In Jeffrey P. BrownÆs (2005, p. 2) Black Body Radiation and the Ultraviolet Catastrophe, the Forward by Commander Holtenzennerson serves as ôa warning, a pleading for all those within its grasp to pay heed to its message and ask you to discipline yourselves to see its need and the need for constant nourishment to the eternal soul over that of the temporal flesh.ö BrownÆs story of the spiritual awakening and reconnection of self of Augustus serves as an effort to reconnect readers with the eternal over the temporal through the maintenance of hope and faith.
I find the character of Augustus highly interesting, primarily because he serves as an ôeveryman,ö a human being who has the capacity for awareness but often has trouble seeing things clearly. As we are told of Augustus when he sees a powerful light above his room, ôRegardless of his inability to see, he was receiving an impression, one that conveyed profound wisdom, knowledge of eternities, supreme compassion, a nimble and focused intellect,ö (Brown, p. 3). In my view, Brown is illustrating how we all have the capacity for these aspects of human existence but are unable to see them for their significance.
In todayÆs world, we are often focused on the temporal over the eternal and the material over the spiritual. In BrownÆs story of Augustus, we are told that the mystical being that visits him is there for a specific purpose. As the being tells Augustus, ôJust here to tell you to keep the faith,ö (Brown, p. 5). Brown uses humor to convey the need for human beings to reconnect with hope and faith. For instance, the being who visits Augustus cannot tell him any more than this due to budget cuts. Brown juxtaposes contemporary material concerns with the spiritual to reinforce our need for hope and faith and to refocus on the eternal.
In a way, Brown is trying to shake us out of our materialistic and temporal concerns and frame of m
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