Trees aren’t just history’s witnesses, but also its characters. They participate in wars and feasts. They protect old stories, and create new ones.
Believe me, you will find more lessons in the woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you what you cannot learn from masters.
—Bernard of Clairvaux
The Plane Tree
The Platanus, or plane tree, grew by a spring near the road, somewhere in Lycia (south-western Turkey, where Bellerophon killed the Chimera). The tree developed a dense crown, as vast as a small forest, and the individual branches grew as tall as separate trees. No wonder the leafy rustle of the great tree stretched across whole fields.
The interior of the trunk was empty and dry; the cave within was supposedly eighty feet deep (which probably referred to the circumference). The floor of the cave was paved with thick plane tree leaves, allowing the entourage of General Licinius Mucianus to spread out comfortably for lunch, away from the rain and wind. In addition to the Roman dignitary and his servants, the tree accommodated another eighteen people. While waiting for their meal, the travelers enjoyed the seclusion of the cave and admired its
