Pelican

Today, while browsing through Sir Thomas Browne's miscellaneous writings, trying to find his assessment upon Peruvian cinchona bark, new to 17th century medicine and hailed as a 'miracle' cure of malaria, I came upon a short amusing paragraph worth reproducing as regards Browne's ornithological inclinations.

Among his numerous interests Browne was a keen bird-fancier. It's recorded that at one time he kept as a pet an owl, a bittern, an eagle and even an ostrich. A short tract upon Falconry survives, and he's also credited with coining the word 'incubation' into the English language. One wonders just how he found time to attend to any of his patients with his many hobbies!

I'm planning to add a page upon the many neologisms Browne coined into the English language soon. Anyway, here's the paragraph from a tract on the Birds of Norfolk which made me chuckle, nearly as much as seeing a photo of an octopus embracing a bottle of Ouzo. And no, a pelican did not fly over my garden today either! In his short tract on the birds of Norfolk, Browne writes-

An onocrotalus, or pelican, shot upon Horsey Fen, May 22, 1663, which stuffed and cleansed, I yet retain. It was three yards and a half between the extremities of the wings; the chowle and beak answering the usual description; the rest of the body white; a fowl which none could remember upon this coast. About the same time I heard of the king's pelican's was lost at St. James; perhaps this might be the same.

Far less funny is the plight this summer of thousands of American pelicans in the Gulf of Mexico, due to the oil disaster. Just innocent bystanders in the collision between human greed and nature. Over 612 Brown pelicans killed as a result of the spillage as of July 2010.

The Pelican was the name for a common piece of alchemical apparatus. Its function was 'the digestion of substances by long steeping in hot fluid to extract the essence'. The apparatus worked by reflux distillation - the substance under treatment was boiled and the vapour condensed in a glass head, it then flowed back again, causing a process of circulation.

Alchemical and Christian iconography often used the emblem of the Pelican as a symbol of Christ for it's self-sacrificing qualities. Browne was of course familiar with this emblem, opening the fifth book of his encyclopaedia, Pseudodoxia Epidemica with a discussion upon it, as ever attributing the antiquity of its symbolic roots to his beloved ancient Egypt, writing,

And first in every place we meet with the picture of the Pelican, opening her breast with her bill, and feeding her young ones with the blood distilling from her. Thus is it set forth not only in common Signs, but in the Crest and Scutcheon of many Noble families; hath been asserted by many holy Writers, and was an Hieroglyphic of piety and pity among the Egyptians; on which consideration, they spared them at their tables.

Green Woodpecker

The green woodpecker is a relatively rare bird, at least in urban settings. One rested on a branch in the garden this morning, before zipping off.

Comma

Polygonia c-album or the Comma butterfly. One flitted through the garden this afternoon. So-named because of the distinctive C-shape on its ragged-edge wing. Although my photographic guide to Butterflies of Britain and Europe (1999) states that it is a fairly common species, all species of insect, in particular bee's and butterflies, have greatly reduced in number in the last five to ten years.

Postscript: 5 days after posting this, the Daily Mail has the headline 'Half of UK's butterfly species 'threatened with extinction,' and a national week of Butterfly counting July 24th -31 st is announced !

Octopus

A new resident to the Aquarium!

In the news today is Paul the 'psychic' Octopus. The English-born Octopus who now lives at Oberhausen Sea Life Zoo in Germany, successfully predicted all seven of Germany's wins in the Football World Cup and also Spain's win, by correctly choosing between two sealed boxes. Statistically this is equivalent to predicting heads or tails eight times, odds of 1 in 128. The World Cup winning nation is now bidding for Paul to re-locate to a zoo in Spain. Humankind tends to get excited by the idea of a creature which exhibits psychic powers, forgetting that they too possess psychic abilities, which usually remain dormant and unused.

Octopuses are zoologically known as Cephalopods, (from the Greek kephale, head and pod, foot). They are classified as predatory molluscs like squids and cuttlefish. One of the most intelligent of all invertebrates, they are capable of using tools and solving problems, have three hearts, and can camouflage themselves instantly, changing their colour and texture to match their surroundings. As they are boneless they are even able to escape from aquariums, squeezing themselves into small spaces. Octopuses have short life-spans of only three or four years.

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols states, 'the Octopus stands significantly for the monsters who regularly symbolize the spirits of the Underworld and even Hell itself. The Octopus also corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Cancer, (see Crab) and is opposed to the dolphin. This identification is not unrelated to the creatures 'infernal' aspect, the Summer solstice being the gate of the Underworld.

The Octopus is often viewed as a sinister and scary creature. However, like the snake and spider, also invertebrates which needlessly frighten, the Octopus is an exemplary symbol of the unconscious psyche, which, as the psychologist Carl Jung constantly reminded his reader, humanity ignores at its peril.

Norwich Castle

Perched high upon an ancient earthworks in the very centre of the City, Norwich Castle has dominated the city-scape for over 800 years. The Norman conquerors who constructed  both it and the Cathedral, affectionately nicknamed it Blanchefleur or White Flower. One can be sure that the local Saxon populace who paid tithes and taxes to their Norman conquerors would have called it something far less complimentary! The Castle has been a Museum for over 100 years now. Included in its Art Collection is Thorpe Water Frolic and The Paston Treasure.

The Castle Museum is presently hosting two temporary exhibitions, the first: Beatles to Bowie, the sixties exposed, is an exhibition of over 150 portrait photographs of pop stars including The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones. I couldn't help noticing the average age of the people attending this exhibition was near, or at, retirement age, which suddenly made me feel very old! Anyway, it was very enjoyable looking at these now historical photographs. Almost all of the photo's exhibited seemed to be portraits of artists who, immediately a camera-lens is pointed towards them suddenly become extremely photogenic. Even a very young Marianne Faithfull, barely out of Convent school appears supremely photogenic.

Marianne Faithfull, The Salisbury Pub, London (1964) by Gered Mankowitz

It's a curious fact that the great great Uncle of Marianne Faithfull (b.1946) was none other than Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-95) the Austrian nobleman and author of the erotic novel, Venus in Furs (1870). Through his surname and the subject-matter of his novel, the word masochism was introduced into the English language. Faithfull is also credited with introducing to Rolling Stone Mick Jagger the occult novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, 'The Master and Margarita' (1938), which inspired the Rolling Stones song, 'Sympathy for the Devil.'

The other temporary exhibition was perfectly complimentary to pop portraits; Flashback, a retrospective of the art of Bridget Riley (b.1931) .










Riley's optical canvases have always fascinated me ever since seeing one of her works reproduced on an early 1970's LP cover. Although Riley's art-work typifies the psychedelic era, she herself is quite uninvolved with such drug-induced illusions. Will Self has written a perceptive, if somewhat critical review of Riley's paintings. However it was good to be reminded that Britain was innovative in the 1960's in the world of visual art with pop artists including Riley as well as David Hockney, Richard Hamilton, Peter Blake and Norwich-born Colin Self contributing to Britain's 'Golden Age'.

Movement in Squares 1961

Here's another optical image which demonstrates that seeing is not always believing, or rather, how easily the human senses can be deceived.

Do not adjust your screen!

Tragedy of the Street of Flowers

Eça de Queirós circa 1882

I've just finished reading a novel by an author who is considered to be Portugal's greatest 19th century novelist, Eça de Queirós ( 1845 - 1900) author of 'The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers'.

'The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers' is a novel written circa 1875 but which has only come to light recently. Found amongst the deceased author's paper's in 1900, it was not published in Portugal until 1980 when the copyright of Queirós' writings expired. It was translated into English in 2000, a full century since the author's death. Queirós himself stated in 1877 of his novel -

'It's not immoral or indecent. It's cruel..the best, most interesting novel I have yet written... a real literary and moral bombshell'.

Before reviewing this novel a word of praise must be said for the role of translator. Where would we lovers of the novel, in the Babel-like din of World literature be without them ? A good translator can introduce new literature, transforming the reader's understanding of historical, cultural and social conditions throughout the world. They can even cast fresh light upon the inner dialogue and moral dilemmas of well-loved and enduring characters of World literature.

Without having to dedicate the formative years of one's life to mastering several languages to become a polyglot, the classics of European literature would remain a closed book were it not for the translator. From the Icelandic Sagas of the Dark Ages, to the grandfather of all European novels, Cervantes 'Don Quixote', to the psychological analysis of memory by Marcel Proust in his novel of recollections, to Mikhail Bulgakov's surreal satire upon Stalinist totalitarianism, 'The Master and Margarita', homage must be paid to the translator for their devotion of many hours, re-shaping the written word from one language to another. One grows fonder of the translator's skills with the passing of time, placing trust in recognised names for their meticulous precision, inspired insight and often sheer drudgery, to open windows to new works of world literature to the questing reader.

The winner of several awards for her translations, Margaret Jull Costa has breathed new life into Quiroz's novels, translating his witty dialogue and observations on Lisbon society with panache. Together the innovative publishing-house of Dedalus, along with Costa's modern translation and Eça de Queirós' prose combine to make 'The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers' a cracking good read, whether one is familiar with the aesthetics of the 19th century European novel or not. And although it has been called an unfinished or incomplete novel, 'The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers' assuredly does have a full and satisfactory ending.

The story of 'The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers' begins at a theatre in Lisbon with the appearance of Genoveva, a sophisticated and stunningly beautiful woman just arrived in Lisbon from Paris. The young law graduate Vitor da Silva falls in love with her at first sight and becomes a bitter rival to her present lover, Vitor's one-time friend, a wealthy Portuguese dandy named Damasco .

However Genoveva is in reality none other than a Parisian courtesan or high-class prostitute. Throughout the novel her cunning, true to her femme fatale nature, outwits and exploits both Vitor and Damasco, pitting them against each other, exploiting their generosity and lust for her.

In essence the novel concerns itself not only with the struggles and delusions of Vitor and his love for Genoveva but also with Portuguese society at large in Queirós' critical observation of the conceits, shallowness and prejudices of Lisbon society. This is apparent early in the novel when Genoveva throws a evening soiree. The party allows Queirós to parade before the reader an extraordinary gallery of characters from Lisbon society. It's here in the novel that the influence of the founder of the novel of social realism, Honore de Balzac, (1799-1850) author of a vast cycle of over 100 novels which depict the whole spectrum of Parisian society can be detected. Balzac's influence hovers over Queirós' own portrait of the faults, delusions and weaknesses of Portuguese society.

The main protagonist, Vitor reads Romantic authors such as Byron and Tennyson .His feelings throughout the novel, change as often as the wind. Vitor is the orphaned ward of a retired Judge, his Uncle Timoteo to whom his upbringing and care is entrusted.

The wooden-legged Uncle Timeteo is a strong and memorable character in the novel. He served in India where he lost a leg in a tiger-hunt. Extremely wise to the ways of the world, he reads The Times newspaper daily and is, like his creator, an Anglophile and mouth-piece for Queirós' own love of England. Queirós was that most rare bird by today's standards, a European Anglophile, who lived in Newcastle and Bristol as a diplomat for nearly twenty years.

In an era in which much of the world, often quite rightly, perceives English culture, society, and economics as not entirely salubrious, it's refreshing to be reminded of a time long ago when the English were admired, even if those actions are now defined as self-serving Imperial colonialism. Uncle Timon enthusiastically exclaims to Vitor-

'Do you know, Sir, what they've achieved in India? They created everything! Cities, railways, bridges, docks, navigable rivers, plantations. Before, when there was famine in India, they would die in their millions! And now they never lack for rice because the Englishman is there to give it to them'.

Without wanting to post spoilers, early in the novel Uncle Timoteo and Genoveva cross swords when Genoveva, mounted upon a horse, kicks a small child to one side in front of the elderly and honourable Uncle Timoteo. He immediately challenges her to a duel before shuffling to the novel's background when, at the story's denouement, he pieces together the shock Oedipal revelation which tragically affects Vitor's and Genoveva's love-affair.

Other notable characters in a novel full of original characters include the artist Camilo Cerrao, commissioned to paint a portrait of Genoveva, but forever theorizing and changing his mind upon the style, function and nature of art so much that little real painting is ever accomplished. Like much great art a strong vein of both comedy and tragedy runs throughout 'The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers.'

The French novelist Emile Zola claimed that Queirós was a greater writer than Flaubert, (well he would, wouldn't he)! And although Queirós has been compared to realist novelists such as Balzac, Zola and even Proust he is, as a reading of 'The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers' confirms, no mere pastiche of these 19th century Realist novelists, but an original voice of European literature in his own right. Queirós' greatest masterpiece is however considered to be 'The Maias' of 1888. It too engages in satirical observations upon the social pretensions of 19th century Portuguese society, specifically Lisbon society. I'm looking forward to reading 'The Maias' soon!

Heatwave

The south and east of England is presently experiencing a heatwave with the mercury hitting 30 celsius. One more warm night and day to go before it eases. Tomorrow is Norwich City's big civic day with the Lord Mayor's procession. This year the procession has been shifted forward to 5 p.m. instead of 6:30 p.m. I wonder if the organizers are now regretting that change of schedule in view of the predicted heat.

I like to watch this annual event as one can with a little discernment gauge the mood and wealth of the City by the quality and zest of the 70-odd floats that slowly trundle through the City. With an estimated crowd of 30,000 usually the largest assembly of people in the city centre in the year, the event's history can be traced back to the days of the medieval Guilds, associations of various trades and professions celebrating their relative autonomy. For over 400 years the procession was led by the 'Snap' dragon accompanied by the 'whiffler' a crowd-controlling civic who 'whiffled' or waved a sword in the air. Lewis Carroll in his nonsense poem 'Jabberwocky' uses the word thus-

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!









Modern version of the Norwich Snap Dragon.











Ancient Whiffler

Another literary reference to Whifflers can be found in Shakespeare's Henry V Act 5 where the line, "which like a mighty Whiffler 'fore the king, seems to prepare his way" occurs.

By far the best information on the tradition and costumes of Norwich Whifflers including a priceless photo of the 1951 Lord Mayor's procession led by mace-bearer and accompanied by two Whifflers can be found at Norwich Whifflers.

On-line dictionary definitions of the word 'Whiffler' deliver a bewildering number of interpretations from - 'One who whiffles, or frequently changes his opinion or course; one who uses shifts and evasions in argument; hence, a trifler' to -

'Whifflers, or fifers, generally went first in a procession, at length a name given to those who went forward merely to clear the way for the procession. In the city of London, young freemen, who march at the head of their proper companies on the Lord Mayor's day, sometimes with flags, were called whifflers, or bachelor whifflers, not because they cleared the way, but because they went first, as whifflers did."

Or even- 'an officer who went before procession to clear the way by blowing a horn, or otherwise; hence, any person who marched at the head of a procession; a harbinger.'

But the Whiffler's ancient historical roots may in fact go back to the early Saxon era as an armed attendant who cleared the way for a procession (from wifle battle-axe, from Old English wifel, of Germanic origin; the attendants originally carried weapons to clear the way) as I first stated, a kind of civic crowd-controller, sometimes genteel and humorous, other times not.

Confusion about the meaning of this word arises from the fact that it's both a verb and a noun; the verb to whiffle, as Carroll uses it as an onomatopoeic, like the sound of a sword or stick being swished in the air; and it's a noun, as a figure of civic authority as in, 'Look out! Here comes the Whiffler!' But now I'm beginning to waffle, it must be the heat. Waffle hmmm, now there's another interesting word.



Civic crier, three Whifflers and Snap Dragon 2009

Notre-Dame de Paris

Esmeralda and Quasimodo

Last night I watched 'Notre-Dame de Paris' on DVD ( TDK 1996). Based upon the famous nineteenth century novel by Victor Hugo, 'The Hunch-back of Notre-Dame' (1831), Hugo's story has undergone numerous adaptions in various genres throughout the centuries.

Roland Petit (1924-2011) has made a brilliant choreographic adaptation of Hugo's novel. Attracted to stories in which 'beings apart' be they wretched or hideous who fall prey to femmes fatales, the seductive face of death, as in his earliest masterpieces ' The young Man and Death', (1946) and 'Carmen (1949), it's not too surprising that Hugo's tale of love and death should attract the attention of Petit's choreographic skills.

The essentially menage-a-trois story of Esmeralda the gypsy girl, the Arch-Deacon Frollo and the hunch-back Quasimodo is given a fresh and original interpretation by the celebrated French ballet-master. First performed in 1965, Petit's ballet is a hybrid of traditional ballet and modern dance movement. In particular the hand and the many gestures its able to express is liberated by his choreography.

The part of Quasimodo is amazingly danced by Nicolas Le Riche. It requires some considerable balletic skill to dance the part of a deformed and alienated individual. It also adds to one's appreciation of how athletic and graceful the corps de ballet are. The vivid costume colours enhance the crowd scenes which are powerful and dramatic. Equally brilliant is the dancing of Isabelle Guerin as Esmeralda. The music composed by Maurice Jarre adequately supports the action without ever being original enough to be a focus in its own right. The staging at the Opera national de Paris incorporates stark but impressive sets. With a story which is set in medieval Paris, not so geographically remote from the Paris Opera House itself, Roland Petit's choreographic interpretation of Hugo's masterpiece is likely to remain in the repertoire of the National Ballet of Paris for a long time.

Oedipus Egypticus

frontispiece to Oedipus Aegyptiacus

The three door-step sized tomes of Oedipus Aegyptiacus are a triumph of printing, being over five years in completion (Rome 1652 -56). In Oedipus Aegyptiacus the Jesuit priest Athanasius Kircher sets out to explore the esoteric traditions of theosophical systems of Zoroaster, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato and the Chaldean and Hebrew Cabala. A good example of such comparative study can be seen in an illustrated page from Oedipus Egypticus elsewhere on this blog, of the differing cultural interpretations of the Zodiac.

In 1999 I was fortunate to attend an exhibition by the University Library of Geneva on Jorge Louis Borges. Included either as representative of Borges reading (or even his own copy I can remember no longer) was a full folio edition of Oedipus Egypticus no less. A delight to see in the flesh so to speak.The figure of Isis from Oedipus Aegyptiacus. She is holding a sistrum, an ancient form of rattle, associated with fertility rites. Her other names from comparative mythology are listed to her left.

Athanasius Kircher (1602-80) has been described as 'the supreme representative of Hermeticism within post-Reformation Europe'. He was certainly one the 17th century's most active scholars of comparative religion. Kircher was also a favourite author of Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82) his near exact contemporary. The 1711 Sales Catalogue of Browne's library includes almost all of Kircher's entire oeuvre; in chronological order he once owned -

Ars Magnesia 1631
Ars Magna Lucis & Umbrae, cum fig. Rome 1646
Obeliscus Pamphilus, cum fig. Rome 1650
Oedipus Aegyptiacus 3 tomi cum fig Rome 1650-56
Magnes sive de Arte Magnetica, cum fig Rome 1654
Iter Ecstaticum Kirceranium, ed. G. Schott 1660
Mundus Subterraneous, cum fig 2 vol. Amsterdam 1665
China Illustrata cum fig. Amsterdam 1667

The English-born musicologist Joscelyn Godwin, one-time Professor of Music at Colgate University, New York State, describes Kircher thus -

'Kircher was a Jesuit and an archaeologist, a phenomenal linguist, and at the same time an avid collector of scientific experiments and geographical exploration. He probed the secrets of the subterranean world, deciphered archaic languages, experimented with alchemy and music-therapy, optics and magnetism. Egyptian mystery wisdom, Greek, Kabbalistic and Christian philosophy met on common grounds in Kircher' s work, as he reinterpreted the history of man's scientific and artistic collaboration with God and Nature'.

There's an interesting connection between Athanasius Kircher and Browne which has been little discerned by scholars. Sir Thomas Browne's eldest son Edward (1644- 1708) was a great traveller, often to the consternation of his parents. Wherever he traveled he acted as the eyes and ears of his stay-at-home father. When Edward Browne arrived in Rome he visited Kircher who showed him his 'closett of rarieties' which included a perpetual motion machine and a talking head.

It would have been near impossible for Kircher not to have known of Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica which had been translated into several European languages. One can only wish to have been a fly-on-the-wall in the meeting between Browne's dutiful son and the Jesuit theosophist. Kircher must have given Edward Browne a warm reception had he read commending statements upon his Egyptology in Pseudodoxia such as-

And then the learned Kircherus, no man were likely to be a better Oedipus (P.E. Bk .3 ch. 11 On Griffons)

Browne's high opinion of Kircher's knowledge of hieroglyphs was such that he could declare-

But no man is likely to profound the Ocean of that Doctrine, beyond that eminent example of industrious Learning, Kircherus (P.E. Bk 1 ch. 9)

Upon Kircher's authority Browne altered many of his own speculations upon Egyptian hieroglyphics; he even conceded to Kircher's authority as regards the reason why the tarantella dance is performed, believing in the healing remedy of music if bitten by a tarantella spider, writing-

Some doubt many have of the Tarantula, or poisonous Spider of Calabria, and that magical cure of the bite thereof by Musick. But since we observe that many attest it from experience: Since the learned Kircherus hath positively averred it, and set down the songs and tunes solemnly used for it; Since some also affirm the Tarantula it self will dance upon certain stroaks, whereby they set their instruments against its poison; we shall not at all question it. (P.E. Bk 3 ch. 28)

Kircher's vast work of comparative religion must have made a considerable impression upon Browne when composing 'The Garden of Cyrus' for the copper-plate etching in Oedipus Aegyptiacus known as the Bembine Tablet of Isis, a rich source of speculative comparative religion, is alluded to twice in the Discourse.

Frontispiece Iter Exstaticum Kircherianum 1660:
Kircher is about to embark upon a cosmic trip led by the angel Cosmiel.


Another book by Kircher which Browne owned was Iter Ecstaticum Kirceranium (1660) edited by Kircher's devoted pupil Gaspar Schott. One of the strangest of all Kircher's books, it describes how, after listening to three lute-players, the German Jesuit was transported in an ecstatic journey through the planetary spheres. Iter Ecstaticum records Kircher's 'soul-journey' as he is led by the spirit Cosmiel through a cosmic ascent. It also refers to soul-journeys of antiquity such as Plato's Myth of Er and Cicero's 'Dream of Scipio', in which the cosmic voyager hears the heavenly music of the spheres, a cosmic harmony which Sir T.B. was also partial to hearing.

Kircher remained a firm fixture of Browne's reading throughout his life. When compiling an inventory of lost, rumoured and imaginary books, pictures and objects, his Museum Clausum sometime in the 1670's, it's the Jesuit theosophist who fires his imagination adding the pictorial item of-

Large Submarine Pieces, well delineating the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, the Praerie or large Sea-meadow upon the Coast of Provence, the Coral Fishing, the gathering of Sponges, the Mountains, Valleys and Deserts, the Subterraneous Vents and Passages at the bottom of that Sea ; the passage of Kircherus in his Iter Submarinus when he went down about Egypt, and rose again in the Red Sea. Together with a lively Draught of Cola Pesce, or the famous Sicilian Swimmer, diving into the Voragos and broken Rocks by Charybdis, to fetch up the golden Cup, which Frederick, King of Sicily, had purposely thrown into that Sea.

Books on Kircher

* Athanasius Kircher - The last man who knew everything ed. Paula Findlen 2004 Routledge

* Athanasius Kircher - A Renaissance Man and the quest for lost knowledge Joscelyn Godwin 1979 Thames and Hudson

Vanessa Atalanta

The first Red Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta) spotted in the garden this morning. 

A little early in the season to arrive from their migration I would have thought, usually associating this butterfly with the month of September more than late June. However upon reference it is described as, 'a strong migrant, spreading northwards from the Mediterranean region each summer to breed. Adults hibernate and a few survive the winter in Britain'. It would have to be a strong insect to have survived last winter, the coldest for several decades!

Butterflies flit across the pages of 'The Garden of Cyrus', Browne, the keen lepidopterist observing, that the colour of the Caterpillar will shew again in the Butterfly, with some latitude is allowable. Nor can he omit the enquiry how Butterflies and breezes move their four wings from his speculations, even likening butterflies to flowers in the form of the Butterfly bloomes of leguminous plants.

It's also of interest to note that the Ancient Greek word for "butterfly" is ψυχή (psychē), which translates as 'soul', but also as 'mind'. There is of course a wealth of symbolism in literature throughout the world, both ancient and modern which alludes to the transitory, migratory nature of the butterfly, or as it was known as in the seventeenth century, the 'breeze-fly', being likened to the soul.

The Piano

Last night as part of my continuing comparative study between the film of the book , I watched 'The Piano' (1993). Jane Campion, (b.1954), the director of the film, is also author of the novella, 'The Piano'. Her novella, written after the film's making (1994), is in this case more of a development than an adaptation, adding new insights into the character's past history.

'The Piano' is a great triumph for several reasons. Most notably the combination of director Jane Campion's ten years dedication spent writing the story, and the actress Holly Hunter's portrayal of the emotions of the central character, Ada MacGrath, a role which consolidated Holly Hunter's acting career. She plays the part of Scottish pianist and mute, who arrives in New Zealand for an arranged marriage, little more than a mail-order bride. It's no small achievement to act a non-speaking role throughout an entire film and yet still be extremely expressive. The picture of the beautiful and broody Ms. Hunter wearing a Victorian bonnet is one of the film's great images. In addition to the fine acting of Holly Hunter which won her an Academy award, the supporting roles of Ada's frustrated husband and her lover are admirably realized by Sam O'Neill and Harvey Keitel respectively. The role of Ada's nine-year old daughter, Flora, earned Anna Paquin an award for supporting actress, the second youngest ever actress to win win such an award. The film is further enhanced by the lyrical music score of the composer Michael Nyman.

The triangular relationship between Ada, her husband Alisdair Stewart, and George Baines, is set against a backdrop of early colonial New Zealand, one of mud, deforestation and the indigenous Maori population. The film's plot is in essence an evolving love story which is propelled by two short scenes of sex and violence. There's also a good deal of subtle eroticism in the scenes which involve Ada and Baines in their negotiations over ownership of the piano, which itself is no minor 'character' .

Having also recently read the novella, 'The Piano' several interpretative points are worth mentioning. The film, unlike the book, engages in little of the book's internal dialogue other than Ada's short voice-over at its beginning and ending. The entire role of music and the emotion's which it evokes is naturally far less achievable in a novel, while the static nature of internal dialogue is less of a feature in most films. The viewer thus relies upon the acting skills of the central characters to explain why, for example, George Baines is entranced by Ada's piano-playing. But it is the near hypnotic ability of film to involve the viewer in a far greater immediate emotional response than reading can sometimes achieve, through the use of music, but also through graphic imagery, which strongly differentiates film from book.

In the case of 'The Piano' the music is an integral part of the story which further enhances empathy with the characters. The composer Michael Nyman (b. 1944) is quite simply the best of British composers, his previous collaborations with the film-maker Peter Greenaway, introduced him to a wide audience, and in fact the strong rhythmic impetus and gorgeous lyricism of his film-score has ensured that it stands as an enjoyable piano concerto in its own right.

By a curious coincidence like the film 'Respiro', which I reviewed in May 'The Piano' also involves a denouement in which the heroine is rescued and 're-born' in water surrounded by a small crowd of swimmers.

In many ways the success of the film 'The Piano' is the sum total of a harmonious artistic collaboration between director, actors and composer. It's a pity that more films are not so well constructed in direction, acting and sound-track.

Vuvuzela

Weapons of mass earsplitting destruction or harmless fun?

The vuvuleza is manufactured in a wide spectrum of colours, unlike opinion of it which is sharply divided between love and hate. It is currently receiving world-wide attention due to its contribution to the celebration of the football World Cup currently in session.

Its estimated that the one metre in length vuvuleza can emit a sound approximately 130 decibels loud; the most commonly manufactured instruments are pitched at B flat below middle C, very close to the frequency of human speech.

The BBC has received hundreds of complaints about the playing of vuvuleza spoiling viewers enjoyment of the sport, football players have requested fans to desist from its playing during the match and FIFA the organizational body co-coordinating the World Cup have decided not to ban it from matches.

There's considerable apian imagery associated with descriptions of its sound. Its constant drone being likened to having one's head thrust into a giant hive full of very angry bees.

The BBC sports commentator Farayi Mungazi stated that the sound of the horn was the "recognised sound of football in South Africa" and that it is "absolutely essential for an authentic South African footballing experience". He also said there was no point in taking the World Cup to Africa and then "trying to give it a European feel". The chief sports reporter of the Daily Telegraph Paul Kelso described critics of the vuvuleza as "killjoys" and said they should "stop moaning". South African football supporters themselves insist that the instrument is part of their national culture and claim those objecting to it are in fact being intolerant of an integral part of their national culture.

The phrase 'part of the national culture' seems to justify and vindicate all sorts of bizarre behaviour these days, from getting drunk on a Saturday night, to the waving of flags and engaging in war. Against a background of such behaviour the vuvuleza seems a harmless enough enthusiasm.

Its with some hesitation that I am filing this posting under the label of 'music', but then to some the compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen, for example, barely equate as music. All that one can be certain of is that the world is becoming a place of highly subjective and arguementative opinion, with no centre or fulcrum upon which to establish that most elusive of human values, namely, truth, as regards this subject. One man's joyful sound is another man's irritating noise!

The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Recently I read 'The Dream life of Sukhanov' (2005) by Olga Grushin. Its the story of a man who possessing all the good things life can offer, a well-paid job as an art critic, a beautiful wife, loving children and perks such as a second home for the summer, a chauffeur-driven car and best tickets for the theatre, has to face the reality that he is neither loved, respected or valued as much as he imagines. The reader is obliged to pay close attention throughout the novel as almost imperceptibly the narrative slips between the present-day tragedy unfolding and Sukhanov's reminiscences of happier times.

Because Sukhanov has lived in Moscow throughout his life, certain places, doorways and streets, spark reminiscences. These reminiscences form a large part of the narrative, taking the reader back to earlier events in Sukhanov's life. However, there's a uncertain ambiguity writ large in the novel's title, for does Sukhanov's 'dream life' consist of the privileged, ideal life which is dissolving before his eyes, or his inability to desist from reminiscing about the past and happier times, his escapist 'dream life', when confronted with the crisis he faces .The plot drives onwards inexorably to a powerful, shocking and even slightly ambiguous denouement.

Sukhanov's great tragedy is that he takes everything for granted, toeing the party line in his art reviews by inserting commonplaces of communist aesthetics in his reviews, he has as modern parlance puts it, 'sold out'. However the novel is set in the year 1985, the year of Mikhail Gorbachov's policy of glasnost and perestroika and the dissolution of the communist old order.

There's much allusion in the novel to two 20th century painters, the exiled Russian painter Marc Chagall who died in the year the novel is set, 1985, and the surrealist painter Salvador Dali, representative of the 'decadent' art denounced by Shushkin as voice-piece of official Soviet party aesthetics. The surrealist art movement is also however representative of Shushkin's 'true' artistic creativity which he has abandoned for the trappings and prestige of official status. There's also significant allusion to Andrei Rubelev, the medieval Russian icon painter and the subject of a film by Andrei Tarkovsky.

'The Dream Life of Sukhanov' is extremely well-written in clear, concise and flowing prose. It is as the critics state, an astoundingly good first novel. Although written in English with its author now resident in America, it is utterly Russian in its theme of alienation and the role of the individual in society and history. I found it to be a deeply moving, at times funny, more often sad and ultimately challenging statement, on how the failure to face up to reality can destroy the individual's life.

Some highly recommended Russian novels

19th c.

Oblomov (1859) Ivan Goncharov
Fathers and sons (1862) Ivan Turgenev
The Idiot (1869) Fyodor Dostoevsky
Anna Karenina (1879) Leo Tolstoy
Brothers Karamazov (1881) Fyodor Dostoevsky

20th c.

The Fiery Angel (1908) Valery Bryusov
The strange life of Ivan Osokin (1915) P.D. Ouspensky
Petersburg (1916) Andre Bely
We (1921) Yevgeny Zamyatin
Heart of a dog (1925) Mikhail Bulgakov
Novel with cocaine (1934) M.A. Agev
The Master and Margarita (1940) Mikhail Bulgakov

21st century

A Hero's Daughter (1990 Eng. trans.2004) Andrei Makine

Acting Browne

Over the years I've attempted to entertain and enlighten the good citizens of Norwich with performances of Sir Thomas Browne. Blessed with a good memory (one remembers well whatever one values and loves ) I've found a number of passages in Browne's works suitable for reciting and have been received with varied degrees of appreciation. Here's yours truly, located appropriately in a Garden-Grave with recently unearthed urn, about to deliver. I've not donned my costume for a couple of years now, but may well do so during the next Lord Mayor's procession week-end in July.

         Civic performance on the occasion of  new Browne sculpture, July 2007

Pseudodoxia Epidemica 1658

I acquired this copy of Sir Thomas Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica: or, Enquiries into Very many Received Tenents, and commonly Presumed Truths (first edition 1646) via an ebay auction in March 2006. It cost $500, its provenance was Charleston, Carolina U.S.A. Although no first editions of Browne's 1658 Discourses Urn-Burial and The Garden of Cyrus survive, they are appended to this fourth edition of Pseudodoxia Epidemica published in 1658. It's of particular note that the running order consists of the two dedicatory epistles following each other, strong evidence that its author intended the two Discourses to be read, viewed and meditated upon as one whole.

Pseudodoxia Epidemica was in fact one of the earliest, if not the first, European encyclopedia and contributed to the 17th century scientific revolution. Although to us today with our vastly increased scientific knowledge, Pseudodoxia Epidemica can be seen to contain many errors itself, nonetheless it prepared a readership for much of the scientific journalism subsequently published in England.

Pseudodoxia Epidemica was a best-seller which found a place upon the shelves of many English households. Published in no less than six editions (1646,1650,1658 twice,1659 and 1672) it was translated into several European languages. It even found its way to America.

Included appendiced to Browne's encyclopaedia is a so-called Alphabetical Table. In all probability this index was compiled by Browne himself. It has never previously before been published in any edition of Browne's works, so is available here for the very first time.

As Jorge Louis Borges once declared -'To write vast books is a laborious nonsense, much better is to offer a summary as if those books actually existed'. A quick scroll down the page of An Alphabetical Table reveals the full scope of the breadth and depth of Browne's curiosity, knowledge and scientific investigation.

An Alphabetical Table lists many of Browne's main sources under 'authors commended', it includes mention of his many experiments as well as the astronomical, historical, biblical and zoological queries which preoccupied him . Queries range from the cosmological such as 'Cosmographers, why they divide their Globe into East and West', to the theological - 'whether our B. Saviour ever laughed', to the aesthetic '-Beauty- Determined chiefly by opinion, or the several apprehensions of people', to the medical '-Drunkenness, or to be drunk once a month, whether it be healthful', to the revealing esoteric entry ,'-Philosophers Stone, not improbable to be procured' . However entries such as, 'Abilities, (scientifical especially,) ought to be improved' and 'Candle, one discharged out of a Musket through an inch board', are indicative of the empirical and Baconian nature of Browne's quest.

A Day at the Races

Champion jockey Hayley Turner aboard Collect Art

Yesterday I had a rare excursion out of the city to the sea-side race-track of Great Yarmouth. Pictured is the champion female flat jockey Hayley Turner aboard Collect Art in the Parade ring, just minutes before winning the race in a finish in which Collect Art rallied gamely to regain the lead near the line by a head. An exciting finish on a day which was a speculative financial disaster for myself. However as I've been attending the race-track on and off for 20 years now there are plenty of glory days to recollect and sustain oneself through such a bleak day.

The general mood of the day was coloured by the fact that after several hot sunny days of temperatures reaching 27 Celsius last week, this week the mercury plunged to 16 Celsius for the day. As sometimes happens due to the close proximity of the sea, a sea-fret rolled in restricting visibility to just the last 2 furlongs for several races. One of the largest off-shore wind-farms consisting of over 30 wind-turbines can be seen from the Grandstand (photo bottom page) but not on the day I attended due to the weather.

Situated on Norfolk's east coast, Great Yarmouth was once a major sea-port. It has a literary association with Charles Dickens (1812-1870) who wrote of his childhood memories when resident there in 'David Copperfield', and with the Norfolk-born naval hero, Lord Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). In fact many pubs, clubs, conference centres and hotels throughout Norfolk including the new Grandstand at Yarmouth race-track are named after the distinguished imperial pirate. There's been horse-racing at Yarmouth since 1770, primarily due to its relatively close distance to the home of thoroughbred-racing, Newmarket, Suffolk, also known simply as H.Q. (Headquarters) around the world by racing aficionado's.

Due to the current economic climate the old lamentation about the perilous state and condition of British Flat racing is wailed once more. The fact is that there is simply too much low-grade racing like today's card at Yarmouth. The big betting firms, Ladbrokes, Corals, William Hills etc. are simply milking the industry for all it's worth, not caring whether the sport survives or not, true to the colours of international capitalism which also is indifferent about the human cost of unemployment. As long as these institutions get their pound of flesh, they will remain complacent, until the corpse is placed on their door-mat. Besides, horse-racing now accounts for a lesser percentage of profit for the gambling industry, online activities such as poker and betting on football is where the big money is; its a sad state of affairs, for in many ways horse-racing was for centuries the National sport of Britain until eclipsed by the more mass-minded participation sports of cricket and football.

Ever since the 1760's when three Arabian thoroughbreds arrived in Britain, the British have engaged in genetically modifying the thoroughbred horse for the sport of racing. Historically speaking thoroughbred horse racing, for good or ill, like many other pastimes was introduced to the rest of the world by Britain.

British horse-racing has for over thirty years been greatly supported by big horse owners such as Sheik Mohammed and his brother Hamdan al Maktoum along with Prince Khalid Abdullah, (the owner of this year's Derby winner Workforce). These owners, recognizing the skill of the British trainer and the Brits love of horse-racing, have generously provided many horses for trainers for decades. Without their continued support British racing would have been considerably poorer long ago in both quality and quantity.

Della Porta

Giovanni Baptiste della Porta (1543-1615) of Naples, was an aristocrat, philosopher and physician of prodigious talent. When his Magiae Naturalis (Natural Magic) was first published in 1588 it was a phenomenal success, republished and translated into many languages throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Magiae Naturalis is a compendium of practical information upon aspects of nature which were believed to be ruled by mysterious forces at the time. It offers advice and records practical experiments in gardening and germination, house-keeping, hair-dressing, cosmetics and perfumes, cookery, brewing, fishing and hunting, the altering of metals, magnetism, optics, invisible writing and pneumatic experiments amongst other topics. A full transcription of its pages can be found at Natural Magic. Porta can be seen in the frontispiece to his celebrated work. He states his scientific credentials and justification for investigating nature's properties in 'Natural Magic' thus-

But I think Magick is nothing else but the survey of the whole course of Nature. For, while we consider the heavens, the stars, the Elements, how they are moved, and how they are changed, by this means we find out the hidden secrets of living creatures, of plants, of metals, and of their generation and corruption; so that this whole Science seems merely to depend upon the view of Nature, as later we will see more at large.

By a curious coincidence Porta's 'Natural Magic' was published into English in 1658, the same year as the first publication of Browne's literary diptych, 'Urn-Burial' and The Garden of Cyrus.

It's not so surprising that a Latin copy of Porta's 'Natural Magic' (1644) is recorded as once upon the groaning shelves of the library of Sir Thomas Browne for Porta was a favourite author of Browne's. Several books by the Neapolitan polymath are listed in the 1711 Auction Sales Catalogue. These include Villa (1592) Phytognomica (1588) and Colelestis Physiogranonia (1603). But it is the authority of Porta's 'Natural Magic' which is most frequently cited throughout the pages of Browne's own encyclopaedia of European fame, Pseudodoxia Epidemica (five editions from 1646-76).

Incidentally, it was the American scholar Jeremiah Staunton Finch in 1934 who identified large portion's of the opening chapter of Browne's Discourse 'The Garden of Cyrus' as originally belonging to Porta's gardening treatise Villa, which includes a description of the Quincunx pattern in horticulture. J.S.Finch was also the editor of the facsimile edition of the 1711 Auction Catalogue of Browne's Library.

It's worth remembering that the Italian Renaissance which breathed new life into the arts and sciences throughout Europe, also revived and stimulated interest in esoteric topics. Primarily through the Florentine scholar Marsilo Ficino's translation of Plato's Timaeus , the discovery of the Hermetic Corpus, but also through Ficino's successor, Pico della Mirandola (1463-1493) with his interest in astrology, the Kabbalah and angel-conjuring. In addition to these seminal figures, the writtings of Paracelsus and John Dee also contributed to an enormous revival of study and appreciation of esoteric doctrines throughout the Renaissance period until as late as the 1670's .

Porta's own major contribution to esoterica is Colelestis Physiogranonia (Celestial Physiognomy). Porta justified the validity of physiognomy from a writing on the subject attributed to Aristotle. The study of the human face and apparent discernment of inner qualities from outer characteristics, found particular resonance with Browne the physician, perhaps as a useful diagnostic tool. Browne alludes to Porta's Colelestis Physiogranonia, in his own highly esoteric work, 'The Garden of Cyrus', thus-

that Augustus had native notes on his body and belly, after the order and number in the Starres of Charles wayne, will not seem strange unto astral Physiognomy, which accordingly considereth moles in the body of man, or Physicall Observators, who from the position of moles in the face, reduce them to rule and correspondency in other parts.

Browne forms an important link in the history of physiognomy between Giovanni della Porta and one of physiognomy's greatest advocates, the German Lutheran priest and one-time friend of Goethe, Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801), and in fact the German polymath Goethe stated of Della Porta, If we could take all of his collected works together, we would see the entire century mirrored in him. Lavater read Browne's Religio Medici (German translation 1748) which contains several physiognomical observations and praised it. Although physiognomy is today derided as a pseudo-science, the judging of the outer appearance of the individual as reflective of inner morals qualities, is a mental activity few people are consciously capable of desisting from, whenever meeting a new person or even when viewing a photo of someone.

Porta's definition of the ideal woman sounds both erotic and modern. She is 'like a panther, both in body and spirit'. Her 'neck is long and slender, her chest formed of small ribs, her back long and her hips and thighs well covered with flesh. On her flanks and her belly she is rather flat, that is her body here does not stick out, nor is it hollow'.

It's salutary to realize that those who elected to study nature and its properties were often isolated individuals. Early scientists such as Giovanni della Porta and later Browne, were often misunderstood or obliged to steer a perilous path of conformity to secure status and reputation; sometimes they were harassed and challenged by powerful authorities such as the Church; nonetheless they held firmly onto the validity of their enquiries, guided by inner lights. In effect these early scientists were the midwives to the scientific revolution, officially sanctioned in England with the establishment of the Royal Society in 1660.

Honeysuckle

This posting seems an apt follow-up to the preceding one on smell and the nose. I'm fairly confident that Sir Thomas Browne would have delighted in the sweet aroma of honeysuckle currently saturating my garden and would have waxed lyrical upon its 'delectable odour' and 'noble scent'; something which as of yet a computer is unable to convey!

Awara

I recently viewed the Hindi film 'Awara' (1951). Directed by Raj Kapoor who also stars as the central character, 'Awara' is the film which announced that Hindi film had arrived on the World-stage. Even today it is consistently listed in the top three of all-time great Hindi films.

The film concerns the consequences of a wealthy judge's decision (acted by Raj Kapoor's real-life father) to abandon his wife after she is kidnapped by a gang of criminals. His wife gives birth to his son; struggling in abject poverty, she brings up the young Raj who leaves school to become a petty thief. The only bright spot in the child Raj's impoverished life is his childhood sweet-heart, Rita. When Raj and Rita (now the Judge's ward) meet again as adults, the plot develops to a highly dramatic conclusion.

Not wanting to post spoilers to the plot's resolution I can tell you that in essence 'Awara' debates upon the inequalities of Indian society and how social status markedly affects the individual's success in Indian society. The sharp contrast between the privileged minority and the great impoverished majority of Indian society is depicted. The film's message in essence is that nuture, not nature shapes individual destiny.

Watching 'Awara' one becomes conscious of the deep imprint of British Rule upon India .Although India achieved independence from Britain in 1948, traffic scenes featuring double-Decker Routemaster buses, speech peppered with colloquial English phrases including the singing of 'For she's a jolly good fellow', to the whole-scale structure of police, the judicial court and legal system, provide evidence of the strong imprint of British Rule in transport, customs, language and Law in Indian culture.

Raj Kapoor quite deliberately models himself as a Chaplinesque tramp in the film. Like Chaplin Kapoor's agenda is one of criticism of society's values and prejudices. His song 'Awara Hoon' (I am a homeless tramp) was, like the film itself, a big hit in both the U.S.S.R. and China.

Among the many remarkable features of 'Awara' is the depiction of the beautiful actress Nargis Dutt in a swim-suit, a first in Hindi film and a lengthy dream sequence. Although Alfred Hitchcock had already attempted a cinematic dream sequence in Spellbound (1945), Kapoor's own attempt to portray the psyche's unconscious in film was made without the assistance of the surrealist painter Salvador Dali.

'Awara' sets the template for much of future Hindi or Bollywood film. Clocking in at twice the length of many Hollywood films (195 minutes) serving up a generous helping of high quality songs and dances, with a tendency towards melodrama and romantic fantasy, adhering to State censorship, yet able to debate social issues, 'Awara' is a film equal to, if not superior to ,anything produced in the same era by Hollywood.

Book consulted
100 Bollywood films by Rachel Dwyer pub. B.F.I. 2005

Gnomes

With the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower show on at present, I thought it time to reveal my own installation for the Royal show. Here's an extremely rare photo of a quartet of gnome operators in participatione mystique, caught in celebratory mood having succeeded in performing the alchemical feat of palingenesis. From left to right their identities are believed to be -Arthur an English gardener, Christofini, an Italian shepherd, Ivor a Siberian woodsman and Albrecht an Austrian mountain-guide.

Gnomes have in fact been banned for 19 years from the Chelsea Flower Show, deemed as vulgar or unbecoming to gardens. A press clipping from the Times newspaper May 19th 2009 highlights the present controversy.

'They spoke of little else on the opening day of the 2009 Chelsea Flower Show. The issue? Is it time for the world's premier horticultural event to lift its 19-year ban on garden gnomes. The question has opened a schism in the high command of the gardening fraternity after one of the most respected exhibitors smuggled her “lucky” gnome into the central Grand Pavilion and put him on display. Officially Jekka McVicar, who is on the ruling council of the Royal Horticultural Society is in flagrant breach of the rules by placing her gnome called Borage amid her gorgeous array of organic medicinal and culinary herbs. They clearly state that any “brightly coloured creatures” are out of order and will result in disqualification.

The Royal Horticultural Society, which runs the Chelsea Flower Show, clearly states in its rules that gnomes or any "brightly coloured creatures" are out of bounds at the exhibition, as well as balloons, bunting and flags. The official explanation is that these items may "distract" from the garden designs, but critics suggest the real reason for the exclusion of gnomes is that they have been deemed too tacky for the illustrious flower show.

Dr Lane Fox supported the ban, calling the garden gnome a hideous creation that did not belong in the garden show. Ignoring an interjection by the Today presenter, saying: "That's snobbery", he added: "They [garden gnomes] are kitsch... There's no way we want mass produced gnomes or toadstools." But Mr Rumball objected to the ban, claiming it was sheer snobbery that kept gnomes out. He pointed out that garden gnomes were the pride of 19th-century aristocratic gardens before they fell from grace, and that high-quality antique gnomes were sold for substantial sums to collectors around the world. He said he feared the Chelsea Flower Show was limiting creativity through banning what it deemed to be in bad taste. "Chelsea is all about class. That's why it has banned them. The show is terrific and great fun but one of the reasons why people aspire to Chelsea's pinnacle of gardening is because everyone talks with plums in their mouths, ladies wear lovely clothes and the Queen goes along. All of these things make Chelsea something to aspire to. I'm a great believer in letting people do what they want with their gardens. I would not want gnomes in my garden, but everyone to their own. I don't think what they are putting on at the moment is significantly different from gnomes".

I wonders if all of this really is snobbery. After all snobbery is not a very British trait is it ?If Damien Hurst were to create a diamond-encrusted gnome I bet it would be allowed pride of place at the Chelsea Flower Show! Perhaps the organizers merely object to the commercial success of companies such as Zeho of Coburg, Austria, exporter of millions of mass-made plastic gnomes.

Whether one considers Gnomes to be vulgar, kitsch or merely harmless fun, they were in fact introduced into modern consciousness by the Renaissance physician-alchemist Paracelsus who proposed that a particular spirit resided over each element. Nymphs to rule the water, the Salamander fire, Sylphides the air and Gnomes the earth. Citing Germanic folk-lore Paracelsus claimed that deep in the earth there exists a race of dwarf- like Earth-spirits which he named Gnomes. Ever fond of word-play Paracelsus may have named them from the Greek of genomus or 'earth-dweller'. Alternatively the word Gnome may have originated from the Greek word gnome meaning knowledge and intelligence. According to Paracelsus these little people were the guardians of the earth who knew where precious metals and hidden treasure were buried. He describes them thus-

The gnomes have minds, but no souls, and so are incapable of spiritual development. They stand about two feet tall, but can expand themselves to huge size at will, and live in underground houses and palaces. Adapted to their element, they can breathe, see and move as easily underground as fish do in water. Gnomes have bodies of flesh and blood, they speak and reason, they eat and sleep and propagate their species, fall ill and die. They sometimes take a liking to a human being and enter his service, but are generally hostile to humans.

As ever there is a Sir Thomas Browne connection here. In his vast encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica which sets out to refute popular misconceptions and errors, Browne wrangles with the idea as to whether pygmies actually exist (Book 4 chapter 11). He concludes thus-

and wise men may think there is as much reality in the Pigmies of Paracelsus; that is, his non-Adamical men, or middle natures betwixt men and spirits.

The footnote to this chapter reveals Browne as one well-acquainted with the writings of the Swiss alchemist-physician-

By Pigmies intending Fairies and other spirits about the earth, as by Nymphs and Salamanders, spirits of fire and water. Lib. de Pigmæis, Nymphis, etc.

The first time the actual word 'gnome' occurs in English literature is in Alexander Pope's poem, The Rape of the Lock (1712). An aural depiction of a gnome can be heard in the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky's Piano suite, Pictures at an Exhibition a musical work better-known through Ravel's imaginative orchestration of 1922.

Balloon

A certain sign that the weather's fine. While in the garden the first hot-air balloon of the season floated overhead. I seem to be living on some kind of flight-path for balloons with prevailing wind. I've always been fascinated by hot-air balloons, great symbols of independence and the Aquarian spirit that they are. It's a real Vulcan at his forge sound hearing the roar of the burner flame ignited to increase altitude. Really pleased with this shot, but that's part of taking a good photo, being lucky at the right time and place with camera ready.