Erewhon Revisited · Chapter
XV: The Temple Is Dedicated to My Father, and Certain Extracts Are Read from His Supposed Sayings explained
My father and Mr.
What happens
My father and Mr. Balmy approach Sunch'ston for the temple dedication. My father reflects guiltily on the unintended consequences of his earlier deceptions, particularly on Mr. Balmy and the professors Hanky and Panky. At the temple, a reliquary containing coprolites is presented, and the Head Manager reads fabricated 'Sayings of the Sunchild' that my father barely recognizes. My father falls asleep during the service, is woken by George, and later meets George's brothers who give up their seats.
Themes in this chapter
Religion and Credulity
The dedication of the temple and the reading of fabricated sayings highlight how credulity and institutional religion can distort original teachings.
Hypocrisy and Deception
My father's guilt over his earlier deceptions and the false relics and sayings underscore the theme of hypocrisy and the spread of lies.
Satire of Institutions
The elaborate temple ceremony, the reliquary with coprolites, and the formal reading of spurious texts satirize religious and institutional pomp.
Characters to notice
- My Father
Walks with Mr. Balmy, feels guilt over the harm his deceptions have caused, attends the temple dedication, falls asleep, and is woken by George.
- Mr. Balmy
Walks with my father, expresses distress over the phrase 'as well as' and fears the Sunchild's anger, then parts to visit friends before the ceremony.
- George
Taps my father on the shoulder, addresses him as 'Professor Panky,' secures seats for them, and wakes my father when he snores.
- President Gurgoyle
Declares the temple dedicated to the contemplation of the Sunchild and the exposition of his teaching.
- Professor Hanky
Mentioned as one of those corrupted by the Sunchild's lie; my father reflects on the mischief done to him.
- Professor Panky
Mentioned alongside Hanky as corrupted by the Sunchild's deception; George addresses my father as 'Professor Panky.'
Key passages
“It is enough to break one’s heart... ‘As well as,’ indeed! We know what that means. Wherever there is a factory there is a hotbed of unbelief. ‘As well as’! Why it is a defiance.”
Mr. Balmy is deeply upset by the phrase 'as well as,' which he interprets as a sign of unbelief and defiance associated with factories.
Mr. Balmy's reaction shows his extreme credulity and the way small phrases are read as significant religious signs.
“God is the baseless basis of all thoughts, things, and deeds. So that those who say that there is a God, lie, unless they also mean that there is no God; and those who say that there is no God, lie, unless they also mean that there is a God.”
The Sunchild's supposed saying presents God as a paradoxical foundation: affirming God's existence is false without also denying it, and denying God is false without also affirming it.
This paradoxical statement is one of the few my father actually recalls saying, reflecting his original views.
“The unborn have knowledge of one another so long as they are unborn, and this without impediment from walls or material obstacles. The unborn children in any city form a population apart, who talk with one another and tell each other about their developmental progress.”
The parable describes unborn children as a separate population who communicate freely about their development, unaware of the world outside the womb.
This parable is part of the fabricated sayings read during the ceremony, illustrating the absurdity attributed to the Sunchild.
