On Teaching

[doomsday_disco]

Then said a teacher, Speak to us of Teaching.

 

     And he said:
 

     No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.

 

     The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.

 

     If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.

 

     The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding.

 

     The musician may sing to you of the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it.

 

     And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither.

 

     For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.

 

     And even as each one of you stands alone in God’s knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.

A perfume for knowledge and the wisdom to wield it well: frankincense, green cedar, white sandalwood, bay leaf, and hyssop.

Edited August 11, 2025 by doomsday_disco

[bheansidhe]

I really enjoy the darkly herbaceous, sap-sharp green notes that open the blend. Where "green" in a perfume most often means sweeter notes like grass or bamboo, this evokes tearing fresh leathery leaves in your hands, like ligustrum, laurel, or eucalyptus, and harvesting raw whipping cedar tips from young branches. The dark greens are wrapped in the sweeter resins and a note (the hyssop?) that's almost like a spicy dianthus or carnation, but not floral. It's a pungent raw herbal bundle to start, but softens to a light sandalwood and bay rum.

 

I think this would pair really well with Aristotle beard oil and Socrates perfume oil.

Edited October 2, 2025 by bheansidhe

[gentle-twig]

This reminds me a lot of other greenish BPAL blends that have woods and resins in them.

As in many other cases, this is a little too sweet on my skin. Still, the weedy green accord, just this side of spa, was enchanting this heat wave morning. Very much a scent that evokes just escaping a blast of summer (or in my case spring) heat — on a dewy morning or in a pool of deep shade. On Teaching is certainly on the traditional masculine side of things, and indeed there is a calm and staid quality in line with the best of that heritage.  I say this reminds me of a bevy of other, half-remembered BPALs (Anubis, some dead leaves blends), but this is best in class, with the cloying resinous notes fading to tolerable levels after the opening. Still, as a devotee of non-BPAL perfumes as well, I don’t think can oust CdG Laurel from its niche in my collection. I will probably dump the rest of my imp into a hot bath on a cool summer morning and then apply that number for the heat of the day.