Pliny the Elder

Reading the Latin classics is very rewarding. And it's true that there's really not much that is new in this world. We try to make it new or look fresh, but it's just another case of "everything that's old is new again." I found a website that contains the works of Pliny the Elder, and the translation is from 1601. Middle English is not all that hard to read. Actually it's easier than the Middle English version of The Canterbury Tales I studied a few years ago. The translation is attributed to Philemon Holland dated 1601. My logic reasons that this indicates that English had progressed toward Modern at this time. 

Pliny was an interesting man, brilliant, productive, a military man, and an avid scholar. He wrote constantly. His only extant work is the voluminous Historie of Natvre(History of Nature). The book addresses all manner of subjects that occur in our environment including culture, history, and science as Pliny experienced it. 
Some of his writing was dedicated to rhetoric which was the beginning of a young man's introduction into society and adult thought. Writing on rhetoric was a way of being productive while avoiding the notice of the emperor-Caligula and Nero were both volatile and homicidal. 

Much of his military service was spent in Germania. Pliny was a lawyer and argued cases after his military service was completed. He served as a procurator several times in different provinces. 

The first entry I read in the History focused on a description of elephants in Volume VIII Chapter I.  I love elephants. His observations are fascinating even though not scientifically accurate. Pliny also describes many other animals and it makes sense that he would. He was in Africa during his military career. Reading and exploring the writings of Pliny and his fellow Romans gives me a new excitement about the New Year. 

On Being A Busybody

I am often amazed at the wisdom and insight of older writers and critics. The writers of the Bible and other ancient observers of human nature are able to give modern readers a new view of life in the fast lane. I ran across a very useful site hosted by Bill Thayer which gives some beautiful pictures of Italy and volumes of translations of Latin literature. I found "On Being A Busybody" by Plutarch among the many he offers.

In the text I found beautiful metaphors describing the unhealthy atmosphere of a house without light and clean air compared to  "unhealthy and injurious states of mind which allow winter and darkness to enter the soul."  Plutarch advises that we should rid ourselves of these attitudes, but if a thorough mind-cleaning is not convenient, then at least disrupt the comfortable arrangement.

Plutarch describes curiosity as the "first malady" to inhabit the mind in this way, but not the only one. He defines curiosity as "a desire to learn the troubles of others" and it is allied with malice and envy. 

Why do you look so sharp on others' ills,

Malignant man, yet overlook your own?

Plutarch points out that if we are so interested in the ills of the soul, we would do well to examine our own, not our neighbors'. It reminds me of Jesus' words in Matthew 7 verse 5(NIV) You hypocrite, first take the plank out of  your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Plutarch offers advise to help us remove this negative behavior from our present life and I am suggesting that in the early part of a new year is an appropriate time to proclaim this the year of freedom from the busybody existence. It is a process and may take a while.

First, Plutarch returns to the house metaphor. A homeowner separates belongings into groups-kitchen utensils, weapons, gardening tools, etc. then, Plutarch says to identify your shortcomings that flow out of the busybody attitude-the malice, the envy, the jealousy-so that you can attack them one at a time. Next, he says to "block the windows" so you can't see your neighbors' property and must focus on your own. Now you see your meddlesome ways as the evil they are and you ask yourself these questions-

Where did I err? And what deed have I done?

What duty neglected?

This is the beginning of freedom from your habit. 

Read the full text of Plutarch's essay.

Don't Say I Didn't Tell You

Getting better as I get older is a goal I cherish. It means I will gain insight and share love as I age. Aging implies a loss of vitality and energy, but it also suggests a gain in wisdom. I wonder if anyone has done a study to evaluate the "I told you so" factor. Many of the things I warn my children and grandchildren about don't happen immediately, so they forget I told them it would happen. 

I wanted to remind my grandson that there would be a day when he would want to be able to use good English. Now that he is selling cars to people who are educated, he needs to use the language better; it's so boring and dull to study all that stuff, much less get it in his speech patterns and mental processing. I tried to tell him he should study language and how to communicate. He just blew me off. I told you so.

There are lots of these incidents. I told some of my grandchildren they should work hard and love God and never give up. All that stuff old people say sounds so old, but it works. When you look at the people who didn't, it's easier to understand. People who failed at their elementary lessons may be a sad reminder that laying a good foundation is important, maybe more important than IQ , or a nice smile, or "natural ability," 

I keep remembering the song Roy Clark sang, "Yesterday When I Was Young"

Getting Older Is Inevitable

I've been enjoying my retirement years for a while now, but I did a little research and found out that retirement is better for me than for many people in the world. 

For people without children, retirement in Russia may be very painful. The family is the safety net that Russian culture provides for the elderly. Homes for old people are considered a source of shame. A program in the Kurgan region of Russia has provided a home for aged people as well as the wisdom and nurture of an older companion for the family. As with other parts of the world, the retirement age is the fastest growing segment of the population. 

Placing a person in a home for the aged costs 400 to 500 dollars a month, but when a granny is placed in the home. the cost is about 100 dollars a month. That doesn't sound like much for the family, but in the remote villages of Kurgan it may be a real deal. The family benefits from the wisdom, care and companionship of the granny and the granny gets a home and family.

The program is still small, but it may be catching on. There are currently only about 50 participants, but reports are very encouraging. Perhaps it will spread to other parts of Russia. 

Related articles

• Akbar emphasises on care for the elderly

Family Trees Are So Much Fun!

I've been visiting with dead relatives lately and finding a few new ones. It's amazing to find people you never knew you were related to in documents and census records. Marriage records are a valuable source because they reveal the maiden name of the wife and open up all kinds of hidden delights for the family researchers and genealogists. 

If you are interested in looking into you family history, begin with yourself and your parents. Ask lots of questions about where your parents and grandparents lived and worked. Write it all down. List the years they were born, where they went to school, and where they worked. Look for interesting facts like family traditions and names of friends and acquaintances. In a narrative these details make your story come alive.

As you research your families, you will learn to recognize original sources and identify hints to pursue to find the most interesting events in your family history. .

Haynes Family History

Old Van Wert Sign, Polk County, Georgia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ElebMonroe Haynes was born in Georgia and he is found in the 1870 Census in his father's household in Polk, County Georgia. His father's name was Thomas and his mother's was  Mary.They attended church at the Van Wert Baptist Church.

Eleb's sister was 13 in 1870; her name was Missouri..The household included his father Thomas, his mother Mary, his sister, and three others, 2 white men who may have been relatives and one black man who may have been a former slave. Eleb was noted as 16 years old. By 1880 Thomas and Mary were in Mississippi and they lived alone.

Eleb  came to Texas sometime after 1870 and married Rhoda Louisa McCuiston on December 30, 1877 in Athens, Texas. They had six children: Bertha, Thomas Benton, Mary Emaline, Anthony Samuel, Carrye Lee, James Grady, and one infant who did not survive. 

Most everybody that will attend the HAL Family Reunion knows who Frank Haynes was: First, he was my husband, but more importantly to the family, he was Lillie Emaline Alexander and Anthony Samuel Haynes' youngest son, and grandson of Eleb.. 

Southeastern Georgia? (LOC) (Photo credit: The Library of Congress)

In the 1910 Census the Alexander and Haynes families were recorded as next door neighbors.  Romance flowered between Lillie and Anthony and they were married in Athens, Tx. on August 7, 1911. They moved to the La Rue community.

Are We Related?

1920 Haynes 12-cylinder, 4-door Roadster (Photo credit: dok1)

In my studies of successful aging, I have come to value the history and the memories of individuals.  Not all memories are true to history.  Sometimes we remember things as better or worse, more devastating or more romantic than they were when they were experienced.  The things that are provable like where our ancestors lived are the framework against which those other stories are set. The ones that are a wisp of smoke or mist are the meanings we put on the stories. They may become a moving tribute or an agonizing loss in retelling.

For the next year or so I am going to use this blog to explore and analyze some of the stories of my family.  I may choose to do those of my husband's family since that's the Family Reunion I will share this information with, but I also want to recount some of the stories of my side of the tree.

I'll probably send notices out to family members to see if they want to add to or correct my information.  I'll start with the Haynes, Alexander, and Lightsey families. who lived in Georgia and came to East Texas  before 1910. These three families are related by the fact that one of the Alexander daughters married a Haynes and one of them married a Lightsey. The family reunion I referred to is called the H-A-L Reunion, Haynes, Alexander, Lightsey. In genealogy research this is a pretty short time. We can follow the Alexander, Haynes, and Lightsey families through at least 200 to 300 years and find interaction with other families and historical events.

It is tempting to try to identify someone in your history and follow the trail to yourself, but genealogy doesn't work that way.  You have to identify your connections in the other direction beginning with yourself and .working backward to idenify those who came before you.