tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post468338717540103916..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: AbundanceStephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-65734946834170734752014-10-03T17:09:47.015-07:002014-10-03T17:09:47.015-07:00Girders: I agree that Mr Rowbottom's thoughts...Girders: I agree that Mr Rowbottom's thoughts are illuminating, as are yours! Thank you very much for carrying this further. I appreciate your references, which are right on point. Now that you two have got me started on this, I'm thinking that my next post will include a translation of a poem by Simonides from The Greek Anthology in which the translator uses Pope's version of the line from The Iliad, Book VI, quoted by you. To wit: "Like leaves on trees the race of man is found. . ."<br /><br />Again, thank you very much. It's always good to hear from you.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-88541729027212065682014-10-03T02:29:01.666-07:002014-10-03T02:29:01.666-07:00I think Mr Rowbottom's comments about the '...I think Mr Rowbottom's comments about the 'cycle' are quite apposite. There is a long history of seeing the falling of leaves as a metaphor for the brevity of individual human life by comparison with the ongoing renewal of life. In Iliad 6, we find Glaucon saying to Diomedes: 'as are the generations of leaves, so are those of men', whereas part of the Psalmist's definition of the Blessed Man is that he is like a green tree whose leaf never fails.Girdersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-74635649586726772712014-10-02T18:45:27.421-07:002014-10-02T18:45:27.421-07:00Mr Rowbottom: Thank you very much for visiting, an...Mr Rowbottom: Thank you very much for visiting, and for your kind words about the blog.<br /><br />And thank you as well for the wonderful thoughts about picking up eucalyptus leaves -- I agree with you completely that they deserve our respect. And I love the thought that you may have the chance to quote Frost!<br /><br />Incidentally, your mentioning of eucalyptus trees brings back fond memories for me. After my family moved away from Minnesota, I spent my teenage and college years in southern and Central Coast California, so your mentioning of the leaves brings back the smell of eucalyptus trees, and the look and feel of their bark and leaves.<br /><br />Thank you again. I hope you'll return soon.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-18846443999667075362014-10-02T01:36:04.115-07:002014-10-02T01:36:04.115-07:00I work as a school groundsman in a small town in W...I work as a school groundsman in a small town in Western Australia, and part of my work each day is to collect the fallen eucalyptus leaves from our lawns at the entrance to the admin block. Often (far TOO often) comment is made by teachers or parents, "That's a never-ending task", to which I reply "Yes, but it keeps me in work". <br /><br />In truth, I enjoy picking the leaves, feeling that their falling is an important part of the cycle. It is their job to fall, just as it is their job to grow. I pick them respectfully, I hope. <br /><br />I think, in future, I shall tell my tormentors "a crop is a crop, And who's to say where The harvest shall stop". It is a far better response! <br /><br />Thank you so much for your blog, which constantly delights and informs.<br /><br />John RowbottomJohn Rowbottomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-12053340594887843872014-10-02T00:15:13.221-07:002014-10-02T00:15:13.221-07:00Bovey Belle: Thank you for stopping by again.
I c...Bovey Belle: Thank you for stopping by again.<br /><br />I confess that, for me, it's always hard to tell with Frost. I often feel that I'm not getting it.<br /><br />As for leaves and pieces of string: well, these "useless" things are often the dearest, aren't they?<br /><br />As ever, it's good to hear from you.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-5754451895724029462014-10-01T11:56:11.984-07:002014-10-01T11:56:11.984-07:00I'm pleased to re-read the Frost poem. I'...I'm pleased to re-read the Frost poem. I'd like to feel he was being mischievious rather than a realist!<br /><br />Nemerov is a stranger to me, but that is hardly surprising : ) The first line reminds me of a piece I read a year or two back, about being Green and frugal, and it was when a woman's effects were being sorted, and there was a jar entitled "Pieces of string too short to be of any use" . . . I still smile at that. Leaves it seems, are much the same, except to the earth . . .Bovey Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13117332471600275100noreply@blogger.com