See some green galls on a goldenrod three quarters of an inch in diameter, shaped like a fruit or an Eastern temple, with two or three little worms inside, completely changing the destiny of the plant, showing the intimate relation between animal and vegetable life.
The animal signifies its wishes by a touch, and the plant, instead of going on to blossom and bear its normal fruit, devotes itself to the service of the insect and becomes its cradle and food. It suggests that Nature is a kind of gall, that the Creator stung her and man is the grub she is destined to house and feed. The plant rounds off and paints the gall with as much care and love as its own flower and fruit, admiring it perchance even more.
H. D. Thoreau, Journal, July 30, 1853
Green galls on a goldenrod. See August 7, 1856 ("I see that common gall on goldenrods now on an S. coesia. ") See also September 4, 1854 ("Is not Art itself a gall? Nature is stung by God and the seed of man planted in her.The artist changes the direction of Nature and makes her grow according to his idea. ")
July 30. See A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau, July 30
Nature is a gall –
man the grub she is destined
to house and to feed.
A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau
"A book, each page written in its own season,out-of-doors, in its own locality.”~edited, assembled and rewritten by zphx © 2009-2025
No comments:
Post a Comment