The Praise of Wine; An Heroic Poem by H. Belloc / To Duff Cooper / Christmas, 1931
[Sussex]: [Printed for the author], 1931. Quarto (9 5/8 inches tall), unsewn and uncut, 8 pages. Faint spotting at spine. About Fine. Item #1713
"SO TOUCH MY DYING LIP : SO BRIDGE THAT DEEP : / SO PLEDGE MY WAKING FROM THE GIFT OF SLEEP, / AND SACRAMENTAL, RAISE ME THE DIVINE : / STRONG BROTHER IN GOD AND LAST COMPANION WINE"
First appearance of The Praise of Wine—"an Heroic Poem" by Hilaire Belloc—privately printed for the author's friends at Christmas 1931. A beautiful copy of a scarce printing.
Elemental to the Greeks and Romans of classical antiquity and sacramental to the Church, wine binds the history of the Latin West and reflects Belloc's most famous (and most controversial) expression: "Europe is the Faith and the Faith is Europe." Dedicated to Duff Cooper and "presented by HB to his friends for Christmas 1931" (Patrick Cahill), this poem was formally published a year later with a slightly different title: "An Heroic Poem in Praise of Wine."
"To exalt, enthrone, establish and defend, / To welcome home mankind's mysterious friend / Wine, true begetter of all arts that be; / Wine, privilege of the completely free; / Wine the recorder; wine the sagely strong; / Wine, bright avenger of sly-dealing wrong, / Awake, Ausonian Muse, and sing the vineyard song!" (H. Belloc, / Kings Land 1931).
"To drink wine is to drink history. For the Catholic Church and the history of Europe are of course interwoven; and the Church and wine likewise, more existentially still. But wine is intrinsically necessary to the Catholic religion and its liturgical practice. Not only is its use attested to (and hallowed) by references in Sacred Scripture, but the centre-piece of each Catholic’s life, the Holy Mass, could not be celebrated without it. Where the Church goes, the vine goes. Wine encapsulates so much of Belloc, because it encapsulates so much of the West, of the European thing, those traditions and the history he loved, whose culture he defended and which he himself had inherited and desired to see passed on. It truly is 'leading all Creation down distilled / To one small ardent sphere immensely filled'" (Mike Hennessy. The Hilaire Belloc Society). This privately printed edition preceded the edition of 100 copies which appeared the following December under the imprint of Peter Davies. Patrick Cahill. The English First Editions of Hilaire Belloc, 122A&B; Mike Hennessy. The Hilaire Belloc Society (www.thehilairebellocblog).
Price: $500.00