Approaching the Unapproachable

She tells the comic-tragic stories of polar explorers who “despite the purity of their conceptions … manhauled their humanity to the poles.” The Franklin Expedition in 1845, with 138 officers and men, carried a “1,200 volume library, a hand-organ playing fifty tunes, china place settings for officers and men, cutglass wine goblets, sterling silver flatware, and no special clothing for the Arctic, only the uniforms of Her Majesty’s Navy.” It was a noble enterprise, and they were nobly dressed for it. They all died. Their corpses were found with pieces of backgammon board and a great deal of table silver engraved with officers’ initials and family crests. Dignity was all. Peterson, Eugene H.: The Contemplative Pastor : Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction. Carol Stream, Ill.; Dallas; Waco, Tex. : Christianity Today; Word Pub.; Distributed by Word Books, 1989 (The Leadership Library 17), S. 89