'Nature's Treasure'. Waardenburg Castle, Waardenburg, Neerijnen, Gelderland, The Netherlands
In 1842 an article in a local Gelderland historical journal claimed that Dr Faust - indeed he who according to legend sold his soul to the devil for earthly knowledge and profit - lived for a time in this Dutch castle. It is (still) said that a room on the second floor and the pavement beneath its window have the unremoveable stains of the blood spilled when the devil came to demand Faust's body and soul after his purchased years.
I'd biked across the Martinus Nijhoff Bridge over the Waal River (see yesterday's photo) from Zaltbommel and veered off to the east to look at this castle set in a fine apple orchard on the verges of a forest just behind the river dike. The place is closed to the public so I had a walk about on the outer edge of the castle moat.
Not having to pay attention to bike balance, my mind turned to Kit Marlowe (1564-1593) and his fabulous The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. The stage is set by this exchange between the two angels vying for Faust's heart (the blasphemous book mentioned is the work of Aristotle, standing here for mundane learning):
'GOOD ANGEL:
O, Faustus, lay that damned book aside,
And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul,
And heap God's heavy wrath upon thy head!
Read, read the Scriptures:--that is blasphemy.
EVIL ANGEL:
Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art
Wherein all Nature's treasure is contain'd:
Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,
Lord and commander of these elements.'
Enough here for a contemplative amble through this marvellous natural world of Gelderland.
Apropos of the poet Martinus Nijhoff (1894-1953): in 1922 he wrote a pleasant review of Herman Wolf, Ideeën en problemen in Goethe's Faust’.
'Nature's Treasure'. Waardenburg Castle, Waardenburg, Neerijnen, Gelderland, The Netherlands
In 1842 an article in a local Gelderland historical journal claimed that Dr Faust - indeed he who according to legend sold his soul to the devil for earthly knowledge and profit - lived for a time in this Dutch castle. It is (still) said that a room on the second floor and the pavement beneath its window have the unremoveable stains of the blood spilled when the devil came to demand Faust's body and soul after his purchased years.
I'd biked across the Martinus Nijhoff Bridge over the Waal River (see yesterday's photo) from Zaltbommel and veered off to the east to look at this castle set in a fine apple orchard on the verges of a forest just behind the river dike. The place is closed to the public so I had a walk about on the outer edge of the castle moat.
Not having to pay attention to bike balance, my mind turned to Kit Marlowe (1564-1593) and his fabulous The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. The stage is set by this exchange between the two angels vying for Faust's heart (the blasphemous book mentioned is the work of Aristotle, standing here for mundane learning):
'GOOD ANGEL:
O, Faustus, lay that damned book aside,
And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul,
And heap God's heavy wrath upon thy head!
Read, read the Scriptures:--that is blasphemy.
EVIL ANGEL:
Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art
Wherein all Nature's treasure is contain'd:
Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,
Lord and commander of these elements.'
Enough here for a contemplative amble through this marvellous natural world of Gelderland.
Apropos of the poet Martinus Nijhoff (1894-1953): in 1922 he wrote a pleasant review of Herman Wolf, Ideeën en problemen in Goethe's Faust’.