Opacity

The bounds of transparency

Abstract

One day, a man of primeval times, under the Mediterranean sun, figured out that like most other animals, he could build a refuge for himself and his loved ones, a refuge that would shelter him from storms, where he could keep warm at night and defend himself from wild beasts. He had already found such a refuge, as his father had, and his grandfather before. There was no need to tire his limbs and blister his hands; the cave, the cavern, was already there for him to use.

But now it crossed his mind that he could have a den of his own, just like animals do, and that with a little effort, he could create his own ‘cave’. Caves were stone, and there, beneath the sun, between the sea and the hills, was stone after stone, a few shrubs of myrtle, and an occasional holm oak.
The man takes matters into his own hands, becoming homo faber, and puts one stone atop another, then adds more. He builds a wall, which forms a circle and recreates a cave. Now he needs shelter from the rain: woven branches, perhaps, but it would be better to rely on stones again, and close off the circle at the top, to make a vault.

The thing the man has crafted is now done; it stands upright, it is useful, just like the natural grotto that God prepared for him.
The man is happy; with stone, he has built the first ‘house’. It is a stone house.