We are rediscovering in recent years how important the relationship between man and nature is. We had lost awareness of it and nature has presented us with the bill. Yet already in the wonderful biblical story of the Garden of Eden this was spoken of: God created the heavens and the earth, an extraordinary work, and entrusted it to man, warning him that they could enjoy it, but to be careful because not everything would be granted.

Eve, to share the pleasure with Adam, transgressed and picked the apple to taste it with him. If they had limited themselves to smelling it, they would have shared the pleasure and History would have gone differently. A question – perhaps – of balance and nose. That is how man found himself in caves dealing with nature and in particular with animals. He had to defend himself from the wild ones, he had to hunt the others to eat something. He soon understood that the challenge was made of smells, whoever smelled the other first had the advantage.

He also discovered - and it was serious - that animals had a better sense of smell than he did. He found a good ally in scented shrubs, such as laurel and myrtle, hiding behind them he could get close to his prey without them discovering him. He also learned that those shrubs were not always close to his prey and perhaps he began to tear them up and carry them with him to camouflage his smell. Then he realized that it was inconvenient and he got creative. He began to crush them and macerate them, he mixed them with fat and created an ointment with which to spread his body. It was the first time that man perfumed himself.