GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 8:31
Thirty words
One of my first classes in college was English 101, with about 50 students. We worked through basic grammar using a textbook of about 400 pages. Two more English-language courses followed the 101 class. I have four English grammar books near my desk all the time and a few internet grammar sources that I consult frequently. Each of the books has 300—400 pages that I consult, for example, when I’m trying to determine the correct use of a punctuation mark or the correct use of a word. I have a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary that runs thousands of pages in regular print. My copy is reduced to 5-point type and is in two volumes. The set came with a magnifying glass to read the small type.
I use the OED occasionally when I’m trying to track down the derivation of a word.
I’ve read the 105-page Elements of Style by Strunk and White several times, however. These authors captured in a few pages what some other authors had used hundreds of pages to discuss. Admittedly, when I’m drilling down into some of the nuances of English, I go to the larger volumes. But Strunk and White managed to convey essential information succinctly in a few pages.
St. Mark wrote that in Caesarea Philippi, after Jesus questioned the disciples and Peter’s insightful declaration, “And he began to teach them that it is necessary that the Son of Man suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise.” (Mark 8:31) In 30 words, Mark encapsulated the entire Gospel.
Now I must let these 30 words live in me.
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