I find it interesting how you came to War and Peace and the impact it has had on you, essentially I guess that snake bite lead you to Footnotes and Tangents (an apt name). I am amazed that I myself am looking to re-read it next year again as part of the slow read, but there is so much to it, it has to be done.
When you ask what we have learned from animals, we have a few animals but my biggest lessons are always from my chestnut mare. Humans talk about "breaking in" horses and I have always hated this term. Why would you want to break the spirit of another creature when it is so much more fulfilling and enduring to work with them and learn from them. Poppy does not tolerate anything that causes her upset or pain and I respect her for that. She picks up when I am in-tolerate, stressed, anxious and makes me pay attention to myself by only fully engaging when I have settled my mind and offer her calm and patience and time.
Pierre's grounding in these chapters had been literal in respect of his feet fully engaging with the earth, and metaphorical in respect of his mind settling. I can understand why you came to befriend him and I do think we can befriend characters in books, from childhood onwards these are the characters that stay always with us.
I like that... You know at the time I spent too much time wondering why this had happened. I was irritated by my bad luck and I felt quite bitter about the experience. It is quite fulfilling to think that this slow read may have partly been the result of that run in with a snake.
And all legitimate feelings at the time, I think ouu of anything like that which we survive something does evolve from it as it alters the path we were on. I am seeing that from events this year and ultimately I think the outcome will be more fulfilling than what the original plan. So maybe we should be grateful for that snake for it's contribution to this 😊
I found it very hard to read the war chapters, since I kept thinking about Ukraine, so I haven't kept up. I will sign up for the next round. I have enjoyed reading all the commentary!
French troops famously looted Albrecht Altdorfer‘s „Alexanderschlacht“, depicting the Battle of Issos, from Munich in 1800. Legend has it that Napoleon liked it so much he hung it ober his bath.
I once attended a talk by art historian Bénédicte Savoy, who headed the French restitution commission for artifacts from colonial times together with the economist Felwine Sarr. She had also studied the restitution discussions at the Congress of Vienna and told a very à propos story about how everyone was all in favour of restitution of plundered art, just not to the savage and uncivilised Bavarians who could not be trusted to look after such a painting in their mouldy palaces. Plus ça change…
Thanks for this! I peered into the Napoleonic loot rabbit hole this week and thought crickey! I could get lost down there for the rest of the year and then more some. I hadn't realised until this year how extensive and systematic the looting was.
There‘s another fun story that involves Johann Georg von Dillis, local landscape painter and chief curator of the first public art gallery where most of the royal collection ended up. He was in charge of the collection when the French arrived and quickly decided to send the bulk of the paintings to Linz via - raft! Our river, the Isar, is a pretty unruly tributary of the Danube and was never navigable, but there was a strong rafting economy for timber and transport that once took up what‘s now an entire city quarter. I definitely read this in a book when researching city history for a private tour once, but unfortunately I forgot to write down the source and haven‘t read it anywhere else.
Bénédicte Savoy (whom I am a little in love with) wrote an entire book on Napoleon‘s plunder in 2010, called Kunstraub. No idea if it‘s available in English, but she‘s a fantastic art historian and communicator.
I love the question of what have you learned from an animal companion. I have had dogs most of my life. They are always such teachers of what it looks like for a being to be absolutely themselves.
Thanks for posting the link to your snakebite story. Glad you were okay and you had Tolstoy to help you keep your head! I have a story too - for me, it was learning the guitar that got me through. And over 30 years later, I still play every day.
It's a strange and interesting coincidence that this week we’re reading about how harsh conditions can bring out the worst in people, making them aggressive. And in this same week, psychologist Philip Zimbardo passed away. He focused his life's work on this exact theme. His famous Stanford prison experiment demonstrated how neutral or even good people can become cruel under the influence of their circumstances. It’s a powerful reminder of the impact environment has on human behavior—something Tolstoy captures so well in War and Peace.
Zimbardo is indeed most known for the prison experiment, but his work goes far beyond that. His life’s purpose was to explore how individual behavior changes in response to circumstances. He used his understanding to inspire positive, prosocial behavior in people. In 2010, he launched the Heroic Imagination Project in the United States, which aims to train and educate ordinary people to become everyday heroes through workshops and programs based on social psychological insights. https://www.heroicimagination.org
I find it interesting how you came to War and Peace and the impact it has had on you, essentially I guess that snake bite lead you to Footnotes and Tangents (an apt name). I am amazed that I myself am looking to re-read it next year again as part of the slow read, but there is so much to it, it has to be done.
When you ask what we have learned from animals, we have a few animals but my biggest lessons are always from my chestnut mare. Humans talk about "breaking in" horses and I have always hated this term. Why would you want to break the spirit of another creature when it is so much more fulfilling and enduring to work with them and learn from them. Poppy does not tolerate anything that causes her upset or pain and I respect her for that. She picks up when I am in-tolerate, stressed, anxious and makes me pay attention to myself by only fully engaging when I have settled my mind and offer her calm and patience and time.
Pierre's grounding in these chapters had been literal in respect of his feet fully engaging with the earth, and metaphorical in respect of his mind settling. I can understand why you came to befriend him and I do think we can befriend characters in books, from childhood onwards these are the characters that stay always with us.
I like that... You know at the time I spent too much time wondering why this had happened. I was irritated by my bad luck and I felt quite bitter about the experience. It is quite fulfilling to think that this slow read may have partly been the result of that run in with a snake.
And all legitimate feelings at the time, I think ouu of anything like that which we survive something does evolve from it as it alters the path we were on. I am seeing that from events this year and ultimately I think the outcome will be more fulfilling than what the original plan. So maybe we should be grateful for that snake for it's contribution to this 😊
I love how you made that connection of “Foot” Notes and Tangents to getting bit on the foot leading Simon to War and Peace!
Maybe you should redesign the logo! A foot and a tangential snake... 🦶🐍
😆
😂😂😂
Seems serendipitous 😊
I found it very hard to read the war chapters, since I kept thinking about Ukraine, so I haven't kept up. I will sign up for the next round. I have enjoyed reading all the commentary!
That's ok – the story resonates in all manner of powerful ways. Hope to see you here back next time.
French troops famously looted Albrecht Altdorfer‘s „Alexanderschlacht“, depicting the Battle of Issos, from Munich in 1800. Legend has it that Napoleon liked it so much he hung it ober his bath.
I once attended a talk by art historian Bénédicte Savoy, who headed the French restitution commission for artifacts from colonial times together with the economist Felwine Sarr. She had also studied the restitution discussions at the Congress of Vienna and told a very à propos story about how everyone was all in favour of restitution of plundered art, just not to the savage and uncivilised Bavarians who could not be trusted to look after such a painting in their mouldy palaces. Plus ça change…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Alexander_at_Issus
Thanks for this! I peered into the Napoleonic loot rabbit hole this week and thought crickey! I could get lost down there for the rest of the year and then more some. I hadn't realised until this year how extensive and systematic the looting was.
There‘s another fun story that involves Johann Georg von Dillis, local landscape painter and chief curator of the first public art gallery where most of the royal collection ended up. He was in charge of the collection when the French arrived and quickly decided to send the bulk of the paintings to Linz via - raft! Our river, the Isar, is a pretty unruly tributary of the Danube and was never navigable, but there was a strong rafting economy for timber and transport that once took up what‘s now an entire city quarter. I definitely read this in a book when researching city history for a private tour once, but unfortunately I forgot to write down the source and haven‘t read it anywhere else.
Bénédicte Savoy (whom I am a little in love with) wrote an entire book on Napoleon‘s plunder in 2010, called Kunstraub. No idea if it‘s available in English, but she‘s a fantastic art historian and communicator.
I love the question of what have you learned from an animal companion. I have had dogs most of my life. They are always such teachers of what it looks like for a being to be absolutely themselves.
Thanks for posting the link to your snakebite story. Glad you were okay and you had Tolstoy to help you keep your head! I have a story too - for me, it was learning the guitar that got me through. And over 30 years later, I still play every day.
I am intrigued! It feels very clarifying to know that these simple things had such an impact on our lives.
It's a strange and interesting coincidence that this week we’re reading about how harsh conditions can bring out the worst in people, making them aggressive. And in this same week, psychologist Philip Zimbardo passed away. He focused his life's work on this exact theme. His famous Stanford prison experiment demonstrated how neutral or even good people can become cruel under the influence of their circumstances. It’s a powerful reminder of the impact environment has on human behavior—something Tolstoy captures so well in War and Peace.
Oh I didn't know he had died this week. I should say I read that his research has since been debunked (Or at least according to the evidence brought together in Humankind by Rutger Bergman https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humankind-Hopeful-History-Rutger-Bregman/dp/1408898934?dplnkId=0631118d-f756-4018-9435-5694efc0207a) ... Still, it was a significant study.
Zimbardo is indeed most known for the prison experiment, but his work goes far beyond that. His life’s purpose was to explore how individual behavior changes in response to circumstances. He used his understanding to inspire positive, prosocial behavior in people. In 2010, he launched the Heroic Imagination Project in the United States, which aims to train and educate ordinary people to become everyday heroes through workshops and programs based on social psychological insights. https://www.heroicimagination.org
Wonderful, Christina. Thank you for sharing!
Before I read this piece—those feet can only belong in a Caravaggio. Only he would put someone’s grimy soles right in your face.
Where in Ecuador were you?
On that occasion, La Reserva Los Cedros, northwest of Quito. I think you said you are from Cuenca?