A Holy Tradition of Working: Passages from the Writings of Eric Gill

by Eric Gill and Eric Gill. Brian Keeble (Introductory Essay). Walter Shewring (Foreword)

Book Overview

This book is an anthology drawn from the work of Eric Gill, a well known sculptor, wood and stone carver, letterer, engraver, typeface designer and graphic artist. Besides his work in the arts, Gill was also a radical religious and social philosopher for whom life was more than art, because it was the highest art, the art of being human. His interests were never theoretical and his view of life was holistic, involving the whole person in a unity of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0940262045
• ISBN13: 9780940262041
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Lindisfarne Books
• Length: 140 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Dedicated and inspiring

If you know Gill only as a graphic artist and type designer, Gill's work is still worth knowing. There's more, though. His real passion for the unity of labor, art, and Christian life only comes through in writings like these. Buddhism's "Noble Eightfold Path" includes right mindfulness and right livelihood as aspects of the life that leads to enlightenment. Without actually referring to the Eastern tradition, Gill aligns those concepts closely with devout and communitarian Catholicism. If you accept that mankind was made in the image of God the creator, then acts of creation, within the bounds of human ability, become holy duty and responsibility. Then, as an echo of God's responsibility toward His creations, Gill phrases a person's life work as a responsibility toward the society in which s/he lives. This philosophy does not lend itself to sound bites. It exists as a huge whole, with many threads intertwined. Each strand, taken in isolation, doesn't sound like much. Woven together, they support each other and form a complex pattern. The fabric thus woven won't fit everyone - parts certainly don't work for me - but has a beauty about it that demands admiration. I recommend this book to anyone looking for meaning in life. Whether you agree with Gill or not, this points to a larger and fuller meaning than any other Western writer I know. -- wiredweird