Blogical Conclusion

MEN AND MATTERS

JAN 30, 2010 – THE DRUID ADAMAS (SERGE RENKO) ENQUIRES OF CÉLADON (Andy Gillet), “What ails you, boy? Secluding yourself in the woods away from human company? Can it be reasonable at your age to desert your flock, your kith and kin, and live like a wild bear? You say your love for Astrea drives you to it. But child, reflect. If you have wronged her, you cannot make amends from afar. And if you did her no wrong, how can you prove your innocence? Previously, I agree, you had some reason to avoid her. But now it is time to come to your senses and show her you are not just a lover but also a man.” The reason for Céladon’s self-imposed exile is that the love of his life, Astrea (Stéphanie Crayencour), suspected him of infidelity and ordered him away from her sight.

Céladon replies, “Being a man is the least of my concerns. A man’s memory is all I have left. I have lost all wit and willpower. My only defence is that I am in love.” The concerned druid counters, “If you are in love, should you not strive to see your beloved?” But Céladon insists, “I’m in love, how can I go against her wishes? How can I disobey her? Or rather, how can I not love to obey her? She ordered me to stay away.” When the druid points out that Astrea is unaware of Céladon’s obedience, Céladon simply says, “Lovers are amply satisfied by knowing we have done our duty.” Seeing the futility of arguing with Céladon and seeking to distract the young man, the druid puts forth a proposal.

“This carefree idleness is bad for you. I’ll take you to a sacred grove. You can build an arbour to embellish it.” When they reach their destination, the druid continues, “The grove around this tree is sacred to Teutates, Esus, Belenus and Taranis, our God.” Céladon wonders, “Father, you said four names, one God? Why not ‘gods’? Are these four gods not the same as the gods we call Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Apollo?” The druid replies, “No, child. They were given those names by the Roman invaders, who worship several gods. But they are not gods to us.” When Céladon asks who they are, the druid responds, “That is one of our great mysteries. There can be only one God. He is almighty or nothing. If there were two almighty gods, their power would be split. Also, they would be either identical or different. If identical, they would be one and the same thing. If they were different, then goodness must be different from goodness, which is impossible.”

Céladon says, “I’ve always believed in a sovereign God above all others. But just as mortal kings have junior officers, I thought there could be junior gods. I saw Teutates as the chief with Esus, Taranis and Belenus worshipped below him.” The druid clarifies that they are all but other names of the great Teutates, and Céladon wonders, “Then why, in our temples and here, are there statues of Hercules, Venus, Pallas, Diana, and Mars? Aren’t they gods?” The druid answers, “Only to the Romans. You should regard them, not as separate gods, but as several virtues of one God. In Jupiter, you worship God’s greatness and majesty, in Mars, His power, in Pallas, His wisdom, and in Venus, His beauty. So doing, you will relate them all to our great Teutates. The Romans forced their idols on us but we do not revere them as gods because our God is One.”

“If I dared to teach you our holy mysteries and our religion’s deepest secrets, I would quote a wise druid, who said: The names of Esus, Taranis and Belenus together signify a single God. The Strong God, the Man God, and the Resurgent God. The Strong God is the Father, the Man God the Son, and the Resurgent God is Love. All three make one, Teutates. To the Man God’s mother, the ancient druids raised an altar with a statue of a virgin cradling a child, inscribed: To the virgin mother. But these mysteries are beyond you. Some are even beyond me, a druid. I’ll say no more lest I profane them. Let’s change the subject. You may build around this tree a shrine devoted, not to Teutates, since we Celts are forbidden to make images of God, but to Astrea, the Roman goddess and Celtic symbol of virtue and justice. We could give her the features of your fair shepherdess, if you have the memory and artistry.”

The conversation that has meandered from love to the outer rims of theology slowly snakes back to love. Céladon says, “Father, I’m no artist. As for her likeness, I can lend you this if you promise to return it.” He removes from his neck a locket with a picture of Astrea. The druid looks at the likeness and marvels, “Your folly is beautiful indeed. I never saw a fairer face nor one that shows more modest love. Lucky the father who begot her and the mother who raised her. Luckier still, the man who wins her love, and her.” In his final feature, Eric Rohmer was as blithely unconcerned as ever about the dictum that movies should show and not tell, and his characters spoke as they always did – with curiosity, with intelligence, with passion, and with complete confidence that, yes, there was still an audience for long-winded locutions about the matters that make us the humans we are.

Les Amours d’Astrée et de Céladon (2007, French; aka Romance of Astrea and Celadon). Directed by Eric Rohmer. Starring Andy Gillet, Stéphanie Crayencour, Serge Renko.

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