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Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron
Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron
Written in the wake of the Black Death of 1348, Giovanni Boccaccio masterfully
constructs an ideal society and its mores. The brigata, made of ten young noble
women and men, moves in the country outside the city of Florence, seeking to
escape the ravages of the plague. Here, through the experience of storytelling,
they establish a new social and moral order in a perfected natural environment.
A direct contact with the natural world is described as essential, since it provides
them with the necessary means to face the city again and to potentially shape
there a perfected form of social existence. Nature is considered a haven of
security, of health, of moral excellence. Being in harmony with the environment
is one of the main principles that will grant a material and spiritual rebirth. This
edition was published in 1789.
“There we shall hear the chant of birds, have sight of verdant hills and plains, of
cornfields undulating like the sea, of trees of a thousand sorts; there also we
shall have a larger view of the heavens, which, however harsh to usward yet
deny not their eternal beauty; things fairer far for eye to rest on than the deso-
late walls of our city. Moreover, we shall there breathe a fresher air.”
Tommaso Campanella, La Città del Sole
Written by a Dominican friar in prison and published in 1602, this philosophical work
in the form of a dialogue describes an ideal commonwealth governed by principles
such as community of goods, division of labour, and equal dignity for all men. Private
property, undue wealth, and poverty do not exist in his ideal city, for no man is
permitted more than what he needs. The author imagines a society that lives in a
harmonious state close to nature. During his life, Campanella was involved in pansen-
sism, the doctrine that all things in nature are endowed with sense, and in panpsy-
chism, the view that all reality has a mental aspect. This philosophical approach
justifies his belief that nature had to be respected and regarded as an ideal model for
any political organization.
“Agriculture is much followed among them; there is not a span of earth without
cultivation, and they observe the winds and propitious stars. […] They do not kill
willingly useful animals, such as oxen and horses. They observe the difference between
useful and harmful foods, and for this they employ the science of medicine.”
“The sun is the father, and the earth the mother. The sea is the sweat of earth, or the
fluid of earth combusted, and fused within its bowels, but is the bond of union
between air and earth, as the blood is of the spirit and flesh of animals. The world is a
great animal, and we live within it as worms live within us.”
Elemental music
Jean-Féry Rebel’s ballet Les Elements (1737) is a singular work
depicting the four elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air. Rebel, a
composer and violinist, wanted to create a work that accurately
depicted the chaos that is eventually tamed by these elements, thus
creating one of the most startling and original passages in Western
music history. The work begins with chaos, as strings, winds and
harpsichord play a dense cluster of notes that rivals any of the disso-
nances found in the work of 20th century modernists. Rebel himself
was aware of the impact of this opening gesture, writing a detailed
explanation of his reasoning and philosophy behind the music
before the work’s premiere: “I dared to undertake to link the idea of
the confusion of the elements with that of confusion in harmony. I
hazarded to make heard first all sound together or rather all of the
notes of the octave united as a single sound.”
Ernest Callenbach, Ecotopia
This 1970s cult novel, and hopeful antidote to the environmental concerns of today,
was born out of the political and economic turmoil of those years and became a
pioneer of the growing environment movement. Ecotopia is the name of a new
“stable state” in the novel, founded when parts of the American Northwest seceded
from the Union to create a new country and ecosystem that incarnates the perfect
balance between human beings and the environment. The novel takes place in 1999,
twenty years following the formation of Ecotopia, and consists of reports and diary
entries of the first American invited to visit and report on Ecotopia. Interest in
Ecotopia stems largely from the possible social and political arrangements it
describes, in the creation of a society that is founded on principles such as sustain-
able agriculture, democracy, localism, and mutual support, emphasizing the inter-
connectedness among humans and nature and the balance between economic
pursuit and ecological concern. An important theme in Ecotopia is also recycling. In
fact, the communities depicted re-use everything they can and do not produce
excessive waste.
“But what matters most is the aspiration to live in balance with nature, "walk lightly
on the land," treat the earth as a mother.”
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Word for World is Forest
Set several centuries in the future, and part of Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle, the
novel is particularly relevant to our own actions today regarding the environ-
ment, the destruction of our planet’s natural resources and assimilation of
indigenous peoples. Men from Earth have arrived on the planet Athshe,
renamed it New Tahiti, and are in the process of logging the abundant forest,
sending the valuable timber back to a homeworld which has suffered envi-
ronmental destruction. The native Athsheans are small, green-furred crea-
tures who live in natural harmony with their world. They have a matriarchal
society and have no history of violence prior to the arrival of humans.Their
world is described in rich detail and shows Le Guin’s talent for worldbuild-
ing. Athshean culture is thoroughly integrated with the planet’s ecology.
Rather than clearing the forests, the Athsheans live within the roots of the
trees themselves in widely dispersed clans that are named after tree species.
“A forest ecology is a delicate one. If the forest perishes, its fauna may go
with it. The Athshean word for world is also the word for forest.”
Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood
This ecotopian novel, published in 2009, contains visions of a negative and dystopian
future that connects with a range of environmental issues. Set in a post-apocalyptic
western nation, the book follows the fates of two female survivors of the disaster that
wiped out Earth. Central to the plot is a religious sect, the Gardeners, who have
strong ecological concerns and believe in living according to the laws of nature. Their
eating habits and clothing is determined by a certain code that is totally in terms with
nature, they grow their own vegetables, avoid television and computers.
The Canadian author, one of the most acknowledged feminist novelists, makes a clear
critique of modern men, with their egotistical ambitions, and depicts them as perpe-
trators and as the worst catastrophe the world has ever seen. Through this dystopian
novel, she warns her readers as to what might happen if the indifference towards the
abuse of nature goes on.
The copy of the book owned by the Regenstein Library is signed by the author and
dedicated to the University of Chicago students.
“The nearer we came to the house, the greater we found the profusion of flowers which
ornamented every field. Some had no other defence than hedges of rose trees and
sweetbriars, so artfully planted, that they made a very thick hedge, while at the lower
part, pinks, jonquils, hyacinths, and various other flowers, seemed to grow under their
protection. Primroses, violets, lilies of the valley, and polyanthuses enriched such shady
spots, as, for want of sun, were not well calculated for the production of other flowers.
The mixture of perfumes which exhaled from this profusion composed the highest
fragrance, and sometimes the different scents regaled the senses alternately, and filled us
with reflections on the infinite variety of nature.”
Thomas More, Utopia
The inventor of the term Utopia sketches in this 16th century masterpiece, originally
written in Latin, a perfect and imaginary state while subtly expressing sharp criticism
of the English society of his time. A variety of subjects are discussed, most famously
social justice, religious tolerance and human happiness. However, not only does he
analyze the economical, political, and social consequences of implementing his
revolutionary ideas, but he is also concerned with their effects on the natural environ-
ment. The result is an ecologically responsible society, based on agriculture, that leads
a life of moderation and sufficiency. A central element of his ideal society is a responsi-
ble attitude towards nature, thanks to a prudent use of resources, so that waste
problems can be avoided and the environment preserved.
The book presented here is a splendid facsimile reproduction (original size) of the
copy published in 1516, today at the British Museum marked C.27.b.30.
“They cultivate their gardens with great care, so that they have both vines, fruits,
herbs, and flowers in them; and all is so well ordered and so finely kept that I never
saw gardens anywhere that were both so fruitful and so beautiful as theirs. And there
is, indeed, nothing belonging to the whole town that is both more useful and more
pleasant. So that he who founded the town seems to have taken care of nothing more
than of their gardens.”