"The infant, like a sailor tossed ashore
By raging seas, lies naked on the earth,
Speechless, helpless for life, when at his birth
Nature from out the womb brings him to light.
He fills the place with wailing, as is right
For one who through so many woes must pass.
Yet flocks, herds, savage beasts of every class
Grow up without the need for any rattle,
Or for a gentle nurse's soothing prattle;
They seek no varied clothes against the sky'
Lastly they need no arms, no ramparts high
To guard their own -- since earth itself and nature
Amply bring forth all things for every creature"
~Lucretius, as cited by Montaigne (405)
For years now I have assumed that we, homosapiens, have been the scourges of the earth, the outcasts of nature, the beings who were isolated from the rest of creation, who have evolved into beings unrecognizable to Nature herself. We are born helpless, in the arms of those who have to create shelter, clothing, and produce food, at a minimum, for survival. We spend months learning to walk, to move ourselves from one location to another, completely reliant upon our fellow beings to supply our infant bodies with every sort of sustenance if we are to survive.
And yet, are we so different then our fellow beings, the four-legged, the finned, the feathered, who share this earth with us? In regards to what I have stated, perhaps not. Does not the baby swallow stay within its nest, awaiting the return of the parent for food? Was not the nest itself a creation of shelter, a modification of the tree or eave? Does the new born roo not rely on the pouch of its mother to move from place to place? Does the young lion cub not need the direction and training from its parent to learn the hunt?
But what of clothing you ask, to which I respond, what is our dress? At the nesting place of human existence, the heart of the African continent, we today find many a people who do not rely on the coverings of dress, but have exposed and adapted their bodies to the elements of their place. Their skin has met the earth and sky, changing to meet the needs of survival. Soles have hardened, hands callused, the arms and legs, the trunk and back have become thicker for the cold, darker for the light. It is no different than when we begin our northern summers barefoot, hardening the pan of our bodies. Clothing and coverings are not a natural necessity for our survival. Yes, there are locations upon our home where survival would be near impossible without the covering of fur or Gortex, but these locations have become centers of human living, not of natural necessity, but due to human ingenuity.
What of human ingenuity, of our ability to reason, to think, to speak and theorize? The latter of these is not for this discussion, as it is much to large to tackle here. But what of the rest? Do we find that our minds reason is what separates us from the fauna and flora of our homes? Does not the squirrel recognize the danger of the canine, waiting upon its perched limb, seeking its escape, taunting its adversary in chirps and pitches..., are all these not signs of a reasoning and emotional being? The canines below, guarding the only exits for the squirrel, one at the base, another to the side, a third in the ambush. What of the swallows we spoke of before, choosing the best and safest location for their nest, one that minimizes the troublesome elements and naturally guards against predators? What of the collecting of twigs and branches of the correct size for the base, middle and edge of the nest? Or the mixture of water and dust for the mud hut of some? What of the collecting of cotton and discarded textiles for the inner nest, the softness upon which to lay themselves and their eggs? Are all these not signs of thinking beings? Some may say that this is no more than intuition, than programed responses that the beasts are limited to. To this I can only respond, how unfortunate we humanoids are then, who have to struggle so hard through reason for what the other beasts have by intuition. But I do not believe this, for I believe that we too utilize this natural intuition of survival, and modify our actions to the specific event before us...just as the squirrel changes its response according to the circumstance it finds itself in. The unbridled rationality that we live within may be what isolates us from the flora and fauna which surrounds us. It has been assumed that reason is our greatest gift, for science, technology, abundant comforts of the home, are all products of creative rationality. But what of the wars, the pollution, the cultural genocides, the isolated and depressed figure amidst the a million other people...? Perhaps unchecked reason, reason without intuition or emotion, is not what makes us special but tyrannical, always living in the past or the future. Again, this is for another time and day.
