‘The Rig Veda: An Anthology: One hundred and eight hymns’ selected, translated and annotated by Wendy Doniger:
“I have tasted the sweet drink of life, knowing that it
inspires good thoughts and joyous expansiveness to the extreme, that all the
gods and mortals seek it together, calling it honey” (8:48, 1)
Sadie Stein, The Paris Review, March 2016:
“.....In some ways, honey’s rise seems more improbable, more
like a triumph of marketing. Indeed, it gives all those current-day Stevia
manufacturers reason to hope. Because at some point honey lost its reputation
as a specialty ingredient. It became the only sweetening option available to
Utah settlers. It became Pooh’s drug of choice; a crank’s hippie sweetener; and
then, at last, a ubiquitous plastic bear available on every supermarket shelf
for a few dollars, even though it proverbially lasts for eons. Here is a
glamorous 1960s Bit-O-Honey commercial extolling its social virtues:
“Honey!” I said aloud when I laid eyes on the packets. A
woman next to me looked up. “To think,” I said urgently. “It was in the
pharaohs’ tombs! It was eaten by Nero! And here it is, free!”
She smiled politely—best-case scenario, really—and walked
away, and of course I took sugar for my coffee...”
An ad for French honey
Artist: Unknown to me