Janusz Korczak and the poor neglected and abused children

http://korczak.com/Biography/kap-5.htm

NEGLECTED AND ABUSED CHILDREN of the poor in the shadows of buildings, in their squalid dwellings he treks and there tells them stories and gives reading lessons. He goes from room to room in his tenement and dispenses gifts and hangs a cross on the neck of the child called

"Carrot Top" who asks if he is a saint and he answers 'yes'. It is this child who asks that question.

At that very ,very moment he has the awareness of change and that new invisible powers inhabit his soul and will henceforth be his illuminating guides. From self absorbed writer to a man of spiritual faith responsible for his fellow men,for his fellow children. Themes of Child of the Drawing Room, all of his life's themes are here in his novel: his constricted childhood, fear of suicide and madness and avoidance of sex and dedication to children and desire to be a social reformer.While this novel was being serialized in Voice Magazine, a supreme irony and non sequitur occurred in his life.namely in March 1905, he was conscripted to the Czar's army as a doctor to serve in the Russo Japanese War. He was on a hospital train on the Trans Siberian Railroad,shuttling between Harbin and Mukden.War brings out the illness of the whole body.This train was full of mad people and the war brought the malignancies in Russian society that were festering,yes, they were brought to the fore.He dispensed medicine for both body and soul: they responded well to stories and so he told them stories,Russian Tales. He explored the devastation in China ,and the Chinese orphan misery and concluded that war is an abomination.Note his meeting with four year old Chinese child Iuo-ya

After meeting four-year-old iuo-ya, who "was extraordinarily patient in teaching Chinese to an inept pupil," he decided that not only should there be institutes of Oriental languages, but everyone should have to spend a year in a village in the Orient studying under a four-year-old. Iuo-ya made him realize that young children who have not yet become "too conscious of grammar and too influenced by nov'els, textbooks, and school," can convey the spirit of a language. (QUOTE)

• He visited a village school and concluded ' all children are the same'.


• The illnesses that lay dormant in the huge empire were exacerbated by hearing of the Japanese victories and groans of ' revolution' were heard and stimulated the staff and patients on the train. The rebellious soldiers asked Lt Goldszmit to represent them before the military delegation arriving to punish them.


• The men pleaded, he agreed, and on the speaker's crate he instead spoke of the suffering of the children,and no war had the right to deprive the children of their happiness,and the delegation was amazed.

It is the neglected and abused children of this poor district to whom Janek
is drawn. He finds them in the shadows of buildings, "their pale skin stretched
like thin parchment over their crooked bones." Under the bridges he gives them
candy and medicine, and, he hopes, a belief in human kindness. He goes with them
into their squalid dwellings to tell stories and give lessons in reading. The
order intrinsic in grammar may help order their thoughts.
On a Christmas
Eve, dressed like St. Nicholas, Janek goes from room to room in his tenement
house dispensing gifts to the children: a little ball, an apple, candies. He
hangs a cross on the neck of a small red-haired boy known only as Carrot Top,
whom he finds sitting all alone in the dark. When the child asks him if he is
really a saint, he responds "Yes," struck that it is a child who should ask him
that question.
At that moment Janek is aware that he has changed, that "new
invisible powers" are gathering inside him, powers that from then on will
"illuminate" his way. He is transformed from a self-absorbed writer gathering
material for a book into a man of spiritual faith who is responsible for his
fellow human beings.
All the themes of the author´s life are in this novel:
his constricted childhood, his fear of suicide and madness, his avoidance of
sex, his determination to be a social reformer, his dedication to children. As
the book ends, Janek has lost most of his illusions, but not his rage at
discovering that two orphaned girls have been sexually abused by their uncle.
When the night watchman in the slum tells him to go home, he shouts, as he once
had at his parents, "Get out of here! Or I´ll bite! I´ll b-i-i-t-e!" -his
syllables blurring into incomprehensibility.
While Child of the Drawing Room
was being serialized in Voice magazine under the byline of Janusz Korczak,
Henryk Goldszmit began a residency at the Jewish Children´s Hospital. But no
sooner had he received his medical diploma in March 1905, than he was
conscripted as a doctor into the Czar´ s Imperial Army to serve in the
Russo-Japanese War. Torn abruptly out ofhis life "like a slave puppet," the new
lieutenant found himself stationed on a hospital train on the Trans-Siberian
Railroad, shuttling back and forth between Harbin and Mukden. Japan, emerging as
a modern nation after centuries of Isolation, was proving victorious in both
land and sea battles over the demoralized Russian forces riddled with
corruption, badly led, and inefficiently supplied.
The young doctor quickly
learned that "war helps you see the illness of the whole body." He viewed the
patients lined up that first rainy day at the station as "prisoners" waiting for
treatment of enteritis, gastritis, venereal disease, or chronic illnesses. Their
diseases, like the international conflict over markets in Manchuria and Korea,
had "unseen roots in the past" for which there was no quick cure.
The most
seriously ill were taken aboard. "The train is full of mad people," he wrote to
his Voice readers. "One of them doesn´t even know his name, how old he is, or
where he is going. Another, equally oblivious to what is going on, broods about
why his wife took his pipe. A third, called the Idiot, sings dirty songs."
They were not soldiers anymore, but "sick people" from whom he was learning
about the malignancies festering in Russian society. He moved among his
patients-barely literate Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish peasants, fierce
Cossacks, and poor Jews - dispensing medicine for both body and soul.
Discovering that they responded well to stories, he told them Russian tales. He
was not unaware of the irony that he, a Polish- Jewish doctor, was comforting
them in the language of his oppressor. the perfect Russian that had been drilled
into him at his Czarist gymnasium.
Every spare moment the young lieutenant
spent exploring the devastated Chinese towns and villages. "It was not that I
came to China, China came to me," he wrote in another article. "Chinese famine,
Chinese orphan misery, Chinese mass mortality. War is an abomination. Especially
because no one reports how many children are hungry, ill-treated, and left
without protection."
After meeting four-year-old iuo-ya, who "was
extraordinarily patient in teaching Chinese to an inept pupil," he decided that
not only should there be institutes of Oriental languages, but everyone should
have to spend a year in a village in the Orient studying under a four-year-old.
Iuo-ya made him realize that young children who have not yet become "too
conscious of grammar and too influenced by nov'els, textbooks, and school," can
convey the spirit of a language.
Visiting a village school, he was shocked
to see a teacher, reeking of vodka and opium, beating his pupils on their heels
with a thick yardstick. On one side was written in black ink: "He who refuses to
learn is deserving of punishment", and on the other: "He who studies will be
wise." Lieutenant Goldszmit managed to buy the yardstick, though he knew that
after a few days the teacher would make a new one. When the war was over, he
would show his orphans how to play ball (palant) with the stick. He would tell
them that, though Chinese children look different and use a different alphabet,
all children are the same.
As the hospital train steamed back and forth in
that turbulent year 1905, the illnesses that had "lain dormant" in the huge
empire of the Czar were exacerbated by news of Japanese victories. Workers´
strikes and student demonstrations continued to erupt in industrial centers. The
very word "revolution" was a stimulant to the staff and patients on the train,
who voted to join the railway workers´ strike. When a military delegation
arrived to punish the rebellious soldiers, they asked Lieutenant Goldszmit to
represent them. He was reluctant to become involved-it was neither his country
nor his war but the men pleaded so persuasively that he agreed. However, as he
stood on the speaker´s crate, he did not talk ofthe strike or ofthe revolution
but rather ofthe suffering ofchildren. "Before you go to war for any purpose,"
he told the amazed delegation, "you should stop to think of the innocent
children who will be injured, killed, or orphaned." He was beginning to
articulate what would become his philosophy for life: no cause, no war, was
worth depriving children of their natural right to happiness. Children should
come before politics of any kind.

TheK I N G of C H I L D R E N
The L I F E and D E A T HofJANUSZ KORCZAK
by: Betty Jean Lifton St. Martin´s Griffin -New York - ISBN: 0-312-15560-3
HTML-Code by: Korczak Communication CenterMichael Parciak -Germany, Munich

The Book Thief Review by Molly -The Power of Words

My Cozy Book Nook
Every page of this book has a gem on it and therein lies its power. Death's point of view is far different from the sinister apprehension most people make of it. Death personified meets Liesel in run ins with her. The power of words is unlike any other power for sheer potency in shaping the affairs of the world. Hitler well knew this. He cultivated them into forests until they permeated all Germany and then the world.The seeds planted were the symbols.Indeed words are everything and can cause miracles to happen. They are much more powerful than the sword,more devastating and lasting.

From the moment I started The Book Thief, I knew that I would want to re-read
the book at least once, but probably numerous times. It took me a while to get
into the book, mostly, I think, because I had envisioned "death's" point of view
to be vastly different from what it was in the novel. I expected death to be
evil - sinister - giddy in his accomplishments; but instead, I found this death
to be observant, compassionate and questioning humanity. While the story is told
from death's perspective, he does focus on a young girl, Liesel, for most of the
narrative. He meets Liesel when her brother dies on the train, and he
continually "runs into her" as he performs his duty in war-torn Germany.While
this book is quite deserving of a full-length review, I prefer to cut it short
and leave the reader with this thought from the author: "I like the idea that
every page in a book can have a gem on it." That is precisely what this book
has. Each and every page has a minimum of one eloquent passage or beautiful word
picture that causes the reader to pause and reflect. In fact, a major theme of
the story is the power of words:
"...the Fuhrer decided that he would rule
the world with words. 'I will never fire a gun,' he devised, 'I will not have
to.'.....He planted (words) day and night, and cultivated them. He watched them
grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen throughout Germany. It
was a nation of formed thoughts. While the words were growing, our young Fuhrer
also planted seeds to create symbols, and these, too, were well on their way to
full bloom. Now the time had come." - page 445How I wish I could make my
students understand this premise. Words are everything. Words can build others
up - or tear them down. Words, when cultivated and arranged in just the perfect
order, can cause miracles to happen. At the same time, words haphazardly strung
together with no thought or effort can lead to devastation. I think there is no
other pithy saying that is most inaccurate as: "sticks and stones will break my
bones, but names (words) will never hurt me." Words hurt more than swords, and
have a much longer lasting effect.

Sanango the medicinal plant

AMAZON RIVER

http://peruvianproject.blogspot.com/
Sanango permeates the nervous system in a state of bodily stillness into nerves tendons muscles and cells. The plant is spirited and clever and the body becomes quite heated emitting a rosy hue. Tingling and sharp sensations fire sporadically around the body. The nervous pathways are awakened and the body is completely re-booted. Sanango does the re-booting throughout the day and often Teresita awakens with pain followed by release or sudden purge. All kinds of bodily upset are released (read the cobwebs section below).she focuses on the breath and meditates on the nerves. She guides the nuero paths onto route. Lingering medications from the years are also released.It crawls throughout the body to an area Teresita holds focus. There are 3 days of dieta. It is not so much visionary but physical assuredly. Damaged cells,toxins and free radicals are shed. Dieta consists of solitude and self-reflection.The body becomes sensitive to additives.

A few hours later gradually I open my eyes, trying to focus on the mosquito
net engulfing the bed. I cannot; my vision has become incredibly blurred. My eye
muscles are sedated. I move my arms, they feel especially heavy. My legs, knees,
my entire body is abnormally weighted. This is Sanango in her early phase.I
surrender, close my eyes and drop into the medicine. It feels appropriate to
become acquainted with one another. I question why my muscular system is
suddenly so depleted. In reflection, I sense a firm response... be still so I
can do my work. How sensible. With the body in a state of stillness, sanango can
permeate into the nervous systems, tendons, muscle tissue and cells without
resistance. This plant is spirited and ever-so-clever.I can barely raise my
head. My body is emitting an incredible heat and in result, my skin has a deep,
rosy hue. I notice hot, tingling, occasionally sharp sensations firing
sporadically around the body. It is intense but strangely familiar; it is the
feeling I receive when my nervous system and its pathways are over-stimulated or
awakened. Sanango does this erratically throughout the day, culminating with
sharp pain, followed by a gradual release or sudden purge. A purge releases all
sorts of cellular and bodily upset or damage (read the Cobweb entry below), thru
sweat, urine, bowel, vomit, crying and even your breath. Fun? You betcha. My
body appreciates any energy I can spare it; I nap often. I begin to recognize
how I can work with this plant. Focus on the breath, meditate on the nerves. I
remind and guide the nuero-paths onto route. I observe sanango crawl throughout
the body. Eventually it crawls to the area where I hold focus, as if I brought
the plant there myself. Dieta continues this way over the next three days,
mellowing out in the evening.Sanango is not so much a visionary plant, but
certainly physical. I feel the shedding of damage cells, toxins and free
radicals continuously. In one particular instance, after hours of nausea, I
witness my body rid itself of the anesthesia and intense medications lingering
from months in intensive care years ago. ***Dieta is a time of solitude,
minimalism and self reflection. You eat minimally, surviving mostly on the
plant. Two meals a day, take your pick: rice, boiled plantains or yucca, fish or
eggs for seven days. No salt, sugar or pork of any kind. I woke each morning at
6 AM, showering shortly after. It is necessary to clear off all shed energy. No
shampoos, soaps or anything fragrant. The body is completely re-booting itself
and much too sensitive for any additives, people included. I hang out by myself,
with the exception of Alesha, Meghan or another woman Margie, who helped me
throughout the day

List of 2009 "read books" by Molly to explore

Books read in 2009 from My Book Nook of Molly

My Cozy Book Nook

http://mycozybooknook.blogspot.com/2008/12/challenges-for-2009.html

I will have formed a list of my own in a succeeding post. One title I will purview is The Book Thief

Many of these could be www.audibles.com soundbooks.

A Christmas Memory - One Thanksgiving - The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
The Sister by Poppy Adams
Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Goff
The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Firmin by Sam Savage
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling (audio book)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murders by Joanne Fluke
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (audio book)
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Boomarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
A Gift from Brittany by Marjorie Price
Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling (audio book)

Becoming a book to memorializing the hallmarks of great literature

http://needmoreshelves.blogspot.com/2009/06/451-fridays_12.html

My Cozy Book Nook

Summer Vacation Reading Challenge

I am compiling a list of my own books I want to become.

This blog I have been following for quite a while and has an interesting section called 451 Fridays from the Bradbury novel. His group of "book people" memorialize literature by becoming or internalizing books of choice. Her 5 titles of choice are the Following:

• Macbeth by Shakespeare due to its universal themes I think that it is quite easy for our "humanness" to succumb to unbridled ambition, and this is something of which we should all be mindful. I also enjoy the discussions that arise from the theme of fate vs. free will. The element of the supernatural with the witches and Banquo's ghost, as well as the presence of a dominant female character, are all worthwhile reasons to save this particular play. (These are Molly's commentss)


• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


• A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens See the below comments by Molly Great literature should have the embedded temes that have been timelessly discussed in philosophy what Karl Jung describes as archetypes and embeds in his concept of synchronicity


• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. What is prejudice? Before I live with other folks, I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. (QUOTE FROM THE NOVEL)


• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak Death's point of view and an excellent holocaust and YA novel.

451 Fridays is based on an idea from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In his
novel, a group of people (Bradbury calls them Book People) are trying to keep
the ideas found in books alive. Instead of actually saving the books, the Book
People each "become" a book - memorizing it, word for word, and passing it down
to the next generation.

451 Fridays asks what books you feel passionate about. What book do you think is so important that you would be willing to take on the challenge of "becoming"?This week, I am so happy to welcome Molly to 451 Fridays. Molly blogs at My Cozy Book Nook, and is always reading something new and interesting. She is also currently hosting her very first book challenge, the Summer Vacation Reading Challenge, which I am seriously tempted to join. Welcome, Molly!

Pondering my answer to this question, I tried to think in terms of historical as well as literary significance. I also wanted to ensure that the books I chose to save would span the centuries and give adequate representation to the development of literature, and not just focus on the present day. Finally, I wanted to save books that I would enjoy reading over and over again. To that end, here is my list for today (which I am sure will change again tomorrow - and next month....)

It is said that the literature of Charles Dickens did more for social reform in London than any legislation passed by Parliament. Dickens came from the poor - was a product of the Debtor's Prisons - and despised the social conditions of the time. But Charles Dickens was not only writing for social change, he also wrote for entertainment - and his novels are some of the best novels ever written: full of well-developed characters (some with very interesting and descriptive names), suspenseful plots and subplots that somehow all converge at the very end; beautiful prose and exacting descriptions that cause the reader to sit back and enjoy the beauty of the words; and of course, the varied themes that give the reader cause to stop, ponder, and take notice of our human condition. Again, I would have a difficult time choosing just the "right" novel to save, but I would have to select the novel that I know best because I teach it: A Tale of Two Cities. The Theme of Resurrection and Redemption is absolutely beautiful, and the way in which Dickens subtly foreshadows nearly every event in the book is astounding.

Racial tensions and inequalities have been a large part of the 20th century, especially in our American history. I think at least one example of this thematic literature should be saved, and I absolutely LOVE this particular novel. Harper Lee chose to narrate the story from the point of view of a young girl living in southern Alabama. While Scout is white, she is the daughter of a widowed lawyer who defends an African American in court. Scout is essentially colorblind -she does not see the color of a person's skin as defining who they are, but rather she chooses to look at what is on the inside. This "radical" way of thinking would not be tolerated by adults in this time period ( the story takes place in the mid 1930s, but Harper Lee published it in 1960 -- pre-civil rights days) but is somehow accepted from a "naive" young girl. Harper Lee's beautiful eloquence is reminiscent of a southern drawl, as spoken by a well-educated child who has always been treated as an adult, and the symbolism of the Mockingbird as it pertains to two characters in the story cause the reader to realize that prejudice extends beyond racial boundaries.

I simply couldn't ignore the importance of World War II and the atrocity of the holocost in my small 5-volume library. There have been numerous books written on this subject, and I almost considered The Diary of Anne Frank, or Schindler's List, or Sophie's Choice, but in keeping with my one book from each century theme, and because this book is written from such a unique point of view - that of Death - I decided to "save" this one. If you have not had the chance to read this book you - you must make the time. I will warn you, I had to read the first two chapters at least three times before it made made any sense. This is not because of Zusak's writing - that is because of my pre-determined image of Death's point of view. I thought death should be evil, but in reality, death is neutral. Death is just a part of life. It is the manner in which death can be caused that is often evil. This beautiful YA novel should not be limited to the YA market. It is poignant, descriptive, unique, sad, and hopeful. It will help us to never forget this time in our history - so that we may never run the risk of repeating it in the future.

Manos Que Curan II

http://peruvianproject.blogspot.com/

http://peruvianproject.blogspot.com/2009/05/twitter-me.html

Her cranial treatments with this quintessential sacred plant and manipulative medicine is more credible and powerful than any thing yet conceived of, I surmise, in traditional western medicine and it is the enlivening of the entire cranial area in exponentially rapid treatments.Teresita's reactions and visualizations accompany the treatments as they are an extended dimension of the treatments. She can visualize the revitalization. Activate,revive and renew.The nerves receive manipulation and growth as renewed energy enters in. The depiction of aerobic activity of the central nervous system is quite apropos.The reference to the new style cream from Mexico is quite revealing as the advanced cures from Mexico rely on the simple cures antedating ours by years,and much more powerful,. This is not the first occasion I have heard them referenced. Where they ultimately derived from is matter for surmise . They term it indigenous medicine but much father advanced than our reputed western cures. The medicine/treatments and creams are individually based and not mass produced to a mass audience. The creams are derived from annually blooming flowers and this same cream was used by Dra years ago after sustaining quadriplegia. Teresita's observations are quite revealing as to the efficacy of the treatments:

• her art entered in competition exhudes a spiritual dimension brought out by the treatments, which, I assume was dormant until that time and brought from that state of dormancy. So it was brought forth by desire.This state of dormancy is hid within us all lacking or bolstered by the desire for expression.


• her experiences with the plant Sanango is expressed as an exponential shedding of the cobweb later to be explained. We call it detox in the West and is not near so fast and cumulative.


• This culture does not compartmentalize the sacred worlds they inhabit but is inclusive in a continuum of prayer Eluko prays on this medicine, blessing it and my dieta with a traditional Shipipo or Quechua echaros (Quote) The dieta is a process ,I can see that.
  
  
  
  

Manos
Que Curan II
*Doctora (Dra.) is simply the feminine form for doctor, in
Spanish.Over the past few weeks, I have begun working solely with Dra.* Laura at
Manos Que Curan. Treatments now include work on the cranial area. Ohhh...
slightly painful in moments. Incredibly powerful nonetheless, as Doctora treats
the skull lining and nerves around the head, triggering nuero messages down the
spinal cord while doing so. I can feel them run their track, lighting up
peripheral nerves, until it reaches the base of the cord. Activate, revive,
renew... this is the pattern during sessions. For example, treat an area
underneath the scapula and I feel the electric current run down my fingers.
Trigger an area underneath the tricep and nerves fire down the spine, to the
leg, the sciatic nerve and out the foot. These are quick, strong impulses
showing life revitalize throughout the body. Simultaneously, I look to it and
through it, visualizing the nerves receiving manipulation and growth. Treatments
are aerobic activity for the central nervous system.
Dra. Laura has introduced a new style of creams as well. The ingredients come from Mexico, some which are flowers that bloom only once a year. This is the same blend of ingredients Dra. was treated with years ago, after she sustained quadriplegia. I am the only client she uses these particular creams on, within all three of her clinics.I stand daily. On a strong day, I reach 40 minutes continuously on my feet. The girls help me walk each day as well, roughly 100-200 feet each time around. There is much focus on my low back-low abdomen-hip flexor, the regions of my body needing most work. My right side holds up the sturdiest. I identify with the memory and normalcy of the body's fluid motion, although in moments of fatigue I admit to feeling like a fish out of water. A variety of other exercises weasel in throughout the week.

If you have ever noticed, I often wear orthotics to support and prevent injury to my ankles and knees. I am now outgrowing them! Slowly, my calf muscles are developing larger then the braces' original mold. So exciting! It could still take six months until I am able to wean off of them... this will be determined upon the rate my lower back strengthens.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Sanango
While in the midst of this 38 day dieta, I am slowly developing a deeper understanding of my plant of choice, sanango. The emotional components and their releases are indeed still being revealed and processed. This is my experience, predominantly a physical description, of shedding that cobweb, which I feel is being done so exponentially. I am humbled by its ability and feel honored to experience this sacred world of plant medicine. It is 3 AM I am woken by Eluko and Meghan with a glass of brewed Sanango. Eluko prays on this medicine, blessing it and my dieta with a traditional Shipipo or Quechua echaros. Alesha helps me up to drink the medicine. It is tough to taste and I nearly gasp while swallowing this hot spiced brew. Finished with the glass, I lay back down, struggle slightly with nausea, but eventually fall back to sleep. It is day one and my dieta has opened.

Alexander and the campaign against the Persians (PLUTARCH)

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_plutarch_alexander.htm

His meeting with Diogenes of Sinope and the oblivious reaction of Diogenes impressed Alexander as to the greatness of this stoic philosopher and stated were he not Alexander, he would chose to be Diogenes.

• He went to consult the Delphian Oracle on a forbidden day improper for answers.







• The priestess rebuffed his messengers on the plea of law







• He went in person and forced her into the temple and she stated he would be invincible and he took that for the answer sought in the Persian campaign







• Prodigies attending his departure: portents or prodigies proliferated in the ancient world and among the ancients generally and that not fortuitously as they were somehow connected to the upper worlds far more than w moderns could ever conceive.The image of Orpheus at Libethra sweated abundantly to the discouragement of many and was made of cypress wood. Aristander explained that it did not presage ill but signified glorious acts he would perform that poets and authors in after ages should labor and sweat to describe and celebrate.







• His army by size was not equal to the task. The beginnings were narrow and disproportionate but his vision and faith in the prophecy was very grandiose. He apportioned out almost all of the royal property. He liberally granted his patrimony to its limit. Note the remarks of Perdiccas.







• He anointed the gravestone of Achilles at Troy and as ancient custom ran naked about his sepulchre,crowning it with garlands and esteemed him happy with so faithful a friend and a poet of fame to so proclaim his actions. He thought it not worth looking on Paris' harp,but was glad to see that of Achilles for which he sang the glories of great men and actions.






• Darius' captains with large forces collected on the Granicus as the Gate to Asia which had to be entered.An improper time to engage the enemy? The kings of Macedonia did not march with their forces in the month of Daesius.Alexander broke this taboo calling it a second Artemisius. He enters the Granicus against the advice of Pasrmenio and why should he disgrace the Hellespont and would do so if he should fear the Granicus. And so without more saying, he immediately took the river with thirteen troops of horse, and advanced against whole showers of darts thrown from the steep opposite side, which was covered with armed multitudes of the enemy's horse and foot, notwithstanding the disadvantage of the ground and the rapidity of the stream; so that the action seemed to have more of frenzy and desperation in it, than of prudent conduct. On the face of it the action in all seeming was a desperate undertaking but not to Alexander's vision was it such an undertaking.




• He took the river with 13 troops of horse and was showered with darts and made his way up the banks which were muddy and slippery. He experienced instant and confused hand to hand combat. Alexander had a helmet with white plumed feathers on either side and was attacked on every side but unwounded.His cuirass was pierced by a javelin in one of the joinings.



• Note the incident with Rhoesaces and Spithridates .The seeming protection of Alexander against premature death by slaying in battle is divine protectionism until his mission is completed,namely the spread of Hellenism through conquering and the ushering in of the Hellenistic age.



• He was not always cool and logical in battle planning and execution and an example of his rashness(passion) is at the Granicus. But the enemy hardly sustaining the first onset, soon gave ground and fled, all but the mercenary Greeks, who, making a stand upon a rising ground, desired quarter, which Alexander, guided rather by passion than judgment, refused to grant, and charging them himself first, had his horse (not Bucephalas, but another) killed under him. And this obstinacy of his to cut off these experienced desperate men, cost him the lives of more of his own soldiers than all the battle before, besides those who were wounded. (Quote from Plutarch)



• He won heavily in battle and sent the spoils home to the Athenians, his mother.Notice his inscription excepting the Lacedaemonians from winning booty from the barbarians in Asia.
  

Soon after, the Grecians, being assembled at the Isthmus, declared their
resolution of joining with Alexander in the war against the Persians, and
proclaimed him their general. While he stayed here, many public ministers and
philosophers came from all parts to visit him, and congratulated him on his
election, but contrary to his expectation, Diogenes of Sinope, who then was
living at Corinth, thought so little of him, that instead of coming to
compliment him, he never so much as stirred out of the suburb called the
Cranium, where Alexander found him lying along in the sun. When he saw so much
company near him, he raised himself a little, and vouchsafed to look upon
Alexander; and when he kindly asked him whether he wanted anything, "Yes," said
he, "I would have you stand from between me and the sun." Alexander was so
struck at this answer, and surprised at the greatness of the man, who had taken
so little notice of him, that as he went away, he told his followers who were
laughing at the moroseness of the philosopher, that if he were not Alexander, he
would choose to be Diogenes.
Then he went to Delphi, to consult Apollo
concerning the success of the war he had undertaken, and happening to come on
one of the forbidden days, when it was esteemed improper to give any answers
from the oracle, he sent messengers to desire the priestess to do her office;
and when she refused, on the plea of a law to the contrary, he went up himself,
and began to draw her by force into the temple, until tired and overcome with
his importunity, "My son," said she, "thou art invincible." Alexander taking
hold of what she spoke, declared he had received such an answer as he wished
for, and that it was needless to consult the god any further. Among other
prodigies that attended the departure of his army, the image of Orpheus at
Libethra, made of cypress-wood, was seen to sweat in great abundance, to the
discouragement of many. But Aristander told him, that far from presaging any ill
to him, it signified he should perform acts so important and glorious as would
make the poets and musicians of future ages labor and sweat to describe and
celebrate them.
His army, by their computation who make the smallest amount,
consisted of thirty thousand foot, and four thousand horse; and those who make
the most of it, speak but of forty-three thousand foot, and three thousand
horse. Aristobulus says, he had not a fund of above seventy talents for their
pay, nor had he more than thirty days' provision, if we may believe Duris;
Onesicritus tells us, he was two hundred talents in debt. However narrow and
disproportionable the beginnings of so vast an undertaking might seem to be, yet
he would not embark his army until he had informed himself particularly what
means his friends had to enable them to follow him, and supplied what they
wanted, by giving good farms to some, a village to one, and the revenue of some
hamlet or harbor town to another. So that at last he had portioned out or
engaged almost all the royal property; which giving Perdiccas an occasion to ask
him what he would leave himself, he replied, his hopes. "Your soldiers," replied
Perdiccas, "will be your partners in those," and refused to accept of the estate
he had assigned him. Some others of his friends did the like, but to those who
willingly received, or desired assistance of him, he liberally granted it, as
far as his patrimony in Macedonia would reach, the most part of which was spent
in these donations.
With such vigorous resolutions, and his mind thus
disposed, he passed the Hellespont, and at Troy sacrificed to Minerva, and
honored the memory of the heroes who were buried there, with solemn libations;
especially Achilles, whose gravestone he anointed, and with his friends, as the
ancient custom is, ran naked about his sepulchre, and crowned it with garlands,
declaring how happy he esteemed him, in having while he lived so faithful a
friend, and when he was dead, so famous a poet to proclaim his actions. While he
was viewing the rest of the antiquities and curiosities of the place, being told
he might see Paris's harp, if he pleased, he said, he thought it not worth
looking on, but he should be glad to see that of Achilles, to which he used to
sing the glories and great actions of brave men.
In the meantime Darius's
captains having collected large forces, were encamped on the further bank of the
river Granicus, and it was necessary to fight, as it were, in the gate of Asia
for an entrance into it. The depth of the river, with the unevenness and
difficult ascent of the opposite bank, which was to be gained by main force, was
apprehended by most, and some pronounced it an improper time to engage, because
it was unusual for the kings of Macedonia to march with their forces in the
month called Daesius. But Alexander broke through these scruples, telling; them
they should call it a second Artemisius. And when Parmenio advised him not to
attempt anything that day, because it was late, he told him that he should
disgrace the Hellespont, should he fear the Granicus. And so without more
saying, he immediately took the river with thirteen troops of horse, and
advanced against whole showers of darts thrown from the steep opposite side,
which was covered with armed multitudes of the enemy's horse and foot,
notwithstanding the disadvantage of the ground and the rapidity of the stream;
so that the action seemed to have more of frenzy and desperation in it, than of
prudent conduct. However, he persisted obstinately to gain the passage, and at
last with much ado making his way up the banks, which were extremely muddy and
slippery, he had instantly to join in a mere confused hand-to-hand combat with
the enemy, before he could draw up his men, who were still passing over, into
any order. For the enemy pressed upon him with loud and warlike outcries; and
charging horse against horse, with their lances, after they had broken and spent
these, they fell to it with their swords. And Alexander, being easily known by
his buckler, and a large plume of white feathers on each side of his helmet, was
attacked on all sides, yet escaped wounding, though his cuirass was pierced by a
javelin in one of the joinings. And Rhoesaces and Spithridates, two Persian
commanders, falling upon him at once, he avoided one of them, and struck at
Rhoesaces, who had a good cuirass on, with such force, that his spear breaking
in his hand, he was glad to betake himself to his dagger. While they were thus
engaged, Spithridates came up on one side of him, and raising himself upon his
horse, gave him such a blow with his battle-axe on the helmet, that he cut off
the crest of it, with one of his plumes, and the helmet was only just so far
strong enough to save him, that the edge of the weapon touched the hair of his
head. But as he was about to repeat his stroke, Clitus, called the black Clitus,
prevented him, by running him through the body with his spear. At the same time
Alexander dispatched Rhoesaces with his sword. While the horse were thus
dangerously engaged, the Macedonian phalanx passed the river, and the foot on
each side advanced to fight. But the enemy hardly sustaining the first onset,
soon gave ground and fled, all but the mercenary Greeks, who, making a stand
upon a rising ground, desired quarter, which Alexander, guided rather by passion
than judgment, refused to grant, and charging them himself first, had his horse
(not Bucephalas, but another) killed under him. And this obstinacy of his to cut
off these experienced desperate men, cost him the lives of more of his own
soldiers than all the battle before, besides those who were wounded. The
Persians lost in this battle twenty thousand foot, and two thousand five hundred
horse. On Alexander's side, Aristobulus says there were not wanting above four
and thirty, of whom nine were foot-soldiers; and in memory of them he caused so
many statues of brass, of Lysippus's making, to be erected. And that the
Grecians might participate the honor of his victory, he sent a portion of the
spoils home to them, particularly to the Athenians three hundred bucklers, and
upon all the rest he ordered this inscription to be set: "Alexander the son of
Philip, and the Grecians, except the Lacedaemonians, won these from the
barbarians who inhabit Asia." All the plate and purple garments, and other
things of the same kind that he took from the Persians, except a very small
quantity which he reserved for himself, he sent as a present to his
mother.