And Now: A Word About Our Sponsor
This blog is dedicated to the memory and inspiration of Mrs. Helen Feuerstahler. “Mrs. F”, as we called her, was an eastern seaboard, liberal Democratic, Catholic lady. In other words, she was just about everything her students weren’t. Some of us discovered through our English teacher that Mrs. F graduated Valedictorian from her Catholic high school. You’d never know it given her profound humility, but her smarts were pretty intimidating to those of us fortunate enough to learn from her. In HS, she was in the class a year behind U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie. When asked, she spoke highly of him. They were on the debate team together and she apparently knew him well. But again it was information we students had to drag out of her.
Mrs. F lit fires all through her teaching years. A generation and a half ago, she taught English, Drama, Speech, occasional history and science courses, and Latin at my older daughter's school in Dallas. Several years ago, I asked my daughter’s conducting teacher if he knew Mrs. F since he had been there for about 30 years. He said no. His loss. Institutional memory may fade quickly, but teachers seem to know intuitively that they make a big impact on students.
Mrs. F often taught Latin and ancient Rome from the perspective of Republic and Empire (the Pax Romana), and occasionally discussed early Christian “Church of Rome/Constantinople” integration into the medieval synthesis. It wasn’t until later that I made the connection between the High Pagan and Christian Virtues she eloquently, but so subtly, taught.
The Medieval Synthesis inhabited her life: Briefly, they are a combo of the High Pagan virtues 1) Prudence (wisdom/diligence), 2) Temperance (liberality), 3) Fortitude (Stoicism), and Justice; additionally, the three Theological Virtues of 1) Faith (humility), 2) Hope (kindness), and 3) Love (patience). In this schemata, these virtues together form the antidote for and counter-balance the Seven Deadly sins (that can damn one's soul) respectively: 1) Sloth, 2) Greed, 3) Gluttony, 4) Lust, 5) Pride, 6) Envy, 7) Wrath (vengeful anger).
If many of our parents had known that she was pulling a “Socrates” on our young minds—who btw was sentenced to death for “corrupting the young”—they might have thought a little less highly of her! She was forever exclaiming, "Class, how can I get you to THINK!" Fortunately, G-d gave her a big dose of patience when teaching lesser mortals, which included most of us.
I kept up with Mrs. F through her retirement years and failing health. My daughters had a chance to visit with her fairly regularly, although unfortunately they no longer remember. Her son asked me to provide the eulogy at her funeral in 1994. I was honored. I quoted one of our class requirements, the intro to the Prologue to Ceasar’s Gallic Wars. Although her preferred Tridentine Mass was not then permitted, the priest accommodated by playing Gregorian Chant during the service. I think I spied her sitting at the end of the church bench on the third row greatly enjoying herself.
I hope I'm able to do Mrs. F "justice" with periodic writings and discussions about topics of sometimes specific as well as general interests.
Gallia est omnis......
