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Clare furthers her case about reading, while Thaddeus defends "The Beuk". "Ken", by the way, means to understand, know or remember. "Athoot" means "without".
The Book of Common Portrayal is a book containing the scripts for all of the Portrayals, which are the fables performed as plays before the schoolchildren. As Thaddeus points out, it is a document central to the culture of The Kingdom, on par with the Pedestra Charta. However, the BoCP (or just "The Book") deals with morals, whereas the Charter is a set of guidelines for good government.
For anyone that has ever been inside an Anglican Church, one would find many copies of a book entitled "The Book of Common Prayer" among the pews. I hope this coincidence does not offend any Anglicans.
Many years ago, I made the acquaintance of a gentleman who lived in Sway, England. When he was little, he noticed the Book of Common Prayer had on it's cover, near the bottom, in small print, the usual admonition that the book was the property of the church and not to be removed as a souvenir. It read, "Property of St Luke's, Sway. Not to be taken away." While still a boy he made a trip away from home and he was taken to church. He was greatly disappointed to find that the admonition read, "Property of St (Someone Else), (Another Town), Not to be taken away." He was greatly disappointed that it didn't rhyme.
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20 JUNE 2001 Wednesday - 2000
Page 63
Black Kettle Pub
"Oh, behave, Thaddeus," Ignatius dismissed the charge, much to Clare's relief. "She has a better PD record than you do, and she complains about it substantially less, I hasten to add."
"Mebbe aye an mebbe na," Thaddeus conceded, "but she'd do well ta ken the Beuk is the moral compass o our society. Athoot it, our culture wad decline inta the Dark Era."
"That's not what I'm on about at all," Clare remonstrated. "As Moral Compasses go, the BCP serves its purpose very well. My point is that everyone should do some reading outside of what's required. And not just outside the Book, but outside of the news, outside of our studies, outside of our jobs."
"Oh, aye? An what if this 'outside' readin puts some ideas inta the heads o the more . . . impressionable types roond here?" asked Thaddeus, pointedly.
"That would be the general idea," Ignatius pointed out.
"An what if these 'outside' ideas cause 'em ta do something rash?" Thaddeus continued his train of thought.
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