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January 5, 2012

G is for Gold

How does gold grab you? Is it glamor that glitters? Or is gold given to goons with guns (think: government) ghastly?

Today we look at the letter G at Alphabe-Thursday.

I will first share with you a few scenes of the grand and glitzy Gold Souk in Dubai, where gold gewgaws from tiny to gigantic go for below the global price when you haggle. 

Then you may find interesting the thoughts on gold from luminaries past that seem still so germane in today's turbulent world... and which give heed to the great idiom, "the more things change, the more they stay the same".



Dubai, 2005

By gold all good faith has been banished; by gold our rights are abused; the law itself is influenced by gold, and soon there will be an end of every modest restraint. 
~ Sextus Propertius elegiac poet of the Augustan age (~50 BC-15 BC)

Between falsehood and useless truth there is little difference. As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, so knowledge which cannot apply will make no man wise.
~ Samuel Johnson (1709 –1784) English author

Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing. What is necessary now is one thing and one thing only that democracy become again democracy in action, not democracy accomplished and piled up in goods and gold.
~ Archibald MacLeish (1892–1982) American poet

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; who sows a field, or trains a flower, or plants a tree, is more than all. 
~ John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) American Quaker poet

I did not know that mankind were suffering for want of gold. I have seen a little of it. I know that it is very malleable, but not so malleable as wit. A grain of gold will gild a great surface, but not so much as a grain of wisdom.
~ Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American author/philosopher

All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue.
~ Plato (424 BC–348 BC), Classical Greek philosopher

A Great and Glorious New Year to my fellow blog hoppers!

27 comments:

  1. HJanuary 5, 2012 at 2:33 PM

    I was listening to the local news on my radio a few days ago, hearing that there has been a spate of thefts of gold jewellery from Asian households in the city. With the price of gold soaring, burglars are targeting the wedding jewellery which Asians traditionally pass down through their families. What greed!

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  2. jfb57January 5, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    Now there was a lot of bling there! I chose 'gold' too!

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  3. jooJanuary 5, 2012 at 6:21 PM

    I'm not very fond of gold. To be honest with you I much prefer silver and copper, but do like the photos here, especially the middle one.

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  4. Traveling HawkJanuary 5, 2012 at 8:16 PM

    What a glittering post! The quotes are nice too. I agree with Joo, I always choose silver before gold.

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  5. jabblogJanuary 5, 2012 at 8:50 PM

    I like gold but your first photo is enough to turn anyone off;-)

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  6. ~✽Mumsy✽~January 5, 2012 at 9:24 PM

    Gold is a precious gem in my culture, and very valuable, but to me it is just a cause for more trouble.

    Great post, Francisca! Wishing you the best New Year ever..

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  7. JudieJanuary 5, 2012 at 11:00 PM

    The photos are great as always, Francisca, but the quotes are fabulous!! America is on the gold standard, so when the dollar diminishes in value, the cost of gold rises. Right now, gold is very high in value, obviously! Too bad, eh??

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  8. Ms. BeckyJanuary 5, 2012 at 11:30 PM

    I like Plato's and Thoreau's take on it. that is a LOT of gold in the first pic. happy happy new year to you Francisca. wishing you all the best.

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2012 at 11:40 PM

    Wow - very glitzy indeed!

    (I prefer simple things though...)

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  10. Simon January 6, 2012 at 2:20 AM

    Somehow I've been able to let gold go past me. No biggie. I don't think I'm missing anything, well except the recent opportunity to ride this commodity bubble and cash in at the top.
    Love that 2nd image with the long, long lines. I wish I took that one! Happy day my friend.

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  11. AnonymousJanuary 6, 2012 at 3:38 AM

    The gold all together looks like a deep yellow!

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  12. Maude LynnJanuary 6, 2012 at 3:55 AM

    Marvelous post!

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  13. Jeannette StGJanuary 6, 2012 at 4:46 AM

    Francesca, you crack me up! There are so many sides to you - it must be challenging to your husband to keep up with your knowledge of English:)

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  14. Carolyn FordJanuary 6, 2012 at 5:41 AM

    wOw...lots of gold! happy new year to you, Francisca!

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  15. anitamombanitaJanuary 6, 2012 at 5:43 AM

    Love the Samuel Johnson and Plato quotes. Great post...I'd say you are golden! ;)

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  16. Pat TillettJanuary 6, 2012 at 10:50 AM

    Wow! That is a lot of gold! It's not my favorite thing. I guess that's good, cause I don't have much of it. So you are now in yet another fantastic place! I hope you are enjoying the start of the new year in your travels...

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  17. UnknownJanuary 6, 2012 at 12:40 PM

    The gold jewelry is really heavy and chunky. True in Indian communities gold is passed on from mother to daughter and mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. It is considered an asset which remains within the family..... whose price will increase over a period of time and can be passed on thru generations.

    The sad part is that the girl has to wear the asset on her wedding day. I don't think any woman bothers with it after that day and it again resurfaces for the next passing on wedding.

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  18. AndreaJanuary 6, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    Now, i can enter easily here, wonder what happened. Gold is the best word for G, however g also stands for greed and in local dialect 'gago', do you already know that. And have you viewed the TV news about the goldminers burried alive in Compostela valley? I love your prose on all g's, lovely. But your quote's are lovelier and very well chosen. I am glad you included my favorite, HDT.

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  19. PondsideJanuary 6, 2012 at 1:47 PM

    The allure of gold spans the ages and never seems to dim.

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  20. forgetmenotJanuary 6, 2012 at 1:59 PM

    That's a lot of gold!!! Great quotes. Mickie ;)

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  21. 21 WitsJanuary 6, 2012 at 11:59 PM

    Oh but of course it grabs me! All your g words are glittering away ...quite in a good way!

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  22. Kay L. DaviesJanuary 7, 2012 at 1:54 AM

    Fabulous quotations. I especially loved Thoreau.
    (Nice pictures, too, of course, but the gold on my left hand is enough for me.)
    K

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  23. Esther JoyJanuary 9, 2012 at 4:42 AM

    And to think, the streets of heaven are paved with the stuff! Guess that shows what really matters. The stuff we thought was so important down here will just be dust under our feet up there!

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  24. Vicki/JakeJanuary 9, 2012 at 6:35 AM

    Late blog hopping this week....
    But whattheheck, silence is GOLDEN:)

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  25. KaoriJanuary 9, 2012 at 9:46 PM

    That window display is amazing! I'm surprised you weren't blinded, Francisca ;D

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  26. AmesJanuary 10, 2012 at 1:56 AM

    I prefer gold over platinum but too much gold is gaudy and a tacky show of wealth. All those women who wear multiple bracelets and rings is a mugging waitng to happen. I stick by the rule of thumb. No more than 7 pieces of jewlery at once. Sad to say, gold will be the future. If you don't have stock pile of toilet paper your gold isn't worth much!

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  27. JennyJanuary 13, 2012 at 1:59 AM

    I'm not much on jewelry but I think I'm semi-addicted to a silly show called 'Gold Rush'.

    Those window displays are quite grand!

    Thanks for linking your glorious golden post to Alphabe-Thursday's letter "G".

    A+

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