Muses, Empiricism and O Canada! – June 28, 2015

Sister of Clio

One would hope that with all the time I have spent doing crosswords that I would have all those Greek Muses down pat.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  I was fortunate with this clue, that it only had five letters, and I was able to come up the correct answer, Erato.

So who were the Muses and why should we care?  Well, they were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory.  These daughters were the goddesses that ruled over the arts and sciences and offered inspiration to those pursuing those subjects.  Since there were no books, they had to rely on their muses.Erato

The Nine Muses were:

  1. Calliope – the muse of epic poetry
  2. Clio  – the muse of history
  3. Erato – the muse of love poetry
  4. Euterpe – the muse of music
  5. Melpomeme – the muse of tragedy
  6. Polyhymnia – the muse of sacred poetry
  7. Terpsichore – the muse of dance
  8. Thalia – the muse of comedy
  9. Urania – the muse of astronomy

Throughout the centuries, the muses have served as inspiration for various artists.  Homer asks the Muses at the beginning of both the Iliad and the Odyssey to tell the story.

 “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding” philosopher

Born in Edinburgh in 1711, David Hume, became one of the most influential philosophers of his day.  While his family had some wealth, as the younger son he was forced to consider making a living on his own.  Entering university at the tender age of ten, he had initially considered a career in law but later abandoned it in favor of reading more books.  At the age of eighteen, he envisioned a new “scene of thought”.  He spent the next ten years reading and writing to the point that he was near a mental breakdown.  Calling it the “Disease of the Learned”, he was ordered to take a course of bitters and then after completing that course, he was told to drink a pint of claret every day – such wisdom his doctor had!

David HumeAt age twenty -eight, he published A Treatise of Human Nature, considered by most to be his best work.  People of the day were inclined to disagree and it was not well-received.   In this he strove to show the psychological basis for the human race.  In opposition to the rationalists such as Rene Descartes, he believed that desire rather than reason was the guiding force behind human behavior.  He also scoffed at the idea of innate reasoning as he thought that man could only have knowledge about things that he could experience firsthand.

Other with whom Hume engaged were Jean Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith and James Boswell.  Despite all of the luminous connections he had, he never did obtain a university appointment owing to the unrest his religious or anti-religious views depending on the source.

In addition to his philosophical essays and books, his History of England which depicts English history from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688 was widely popular in its day and continues to be a text that is used as a reference.

Locale of the Battle of Stoney Creek in the War of 1812

As the clue suggests, the Battle of Stoney Creek occurred during the War of 1812 – in what was Ontario.  In what can hardly be considered America’s finest hour on the battlefield, General Henry Dearborn, flush with victory after the capture of Fort George, was poised to stage an aggressive attack in Upper Canada.  The attack was planned for June 5, but indecision and poor weather stalled matters, and the troops did not arrive until June 2.  By then the British had been warned by a local youth, Billy Green, who had observed the troops and noted their locations.Stoney Creek

Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey, armed with the information from Green as well as the passwords obtained from a prisoner, convinced General John Vincent to stage a bold night raid on the troops.  It was a successful, albeit costly, maneuver.  The Americans were forced to retreat, and this battle became a turning point in the war as the Americans were forced to give up ideas of control of the Niagara peninsula.  It was also a launching point for Harvey who went on to distinguish himself in other victories.