Wednesday 1 June 2016

Visual And Verbal

During an end of the month pause on Poul Anderson Appreciation, I posted on both Comics Appreciation and Religion and Philosophy. On Comics Appreciation, I mentioned visual media, TV series based on comics strips. On Religion and Philosophy, I mentioned visual experience of sun, sky etc.

In many passages of their verbal medium, prose fiction, Poul and Karen Anderson help us to appreciate visual experience, e.g.:

"With surrounding trees cleared away, [Gratillonius] had a view down wooded hillside whose green glowed transient gold, across the flat strip along the Odita, over the burnished surface of that water and croplands beyond. After a warm day, mistiness obscured the western horizon and turned the sun into a huge ruddy shield."
-Poul and Karen Anderson, The Dog And The Wolf, Chapter XI, section 4, p. 226.

Green, gold and red. Other senses soon follow: air cools; sweat clings; smoke is acrid; muscles are sated after a good day's work. The Andersons celebrate life.

5 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I agree, the Andersons celebrated life, an ACTIVE life. Their greatest approval was of people who did POSITIVE things. I would call this a very WESTERN view of the world, that humans should act in the world, and reshape it to their needs. An attitude characteristic even of Christian monks, btw. As St. Benedict stressed in his RULE, monks should work as well as praying to and contemplating God.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
Laborare est orare. And, in theistic karma yoga, actions are offered to God.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Exactly! If I understand the Latin correctly, "to work is to pray."

Sean

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Sean!

You do understand the Latin correctly.

Best Regards,
Nicholas Rosen

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Nicholas!

Thanks! I only remember some bits and pieces of schoolboy Latin these days.

Best regards, Sean