I simply love Watership Down.

In the middle of the story, one of the rabbits tries to explain the miracle that allowed him to escape from an extraordinarly powerful foe:

“It’s going to be very hard to describe what happened next. Although all four of us were there, we don’t understand it ourselves. But what I’m going to say now is the cold truth. Lord Frith sent one of his great Messengers to save us from [our pursuers]. Each one of us had fallen over the edge of the bank in one place or another … And then–then an enormous thing–I can’t give you any idea of it–as big as a thousand hrududil–bigger–came rushing out of the night. It was full of fire and smoke and light and it roared and beat on the metal lines until the ground shook beneath it. It drove between us and [the enemy] like a thousand thunderstorms with lightning. I tell you, I was beyond being afraid. I couldn’t move. The flashing and the noise … they split the whole night apart.”

It’s clear to the reader that it’s simply a passing train that has been witnessed. (”hrududu” is the rabbit-word for any motor-vehicle, typically cars and tractors)

But it’s a very thoughtful statement on perception of the supernatural. The rabbits who survived to later tell this story did not know of trains, so they saw it as a miracle of Frith, their god. Yet the rabbits chasing them did know what a train was, and later say matter-of-factly that one of them had been “run down on the iron road by a train.”

One group sees a miracle, the other sees an unfortunate accident.

It’s wonderful that the triumphs of the rabbits on Watership Down can be almost completely attributed to luck and resourcefulness. Yet at the same time, they can also be seen from the rabbits’ perspective as a string of blessings from their Lord Frith.

I’ve never experienced something truly unexplainable. And I’m not the kind of guy to go seeking a supernatural explanation for ordinary events. But my life is such a long series of wonderful providences, it would be ludicrous to dismiss them all as merely good fortune.

Mike

← Earlier Later → Posted at 5:57 pm to Christianity, Literature.