Valland wonders whether "Azkashi" means:
hill people
free people
people of the galaxy god
all these things and more
Surely the fourth option? The Packs live in the hills, are free and worship that which Earthmen call the galaxy but which they call God. And they are more likely to use words that are full of meanings rather than narrowly defined.
We make fine distinctions. Someone wondered whether a Latin text referred to Mars the planet or to Mars the god but surely there was a time before that distinction was made?
When, in CS Lewis' That Hideous Strength, a cat goes to sleep in close physical contact with a tame bear, is this friendship or just bodily pleasure? Ransom answers that the interaction between these two animals:
"'...is a single undifferentiated thing in which you can find the germ of what we call friendship and of what we call physical need. But it isn't either at that level. It is one of Barfield's "ancient unities".'"
-CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength IN Lewis, The Cosmic Trilogy (London, 1990), pp. 349-753 AT CHAPTER 12, 5, p. 621.
Classical Romans thought of Mars as the 'home' of the war God, not the God itself.
ReplyDeleteKaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteAlso, the huge disparity in size and strength between that cat and bears makes me doubt any true "friendship" between them is possible.
Ad astra! Sean
Most mammals have friendships and this can cross species in a human context. I've seen cats and dogs who were fond of each other. If you raise a big cat from a small cub, it will act very much like a housecat, for instance... although it's more dangerous!
ReplyDeleteKaor, Mr. Stirling!
ReplyDeleteGranted, what you said about cats and dogs. And I have read about cases like the ones about lions raised from cubhood--but obviously more dangerous.
I've read that only cheetahs, of all the big cats, are the only ones it's reasonably safe for humans to live with, up close and personal.
Ad astra! Sean