How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
Some lump, ah God, of lapis lazuli,
Big as a Jew's head cut off at the nape,
Blue as a vein o'er the Madonna's breast (42-44)
For a Catholic bishop, these are some pretty tone-deaf similes. They make the bishop seem crude and unreligious, in particular his pursuit of personal wealth and decoration.
Quote #5
So, let the blue lump poise between my knees,
Like God the Father's globe on both his hands
Ye worship in the Jesu Church so gay,
For Gandolf shall not choose but see and burst! (47-50)
Yeah, we haven't heard of too many church figures comparing themselves to God before, much less wanting to be depicted as God after they die. This bishop seems to have traded his religion in for belief in his own ego.
Quote #6
Those Pans and Nymphs ye wot of, and perchance
Some tripod, thyrsus, with a vase or so,
The Saviour at his sermon on the mount,
Saint Praxed in a glory, and one Pan
Ready to twitch the Nymph's last garment off,
And Moses with the tables (57-62)
The bishop's vision for his tomb here is a wild mix of Catholic religion and Greek mythology. Still, he doesn't seem to see any problem mixing his theology with the polytheism of the Greeks. Is that because he wants his tomb to look worldly and sophisticated? Or is he equally accepting of (or indifferent toward) all religions?