{"id":61414,"date":"2026-03-07T05:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T04:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eden-saga.com\/en\/?p=61414"},"modified":"2026-03-22T08:06:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T07:06:32","slug":"divine-distraction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eden-saga.com\/en\/divine-distraction.html","title":{"rendered":"Divine distraction"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"The Extraction of the Stone of Madness, by Hieronymus Bosch<\/span><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

The preceding painting<\/a>multiplied by my graphic designer<\/span> is due to J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bosch. It is called The Extraction of the Stone of Madness<\/em>. In the Renaissance, such were the medical methods. They may seem naive, primitive, even totally stupid — but in five centuries, how will one judge current medicine? Not much better, I\u2019m afraid.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Stone of Madness<\/h4>\n

The Lithotomy, also called The Cure of Madness or more rarely <\/em>The Extraction of the stone of madness, is a painting by the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. Oil on panel of 48 35 cm, it was made around 1494 or later. The painting is currently displayed at the Prado Museum in Madrid. (wikipedia)<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

From J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bosch, really? Not everyone agrees with that. Jean-Pierre Spilmont wrote a study of the painting entitled The extraction of the stone of madness<\/em>. I learn this: It is an ancient copy of a lost work by Pieter Bruegel, painted around 1557 and displayed at the Sandelin museum-hotel in Saint-Omer.<\/p>\n

Damn! I’ll be danged!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Until the moment when I understood that it is another painting, with a less fanciful treatment, where one recognizes the paw of Bruegel, different from that of Bosch who draws on the comic strip. With a few centuries of advance …<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h5>\n
\"\"The Extraction of the Stone of Madness, by Pieter Bruegel<\/span><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Funnel<\/h4>\n

But let\u2019s return to the first work, that of Bosch. Because what interests me here is the funnel that is not on the head of the madman, but of the medic who operates him. Should we assume that with the passage of time, popular common sense has attributed madness, not to the sick, but to the caregiver? Not so stupid, the good people… But I don\u2019t believe that it is so.<\/p>\n

The woman wears a book on her head, the Book. Yes, it\u2019s a Bible. Why on her head? To witness her faith? Undoubtedly, but first to help the one who is suffering. Thus placed on the fontanelle of a loving person, the holy book must remove the patient\u2019s suffering and ensure the success of the operation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You shrug your shoulders? Superstitions, you say? No doubt. How will we judge our current beliefs in five centuries? But let\u2019s get to the heart of the matter. The question persists: why did the caregivers wear a funnel on their heads?\u00a0 Patience, you will know everything shortly. At least everything I know.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So Many Times<\/h4>\n

–What am I already looking for? It looks like I\u2019ve lost track.<\/em><\/p>\n

How many times do we hear this kind of reflection! Not in the mouth of a senile old man like me, but in those of young people, of mature and self-masterful people. How suddenly they panic!<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t last much, they are already recovering, with a: “Ah yes!”<\/em> And there they are, speeding towards a destination known to themselves. That they might forget a little further on… The destination is not my subject, but the distraction, as indicated by the title.\u00a0 Frankly, something is happening on that side. She is really the evil of the century.
\n-What was I talking about there?<\/p>\n

No, I\u2019m kidding. I know it perfectly but I\u2019m cheating, since I have the title under my eyes. The distraction<\/strong><\/span>. ” Why did I go down? Where am I going?”<\/em> etc. Constantly I hear that, I catch a hesitant, a lost one… not to mention me, the senile.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I wake up, I get up, I wash myself, I get dressed, I start breakfast and then I wake up again.<\/p>\n

No, not again. It\u2019s the first time. My first awakening was a dream<\/a>. If that\u2019s true, this second awakening too?\u00a0 In short, I don\u2019t know where I am, or who I am, nor even more troubling, if I am dead or alive.<\/p>\n

A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.<\/p>