Heaven is supposed to be the opposite of hell. Kind is supposed to be the opposite of cruel. Love, poverty, water, and truth are supposed to be the opposites of hate, wealth, fire, and fiction. Black and white, left and right, female and male, gay and straight, cats and dogs, immortal and mortal—all of these pairs are supposed to be opposites.
Virgil was a Roman poet. He lived from 70 B.C. to 19 B.C. He coined the phrases tempus fugit (“time flies”) and omnia vincit amor (“love conquers all”). He wrote the Georgics and the Bucolics. He also wrote the Aeneid, a book-length narrative poem that people in Rome came to think of as the Great Latin Novel. The Georgics and the Bucolics were taught in the schools during Virgil’s lifetime. Toward the end of his life, Virgil was such a celebrity that there were people in Rome who thought they were cool just because they didn’t think Virgil was cool.
Nobody was indifferent to Virgil. A popular view was that he sold out to nationalism and became the unofficial mouthpiece of the emperor, Augustus Caesar. Virgil’s fans disagreed. They said Virgil was a seer and also a link to the ancient world, the world of Socrates, Pythagoras, and Homer. After Virgil died, even the Christians adopted him, saying that he had foretold the birth of Christ in his poetry.
Everyone agreed that Virgil had the most powerful stare of any man or woman in the Roman Empire. According to one legend, Virgil once stared at a hillside north of Naples and created a cave at the base of the hill, just by staring at it. Today that cave is known as Virgil’s Tomb. Some Neapolitans say that Virgil’s ashes are in Virgil’s Tomb. Others say his ashes are in Mantua, and that the ashes in Virgil’s Tomb are an impostor’s ashes.
In the Aeneid, Virgil wrote, “The descent into hell is easy. Retracing your steps—that’s the difficult part.”
It’s easy to talk and think in opposites. We are wired in such a way that we pay more attention to people who oppose each other than we pay to people who agree with each other. The popularity of team sports is based on our infatuation with opposites. The vitality of our political, legal, and financial systems depends on the participation of adversaries. To borrow a phrase from the Mighty Nineties, it’s easier to survive in polarity than to live in harmony. Opposites are convenient. Opposites are efficient. Opposites are mommy and daddy, which is why they appeal to people who like to be told what to do. Opposites attract.
The problem with opposites is that talking and thinking in opposites can give you a false sense of security. Like cars, electricity, slavery, and television, the convenience of opposites comes with a price. What is that price? I would have to say ignorance. Every time we fall for the seductive efficiency of opposites, we pull the wool over our eyes and think we understand the things we misunderstand. This allows powerful people to pursue a certain agenda. What is that agenda? I’m not sure, but I know it has something to do with borrowing our liberty and not giving it back. How do powerful people do this? They do it by making us feel prosperous and safe. They do it by blurring the line between security and liberty.
So what’s the solution? Is there an antidote to ignorance? Is there a way to pull back the veil and see what’s really going on? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that there is. I’m going to go a little further out on that limb and say that it’s time to take another look at opposites.
Try this. If you’re a woman, look at the assumptions you’ve made about men being insensitive and mean. If you’re a man, look at the assumptions you’ve made about women being fragile and sensitive. If you’re a parent, look at the assumptions you’ve made about children being inexperienced and reckless. If you’re a child, look at the assumptions you’ve made about parents being cautious and powerful. While you look at those assumptions, ask yourself how true they are. Ask yourself how many times you’ve seen strength in a woman or sensitivity in a man. Ask yourself how many times you’ve seen hesitation in a parent or wisdom in a child. Ask yourself what would happen if you stood in the space halfway between fragile and strong, halfway between love and hate, halfway between birth and death. Ask yourself if that space might be an alternative to opposites.
Which brings us to the Blason De Bourgogne Crémant de Bourgogne “Cuvée Brut.”
“Crémant de Bourgogne” is a general term for a sparkling wine made in Burgundy. The Crémant de Bourgogne produced by the house of Blason De Bourgogne is one of the loveliest Crémants de Bourgogne on the market. At $9 a bottle, it is also one of the least expensive. Blason’s Crémant de Bourgogne is imported by Plume Ridge Wines of San Dimas, California, and is sold exclusively through Trader Joe’s. The cepage is twenty percent Aligote, twenty percent Chardonnay, and sixty percent Pinot Noir.
In the glass, Blason’s Crémant is an opaque crystal. The bouquet splits the difference between aggression and patience. On the palate, Blason’s Crémant is simultaneously raw and refined. The bubbles are a little larger than you want them to be. The flavor is more luxurious than you expect it to be. The finish is happy, quick, and mildly addictive.
We pride ourselves on being a forward thinking culture, but this is the time of year when we look backward and forward. This is also the time of year when we celebrate. This year, try to celebrate the fact that we are conscious and unconscious. We have the power to stand between the known and the unknown and listen to the chatter between those two extremes. Sometimes that chatter makes sense. Sometimes it sounds like chaos. The trick is to listen, and keep listening, regardless of what you hear. If you listen carefully, sooner or later you will hear the sound of your heart beating. Pay attention to that sound, because it’s the sound of a human being. It’s the sound of a world that lives east of Eden, and halfway between heaven and hell.
One Bottle is dedicated to the appreciation of good wine and good times, one bottle at a time. The name One Bottle, and the contents of this column, are © 2008 by onebottle.com. If you need help finding a wine or building a cellar, write to Joshua Baer at jb@onebottle.com.
