Images of Soils, Familiar and Implied: Their Origins and Meaning.

There is a long record describing human perceptions of soil rooted in ancient peoples’ recognized dependence on the land for their well-being and existence.  This relationship with the earth is expressed in multiple forms in differing aspects of culture and periods of history.  Both positive and negative images have found expression and persist into our modern language as familiar figures of speech relating to military, religious, and poetic applications.  A review of some of this imagery, both familiar and more subtle or obscure, can easily demonstrate that human relationships with the soil remain strong even if physical familiarity with sensual perceptions of soil become less common.