Scottish myths 8

The Seal-People

There is supposed to be a similar creature as the Loch Ness Monster in Loch Duich. Researchers affirm that film exists in a secret trust showing them in both locations..
There are even some who still believe that mermaids and mermen exist. There are certainly many legends including several Celtic myths, and one connected in particularly with Loch Duich where one can see the splendid Eilean Donan Castle..

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One night three brothers who were fishing near the bank of the loch were amazed to see three seal-maidens who had reached the shore and had taken off their furs revealing themselves to be beautiful, young women. They gracefully danced in the light of the full moon.
The three brothers were completely enchanted. Determined to claim the maidens for themselves, they rowed to the shore and crept within reach of stealing the seal-maidens' furs. This prevented the maidens from reassuming their former appearance, and from swimming away to rejoin their families.

The three brothers were determined to claim the seal-maidens as their wives, but the youngest brother, growing truly in love with his maiden, but overcome by her distress, finally renounced his claim. He returned her seal-fur and allowed her to go back to the loch and swim away.

On the ninth following evening, when the youngest brother was seated on the shore sadly gazing across the water, several seal-people returned. Among them was the seal father of the maiden he had released. Somehow knowing he would be there, he had come to tell the young man that his daughter was as much in love with him, as he was with her, and that without fail she would return to him on every ninth evening. 

The two other brothers were far less sensitive. In order to keep their maidens they began by locking them away. When the maidens seemed to be more obedient, they were allowed more liberty. The second brother's maiden used her freedom to find her fur and then the opportunity to escape to return to the loch and swim back to her family. He never saw her again.

To prevent this from ever happening to him, the elder brother decided to burn his maiden's fur. When she saw what he was doing, the young seal-maiden was so desperately distressed that she sacrificed herself to the flames in trying to retrieve it.

The youngest brother and his seal maiden however, were deservedly more privileged and lived very happily together for the rest of their lives.

Scottish myths 9
Scottish myths 7
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Retelling and images (Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Duich) © Mirino. Ocober, 2011

The rider

And Death will ride
When storm clouds race
And men stare proudly
At their Gods

When Earth heaves up
Her burning blood
And noble mountains split
To vomit fire,
Then He will ride.

Yet sands fall gently
As the setting sun.
A wise man may be received
By a more gentle host.

But come,
Traverse the line of folly.
Pierce the heart of your Gods
With blood-stained swords,
And Death too will surely ride.
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1980

  

Poem and images © Mirino (PW). Ocober, 2011

Libya

The tyrant is dead, long live the tyrant.. This seems to be the general way of appreciating the Libyan situation expressed by the many 'antithetics' who appear to have lost all hope and every confidence in democracy.

They are convinced that democratic countries make military engagements only for commercial interests. This, even to such an extent that they will persuade themselves that a great nation is cretinous enough to stab itself in the heart, to create a totally unnecessary pretext to make an incursion elsewhere to bring down a criminal regime, just to stake their claim in laying gazoducts, for example.

One can spend far too much time exchanging views with such individuals. Lately I happened to defend an argument against the absurdity of this way of seeing things even with an ecclesiastic, which shows that negative opinions aren't just limited to disillusioned teenagers. And invariably one is accused of being naive and living in Cloud Land. But even so, it's better to be hopeful, idealistic and optimistic up there, than being resentful, bitter and pessimistic 'elsewhere'..

Naturally publishing such negative opinions, often including various links to such subjects, to try to add weight to the hopeless and often hateful way they tend- or prefer- to see things, is extremely harmful. It even contributes to the condoning of extremist attacks against civilians, perpetrated to destabilise, to wear down the population, in a rabid attempt to destroy young democracies, as well as the very principle of democracy itself.

They now refer to Libya as yet another example. Thus they affirm that the Libyans have been liberated thanks to the costly commitment of nations purely motivated by securing their future, commercial interests.

France and Great Britain however, made their engagement well before they had any guaranty of US support. France even recognised the legitimacy of the Libyan Delegation of Transition without any hesitation whatsoever. Certainly such a courageous commitment, immediately termed as a 'caprice' by the German Minister of Defence, wasn't made for the purpose of procuring future, lucrative, commercial advantages. At such an early period, there was no certainty at all regarding the outcome of a rebellion. Had things gone the wrong way, as then was feasible, both France and Great Britain would most certainly have been the prime losers concerning future, Libyan, trade deals.

In any case, for the noncommittal, whether an oil rich country is governed by a democratically elected government, or a tyrant, contracts still remain contracts. This is not incoherent hypocrisy, it's part of the necessary realities of the paradoxical world we live in.

Europe and France under Chirac, may have preferred to turn a deaf ear to the Afghan Minister of Defence when he came to Europe to try to obtain support in his fight against the Taliban well before the 11th September, 2001, but France wasn't deaf to the call of Libya in the spring of this year. The Libyan people will never forget that.

It's also because of this that the Libyans might appreciate that they have a moral obligation to honour the trust that France, Great Britain, the USA and NATO showed towards them. Not by granting any commercial advantages, but by showing the world that they are capable of establishing an exemplary democracy. They owe it to those who helped them, but even more so, they owe it to themselves.

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 By Mirino. Photo by AP, with grateful thanks. October, 2011

Humour noir

Récemment j'ai été censuré (avec raison) pour avoir utilisé un humour assez sombre pour faire un point dans un commentaire pour un journal français bien connu.
J'ai trouvé que Monsieur Hollande s'est exprimé de manière un peu trop condescendante à l'égard de Madame Aubry en disant plus ou moins qu'elle a 'des éléments intéressants'. Une telle phrase de la part d'un candidat aux présidentielles pourrait être mal prise et assez mal interprétée.
Madame Aubry de son côté estime qu'elle a 'le droit de dire qu'il est mou'. Là aussi on pourrait prêter à ses mots des connotations physiques. D'ailleurs on m'a informé que l'on a aussi fait allusion du 'flou' et même des 'couilles molles', mais cette dernière expression indélicate aurait été ressentie comme un coup trop bas, et on doute
que ce soit le genre de remarque que Madame Aubry aurait fait, au moins en public.

Bref, il n'y a pas de quoi à avoir des grands espoirs ou d'être porté aux nues par la gauche française, malgré la volonté évidente de ceux qui veulent un 'changement' à tout prix. Mais à une période aussi critique,  
'à tout prix' serait une extravagance qui risquerait de plonger la France dans la même abysse où se trouvent l'Espagne, le Portugal, et même actuellement l'Italie, sinon dans les mêmes bas fonds grecs.

DSK avait précipité les choses à sa manière impulsive ainsi révélant sa ferme priorité.. Ceux qui précédemment comptaient sur lui ont été donc pris de court, et manifestement ils ont du mal à faire surface engloutis dans son sillage rude, lubrique et houleux.

Ce n'est pas trop étonnant que la droite n'a pas encore réagit. Il n'y a vraiment pas de raison pour réagir. On dirait même que la gauche est en train de se noyer dans cette auto-faite bourbier visqueux toute seule.

Un des projets populistes d'Hollande est de réintégrer assez massivement des enseignants pour 'sauver le système de l'éducation nationale'..
Récemment il y a eu un cas tragique d'une enseignante qui s'est immolée dans la cour même d'un lycée à Béziers. Auparavant, d'après plusieurs élèves, elle avait lancé- 'Je fais ça pour vous'..
Il va sans dire qu'un tel geste ne peut jamais être ressenti comme un beau cadeau pour personne, et encore moins pour ses élèves dont apparemment certains s'étaient plaints à cause d'elle. Même nos condoléances les plus sincères envers la famille de cette pauvre femme ne peuvent pas représenter grand chose par rapport à un geste aussi désespéré.

On est donc laissé avec un goût d'amertume, et même un sentiment de colère. Non pas à cause de la situation de l'éducation nationale française dont Monsieur Hollande prétend pouvoir remédier par la réintégration d'une légion de profs: Un recrutement massif, mais non nécessairement des rares exemples sélectionnés avec grand soin, prudence et considération; pas particulièrement des profs capables de stimuler leurs élèves en créant par exemple, des 'cercles de poètes', etc. Plutôt un influx de médiocrité qui n'a jamais pratiqué une profession dans sa vie, et en somme n'a jamais quitté l'école. Ces derniers pourraient au moins largement remplacer ceux qui sont tentés de partir ou de laisser de tels cadeaux d'adieu.

Si la première responsabilité d'un bon prof est l'exemple, cette malheureuse femme se serait trompée carrément de vocation. Son acte de désespoir pourrait aussi être interprété comme un geste vindicatif envers tout le monde, surtout envers ses élèves et certainement envers elle-même. Car selon l'esprit de cette enseignante, les enfants porteraient le fardeau de culpabilité toute leur vie. C'était un mauvais calcul.

Admettant que l'humour noir ait un sens et une valeur, ce serait d'abord pour temporiser. Ce serait aussi un moyen pour faire reflechir, pour révéler l'hypocrisie, et pour ainsi faire valoir la vérité.
Cette enseignante de mathématiques ne semble avoir rien laissé de valeur pour la postérité. La colère d'un tel gâchis général me fait même imaginer des problèmes hallucinants d'arithmétique primaire liés à cet événement affreux.
Si, par exemple, trois élèves peuvent inciter à partir un prof en quatre mois, combien d'élèves pourraient inciter à partir huit profs en un mois.?

Peut-être je devrais souligné que j'ai enseigné moi-même plusieurs fois pendant ma vie professionnelle. J'enseigne toujours d'ailleurs. Et je sais d'expérience que l'on n'arrive pas à inciter qui que ce soit à apprendre quoi que ce soit, sans d'abord faire l'exemple, sans l'inspirer, sans l'intéresser, sans lui démontrer ce que l'on peut faire, sans lui faire relever la tête pour apprécier les merveilles de la vie et du monde, sans lui faire comprendre la signification de l'histoire- par exemple- et lui faire voir qu'à travers ce long chemin de la civilisation, rien est dû au hasard. Il y a donc une raison pour tout. Et cette vérité peut aussi renforcer l'élève pour faire face à la vie.
Que l'on les fasse rêver, leur donne de l'espoir, en donnant toujours le meilleur de soi de façon positive et intègre, au lieu de ne laisser que des cendres noires et amères comme souvenirs.

L'éducation c'est la détermination du futur. C'est une responsabilité énorme. La qualité de l'éducation est donc primordiale. Mieux un bon prof (bien rémunéré) pour une classe de disons soixante élèves (motivés) que quatre profs médiocres (qu'ensemble coûtera bien plus cher) pour quinze élèves chacun.
La solution Hollande appartient à cette dernière catégorie. Les socialistes raisonnent toujours en termes de chiffres (35 est aussi un exemple signifiant) et non en termes de qualité. Après tout, les chiffres représentent pour eux les votants. The more the merrier..

Ce qui nous fait revenir à l'altruisme observé par Oscar Wilde. La fausse générosité et le populisme socialistes : l'aide sociale à tout go, les papiers pour tous sans exception, etc. Qu'au lieu de guérir le mal, l'altruisme devient partie du mal.
Ce n'est pas de l'humour noir, il s'agit de la pure vérité.

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Text and image © Mirino. October, 2011

Leonardo da Vinci, le portrait

L'artiste/illustrateur qui veut évoquer une émotion à travers une attitude ou une action particulière d'un être humain ou d'un animal, même s'il a un modèle ou des références convenables, doit aussi pouvoir se mettre dans la peau de son sujet pour obtenir le résultat recherché. Un bon artiste devrait donc être aussi un(e) bon(ne) comédien(ne).

C'est aussi pour cela que l'œuvre finale constitue en bonne partie un reflet de l'âme de l'artiste-même, à condition que ce dernier soit satisfait des résultats.

Oscar Wilde, qui manifestement comprenait bien cette vérité disait- 'Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter.' (Chaque portrait peint avec sentiment et émotion est un portrait de l'artiste et non pas du sujet).

Evidemment Leonardo da Vinci le savait bien lui-aussi.
Depuis longemps j'ai toujours pensé que La Gioconda était plus un auto-portrait qu'un portrait véritable d'une femme particulière. (Même si l'œuvre est attribuée à être le portrait de Lisa Gherardini, la femme de Francesco del Giocondo).

Ce chef d'œuvre eut une telle importance pour Leonardo, que l'on dit qu'il le portait souvent avec lui, comme si le portrait était partie essentielle de son être, donc de son âme.

Il va sans dire que dans ce cas, lorsqu'on utilise le terme auto-portrait, on réfère aux aspects bien plus profonds que les aspects superficiels de ressemblances physiques. Dans ce cas particulier ces aspects pourraient se constituer du confluent de toutes les connaissances du maître, y compris son amour, son respect, et même son humilité devant la femme, la vie, le monde et l'univers.

Cette femme avec son sourire insaisissable, semble vouloir presque nous transmettre- avec un clin d'œil- un indice subtil du 'Secret'. Ce n'est pas le sien, bien entendu, c'est celui de Leonardo da Vinci. On qualifie sa technique, une maîtrise de peinture hors pair, de sfumato ('la fumée de Leonardo'). Les gradés si raffinés de couleur de peau, les détails à point par rapport avec ceux un peu plus loin de l'œil ou domptés par l'ombre, et ceux des montagnes disparaissant dans la brume de l'atmosphère de l'arrière plan.

En lisant ses notes on a toute fois l'impression que le génie, savant et technicien ait voulu parfois subroger l'artiste en lui, avec une rationalité parfois paradoxale. Peut-être ceci fait aussi partie du Secret, et l'énigmatique sourire. Tout comme le code et ce que l'on pourrait lire dans son interprétation de La Cène (L'ultima cena).
Je me rappelle d'une remarque d'une vielle femme cultivée et discernante à propos d'une aquarelle qu'elle regardait, Vous les artistes, vous ne savez jamais pourquoi vous faites vos œuvres. Ce qui les rend ce qu'elles sont, et leur donne parfois, espérons, ce reflet, cette âme magique et éternelle.

Ceux qui suivent sont des exemples pris des notes de Leonardo, qui non seulement soutiennent la 'théorie citation' d'Oscar Wilde, mais qui semblent vouloir traiter l'aspect d'influence personnelle, certainement sur le plan superficiel, comme 'le plus grand défaut des peintres'. (Les 'f', de l'impression du vieux italien, sont corrigés en 's', mais les 't' qui seraient parfois les 'z' sont laissés comme tels).

Dell'inganno che si receve nel giuditio delle membra. CAP. XLII

Quel pittore che havrà goffe mani, le sarà simili nelle sue opere, e cosi gl'interverrà in qualunque membro, se il lungo studio non glielo vieta. Però ogni pittore deve guardare quella parte che hà più brutta nella sua persona, e a quella con ogni studio far buon riparo.

La tendance de se tromper de jugement des membres physiques.

(Le peintre devrait être conscient de ses propres fautes physiques pour éviter de les reproduire en les incorporant inconsciemment dans son œuvre).

Del diffetto del pittore. CAP. XLIV

Grandissimo diffetto è del pittore ritrarre overo replicare li medesimi moti, e medesime pieghe di panni in una medesima historia, e far somigliar tutte le teste l'una con l'altra.

(Le plus grand défaut, c'est celui des peintres qui répliquent les mêmes mouvements, les mêmes visages et le même genre de vêtements dans une même scène, et qui font ressembler la plupart des visages. Ce sont des peintres qui se contentent d'une formule de facilité).

Precetto, perché il pittore non s'inganni nell' elettione della figura in che s'à habito. CAP. XLV

Deve il pittore far la sua figura sopra la regola d'un corpo naturale, il quale comunemente sia di proportione laudibile; oltre di questo far misurare se medesimo & vedere in che parte la sua persona varia assai, o poco, da quella antedetta laudibile ; e fatta quella notitia deve riparare con tutto il suo studio, di non incorrere, ne' medesimi mancamenti nelle figure da lui operate, che nella persona sua ritrova; e con questo vitio ti bisogno sommamente  pugnare, cociosiach' egli è mancamento, ch'è nato insieme col giuditio: perche l'anima è maestra del tuo corpo e quello del tuo proprio giuditio, è che volentieri elle si diletta nell'opere  nel comporre il tuo corpo : e di qui nasce, che non è si brutta figura di femmina, che non trovi qualche amante, se già non fusse monstruosa, e in tutto questo habbi avvertimento grandissimo.

(Le peintre doit faire ses personnages selon la règle du corps naturel qui est quand même de proportions louables; au lieu de quel il se réfère à ses propres proportions et voit plus ou moins lui-même comme le susmentionné norme louable. Il doit être conscient de ce défaut pour pouvoir le réparer avec tout son savoir, et de ne pas se tromper en croyant une œuvre belle qui a ses propres caractéristiques physiques : parce que l'âme est le maître de ton corps et de ton propre jugement, et elle se délecte d'incorporer ton corps :  de ceci est né l'idée que la femme n'est jamais trop laide pour trouver quelques amants, si déjà elle ne fut pas monstrueuse, et dans tout ceci il y a un grand avertissement).    

Dans la traduction français (André Keller) Del Trattato della Pittora di Leonardo da Vinci traitant de ce sujet particulier, il semble y avoir un peu de confusion entre l'aspect physique donc visuel, et l'aspect spirituel. Le mot âme est trop souvent employé. Ce que le Maître souligne est, en fait, très simple et très vrai, que certains artistes ont souvent une tendance maladroite de projeter leurs propres aspects physiques dans leurs œuvres, ainsi révélant leur manque d'objectivité, d'imagination et de connaissances. Ceci n'a rien à voir avec le côté spirituel. Au contraire, lorsqu'Oscar Wilde disait que Chaque portrait peint avec émotion est un portrait de l'artiste et non pas le sujet, il voulait dire qu'une vraie œuvre d'art, quoi qu'elle représente, reflète l'âme de l'artiste plus encore qu'elle ne représente le sujet, sinon elle ne représenterait rien de grand intérêt, ou de grande valeur.

Sans doute c'est aussi pour cela que l'on reste toujours ébahi devant les œuvres de Leonardo de Vinci, car son âme en réverbère avec une force monumentale, que ce soit à travers les muscles et les tendons d'un vieil homme intensément observés, ou à travers l'expression si paisible, douce, énigmatique et hors de temps d'une jeune femme sage qui nous sourit éternellement tout en se gardant de révéler son secret éternel.

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Text and translations from the Italian © Mirino. Notes in Italian taken from Le Traite de la peinture de Leonardo de Vinci, chez Jean de Bonnot. Top image- self-portrait of Leonardo (red chalk). Royal Library of Turin. Leonardo da Vinci (né Avril 15, 1452-1519 à Vinci, près de Florence, mort mai 2, 1519, Amboise, France). 
Anatomical studies (muscoli in azione) 1508-1510.
Etude d'un cheval (silverpoint on prepared paper) Royal Library, Winsor. (Wikimedia Commons with thanks).
La Gioconda (entre 1503 et 1505) huile sur peuplier, 76,8 x 53 cm. Musée du Louvre. (Wikimedia Commons with thanks). Digitally retouched in damaged areas by M.
(Among the notes of such studies one can read this invocation: 'O speculatore di questa macchina (umana) non ti rattristi il fatto du farla conoscere per l'altrui morte, ma rallegrati che il nostro Creatore abbia l'intelletto volto all'eccellenza di tale strumento'. 
O spectateur de ce mécanisme (humain), ne t'attriste pas du fait de le faire connaître par des morts, mais réjoui toi que notre Créateur ait eu l'intellect de se consacrer à parfaire un tel instrument').                                               October, 2011

Little Milly

Knit one, purl one,
Little Milly's knitting,
Cosy in her rocking-chair
Where she's always sitting

All alone in her home
Lit by candle-light,
Humming softly to herself,
 Knitting through the night. 

 *
 

Une à l'endroit, une à l'envers
Petite Milly tricote
Assise dans son rocking-chair
Chauffée par sa bouillotte

Toute seule chez elle
Où la chandelle luit,
Fredonnant doucement,
Elle tricote toute la nuit.
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Poems and image © Mirino (PW) October, 2011

Soliloques lunaires

Qu'est ce que l'on sait? 'Un jour' on affirme grâce à Einstein que rien ne peut aller plus rapidement que la lumière, (300,000 kms par seconde) puis 'le lendemain' on affirme que les 'neutrinos' (faisceaux de petites particules) vont quand même encore plus vite. Ce qui implique même la possibilité de voyager dans le temps et donc de retourner dans le passé..

Ainsi au plus on avance, de moins en moins on est incliné d'affirmer quoi que ce soit. Car c'est vrai que le plus que l'on connaît, le moins on sait que l'on connaît.

D'ailleurs tel a toujours été le critère de la sagesse à travers notre histoire. La réalisation que l'on ne connaît pas grand chose par rapport au grand tout, à cette vérité. Que nous sommes si petits par rapport avec la merveille de la vie et le mécanisme de l'univers. Si petits mais aussi partie essentielle- sans trop le savoir, de ce fabuleux grand tout.

D'y penser ne veut pas dire non plus être diminué ou fataliste. La grandeur, la volonté de se dépasser a toujours été propre à l'homme. C'est justement cette force de volonté- issue tout simplement de celle de notre survivance, qui est le moteur à nous faire atteindre les étoiles. Puis ce cercle de la vie, ce retour à la source, ce mécanisme universel 'chronologiquement variable', avec notre nature unique à nous par rapport avec les autres formes de vie de 'notre monde', ne suggéraient pas tous ces phénomènes que ce voyage ne serait pas forcément le tout premier?

On ne sait pas grand chose, mais on sait que l'on est. Peut-être il suffit de le savoir.
Certes nous voudrions tous que notre monde soit meilleur. A travers l'histoire il y avait toujours ces personnages exceptionnels qui s'étaient engagés pour contribuer à réaliser ce rêve. Il ne faut pas oublier non plus les artistes, les poètes ou ceux qui se nomment aujourd'hui les écologistes- ceux qui se rendent compte que de tels soucis environnementaux n'ont rien à voir avec l'esprit partisan.

Mais tant que l'homme est capable d'exercer la tyrannie, l'exploitation outre mesure et malsaine de l'être humain et des ressources naturelles, que peuvent faire les artistes, les poètes et les amoureux de la nature et du monde? Ils peuvent bien donner des avertissements, ils peuvent bel et bien crier fort, et puis après ils ne peuvent qu'approuver ou condamner pour la postérité les changements instigués par d'autres. Mais ce ne sont pas obligatoirement eux qui peuvent changer le cours de l'histoire.

Ce ne sont pas non plus ceux qui enfin se révèlent par leur manière de suivre sans enthousiasme les initiatives des autres, les vrais yes we cans. Les véritables bougeurs du monde ne parlent jamais de ce qu'ils peuvent faire. Ils le font, avec ou sans le soutien des autres. Ils ne gagnent pas nécessairement un prix pour leur peine. Pas de prix de popularité, pas de prix de paix, par exemple. Parfois leur dernière volonté n'est même pas respectée, ou on semble vouloir croire que 'celui qui a aidé à tuer le monstre doit aussi s'en aller'.*
On les aime ou on les déteste, mais cela aussi n'importe que relativement peu. C'est seulement eux ou elles qui instiguent les changements de notre histoire, pour faire avancer le monde positivement, et ça a toujours été ainsi. Mais plus important, c'est l'histoire elle-même qui reconnaît leur grandeur.

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*Avant de mourir après la bataille de Trafalgar, (1805) la dernière volonté de Horatio Nelson, de veiller sur les intérêts de sa compagne Lady Hamilton, ne fut jamais effectuée. Churchill, malgré tout ce qu'il a fait pour la Grande Bretagne et l'Europe pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale n'a rien reçu comme honneur. Plus tard bien après sa mort, sa femme était même contrainte de vendre certains des tableaux de Winston, à cause de soucis financiers, etc..

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Text and image © Mirino, October, 2011

The Wife of Bath

The long prologue of Chaucer's The Wife of Bath is an amusing and timely rebuke to centuries of bigoted, anti-feminist, religious doctrine. Considering The Canterbury Tales were written between 1387 and 1410, it's a sign of our times that what the Wife of Bath has to say, still applies today in certain cases, perhaps more than ever.
She often refers to the Bible, sometimes making minor errors, but one gets the impression that Chaucer does this on purpose, to mislead the reader into believing that the Wife of Bath is a good, honest, simple and down to earth soul, who having started her five chapters of married life very young, (from the age of 12) was deprived of education. Yet the reader is gradually led to appreciate that in spite of everything, she is remarkably witty, subtle, and well read.

Here are some short excerpts from the prologue :

 1   Experience, though noon auctoritee
     Were in this world, is right ynough for me
     To speke of wo that is in mariage :
     For lordinges,° sith I twelf yeer was of age--      °gentlemen
     Thanked be God that is eterne on live--
     Housbondes at chirche dore° I have had five     °Church door weddings
     (If I ofte mighte han wedded be)                                   
     And all were worthy men in hir degree.

26  Men may divine° and glosen° up and down          °guess/interpret
     But wel I woot,° expres,° withouten lie,                 °know/expressly
     God bad us for to wexe° and multiplye :                °increase (Genesis 1.28)
     That gentil text can I wel understonde.

35   Lo, here the wise king daun° Salomon :                   °master
      I trowe° he ha wives many oon.*                               °believe
      As wolde God it leveful° were to me                         °permissible
      To be refresshed half so ofte as he.
      Which yifte° of God hadde he for alle his wives !   °what a gift
      No man hath swich that in this world alive is.
      God woot this noble king, as to my wit°                    °knowledge
      The firste night hadde many a merye fit°                  °bout
      With each of hem, so wel was him on live°               °so good a life he had
      Blessed be God that I have wedded five,
      Of whiche I have piked out the beste°                °taken everything of value
      Bothe of hir nether° purs and of hir cheste.°     °lower parts, purse, riches

(*Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. 1 Kings 11.3)

73   But conseiling nis° no comandement.                            °is not 
      He putte it in oure owene juggement.
      For hadde God commanded maidenhede,°                   °virginity
      Thanne hadde he dampned° wedding and the deed    °condemned
      And certes, if there were no seed ysowe,
      Virginitee, thann wherof sholde it growe?

121 Tell me also, to what conclusioun°                                °end
      Were membres maad of generacioun
      And of so parfit wis a wrighte ywrought?°       °perfectly purposely made
      Glose° whoso wol, and saye bothe up and down          °interpret
      That they were marked for purgacioun
      Of urine, and oure bothe things smale
      Was eek° to knowe a femele from a male,                      °also
      And for noon other cause-- saye ye no?
      Th' experience woot it is nought so.
      So that the clerkes be nat with me wrothe,
      I saye this, that they been maad for bothe---
      That is to sayn, for office° and for ese°                        °purgation/pleasure
      Of engendure,° ther we nat God displese.
      Why sholde men elles in hir bookes sette
      That man shal yeelde° to hos wif hir dette?°              °pay/marital debt
      Now wherwith sholde he make his payment
      If he ne used his sely° instrument?                              °innocent

Of course there are many more arguments and references made by Chaucer's The Wife of Bath in her long prologue. Her natural expounding of common sense gives the clergy of Chaucer's era a complete lesson in life, and justifies her having seen out five husbands. Fittingly it seems never-ending, but eventually one reaches the tale itself, which is a beautiful story.

It's too long to add here. As it's even possible that some readers of The Wife of Bath may not have arrived at the end of her long preamble, below is an abridged retelling of it, sadly devoid of Chauceresque words and rhyming.

Basically in the prologue, the Wife of Bath teaches us the art of marriage, and gives us accounts of her life with her husbands, often fondly returning to 'Janekin', her favourite fifth husband. This even though he clouted her hard enough to cause her to be deaf in the struck ear, after she had ripped pages from the anti-feminist manuscipts (Valerie and Theofraste, and Saint Jerome's 'Reply to Jovinian', etc.) which he was wont to annoy her with by reading all the time.

The tale itself takes place in the old King Arthur days. When the land was still full of fairies, before the 'limitours' (beggar friars with allocated territories) had, according to Chaucer, scared them all away. Chaucer seems to make a parody of Sir Gawain, in order to wonderfully illustrate the opinions, the character and the timeless truth advocated and defended so well by the Wife of Bath.

One fine day a lusty knight rides out and sees before him a beautiful young maiden walking by the side of a river. He rides up to her, then quickly dismounts to try to kiss her. Offended, she does her best to fight him off, whereupon he ravishes her.

When King Arthur learns of this outrage, the knight is arrested. He would have been sentenced to death for his crime had the queen not asked king Arthur to confide his fate to her. To this the king agrees, and the queen summons the knight to come before her.
He is to answer her question. If he fails to give her the correct answer, she will have him decapitated. The question she asks is: "What is the thing that women desire most?"
As he doesn't know the answer and dares not guess, she grants him twelve months and a day to 'seeke and lerre' (search and learn).

The knight goes far and wide in his quest for the answer but all to no avail. Some say that women desire 'freedom', some say they desire 'to be rich', others say they desire 'honour', some say they desire 'pleasure and rich array'. Some even say they desire 'lust abed', and often it was also said that they mostly desire 'to be wived and wedded'.
(The Wife of Bath, then wanders off by referring to Midas from Ovid and how the reeds disclosed the secret by whispering "aures aselli" (ass's ears) before she returns to her tale).

The knight now full of lassitude and uncertainty must even so return home. As he rides he suddenly sees a throng of beautiful, young, fairy maidens dancing by the side of a forest. But when he edges his horse nearer, they just as suddenly disappear.
He gazes about and there instead, sitting on the green is an ugly old woman. The knight approaches her. She tells him that there's no way forth from there, then she asks him what he's looking for. He then decides to ask her the famous question- 'What is it that women most desire'?
The old hag reaches out for his hand then asks him to make a solemn pledge to give her whatever she later requires. Only for this will she reveal the answer. The knight agrees without hesitation.

He returns to the court and the queen calls for a great assembly to hear the knight. He is then summoned to appear before her and the court. When he is ordered to give the answer to the question, he affirms with a manly voice that generally what women most desire is sovereignty, and governance over their husbands and their love.
As no one in the court can contradict his statement, it is agreed that his life be spared. But somehow the old hag suddenly appears and presents herself : 'Thank you my sovereign lady Queene. It was I who gave the answer to this knight, for which he made a pledge to me to satisfy my requirement. Before the court then I pray thee Sir Knight that thou me take unto thy wife, for I have saved thy life'.

The poor knight has no other choice. He sadly and obediently leaves with the old hag. The wedding ceremony that takes place the following day is very quiet and discreet.
But when the time comes to join her in bed, the knight completely lacks courage. The old woman then patiently lectures him on gentlemanliness. She explains that it's not inherited with name and wealth. It's more a heavenly gift. She cites Dante in this case. She talks of poverty, explaining words to the effect that a happy vagabond is as rich as a king, but a lot freer than a king would ever be.

After having so spoken she then asks him to decide between two choices. The first choice would be to have her ugly and old as she is, knowing that until the day she dies she will always be a faithful, humble wife who will never displease him. The second choice would be to have her young and beautiful, but to have to take the chance of losing her to another man, and to have to tolerate her looseness, unfaithfulness and capriciousness.

The knight then replies, 'My lady and my love, my wife so dear, I put myself in your wise governance. Choose whatever will be most pleasant, and most honourable to you, and thus also to me.'

'I am your 'maistrye', the old woman replies. 'Kiss me, we are no longer angry, for by my faith, I will be both.' (both fair and good).
Cast up the bed curtain and see for yourself. And the knight does so and then sees that his wife is truly the most beautiful young woman he had ever set eyes on. He kisses her a thousands times. And they both live very happily, for ever after.

The ending of the original text is a bit more colourful :

1260   A thousand time arewe° he gan hire kisse,             °in a row
          And she obeyed him in every thing
          That mighte do hime plesance or liking°                 °pleasure
          And thus they live unto hir lives ende
          In parfit° joye. And Jesu Crist us sende                   °perfect
          Housbondes meeke, yonge, and fresshe abedde--
          And grace t'overbide° hem that we wedde               °outlive
          And eek I praye Jesu shorte° hir lives                       °shorten
          That nought wol be governed by hir wives,
          And olde and angry nigardes of dispence°--            °expenditure
          God sende hem soone a verray° pestilence!'            °veritable

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Text and retelling © Mirino. Excerpts of verse from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath (The Northon Anthology English Literature) with thanks. Image is of the opening page of The Wife of Bath's Prologue Tale, from the Ellesmere manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Wikipedia Commons- with many thanks. October, 2011

Written in October

(While Resting on the Bed staring Gloomily at the Paper)

 The wind is blowing,
The cattle are lowing,
My head is reeling,
With tinnitus squealing,
 Rain clouds are hiding the sun;
The youngest and oldest
Wear expressions the coldest;
The TV is bawling,

The news is appalling,

 One seems to be constantly stun !

The storm that's arising
Is hardly surprising,
And now one feels ill
Having caught a bad chill;
 The unions are calling to strike:
No joy for the euro,
The rates should be zero,
Small hope for the Hellines,
           In debt they are well-ines;            
And little is as one would like !

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With apologies to Wordsworth  
'Written in March' (while Resting on the Bridge at the Foot of Brother's Water).

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 Worthless words

The Windmills

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Parody and image © Mirino, October, 2011

Salomé, Oscar Wilde

If 'art is created- or determined- by the beholder', it's also denigrated by the prejudiced, the ignorant and the tyrannical, but in these cases only temporary, provided the art is never destroyed.
Oscar Wilde's Salomé was first performed during the same period of his trial (Wilde versus the Marquess of Queensbury-1895) when most of the less objective theatre goers would have been disinclined to 'behold' it.

It's interesting to note that Lord Chamberlain's licensor of plays banned Salomé in England because it was then considered illegal to stage Biblical characters. Incredibly the ban lasted almost forty years before it was lifted. It could be argued that the Biblical characters themselves were also 'staged' in the Bible, and that as a classical, allegorical tragedy, it belongs more to literature and therefore artistic representation and interpretation, than to be uniquely limited to the Bible, and as such, perhaps unduly considered sacred.

Oscar Wilde was understandably angry because of what then seemed to him to be an unnecessary, vindictive ban, to such an extent that it's said he envisaged registering for French nationality in order to avoid the possibility of having to contend with any further restrictions and censorship.

Salomé was originally written (retold) by Wilde in French, and first published in 1891. An English translation, accredited to Alfred Douglas, but in fact mostly retranslated by Wilde himself, due to the unacceptable results of the Alfred Douglas effort, was published three years later.

This is quite apparent on reading the English translation. One has the distinct impression of reading Wilde's prose and no one else's.
The famous illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley for the English version are master-pieces in themselves.

The story is of course that of Salomé, who having received the promise from Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judæa, that he will give his step-daughter everything and anything she desires if she dances for him, finally agrees to perform the dance of the seven veils. After the performance her mother Herodias is delighted to hear Salomé ask for the head of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) who had always expressed his disdain for Herodias. Salomé asks that his head be presented to her on a silver platter. The appalled and fearful Tetrarch tries desperately but unsuccessfully to dissuade her.

There is symbolism in comparing Salomé to the moon- the pagan goddess Cybele who is also obsessed with preserving her virginity whilst diverting herself by destroying male virility. There are paradoxes (naturally), ambiguity, ironism and clin d'oeils in Wilde's version of Salomé.
Here's an excerpt as an example.

'Salomé :
How wasted he is ! He is like a thin ivory statue. He is like an image of silver. I am sure he is chaste as the moon is. He is like a moonbeam, like a shaft of silver. His flesh must be cool like ivory. I would look closer to him.
The Young Syrian :
No, no, Princess.
Salomé  :
I must look at him closer.
The Young Syrian :
Princess ! Princess !
Jokanaan :
Who is this woman who is looking at me ? I will not have her look at me. Wherefore doth she look at me with her golden eyes, under gilded eyelids? I know not who she is. I do not wish to know who she is. Bid her begone. It is not to her that I would speak.
Salomé :
I am Salomé, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa.
Jokanaan :
Back ! Daughter of Babylon ! Come not near the chosen of the Lord. Thy mother hath filled the earth with the wine of her iniquities, and the cry of her sins hath come up to the ears of God.
Salomé :
Speak again ! Jokanaan. Thy voice is wine to me.
The Young Syrian :
Princess ! Princess ! Princess !
Salomé :
Speak again, speak again, Jokanaan, and tell me what I must do.
Jokanaan :
Daughter of Sodom, come not near me ! But cover thy face with a veil, and scatter ashes upon thine head, and get thee to the desert and seek out the Son of Man.
Salomé :
Who is he, the Son of Man? Is he as beautiful as thou art, Jokanaan ?
Jokanaan :
Get thee behind me ! I hear in the palace the beating of the wings of the angel of death.
The Young Syrian:
Princess, I beseech thee to go within.
Jokanaan :
Angel of the Lord God, what dost thou here with thy sword ? Whom seekest thou in this foul palace ? The day of him who shall die in a robe of silver has not yet come.
Salomé : Jokanaan !
Jokanaan :
Who speaketh ?
Salomé :
Jokanaan, I am amorous of thy body ! Thy body is white like the lilies of a field that the mower hath never mowed. Thy body is white like the snows that lie on the mountains, like the snows that lie on the mountains of Judæa, and come down into the valleys. The roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia are not so white as thy body. Neither the roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia, nor the feet of the dawn when they light on the leaves, nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea. . . . There is nothing in the world so white as thy body. Let me touch thy body.
Jokanaan :
Back ! Daughter of Babylon ! By woman came evil into the world. Speak not to me. I will not listen to thee. I listen but to the voice of the Lord God.
Salomé :
Thy body is hideous. It is like the body of a leper. It is like a plastered wall where vipers have crawled;  like a plastered wall where the scorpions have made their nest. It is like a whitened sepulchre full of loathsome things. It is horrible, thy body is horrible. It is of thy hair that I am enamoured, Jokanaan. Thy hair is like clusters of grapes, like clusters of black grapes that hang from the vine-trees of Edom in the land of the Edomites. Thy hair is like the cedars of Lebanon that give their shade to the lions and to the robbers who would hide themselves by day. The long black nights, when the moon hides her face, when the stars are afraid, are not so black. The silence that dwells in the forest is not so black. There is nothing in the world so black as thy hair. . . . Let me touch thy hair.
Jokanaan :
Back, daughter of Sodom ! Touch me not. Profane not the temple of the Lord God.
Salomé :
Thy hair is horrible. It is covered with mire and dust. It is like a crown of thorns which they have placed on thy forehead. It is like a knot of black serpents writhing round thy neck. I love not thy hair. . . . It is thy mouth that I desire, Jokanaan. Thy mouth is like a band of scarlet on a tower of ivory. It is like a pomegranate cut with a knife of ivory. The pomegranate flowers that blossom in the garden of Tyre, and are redder than roses, are not so red. The red blasts of trumpets, that herald the approach of kings, and make afraid the enemy, are not so red. Thy mouth is redder than the feet of those who tread the wine in the wine-press. Thy mouth is redder than the feet of the doves who haunt the temples and are fed by the priests. It is redder than the feet of him who cometh from a forest where he hath slain a lion, and seen gilded tigers. Thy mouth is like a branch of coral that fishers have found in the twilight of the sea, the coral that they keep for the kings. !  It is like the vermilion that the Moabites find in the mines of Moab, the vermilion that the kings take from them. It is like the bow of the king of the Persians, that is painted with vermilion, and is tipped with coral. There is nothing in the world so red as thy mouth. . . . Let me kiss thy mouth.
Jokanaan :
Never, daughter of Babylon ! Daughter of Sodom ! Never.
Salomé :
I will kiss thy mouth Jokanaan. I will kiss thy mouth.
The Young Syrian :
Princess, Princess, thou who art like a garden of myrrh, thou art the dove of all doves, look not at this man, look not at him ! Do not speak such words to him. I cannot suffer them. . . . Princess, Princess, do not speak these things.
Salomé :
I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.
The Young Syrian :
Ah !
He kills himself and falls between Salomé and Jokanaan.
The Page of Herodias :
The young Syrian has slain himself ! The young captain has slain himself ! He has slain himself who was my friend ! I gave him a little box of perfumes and ear-rings wrought in silver, and now he has killed himself ! Ah, did he not foretell that some misfortune would happen ? 
I, too, foretold it and it has happened. Well, I knew that the moon was seeking a dead thing, but I knew not that it was he whom she sought. Ah ! why did I not hide him from the moon ? If I had hidden him in a cavern she would not have seen him.
First Soldier :
Princess, the young captain has just killed himself.
Salomé :
Let me kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.
Jokanaan: Art thou not afraid, daughter of Herodias ? Did I not tell thee that I heard in the palace the beatings of the wings of the angel of death, and hath he not come, the angel of death?
Salomé :
Let me kiss thy mouth.
Jokanaan :
Daughter of adultery, there is but one who can save thee, it is He of whom I spake. Go seek Him. He is in a boat on the sea of Galilee, and He talketh with His disciples. Kneel down on the shore of the sea, and call unto Him by His name. When He cometh to thee (and to all who call on Him He cometh) bow thyself at His feet and ask of Him the remission of thy sins.
Salomé :
Let me kiss thy mouth.
Jokanaan :
Cursed be thou ! Daughter of an incestuous mother, be thou accursed !
Salomé :
I will kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan.
Jokanaan :
I do not wish to look at thee. I will not look at thee, thou art accursed, Salomé, thou art accursed.

He goes down into the cistern.'

Introduction © Mirino. Excerpt from Oscar Wildes Salomé (from Complete Works of Oscar Wilde- Collins). Illustrations (top- The Climax, mid- The Peacock Skirt, lower vignette- 'front cover'. by Aubrey Beardsley. (Top and lower vignette monochromed by M). October, 2011