The Intelligence of Flowers
Published on 21. November 2007
Book
Hardback
106 pages
978-0-7914-7273-6 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the 2008 Prix de la Traduction Litteraire presented by French Community of Belgium
The second of Maeterlinck's four celebrated nature essays-along with those on the life of the bee, ant, and termite-"The Intelligence of Flowers" (1907) represents his impassioned attempt to popularize scientific knowledge for an international audience. Writing with characteristic eloquence, Maeterlinck asserts that flowers possess the power of thought without knowledge, a capacity that constitutes a form of intelligence. Appearing one hundred years after the first publication, Philip Mosley's new translation of the original French essay, and the related essay "Scents," maintains the verve of Maeterlinck's prose and renders it accessible to the present-day reader. This is a book for those who are excited by creative encounters between literature and science as well as current debates on the relationship of humankind to the natural world.
The second of Maeterlinck's four celebrated nature essays-along with those on the life of the bee, ant, and termite-"The Intelligence of Flowers" (1907) represents his impassioned attempt to popularize scientific knowledge for an international audience. Writing with characteristic eloquence, Maeterlinck asserts that flowers possess the power of thought without knowledge, a capacity that constitutes a form of intelligence. Appearing one hundred years after the first publication, Philip Mosley's new translation of the original French essay, and the related essay "Scents," maintains the verve of Maeterlinck's prose and renders it accessible to the present-day reader. This is a book for those who are excited by creative encounters between literature and science as well as current debates on the relationship of humankind to the natural world.
Reviews / Votes
"...a wonderfully enjoyable, insightful and worthwhile read ... This work would be of interest to anyone excited by the remarkable process of the plant world and would expressly appeal to gardeners and flower growers." - Huntia"A rare gem, written ... in lyrical and accessible prose." - The Times Literary Supplement
"...Maeterlinck is a seductive essayist ... [and] writes with the same intrinsic humility that will be familiar to admirers of John Muir, Aldo Leopold, or Mary Oliver." - The Boston Globe
"That the intelligence of flowers provides Maeterlinck with a theory riddled with contradictions-mostly as a result of his metaphoric reasoning-seems less important than the fundamental truths of the metaphors unto themselves. As a result, 'The Intelligence of Flowers' is happily welcome once more, in this centenary reissue." - San Francisco Chronicle
"The republication of Maurice Maeterlinck's 'The Intelligence of Flowers,' regrettably forgotten in our time, is long overdue. The introduction by Mosley is itself a gem, and contains one of the best overviews in print of writings about intelligence in Nature." - Stephen Harrod Buhner, author of The Secret Teachings of Plants: The Intelligence of the Heart in the Direct Perception of Nature
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Illustrations
Total Illustrations: 0
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
236 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7914-7273-6 (9780791472736)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Maurice Maeterlinck
The Intelligence of Flowers
E-Book
12/2013
1st Edition
State University of New York Press
from
€48.99
Available for download
Persons
The Belgian author Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) is remembered best as a pioneer of Symbolist drama in the 1890s. Recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911, Maeterlinck was also a prolific and accomplished essayist. Philip Mosley is Professor of English, Communications, and Comparative Literature at Penn State University.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Intelligence of Flowers
Scents
On the Publication History of Maeterlinck's Botanical Essays
Select Bibliography
Introduction
The Intelligence of Flowers
Scents
On the Publication History of Maeterlinck's Botanical Essays
Select Bibliography