"The Window in the Wall" by Ronald Knox

p.falk · **Posted:** Mon Jan 02, 2023 2:09 pm

Subtitle: "Reflections on the Holy Eucharist".

Found this one in an unused church library in a basement.

I know Fr. Knox is one of the more notable converts of recent history. Looks like the book is no longer published, which is a shame... he's a very good writer. The chapters seem to be homilies he has given.

Here's an example:

Quote:

Meanwhile, it is certain that as life goes on he (Christ) reminds us, more and more, how transitory it is and how unsatisfactory, by taking from us the supports which allowed our hearts to rest in this world. Our friends are taken us by death; and if we would reach them now we must pierce beyond the veil; must live in Christ if we are to be one, consciously, with those who sleep in him. May God have mercy on their souls, and grant them light in their place of waiting; and may he grant us, who have adored him today beneath the veil of his sacramental presence, grace to hear his voice, and obey his call, and live with him in heavenly places, until he calls us, too, to himself, and makes us glad at last with the beauty of his unveiled presence.

Doom · **Posted:** Mon Jan 02, 2023 3:31 pm

Very few of Knox's works are in print, sadly we will probably have to wait until they start going into the public domain before they are available. As for when they will go into the public domain, take the year of original publication and add 95 years. For example, the Knox translation of the Bible was published in 1949, it will go into the public domain in 2044.

The problem with reprinting his works is the so-called "orphaned works", i.e. a work for which no one owns the copyright. Knox, being a priest, had no children, so there is no one who can authorize a reprint, or who could profit from it and no one to sell the copyright either. Baronius Press was able to reprint the Knox Bible, but only because for that one book the copyright was owned by the archdiocese that commissioned the work, so there was someone to negotiate with.

Copyright law needs to be amended to allow for orphaned works to enter the public domain more quickly, not that there is any chance of that happening any time soon, the trend now is to tighten copyright law, not loosen it.

p.falk · **Posted:** Tue Jan 03, 2023 10:39 pm

That’s a shame his works are so difficult to obtain.

I love his writing. This is an excerpt for the book of a homily he gave on the Eucharist during the early days of WWII:

Quote:

War divides men’s souls from their bodies; and in doing so, divides us irreparably, it seems, from those we love. And, this time, we can no longer console ourselves with the reflection that we and they, in spite of distance, can meet at one altar and share one meal. For them, the use of sacramental means has come to an end, with the body itself, and whatever Grace visits them now must clothe itself in other forms than those to which we are accustomed. And yet the church clings, obstinately, to the instinct which tells her that they, too, are somehow partakers of the altar; no Mass is complete unless they, too, are remembered. An empty place at a table, yes, and an empty chair by the fire side, but not an empty place at the communion rail… That sacrament which unites the living unites too, somehow, the living with the dead.

GKC · **Joined:** Thu Feb 20, 2003 10:22 pm **Posts:** 20036

p.falk wrote:

That’s a shame his works are so difficult to obtain.

I love his writing. This is an excerpt for the book of a homily he gave on the Eucharist during the early days of WWII:

Quote:

War divides men’s souls from their bodies; and in doing so, divides us irreparably, it seems, from those we love. And, this time, we can no longer console ourselves with the reflection that we and they, in spite of distance, can meet at one altar and share one meal. For them, the use of sacramental means has come to an end, with the body itself, and whatever Grace visits them now must clothe itself in other forms than those to which we are accustomed. And yet the church clings, obstinately, to the instinct which tells her that they, too, are somehow partakers of the altar; no Mass is complete unless they, too, are remembered. An empty place at a table, yes, and an empty chair by the fire side, but not an empty place at the communion rail… That sacrament which unites the living unites too, somehow, the living with the dead.

I started collecting him in the mid 60s.

Don't have this title, though.

GKC · **Joined:** Thu Feb 20, 2003 10:22 pm **Posts:** 20036

p.falk · **Posted:** Thu Jan 05, 2023 11:58 pm

GKC wrote:

NM

You do have it?

GKC · **Joined:** Thu Feb 20, 2003 10:22 pm **Posts:** 20036

p.falk wrote:

GKC wrote:

NM

You do have it?

Nope. I have about 10 of his titles and maybe 2-3 books on him, like Waugh's bio. But not THE WINDOW IN THE WALL.

The "NM" post above was to replace a duplicate of the post above it, which I somehow managed to post originally. No one took advantage of it to post "TX" or something similar.

Norwegianblue · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2023 1:44 pm

Doom wrote:

Very few of Knox's works are in print, sadly we will probably have to wait until they start going into the public domain before they are available. As for when they will go into the public domain, take the year of original publication and add 95 years. For example, the Knox translation of the Bible was published in 1949, it will go into the public domain in 2044.

The problem with reprinting his works is the so-called "orphaned works", i.e. a work for which no one owns the copyright. Knox, being a priest, had no children, so there is no one who can authorize a reprint, or who could profit from it and no one to sell the copyright either. Baronius Press was able to reprint the Knox Bible, but only because for that one book the copyright was owned by the archdiocese that commissioned the work, so there was someone to negotiate with.

Copyright law needs to be amended to allow for orphaned works to enter the public domain more quickly, not that there is any chance of that happening any time soon, the trend now is to tighten copyright law, not loosen it.

In Norway, it's generally 70 years after the creator's death, so they should enter the public domain in 2027 here.

Doom · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2023 8:19 pm

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Very few of Knox's works are in print, sadly we will probably have to wait until they start going into the public domain before they are available. As for when they will go into the public domain, take the year of original publication and add 95 years. For example, the Knox translation of the Bible was published in 1949, it will go into the public domain in 2044.

The problem with reprinting his works is the so-called "orphaned works", i.e. a work for which no one owns the copyright. Knox, being a priest, had no children, so there is no one who can authorize a reprint, or who could profit from it and no one to sell the copyright either. Baronius Press was able to reprint the Knox Bible, but only because for that one book the copyright was owned by the archdiocese that commissioned the work, so there was someone to negotiate with.

Copyright law needs to be amended to allow for orphaned works to enter the public domain more quickly, not that there is any chance of that happening any time soon, the trend now is to tighten copyright law, not loosen it.

In Norway, it's generally 70 years after the creator's death, so they should enter the public domain in 2027 here.

70 years after the author's death for books written after 1978, for those before 1978 it is 95 years, full stop.

Norwegianblue · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:16 am

Doom wrote:

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Very few of Knox's works are in print, sadly we will probably have to wait until they start going into the public domain before they are available. As for when they will go into the public domain, take the year of original publication and add 95 years. For example, the Knox translation of the Bible was published in 1949, it will go into the public domain in 2044.

The problem with reprinting his works is the so-called "orphaned works", i.e. a work for which no one owns the copyright. Knox, being a priest, had no children, so there is no one who can authorize a reprint, or who could profit from it and no one to sell the copyright either. Baronius Press was able to reprint the Knox Bible, but only because for that one book the copyright was owned by the archdiocese that commissioned the work, so there was someone to negotiate with.

Copyright law needs to be amended to allow for orphaned works to enter the public domain more quickly, not that there is any chance of that happening any time soon, the trend now is to tighten copyright law, not loosen it.

In Norway, it's generally 70 years after the creator's death, so they should enter the public domain in 2027 here.

70 years after the author's death for books written after 1978, for those before 1978 it is 95 years, full stop.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Comm ... ory/Norway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... ht_lengths

Though it seems the copyright does not expire before the year's end, so (as far as I can tell) Knox's works should enter the public domain in Norway in 2028, not 2027.

Doom · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2023 9:09 am

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Very few of Knox's works are in print, sadly we will probably have to wait until they start going into the public domain before they are available. As for when they will go into the public domain, take the year of original publication and add 95 years. For example, the Knox translation of the Bible was published in 1949, it will go into the public domain in 2044.

The problem with reprinting his works is the so-called "orphaned works", i.e. a work for which no one owns the copyright. Knox, being a priest, had no children, so there is no one who can authorize a reprint, or who could profit from it and no one to sell the copyright either. Baronius Press was able to reprint the Knox Bible, but only because for that one book the copyright was owned by the archdiocese that commissioned the work, so there was someone to negotiate with.

Copyright law needs to be amended to allow for orphaned works to enter the public domain more quickly, not that there is any chance of that happening any time soon, the trend now is to tighten copyright law, not loosen it.

In Norway, it's generally 70 years after the creator's death, so they should enter the public domain in 2027 here.

70 years after the author's death for books written after 1978, for those before 1978, it is 95 years, full stop.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Comm ... ory/Norway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... ht_lengths

Though it seems the copyright does not expire before the year's end, so (as far as I can tell) Knox's works should enter the public domain in Norway in 2028, not 2027.

In 2013, the European Union passed a copyright extension law that makes the EU law precisely identical to what exists in the United States, it does even more than that, it extends copyright for unreleased works for another 20 years provided they are given a release, which is why from 2013-2015 there was a rush of literally dozens of artists including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Prince, and Bob Dylan, suddenly releasing massive amounts of previously unreleased songs, sometimes numbering in the thousands, although in many cases, the albums got a very small printing of only a dozen or so copies just so they could say they were released in some form and follow the exact letter of the law.

Copyright law is getting more and more restrictive worldwide.

Norwegianblue · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2023 9:21 am

Doom wrote:

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Very few of Knox's works are in print, sadly we will probably have to wait until they start going into the public domain before they are available. As for when they will go into the public domain, take the year of original publication and add 95 years. For example, the Knox translation of the Bible was published in 1949, it will go into the public domain in 2044.

The problem with reprinting his works is the so-called "orphaned works", i.e. a work for which no one owns the copyright. Knox, being a priest, had no children, so there is no one who can authorize a reprint, or who could profit from it and no one to sell the copyright either. Baronius Press was able to reprint the Knox Bible, but only because for that one book the copyright was owned by the archdiocese that commissioned the work, so there was someone to negotiate with.

Copyright law needs to be amended to allow for orphaned works to enter the public domain more quickly, not that there is any chance of that happening any time soon, the trend now is to tighten copyright law, not loosen it.

In Norway, it's generally 70 years after the creator's death, so they should enter the public domain in 2027 here.

70 years after the author's death for books written after 1978, for those before 1978, it is 95 years, full stop.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Comm ... ory/Norway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... ht_lengths

Though it seems the copyright does not expire before the year's end, so (as far as I can tell) Knox's works should enter the public domain in Norway in 2028, not 2027.

In 2013, the European Union passed a copyright extension law that makes the EU law precisely identical to what exists in the United States, it does even more than that, it extends copyright for unreleased works for another 20 years provided they are given a release, which is why from 2013-2015 there was a rush of literally dozens of artists including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Prince, and Bob Dylan, suddenly releasing massive amounts of previously unreleased songs, sometimes numbering in the thousands, although in many cases, the albums got a very small printing of only a dozen or so copies just so they could say they were released in some form and follow the exact letter of the law.

Copyright law is getting more and more restrictive worldwide.

The page for Norway refers to a Norwegian act of 2018.

Norwegianblue · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2023 9:56 am

Doom wrote:

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Norwegianblue wrote:

Doom wrote:

Very few of Knox's works are in print, sadly we will probably have to wait until they start going into the public domain before they are available. As for when they will go into the public domain, take the year of original publication and add 95 years. For example, the Knox translation of the Bible was published in 1949, it will go into the public domain in 2044.

The problem with reprinting his works is the so-called "orphaned works", i.e. a work for which no one owns the copyright. Knox, being a priest, had no children, so there is no one who can authorize a reprint, or who could profit from it and no one to sell the copyright either. Baronius Press was able to reprint the Knox Bible, but only because for that one book the copyright was owned by the archdiocese that commissioned the work, so there was someone to negotiate with.

Copyright law needs to be amended to allow for orphaned works to enter the public domain more quickly, not that there is any chance of that happening any time soon, the trend now is to tighten copyright law, not loosen it.

In Norway, it's generally 70 years after the creator's death, so they should enter the public domain in 2027 here.

70 years after the author's death for books written after 1978, for those before 1978, it is 95 years, full stop.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Comm ... ory/Norway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... ht_lengths

Though it seems the copyright does not expire before the year's end, so (as far as I can tell) Knox's works should enter the public domain in Norway in 2028, not 2027.

In 2013, the European Union passed a copyright extension law that makes the EU law precisely identical to what exists in the United States, it does even more than that, it extends copyright for unreleased works for another 20 years provided they are given a release, which is why from 2013-2015 there was a rush of literally dozens of artists including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Prince, and Bob Dylan, suddenly releasing massive amounts of previously unreleased songs, sometimes numbering in the thousands, although in many cases, the albums got a very small printing of only a dozen or so copies just so they could say they were released in some form and follow the exact letter of the law.

Copyright law is getting more and more restrictive worldwide.

I believe what you are referring to is https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content ... 32011L0077 concerning, I believe, specifically the extension of copyright for sound recordings from 50 to 70 years under certain cases. (Ed: i see it also deals with protection for musical compositions with words) The wiki article posted above on copyright in Norway doesn't reflect that, but it is mentioned in the Norwegian act of 2018 to which the article refers.

Anyway, anyone can search and see for themselves what information they find, or if someone has expertise in international copyright law, they can weigh in. I am no expert and could be wrong, but I looked briefly at the Norwegian legislation from 2018, and at a cursory glance, saw nothing to dissuade me in my belief that Knox's works (unless the copyright of specific works should belong to someone else than him through some mechanism) should enter the public domain in Norway in 2028. There is not in the act any mention of a 95-year copyright term for anything.

"The Window in the Wall" by Ronald Knox

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