Carol:
Biting the Apple: It’s Not All About Eve
The best way to determine whether an apple is sweet or sour
is to eat it. Only thus can one decide what at sight is a doubtful condition of the
apple. (Adna R. Chaffee, Lieutenant-General U.S.A. Retired)
I don’t know anything about the background of the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, or the Boxer Rebellion. Adna Chaffee not only fought in all of those wars, but he rose in rank to become the Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1904-1906. I know this because out of a slight vexation with T#59 “The Valor of Ignorance,” I googled the topic.
is to eat it. Only thus can one decide what at sight is a doubtful condition of the
apple. (Adna R. Chaffee, Lieutenant-General U.S.A. Retired)
I don’t know anything about the background of the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, or the Boxer Rebellion. Adna Chaffee not only fought in all of those wars, but he rose in rank to become the Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1904-1906. I know this because out of a slight vexation with T#59 “The Valor of Ignorance,” I googled the topic.
 |
| Lieutenant-General Adna Chaffee |
Finding Homer Lea’s 1909 book The Valor of Ignorance online, I started reading it, which is how I came across Chaffee’s introduction to the book. His use of the apple gave me the hook I needed to think about Topic #59 in a different way, that is after spending two hours looking up Chaffee and Lea and pondering the significance of the book’s title. Frankly, it scares me to think that a “bite the apple” strategy determines what wars we get into, or which side we choose to fight on. So, I left my reading behind before I got to the actual text of the book.
I will have to return to Lea another day to find out how his book title relates to predicting the rising prominence of Japan’s military might in the early 20th century or why it became required reading in Japanese military schools (source: Roger Yung).
I will have to return to Lea another day to find out how his book title relates to predicting the rising prominence of Japan’s military might in the early 20th century or why it became required reading in Japanese military schools (source: Roger Yung).
Chaffee’s “bite the apple” quote did lead me into thinking about less world-shaking situations that might exemplify the notion of “valor of ignorance.”
Consider our cave-dwelling ancestors. Some Neanderthal took the first bite of an unknown animal, vegetable or mineral not knowing what it tasted like or whether it was safe. Well, maybe the first one to take the risk was just hungry, not a hero. It was the second one, maybe the Neanderthal’s now widowed mate who skinned it, roasted it or removed the seeds and tried again. That showed “valor of ignorance.” How many early American oystermen got sick before they figured out that eating raw shellfish in months with an “R” was safe?
Consider too our ancestors who were explorers, pioneers, homesteaders. They migrated from the known to the unknown in search of something different— fewer wild beasts, better climate, greater tolerance of religion, more opportunity for work, or just plain curiosity. In 1735, a group of about 250 “Switzers” (Dutch, German and Swiss) arrived in South Carolina to form a colony at Orangeburg near the banks of the North Edisto River. Those on board the ship from Rotterdam included 5 brothers and sisters (Source: Geneology of the Rumph Family): David, Jacob, Abraham, Peter and Catherine Rumph. There was certainly some valor in the risk they took to leave behind everything to immigrate across the world, even given the promise of reimbursement for their expenses and free provisions for a year. What conversations took place at the dinner table with their parents, what stories did they hear about the New World that made them bite the apple and take the journey?
Consider, finally, another action that might require “valor of ignorance,” the leap of faith called marriage. The Rumph siblings who immigrated to South Carolina in 1735 married into local families over the next decade. In 1741, Catherine Rumph married James Pendarvis, who had inherited the vast landholdings and slaves of his father Joseph in 1735. In 1745, David Rumph married James’ sister Mary Ann Pendarvis. The Switzer Rumphs married the two wealthy but illegitimate mixed-race children of Joseph and his mistress of many years, a Black woman named Parthena (Source: Pendarvis). What conversations took place, what stories were ignored, prejudices set aside that made them bite that apple?
Ask Adam.
Consider our cave-dwelling ancestors. Some Neanderthal took the first bite of an unknown animal, vegetable or mineral not knowing what it tasted like or whether it was safe. Well, maybe the first one to take the risk was just hungry, not a hero. It was the second one, maybe the Neanderthal’s now widowed mate who skinned it, roasted it or removed the seeds and tried again. That showed “valor of ignorance.” How many early American oystermen got sick before they figured out that eating raw shellfish in months with an “R” was safe?
Consider too our ancestors who were explorers, pioneers, homesteaders. They migrated from the known to the unknown in search of something different— fewer wild beasts, better climate, greater tolerance of religion, more opportunity for work, or just plain curiosity. In 1735, a group of about 250 “Switzers” (Dutch, German and Swiss) arrived in South Carolina to form a colony at Orangeburg near the banks of the North Edisto River. Those on board the ship from Rotterdam included 5 brothers and sisters (Source: Geneology of the Rumph Family): David, Jacob, Abraham, Peter and Catherine Rumph. There was certainly some valor in the risk they took to leave behind everything to immigrate across the world, even given the promise of reimbursement for their expenses and free provisions for a year. What conversations took place at the dinner table with their parents, what stories did they hear about the New World that made them bite the apple and take the journey?
Consider, finally, another action that might require “valor of ignorance,” the leap of faith called marriage. The Rumph siblings who immigrated to South Carolina in 1735 married into local families over the next decade. In 1741, Catherine Rumph married James Pendarvis, who had inherited the vast landholdings and slaves of his father Joseph in 1735. In 1745, David Rumph married James’ sister Mary Ann Pendarvis. The Switzer Rumphs married the two wealthy but illegitimate mixed-race children of Joseph and his mistress of many years, a Black woman named Parthena (Source: Pendarvis). What conversations took place, what stories were ignored, prejudices set aside that made them bite that apple?
Ask Adam.
Adna Chaffee biography:
Genealogy of the Rumph Family of South Carolina.
Lea, Homer. The Valor of Ignorance. Harper & Brothers, 1909.
Genealogy of the Rumph Family of South Carolina.
Lea, Homer. The Valor of Ignorance. Harper & Brothers, 1909.
Pendarvis: The Blurred Lines Racial Lines of Famous Families. PBS: Frontline
Yung, Roger. Who is Homer Lea?
Megan:
The Valor of Ignorance
Today’s topic reminds me of the proverb What you don’t know can’t hurt you. On one hand
it suggests that one is brave if ignorant of danger, but it might also mean that being ignorant is an example of bravery. I’m comfortable with neither of these analyses, yet Western culture is inundated with other proverbs extolling the virtues and benefits of ignorance – such as Ask no questions, hear no lies. There is no need to bother with critical thinking or analysis when it is so much easier to bury one’s head in the sand.
The Valor of Ignorance is a little known book written by Homer Lea, published in 1909. Born in Colorado in 1876, Mr. Lea was a student of military history and politics. He traveled to China during the Boxer Rebellion to offer his services and was made lieutenant general in Kang Youwei’s army. After helping to liberate the Boxers, Lea traveled through Hong Kong and Japan and met Sun Yat-sen. He returned to the US for health reasons and published his book which predicted the Japanese Pacific invasion and the Pearl Harbor attack. He had hoped the book would become compulsory reading in the US’s military academies – a goal supported by Generals Chaffee and MacArthur-- but it was panned by critics and sold poorly in the US. Meanwhile in Japan, it sold 84,000 copies in its first 3 months. I’m not really suggesting that Lea gave the Japanese the idea (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing), but rather that America may have dismissed its warning because ignorance is bliss.
But Valor means courage. Courage is perseverance in the face of danger. If we accept that the title is ironic, then we can recognize the dangers of willful ignorance. Indeed, not all proverbs are pro-ignorance. Ben Franklin’s words are probably the most famous: The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance. Common sense tells us that It IS better to light a candle than curse the darkness which will help you to seek and ye shall find. And Lea would probably admit that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. He would especially agree that a prophet is not recognized in his own land.
Sources:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/proverbs.html
No comments:
Post a Comment