Should homosexuality be promoted?
Here is an Epithalamaium by Sappho
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/an-epithalamium/
Sappho wrote:
Raise high the beams of the raftered hall,
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
Ye builders, of the bridal-dwelling!
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
Lo, the bridegroom comes, as the War-god tall —
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
Now nay — yet our tallest in stature excelling;
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
For stately he towers above all the throng
As the Lesbian singer towers among
All alien poets, a prince of song.
O happy bridegroom! it cometh to-day,
The bridal thine heart hith longed for aye!
At last shall she be thine own, the maid
For whom thou hast sighed, for whom thou hast prayed.
For none other maiden beneath the skies,
O bridegroom, was like unto her in thine eyes.
Whereunto may I liken thee, bridegroom dear?
To a green vine-shoot in the spring of the year.
Now, now let the bridegroom rejoice, for the bride
Into the hall cometh joyful-eyed.
Ethereal-pale is her lovely face.
Hail, bridegroom! Hail, bride, queenly in grace!
How goodly to see thy lord stands there!
And his goodness will keep him for thee ever fair.
Ah, doth she, ah doth she regretfully brood? —
Does her heart still yearn after maidenhood?
Nay, not in this hour she cries:
'Maidenhood, maidenhood, whither away
Forsaking me?'
While maidenhood replies:
'Not again unto thee shall I come for aye,
Not again unto thee!'
No more, no more doth she chant
Proud young virginity's vaunt:
'As the sweet-apple flames on the tip of a spray against the sky,
At its uttermost point, which the gleaners forgat, and passed it by —
O nay, they forgat it not, but they could not attain so high.'
But she thinks of the fate, an evil thing,
That the years fast-fleeting to fair maids bring.
When the roses are faded, the gold turns grey.
And the smoothness is furrowed, as singeth the lay —
'As the hyacinth-flower on the mountain-side that the shepherds tread
Underfoot, and low on the earth its bloom dark-splendid is shed.'
Lo, her hand into thine hath her father given.
And thou leadest her home 'neath the Star of Even;
To thy portal the bridal-train draws near.
And the Chant Processional rings out clear:
'Hail, Hesper, who bringest home all
That radiant Dawn scattered wide,
Bringest back unto fold and stall
The sheep and the goat, and thy call
Brings the child to the mother's side.
Let the rose-ringed Star of the Evenfall
Usher thee on, love's willing thrall,
Bride, garden of loves like roses blowing.
Bride, loveliest image of Paphos' Queen!
So pass to the bride-bower, pass within
To the nuptial couch, for the sweet bestowing
On the bridegroom, whose measure is overflowing.
Of the bliss, wherein honoured is Hera: 'tis owned
Of the Marriage-goddess, the silver-throned.'
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
Ye builders, of the bridal-dwelling!
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
Lo, the bridegroom comes, as the War-god tall —
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
Now nay — yet our tallest in stature excelling;
(Sing the Hymen-refrain!)
For stately he towers above all the throng
As the Lesbian singer towers among
All alien poets, a prince of song.
O happy bridegroom! it cometh to-day,
The bridal thine heart hith longed for aye!
At last shall she be thine own, the maid
For whom thou hast sighed, for whom thou hast prayed.
For none other maiden beneath the skies,
O bridegroom, was like unto her in thine eyes.
Whereunto may I liken thee, bridegroom dear?
To a green vine-shoot in the spring of the year.
Now, now let the bridegroom rejoice, for the bride
Into the hall cometh joyful-eyed.
Ethereal-pale is her lovely face.
Hail, bridegroom! Hail, bride, queenly in grace!
How goodly to see thy lord stands there!
And his goodness will keep him for thee ever fair.
Ah, doth she, ah doth she regretfully brood? —
Does her heart still yearn after maidenhood?
Nay, not in this hour she cries:
'Maidenhood, maidenhood, whither away
Forsaking me?'
While maidenhood replies:
'Not again unto thee shall I come for aye,
Not again unto thee!'
No more, no more doth she chant
Proud young virginity's vaunt:
'As the sweet-apple flames on the tip of a spray against the sky,
At its uttermost point, which the gleaners forgat, and passed it by —
O nay, they forgat it not, but they could not attain so high.'
But she thinks of the fate, an evil thing,
That the years fast-fleeting to fair maids bring.
When the roses are faded, the gold turns grey.
And the smoothness is furrowed, as singeth the lay —
'As the hyacinth-flower on the mountain-side that the shepherds tread
Underfoot, and low on the earth its bloom dark-splendid is shed.'
Lo, her hand into thine hath her father given.
And thou leadest her home 'neath the Star of Even;
To thy portal the bridal-train draws near.
And the Chant Processional rings out clear:
'Hail, Hesper, who bringest home all
That radiant Dawn scattered wide,
Bringest back unto fold and stall
The sheep and the goat, and thy call
Brings the child to the mother's side.
Let the rose-ringed Star of the Evenfall
Usher thee on, love's willing thrall,
Bride, garden of loves like roses blowing.
Bride, loveliest image of Paphos' Queen!
So pass to the bride-bower, pass within
To the nuptial couch, for the sweet bestowing
On the bridegroom, whose measure is overflowing.
Of the bliss, wherein honoured is Hera: 'tis owned
Of the Marriage-goddess, the silver-throned.'
I wonder if anyone has recited or sung this at a modern wedding?
MarketAndChurch wrote:
DancingDanny wrote:
I think that sexuality being fluid and all that people who are still atleast a majority percentage heterosexual will still marry the opposite sex no matter the legal status and name of what we call gay marriage. Why do you think heterosexual people need to be societally peer pressured to have sex with the opposite sex? I think that's what comes naturally.
It's not for us Danny.. you grew up in the world the Bible framed, as has everyone for the last 1000 years in the western world, but the world wasn't always this way.
It is for our children, and their children, and so on, who will grow up in a world much like the ancient greeks, egyptians, israelites, germans, french, and chinese, etc where gender is not only less rigid, the preferred object of your sexual affection was very often your own sex.
As it has been articulated many times over in this thread, homosexuals are not the only ones having same-sex relations. Naturally is of unimportance to this discussion, prison mates didn't choose to be caught, confined, and thus stuck with only others of the same sex... but that won't stop them from what they naturally wanted which is intercourse with the opposite sex... they'll go at it with each other, beats having nothing.
How is marriage equality going to send us to a Pagan culture? What your saying would be true if tomorrow after gay marriage passing we tear down Christian culture and start praying to trees again.
Kraichgauer
Veteran
Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 47,796
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.
DancingDanny wrote:
MarketAndChurch wrote:
DancingDanny wrote:
I think that sexuality being fluid and all that people who are still atleast a majority percentage heterosexual will still marry the opposite sex no matter the legal status and name of what we call gay marriage. Why do you think heterosexual people need to be societally peer pressured to have sex with the opposite sex? I think that's what comes naturally.
It's not for us Danny.. you grew up in the world the Bible framed, as has everyone for the last 1000 years in the western world, but the world wasn't always this way.
It is for our children, and their children, and so on, who will grow up in a world much like the ancient greeks, egyptians, israelites, germans, french, and chinese, etc where gender is not only less rigid, the preferred object of your sexual affection was very often your own sex.
As it has been articulated many times over in this thread, homosexuals are not the only ones having same-sex relations. Naturally is of unimportance to this discussion, prison mates didn't choose to be caught, confined, and thus stuck with only others of the same sex... but that won't stop them from what they naturally wanted which is intercourse with the opposite sex... they'll go at it with each other, beats having nothing.
How is marriage equality going to send us to a Pagan culture? What your saying would be true if tomorrow after gay marriage passing we tear down Christian culture and start praying to trees again.
I'm not going to hold my breath for the pagan culture thing. There are in fact gay friendly churches where homosexuals can worship the Christian God, so it hardly sounds like gays even want to usher in a new age of paganism.
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
ArrantPariah wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
I hold my nose and turn aside.
As long as the homosexuals do not go about buggering underage children or unwilling parties I suppose I must hold my peace.
ruveyn
As long as the homosexuals do not go about buggering underage children or unwilling parties I suppose I must hold my peace.
ruveyn
Tolerance: the first step towards conversion.
A liberal talking about tolerance.
_________________
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
- Thomas Jefferson
ArrantPariah wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
I hold my nose and turn aside.
As long as the homosexuals do not go about buggering underage children or unwilling parties I suppose I must hold my peace.
ruveyn
As long as the homosexuals do not go about buggering underage children or unwilling parties I suppose I must hold my peace.
ruveyn
Tolerance: the first step towards conversion.
That is as funny as a double amputee.
ruveyn
Last edited by ruveyn on 11 Nov 2012, 3:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ArrantPariah wrote:
Raptor seems mysteriously drawn to the topic. "Curiosity" is usually the initial excuse.
Probably Raptor will be our second convert.
Probably Raptor will be our second convert.
Only if I can have you.
_________________
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
- Thomas Jefferson
ArrantPariah wrote:
Raptor wrote:
ArrantPariah wrote:
Raptor seems mysteriously drawn to the topic. "Curiosity" is usually the initial excuse.
Probably Raptor will be our second convert.
Probably Raptor will be our second convert.
Only if I can have you.
Oh. So that explains all of your flirty posts directed my way.
Uh oh! The cat's out of the bag now....
_________________
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
- Thomas Jefferson
I don't think any sort of sexuality should be promoted one way or the other, but at the same time, none should be demonized either. What people do in their bedrooms shouldn't be any of your business, unless you happen to be held captive in said bedroom and forced to participate.
Kraichgauer
Veteran
Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 47,796
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.
Raptor wrote:
ArrantPariah wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
I hold my nose and turn aside.
As long as the homosexuals do not go about buggering underage children or unwilling parties I suppose I must hold my peace.
ruveyn
As long as the homosexuals do not go about buggering underage children or unwilling parties I suppose I must hold my peace.
ruveyn
Tolerance: the first step towards conversion.
A liberal talking about tolerance.
What makes us intolerant? Our intolerance toward intolerance?
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer