The group Mossy Earth is doing reforestation in Iceland and I believe one of their YouTube videos mentions that lupine pollen has been found in Icelandic soil layers corresponding with times before the last Ice Age. Perhaps once long ago it was "native."
Indeed. An example: Another thing that was mentioned a lot while I was in Iceland was the specialness of the Icelandic horse….which is interesting and seems cool, but is also, obviously, an imported animal. Now, Icelandic horses have been very genetically bottlenecked—that’s why they’re genetically distinct from other horse breeds—but that’s a human invention too, right? Draconian efforts are taken to maintain the bloodline purity of Icelandic horses. I’m not saying that Icelandic horses shouldn’t be preserved, but certainly Icelandic horses aren’t “natural.”
Came here from Sam Matey's Substack! This was great.
A note about The Little Prince on taming: I believe in the original French this was actually an etymological point. See https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/apprivoiser for the French word for 'tame' coming from a- (meaning 'not') + prīvātus (to deprive, free, release). Literally 'not released' --- i.e., to have ties to others. Thought it was interesting enough to share.
So, looking over at the link you've included, it looks like the fox's relationship to the Prince and vice versa was one of being not released from, not free from--and also not being deprived from, not bereaving the loss of. As not a Francophone, it feels like this word in the original French is very rich with meaning. But this is also interesting, because later in this exchange between the fox and the Prince, we learn that being "tamed"/apprivoiser'd will lead to bereaving the loss of the other, though a bittersweet bereavement because of the happy memory of the other.
I see what you're saying about "domesticate" as possibly being a better translation than "tame," but in the context of this scene from The Little Prince, I do not think the fox is domesticated. The fox is clear that after their many interactions, he will be tied to the Prince, not to people in general. I also think that the relationship between the fox and the Prince is reciprocal, in a way that a domestication relationship is not.
This was a beautiful post. I too was touched by the Prince's love for his rose. It's one of my favorite childhood books.
The juxtapositions of the greening of Iceland with The Little Prince, were on point. Personally, I would prefer a field of flowers to a harsh moonscape, but I don't live in Iceland.
I love your observations. We are such peculiar creatures, who in some sub-rational part of our psyche believe in spite of all evidence to the contrary that there is a golden moment which, if we only cling to the idea of it desperately enough and make enough edicts and commands and inflict enough punishments, we can cling to for the duration of our existence. Plants, animal species, climate, coastlines, youth, government, life itself.
Having been ejected from the Garden, we stand outside its gates and ever try to recreate that which was lost.
Impossible, of course.
All we can do is take the best care of what we have, while we have it, and when possible, try to make things better than when we found them. Much like those tiny bacteria. In doing so, by Grace, we may eventually find ourselves in the higher Garden that does exist in eternity, but only if we are willing and able to accept that the processes of life - catastrophic as they so often are - are a vital part of the process of getting us from here to There.
The group Mossy Earth is doing reforestation in Iceland and I believe one of their YouTube videos mentions that lupine pollen has been found in Icelandic soil layers corresponding with times before the last Ice Age. Perhaps once long ago it was "native."
How interesting! Thank you for sharing that.
Excellent article, Doctrix Periwinkle !
! If I were Icelandic, I’d celebrate the presence of Alaskan lupines.
Thank you, Sam…and also thank you for your interesting Substack.
Today's invasive is tomorrow's threatened native. Iceland benefits.
Indeed. An example: Another thing that was mentioned a lot while I was in Iceland was the specialness of the Icelandic horse….which is interesting and seems cool, but is also, obviously, an imported animal. Now, Icelandic horses have been very genetically bottlenecked—that’s why they’re genetically distinct from other horse breeds—but that’s a human invention too, right? Draconian efforts are taken to maintain the bloodline purity of Icelandic horses. I’m not saying that Icelandic horses shouldn’t be preserved, but certainly Icelandic horses aren’t “natural.”
This was so thoughtful and inspiring.
Thank you, Ana!
Came here from Sam Matey's Substack! This was great.
A note about The Little Prince on taming: I believe in the original French this was actually an etymological point. See https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/apprivoiser for the French word for 'tame' coming from a- (meaning 'not') + prīvātus (to deprive, free, release). Literally 'not released' --- i.e., to have ties to others. Thought it was interesting enough to share.
What an informative point! Thank you.
So, looking over at the link you've included, it looks like the fox's relationship to the Prince and vice versa was one of being not released from, not free from--and also not being deprived from, not bereaving the loss of. As not a Francophone, it feels like this word in the original French is very rich with meaning. But this is also interesting, because later in this exchange between the fox and the Prince, we learn that being "tamed"/apprivoiser'd will lead to bereaving the loss of the other, though a bittersweet bereavement because of the happy memory of the other.
I see what you're saying about "domesticate" as possibly being a better translation than "tame," but in the context of this scene from The Little Prince, I do not think the fox is domesticated. The fox is clear that after their many interactions, he will be tied to the Prince, not to people in general. I also think that the relationship between the fox and the Prince is reciprocal, in a way that a domestication relationship is not.
Perhaps a translation which would keep this connection would have 'domesticate' instead of 'tame'.
This was a beautiful post. I too was touched by the Prince's love for his rose. It's one of my favorite childhood books.
The juxtapositions of the greening of Iceland with The Little Prince, were on point. Personally, I would prefer a field of flowers to a harsh moonscape, but I don't live in Iceland.
Thank you very much!
I love your observations. We are such peculiar creatures, who in some sub-rational part of our psyche believe in spite of all evidence to the contrary that there is a golden moment which, if we only cling to the idea of it desperately enough and make enough edicts and commands and inflict enough punishments, we can cling to for the duration of our existence. Plants, animal species, climate, coastlines, youth, government, life itself.
Having been ejected from the Garden, we stand outside its gates and ever try to recreate that which was lost.
Impossible, of course.
All we can do is take the best care of what we have, while we have it, and when possible, try to make things better than when we found them. Much like those tiny bacteria. In doing so, by Grace, we may eventually find ourselves in the higher Garden that does exist in eternity, but only if we are willing and able to accept that the processes of life - catastrophic as they so often are - are a vital part of the process of getting us from here to There.
Thank you, Julie. I love your observation that our longing for the golden moment to cling to applies to our feelings about practically everything.