman, and would banish her from his court. So he hastened out of doors to meet Griselda, alerted by the noise of the crowd, and covered her smock with an old coat that he had brought with him. He was weeping. Yet the coat did not fit her. It was old and coarse and out of date. She was not the same slim young girl she had been at the time of her marriage. So for a while Griselda dwelled with her father. She was still a model of loyalty and patience, never complaining, never explaining, never lamenting. She did not show, to her father or to anyone else, any grief at her treatment. She did not mention her previous life as the wife of a great lord. She said nothing. She looked content. What else would you expect? Even when she lived in great state she had always retained her deep humility.