GOLDEN OLD AGE

At the age of 71, I am ominously in the 6^th Age of Shakespeare’s seven-fold Ages of Man sequence – that of the “slippered pantaloon” – far from a flattering epithet. Yet old Will had got it entirely wrong. The fact is that the 70s ushers in a Golden Age of serenity and contentment, which I will extend as long as possible and whose merits I here warmly celebrate. My guides through this stage of my life include the ancient Greek sage Epicurus (341-270 BC), Scots thinker David Hume (1711-76) and the many-faceted philosopher Bertrand Russell who left the scene at the venerable age of 97 in 1970. A much more modern guide is philosophic American Daniel Klein whose Travels with Epicurus, published in 2012, sheds a wry but hopeful light on the primrose path of happy old age.

                   

Epicurus from Samos

David Hume from Edinburgh

     

Although Epicurus was born and reared in verdant Samos, where I have my summer house, he flourished in Athens, founding his community there known as “The Garden”.  Epicurus’ teaching focussed on a tranquil life free of fear (ataraxia) and the absence of pain (aponia). He recommended a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends, and in his Garden his followers were from all educational and social backgrounds, however modest, and unusually included women. There was nothing “epicurean” in the modern sense about the lifestyle of The Garden – boiled lentils and cooked beans were the stable, just as in my local Samos taverna – lobster, champagne and caviar were noticeably absent! Epicurus’ retiring life suits me down to the ground. 

To achieve tranquillity, it is necessary to turn one’s back on the striving, competitive, commercial world, and the dismaying, ever-shifting political one. Forget about securing that new income, or surpassing one’s colleagues in material things, or visiting that remote exotic destination. Be content with what you have got, with the talents you have kept after 70 years. It is time to live for yourself, to indulge your own past-times, be they collecting sea-shells, playing bridge or wielding a golf-club, at your own pace, and if you choose to snooze in your armchair whenever you wish, so be it. 

It probably helps me that I spend much time on a Greek island – there is something in the Greek Zeitgeist that encourages perpetual leisure and the sun warms the cockles of my heart and promotes altruism. Yet I do not believe that is a decisive factor. I am a Scotsman and have enjoyed many a rainy year there, without moral damage. David Hume had his brilliant Enlightenment salon in 18^th century Edinburgh; he disparaged the superstitions of religion and was entirely at ease with the finiteness of human existence telling Boswell that he was no more afraid of his own extinction after death than he was of the nonexistence that preceded his birth. Up to his end, he displayed intellectual passion and curiosity, goodwill towards his fellow man, humour, cheer and love for his friends. As his close friend Adam Smith wrote: “Upon the whole, I have always considered him, both in his lifetime and since his death, as approaching as nearly to the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man, as perhaps the nature of human frailty will permit.” A fine epitaph and a model of how later life should be lived.

Bertrand Russell charms

Daniel Klein in Hydra

 

Bertrand Russell was nobody’s role model but he wrote acutely about facing old age:”The best way to overcome any fear of death is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river - small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea; and painlessly lose their individual being.” Allowing the walls of the ego to recede resonates with me.

Daniel Klein is 75, a philosophy graduate from Harvard, is a now retired scriptwriter living in Boston, Mass, when not in Kamini on the delightful Greek island of Hydra. His excellent Travels with Epicurus shares my Greek connection. Sketching in his philosophical background (he is into Scandinavian existentialism), to my mind he is strongest on Epicurus. He emphasises the simplicity of the life, the importance of conversation and the stimulus of friends (not easy to make new ones when you are, like me, a sometimes grumpy 71!). He talks too of the life-enhancing pleasure of playing with grandchildren (I’m not so blessed yet) and the innocent joy of the companionship of a pet dog.

I take a daily cocktail of pills to keep me going and keep at bay what Klein calls “old, old age” - that dread 7^th Age

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

We all hope entirely to avoid this 7^th Age and I plan to stretch my Epicurean Golden Old Age at least until I am 85, cherished by my ever-loving wife and highly supportive and generous three sons. How lucky I am and how delectable is that prospect!

SMD

14.01.2014

Copyright © Sidney Donald 2014

HYMN-SINGING ROCKS!

It will astonish and appal my Humanist friends and raise vain hopes of re-conversion in my traditionally faithful ones to hear me declare that arch-atheist Sidney enjoys singing hymns, in a suitably non-denominational fashion, in my bath, driving my car or meandering on my constitutional daily walk. “Why should the Devil have all the best tunes?” asked the 18^th century divine George Whitfield and the Christians put that right with a fine selection – and I often love the music, if not always the lyrics.

I now visit churches as a tourist rather than a devotee but in December I went to a Carol Service in the City of London. The singing was excellent but some of the traditional carols are not quite my thing. Hark the Herald Angels sing hits high notes wheezy gentlemen like me cannot quite reach and O come all ye faithful is a fine tune but I deplore its cod theology, all that stuff about “abhors not the Virgin’s womb” and “begotten not created”. My favourite Christmas carol is O Little Town of Bethlehem written by the Philadelphia priest Philip Brooks and sung in England to a catchy tune by Ralph Vaughan Williams, the fifth line onwards being particularly melodic.

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light,
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

As a schoolboy in Scotland I sang plenty of hymns both in Presbyterian and Episcopalian tabernacles (I warbled as an alto soloist, no less) and while I lost my faith in my late teens, in my dim sub-conscious the words and hymn tunes remain. How much we liked Onward Christian Soldiers! politically incorrect, with Crusaders currently in bad odour, with words by eclectic Sabine Baring-Gould but such a rousing tune from Sir Arthur Sullivan:

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!


If any jihadists hear this one coming, I advise instant flight.


Hymns go back many centuries. The Roman Church still uses 9^th century Veni, Creator, Spiritus in Gregorian chant for processional purposes and its phrasing is a challenge to any congregation. Rather easier is venerable Come down O Love Divine, written by Bianco da Siena in the 15^th century, beautifully translated by Littledale and sung in Britain to the lovely tune Down Ampney by Vaughan Williams. It is a firm favourite with me:


Come down, O love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardour glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
----
Let holy charity
mine outward vesture be,
and lowliness become mine inner clothing;
true lowliness of heart,
which takes the humbler part,
and o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.


The words are inspiring if you happen to be of a transcendental turn of mind. Many other hymns get an airing from me: Who would true Valour See by John Bunyan saw irreplaceable Mrs Thatcher off at St Paul’s last April and at my obsequies my shade would approve of For all the Saints who from their Labours rest by W W How, a stirring tune, (Vaughan Williams again) to disperse the Blues!

 
For all the saints who from their labours rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confess,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest,
Alleluia! Alleluia!


Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!


Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
And win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!


Finally I admit enthusiastically to singing that great Anthem of Protestantism Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott with words and music by Martin Luther. I know best the version Rejoice today with one Accord with a text by H. H. Baker. It is a great tune, used by Bach, Mendelssohn and by Meyerbeer in his March from The Huguenots which so electrifies London’s Trooping the Colour every June when played by the massed bands of the Guards’ Division.


Rejoice today with one accord,
sing out with exultation;
rejoice and praise our mighty Lord,
whose arm hath brought salvation.
His works of love proclaim
the greatness of his name;
for he is God alone,
who hath his mercy shown:
let all his saints adore him!


Hymn singing is not the most fashionable of activities but it gives me much pleasure. Sing along if the spirit so moves you!

Massed Bands at Trooping the Colour

SMD
9.01.2014
Text copyright © Sidney Donald 2014

KENWOOD and HERTFORD HOUSE: London's Finest (1)

[This is the first in a series of articles to describe some of the most interesting and attractive places in London].

The two buildings which are the subject of this article are probably better known as the home of two splendid collections, The Iveagh Bequest at Kenwood and The Wallace Collection at Hertford House. Both great collections add lustre and cultural splendour to London.

Kenwood House, Hampstead, London

Kenwood House is on the Highgate / Hampstead border in North London, about 5 miles from the centre and adjoining the extensive open park and woodlands of Hampstead Heath. There was an earlier Jacobean house on the site in 1616 and the property changed ownership many times before being favoured by the Scottish aristocracy in the form of the Dukes of Argyll, Earls of Bute and finally in 1754 being bought by William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. Mansfield was a very influential Lord Chief Justice, born at Scone Palace, Perthshire who lived at Kenwood until he died in 1793. He remodelled the house substantially and entrusted the work to the inspired Scots architect Robert Adam.          

Adam's Library at Kenwood

                                        

The Library at Kenwood is considered Adam’s finest interior and it is indeed the epitome of an 18^th century gentleman’s retreat, with classical columns, arches picked out in rose and blue, medallions on the ceiling, laden bookshelves and charming contemporary furniture. Kenwood had been closed many months to replace the roof, eliminate damp and refresh the décor. I was there about 10 days ago and it looks very fine. I confess to being underwhelmed by the décor which was restrained, no doubt in the cause of authenticity, but I would have preferred more vibrant and glossy colours. I am not sure I approve either of the handsome Orangery being used as a crèche or lairage for the noisy younger generation.

The Mansfields kept a run-down Kenwood until 1925 when it was sold to millionaire brewer and philanthropist Edward Cecil Guinness, 1^st Lord Iveagh. Iveagh had acquired a fine collection of paintings in 1880-90s and he restored much of the 18^th century elegance of Kenwood hanging his paintings there. He died in 1927 and made a most generous bequest of the house and most of his collection to the people of London, opening to the public in 1928.

The collection is relatively small (about 65 paintings) but there are real treasures – a Self Portrait of a weary Rembrandt, Vermeer’s striking Guitar Player, Gainsborough’s masterly Countess Howe, and rustic Bouchers, several Joshua Reynolds, works by Franz Hals, Aelbert Cuyp, Romney and Raeburn.

Self-Portrait by Rembrandt

The Guitar Player by Vermeer

 

Blue-stocking Hampstead ladies of a certain age flock to the easily accessible art and discuss its merits in authoritative tones. As well as the House itself, Kenwood is a great favourite with North Londoners, a place for walks in a sylvan setting, a place for picnics, a venue for classical and pop concerts in summer and a paradise for pet dogs of all varieties. Our Yorkie, Peke and Elkhound delighted to jump into the rather muddy Lake, have a swim and shake their wet coats over innocent passers-by. By any standards it is a most civilised place.

Countess Howe by Thomas Gainsborough


---------------------------------------

If Kenwood has a national reputation, The Wallace Collection at Hertford House has an international one.  Behind the somewhat lugubrious façade of Hertford House, there is a treasure house of unique French art, Old Master paintings, medieval and renaissance artefacts, armour, pottery and wonderful furniture.

The Wallace Collection, Manchester Square, London W1

Manchester Square was laid out in the 1780s - it was near to good duck shooting (alas, no more!). Hertford House was originally named Manchester House after the distinguished 4^th Duke but the Manchesters did not prosper, running through their fortune and the 12th Duke, Angus Montagu, who died in 2002, had been a trouser salesman, crocodile wrestler and spent 28 months in a Florida penitentiary for fraud. The building was variously the Spanish and later the French embassy and was leased by the Seymour-Conway family, soon Marquesses of Hertford, and became their London home to supplement their ancestral pile, Ragley Hall in Warwickshire.

The 3rd Marquess, a Regency rake, loved France and collected then unfashionable Louis XV art until he died in 1842.The Collection proper was developed by the eccentric 4^th Marquis, who lived almost all his life in France, in Paris and at the Chateau de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne owned by the immensely rich family. When he died in 1870 his illegitimate son Sir Richard Wallace bought widely and wisely particularly acquiring medieval and renaissance objects. After he died in 1890 his widow, in accordance with his wishes, bequeathed the Collection and Hertford House to the nation and it opened to the public in 1900.

The bankers' staircase

A Boucher from the Collection

 

On entering the House a staircase with an elaborate and gracious balustrade greets you. There is a jarring note however as it came from the Bank of France, soon to collapse in 1720 and in its decoration there are cornucopias, featuring bank-notes and bags of coin. Bankers were pretty crass even in 1720! On the top landing there is a sequence of lovely paintings by Boucher.

The Dance to the Music of Time by Poussin

 

The Swing by Fragonard

         

Every room is filled with paintings and furniture of the highest quality. Boulle cabinets, huge regal desks, give context to marvellous examples of the work of Watteau, Pater, Hals and a host of others, including the allegorical Poussin above and the iconic Rococo The Swing by Fragonard. English School portraits abound together with exquisite enamels, snuff-boxes and pottery, including my favourite Majolica from Urbino. The wooden floors creak welcomingly as I visited last week and the renovation of the Great Gallery will be completed by September 2014. The whole Wallace Collection experience is a life-enhancing one.

French Furniture at the Wallace Collection

Majolica from Urbino

SMD

7.01.2014  

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2014

BE OF GOOD CHEER

Despite the dismal England performance losing the Ashes to Australia’s cricketers and the certainty that England will not win football’s World Cup in Brazil, 2013 was a very good year for the world and 2014 is likely to be even better. Let us celebrate the real achievements of the year just ended and the fine prospects for 2014.

As The Spectator pointed out in its Christmas leading article, by some measures 2013 has been ”the best year in human history”. The world’s economic output at $73.5 trillion has never been higher and never has it been shared so evenly. UN targets for massive improvements in access to drinking water, in eliminating slums, in reducing child poverty, in conquering AIDS and ending famine are being more than met. Life expectancy is soaring, previously lethal diseases are being eradicated. Economic growth is at the heart of this improvement as the Economic Crisis slowly melts led by the US and the UK, international trade revives, millions in China, India and Brazil achieve a decent standard of living. These benefits have been earned by the effort of ordinary people exploiting free markets and owes little to politicians - Obama has been ineffective and the ineptitude of the management of the Eurozone has been shameful. Generally though, excellent progress has been made and while much more needs to be done, our world is being transformed for the better.

In the UK, economic revival is gaining momentum, some of it fuelled by a dangerous housing bubble but much of it more sustainably based and all credit to Cameron and Osborne. The Stock Market added to the feel-good factor with a gratifying rise. The government is tackling the critical issue of education, aimed at improving the prospects of school-leavers and hopefully bringing an end to the social immobility seen in the last 25 years, wasting the potential of less advantaged children. Reforms in hospitals’ accountability and a renegotiation of doctors’ contracts should make the NHS affordable and fit for purpose. The Commons sensibly kept the UK out of any Syrian intervention and final departure from Afghanistan is looming. Bread and Circuses were well maintained with the Queens’ 60^th Jubilee, a new prospective male heir in Prince George, Lions’ rugby triumph in Australia, England’s Justin Rose winning the US Open golf title, and Andy Murray, a Brit (and better, a Scot!) won the Wimbledon tennis championship after 77 years, to the joy of the nation. 

What will 2014 bring as I peer into the crystal ball? I believe economic recovery in the Anglophone economies will continue. China and India too will grow but at a lesser rate than recently. The Middle East will remain in turmoil as Sunni-Shia antagonisms worsen. At risk are the autocratic regimes in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf, sponsors of Jihadist ideology. In the past we would be fearful that Arab instability would bring a spike in the price of oil but there is an over-supply of oil and shale oil is quickly becoming an important factor in the US and soon enough in the UK. The Arab world will have much less leverage than once it did – it needs to put its own disorderly house straight without outside influences.

I would guess that the Euro will just about survive in 2014 amid growing dissatisfaction and impoverishment of its Mediterranean members. The elections to the European Parliament in 2014 will see a landslide in favour of the Eurosceptic Right favouring Nigel Farage’s UKIP in the UK, Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party in the Netherlands and Golden Dawn in Greece coupled with support for the Eurosceptic Left, notably for Syriza in Greece. These divisions will gum up the EU mechanics unless its centre parties can formulate a programme to end the financial sufferings of Eurozone citizens, thus far way beyond their intellectual capabilities.

The UK will have a particularly good year. Separated, if not immune, from Eurozone convulsions, she will push on with her diplomatic programme of repatriating legislative and judicial powers from the EU. The UK will be quite happy with a two-speed free market Europe where nations can cherry-pick those institutions she decides to join. She will not join any common banking, currency or political union; if pushed by the European majority, she will depart on terms. Cameron’s position will be much enhanced by the decisive rejection of Independence in the Scottish Referendum in September 2014, despite stunts and emotional pleas by cunning politician Alex Salmond; the Scots will see through his claptrap. A strengthened Cameron will be well placed to win the 2015 election outright as Ed Miliband has not made sufficient impression in crucial 2013, despite some good moments and the Lib Dems are burdened with anachronistic Europhilia and its obstruction to the necessary measures to tighten up immigration controls.

2014 will see the world prosper, the US reasserting its leadership with the UK improving more rapidly than many others and continuing to be relatively rich, tolerant, civilised and outward-looking

     A good New Year to you All

SMD

2.01.2014

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2014