Christopher Woodward's book is not intended as a handbook for archaeologists or museums on how to handle or approach ruins but instead as just a book showing how they have been viewed in the past. It is clear through Woodward's writing that he has done extensive literary and historical research for this book. As a supplement to his knowledge he has visited many of the sites discussed. I suppose the thing I like most about this book is that although it is not intended for archaeologists it is not bad pondering over the dilemna of presenting that past. How do you present ruins to the public? At what point in the history of a ruin do you attempt to capture its essence and present this to the public? Is it important to include artists input which may distort or disagree with the physical remains? Aren't all interpretations valid?
As always I have some points or passages which interest me. On page 17, I like Edgar Allen Poe's quote, "Man is now only more active, not wiser, nor more happy than he was 6,000 years ago." the quote is actually from a disagreement Poe was having with a friend over "man's advance toward perfection." If we measure it by what we know about our world then I might disagree, but if "wiser" is taken to mean how we use what we know then I would agree with Poe's declaration.
On page 69, Woodward writes that "Archaeologists will argue that flowers and ivy on a ruin are just Picturesque fluff, curlicues to amuse an artist's pencil. What Shelley's experience shows is that the vegetation which grows on ruins appeals to the depth of our consciousness, for it represents the hand of time, and the contest between the individual and the universe." I like this description. I realize that underbrush can help in the decay of a ruin or monument, and that this may be considered bad dependant on the views of the culture at the time. This may just be part of the natural process. How do we know what the natural process is when we exist as part of it?
The author, talking of cemeteries, states that "The promise of continuance is not in the angels and cherubs or the stiff crosses but in this fecundity of Nature, in the ivy which effaces the chiseled letters of a name. Indeed do we ever linger in cemeteries which are bare of vegetation?" True. The sterile new cemeteries removed of trees and plants speaks of stagnancy. For those who have visited an older cemetery, such as Townsend House Cemetery in Pasco County, the natural environment does speak of a continuance of the natural processes of living and dying.
Woodward effortlessly ties in quotes from other sources. These always excite me as to new possibilities to add to my reading list.
This has always been one of my favorite poems and is great for reflecting on the permanence of things, not just man-made but also ourselves.
Ozymandias
I met a traveler from an antique land,
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
- Percy Bysshe Shelly (1792-1822)
For those who have not read this before I hope you enjoyed it. Some of you may have recognized as having made an appearance in the movie "Watchmen." Reflecting on the poem may help tie in some loose ends for the movie buffs out there.
Well, that is all for today.
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