Even as the leaves of the trees such is the race of men. Homer, Iliad 6.146. 

The brief holiday period affords a precious opportunity to reconnect with nature before returning to sterile office spaces, plastic swivel chairs and laminated desks. So, over the past few weeks, I have been spending a fair bit of my time with my loved ones among trees, especially the Chinese elm and Japanese maples in my own garden, the magnificent Himalayan Cedars at the National Arboretum and the many varieties of oaks that line Canberra’s suburbs. I have been watching the leaves catch the light, breathing their good oxygen, resting in shade and walking in woodland forests. A visit to a local photographic exhibition about the wilderness prompted me to reflect further on the wonderful and ongoing generosity of trees throughout the centuries. It also prompted me to create a mental map of ancient and modern quotes, poems and stories about the wilderness, the restful beauty of nature, the strength and majesty of trees and their kinship with our own physical form, the importance of respect for trees and our need of them. Below are several excerpts and musings from the sixth century BCE to the twenty-first century CE:

1. The shade of trees

[Aesop, the world-renowned storyteller and fabulist, takes a rest from the midday heat and his daily labour. He finds himself a shady spot to relax and listen to the sounds of nature.]

He picked out a spot on the farm that was green and peaceful, a wooded, shady place where all kinds of flowers bloomed amid the green grass and where a little stream wandered among the neighbouring trees. There Aesop threw his mattock on the ground, lay down on the grass and, putting his napkin and his sheepskin under his head, went to sleep. The stream whispered and, as a gentle zephyr blew, the leaves of the trees around about were stirred and exhaled a sweet and soothing breath. There was much humming of cicadas from the branches, and the song of birds of many kinds and many haunts was to be heard. There the nightingale prolongs her plaintive song, and the branches of the olive murmured musically in a sympathetic refrain. (1)

2.  A Journey to the Wild

[A man ventures deep into the Tasmanian wilderness, rediscovering the wild and free spirit in himself and capturing fragments of beauty in photographic form.]

“We go to the wilds to reaffirm our place in the natural scheme of things, to be rejuvenated by contact with elemental forces and to be reminded that the civilised baggage with which we complicate our lives is perhaps not so important to our happiness as the advertising man would claim.” (2)

 

3. Tree and Man

[Theophrastus was the father of botany. He wrote two important works classifying and describing various trees, shrubs and plants and, in the following excerpt, he makes comparisons between the human body and the structure of the tree.]

Thus plants have what corresponds to muscle; and this quasi-muscle is continuous, fissile, long…Again plants have veins: these in other respects resemble the ‘muscle’ but they are longer and thicker and have side-growths and contain moisture. Then, there are wood and flesh, for some plants have flesh, some wood…Bark then is the outside, and is separable from the substance which it covers. Core is that which forms the middle of the wood, being third in order from the bark, and corresponding to the marrow in bones. Some call this part the ‘heart’, others call it ‘heart-wood’. (3)

4. Tree lovers

[Philemon and Baucis represent the epitome of goodness, piety and harmony. They were visited one day by two gods in disguise, Jupiter and Mercury. Despite their poverty, the couple showed great hospitality and kindness to their guests and, in return, they were granted a long life as guardians of Jupiter’s temple and eventually they were metamorphosed into trees]

Their wish was granted; as long as life was allowed them, they served as the temple’s guardians. When time had taken its final toll, and while they were casually standing in front of the steps of the building, telling the sanctuary’s history, both Philemon and Baucis witnessed their partner sprouting leaves on their worn old limbs. As the tops of the trees spread over their faces, they spoke to each other once more while they could. “Farewell, my beloved!” they said in a single breath, as the bark closed over their lips and concealed them for ever. Still to this day the peasants of Phrygia point to the oak and the linden nearby which were once forms of Philemon and Baucis. (4)

 

5.  Nature lover

[Even as a child, William Morris showed a great interest in nature. As an adult, Morris created some of the most beautiful representations of nature in his wallpapers, fabrics, tapestries and books.]

I was always a lover of the sad lowlands country… I noticed every turn of the banks of the little brook, every ripple of its waters over the brown stones, every line of the broad-leaved waterflowers; I went down to the brook and, stooping down, gathered a know of lush marsh-marigolds; then, kneeling on both knees, bent over the water with my arm stretched down to it, till both my hand and the yellow flowers were making the swift running little stream bubble about them… I see a little girl sitting on the grass, beneath the limes in the hot summertide, with eyes fixed on the far away blue hills, and seeing who knows what shapes there; for the boy by her side is reading to her wondrous stories of knight and lady, and fair thing, that lived in ancient days… (5)

   6. Best friend

[Before you enter the Himalayan Cedar Forest at the National Arboretum in Canberra you are greeted by this quote …]

The best friend on earth of man is the tree: When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the greatest resources of the Earth.  Frank Lloyd Wright

    7. A raft to sail homewards

[Odysseus spent many years on Calypso’s island. In Calypso’s arms, he forgot his home, himself and his aim. When Zeus finally insists that it is time for Odysseus to leave, he must make a wooden raft for himself with his own hands and venture out once again upon the sea]

As soon as Dawn appeared, fresh and rosy-fingered, Odysseus put on his tunic and cloak, and the Nymph dressed herself in a long silvery mantle of a fine and elegant material, with a splendid golden belt round her waist, and a scarf over her head. Then she planned her noble guest’s departure. First she gave him a great axe of bronze. Its double blade was sharp, and the shapely handle of olive-wood fixed firmly to its head was comfortable to hold. Next she handed him an adze of polished metal, and led the way to the farthest part of the island, where the trees grew tall, alders and poplars and towering firs, all dry timber that had long lost its sap and would make buoyant material for his raft. When she had shown him the place where the trees were tallest the gracious goddess went home, and Odysseus began to cut down the trees. He worked fast and felled twenty in all and lopped their branches with an axe, then trimmed them in a workmanlike manner and with a line made the edges straight.(6)

Text references:

1.Anonymous, Life of Aesop, chapter 6 (transl. by L. W. Daly in W. Hansen’s Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature).

2. Quote from Peter Dombrovskis (1945-1996), Exhibition entitled Journey to the Wild, National Library of Australia, at https://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/dombrovskis

3. Theophrastus, Historia Plantarum 1.2.6. Available at: https://archive.org/details/enquiryintoplant00theo

4. Philemon and Baucis in Ovid, Metamorphoses, 8.711-720 (transl. D. Raeburn).

5. William Morris, From ‘Frank’s Sealed Letter’ in G. Naylor (ed.), 2004, William Morris by himself (Time Warner Books: London) pp. 27-8.

6. Homer, Odyssey, Book 5, lines 228-245.

Images:

Header image: https://www.posterlounge.co.uk/japanese-maple-tree-next-to-pond-pr220966.html

Van Gogh’s Olive Grove: http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/348/Olive-Grove.html

Ancient trees: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2010/dec/01/walking-with-ancient-trees

Philemon and Baucis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baucis_and_Philemon

Morris tapestry: https://www.thetapestryhouse.com/tapestries/view/355/tree-of-life-small

 

 

 

 

 

“History is written by the victors” or so the saying goes. But surely history is rewritten by every new generation as events are retold, reinterpreted and understood differently depending on changes in values, viewpoint and perspective. During the holidays, and thanks to some terrific Christmas gifts, our children have been busy rewriting the history of Rome and Egypt with some pretty hilarious results. Our four-year old daughter and six-year old son bring their own unique perspective to the life of Cleopatra.

Scene 1. Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, is living on the banks of the Nile not in a sumptuous palace but in a cosy cottage. Cleopatra lives with a ginger-coloured cat. She has a fairly casual relationship with a dark haired leopard-skin wearing fellow who seems to fulfil various roles including slave, husband, cook and driver. His name is simply ‘Servant’. She also has a baby bunny (presumably from an earlier relationship). Cleopatra has her own plunge pool (of course) and a green convertible car (don’t ask), plenty of furniture and her most highly prized possession of all: a sturdy fry pan for making pancakes. Cleopatra wears her jewellery to bed. In fact, my four-year old tells me that Cleopatra spends a fair bit of time in bed because she gets tired easily. Although she has some difficulty getting up the ladder to the second storey of the house because of the curious shape of her hands she is adamant that she can DO IT HERSELF! Overall, life for Cleopatra is happy and harmonious and quite lovely until a Roman galley manned by a six-year old is spotted sailing up the river…

Scene 2. The galley is large, ominous and black. The sail is emblazoned with SPQR in bold red letters (I am told by my reliable six-year old source that these letters stand for ‘Super Playmobil Quest Rome’). The oars are powering along, men are shouting, and there is a sense of mischief and intrigue in the air. Suddenly, a missile is fired from the galley. It hits the wall of the cottage announcing the arrival of Mark Antony. Cleopatra squeals, then shrieks, then growls and harsh words are uttered between four-year old and six-year old. Four-year old is duly reminded that these gifts are for sharing and that there is no such thing as ‘my game’. So, for the moment, play resumes in a more harmonious way.

Scene 3. Mark Antony jumps off the deck of the galley and lands in the front yard of the cottage. He looks grand, decked out in flashy golden sandals, laurel wreath, a red cape, gold belt and sword. Cleopatra is smitten. They marry immediately. But while Mark Antony is distracted, his men are up to no good. A fight breaks out over food. It seems that there has been a shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables on board the galley. Titus Maximus has taken all the fruit and the other Roman soldiers are not impressed. The skirmish turns into a nasty fight as swords and spears are engaged and more missiles are fired. One missile hits the house. Another injures Cleopatra’s cat. Cleopatra is distraught. [Some urgent parental intervention is required at this point. Parent suggests a more contained gladiatorial combat between Titus Pullo and the other main offender named Quintus, with Cleopatra and Mark Antony as spectators].

Scene 4. Titus Maximus and Quintus take their places in the arena. The fires are lit. Cleopatra has to remain standing because her dress is too tight and it won’t enable her to sit. The fight begins. Matters are somewhat complicated by the appearance of a scorpion and a dark green snake in the arena. Titus knocks Quintus over.  Quintus accidentally treads on the scorpion which mysteriously flies off stage. Meanwhile, the snake coils itself around Titus’ leg. This gives Quintus a chance to start tickling Titus with the horse-hair crest of his helmet. Titus laughs so much that a truce is declared. In a sudden turn of events, Titus and Quintus join forces and start firing missiles at Cleopatra instead. Cleopatra makes a quick escape in a horse-drawn chariot manned by a very shady and hirsute fellow named ‘Hair’ and she is never seen again.

Well, who’s to say this never happened?

As parents, we have learnt that:

1. Children are never too young for history.
2. Toys can be a convenient way to introduce all manner of historical concepts and scenarios to children.
3. Children’s capacity for understanding complex relationships and events is tremendous.
4. Both children and adults need time to play. As Aristotle says: “he who is hard at work has need of relaxation, and amusement gives relaxation” (Aristotle, Politics, 8.3).

 

Link to Playmobil history: http://www.playmobil.co.uk/onlineshop/products/history

Link to Aristotle’s Politics online: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.8.eight.html