Dear ttbn,

In his book "Give Them Wings,"
Maurice Saxby explains:

"Before writing there was story. In the beginning was
language and from language proceeded story - far back in the
reaches of time. As early man, in whatever habitat, developed
the art of speech, he began to explore his environment, and
to penetrate beyond the immediately observable in an attempt
to give meaning to life. Through dance, art and story great
events were celebrated and heroes remembered."

But even as man began to recognise his humanity through
the supremacy of a developed language, the suspicion of human
fallibility grew into the certainty that there were
invisible forces shaping his destiny: forces from without
and within.

Saxby tell us - "Outside were great forces - gods and
unseen spirit hosts, some benevolent, some malevolent,
controlling the environment and impinging on the lives
of all creatures, for good or ill. So there had to
be appeasement, and for the great forces, reverence, even
worship."

"Within were opposing drives and desires needing definition:
a groping towards the concepts of goodness and evil."

From the very beginning was the need to know.

Saxby explains, "Not that man was necessarily a puppet.
There were always to be those who annexed power - heroes -
- those who outshone their fellows and did
battle with invisible and often unknown monsters.
Because life is harsh, apparently unyielding and fearful there
had to be monsters, giants, dragons, creatures of the
forest and the night who personify fear.

As tribes banded together and kinship merged into nationhood,
bigger gods and mightier heroes came into being.
So developed the tales of and for the people, the folk.

As with folk tales every culture has its store of legend.
Exploits are passed down, gaining heroic detail with each new
generation.

Today these ancient ones have taken on new forms.
Youth lives with the fear of nuclear catastrophe and so
still searches for certainty. The Aristotelian principle
that the friend of wisdom must also be a friend of myth is
as true today as it was then.

cont'd ...

Saxby tells us that, "Mankind has always had his gods
and heroes. Each generation must learn anew the lesson
of acceptance that cost Oedipus the very gift of sight."

"But man's questioning never ceases.
The supreme quest of every age is to look beyond the edge
of present vision."

We all need answers to the unknown that satisfy an inner
need. We need heroes as models of human behaviour that
help give meaning and value to life.

As science provides answers, new questions and new dilemmas
arise. Many still refute science, or remain unconvinced;
and there are those who see these myths and legends as
images of man's ongoing spiritual search for a way to
Truth and Life.

I've just come up with another name -
Fred Hollows. A specialist in treating
the eye disease trachoma. He stomped
through the Outback helping our Indigenous
People keep their sight. Between 1974 and 1976
his teams screened 100,000. He did the same in
Africa. He was probably the first doctor to give
life to the "aid abroad," crusades that have been
a calling for medicos with a conscience.

Hollows died in 1993 of cancer. The sight he gave
others lives on.