Behold the Nature of Cheese

As this is the first post, there are some formalities to be dispensed with. Specifically, to establish that the existence of this blog is solely due to that fact that there are some (few) thoughts which require more space than a tweet. Posts here will be extremely infrequent and will always be noted on Twitter, so if you are at all interested you'll want to follow me there instead.

With that out of the way, let's talk about cheese.

I'm sitting here eating some cheese (toasted) with bread and olives and wine, and am reminded of a conversation from several weeks ago. That conversation was in relation to Chesterton's thoughts on cheese. He expounds on its virtues well enough that I feel no need to add anything, but I would like to discuss the place of cheese in the order of creation.

As anyone who knows me should know, I am of the opinion that there are two foods which were exempted from the effects of the fall; these are honey and olive oil. The reasons why will, unfortunately, have to wait for another day, since although I was initially inclined to place cheese among their ranks, I have realized that this is not fitting. Cheese was not created directly by God but is the work of human hands, a subcreated good. This places it in the company of bread and wine, which when you consider in light of my menu for the evening you can see is entirely proper.

But, and this is a significant point, cheese cannot attain to the status of bread or wine. Just as in the Incarnation human nature, which the Psalmist tells us is little less than the angels, is transformed to share in the very nature of God Himself, so in the Eucharist are bread and wine raised above other foods. How exactly does this work? In the Incarnation Jesus Christ becomes true God and true Man, in the Eucharist does He become true Bread as well? Such a thought is ludicrous, except in metaphor. Bread has no will, it is not in the image of its own creator, let alone that of the Creator of all. Nonetheless, although their natures are not changed, it seems clear that through the Sacrament bread and wine are accorded a dignity far beyond their station. Although by the fact of their creation they are below the likes of olive oil and honey, by Christ they have been raised to be the pinnacle of foods.

Where does this leave cheese? It would seem that in its nature it is the equal of bread and wine (and has been so since the beginning), it is lesser only in dignity (and that only since the Last Supper). This is not to say that cheese is lacking in dignity, quite the reverse! The only way for it to have more dignity is through the direct intervention of God! I do think, though, that this explains what Chesterton calls 'The Neglect of Cheese in European Literature'. It is worthy in its own right, but European authors being so predominately Christian understood that there are foods that are much more powerful symbols.

So, there are a few thoughts on cheese. I really do think that I could live quite pleasantly with a very small selection of food and drink, but a world without cheese is one I cannot bear to imagine.