ANIMA

【简介】
　　根据中国明代传奇作品《吴越春秋》而改编的昆曲剧目。原名《吴越春秋》，共45出。作者梁辰鱼，字伯龙，号少白，江苏昆山人。它借中国春秋时期吴、越两个诸侯国争霸的故事来表达对封建国家兴盛和衰亡历史规律的深沉思考。写吴王夫差率军打败越国，将越王勾践夫妇和越国大臣范蠡带到吴国充当人质。越王勾践战败被俘后，忍辱负重 ，奋发图强 ，听从范蠡的建议，定计将范蠡美丽无双的恋人浣纱女西施（施夷光），进献给吴王，意图用女色来消磨他的意志，离间吴国君臣，以彻底归顺的姿态取得了吴王的信任，吴王果然为西施的美貌所迷惑，废弛国政，杀害忠良。三年后被放回越国。越国君臣苦心经营，终于打败吴国取得成功，夫差自杀。范蠡功成名退，下定决心远离政治是非，携西施泛舟而去，寻找地方去过隐士生活。。此剧虽故事曲折、结构完整但不免结构冗长，但西施形象刻画得较为饱满，人物性格鲜明，它第一次成功地把水磨调用于舞台，并开拓了昆山腔传奇借助生旦爱情抒发兴亡之感的创作领域，唱词优美抒情，昆曲音乐与剧情结合得非常自然，许多富于创造性的音乐段落很好地加强了演出效果。随着《浣纱记》的上演，其中一些精彩的昆曲唱段成了社会上流行的音乐。在这种情况下，昆曲开始进入普通民众的生活。对清代洪升的《长生殿》和孔尚任的《桃花扇》有一定的影响。明以后在戏曲舞台上演出的西施故事，多源于《浣纱记》 ，《寄子》、《游湖》等零出，今昆曲仍在演唱。
【剧情】
　　剧情为春秋时期吴越争雄的故事。吴王夫差在相国伍员的支持下兴兵伐越欲报父仇，将越王勾践困于会稽山。勾践采纳大夫范蠡计谋，厚礼卑词吴王称臣，并携妻子大臣赴吴服役。勾践在吴三年，敝衣劳作，曲意事关。吴王不听伍员劝谏赦勾践还乡。越王卧薪尝胆，伺机复仇雪耻。范蠡举荐未婚妻西施使用美人计，西施与范蠡倾诉离情，并把当年定情物溪纱各留一半，互嘱毋忘。吴王色迷心窍不顾伍员反对，恣意荒淫。越国此时兵精粮足，又阴施计谋使吴年荒粮尽并出师伐齐，越乘机侵吴，西施又从中迷惑吴王，使吴大败，勾践拜谢西施。范蠡与西施登舟远遁。
　　《寄子》为《浣纱记》中一折，常在舞台上演出，讲的是伍子胥忠心耿耿，冒着灭族的危险死谏吴王，并把儿子寄养在齐国大夫鲍叔家的故事。
【作者简介】
    梁辰鱼（约1521-1594），字伯龙，号少白，别号仇池外史，江苏昆山人，明代戏曲作家，他首创用昆腔演唱传奇《浣沙记》，一时广为传播，为昆剧的发展起了很大作用。
【评析】
    《浣纱记》是明代中、晚期作家梁伯龙的代表作，是以吴越战争为题材的大型传奇作品，是第一次以改革后的昆山腔进行舞台演唱的典型之作。它的影响很大，曾流传海外，在戏曲历史上它与李开先的《宝剑记》、王世贞的《鸣凤记》是代表传奇繁兴的三部著名的政治戏。它打破才子佳人的俗套，开拓了新的题材领域，是了解中国古典戏曲的必读名著。
    作者所处时代背景和《浣纱记》的写作关系十分密切。这是一个由稳定转向动荡的时代，是明王朝由繁兴转向衰亡的关键时刻。从嘉靖时期起已是社会危机四伏了。综观一下作者所处的社会背景，会深化我们对《浣纱记》的认识。文艺总是时代的产物。
    嘉靖万历时期，是明王朝由盛转衰的关键时期。社会危机四伏，险象丛生，预示这个王朝的历史快要结束了。在南方的沿海有倭寇的骚扰，嘉靖三十二年，滨海千里，同时告警，江苏、浙江尤遭焚掠，这就是在作者身边发生的事。嘉靖二十九年北方鞑靼入侵，多次逼临北京城下，造成王朝的严重威胁；内部宦官与阁臣相互倾轧，吏治腐败至极。勋戚豪强进行大量土地兼并，赋役奇重，民不聊生。在江南地区的手工业生产中出现了资本主义的萌芽，早期的启蒙思想以李贽为代表，冲击着封建礼教和理学，这当然不是明王朝的吉兆。大凡一个濒临覆亡的王朝，在它的内部总会有些明智之士较早地察觉灭亡的先兆并较早地发生危机感。于隆庆元年入阁、万历元年任首辅的张居正，就是位胆识才略过人的改革家，他像抢救垂危病人一样地来抢救这个病入膏肓的王朝，改革的强心剂使它维持了十年左右，它的痼疾就恶化得不可收拾了，连张居正自己也在死后被抄了家。
梁伯龙就生活在这个历史的转折点上，他听见了时代的丧钟而敲起了警钟，他写出了《浣纱记》，前车之覆，后车之鉴，心情是痛苦的，不仅是他自己报国无门，其中还掺杂着时代的挽情。“试寻往古，伤心全寄词锋。”
时代的脉搏在《浣纱记》中跳动，这不是臆测。他自己完全清楚这是一部感时伤世之作。为避免当政者的猜疑，他在全剧的结尾处特别为自己洗刷嫌疑：“尽道梁郎见识无，反编勾践破姑苏。大明今日归一统，安问当年越与吴。”越是表白作品与现实无关，越是反证作品的强烈现实性。
    故事取材于东汉赵晔撰的《吴越春秋》，该剧原来即名《吴越春秋》：“看今古浣纱新记，旧名《吴越春秋》。”系根据史实又参照若干传说写成。
    历来的有关记载，总是把重点集中在对伍子胥、西施的评价和考证方面。至于从吴越战争中汲取什么历史教训，则很少提及。如说吴王要为子胥“复仇于楚”，子胥谏曰：“亏君之义，复父之仇，臣不为也。”《说苑补》　意在说明子胥伐楚，不是为报私仇。如说西施被沉于江，是为了“报子胥之忠”《识小录》　。因为传说子胥是被西施谮死的，意在说明女子是祸水。这一传说最早见于《墨子》：“西施之沉其美也。”因生得美丽而被沉江，这是女子祸水说的最早根据。围绕这一故事，还有溧阳女子投金，渔父渡子胥过江之种种传说。范蠡功成不受和西施扁舟归隐，则是根据杜牧诗“西子下姑苏，一舸逐鸱夷”附会而成范蠡号鸱夷子　。综观这些记载，其共同的着眼点都是落在道德的评价上。《浣纱记》的可贵处在于：作者从宏观的政治高度来涵盖这一规模庞大的历史题材，通过吴越两国的兴衰对比，揭示出封建时代国家兴衰的带有规律性的历史教训。作者站在纵向的历史长河的高度，以政治家的目光来俯瞰国家的兴废之道，探寻其盛衰之因，这是全剧的一个特别值得珍视的突出特点。它突破了明代传奇以生旦为主的狭窄的爱情主题范围和狭窄的题材规模，成了一部名副其实的罕见的政治戏。在从明初至嘉靖末年沉寂了将近二百年的戏曲历史中，《浣纱记》是一部别开生面的革新之作。我们应该把它放在戏曲历史的发展过程中来估量和认识它的价值。
    这部作品告诉人们，决定国家兴衰的关键人物是集一切权力于一身的国君，兴与衰要看他是昏君还是明主。今天看来，在以人治为特征的封建政体中，国家兴亡系于一身是必然的历史现象。更深刻的政治的和经济的原因也总是通过这一权力的顶峰体现的。他可以是昏庸、残暴，也可以是聪睿、开明。他们的善与恶、明与暗，不仅显现为国家兴废之因，而且往往成为王朝命运的吉凶征兆。《浣纱记》的作者采用对比的手法，塑造了两个截然相反的国君形象——吴王夫差和越王勾践，在两个榜样的正反辉映中来显示历史的教训。
    按照封建制度要求，衡量明主与昏君的尺标，主要看他勤奋还是荒嬉，简朴还是奢侈，骄纵还是谦冲，近忠还是信谗，明法还是滥刑，作者就是按照以上标准来塑造和评价勾践和夫差的。这是一面历史的镜子，让人们去照，主要是让在位的国君去照。
    因为“人君当神器之重，居域中之大”唐魏征语　，所以只要有一条不够标准就足以亡国。而吴王夫差的所作所为，败亡条件十足，明君的标准却一条也不够：他信任奸臣伯嚭，杀忠良伍员和说真话的公孙胜。纵宠西施，大兴土木，胜利使他头脑发昏，“歌舞的歌舞，打围的打围”，骄纵自满，目空一切，“遍江南独我尊，气凌空将湖海吞，看威行四海声名振”，刚结束战争，又要伐齐。越兵已攻破吴国，他还在外面与晋国争当盟主。他和伯嚭之间毫无君臣之礼，两人经常开低劣玩笑，不成样子。总之，作为一个亡国之君的“作料”他是齐备的。饶有趣味的是，作者虽在剧中宣布他的戏与现实无关，但夫差的形象，不禁使人想到明中叶以来，一个个昏庸皇帝的画像。从明英宗以来，历届皇帝都多年不上朝，政事委之太监，他们自己则昏天黑地荒淫迷信，冥顽贪残。“明末之君，多有不识字者”。“明朝费用甚奢，兴作亦广，一日之费，可抵今一年之用。其宫中脂粉钱四十万两，供用银数百万两”。“至世祖皇帝登极，始悉除之。明季宫女至九千人，内监至十万人，饭时不能遍及，日有饿死者，今则宫中不过四五百人而已”《李士桢李煦父子年谱》，王利器著　。这是清代康熙皇帝对明清两朝的奢与俭作出的比较，他曾亲眼见到明季太监，他的话是可靠的。可以看出这样一个王朝已经腐烂至极了，拿夫差的亡国作一面历史镜子对照一下，就不难看出明朝的现实如何岌岌可危，这也正是《浣纱记》作者的深心所在。当时身临其境的观众在看《浣纱记》的时候将会引起何种联想不问可知。
    剧中还塑造出一个与吴王夫差完全相反的明君形象——越王勾践。他是作者理想中的明君榜样。他居安思危，忍辱负重，谦恭纳谏，重用贤良。他被拘吴国在石室养马，夫差从姑苏台上远远看见他端坐中间，范蠡和夫人恭立左右，不禁发出感慨说：“彼勾践不过一小国之君，夫人不过一裙钗之女，范蠡不过一草莽之士，当此流离困苦之际，不失君臣夫妇之仪，殊为可怜，殊为可敬。”十四出《打围》　其实，“不失君臣夫妇之仪”正说明勾践怀有爱国的大志，吴王夫差由于骄满自负，看不出这是个危险的信号。作者塑造勾践形象意在说明，只要发奋图强，立志不，那么，亡国仍可以复国。这也是一面历史镜子，供明王朝自鉴。由于这是历史的事实，由于这一事实是通过具体的艺术形象展露的，还由于这两个形象是在鲜明的艺术对比中相互辉映的，所以作者所揭示的兴亡之因和历史教训，就具有异常的鲜明性和具体性。由此形成强大的艺术说服力。
从作品的人物安排中还透露出作者的另一重要构思，那就是国家兴亡的关键，除皇帝秉“神器之重”，还要看宰相的“调和鼎鼐”，“圣君”必须辅之以“贤相”。越之兴，吴之亡，和范蠡与伯嚭这两个人物大有关系。这又是两个正反相映的人物形象。
    吴国的伯嚭，在剧中占的篇幅相当多，他简直就是明代嘉靖时严嵩的画像。作者如此安排颇有深意：严嵩倾害夏言，夺得首辅诬杀刑部员外郎杨继盛，明世宗对他言听计从，揽权纳贿，大肆贪污。当时外患严重，东南有倭寇为患，北有俺答入侵。而严嵩之子严世番，竟然私通倭寇。只要我们把伯嚭这一形象放在当时的历史环境中去考虑，就会体察到严嵩的奸臣行径在伯嚭的形象中得到相当集中的反映，伯嚭陷害伍员，事夫差，私通越国，接受贿赂。这个历史上的伯嚭实际是戏剧化了的严嵩。当时的观众看到这一形象时，不可能不唤起对现实的微妙联想。
    剧中与伯嚭相互反衬的形象是范蠡，他是作者理想中的贤相，作者对国家民族的抱负主要是通过这个人物反映出来的。他机智多谋，忠心耿耿，胸怀大志，能屈能伸。凡在危急紧要处，都是他出来设计、应变，化险为夷。越国在濒临灭亡时刻，是他提出忍辱求生、俟机复国的主张。此后的一切都是按照他的计谋施行的，乃至买通伯嚭、劝越王尝粪、挑拨夫差和伍员的关系、进西施迷惑夫差、奉献神木、诱使夫差大兴土木耗费财力等种种亡吴诡计，都是出自他的运筹。他非常机警，就在勾践被赦回国的路上，他还提醒勾践“速宜前行，恐有他变”。吴国就在他设计的圈套中一步步地走向灭亡。难得的是，越王勾践能够识拔人才，对范蠡寄予十足信任，说明他是圣君。而范蠡不仅是智士，而且是忠臣，石室为奴，仍不废君臣之礼，于是圣君贤相，相得益彰。这是作者最高的政治理想境界。这个理想境界不仅和戏中的夫差、伯嚭形成鲜明的反衬，也反衬出明代现实中昏君奸相的丑恶嘴脸。
    西施，这一中国美女的典型，是作者重点描写的另一人物。作者超越“女人祸水”的传统观念，赋予她以爱国品质。灭吴之后，她被礼迎返越，受到勾践、越夫人、范蠡、文种的“拜谢”。历史上的美女受到君相们如此隆重的接待，她恐怕是惟一的一个。汉之赵飞燕、陈之张丽华、唐之杨玉环，都是以亡身败家告终的。惟西施不同，虽也有各种传说，但作者择取的是唐代杜牧的说法，与范蠡双双泛舟太湖，不知所终。给了她一个一尘不染、饱含诗意的归宿，反映出作者在一定程度上突破了士大夫的“美女祸水”的偏见。
    范蠡功成不受，固然是作者追求的一种最高尚的品格境界，最理想的英雄行为，但也隐含地透露作者对于政治倾轧的恐惧和鄙夷，对荣辱兴废瞬息万变的空幻之感。这是明代动荡不安的政局给作者的心理反应。在全剧结尾《泛湖》一出中，作了最逼真的心态写照。他认为勾践这个人“可与共患难，不可与其安乐”，“高鸟尽，良弓藏，狡兔死，走狗烹”，并看穿了封建帝王们从来都是有事有人、无事无人的，这是他的先机之见：“若少留滞，焉知今日之范蠡，不为昔日之伍胥”为了远害全身，只有隐遁：“早离了尘凡浊世，空回首骇弩危机。”他怀着满目兴亡之感，飘然远去：“呀看满目兴亡真惨凄，笑吴是何人越是谁”一切都是那么空幻无凭：“人生聚散皆如此，莫论兴和废，富贵如浮云，世事如儿戏，唯愿普天下做夫妻都是咱和你。”写的是范蠡，其实是作者的心境写照。激烈动荡的政局，使世间的荣辱兴废，常常以出人意料的速度变幻莫测，一切都显得那么不牢固，不可预测，知识分子的软弱心理是承担不了这一虎视眈眈的现实的，他们经常想从荣辱的漩涡中脱身，幻想一个安乐的藏身之所。于是一叶扁舟，和理想的情侣五里湖隐去，就成为令人神往的安乐窝了。这就是《泛湖》一出思想的内涵实体。它是明代中叶以来惶惶不可终日的政治现实在作者心里的曲折反应。
    《浣纱记》的语言藻丽华美，有比较高的文学价值。这种与“本色派”相反的艺术特征，在当时很有代表性。“自梁伯龙出，始为工丽滥觞。盖其生嘉隆间，正七子雄长之会，词尚华靡”《雨村曲话》，清李调元，此论有一定道理。“七子”的复古文艺思潮当时影响很大，《浣纱》十分讲求词藻的雕镂修饰，缺乏生动，可能是受“七子”影响所致。但应该看到《浣纱》有其生动一面，不是一味模古，也不同于《玉玦》、《玉合》诸戏的堆砌典故——当时称为“涩体”明徐复祚《曲论》　。《浣纱》的文辞华美，并不难懂。华美作为一种语言的艺术风格，是适应特定的生活和戏剧内容而产生的，不应该一律排斥。《浣纱》某些出目，语言优美，形象生动，是古典戏曲的佳作。如《游春》、《送饯》、《打围》、《采莲》、《吴刎》、《泛湖》等，其中有许多曲段，无论在抒发感情、烘染环境、刻画人物的心理活动等方面，都是相当精彩的。《游春》一出，写范蠡欣赏山阴道上景色：
    农务村村急，溪流处处斜，迤逦入烟霞，景堪夸，峰峦如画，拼把春衣沽酒，沉醉在山家，唱一声水红花也罗。
    景象逼真，历历如画。精雕细刻的文字却无斧痕之迹、自然流畅。春光明媚，山水清幽，读之如临其境。再如《采莲》一出，写西施为吴王唱歌，借采莲歌词，隐隐传出思忆范蠡的愁情：
秋江岸边莲子多，采莲女儿棹船歌，花房莲实齐戢戢，争前竞折歌绿波，恨逢长茎不得藕，断处丝多刺伤手，何时寻伴归去来，水远山长莫回首。
    字面上写采莲，内里却寄寓着深沉的相思之苦，情景交融，十分切贴。“恨逢长茎不得藕”，“藕”协“偶”音，意指不能和范蠡结成佳偶，下句“断处丝多刺伤手”，指莲茎折断而丝不断，象征连绵不绝的感情。茎刺伤手，指痛苦的别情。最后两句写她和范蠡相距遥远，不能结伴回乡，唤起无限感慨。写得非常美丽传情。类似的描写在剧中多处可见。所以认为《浣纱记》的语言是堆砌词藻典故，和《玉玦》之类等视，是不确切的。
    剧中若干出目对人物、场景的描写是生动形象的，构想是别致的。《寄子》、《飞报》、《同盟》、《吴刎》各出，都很有特色。《寄子》写伍员父子惨别之情，楚楚动人。今天昆曲舞台还经常演出。《吴刎》的表现手法很新颖，写夫差被越兵迫入绝境，心情惊乱。在阳山呼喊被他杀害的公孙胜名字，幕内回声，景象动人。写夫差死前的复杂心理活动，细腻逼真。总体来看，《浣纱记》在艺术上虽未达到第一流水平，但并非僵化雕琢之作，明代人的评价尚欠公允。
结构松散是其主要缺点。“间流冗长”《曲藻》。“梁伯龙辰鱼　作《浣纱记》，无论其关目散缓，无骨无筋，全无收摄……”徐复祚《曲论》这几句评价切中要害。全戏几乎找不到一个高潮，只是按照情节发展铺叙，给人冗长杂乱之感。说明作者面对这一庞大题材，缺乏剪裁结构之力。
    《浣纱记》在中国戏曲史上是一部重要剧作，它的重要意义不仅是把文人清唱的昆曲搬上舞台；就剧作本身来讲，也是一部有成就的优秀剧作。它突破了明代传奇以生旦为主的狭窄的爱情题材范围，把具有政治性和现实意义的历史故事引入戏剧，从而扩大了传奇的表现领域。在内容上这一庞大而复杂的历史事件为人们提供有益的教训。艺术上作为一个独立的艺术流派昆山派，有其鲜明特色和代表性，要了解中国戏曲，《浣纱记》不可忽视。

                                                                                      本文摘自百度网

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Ernst Haeckel

Born
February 16, 1834(1834-02-16)

Died
August 9, 1919 (aged 85)

Nationality
German

Ernst Haeckel.

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834 — August 9, 1919),^[1] also written von Haeckel, was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including phylum, phylogeny, ecology and the kingdom Protista. Haeckel promoted Charles Darwin's work in Germany and developed the controversial recapitulation theory ("ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny") claiming that an individual organism's biological development, or ontogeny, parallels and summarizes its species' entire evolutionary development, or phylogeny.

The published artwork of Haeckel includes over 100 detailed, multi-colour illustrations of animals and sea creatures (see: Kunstformen der Natur, "Artforms of Nature"). As a philosopher, Ernst Haeckel wrote Die Welträthsel (1895-1899, in English, The Riddle of the Universe, 1901), the genesis for the term "world riddle" (Welträthsel); and Freedom in Science and Teaching^[2] to support teaching evolution.

In the United States, Mount Haeckel, a 13,418 ft (4,090 m) summit in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, overlooking the Evolution Basin, is named in his honor, as are another Mount Haeckel, a 2,941 m (9,650 ft) summit in New Zealand; and the asteroid 12323 Häckel.

The Ernst Haeckel house ("Villa Medusa") in Jena, Germany contains a historic library.

Life

Sea anemones from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (Artforms of Nature) of 1904.

Ernst Haeckel: Christmas of 1860 (age 26)

Ernst Haeckel was born on February 16, 1834, in Potsdam (then part of Prussia). ^[3] In 1852, Haeckel completed studies at Cathedral High School (Domgymnasium) of Merseburg.^[3] He then studied medicine in Berlin, particularly with Albert von Kölliker, Franz Leydig, Rudolf Virchow (with whom he later worked briefly as assistant), and with anatomist-physiologist Johannes Peter Müller (1801-1858).^[3] In 1857, Haeckel attained a doctorate in medicine (M.D.), and afterwards he received a license to practice medicine. The occupation of physician appeared less worthwhile to Haeckel, after contact with suffering patients.^[3]

Haeckel studied under Carl Gegenbaur at the University of Jena for three years, earning a doctorate in zoology,^[3] before becoming a professor of comparative anatomy at the University of Jena, where he remained 47 years, from 1862-1909. Between 1859 and 1866, Haeckel worked on many invertebrate groups, including radiolarians, poriferans (sponges) and annelids (segmented worms).^[4] During a trip to the Mediterranean, Haeckel named nearly 150 new species of radiolarians.^{[4] [4]} Haeckel named thousands of new species from 1859 to 1887. ^[5]

From 1866 to 1867, Haeckel made an extended journey to the Canary Islands and during this time, Haeckel met with Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley and Charles Lyell.^[3] In 1867, he married Agnes Huschke. Their son Walter was born in 1868, their daughters Elizabeth in 1871 and Emma in 1873.^[3] In 1869, he traveled as a researcher to Norway, in 1871 to Dalmatia, and in 1873 to Egypt, Turkey, and to Greece.^[3] Haeckel retired from teaching in 1909, and in 1910 he withdrew from the Evangelical church.^[3] Haeckel's wife, Agnes, died in 1915, and Ernst Haeckel became substantially more frail, with a broken leg (thigh) and broken arm.^[3] He sold the mansion Medusa ("Villa Medusa") in 1918 to the Carl Zeiss foundation.^[3] Ernst Haeckel died on August 9, 1919.

Politics

Haeckel's political beliefs were influenced by his affinity for the German Romantic movement coupled with his acceptance of a form of Lamarckism. Rather than being a strict Darwinian Haeckel believed that racial characteristics were acquired through interactions with the environment and that phylogeny directly followed ontogeny. He believed the social sciences to be instances of "applied biology". Most of these arguments have been shown to be over-generalizations at best and flatly incorrect at worst in modern biology and social studies.^[4]

"First World War"

Haeckel was the first person known to use the term "First World War". Shortly after the start of the war Haeckel wrote:

“
There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared "European War"...will become the first world war in the full sense of the word.
”

Indianapolis Star, September 20, 1914^[6]

The "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1931, with the beginning realization that another global war might be possible, that there is any other recorded use of the term "First World War".

Research

Haeckel (left) with Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai, his assistant, in the Canaries, 1866.

Haeckel was a zoologist, an accomplished artist and illustrator, and later a professor of comparative anatomy. Although Haeckel's ideas are important to the history of evolutionary theory, and he was a competent invertebrate anatomist most famous for his work on radiolaria, many speculative concepts that he championed are now considered incorrect. For example, Haeckel described and named hypothetical ancestral microorganisms that have never been found.

He was one of the first to consider psychology as a branch of physiology. He also proposed many now ubiquitous terms including "phylum", "phylogeny", "ecology" ("oekologie"),^[5] and proposed the kingdom Protista^[3] in 1866. His chief interests lay in evolution and life development processes in general, including development of nonrandom form, which culminated in the beautifully illustrated Kunstformen der Natur (Art forms of nature). Haeckel did not support natural selection, rather believing in a Lamarckian inheritance of acquired characteristics (Lamarckism). ^[7]

Haeckel advanced the "recapitulation theory" which proposed a link between ontogeny (development of form) and phylogeny (evolutionary descent), summed up in the phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny". His concept of recapitulation has been disputed in the form he gave it (now called "strong recapitulation"). "Strong" recapitulation hypothesis views ontogeny as repeating forms of the ancestors, while "weak" recapitulation means that what is repeated (and built upon) is the ancestral embryonic development process. ^[8] He supported the theory with embryo drawings that have since been shown to be oversimplified and in part inaccurate, and the theory is now considered an oversimplification of quite complicated relationships. Haeckel introduced the concept of "heterochrony", which is the change in timing of embryonic development over the course of evolution.

Haeckel was a flamboyant figure. He sometimes took great (and non-scientific) leaps from available evidence. For example, at the time that Darwin first published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859), no remains of human ancestors had yet been found. Haeckel postulated that evidence of human evolution would be found in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and described these theoretical remains in great detail. He even named the as-of-yet unfound species, Pithecanthropus alalus, and charged his students to go find it. (Richard and Oskar Hertwig were two of Haeckel's many important students.)

One student did find the remains: a young Dutchman named Eugene Dubois went to the East Indies and dug up the remains of Java Man, the first human ancestral remains ever found. These remains originally carried Haeckel's Pithecanthropus label, though they were later reclassified as Homo erectus.

Romanes (1892) copy of Haeckel's controversial embryological drawings. Haeckel's embryos were shown on a black background, with lighter shading in the figures: It is claimed Haeckel emphasised the similarities unduly.

"Infamous" embryo drawings

It has been claimed (Richardson 1998, Richardson and Keuck 2002) that some of Haeckel's embryo drawings of 1874 were fabricated.^{[9] [10]} There were multiple versions of the embryo drawings, and Haeckel rejected the claims of fraud but did admit one error which he corrected. It was later said that "there is evidence of sleight of hand" on both sides of the feud between Haeckel and Wilhelm His, Sr..^[11] The controversy involves several different issues (see more details at: recapitulation theory).

Some creationists have claimed that Darwin relied on Haeckel's embryo drawings as proof of evolution^{[12] [13] [14]} to support their argument that Darwin's theory is therefore illegitimate and possibly fraudulent. This claim ignores the fact that Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, and The Descent of Man in 1871, whereas Haeckel's famous embryo drawings did not appear until 1874 (8 species). In The Descent of Man Darwin used only two embryo drawings, neither taken from Haeckel.^[15][16]

It has been claimed that Ernst Haeckel sent a letter to the January 9, 1909 publication of "Münchener Allgemeine Zeitung" (translated: "Munich general newspaper") which reads, translated: "a small portion of my embryo-pictures (possibly 6 or 8 in a hundred) are really (in Dr Brass’s sense of the word) 'falsified' — all those, namely, in which the disclosed material for inspection is so incomplete or insufficient that one is compelled in a restoration of a connected development series to fill up the gaps through hypotheses, and to reconstruct the missing members through comparative syntheses. What difficulties this task encounters, and how easily the draughts- man may blunder in it, the embryologist alone can judge."

Publications

Kunstformen - plate 72: Muscinae     Kunstformen - plate 96: Chaetopoda

Haeckel's literary output was extensive, working as a professor at the University of Jena for 47 years, and even at the time of the celebration of his sixtieth birthday at Jena in 1894, Haeckel had produced 42 works with nearly 13,000 pages, besides numerous scientific memoirs and illustrations. ^[17]

Haeckel's monographs include:

• Radiolaria (1862)
• Siphonophora (1869)
• Monera (1870)
• Calcareous Sponges (1872)

As well as several Challenger reports:

• Deep-Sea Medusae (1881)
• Siphonophora (1888)
• Deep-Sea Keratosa (1889)
• Radiolaria (1887)- illustrated with 140 plates and enumerating over four thousand (4000) new species.^[17]

Among his many books, Ernst Haeckel wrote:

• General Morphology (1866)
• Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte (1868) - in English, The Natural History of Creationa reprinted 1883
• Freie Wissenschaft und freie Lehre (1877), in English, Freedom in Science and Teaching, a reply to a speech in which Virchow objected to the teaching of evolution in schools, on the grounds that evolution was an unproven hypothesis.^[17]
• Die systematische Phylogenie (1894) - "Systematic Phylogeny", which has been considered as his best book^[17]
• Anthropogenie (1874, 5th and enlarged edition 1903) - dealing with the evolution of man
• Die Welträthsel (1895-1899), also spelled Die Welträtsel ("world-riddle") - in English The Riddle of the Universe, 1901^[17]
• Über unsere gegenwärtige Kenntnis vom Ursprung des Menschen (1898) - translated into English as The Last Link, 1808
• Der Kampf um den Entwickelungsgedanken (1905) - English version, Last Words on Evolution, 1906
• Die Lebenswunder (1904) - English "Wonder of Life", a supplement to the Riddle of the Universe

Books of travel:

• Indische Reisebriefe (1882) - "Travel notes of India"
• Aus Insulinde: Malayische Reisebriefe (1901) - "Travel notes of Malaysia"), the fruits of journeys to Ceylon and to Java
• Kunstformen der Natur (1904) - Artforms of Nature, with plates representing detailed marine animal forms
• Wanderbilder (1905) - "Travel Images", with reproductions of his oil-paintings and water-color landscapes.

A small forest elf (älva) rescuing
an egg, from Solägget (1932), by Elsa Beskow

An elf is a creature of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally imagined as a race of minor nature and fertility gods, who are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and underground places and caves, or in wells and springs. They have been portrayed to be long-lived or immortal and as beings of magical powers. Following J. R. R. Tolkien's influential The Lord of the Rings, wherein a wise, immortal people named Elves have a significant role, elves became staple characters of modern fantasy (see Elves in fantasy fiction and games).

Elves in Norse mythology

The god Frey, the lord of the light-elves

The earliest preserved description of elves comes from Norse mythology. In Old Norse they are called álfar (singular, nominative case: álfr), and although no older or contemporary descriptions exist, the appearance of beings etymologically related to álfar in various later folklore strongly suggests that the belief in elves was common among all the Germanic tribes, and not limited solely to the ancient Scandinavians.

Although the concept itself is never clearly defined in the extant sources, the elves appear to have been conceived as powerful and beautiful human-sized beings. The myths about elves have never been recorded. Full-sized famous men could be elevated to the rank of elves after death, such as the petty king Olaf Geirstad-Elf. The smith hero Völundr is identified as 'Ruler of Elves' (vísi álfa) and 'King of Elves' (álfa ljóði), in the poem Völundarkviða, whose later prose introduction also identifies him as the son of a king of 'Finns', an Arctic people respected for their shamanic magic. In the Thidrek's Saga a human queen is surprised to learn that the lover who has made her pregnant is an elf and not a man. In the saga of Hrolf Kraki a king named Helgi rapes and impregnates an elf-woman clad in silk who is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

Crossbreeding was consequently possible between elves and humans in the Old Norse belief. The human queen who had an elvish lover bore the hero Högni, and the elf-woman who was raped by Helgi bore Skuld, who married Hjörvard, Hrólfr Kraki's killer. The saga of Hrolf Kraki adds that since Skuld was half-elven, she was very skilled in witchcraft (seiðr), and this to the point that she was almost invincible in battle. When her warriors fell, she made them rise again to continue fighting. The only way to defeat her was to capture her before she could summon her armies, which included elvish warriors.^[4]

There are also in the Heimskringla and in The Saga of Thorstein, Viking's Son accounts of a line of local kings who ruled over Álfheim, corresponding to the modern Swedish province Bohuslän and Norwegian province Østfold, and since they had elven blood they were said to be more beautiful than most men.

The land governed by King Alf was called Alfheim, and all his offspring are related to the elves. They were fairer than any other people...^[5]

The last king is named Gandalf.^[6]

The hero Völundr the 'ruler of the elves' (vísi álfar), sometimes thought to be dwarves, nicknamed 'dark elves' (dökkálfar)

In addition to these human aspects, they are commonly described as semi-divine beings associated with fertility and the cult of the ancestors and ancestor worship. The notion of elves thus appears similar to the animistic belief in spirits of nature and of the deceased, common to nearly all human religions; this is also true for the Old Norse belief in dísir, fylgjur and vörðar ("follower" and "warden" spirits, respectively). Like spirits, the elves were not bound by physical limitations and could pass through walls and doors in the manner of ghosts, which happens in Norna-Gests þáttr. It is said that elves are the Germanic equivalent to the nymphs of Greek and Roman mythology, and vili and rusalki of Slavic mythology.^{[citation needed]}

The Icelandic mythographer and historian Snorri Sturluson referred to dwarves (dvergar) as "dark-elves" (dökkálfar) or "black-elves" (svartálfar); but whether this reflects wider medieval Scandinavian belief is uncertain.^[7] He referred to other elves as "light-elves" (ljósálfar), which has often been associated with elves' connection with Freyr, the god of the sun (according to Grímnismál, Poetic Edda). Snorri describes the elf differences as follows:

"There is one place there [in the sky] that is called the Elf Home (Álfheimr). People live there that are named the light elves (Ljósálfar). But the dark elves (Dökkálfar) live below in earth, and they are unlike them in appearance – and more unlike them in reality. The Light Elves are brighter than the sun in appearance, but the Dark Elves are blacker than pitch." (Snorri, Gylfaginning 17, Prose Edda)

"Sá er einn staðr þar, er kallaðr er Álfheimr. Þar byggvir fólk þat, er Ljósálfar heita, en Dökkálfar búa niðri í jörðu, ok eru þeir ólíkir þeim sýnum ok miklu ólíkari reyndum. Ljósálfar eru fegri en sól sýnum, en Dökkálfar eru svartari en bik."^[8]

Further evidence for elves in Norse mythology comes from Skaldic poetry, the Poetic Edda and legendary sagas. In these elves are linked to the Æsir, particularly by the common phrase "Æsir and the elves", which presumably means "all the gods".^[9] Some scholars have compared elves to the Vanir (fertility gods).^[10] But in the Alvíssmál ("The Sayings of All-Wise"), elves are considered distinct from both the Vanir and the Æsir, as revealed by a series of comparative names in which Æsir, Vanir, and elves are given their own versions for various words in a reflection of their individual racial preferences. It is possible that the words designate a difference in status between the major fertility gods (the Vanir) and the minor ones (the elves). Grímnismál relates that the Van Frey was the lord of Álfheimr (meaning "elf-world"), the home of the light-elves. Lokasenna relates that a large group of Æsir and elves had assembled at Ægir's court for a banquet. Several minor forces, the servants of gods, are presented such as Byggvir and Beyla, who belonged to Freyr, the lord of the elves, and they were probably elves, since they were not counted among the gods. Two other mentioned servants were Fimafeng (who was murdered by Loki) and Eldir.

Some speculate that Vanir and elves belong to an earlier Nordic Bronze Age religion of Scandinavia, and were later replaced by the Æsir as main gods.^{[citation needed]} Others (most notably Georges Dumézil) argue that the Vanir were the gods of the common Norsemen, and the Æsir those of the priest and warrior castes (see also Nerthus).^{[citation needed]}

A poem from around 1020, the Austrfaravísur ('Eastern-journey verses') of Sigvat Thordarson, mentions that, as a Christian, he was refused board in a heathen household, in Sweden, because an álfablót ("elves' sacrifice") was being conducted there. However, we have no further reliable information as to what an álfablót involved,^[11] but like other blóts it probably included the offering of foods, and later Scandinavian folklore retained a tradition of sacrificing treats to the elves (see below). From the time of year (close to the autumnal equinox) and the elves' association with fertility and the ancestors, we might assume that it had to do with the ancestor cult and the life force of the family.

In addition to this, Kormáks saga accounts for how a sacrifice to elves was apparently believed able to heal a severe battle wound:

Þorvarð healed but slowly; and when he could get on his feet he went to see Þorðís, and asked her what was best to help his healing.

"A hill there is," answered she, "not far away from here, where elves have their haunt. Now get you the bull that Kormák killed, and redden the outer side of the hill with its blood, and make a feast for the elves with its flesh. Then thou wilt be healed."^[12]

Scandinavian elves

Little älvor, playing with Tomtebobarnen. From Children of the Forest (1910) by Swedish author and illustrator Elsa Beskow.

In Scandinavian folklore, which is a later blend of Norse mythology and elements of Christian mythology, an elf is called elver in Danish, alv in Norwegian, and alv or älva in Swedish (the first is masculine, the second feminine). The Norwegian expressions seldom appear in genuine folklore, and when they do, they are always used synonymous to huldrefolk or vetter, a category of earth-dwelling beings generally held to be more related to Norse dwarves than elves which is comparable to the Icelandic huldufólk (hidden people).

In Denmark and Sweden, the elves appear as beings distinct from the vetter, even though the border between them is diffuse. The insect-winged fairies in British folklore are often called "älvor" in modern Swedish or "alfer" in Danish, although the correct translation is "feer". In a similar vein, the alf found in the fairy tale The Elf of the Rose by Danish author H. C. Andersen is so tiny that he can have a rose blossom for home, and has "wings that reached from his shoulders to his feet". Yet, Andersen also wrote about elvere in The Elfin Hill. The elves in this story are more alike those of traditional Danish folklore, who were beautiful females, living in hills and boulders, capable of dancing a man to death. Like the huldra in Norway and Sweden, they are hollow when seen from the back.

The "Elf cross" which protected against malevolent elves.^[13]

The elves of Norse mythology have survived into folklore mainly as females, living in hills and mounds of stones.^[14] The Swedish älvor.^[15] (sing. älva) were stunningly beautiful girls who lived in the forest with an elven king. They were long-lived and light-hearted in nature. The elves are typically pictured as fair-haired, white-clad, and (like most creatures in the Scandinavian folklore) nasty when offended. In the stories, they often play the role of disease-spirits. The most common, though also most harmless case was various irritating skin rashes, which were called älvablåst (elven blow) and could be cured by a forceful counter-blow (a handy pair of bellows was most useful for this purpose). Skålgropar, a particular kind of petroglyph found in Scandinavia, were known in older times as älvkvarnar (elven mills), pointing to their believed usage. One could appease the elves by offering them a treat (preferably butter) placed into an elven mill – perhaps a custom with roots in the Old Norse álfablót.

The "Elf cross" which protected against malevolent elves.

In order to protect themselves against malevolent elves, Scandinavians could use a so-called Elf cross (Alfkors, Älvkors or Ellakors), which was carved into buildings or other objects.^[13] It existed in two shapes, one was a pentagram and it was still frequently used in early 20th century Sweden as painted or carved onto doors, walls and household utensils in order to protect against elves.^[13] As the name suggests, the elves were perceived as a potential danger against people and livestock.^[13] The second form was an ordinary cross carved onto a round or oblong silver plate.^[13] This second kind of elf cross one was worn as a pendant in a necklace and in order to have sufficient magic it had to be forged during three evenings with silver from nine different sources of inherited silver.^[13] In some locations it also had to be on the altar of a church during three consecutive Sundays.^[13]

Ängsälvor, "meadow elves", (1850), painting by Nils Blommér.

Älvalek, "Dancing elves", (1866), painting by August Malmström.

The elves could be seen dancing over meadows, particularly at night and on misty mornings. They left a kind of circle where they had danced, which were called älvdanser (elf dances) or älvringar (elf circles), and to urinate in one was thought to cause venereal diseases. Typically, elf circles were fairy rings consisting of a ring of small mushrooms, but there was also another kind of elf circle:

On lake shores, where the forest met the lake, you could find elf circles. They were round places where the grass had been flattened like a floor. Elves had danced there. By Lake Tisaren,^[16] I have seen one of those. It could be dangerous and one could become ill if one had trodden over such a place or if one destroyed anything there.^[14]

If a human watched the dance of the elves, he would discover that even though only a few hours seemed to have passed, many years had passed in the real world. (This time phenomenon is retold in Tolkien's Silmarillion when Thingol watches Melian dance. It also has a remote parallel in the Irish sídhe.) In a song from the late Middle Ages about Olaf Liljekrans, the elven queen invites him to dance. He refuses, he knows what will happen if he joins the dance and he is on his way home to his own wedding. The queen offers him gifts, but he declines. She threatens to kill him if he does not join, but he rides off and dies of the disease she sent upon him, and his young bride dies of a broken heart.^[17]

However, the elves were not exclusively young and beautiful. In the Swedish folktale Little Rosa and Long Leda, an elvish woman (älvakvinna) arrives in the end and saves the heroine, Little Rose, on condition that the king's cattle no longer graze on her hill. She is described as an old woman and by her aspect people saw that she belonged to the subterraneans.^[18]

These myths and legends of elves that are so popular among Scandinavians, are quite prevalent in their everyday lives. It has been said that to this day, many Scandinavians do still believe in this existence of " hidden people", and will often go out of their way to see that they do not disturb these creatures. For example, just outside of Reykjavik, Iceland, a soccer game was called to a halt when a misled ball rolled off the beaten path, and stopped right next to a sign that marked the home of 3 elves believed to dwell near the stones where the ball was resting. Instead of reclaiming the ball, the soccer player opted to leave it there in order to avoid disturbing the elves.

Icelandic elves

Natives of Iceland either believe in elves or are unwilling to rule out their existence.^[19] Several Icelanders believe in huldufólk or “hidden folk”, the elves that dwell in rock formations. If the natives don’t explicitly express their belief, they are certainly reluctant to express disbelief.^[20] A 2006 and 2007 study on superstition by the University of Iceland’s Faculty of Social Sciences supervised by Terry Gunnell (associate folklore professor), reveal that natives would not rule out the existence of elves and ghosts (similar results of a 1974 survey by Professor Erlendur Haraldsson, Fréttabladid reports). Gunnel stated: “Icelanders seem much more open to phenomena like dreaming the future, forebodings, ghosts and elves than other nations.” His results were consistent with a similar study conducted in 1974.^[21]

German elves

The original German elves (Old Saxon alf; Middle High German: alb, alp; plural elbe, elber; Old High German alb, by 13th century^[22]) are thought to be light creatures who lived in heaven during the era of Germanic paganism, and may have included dark elves or dwarves underground (as understood to be similar to the álfr of Old Norse mythology). In post-Christian folklore they began to be described as mischievous pranksters that could cause disease to cattle and people, and bring bad dreams to sleepers. The German word for nightmare, Albtraum, means "elf dream". The archaic form Albdruck means "elf pressure"; it was believed that nightmares are a result of an elf sitting on the dreamer's chest. This aspect of German elf-belief largely corresponds to the Scandinavian belief in the mara. It is also similar to the legends regarding incubi and succubi.^[23]

As noted above, an elven king occasionally appears among the predominantly female elves in Denmark and Sweden. In the German middle-age epic the Nibelungenlied, a dwarf named Alberich play an important role. Alberich literally translates as "elf-sovereign", further contributing to the elf–dwarf confusion observed already in the Younger Edda. Via the French Alberon, the same name has entered English as Oberon – king of elves and fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (see below).

The legend of Der Erlkönig appears to have originated in fairly recent times in Denmark and Goethe based his poem on "Erlkönigs Tochter" ("Erlkönig's Daughter"), a Danish work translated into German by Johann Gottfried Herder.

The Erlkönig's nature has been the subject of some debate. The name translates literally from the German as "Alder King" rather than its common English translation, "Elf King" (which would be rendered as Elfenkönig in German). It has often been suggested that Erlkönig is a mistranslation from the original Danish ellerkonge or elverkonge, which does mean "elf king".

According to German and Danish folklore, the Erlkönig appears as an omen of death, much like the banshee in Irish mythology. Unlike the banshee, however, the Erlkönig will appear only to the person about to die. His form and expression also tell the person what sort of death they will have: a pained expression means a painful death, a peaceful expression means a peaceful death. This aspect of the legend was immortalised by Goethe in his poem Der Erlkönig, later set to music by Schubert.

In the first story of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Die Wichtelmänner, the title protagonists are two naked mannequins, which help a shoemaker in his work. When he rewards their work with little clothes, they are so delighted, that they run away and are never seen again. Even though Wichtelmänner are akin to beings such as kobolds, dwarves and brownies, the tale has been translated into English as The Elves and the Shoemaker, and is echoed in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter stories (see House-elf).

Variations of the German elf in folklore include the moss people^[24] and the weisse frauen ("white women"). On the latter Jacob Grimm does not make a direct association to the elves, but other researchers see a possible connection to the shining light elves of Old Norse.^[25]

Dutch elves

Dutch elves are like the German, in most respects. See the discussion of the Dutch "elf spirit" or "elf ghost" in Elegast, the wood people and the elvenized witte wieven.

English elves

Poor little birdie teased, by Victorian era illustrator Richard Doyle depicts the traditional view of an elf from later English folklore as a diminutive woodland humanoid.

The word elf came into Modern English as the Old English word ælf (pl. ælfe, with regional and chronological variants such as ylfe and ælfen), and so came to Britain originally with the Anglo-Saxons.^[26] Words for the nymphs of the Greek and Roman mythos were translated by Anglo-Saxon scholars with ælf and variants on it.^[27]

Although our early English evidence is slight, there are reasons to think that Anglo-Saxon elves (ælfe) were similar to early elves in Norse mythology: human-like, human-sized supernatural beings, predominantly if not exclusively male, capable of helping or harming the people who encountered them. In particular, the pairing of æsir and álfar found in the Poetic Edda is mirrored in the Old English charm Wið færstice and in the distinctive occurrence of the cognate words os and ælf in Anglo-Saxon personal names (e.g. Oswald, Ælfric^[28]).

In relation to the beauty of the Norse elves, some further evidence is given by old English words such as ælfsciene ("elf-beautiful"), used of seductively beautiful Biblical women in the Old English poems Judith and Genesis A.^[29] Although elves could be considered to be beautiful and potentially helpful beings in some sections of English-speaking society throughout its history, Anglo-Saxon evidence also attests to alignments of elves with demons, as for example in line 112 of Beowulf. On the other hand, oaf is simply a variant of the word elf, presumably originally referring to a changeling or to someone stupefied by elvish enchantment.

Elf-shot (or elf-bolt or elf-arrow) is a word found in Scotland and Northern England, first attested in a manuscript of about the last quarter of the 16th century. Although first attested in the sense 'sharp pain caused by elves', it is later attested denoting Neolithic flint arrow-heads, which by the 17th century seem to have been attributed in the region to elvish folk, and which were used in healing rituals, and alleged to be used by witches (and perhaps elves) to injure people and cattle.^[30] So too a tangle in the hair was called an elf-lock, as being caused by the mischief of the elves, and sudden paralysis was sometimes attributed to elf-stroke. Compare with the following excerpt from an 1750 ode by Willam Collins:

There every herd, by sad experience, knows

How, winged with fate, their elf-shot arrows fly,

When the sick ewe her summer food forgoes,

Or, stretched on earth, the heart-smit heifers lie.^[31]

The elf makes many appearances in ballads of English and Scottish origin, as well as folk tales, many involving trips to Elphame or Elfland (the Álfheim of Norse mythology), a mystical realm which is sometimes an eerie and unpleasant place. The elf is occasionally portrayed in a positive light, such as the Queen of Elphame in the ballad Thomas the Rhymer, but many examples exist of elves of sinister character, frequently bent on rape and murder, as in the Tale of Childe Rowland, or the ballad Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight, in which the Elf-Knight bears away Isabel to murder her. Most instances of elves in ballads are male; the only commonly encountered female elf is the Queen of Elfland, who appears in Thomas the Rhymer and The Queen of Elfland's Nourice, in which a woman is abducted to be a wet-nurse to the queen's baby, but promised that she may return home once the child is weaned. In none of these cases is the elf a spritely character with pixie-like qualities.

English folktales of the early modern period commonly portray elves as small, elusive people with mischievous personalities. They are not evil but might annoy humans or interfere in their affairs. They are sometimes said to be invisible. In this tradition, elves became similar to the concept of fairies.

Successively, the word elf, as well as literary term fairy, evolved to a general denotation of various nature spirits like Puck, hobgoblin, Robin Goodfellow, the Scots brownie, and so forth. These terms, like their relatives in other European languages, are no longer clearly distinguished in popular folklore.

Significant for the distancing of the concept of elves from its mythological origins was the influence from literature. In Elizabethan England, William Shakespeare imagined elves as little people. He apparently considered elves and fairies to be the same race. In Henry IV, part 1, act II, scene iv, he has Falstaff call Prince Henry, "you starveling, you elfskin!", and in his A Midsummer Night's Dream, his elves are almost as small as insects. On the other hand, Edmund Spenser applies elf to full-sized beings in The Faerie Queene.

The influence of Shakespeare and Michael Drayton made the use of elf and fairy for very small beings the norm. In Victorian literature, elves usually appeared in illustrations as tiny men and women with pointed ears and stocking caps. An example is Andrew Lang's fairy tale Princess Nobody (1884), illustrated by Richard Doyle, where fairies are tiny people with butterfly wings, whereas elves are tiny people with red stocking caps. There were exceptions to this rule however, such as the full-sized elves who appear in Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter.

There is a legend concerning the Buckthorn vows that if one sprinkles Buckthorn in a circle and then dances within it under a full Moon, an elf will appear. The dancer must notice the elf and say, 'Halt and grant my boon!' before the creature flees. The elf will then grant one wish.

The Hermit (IX) is the ninth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

Description

A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations. However, not all interpretations follow his theology.

Some frequent keywords are:^{[citation needed]}

• Introspection ----- Silence ----- Guidance ----- Reflection

• Solitude ----- Looking inward ----- Reclusion ----- Being quiet

• Inner search ----- Deep understanding ----- Isolation

• Distance ----- Retreat ----- Philosophical attitude

Interpretation

The hermit has internalized the lessons of life to the point that he is the lesson.

There are two major ways this card can be interpreted: First; the need to withdraw from society to become comfortable with himself; Second, the need to come out of isolation to share his knowledge with others.

Mythopoetic Approach

An old hermit walked around the village and the area day and night, and even in daylight still carried a lit lantern. One day the villagers had enough curiosity to ask him "Sir, why do you carry your lantern lit in daylight?" He said, "Because I'm searching for an honest man."

This is a story most often attributed to Diogenes of Sinope, one major contributor to the Cynic "school" of philosophy.

There are several different cycles embedded in the Major Arcana. One of them is 1-9, 10-19. The Magician to the Hermit; the Wheel of Fortune through The Sun. The Fool gains knowledge of the external world, meets the mysteries, finds the initial object of desire, finds mastery, finds knowledge, finds a new object of desire, leaves home, gains some strength, and withdraws for a time to integrate the lessons learned before starting on the next turn of the spiral, where the Wheel of Fortune spins us into a new adventure.

Alternately, The Hermit may be the old man or woman, metaphorically, that we meet who gives us the insights or tools or training we need to confront the beasts of the forest, the sealed cave, the gated castle, the wormhole.

The Hermit is related through a cross sum (the sum of the digits) to The Moon. While The Hermit, mostly, integrates the lessons of the sunlit world, the Moon stands at the threshold of light and dark and churns the waters of life. In both cases, treasures can be uncovered through contemplation of what is brought forth. In both cases, monsters may be found.

Some say that The Hermit is a Threshold Guardian, representing an obstacle the Querant, the hero of the piece, must overcome to move on.

A potentially dangerous aspect of The Hermit is his retreat, his isolation. We all need to retreat sometimes; retreat and renewal are necessary for growth. But The Hermit may be tempted to completely withdraw from the world, not because the journey is done, but because the dragons of the real are too daunting, or because the trivial pleasures of the cave are too intoxicating. Withdraw at the wrong time, stay withdrawn too long, and growth stops. The cowl The Hermit wears protects him and isolates him. Hopefully, at some point, he casts it off and rejoins the world.

Some say that The Hermit represents the time we learn our true names; who we really are. The Greek philosopher Thales is reported to have been asked “what is the most difficult of all things?” To which he is said to have answered “To know yourself.” The Hermit is given time to obey the Delphic Oracle’s demand: know thyself.

The design has been alleged to represent the historic hermit from Ancient Greece, Diogenes, who with his lantern was looking for an honest man. The name "hermit" is also from the name of the Greek god Hermes.

基本资料：
姓名：尾崎 豊（ozaki yutaka /おざき ゆたか）
生日：1965年11月29日
身高： 178ｃm
血型：B型
学历：青山学院高等部中退
出身地：东京都世田谷区
逝世：1992年4月25日
生平
65/11/29 东京都练马区春日町出生/小学五、六年级因上学恐惧症，越区转学至朝霞市立第二小学校
82年 新力音乐歌唱甄选合格/第一张专辑
83/12/01《十七岁的地图》出道成名曲《15之夜》
84/01/25 青山学院高等部自行退学 '84/08/04日比谷野外音乐堂表演时，7公尺高的照明灯砸下， 左脚骨折的他坚持唱完最后一首歌，次日的演唱因此意外中止
85/10/25 成年前最后一张专辑《Through The Broken Door》
86/1 单身赴美一年... 87年1月归日
87/12/22 因违反《觉醒剂取缔法》被捕，在东京拘置所作《Cold Jail Night》，次年2/22释放
88/5/12 与繁美结婚
89/7/24 长男裕哉诞生，为新生儿作《BIRTH"和"HAPPY BIRTHDAY》，收录于"诞生"双CD专辑
90/12/19 个人事务所独立，名号“同位素”
逝世 92/4/25 12:06 死因：官方公布为肺水肿（其真实原因至今仍是谜）
追悼式及同年其他
4/30 正午文京区护国寺四万多人雨中送悼
5/10 单曲《污损的羁绊》及专辑《生存的告白》发行，当日售罄
6/10 "TOUR '92 放热的证明"演唱会中止
6/20 未完成的小说「黄昏的街」由角川书店出版
简介
　　在８０年代中后期，尾崎丰作为“十代”（１０岁至１９岁年龄段）人的精神领袖一跃成为日本歌坛巨星。所以，“一个时代的歌唱者”这一称号对尾崎丰来说是再也合适不过了。
　　在他崭露头角的８０年代，日本校园中暴力泛滥，物质生活的充裕并未使学生的精神生活得到丰富和满足，陈旧过时的教育政策使“十代”人在精神上十分空虚，叛逆的情绪在滋生和蔓延。尾崎丰生长在这种环境中，他很快对这种现状作出了反应，向成人世界发起了大胆的挑战。
　　１９８４年６月，１８岁的尾崎丰在东京日比谷公园举行的反核音乐会上演出时从６米高的舞台照明灯钢架上纵身跳下，摔断了双腿仍继续演唱。所有人对他脸上忍住剧痛的表情留下了深刻的印象。这是所有关于尾崎丰的“神话”中最为人津津乐道的一段故事。
１９９２年４月２５日清晨，尾崎丰被人发现昏睡在街边后被送往医院抢救，当日中午因肺水肿（？）去世。时年２６岁。
尾崎丰在十七岁时就参加了cbs sony 唱片公司的甄试
当时他自已所录制的试听带，就让人有一种既新鲜又暴乱的感觉
深深的感动人心，好像他把自已的愤怒.烦恼，痛苦寄托在歌曲中
甄试会後没多久，他以第一名的成绩被sony录取签约，在1983年12月
就推出了单曲15之夜，大碟十七岁的地图而出道
在摇滚界中，有许多的人才，但却没有一个可以取代他的地位
因为他不是佐野元春型，也不是矢泽永吉型
从一出道开始，他就是尾崎丰
记得他的第一次现场演唱会，也是座无虚席，大家都因他的表现而为之疯狂
他的每一首歌都彷佛替年轻人道出了他们的心声
因此有很多年轻人都奉他为英雄
他接受记者访问时曾如此说：我会为了想听我的音乐的人们继续我的创作
我相信我的感性与灵感，所以我会继续的加油，感动更多人的心
在许多人的印象中，尾崎给人的感觉是[不良]的
但这也是他对自已的人生太严格的缘故
所以他才敢向一些危险的事物挑战
就在继续挑战的生涯旅程中，他突然的远离了大家
1992年4月30日在东京护国寺举行了尾崎丰的告别式
当天中午11点的时候，会场已经聚集了2万2千多人了
虽然下著雨，但很多歌迷们连雨伞都没撑，望著会场会尾崎的遗像而流泪
会场中不断播放著尾崎的名曲，很多歌迷们一直站在遗像面前不愿离去
而且出现了好几次歌迷们大合唱的情形
护国寺的人群就这样一直没有减少.，直到下午4点过後还继续著告别式
有很多学生.上班族的人士都请了假，特地搭乘新干线前来.当天到达的人潮估计超过4万人
下午2点半当遗体放入棺材要抬上灵车时，有些歌迷们失去了控制
追著灵车大喊 不要走 不要走 场面不禁使人心酸
最後尾崎丰的夫人繁美要离开会场时向大家说道：
虽然尾崎已经消失在大家的眼前了
但只要大家依然深爱著他曾经给各位心灵有所支持的作品
相信他会永远活在大家的心中
永眠
崎玉县狭山市的狭山湖畔灵园
尾崎丰纪念馆
东京涩谷区惠比寿二町目

个人官方网站（日文）
http://www.ozaki.org/
歌友网站（日文）
http://www.ozaki.co.jp/
索尼唱片尾崎丰网页（日文）
http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/Info/ozaki/