A Note on Truth

Truth can be a slippery notion for anglers who have traditionally been exempt from precise accuracy. The very word, “angling,” appearing in possibly the first English language text on the subject, Treatise of Fishing with an Angle, possibly written by the nun Dame Juliana Berners in 1496, refers to the shape of the hook and those angled relationships between fish, line, rod, and agent. The author also tells us to “take good heed that in going about your disports ye open no man’s gates but that ye shut them again.” So I’ve adjusted a few names and details to set the neighbors at ease. Dame Berners further enjoins that in fishing we avoid vices and the pursuit of wealth and fame and angle “principally for your solace, and to cause the health of your body, and especially of your soul.” Much to aspire to, but I’m willing to grant the good nun her passions and secrets if she and you would grant me mine.