We walked seven miles along the mournful Susquehanna. It is a terrifying river. It has bushy cliffs on both sides that lean like hairy ghosts over the unknown waters. Inky night covers all. Sometimes from the railyards across the river rises a great red locomotive flare that illuminates the horrid cliffs [J. Kerouac, On the Road (New York: Penguin Books, 1976), p. 104]. I - viii - The Parallel Nation of Ossian.

The Emperor Frederick, arrived in Hades, joins the others in listening as Ahem describes his youth in Ossian. While tictuses continue narrating their own tale of captivity, three Nicean principles: ‘scrapmon, an historian (all too busy), and the Ambassador an An Indocile, reach the Sunrise Cage and hot wash their recent expedition at Mount Period. A tictic takes the lumine to visit a discoverer (all too busy), marooned in the Forgotten Tents, and tries to explain the structure of the Nicean races. The Nicean Grand Fleet, the omega wave, arrives, distorting the boundaries between time and space.

~ page 101 ~

James Macpherson (Scottish Gaelic: Seumas Mac a' Phearsain or Seumas MacMhuirich; 27 October 1736 – 17 February 1796) was a Scottish poet, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.*

Ossian

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Gaelic Oisín. Irish warrior-poet of the Fenian cycle of hero tales. The name Ossian became known throughout Europe in 1762–63 when the Scottish poet James Macpherson (1736–96) published the epics Fingal and Temora, which he represented as translations of works by the 3rd-century Gaelic poet Ossian. The poems were widely acclaimed and influential in the Romantic movement, but their authorship was later doubted, notably by Samuel Johnson (1775), and they were eventually determined to have been written largely by Macpherson.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

In 1761 he announced the discovery of an epic on the subject of Fingal (related to the Irish mythological character Fionn mac Cumhaill/Finn McCool) written by Ossian (based on Fionn's son Oisín), and in December he published Fingal: An Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books , together with Several Other Poems Composed by Ossian, the Son of Fingal , translated from the Gaelic Language, written in the musical measured prose of which he had made use in his earlier volume. Temora followed in 1763, and a collected edition, The Works of Ossian , in 1765. The name Fingal or Fionnghall means "white stranger [Mike Campbell (2008), "Name: Fingal," Behindthename. com ( http:// www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=fingal)]," and it is suggested that the name was rendered as Fingal through a derivation of the name which in old Gaelic would appear as Finn [(Mary Ann Dobratz, "The Works of ‘Fiona MacLeod,’" Notes to First Edition (Sundown Shores, 2000), http://www.sundown.pair.com/ SundownShores/Volume_IV/notes.htm). MacPherson was himself a Gaelic speaker].

The authenticity of these so-called translations from the works of a 3rd century bard was immediately challenged by Irish historians, who noted its technical errors in chronology, its technical errors in the forming of Gaelic names, and commented on the implausibility of many of MacPherson's claims, none of which MacPherson was able to refute. More forceful denunciations were later made by Dr. Samuel Johnson, who asserted (in A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland , 1775) that MacPherson had found fragments of poems and stories, and then woven them into a romance of his own composition. Further challenges and defences were made well into the nineteenth century, but the issue was moot by then. Macpherson never produced the originals that he claimed existed.

Physical map of the supercontinent Pangaea (~230 million years ago); http://www.synthlog.com/dinosauriax/triasico.htm.*

Panthalassa/Pangea

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Or Pangaea. Hypothetical proto-continent proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912 as part of his theory of continental drift. Pangea (from Greek: pangaia, “all earth”) supposedly covered about half the Earth and was completely surrounded by a world ocean called Panthalassa. Late in the Triassic Period (248–206 million years ago), Pangea began to break apart. Its segments, Laurasia (composed of all the present-day northern continents) and Gondwana (the present-day southern continents) gradually receded, resulting in the formation of the Atlantic Ocean.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Rodinia, which formed 1.3 billion years ago during the Proterozoic, was the supercontinent from which all subsequent continents, sub or super, derived. Rodinia does not preclude the possibility of prior supercontinents as the breakup and formation of supercontinents appears to be cyclical through Earth's 4.6 billion years.

Gondwana followed with several iterations before the formation of Pangaea, which succeeded Pannotia, before the beginning of the Paleozoic Era (545 Ma) and the Phanerozoic Eon. The minor supercontinent of Proto-Laurasia drifted away from Gondwana and moved across the Panthalassic Ocean. A new ocean was forming between the two continents, the Proto-Tethys Ocean. Soon, Proto-Laurasia drifted apart itself to create Laurentia, Siberia and Baltica. The rifting also spawned two new oceans, the Iapetus and Khanty Oceans. Baltica remained east of Laurentia, and Siberia sat northeast of Laurentia. In the Cambrian the independent continent of Laurentia on what would become North America sat on the equator, with three bordering oceans: the Panthalassic Ocean to the north and west, the Iapetus Ocean to the south and the Khanty Ocean to the east. In the Earliest Ordovician, the microcontinent of Avalonia, a landmass that would become the northeastern United States, Nova Scotia and England, broke free from Gondwana and began its journey to Laurentia [Stanley, Steven, Earth System History (USA,1998), pp. 355–359].

Baltica collided with Laurentia by the end of the Ordovician and northern Avalonia collided with Baltica and Laurentia. Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia formed to create a minor supercontinent of Euramerica or Laurussia, closing the Iapetus Ocean, while the Rheic Ocean expanded in the southern coast of Avalonia. The collision also resulted in the formation of the northern Appalachians. Siberia sat near Euramerica, with the Khanty Ocean between the two continents. While all this was happening, Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole. This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea [Stanley, pp. 386-392].

~ page 102 ~

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau (9 March , 1749 – 2 April 1791) was a French writer, popular orator and statesman.*

Mirabeau, Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti, count de

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Orig. Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti

Born March 9, 1749, Bignon, near Nemours, France

Died April 2, 1791, Paris

French politician and orator. Son of the economist Victor Riqueti (1715–89), he suffered his father's disfavour; often imprisoned for intrigues and wild behaviour (1774–80), he wrote several essays on prison life. In 1789 he was elected to the Estates General from the Third Estate. A skilled orator, he was popular with the people and was influential in the early years of the French Revolution. He advocated a constitutional monarchy and tried to mediate between the absolute monarchists and the revolutionaries. He was elected president of the National Assembly in 1791, but he died shortly thereafter.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Mirabeau focused his efforts on two main issues: changing the ministry and dealing with impending civil war. His attempts to form political alliances with Lafayette and Necker failed and resulted in open hostility. Necker disappeared from the French court and no longer posed a threat. Lafayette, however, was very powerful due to the fact that he held a monopoly on the military and the National Guard. At first, Mirabeau attempted to undermine Lafayette’s power, but decided to solve the problem of the ministry, and maintain stability, by removing all ministers and placing the ministry entirely under Lafayette. In effect, Mirabeau suggested that the king distance himself from politics and let the revolution run its course, because it would inevitably destroy itself through its contradictory nature. Furthermore, Mirabeau proposed that, if his plan should fail, Paris should no longer be the capital of France, showing a conservative line of thinking: the only way to end the revolution would be to destroy its place of birth. Mirabeau’s prospects with the crown were good until 1790, when the Chatelet presented to the National Assembly that the inciters of the October days were the Duc d’Orleans and Mirabeau himself. The charges were later removed, but for Mirabeau, the accusation had brought the realization that his strategy of working closely with both the Assembly and the court was beginning to backfire. In a later meeting with the king and queen, Mirabeau maintained that not only was civil war inevitable, it was necessary for the survival of the monarchy. Mirabeau maintained the belief that the decision to go to war, even civil war, should come only from the king. In a letter of confidence to Mirabeau, Louis wrote that as a Christian king, he could not declare war on his subjects. However, that wouldn’t stop him from reciprocating if his subjects declared war first. In order to avoid provoking a civil war, the king refrained from confronting the Constituent Assembly, and waited instead for a constitution that he could submit to. Once the civil constitution of the clergy destroyed this hope, Louis adopted a strategy of strengthening royal authority and the church’s position, and accepted the use of force, through civil war, to accomplish this. Mirabeau's involvement with the court is interesting for the insights it provides into the mind of Louis XIV as it is for the effects it produced in the Revolution [Munro, Price, "Mirabeau and the Court: Some New Evidence," French Historical Studies 29: pp. 42, 45, 48–49, 50–52 & 62–64 (2006)].

On the question of the veto he took a practical view, and seeing that the royal power was already sufficiently weakened, declared for the king's absolute veto and against the suspensive veto. He knew from his British experience that such a veto would be rarely used unless the king felt the people were on his side, and that if it were used unjustifiably the power of the purse possessed by the representatives of the people would bring about a bloodless revolution, as in England in 1688. He saw that much of the Assembly's inefficiency arose from the members' inexperience and their incurable verbosity; so, to establish some system of rules, he got his friend Romilly to draw up a detailed account of the rules and customs of the British House of Commons, which he translated into French, but which the Assembly, puffed up by a belief in its own merits, refused to use. On the subject of peace and war he supported the king's authority, with some success. Again Mirabeau almost alone of the Assembly held that the soldier ceased to be a citizen when he became a soldier; he must submit to the deprivation of his liberty to think and act, and must recognize that a soldier's first duty is obedience. With such sentiments, it is no wonder that he approved of the vigorous conduct of the marquis de Bouillé at Nancy, which was to his credit as Bouillé was opposed to him. Lastly, in matters of finance he showed his wisdom: he attacked Necker's "caisse d'escompte," which was to have the whole control of the taxes, as absorbing the Assembly's power of the purse; and he heartily approved of the system of assignats, but with the reservation that the issue should be limited to no more than one-half the value of the lands to be sold.

In foreign affairs, he held that the French people should conduct their Revolution as they would, and that no foreign nation had any right to interfere with the country's internal affairs. But he knew that neighbouring nations were disturbed by the progress of the Revolution and feared its influence on their own peoples; and that foreign monarchs were being importuned by French emigres to interfere on behalf of the French monarchy. To prevent this interference, or rather to give no pretext for it, was his guiding principle in foreign policy. He was elected a member of the comité diplomatique of the Assembly in July 1790, and in this capacity he was able to prevent the Assembly from doing much harm in regard to foreign affairs. He had long known Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin, the foreign secretary, and, as matters became more strained, he entered into daily communication with the minister, advising him on every point, and, while dictating his policy, defended it in the Assembly. Mirabeau's exertions in this respect show him as a statesman; and his influence is best shown by the confusion in this department after his death.

monotheism

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Belief in the existence of one god. It is distinguished from polytheism. The earliest known instance of monotheism dates to the reign of Akhenaton of Egypt in the 14th century BC. Monotheism is characteristic of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of which view God as the creator of the world, who oversees and intervenes in human events, and as a beneficent and holy being, the source of the highest good. The monotheism that characterizes Judaism began in ancient Israel with the adoption of Yahweh as the single object of worship and the rejection of the gods of other tribes and nations without, initially, denying their existence. Islam is clear in confessing one, eternal, unbegotten, unequaled God, while Christianity holds that a single God is reflected in the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

Antarctic Circle

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Parallel of latitude approximately 66.5° south of the Equator that circumscribes the southern frigid zone. It marks the northern limit of the area within which, for one day or more each year, the sun does not set or rise. The length of continuous day or night increases southward from the Antarctic Circle, mounting to six months at the South Pole.

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Movement of the Tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic circles. By definition, the positions of the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle all depend on the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the sun, known technically as the "obliquity of the ecliptic." As of 2000, the mean value of the tilt was about 23° 26′ 21″. However, this angle is not constant, but has a complex motion determined by the superimposition of many different cycles with short to very long periods. As the axial tilt varies, so do the positions of the Tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic circles.

The main long-term cycle causes the axial tilt to fluctuate between about 22.1° and 24.5° with a 41,000 year periodicity. As a consequence of this cycle the average value of the tilt is currently decreasing by about 0.47″ per year. This causes the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn to drift towards the equator by about 15 metres per year, and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles to drift towards the poles by the same amount. As a result of the movement of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the area of the Tropics decreases worldwide by about 1100 square kilometres per year on average.

The Earth's axial tilt is subject to additional shorter-term variations due to nutation, of which the main term, with a period of 18.7 years, has an amplitude of 9" 21''' (corresponding to almost 300 metres north and south). There are then still many smaller terms, resulting in varying daily shifts of some metres in any direction.

Finally, the Earth's rotational axis is not exactly fixed with respect to the Earth, but undergoes very small fluctuations, called polar motion, which have a small theoretical effect on the positions of the abovementioned parallels. Short-term fluctuations over a matter of days do not directly affect the location of the extreme latitudes at which the sun may appear directly overhead, or at which 24-hour day or night is possible, except when they actually occur at the time of the solstices. Rather, they cause a theoretical shifting of the parallels, that would occur if the given axis tilt were maintained throughout the year.

~ page 103 ~ Arabesque: dome of the Madar-i-Shāh madrasah.

arabesque

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Style of decoration characterized by interlacing plant forms and abstract curvilinear motifs. It is typical of Islamic ornamentation from c. 1000. The word was first used in the 15th or 16th century when Europeans became interested in the Islamic arts, but the motif itself was derived from Hellenistic craftsmen in Asia Minor. Arabesques were also applied to the decoration of illuminated manuscripts, walls, furniture, metalwork, pottery, stonework, majolica, and tapestry from the Renaissance to the 19th century.

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

The arabesque is an artistic motif that is characterized by the application of repeating geometric forms and fancifully combined patterns; these forms often echo those of plants and animals [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Arabesque]. Arabesques are, as their name indicates, elements of Islamic art often found decorating the walls of mosques. The choice of which geometric forms are to be used and how they are to be formatted is based upon the Islamic view of the world. To Muslims, these forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the visible material world. To many in the Islamic world, they concretely symbolize the infinite, and therefore uncentralized, nature of the creation of the one God (Allah). Furthermore, the Islamic Arabesque artist conveys a definite spirituality without the iconography of Christian art.

Mistakes in repetitions may be intentionally introduced as a show of humility by artists who believe only Allah can produce perfection, although this theory is disputed [Thompson, Muhammad, Begum, Nasima, "Islamic Textile Art: Anomalies in Kilims," Salon du Tapis d'Orient: TurkoTek , http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00101/salon.html; Alexenberg, Melvin L., The Future of Art in a Digital Age: From Hellenistic to Hebraic Consciousness (Intellect Ltd., 2006), p. 55; Backhouse, Tim, "'Only God is Perfect,'" Islamic and Geometric Art , http://www.geometricdesign.co.uk/perfect.htm].

History. Geometric artwork in the form of the Arabesques was not widely used in the Middle East or Mediterranean Basin until the golden age of Islam came into full bloom. During this time, ancient texts on Greek and Hellenistic mathematics as well as Indian mathematics were translated into Arabic at the House of Wisdom, an academic research institution in Baghdad. Like the later European Renaissance that followed, mathematics, science, literature and history were infused into the Muslim Islamic world with great, mostly positive repercussions.

The works of ancient scholars such as Plato, Euclid, Aryabhata and Brahmagupta were widely read among the literate and further advanced in order to solve mathematical problems which arose due to the Islamic requirements of determining the Qibla and times of Salah and Ramadan [Gingerich, Owen, "Islamic astronomy," Scientific American 254 (10): 74 (April 1986)]. Plato's ideas about the existence of a separate reality that was perfect in form and function and crystalline in character, Euclidean geometry as expounded on by Al-Abbās ibn Said al-Jawharī (ca. 800-860) in his Commentary on Euclid's Elements , the trigonometry of Aryabhata and Brahmagupta as elaborated on by Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (ca. 780-850), and the development of spherical geometry [Gingerich (1986)] by Abū al-Wafā' al-Būzjānī (940–998) and spherical trigonometry by Al-Jayyani (989-1079) [O'Connor, John J., Robertson, Edmund F., "Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muadh Al-Jayyani," MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive (University of St Andrews), http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk /Biographies/Al- Jayyani.html] for determining the Qibla and times of Salah and Ramadan [Gingerich (1986)], all served as an impetus for the art form that was to become the Arabesque.

Example of zoomorphic arabic calligraphy, by Degeefe, October 31, 2005.*

Description and symbolism. Arabesque art consists of a series of repeating geometric forms which are occasionally accompanied by calligraphy. Ettinghausen et al. describe the arabesque as a "vegetal design consisting of full...and half palmettes [as] an unending continuous pattern...in which each leaf grows out of the tip of another [Richard Ettinghausen, Oleg Grabar, and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Islamic Art and Architecture, 650-1250 (New Haven: Yale UP, 2001), p. 66]." To the adherents of Islam, the Arabesque are symbolic of their united faith and the way in which traditional Islamic cultures view the world.

Two modes. There are two modes to arabesque art. The first recalls the principles that govern the order of the world. These principles include the bare basics of what makes objects structurally sound and, by extension, beautiful (i.e. the angle and the fixed/static shapes that it creates—esp. the truss). In the first mode, each repeating geometric form has a built-in symbolism ascribed to it. For example, the square, with its four equilateral sides, is symbolic of the equally important elements of nature: earth, air, fire and water. Without any one of the four, the physical world, represented by a circle that inscribes the square, would collapse upon itself and cease to exist. The second mode is based upon the flowing nature of plant forms. This mode recalls the feminine nature of life giving. In addition, upon inspection of the many examples of Arabesque art, some would argue that there is in fact a third mode, the mode of Arabic calligraphy.

Calligraphy. Instead of recalling something related to the 'True Reality' (the reality of the spiritual world), for the Muslim calligraphy is a visible expression of the highest art of all; the art of the spoken word (the transmittal of thoughts and of history). In Islam, the most important document to be transmitted orally is, of course, the Qur'an. Proverbs and complete passages from the Qur'an can be seen today in Arabesque art. The coming together of these three forms creates the Arabesque, and this is a reflection of unity arising from diversity (a basic tenet of Islam).

Transcription of selected cognates [p. 103]: arda min : worse than

Talab lil Makama: summon to court

Abd Kahlil Filfil : son of empty pepper

Rashim iqti Said : stupid economy (it's the economy, stupid)

Kotlas : Town, Northwestern Russia, at the confluence of Sukhoma, Vychegda, and Northern Dvina Rivers.

Bir-antikat : well of antiquity bi'sifa muwaq-aata : temporarily

il-Yaum : today

Filfil Azali : eternal pepper

Source: The Hippocrene Concise Dictionary, Arabic-English :Romanized, for the Spoken Arabic of Egypt and Syria (NY: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 1999)).

nawab

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Main Entry: na£bob

Pronunciation: ‚n†-ƒbäb

Function: noun

Etymology: Urdu naww†b, from Arabic nuww†b, plural of n†'ib governor

Date: 1612 1 : a provincial governor of the Mogul empire in India 2 : a person of great wealth or prominence.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Hindi: नवाब ) was originally the subedar (provincial governor) or viceroy of a subah ,اب :A Nawab or Nawaab (Urdu (province) or region of the Mughal empire. It became a high title for Muslim nobles.The term is Urdu, borrowed via Persian from the Arabic being the honorific plural of naib i.e. 'deputy'. In some areas, especially Bengal, the term is pronounced Nobab. This later variation has entered the English and other foreign languages, see below.

The title Nawab or Nawaab is basically derived from the Arab word Naib which means a deputy, Muslim rulers preferred this as then they could be referred to as the deputies of God on earth and hence not infringing on God's title i.e. Lord and master of this earth. The term Nawab is often used to refer to any Muslim ruler in north India while the term Nizam is preferred for their counterparts in south India. This is technically imprecise, as the title was also awarded to others but not applied to every Muslim ruler. With the decline of that empire the title, and the powers that went with it, became hereditary in the ruling families in the various provinces.

Under later British rule, Nawabs continued to rule various princely states of Awadh, Amb, Bahawalpur, Baoni, Banganapalle, Bhopal, Cambay, Jaora, Junagadh, Kurnool, Kurwai, Mamdot, Multan, Palanpur, Pataudi, Rampur, Sachin and Tonk. Other former rulers bearing the title, such as the Nawabs of Bengal and Oudh, had been dispossessed by the British or others by the time the Mughal dynasty finally ended in 1857. Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan 1947-1951.*

October 1896 –16 October 1951) was a Pakistani ن ) (Liaquat Ali Khan (Liâqat Alî Khân) (Urdu: 1 politician who became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Foreign Affairs & Commonwealth, Kashmir Affairs and Defence Minister [http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/cabinet-test/infoservices/qmlk.pdf]. He was also the first Finance Minister of India in the interim government of India prior to independence of both India and Pakistan in 1946 [S. A. Aiyar, "Jaswant pays price for telling the truth," http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com /Swaminomics/entry/jaswant_pays_price _for_telling]. Liaquat rose to political prominence as a member of the All India Muslim League. He played a vital role in the independence of India and Pakistan. In 1947, he became the prime minister of Pakistan. He is regarded as the right-hand man of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League and first governor-general of Pakistan. Liaquat was given the titles of Quaid-e-Millat (Leader of the Nation), and posthumously Shaheed-e-Millat (Martyr of the Nation).

Liaquat was a graduate of Aligarh Muslim University, Oxford University and Middle Temple, London. He rose into prominence within the Muslim League during the 1930s. Significantly, he is credited with persuading Jinnah to return to India, an event which marked the beginning of the Muslim League's ascendancy and paved the way for the Pakistan movement. Following the passage of the Pakistan Resolution in 1940, Liaquat assisted Jinnah in campaigning for the creation of a separate state for Indian Muslims. In 1947, British Raj was divided into the modern-day states of India and Pakistan.

Following independence, India and Pakistan came into conflict over the fate of Kashmir. Khan negotiated extensively with India's then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and pushed for the referral of the problem to the United Nations. During his tenure, Pakistan pursued close ties with the United Kingdom and the United States. The aftermath of Pakistan's independence also saw internal political unrest and even a foiled military coup against his government. After Jinnah's death, Khan assumed a more influential role in the government and passed the Objectives Resolution, a precursor to the Constitution of Pakistan. He was assassinated in 1951.

Upon his death, Khan was given the honorific title of "Shaheed-e-Millat", or "Martyr of the Nation." He was buried in the same manner (tomb) as Jinnah [http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/pakistan/liaquatcia18oct1951.htm]. The Municipal Park, where he was assassinated, was renamed Liaquat Bagh (Bagh means park) in his honour. It is the same location where Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007 ["Doctor relives father's fate after Bhutto attack," Reuters , December 30, 2007, http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia- 31172420071230http://in.reute rs.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-31172420071230]. Tantalite, Pilbara district, Australia. Mineral collection of Brigham Young University Department of Geology, Provo, Utah. Photograph by Andrew Silver [BYU index4-8037, (FeMn)O - (TaNb)_2O_5].*

tantalum

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Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Ta, atomic number 73. It is a dense, hard, unreactive, silvery gray metal with an extremely high melting point (5,425 °F [2,996 °C]). Relatively rare, it occurs native in a few places. It is difficult to separate from niobium, the element above it in the periodic table, with which it shares many properties. The most important uses are in electrolytic capacitors, corrosion-resistant chemical equipment, dental and surgical instruments, tools, catalysts, components of electron tubes, rectifiers, and prostheses. Its compounds are relatively unimportant commercially; tantalum carbide is used in machine tools and dies.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Tantalum was discovered in Sweden in 1802 by Anders Ekeberg. One year before Charles Hatchett had discovered the element columbium [Griffith, William P., Morris, Peter J. T., "Charles Hatchett FRS (1765-1847), Chemist and Discoverer of Niobium," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 57 (3): 299 (2003)]. In 1809, the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston compared the oxides derived from both columbium—columbite, with a density 5.918 g/cm3, and tantalum—tantalite, with a density 7.935 g/cm3, and concluded that the two oxides, despite the significant difference in density, were identical; thus he kept the name tantalum [Wollaston, William Hyde, "On the Identity of Columbium and Tantalum," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 99: 246–252 After Friedrich Wِhler confirmed these results, it was believed that columbium and tantalum where the same .[(1809) element. This conclusion was disputed in 1846 by the German chemist Heinrich Rose, who argued that there were two additional elements in the tantalite sample, and named them after children of Tantalus: niobium (from Niobe, the goddess of tears), and pelopium (from Pelops) [Rose, Heinrich, "Ueber die Zusammensetzung der Tantalite und ein im Tantalite von Baiern enthaltenes neues Metall," Annalen der Physik 139 (10): 317–341 (1844); Rose, Heinrich, ure im Columbit von Nordamérika," Annalen der Physik 146 (4): 572–577 (1847)]. The elementنUeber die S" pelopium later was identified as a mixture of tantalum and niobium, while the niobium was identical to the columbium already discovered in 1801 by Hattchet.

The differences between tantalum and niobium were unequivocally demonstrated in 1864 by Christian Wilhelm ,(ureنure (Ilmensنure, NiobsنBlomstrand [Marignac, Blomstrand, H. Deville, L. Troost, und R. Hermann, "Tantals ure," Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry 5 (1): 384–389 (1866)] and Henri Etienne Sainte-Claireنund Titans Deville, as well as Louis J. Troost, who determined the formulas of some of the compounds in 1865 [Gupta, C. K.; Suri, A. K., Extractive Metallurgy of Niobium (CRC Press, 1994)] and finally by the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac [Marignac, M. C., "Recherches sur les combinaisons du niobium," Annales de chimie et de physique 4 (8): 7–75 (1866), http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148 /bpt6k34818t/f4.table], in 1866, who all proved that there were only two elements. These discoveries did not stop scientists from publishing articles about ilmenium until 1871 [Hermann, R., "Fortgesetzte Untersuchungen über die Verbindungen von Ilmenium und Niobium, sowie über die Zusammensetzung der Niobmineralien (Further research about the compounds of ilmenium and niobium, as well as the composition of niobium minerals)," Journal für Praktische Chemie 3 (1): 373–427 (1871)].

De Marignac was the first to prepare the metal in 1864, when he reduced tantalum chloride by heating it in an atmosphere of hydrogen ["Niobium," Universidade de Coimbra (http://nautilus.fis.uc.pt/st2.5/scenes-e/elem /e04100.html), retrieved on 2008-09-05].

Early investigators were only able to isolate impure metal and the first relatively pure ductile metal was produced by Werner von Bolton in 1903. Wires made with tantalum metal were used for light bulbs until tungsten replaced it ["Scanning Our Past from London: The Filament Lamp and New Materials," Proceedings of the IEEE 89 (3), 2001].

Its name is derived from the character Tantalus, father of Niobe in Greek mythology, who was punished after death by being condemned to stand knee-deep in water with perfect fruit growing above his head, both of which eternally tantalized him - if he bent to drink the water, it drained below the level he could reach, and if he reached for the fruit, the branches moved out of his grasp [Aycan, Mugla, Sule, "Chemistry Education and Mythology," Journal of Social Sciences 1 (4): 238–239 (2005) ]. Ekeberg wrote "This metal I call tantalum … partly in allusion to its incapacity, when immersed in acid, to absorb any and be saturated [Greenwood, Norman N., Earnshaw, A., Chemistry of the Elements , 2nd ed., (Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1997), p. 1138]."

For many years, the commercial technology for separating tantalum from niobium involved the fractional crystallization of potassium heptafluorotantalate away from potassium oxypentafluoroniobate monohydrate, that had been discovered by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in 1866. The method has been supplanted by solvent extraction from fluoride-containing solutions [Gupta & Suri].

~ page 104 ~

1969 Chevrolet Corvair (Chevrolet promotion brochure).*

Corvair

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*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact, six passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for model years 1960-1969 — the only American-made, mass-produced passenger car to feature a rear-mounted engine. Initially marketed as a four-door sedan, the platform subsequently gave rise to a coupe, convertible and station wagon — along with sportier models including the Monza (mid-1960), a five-passenger coupe with bucket seats. The Monza Spyder and later Corsa models were among the first American cars to offer a turbocharged engine. See also Flory, J. "Kelly" Jr., American Cars 1960-1972 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2004), p. 23.

Origin 1956. The Corvair name originated in 1954 as a Corvette fastback show car. Several Chevrolet concept cars of the period, including the Nomad, were based on Chevrolet's sports car. The Corvair was championed by Ed Cole, holding chief engineer and general manager positions at Chevrolet in the 1950s. As the first American response to the growing popularity of small, lightweight imported cars, design began in 1956 with the first vehicles rolling off the assembly line in late 1959 for the 1960 model year. Two Corvairs were tested at the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, for 24 hours. One car rolled over, but the other completed the drive using only one quart (0.95 L) of oil [Wallen, Dick, Riverside Raceway: Palace of Speed (Glendale, AZ: Dick Wallen Productions, 2000)]. The Corvair was introduced to the public early in 1960 at the Hal Roach Studios as actress Shirley Bonne unveiled the first model.

The Corvair was a relatively successful model for Chevrolet, with annual unit sales exceeding 200,000 for each of its first six model years. Chevrolet deliberately designed it as a radical departure from the conventional Chevrolet. The rear engine design offered enormous packaging and economy advantages, providing the car with a lower silhouette, flat passenger compartment floor, obviating the need for power assists, reducing the need for air conditioning (due to the absence of engine heat blowing over the passenger compartment), and offering dramatic improvements in ride quality, traction, and braking balance. The radically different design also attracted customers from other makes, primarily imports. This was an important and often under-emphasized reason of the car's success [http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/1968/Chevy/Corvair/Accessories/]. The Corvair stood out with engineering significantly different from other American offerings. It was part of GM's innovative Y-body ("Z"-Body from 1965 on) line of cars, and by far the most unusual, due to the location and design of its engine; a rear engine-rear wheel drive layout, like the VW Type 1 and Porsche 911. The 1948 Tucker Torpedo (51 produced), had also used this layout to mixed reviews.

The Corvair's powerplant is an aluminum air-cooled 140 in³ (2.3 L) flat-6. The first Corvair engine produced 80 hp (60 kW). Power peaked with the 1965-66 turbocharged 180 hp (134 kW) Corsa engine option. The first generation model's swing axle rear suspension, invented and patented by engineer Edmund Rumpler, offered a comfortable ride but raised safety concerns associated with the car's handling stability, and was replaced in 1965 with a fully independent rear suspension similar to the Corvette Sting Ray.

The Corvair represented a breakthrough in unibody construction for mass-produced Detroit vehicles, the most successful automobile of this type up to that time, with 1,786,243 cars being produced between 1960 and 1969 [http://www.corvair.org/csaindex.php?csaact=hist; http://corvaircentral.com/production_totals.asp]. The Corvair was built from uniform molds and relied on the shaping of the glass and doors for help with structural integrity [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Chevrolet-Corvair/Monty-Montgomery/e/978158 3881187/?itm=1]. Convertible versions had special supports welded underneath to compensate for the lack of a steel roof.

End of the Corvair 1969. According to noted GM historian Dave Newell, Chevrolet had planned on ceasing Corvair production after the 1966 model year. Development and engineering changes were halted in 1966 on the year-old, redesigned second-generation cars with mainly federally mandated emissions and safety changes made thereafter. A variety of factors contributed to Corvair's plummeting sales in 1966.

Ralph Nader, attorney and consumer advocate highlighted the Corvair's handling↓ in his book Unsafe At Any Speed [Nader, Ralph, Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-in Dangers of the American Automobile (New York: Grossman, 1972 (rev. ed.)] published in November 1965. A chapter in the book alleged the 1960-63 Corvair's swing axle design rear suspension contributed to a greater tendency of loss of driver control, spin-out and roll-over. 1966 Corvair sales subsequently fell to half from the sales of 1965.

The Corvair had faced increasing competition from the Ford Mustang, Chevy's own Camaro, and other pony cars in—ironically, a market pioneered by the Corvair Monza. The car had been costly to produce, yet was not offered at a premium price; not a high profit earner for Chevrolet as was the Corvette for example. An increasing lack of interest from the company, especially from Chevrolet's General Manager John DeLorean, and a complete absence of Corvair advertising after 1967 reflected the company's priorities, including promotion of three redesigned models for 1968—the Corvette, Chevelle and Chevy II Nova.

The Corvair was referred to as "the phantom" by Car Life magazine in their 1968 Monza road test, and by 1969 Chevrolet's Corvair four-page brochure was "by request only." An indication of the Corvair's imminent demise was when the 1969 models were introduced: GM equipped all of its 1969 models one year ahead of government requirements with a steering column-mounted, anti-theft ignition switch and a new, square-shaped ignition key. All except the Corvair. It got the new key but was the only GM car to retain the dashboard ignition switch. That final year only 6000 cars were produced. Cars from November 1968 through May 1969 were virtually hand-built by a dedicated Corvair team in an off-line area of the assembly plant in order to ramp up Nova production (built at the same plant) to keep up with its increasing demand.

Cutting across the center of this image from the Apollo 10 is the Rima Ariadaeus, a linear rille. Rima Ariadaeus on the Moon is thought to be a graben. The lack of erosion on the Moon makes its structure with two parallel faults and the sunken block in between particularly obvious. The crater to the south of the rille in the left half of the image is Silberschlag crater. The dark patch at the top right is the floor of Boscovitch crater (http://www.apolloarchive.com/apollo_gallery.html).*

Graben

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Any flat, low, dark plain on the Moon. Maria are huge lava flows marked by ridges, depressions (graben), and faults; though mare means “sea” in Latin, they lack water. The best-known is probably Mare Tranquillitatis (“Sea of Tranquillity”), the site of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. All 14 maria are on the side of the Moon that always faces Earth; they are its largest surface features and can be seen from Earth with the unaided eye. The features of the “man in the moon” are maria.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural [http://www.glossary.oilfield .slb.com/Display.cfm?Term=graben]. A graben is the result of a block of land being downthrown producing a valley with a distinct scarp on each side. Graben often occur side-by-side with horsts. Horst and graben structures are indicative of tensional forces and crustal stretching.

Graben are produced from parallel normal faults, where the hanging wall is downthrown and the footwall is upthrown. The faults typically dip toward the center of the graben from both sides. Horsts are parallel blocks that remain between grabens, the bounding faults of a horst typically dip away from the center line of the horst. Single or multiple graben can produce a rift valley. One of the world's deepest graben with over 1000 metres of downthrow is the Mount Unzen volcanic complex in southern Japan [citation needed].

Half-graben. In many rifts the graben are asymmetric, with a major fault along only one of the boundaries, and these are known as half-graben. The asymmetry is important in defining the origin of shear and local associated ground motion. The polarity (throw direction) of the main bounding faults typically alternate along the length of the rift. The asymmetry of a half-graben strongly affects syntectonic deposition. Comparatively little sediment enters the half- graben across the main bounding fault, due to the effects of footwall uplift on the drainage systems. The exception is at any major offset in the bounding fault, where a relay ramp may provide an important sediment input point. Most of the sediment will enter the half-graben down the unfaulted hanging wall side (e.g. Lake Baikal) [Nelson, C. H., Karabanov, E. B., Colman, S. and Escutia, C., "Tectonic and sediment supply control of deep rift lake turbidite systems: Lake Baikal, Russia," Geology 27, 163–166 (1999)].

~ page 105 ~

2D structure of benzodiazepine class drug chlordiazepoxide.*

Librium

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*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Chlordiazepoxide, initially called methaminodiazepoxide was the first benzodiazepine discovered being synthesised in the mid 1950's. Chlordiazepoxide was synthesised from work on a chemical dye, quinazolone-3-oxides. It was discovered by accident when in 1957 tests revealed that the compound had hypnotic, anxiolytic and muscle relaxant effects. Three years later chlordiazepoxide was marketed as a therapeutic benzodiazepine medication under the brand name Librium. Following chlordiazepoxide in 1963 diazepam hit the market under the brand name Valium followed by many further benzodiazepine compounds which were introduced over the subsequent years and decades [Cooper, Jack R; Floyd E. Bloom, Robert H. Roth, The Complete Story of the Benzodiazepines , 7th ed. (USA: Oxford University Press, 1996), http://www.etfrc.com/benzos1.htm].

In 1959 it was used by over 2,000 physicians and more than 20,000 patients. It was described as "chemically and clinically different from any of the tranquilizers, psychic energizers or other psychotherapeutic drugs now available." During studies, chlordiazepoxide induced muscle relaxation and a quieting effect on laboratory animals like mice, rats, cats, and dogs. Fear and aggression were eliminated in much smaller doses than those necessary to produce hypnosis. Chlordiazepoxide is similar to phenobarbital in its anticonvulsant properties. However, it lacks the hypnotic effects of barbiturates. Animal tests were conducted in the Boston Zoo and the San Diego Zoo. Forty-two hospital patients admitted for acute and chronic alcoholism, and various psychoses and neuroses were treated with chlordiazepoxide. In a majority of the patients, anxiety, tension, and motor excitement were "effectively reduced." The most positive results were observed among alcoholic patients. It was reported that ulcers and dermatologic problems, both of which involve emotional factors, were reduced by chlordiazepoxide ["Help For Mental Illness (Reports on Tests of Synthetic Drug Say The Results are Positive)," New York Times , 28 February 1960, p. E9].

Chlordiazepoxide enabled the treatment of emotional disturbances without a loss of mental acuity or alertness. It assisted persons burdened by compulsive reactions like one that felt compelled to count the slats on venetian blinds upon entering a room [“Makers Worried On Tranquilizers”, New York Times , 28 August 1960, p. F1]. In 1963, approval for use was given to diazepam (Valium), a "simplified" version of chlordiazepoxide, primarily to counteract anxiety symptoms. Sleep-related problems were treated with nitrazepam (Mogadon), which was introduced in 1965, temazepam (Restoril), which was introduced in 1969, and flurazepam (Dalmane), which was introduced in 1973 [Sternbach L. H., "The discovery of librium," Agents Actions 2 (4): 193–6 (1972)].

~ page 106 ~ essoin

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Main Entry: es£soin

Pronunciation: i-‚s•in

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English essoine, from Middle French, from Old French, from essoinier to offer an essoin, from es- ex- + soine legal excuse, of Germanic origin; akin to Old Saxon sunnea denial, Old English s‹th truth— more at sooth

Date: 14th century 1 : an excuse for not appearing in an English law court at the appointed time 2 obsolete : excuse, delay.

hagiography

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Literature describing the lives of the saints. Christian hagiography includes stories of saintly monks, bishops, princes, and virgins, with accounts of their martyrdom and of the miracles connected with their relics, tombs, icons, or statues. Written as early as the 2nd century and popular during the Middle Ages, hagiographies focus on lives of individual saints or on stories of a class of saints (e.g., martyrs).

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

,éïٍمˌ) iˌˌˌrəfi/) is the study of saints. A hagiography, from the Greek (h)ağiosˌوHagiography (pronounced /ˌh holy" or "saint") and graphēٌِ ) , "writing"), refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and" specifically to the biographies of ecclesiastical and secular leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is éïٌِ refers toمˌ also current in English, though less common. (This, in fact, follows original Greek practice, where (.éïëïمˌ or the study thereof are known as (وïé or vitكvisual images of the saints, while their written lives (â

Christian hagiographies focus on the lives, and notably the miracles of men and women canonized by the Roman Catholic church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church . Other religions such as Buddhism and Islam also create and maintain hagiographical texts concerning saints and other individuals believed to be imbued with the sacred. The term "hagiographic" has also been used as a pejorative reference to the works of biographers and historians perceived to be uncritical or "reverential" to their subject.

Development of hagiography. Hagiography constituted an important literary genre in the early Christian church, providing some informational history with the more important inspirational stories and legend. A hagiographic account of an individual saint can constitute a vita or brief biography, an Acta Sanctorum or account of the deeds of the individual, or it may be condensed into a passio, concentrating on the saint's martyrdom.

The genre of lives of the saints first came into being in the Roman Empire as legends about Christian martyrs and were called martyrologies. In the 4th century, there were three main types of catalogs of lives of the saints:

• - annual calendar catalogue, or menaion (in Greek, menaios means "month") (biographies of the saints to be read at sermons); • - synaxarion, or a short version of lives of the saints, arranged by dates; • - paterikon (in Latin, pater means "father"), or biography of the specific saints, chosen by the catalog compiler. In Western Europe hagiography was one of the more important vehicles for the study of inspirational history during val hagiographicوthe Middle Ages. The Golden Legend of Jacob de Voragine compiled a great deal of medi material, with a strong emphasis on miracle tales. Lives were often written to promote the cult of local or national states, and in particular to develop pilgrimages to visit relics. The bronze Gniezno Doors of Gniezno Cathedral in Poland are the only Romanesque doors in Europe to feature the life of a saint. The life of Saint Adalbert, who is buried in the cathedral, is shown in 18 scenes, probably based on a lost illuminated copy of one of his Lives.

The Bollandist Society continues the study, academic assembly, appraisal and publication of materials relating to the lives of Christian saints. The Bollandists are an association of scholars - originally all Jesuit, but now including non- Jesuits—philologists and historians—who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity. Their most important publication has been the Acta Sanctorum (the Lives of the Saints). They are named after the Jesuit and founding hagiographer Jean Bolland or Bollandus (1596-1665).

Acta Sanctorum . The idea of the Acta Sanctorum was first conceived by the Dutch Jesuit Heribert Rosweyde (1569- 1629), who was a lecturer at the Jesuit college of Douai. Rosweyde used his leisure time to collect information about the lives of the saints. On his death, Bolland continued his work in Antwerp.

Underestimating the magnitude of the undertaking, Bolland initially thought he could finish the work on his own, but after a few years he had to admit that the undertaking was beyond his individual strength. He was then assigned an assistant, Godfrey Henschen or Henschenius (1601-1681). The first two volumes of the Acta , by Bolland and Henschen, were published in Antwerp in 1643.

Unlike Rosweyde and Bolland, Henschen was allowed to devote himself exclusively to the writing of the Acta . He solved many problems relating to chronology, geography and the philological interpretation of the sources. By the time of his death, 24 volumes had appeared; moreover, Henschen left many notes and commentaries for the following volumes. It can therefore be said that the Acta owe their final form to Henschen.

In 1659, Bolland and Henschen were joined by Daniel van Papenbroeck or Papebrochius (1628-1714), who devoted fifty-five years of his life to the Acta . From July 1660 until December 1662, Henschen and van Papenbroeck travelled through Germany, Italy and France in order to collect copies of hagiographic manuscripts. Another Bollandist of this period was Jean Gamans.

Suppression and relocation (18th century). When the Society of Jesus was suppressed by Pope Clement XIV in 1773, the Bollandists moved from Antwerp to Brussels, where they continued their work in the monastery of the Coudenberg until 1788, when the Bollandist Society was suppressed by the Austrian government of the Low Countries. Their library was acquired by the Premonstratensians of the Abbey of Tongerloo, who endeavored to carry on the work. The fifty-third volume was published by the abbot of Tongerloo in 1794. The 53 volumes of the first series covered the saints from January 1 to October 14.

Refoundation. After the re-establishment of the Society of Jesus in Belgium, a new Society of Bollandists was formed in the second quarter of the nineteenth century under the patronage of the Belgian government. The first volume of the new series appeared in 1845. A collection of 61 volumes was published in Paris between 1863 and 1867. By the end of the 19th century the work was re-oriented, bringing it more in line with the new philological methods. In 1882, a quarterly review on critical hagiography was established under the title of Analecta Bollandiana , which still exists today and publishes supplements to the Acta .

immunology

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Main Entry: im£mu£nol£o£gy

‡l„-j-نPronunciation: ƒi-my„-‚n

Function: noun Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary

Date: 1910 : a science that deals with the immune system and the cell-mediated and humoral aspects of immunity and immune responses jik\ or-نim£mu£no£log£ic \-n„-‚l– ji-k„l\ adjective-نim£mu£no£log£i£cal \-‚l im£mu£no£log£i£cal£ly \-ji-k(„-)l‡\ adverb .l„-jist\ noun-نim£mu£nol£o£gist \ƒi-my„-‚n

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms [ Janeway's Immunobiology , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov /books/bv.fcgi?rid=imm.TOC&depth=2]. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and disease; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders (autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivities, immune deficiency, transplant rejection); the physical, chemical and physiological characteristics of the components of the immune system in vitro, in situ, and in vivo. Immunology has applications in several disciplines of science, and as such is further divided.

Classical immunology. Classical immunology ties in with the fields of epidemiology and medicine. It studies the relationship between the body systems, pathogens, and immunity. The earliest written mention of immunity can be traced back to the plague of Athens in 430 BCE. Thucydides noted that people who had recovered from a previous bout of the disease could nurse the sick without contracting the illness a second time. Many other ancient societies have references to this phenomenon, but it was not until the 19th and 20th centuries before the concept developed into scientific theory.

The study of the molecular and cellular components that comprise the immune system, including their function and interaction, is the central science of immunology. The immune system has been divided into a more primitive innate immune system, and acquired or adaptive immune system of vertebrates, the latter of which is further divided into humoral and cellular components.

The humoral (antibody) response is defined as the interaction between antibodies and antigens. Antibodies are specific proteins released from a certain class of immune cells (B lymphocytes). Antigens are defined as anything that elicits generation of antibodies, hence they are Antibody Generators. Immunology itself rests on an understanding of the properties of these two biological entities. However, equally important is the cellular response, which can not only kill infected cells in its own right, but is also crucial in controlling the antibody response. Put simply, both systems are highly interdependent.

In the 21st century, immunology has broadened its horizons with much research being performed in the more specialized niches of immunology. This includes the immunological function of cells, organs and systems not normally associated with the immune system, as well as the function of the immune system outside classical models of immunity.

~ page 107 ~ Buste ancien de Marianne (anonyme), un des multiples représentation symboliques de la République française exposé dans les couloirs du Sénat à Paris. Photo de F Lamiot, faite le 15 novembre 2006.*

Phrygia

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Ancient district, west-central Anatolia. It was named for a people whom the Greeks called Phryges and who dominated Anatolia between the Hittite collapse (12th century BC) and ascent of Lydia (7th century BC). The Phrygians were possibly of Thracian origin (see Thrace) and had their capital at Gordium. The kingdom of their legendary ruler, Midas, ended c. 700 BC with the invasion of the Cimmerians, who burned the capital. The Phrygians excelled in metalwork, wood carving, carpet making, and embroidery. Their religious cult of the Great Mother of the Gods was passed on to the Greeks. Excavations conducted since 1945 have uncovered carved stone tombs and shrines there.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

During the 18th century, the red Phrygian cap evolved into a symbol of freedom, held aloft on a Liberty Pole during the American Revolutionary War.

The cap was especially adopted during the French Revolution [Richard Wrigley, "Transformations of a revolutionary emblem: The Liberty Cap in the French Revolution,” French History 11(2) 1997:131-169], along with other symbols adopted from classical Antiquity: to this day the national emblem of France, Marianne, is shown wearing a Phrygian cap. The bonnet rouge, which eventually appeared on almost every conceivable manufactured article, made its appearance early in the Revolution. It was first seen publicly in May 1790, at a festival in Troyes adorning a statue representing the nation, and at Lyon, on a lance carried by the goddess Liberty [Albert Mathiez, Les origines des cultes révolutionnaires, 1789-1792 (Paris 1904:34)].

In 1792, when Louis XVI was induced to sign a constitution, popular prints of the king were doctored to show him wearing the bonnet rouge [Harris, Jennifer, "The Red Cap of Liberty: A Study of Dress Worn by French Revolutionary Partisans 1789-94," Eighteenth-Century Studies 14(3), (Spring 1981:283-312), p. 284, fig. 1; Most of the details that follow are drawn from Ms Harris]. The bust of Voltaire was crowned with the red bonnet of liberty after a performance of his Brutus at the Comédie-Française in March 1792. The spire of the cathedral in Strasbourg was crowned with a bonnet rouge in order to prevent it from being torn down in 1794. By wearing the red Phrygian cap the Paris sans-culottes made their Revolutionary ardour and plebeian solidarity immediately recognizable. During the period of the Great Terror, the cap was adopted defensively even by those who might be denounced as moderates or aristocrats and were especially keen to advertise their adherence to the new regime. The cap was also incorporated into the symbol of the late 18th century Irish revolutionary organisation the Society of the United Irishmen. The English Radicals of 1819 and 1820 often wore a white "cap of liberty" on public occasions.

Books of Chronicles

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II Chronicles 26:16. "But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly (NAS) . . ."

Nave’s Topical Bible: A Digest of the Holy Scriptures , S. Maxwell Coder, rev. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974). The Comparative Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervon Corporation, 1984).

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

The time of the composition of the Chronicles is believed to have been subsequent to the Babylonian captivity, possibly between 450 and 435 B.C., though Martin Noth was of the opinion that it dated from the 3rd century B.C.; and Gary Knoppers, while acknowledging that Chronicles theoretically could be written anywhere between 500 - 250 B.C., tends to see it as probably dating between 325 and 275 B.C.). The contents of Chronicles, both as to matter and form, correspond closely with this idea. The close of the book records the proclamation of Cyrus the Great permitting the Jews to return to their own land, and this forms the opening passage of the Book of Ezra, which is viewed as a continuation of the Chronicles, together with the Book of Nehemiah. The peculiar form of the language, being Hebrew in vocabulary but Aramaean in its general character, harmonizes also with that of the other books which were written after the Exile. The author was likely contemporary with Zerubbabel, details of whose family history are given (1 Chronicles 3:19).

In its general scope and design Chronicles is not so much historical as didactic. The principal aim of the writer appears to be to present moral and religious truth. He does not give prominence to political occurrences, as is done in the books of Samuel and Kings, but to religious institutions, such as the details of the temple service. The genealogies were an important part of the public records of the Hebrew state. They were the basis on which the land was distributed and held, and by which the public services of the temple were arranged and conducted. The Chronicles are an epitome of the sacred history from the days of Adam down to the return from Babylonian exile, a period of about 3,500 years. The writer gathers up the threads of the old national life broken by the captivity.

The sources whence the chronicler compiled his work were public records, registers, and genealogical tables belonging to the Jews. These are referred to in the course of the book (1 Chr. 27:24; 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 20:34; 24:27; 26:22; 32:32; 33:18, 19; 27:7; 35:25). There are in Chronicles, and the books of Samuel and Kings, forty parallels, often verbal, proving that the writer of Chronicles both knew and used those other books.

As compared with Samuel and Kings, the Book of Chronicles omits many particulars there recorded and includes many things not found in the other two documents. Often the Chronicles paint a somewhat more positive picture of the same events. This corresponds to their time of composition: Samuel and Kings were probably completed during the exile, at a time when the history of the newly wiped out Hebrew kingdoms was still fresh in the minds of the writers, a period largely considered a colossal failure. The Chronicles, on the other hand, were written much later, after the restoration of the Jewish community in Palestine, at a time when the kingdoms were beginning to be regarded as the nostalgic past, something to be at least partially imitated, not something to be avoided.

Twenty whole chapters of the Chronicles, and twenty-four parts of chapters, are occupied with matters not found elsewhere. It also records many people and events in fuller detail, as the list of David's heroes (1 Chr. 12:1-37), the removal of the Ark of the Covenant from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion (1 Chr. 13; 15:2-24; 16:4-43; comp. 2 Sam. 6), Uzziah's tzaraas (commonly translated as "leprosy") and its cause (2 Chr. 26:16-21; comp. 2 Kings 15:5), etc.

It has also been observed that another peculiarity of the book is that it substitutes more modern and more common expressions for those that had then become unusual or obsolete. This is seen particularly in the substitution of modern names of places, such as were in use in the writer's day, for the old names; thus Gezer (1 Chr. 20:4) is used instead of Gob (2 Sam. 21:18), etc. The Book of Chronicles is alluded to, though not directly quoted, in the New Testament (Hebrews 5:4; Matthew 12:42; 23:35; Luke 1:5; 11:31, 51).

~ page 108 ~

Six winged Seraphim (after Pushkin's poem "Prophet"), 1905. By Mikhail Vrubel.*

seraph

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In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literature, a celestial being with two or three pairs of wings who guards the throne of God. In Christian angelology, seraphim are the highest-ranking in the hierarchy of angels. In art they are often painted red, symbolizing fire. They appear in the Old Testament in a vision of Isaiah as six-winged creatures praising God. See also cherub.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

The Seraphim make their first Christian appearance in the Book of Revelation iv. 6-8, where they are forever in God's presence and praising Him constantly: "Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'" The Seraphim and the Cherubim are, in Christian theology, two separate types of angels. The descriptions of the Seraphim, Cherubim and Ophanim are often similar, but still distinguishable.

In medieval Christian neo-Platonic theology, the Seraphim belong to the highest order, or angelic choir, of the hierarchy of angels. They are said to be the caretakers of God's throne, continuously singing Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, i. e. "holy, holy, holy"—cf. "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His Glory" (Isaiah 6:3). This chanting is referred to as the Trisagion.

The Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite , in his Celestial Hierarchy (vii), helped fix the fiery nature of seraphim in the medieval imagination. It is here that the Seraphim are described as being concerned with keeping Divinity in perfect order, and not limited to chanting the trisagion. Taking his cue from writings in the Rabbinic tradition, the author gave an etymology for the Seraphim as "those who kindle or make hot":

"The name seraphim clearly indicates their ceaseless and eternal revolution about Divine Principles, their heat and keenness, the exuberance of their intense, perpetual, tireless activity, and their elevative and energetic assimilation of those below, kindling them and firing them to their own heat, and wholly purifying them by a burning and all-consuming flame; and by the unhidden, unquenchable, changeless, radiant and enlightening power, dispelling and destroying the shadows of darkness." St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae offers a description of the nature of the Seraphim:

"The name 'Seraphim' does not come from charity only, but from the excess of charity, expressed by the word ardor or fire. Hence Dionysius (Coel. Hier. vii) expounds the name 'Seraphim' according to the properties of fire, containing an excess of heat. Now in fire we may consider three things.

"First, the movement which is upwards and continuous. This signifies that they are borne inflexibly towards God.

"Secondly, the active force which is 'heat,' which is not found in fire simply, but exists with a certain sharpness, as being of most penetrating action, and reaching even to the smallest things, and as it were, with superabundant fervor; whereby is signified the action of these angels, exercised powerfully upon those who are subject to them, rousing them to a like fervor, and cleansing them wholly by their heat.

"Thirdly we consider in fire the quality of clarity, or brightness; which signifies that these angels have in themselves an inextinguishable light, and that they also perfectly enlighten others."

With the revival of neo-Platonism in the academy formed around Lorenzo de' Medici, the seraphim took on a mystic role in Pico della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man (1487), the epitome of Renaissance humanism. Pico took the fiery Seraphim—"they burn with the fire of charity"—as the highest models of human aspiration: "impatient of any second place, let us emulate dignity and glory. And, if we will it, we shall be inferior to them in nothing", the young Pico announced, in the first flush of optimistic confidence in the human capacity that is the coinage of the Renaissance. "In the light of intelligence, meditating upon the Creator in His work, and the work in its Creator, we shall be resplendent with the light of the Cherubim. If we burn with love for the Creator only, his consuming fire will quickly transform us into the flaming likeness of the Seraphim [http://www.angelfire.com/wizard/regulus_antares/ pico_della_mirandola.htm ]."

St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan theologian who was a contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas, uses the six wings of the seraph as an important analogical construct in his mystical work The Journey of the Mind to God .

As they were developed in Christian theology, seraphim are beings of pure light and have direct communication with God. They resonate with the fire symbolically attached to both purification and love. The etymology of "seraphim" itself comes from the word saraph. Saraph in all its forms is used to connote a burning, fiery state. Seraphim, as classically depicted, can be identified by their having six wings radiating from the angel's face at the center.

Description de l'image : photo du temple d'Apollon du site de Delphes en Grèce.*

Delphi

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Site of the ancient temple and oracle of Apollo in Greece. Located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, it was the centre of the world in ancient Greek religion. According to legend, the oracle was originally sacred to Gaea, and Apollo acquired it by slaying her child, the serpent Python. From 582 BC Delphi was the site of the Pythian Games. The oracle was consulted not only on private matters but also on affairs of state, such as the founding of new colonies.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Delphi is perhaps best-known for the oracle at the sanctuary that became dedicated to Apollo during the classical period. According to Aeschylus in the prologue of the Eumenides , it had origins in prehistoric times and the worship of Gaia. In the last quarter of the 8th century BC there is a steady increase of artifacts found at the settlement site in Delphi. Pottery and bronze work as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in comparison to Olympia. Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for worshipers of a wide range, but the strong representation of high value goods, found in no other mainland sanctuary, certainly encourages that view.

The priestess of the oracle at Delphi was known as the Pythia. Apollo spoke through his oracle, who had to be an older woman of blameless life chosen from among the peasants of the area. The sibyl or prophetess took the name Pythia and sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth. When Apollo slew Python, its body fell into this fissure, according to legend, and fumes arose from its decomposing body. Intoxicated by the vapors, the sibyl would fall into a trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. It has been postulated that a gas came out of this opening that is known to produce violent trances, though this theory remains debatable [Spiller, Henry A., John R. Hale, and Jelle Z. de Boer, "The Delphic Oracle: A Multidisciplinary Defense of the Gaseous Vent Theory," Clinical Toxicology 40.2 (2000) 189-196]. The oracle spoke in riddles, which were interpreted by the priests of the temple, and people consulted her on everything from important matters of public policy to personal affairs.

H.W. Parke writes that the foundation of Delphi and its oracle took place before the times of recorded history and its origins are obscure, but dating to the worship of the Great Goddess, Gaia [Herbert William Parke, The Delphic Oracle , v.1, p.3. "The foundation of Delphi and its oracle took place before the times of recorded history. It would be foolish to look for a clear statement of origin from any ancient authority, but one might hope for a plain account of the primitive traditions. Actually this is not what we find. The foundation of the oracle is described by three early writers: the author of the Homeric Hymn to Apollo , Aeschylus in the prologue to the Eumenides , and Euripides in a chorus in the Iphigeneia in Tauris . All three versions, instead of being simple and traditional, are already selective and tendentious. They disagree with each other basically, but have been superficially combined in the conventional version of late classical times." Parke goes on to say, "This version [Euripides] evidently reproduces in a sophisticated form the primitive tradition which Aeschylus for his own purposes had been at pains to contradict: the belief that Apollo came to Delphi as an invader and appropriated for himself a previously existing oracle of Earth. The slaying of the serpent is the act of conquest which secures his possession; not as in the Homeric Hymn , a merely secondary work of improvement on the site. Another difference is also noticeable. The Homeric Hymn , as we saw, implied that the method of prophecy used there was similar to that of Dodona: both Aeschylus and Euripides, writing in the fifth century, attribute to primeval times the same methods as used at Delphi in their own day. So much is implied by their allusions to tripods and prophetic seats." Continuing on p.6, "Another very archaic feature at Delphi also confirms the ancient associations of the place with the Earth goddess. This was the Omphalos, an egg-shaped stone which was situated in the innermost sanctuary of the temple in historic times. Classical legend asserted that it marked the 'navel' (Omphalos) or centre of the Earth and explained that this spot was determined by Zeus who had released two eagles to fly from opposite sides of the earth and that they had met exactly over this place". On p.7 he writes further, "So Delphi was originally devoted to the worship of the Earth goddess whom the Greeks called Ge, or Gaia (mythology). Themis, who is associated with her in tradition as her daughter and partner or successor, is really another manifestation of the same deity: an identity which Aeschylus himself recognized in another context. The worship of these two, as one or distinguished, was displaced by the introduction of Apollo. His origin has been the subject of much learned controversy: it is sufficient for our purpose to take him as the Homeric Hymn represents him -- a northern intruder -- and his arrival must have occurred in the dark interval between Mycenaean and Hellenic times. His conflict with Ge for the possession of the cult site was represented under the legend of his slaying the serpent"]. The Oracle exerted considerable influence throughout the Greek world, and she was consulted before all major undertakings: wars, the founding of colonies, and so forth. She also was respected by the semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Lydia, Caria, and even Egypt.

~ page 109 ~ Aurora australis (September 11, 2005) as captured by NASA's IMAGE satellite, digitally overlaid onto the The Blue Marble composite image.*

aurora

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Luminous phenomenon of the upper atmosphere that occurs primarily at high latitudes. Auroras in the Northern Hemisphere are called aurora borealis, or northern lights; in the Southern Hemisphere they are called aurora australis, or southern lights. Auroras are caused by the interaction of energetic particles (electrons and protons) from outside the atmosphere with atoms of the upper atmosphere. Such interaction occurs in zones surrounding the Earth's magnetic poles. During periods of intense solar activity, auroras occasionally extend to the middle latitudes.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

The ultimate energy source of the aurora is the solar wind flowing past the Earth.

The magnetosphere and solar wind consist of plasma (ionized gas), which conducts electricity. It is well known (since Michael Faraday's [1791 - 1867] work around 1830) that when an electrical conductor is placed within a magnetic field while relative motion occurs in a direction that the conductor cuts across (or is cut by), rather than along, the lines of the magnetic field, an electrical current is said to be induced into that conductor and electrons will flow within it. The amount of current flow is dependent upon a) the rate of relative motion and b) the strength of the magnetic field, c) the number of conductors ganged together and d) the distance between the conductor and the magnetic field, while the direction of flow is dependent upon the direction of relative motion. Dynamos make use of this basic process ("the dynamo effect"), any and all conductors, solid or otherwise are so affected including plasmas or other fluids.

In particular the solar wind and the magnetosphere are two electrically conducting fluids with such relative motion and should be able (in principle) to generate electric currents by "dynamo action", in the process also extracting energy from the flow of the solar wind. The process is hampered by the fact that plasmas conduct easily along magnetic field lines, but not so easily perpendicular to them. So it is important that a temporary magnetic connection be established between the field lines of the solar wind and those of the magnetosphere, by a process known as magnetic reconnection. It happens most easily with a southward slant of interplanetary field lines, because then field lines north of Earth approximately match the direction of field lines near the north magnetic pole (namely, into Earth), and similarly near the south magnetic pole. Indeed, active auroras (and related "substorms") are much more likely at such times. Electric currents originating in such way apparently give auroral electrons their energy. The magnetospheric plasma has an abundance of electrons: some are magnetically trapped, some reside in the magnetotail, and some exist in the upward extension of the ionosphere, which may extend (with diminishing density) some 25,000 km around Earth.

Bright auroras are generally associated with Birkeland currents (Schield et al., 1969 [Schield, M. A.; Freeman, J. W.; & Dessler, A. J., "A Source for Field-Aligned Currents at Auroral Latitudes," Journal of Geophysical Research 74, 247-256 (1969)]; Zmuda and Armstrong, 1973 [Armstrong J. C., Zmuda, A. J. "Triaxial magnetic measurements of field-aligned currents at 800 kilometers in the auroral region: Initial results," Journal of Geophysical Research 78, 6802-6807 (1973)]) which flow down into the ionosphere on one side of the pole and out on the other. In between, some of the current connects directly through the ionospheric E layer (125 km); the rest ("region 2") detours, leaving again through field lines closer to the equator and closing through the "partial ring current" carried by magnetically trapped plasma. The ionosphere is an ohmic conductor, so such currents require a driving voltage, which some dynamo mechanism can supply. Electric field probes in orbit above the polar cap suggest voltages of the order of 40,000 volts, rising up to more than 200,000 volts during intense magnetic storms.

In Richard Westall's "Sword of Damocles," (1812), the boys of Cicero's anecdote have been changed to maidens for a neoclassical patron, Thomas Hope (at Ackland Art Museum, UNC).*

Damocles

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Flourished 4th century BC. Member of the court of Dionysius I the Elder at Syracuse in Sicily. Legend holds that when Damocles spoke in extravagant terms of Dionysius's happiness, the sovereign responded by inviting Damocles to a banquet and seating him beneath a sword suspended by a thread, thereby demonstrating the precarious fortunes of people who hold power.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

The Sword of Damocles is frequently used in allusion to this tale, epitomizing the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. More generally, it is used to denote the sense of foreboding engendered by a precarious situation [evil foreboded or dreaded," was the succinct remark of William Rose Benet, in The Reader's Encyclopedia , 1948, s.v. "Damocles"], especially one in which the onset of tragedy is restrained only by a delicate trigger or chance. Shakespeare's King Henry IV expands on this theme: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown [Shakespeare, Henry IV , Part II (1597): on-line quotation (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/396000.html) in context];” compare the Hellenistic and Roman imagery connected with the insecurity offered by Tyche and Fortuna. Woodcut images of the Sword of Damocles as an emblem appear in sixteenth and seventeenth-century European books of devices, with moralizing couplets or quatrains, with the import METVS EST PLENA TYRANNIS , "The tyrant is filled with fear"— as it is the tyrant's place to sit daily under the sword [some examples on the Internet at http://www.emblems.arts .gla.ac.uk/french/: Guillaume La Perrière (/emblem.php?id=FLPb030), Morosophie (1553), emblem 30; Claude Paradin (/emblem.php?id=FPAb088), Devises heroïques (1557), "Coelitus impendet" ("It hangs from Heaven"); Jean Jacques Boissard (/emblem.php?id=FBOb045), Emblematum Liber (1593), emblem 45]. In Wenceslas Hollar's Emblemata Nova (London, no date), a small vignette shows Damocles under a canopy of state, at the festive table, with Dionysius seated nearby; the etching, with its clear political moral, was later used by Thomas Hobbes to illustrate his Philosophicall Rudiments Concerning Government and Society (London 1651) [Richard Pennington, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etched Work of Wenceslaus Hollar , 1607-1677, (Cambridge University Press, 1982): cat, no. 450].

Unification Church

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Officially Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. Religious movement founded (1954) in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon. Influenced by yin-yang principles and Korean shamanism, it seeks to establish divine rule on earth through the restoration of the family, based on the union of the Lord and Lady of the Second Advent (believed to be Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han). It strives to fulfill what it asserts to be the uncompleted mission of Jesus—procreative marriage. The church has been criticized for its recruitment policies and business practices. Its mass marriage ceremonies have gained press attention. Its worldwide membership is about 200,000 in more than 100 countries.

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

God is viewed as the creator in Unification Theology. God has polar characteristics corresponding to (but more subtle or "internal" than) the attributes we see expressed in his creation: masculinity and femininity, internal character and external form, subject and object. God is referred to as "he" for simplicity and because "masculinity" is associated with "subject." God is omniscient and omnipotent, though bound by his own principles and the logical consequences of human freedom; in order to experience a relationship of love, he created human beings as his children and gave them freedom to love him or not as they chose.

A spirit man is the part of a human being that continues to exist after the death of the physical body. It has the same appearance and the physical body, although if major sins are committed it may become distorted and ugly. The spiritual body of a good person who dies, looks like the person did on earth at the prime of their life.

Unificationists believe that the Fall of Man was an actual historical event (rather than an allegory) involving an original human couple, who are called Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis in the Bible. The elements in the story, however, such as the Tree of Life, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the forbidden fruit, the serpent, etc., are interpreted to be symbolic metaphors for ideal man, ideal woman, sexual love, and Satan, respectively. The essence of the fall is that Eve was seduced by an angelic being (Lucifer). Eve then seduced Adam. So love was consummated through sexual intercourse between Adam and Eve apart from the plan of God, and before Adam and Eve were spiritually mature. Unificationists believe there was a "spiritual (sexual) fall" between Eve and the angel, and a "physical (sexual) fall" between Eve and Adam. They also regard Adam and Eve's son Cain killing his brother Abel as a literal event which contributed to humankind's fallen state. Unificationists teach that since the "fall of humanity," all of human history has been a constant struggle between the forces of God and Satan to correct this original sin (cf. Augustine and lust, concupiscence). This belief contributes to their strict moral code of "absolute love" and sexual purity, and the need for "indemnity" or reparations.

A fundamental teaching of the church is that God possesses both male and female attributes and that the most perfect substantial expression of God is to be found in a "true love" relationship between a fully perfected man and a fully perfected woman, living in accordance with the will of God. This love can then grow between parents and children. "True love" is understood to mean a sacrificial love that it is unconditional, unchanging, and eternal. The love that was lost at the Fall of Man must be restored. The history of religion, especially that of the central Providence of Judeo-Christianity, is the story of Divine and human effort to rebuild God's original ideal world. A messiah comes in the position of Adam as a starting point for a new sinless Eden, the Kingdom of God on Earth. Jesus provided spiritual salvation but could not achieve the complete elimination of evil and the establishment of a perfect society on earth. The Lord of the Second Advent comes as True Parents (Sun Myung Moon and Hakja Han Moon) to complete this restoration work by adopting all people into the True Family, cleansing them of Original Sin, and laying the foundation for the Kingdom of God on earth (see: Unification Church political views) and in the spirit world.

The Unification Church upholds a belief in spiritualism, that is communication with the spirits of deceased persons. Moon and early church members associated with spiritualists, including the famous Arthur Ford [George D. Chryssides, Unifying or Dividing: Sun Myung Moon and the Origins of the Unification Church (U.K.: University of Wolverhampton, 2003)]. The Divine Principle, the main scripture of the church says about Moon:

For several decades he wandered through the spirit world so vast as to be beyond imagining. He trod a bloody path of suffering in search of the truth, passing through tribulations that God alone remembers. Since he understood that no one can find the ultimate truth to save humanity without first passing through the bitterest of trials, he fought alone against millions of devils, both in the spiritual and physical worlds, and triumphed over them all. Through intimate spiritual communion with God and by meeting with Jesus and many saints in Paradise, he brought to light all the secrets of Heaven ["Introduction," Exposition of the Divine Principle (1996 trans.), http://www. geocities.com/unificationism/DivinePrinciple-intro.html].

The ancestor liberation ceremony is a ceremony of the Unification Church intended to allow the spirits of deceased ancestors of participants to improve their situations in the spirit world through liberation, education, and blessing. The ceremonies are conducted by Mrs. Hyo Nam Kim, whom church members believe is channeling the spirit of Dae Mo Nim, the mother of Hak Ja Han (church founder Sun Myung Moon's wife). They have taken place mainly in Cheongpyeong, South Korea, but also in various places around the world [Massimo Introvigne, "The Unification Church," in Studies in Contemporary Religion (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2000), pp. 29-30; description of UC ancestor liberation ceremony (http://www.tparents.org/Library/Unification/Books /AnLiP/0-Toc.htm); still photos of ancestor liberation ceremony (http://www.tparents.org/Library/ Unification/Photos/Uph2001/0-Toc.htm)].

In the 1990s and 2000s the Unification Church has made public statements claiming communications with the spirits of religious leaders such as Confucius, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and Augustine, as well as political leaders such as Karl Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, Mao, and many more. This has distanced the church further from mainstream Christianity as well as from Islam [Chryssides].

~ page 110 ~

Burning ghats of Manikarnika, at Varanasi, India, February 2, 2007 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fyunkie/).*

ghat

Act I, Signature viii - (22) Main Entry: ghat tنPronunciation: ‚g•t, ‚g

Function: noun from Sanskrit ghaa ,ج†Etymology: Hindi gh

Date: 1783 : a broad flight of steps that is situated on an Indian riverbank and that provides access to the water especially for bathing.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

As used in many parts of South Asia, the term ghat (Bengali:


gha , Hindi: घाट "steps ") refers to a series of steps leading down to a body of water.

In Bengali-speaking regions, this set of stairs can lead down to something as small as a pond or as large as a major river. In English- and/or Hindi-speaking areas 'ghats' refers to the areas, in the holy river-side cities like Haridwar, Varanasi) where stairs exist to access the Ganges River. The numerous significant ghats along the Ganges are known generally as the 'Varanasi ghats' and the 'ghats of the Ganges'. In Madhya Pradesh in western India there are further significant ghats along the Narmada River.

The word is also used in some places outside of the Indian subcontinent where there are Indian communities. For example, in George Town, Penang in Malaysia, some of the streets near the waterfront used to end in ghats and have names like "Gat Lebuh Cina" which is Malay for "Chinese Avenue Ghat". In Singapore, there is an area named Dhoby Ghaut (dhobi means "launderer" or "laundry" depending on whether it refers to a person or a business).

Shamshan ghats. Ghats such as these are useful for both mundane purposes (such as cleaning) and religious rites (ie., ritual bathing or ablutions); there are also specific 'Shamshan ghats' or 'cremation ghats' where bodies are cremated waterside, allowing ashes to be washed away by rivers, noted ghats are Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi by the Yamuna River, and the Manikarnika Ghat at Varanasi ["Funeral pyre to be set up in Lahore," Daily Times Pakistan , http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_6-1-2005_pg7_23].

Other uses. In Marathi, ghat is a term for a difficult passage over a mountain [Navneet Marathi English Dictionary (Navneet Publications (India) Ltd., Mumbai 400 028, http://www.navneet.com/mainpage/contactus.asp]. One such ghat is the Bhor Ghat connecting the towns Khopoli and Khandala, on NH 4 about 80 km north of Mumbai. In many cases, the term is used to refer to a mountain range itself, as in the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats.

~ page 111 ~ “Go Down Death,” drawing by Douglas, Aaron, in God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse : by Johnson, James Weldon, 1871-1938 (lettering by Falls, C.B. (Charles Buckles), 1874-1960), p. 27; © 1927, by The Viking Press, Inc. This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (http://docsouth.unc.edu /southlit /johnson /johnson.html#p27). It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.

Gabriel

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In the Bible and the Qur'ân, one of the archangels. In the Bible he was the heavenly messenger sent to explain Daniel's visions; he also revealed to Zechariah the coming birth of John the Baptist and appeared to Mary in the Annunciation to tell her she was to be the mother of Jesus. In Christian tradition it is believed that he will blow the trumpet on Judgment Day. In the Qur'ân he is known as Jibrîl, and Muslims believe that he brought God's revelations to Muhammad.

Muslims believe Gabriel to (, , ا) or Djibril وThe Arabic name for Gabriel is Jibril, Jibrîl, Jibreel, Jabril have been the angel who revealed the Qur'an to the prophet Muhammad. Gabriel's physical appearance is described in the Hadith (4:54:4:55):

Narrated By Abu Ishaq-Ash-Shaibani: I asked Zir bin Hubaish regarding the Statement of God: "And was at a distance Of but two bow-lengths Or (even) nearer; So did (God) convey The Inspiration to His servant (Gabriel) and then he (Gabriel) Conveyed (that to Muhammad). ([Qur'an 53:9]) On that, Zir said, "Ibn Mas'ud informed us that the Prophet had seen Gabriel having 600 wings."

Gabriel is regarded with the exact same respect by Muslims as all of the Prophets, and upon saying his name or referring to him a Muslim repeats: "peace be upon him". Gabriel's primary tasks are to bring messages from God to His messengers. As in Christianity, Gabriel is said to be the angel that informed Mary (Arabic Maryam) of how she would conceive Jesus (Isa): She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our Ruh [angel Jibrael (Gabriel)], and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects. She said: "Verily! I seek refuge with the Most Beneficent (God) from you, if you do fear God." (The angel) said: "I am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son." She said: "How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?" He said: "So (it will be), your Lord said: 'That is easy for Me (God): And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (God), and it is a matter (already) decreed, (by God).' " (Quran, [Qur'an 19:17])

Muslims believe Gabriel to have accompanied Muhammad in his ascension to the heavens, where Muhammad also is said to have met previous messengers of God, and was informed about the Islamic prayer (Bukhari 1:8:345). Muslims also believe that Gabriel descends to Earth on the night of Laylat al-Qadr ("The Night of Great Value"), a night in the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar which is believed to be the night in which the Quran was first revealed.

Mars, painting by Diego Velazquez (ca. 1640).*

Mars

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Ancient Roman god of war and protector of Rome, second only to Jupiter in importance. His festivals occurred in the spring (March) and fall (October). Until the time of Augustus, Mars had only two temples in Rome. His sacred spears were kept in a sanctuary; on the outbreak of war, the consul had to shake the spears, saying “Mars vigila!” (“Mars, awake!”) Under Augustus, Mars became not only the guardian of Rome in its military affairs but the emperor's personal guardian. He was identified with the Greek god Ares.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Mars was the Roman warrior god, the son of Juno and Jupiter, husband of Bellona, and the lover of Venus. He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter. His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October.

As the word Mars has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinised form of the agricultural Etruscan god Maris. Initially Mars was a Roman god of fertility and vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries. In the second century BCE, the conservative Cato the Elder advised "For your cattle, for them to be healthy, make this sacrifice to Mars Silvanus... If you want, you make this sacrifice each year [Cato, De Agri Cultura 83 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Agri_Cultura)]". Mars later became associated with battle as the growing Roman Empire began to expand, and he came to be identified with the Greek god Ares. Unlike his Greek counterpart, Mars was generally revered and rivaled Jupiter as the most honoured god. He was also the tutelary god of the city of Rome. As he was regarded as the legendary father of Rome's founder, Romulus, it was believed that all Romans were descendants of Mars.

In the Iliad , [http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AresMyths2.html#Troy] Homer represented Ares as having no fixed allegiances nor respect for Orcan, the right ordering of things: he promised Athena and Hera that he would fight on the side of the Achaeans, but Aphrodite was able to persuade Ares to side with the Trojans ( Iliad V.699). During the war, Diomedes fought with Hector and saw Ares fighting on the Trojans' side. Diomedes called for his soldiers to fall back slowly. Hera, Ares's mother, saw his interference and asked Zeus, his father, for permission to drive Ares away from the battlefield. Hera encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares, so he threw a spear at Ares and his cries made Achaeans and Trojans alike tremble. Athena then drove the spear into Ares's body, who bellowed in pain and fled to Mt. Olympus, forcing the Trojans to fall back (xxi. 391). Later when Zeus allowed the gods to fight in the war again, Ares tried to fight Athena to avenge himself for his previous injury, but was once again badly injured when she tossed a huge boulder on him. However, when Hera during a conversation with Zeus mentioned that Ares' son Ascalaphus was killed, Ares burst into tears and wanted to join the fight on the side of the Achaeans discarding Zeus' order that no Olympic god should enter the battle. Athena stopped Ares and helped him take his armor off (xv. 110– 128).

Einherjar are served by Valkyries in Valhall while Odin sits upon his throne, flanked by one of his wolves. Doepler, Emil, Walhall: die GBtterwelt der Germanen (Martin Oldenbourg, Berlin, 1905).*

Valhalla

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In Germanic religion, the hall of slain warriors who live blissfully under the leadership of Odin. Valhalla is depicted as a splendid palace, roofed with shields, where the warriors feast on the flesh of a boar slaughtered daily and made whole again each evening. They drink liquor that flows from the udders of a goat, and their sport is to fight one another every day, with the slain being revived in the evening. Thus they will live until the Ragnarok, when they will leave Valhalla to fight at the side of Odin against the Giants. See also Asgard, Freyja, Valkyrie.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

gir visiting the gods in Asgard andئ l, a partially euhemerized account is given ofلldskaparmلAt the beginning of Sk shimmering swords are brought out and used as their sole source of light as they drink. There, numerous gods feast, they have plenty of strong mead, and the hall has wall-panels covered with attractive shields [Faulkes, Anthony (trans.), Edda (Everyman, 1995), p. 59]. This location is confirmed as Valhalla in chapter 33 [Faulkes, p. 95].

l is provided (see the Fagrskinna sectionلksmيIn chapter 2, a quote from the anonymous 10th century poem Eir below for more detail and another translation from another source) [Faulkes, p. 69]:

What sort of dream is that, Odin? I dreamed I rose up before dawn to clear up Val-hall for slain people. I aroused the Einheriar, bade them get up to strew the benches, clean the beer-cups, the valkyries to serve wine for the arrival of a prince .

l, the jِtunn Hrungnir is in a rage and, while attempting to catch up and attack OdinلldskaparmلIn chapter 17 of Sk ,sir invite him in for a drink. Hrungnir goes inئ on his steed Sleipnir, ends up at the doors to Valhalla. There, the demands a drink, and becomes drunk and belligerent, stating that he will remove Valhalla and take it to the land of the jِtunn, Jِtunheimr, among various other things. Eventually, the gods tire of his boasting and invoke Thor, who arrives. Hrungnir states that Thor is under their protection, and subsequently he can't be harmed while in Valhalla. After an exchange of words, Hrungnir challenges Thor to a duel at the location of Griotunagardar, resulting in Hrungnir's death [Faulkes, p. 77-78].

In chapter 34, the tree Glasir is stated as located in front of the doors of Valhalla. The tree is described as having foliage of red gold and being the most beautiful tree among both gods and men. A quote from a work by the 9th century skald Bragi Boddason is presented that confirms the description [Faulkes, p. 96].

Original Cover, E.R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros (Jonathan Cape, 1922).* (http://www.sacred- texts.com/ring/two/index.htm)

Midgard

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In Norse mythology, the dwelling place of humankind. According to legend, it was made from the body of the first created being, the giant Aurgelmir (Ymir). The gods killed him and rolled his body into the central void of the universe, forming the land from his flesh, the oceans from his blood, the mountains from his bones, and so on. Aurgelmir's skull, held up by four dwarfs, became the dome of the heavens. The sun, moon, and stars were made of scattered sparks caught in the skull.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

As an early and ambitious high fantasy, The Worm Ouroboros is often compared with J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (which it predates by 32 years). Tolkien read The Worm Ouroboros , and praised it in print.

Whereas Tolkien invented a backdrop of cultures, histories and languages, in The Worm Ouroboros the prose style is central. It is arguably one of the more convincing examples of mock-archaic high diction; as a translator of old Norse sagas and a connoisseur of medieval and Renaissance poetry, Eddison had the required scholarship.

While Eddison relishes exotic personal and place names, he seems to have given little thought to plausible etymology and consistency, unlike Tolkien's layers of invented languages. On the other hand, Tolkien's prose style may seem pedestrian in comparison to Eddison's. However, Eddison's use of archaic words makes his text far less accessible to readers unwilling to take the time to look up the words.

The morality of the tale sharply contrasts with Tolkien's heroism of the common man in a fight against evil and C. S. Lewis's Christian allegory. The protagonists, the four Lords of Demonland, are notable for their loyalty and their sense of fair play; but theirs is chiefly a warrior ethic of seeking glory in battle (and bragging about it in frequent and resonant speeches). Their antagonists are, for the most part, noble and worthy opponents even if their methods are less fair. As a further complication, the most complex and human character, Lord Gro, is a serial traitor, who is motivated by an entirely unselfish, aesthetic sense of the nobility of failure and the inevitability of decay. One can arguably detect echoes of Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra in this worldview.

Eddison's novel includes several bits of song or poetry of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, all meticulously credited in an Appendix. Tolkien's fantasies likewise include lyric works but they are his own invention.

"Fenrir, by A. Fleming, in Murray, Alexander, Manual of Mythology : Greek and Roman, Norse, and Old German, Hindoo [sic] and Egyptian Mythology (London, Asher and Co., 1874). This illustration is from plate XL.*

Fenrir

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In Norse mythology, a monstrous wolf. He was the son of the god Loki and a giantess. The gods bound Fenrir to a rock with a magical chain, where he is destined to remain until doomsday, or Ragnarok, when he will break his chains and fall upon the gods. In one version of the myth, he will devour the sun and swallow the chief god, Odin, only to be slain by Vidar, Odin's son. Fenrir figures prominently in Norwegian and Icelandic poetry of the 10th–11th century.

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

l. In stanzaل and in two stanzas of the poem Vaf rBBnism ,ل Fenrir is mentioned in three stanzas of the poem VBlusp rnviًr, "and bredلa vِlva divulges to Odin that, in the east, an old woman sat in the forest J ,ل of the poem VBlusp 40 there the broods of Fenrir. There will come from them all one of that number to be a moon-snatcher in troll's skin [Dronke, Ursula (tr.), The Poetic Edda: Volume II: Mythological Poems (Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 17]. :Further into the poem, the vِlva foretells that Odin will be consumed by Fenrir at Ragnarِk

n'sيThen is fulfilled Hl second sorrow, inn goesسً when to fight with the wolf, and Beli's slayer, bright, against Surtr. Then shall Frigg's sweet friend fall.

arr) will thenيIn the stanza that follows, the vِlva describes that Odin's "tall child of Triumph's Sire" (Odin's son Vً come to "strike at the beast of slaughter", and with his hands, he will drive a sword into the heart of "Hveًrungr's son", avenging the death of his father [Dronke, p. 21-22].

:l, Odin poses a question to the wise jِtunn Vaf rًْnirل In the first of two stanzas mentioning Fenrir in Vaf rBBnism

"Much I have travelled, much have I tried out, much have I tested the Powers; from where will a sun come into the smooth heaven when Fenrir has assailed this one?"

lfrًِull), will bear a daughter before Fenrirء In the stanza that follows, Vaf rًْnir responds that Sَl (here referred to as attacks her, and that this daughter shall continue the paths of her deceased mother through the heavens [Larrington, Carolyne (tr.), The Poetic Edda (Oxford World's Classics, 1999), p. 47].

Persephone abducted by Hades, marble sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1621–22; in the Borghese Gallery, Rome.

Persephone

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Latin Proserpina. In Greek mythology, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She was gathering flowers when she was seized by Hades, who carried her off to the underworld to make her his wife. On learning of the abduction, Demeter was so distraught that she allowed barrenness and famine to spread over the earth. Zeus commanded Hades to allow Persephone to return to her mother, but because she had eaten some (or, in some versions, just one) pomegranate seeds in the underworld, she had to remain one-third of the year with Hades, spending the other two-thirds with Demeter. This myth accounts for the change of the seasons and the annual cycle of growth and decay.

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]: ç, Persephonē) is her name in the Ionic Greek of epic literature. The Homeric form ofيüذهٌَِ :Persephone" (Greek" ,(ï [Homer, The Odyssey (Hodoi Elektronikaiذهٌَِ) her name is Persephoneia http://mercure.fltr.ucl.ac.be/hodoi/corpora/concordances/homere_odyss_corpus/ precise.cfm], Persephonēia). In [or simply [Kore ,(لôôذهٌَِـ) Persephatta ,(ذهٌَِـََ) other dialects she was known under various other names: Persephassa üٌç, Korē, "girl, maiden" [H.G. Liddell-R. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon ]) (when worshipped in the context ofت) Demeter and Kore"). Plato calls her Pherepapha (ًٌِ) in his Cratylus , "because she is wise and touches that" which is in motion." The Romans first heard of her from the Aeolian and Dorian cities of Magna Graecia, who used ç, Proserpinē). Hence, in Roman mythology she was called Proserpina, and asيïًٌَéذٌ) the dialectal variant Proserpine such became an emblematic figure of the Renaissance. At Locri, perhaps uniquely, Persephone was the protector of marriage, a role usually assumed by Hera; in the iconography of votive plaques at Locri, her abduction and marriage to Hades served as an emblem of the marital state, children at Locri were dedicated to Proserpina, and maidens about to be wed brought their peplos to be blessed [Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, "Persephone," The Journal of Hellenic Studies 98 (1978): 101-121].

In a Classical period text ascribed to Empedocles, c. 490–430 B.C. [Empedocles was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher who was a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek colony in Sicily], describing a correspondence between four deities and the classical elements, the name Nestis for water apparently refers to Persephone. "Now hear the fourfold roots of everything: enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus. And Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears [Peter Kingsley, "Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition," in Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic (Oxford University Press, 1995)]."

Of the four deities of Empedocles's elements, it is the name of Persephone alone that is taboo — Nestis is a euphemistic cult title — [Kingsley (1995) identifies Nestis as a cult title of Persephone] for she was also the terrible [Queen of the Dead], whose name was not safe to speak aloud, who was euphemistically named simply as "Kore" or "the Maiden," a vestige of her archaic role as the deity ruling the underworld.

There is an archaic role for Persephone as the dread queen of the Underworld, whose very name it was forbidden to speak. In the Odyssey , commonly dated circa 800 to 600 B.C., when Odysseus goes to the Underworld, he refers to her as the Iron Queen [ Odyssey , X]. Her central myth, for all its emotional familiarity, was also the tacit context of the secret initiatory mystery rites of regeneration at Eleusis [Persephone's numinous presence in the awe-inspiring night-time initiatory ritual of the Eleusinian mysteries is discussed by Karl Kerényi, Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter (1967), passim ], which promised immortality to their awe-struck participants—an immortality in her world beneath the soil, feasting with the heroes who dined beneath her dread gaze.

The abduction myth. The story of her abduction is traditionally referred to as the Rape of Persephone. In the later Olympian pantheon of Classical Greece, Persephone is given a father: according to Hesiod's Theogony , Persephone was the daughter produced by the union of Demeter and Zeus: "And he [Zeus] came to the bed of bountiful Demeter, who bore white-armed Persephone, stolen by Hades from her mother's side" Unlike every other offspring of an Olympian pairing of deities, Persephone has no stable position at Olympus. Persephone used to live far away from the other deities, a goddess within Nature herself before the days of planting seeds and nurturing plants. In the Olympian telling [http://www.theoi.com/Olympios /HermesLoves.html], the gods Hermes, Ares, Apollo, and Hephaestus, had all wooed Persephone; but Demeter rejected all their gifts and hid her daughter away from the company of the Olympian deities. Thus, Persephone lived a peaceful life before she became the goddess of the underworld, which, according to Olympian mythographers, did not occur until Hades abducted her and brought her into it. She was innocently picking flowers with some nymphs — Athena, and Artemis, the Homeric hymn says — or Leucippe, or Oceanids — in a field in Enna when Hades came to abduct her, bursting through a cleft in the earth. Later, the nymphs were changed by Demeter into the Sirens for not having interfered. Life came to a standstill as the devastated Demeter, goddess of the Earth, searched everywhere for her lost daughter. Helios, the sun, who sees everything, eventually told Demeter what had happened.

Finally, Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. However, it was a rule of the Fates that whoever consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Before Persephone was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds, (six, seven, eight, or perhaps four according to the telling) [as "Persephone," in Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911) expressed it, 'So it was arranged that she should spend two-thirds (according to later authors, one-half) of every year with her mother and the heavenly gods, and should pass the rest of the year with Hades beneath the earth."] which forced her to return to the underworld for a season each year. In some versions, Ascalaphus informed the other deities that Persephone had eaten the pomegranate seeds. When Demeter and her daughter were united, the Earth flourished with vegetation and color, but for some months each year, when Persephone returned to the underworld, the earth once again became a barren realm. This is an origin story to explain the seasons.

~ page 112 ~

Wahhâbî

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Member of a Muslim puritan movement founded in the 18th century by Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhâb. Members call themselves al-Muwahhidûn, a name derived from their emphasis on the absolute oneness of God. They reject all acts implying polytheism, including the veneration of saints, and advocate a return to the original teachings of Islam as found in the Qu'rân and the Hadîth. They supported the establishment of a Muslim state based on Islamic canon law. Adopted by the ruling Saudi family in 1744, the movement controlled all of Nejd by the end of the 18th century. It was assured of dominance on the Arabian Peninsula with the creation of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, and in the 20th century—supported by Saudi wealth—it engaged in widespread missionary work throughout the Islamic world.

[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Wahhabi theology treats the Qur'an and Hadith as fundamental texts interpreted by the understanding of the first three generations of Muslims and further explained by various commentaries. However they do produce their own interpretation of Tawhid which is unique to their sect alone, as they believe in different categories of Tawhid where as the Sunni's believe only in one Tawhid (generally seen as nonsense or type of shirk).

The most important commentaries are those by Ibn Abd-al-Wahhab (even though he was not among the first three generations) including his book Kitab al-Tawhid , and the works of Ibn Taymiyyah. Abd-al-Wahhab was a follower of Ahmad ibn Hanbal's school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) like most in Nejd at the time, but "was opposed to any of the schools (Madh'hab) being taken as an absolute and unquestioned authority", and condemned taqlid [Mortimer, Edward, Faith and Power: The Politics of Islam (Vintage Books, 1982), p. 61].

Wahhabism also denounces the practice of blind adherence to the interpretations of scholars and the blind acceptance of practices that were passed on within the family or tribe. Ibn Abd al-Wahhab wrote in support of the responsibility of the individual Muslim to learn and obey the divine commands as they were revealed in the Quran and the Sunnah [Cleveland, William L., A History of the Modern Middle East , 3rd Ed. (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2004), p. 123]. Wahhabism does not just urge Muslims to follow the religious duties of Islam, such as salah, but compels them to do so, in Saudi Arabia with the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (mentioned previously [Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam (Rowan & Littlefield, 2001), pp. 469-472]).

The label of Wahhabism is often contested by so called "Wahhabis" because they argue that their understanding of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) is similar to other Sunni Muslims and does not justify a separate label [Wiktorowicz, Quintan, "Anatomy of the Salafi Movement," in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism , Vol. 29 (2006): p. 235]. Two key aspects define a religious group's understanding of Islam: its philosophical approach and cultural background; and, most importantly, the methodology used to derive Fiqh.

Sunni Islam has four methodological schools of fiqh, or madhabs: Hanbali; Maliki; Shafi`i; and Hanafi. Like other Sunni Muslims, Wahhabis use these same different approaches. Although most Wahhabis are said to follow the Hanbali school of fiqh (or Madh'hab), Wahhabis are believed to follow no school of fiqh, hence making them different Islamic jurisprudence.

A Madh'hab is not a source of ready answers; it is a methodological approach. These schools differ in the means (the methodology) through which they derive "the answer" to different questions within Islamic jurisprudence, and do not necessarily disagree on the end results. Even non-Hanbali Sunni scholars do not blindly imitate, since as scholars, they have a purpose to inquire and research. A Madhab is only a source of ready answers if a person is not a scholar (‘lim; plural form, Ulema), then he can refer to an expert's answer, or a madhab's answer if a consensus within exists.

The Wahhabis consider themselves to be 'non-imitators' or 'not attached to tradition' (ghayr muqallidun), and therefore answerable to no school of law at all, observing instead what they would call the practice of early Islam. However, to do so does correspond to the ideal aimed at by Ibn Hanbal, and thus they can be said to be of his 'school [Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam (Altamira, 2001), p. 407]'.

Pelagianism

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Christian heresy of the 5th century that emphasized free will and the goodness of human nature. Pelagius (354?–after 418), a British monk who settled in Africa in 410, was eager to raise moral standards among Christians. Rejecting the arguments of those who attributed their sins to human weakness, he argued that God made humans free to choose between good and evil and that sin is an entirely voluntary act. His disciple Celestius denied the church's doctrine of original sin and the necessity of infant baptism. Pelagius and Celestius were excommunicated in 418, but their views continued to find defenders until the Council of Ephesus condemned Pelagianism in 431.

*[Following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

Pelagianism is a theological theory named after Pelagius (A.D. 354 – A.D. 420/440), although ironically he denied, at least at some point in his life, many of the doctrines associated with his name. It is the belief that original sin did not taint Human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special Divine aid. Thus, Adam's sin was "to set a bad example" for his progeny, but his actions did not have the other consequences imputed to Original Sin. Pelagianism views the role of Jesus as "setting a good example" for the rest of humanity (thus counteracting Adam's bad example) as well as providing an atonement for our sins. In short, humanity has full control, and thus full responsibility, for obeying the Gospel in addition to full responsibility for every sin (the latter insisted upon by both proponents and opponents of Pelagianism). According to Pelagian doctrine, because men are sinners by choice, they are therefore criminals who need the atonement of Jesus Christ. Sinners are not victims, they are criminals who need pardon.

History. Pelagius was opposed by Augustine of Hippo, one of the most influential early Church Fathers. When Pelagius taught that moral perfection was attainable in this life without the assistance of divine grace through human free will, Augustine contradicted this by saying that perfection was impossible without grace because we are born sinners with a sinful heart and will. The Pelagians charged Augustine on the grounds that the doctrine of original sin amounted to Manichaeism: the Manichaeans taught that the flesh was in itself sinful (and they denied that Jesus came in the flesh) – and this charge would have carried added weight since contemporaries knew that Augustine himself had been a Manichaean layman before his conversion to Christianity. Augustine also taught that a person's salvation comes solely through an irresistible free gift, the efficacious grace of God, but that this was a gift that one had a free choice to accept or refute [Eleonore Stump, Norman Kretzmann, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Augustine (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 130-135].

Pelagianism was attacked in the Council of Diospolis [http://www.seanmultimedia.com/Pie_Pelagius_Synod_Lydda_ 415AD.html] and condemned in 418 at the Council of Carthage [William L Reese, Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion (Humanities Press, 1980), p. 421]. These condemnations were ratified at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The strict moral teachings of the Pelagians were influential in southern Italy and Sicily, where they were openly preached until the death of Julian of Eclanum in 455 [http://www.controverscial.com/Unitarian% 20Universalists.htm]. As a movement, Pelagianism ceased to exist after the 6th century although its ideas continued to live on in the modern Church of Christ movement ["Pelagianism," The Columbia Encyclopedia , 6th ed. (2006), http://www.highbeam.com/ref/doc3.asp?docid=1E1:Pelagian].

In De causa Dei contra Pelagium et de virtute causarum, Thomas Bradwardine denounced Pelagians in the 14th century and Gabriel Biel did the same in the 15th century [Rees (1980)].

Pelagius. Little or nothing is known about the life of Pelagius. Although he is frequently referred to as a British monk, it is by no means certain what his origins were. Augustine says that he lived in Rome "for a very long time" and referred to him as "Brito" to distinguish him from a different man called Pelagius of Tarentum. Bede refers to him as "Pelagius Bretto [ Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People: A Historical Commentary , http://books.google.ie/books]." St. Jerome suggests he was of Scottish descent but in such terms as to leave it uncertain as to whether Pelagius was from Scotland or Ireland. He was certainly well known in the Roman province, both for the harsh asceticism of his public life, as well as the power and persuasiveness of his speech. Until his more radical ideas saw daylight, even such pillars of the Church as Augustine referred to him as "saintly."

Pelagius taught that the human will, as created with its abilities by God, was sufficient to live a sinless life, although he believed that God's grace assisted every good work. Pelagius did not believe that all humanity was guilty in Adam's sin, but said that Adam had condemned humankind through bad example, and that Christ’s good example offered humanity a path to salvation, through sacrifice and through instruction of the will. Jerome emerged as one of the chief critics of Pelagianism, because, according to him, sin was a part of human nature and we couldn't help but to sin.

A life sized figure of Santa Muerte stands outside a fortune teller's storefront in Mexico City's Chinatown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License).*

Abaddon

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Revelation 9:11. “They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon (NIV).”

Nave’s Topical Bible: A Digest of the Holy Scriptures , S. Maxwell Coder, rev., (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974). The Comparative Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervon Corporation, 1984).

*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia].

Other theological works. The text of the Thanksgiving Hymns — which was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls — tells of "the Sheol of Abaddon" and of the "torrents of Belial [that] burst into Abaddon." The Biblical Antiquities attributed to Philo mentions Abaddon as a place (sheol, hell), not as a spirit or demon or angel. In the 3rd century Acts of Thomas, Abaddon is the name of a demon, or the Devil himself. Abaddon has also been identified as the angel of death and destruction, demon of the abyss, and chief of demons of the underworld hierarchy, where he is equated with Samael or Satan. In magic, Abaddon is often identified with the Destroying Angel of the Apocalypse [http://www.occultopedia.com/a/abaddon.htm]. Abaddon is also one of the compartments of Gehenna [Metzger & Coogan, Oxford Companion to the Bible (1993), p. 3]. By extension, it can mean an underworld abode of lost souls, or hell. In some legends, it is identified as a realm where the damned lie in fire and snow, one of the places in Hell that Moses visited [Ginzberg, Lewis, The Legends of the Jews , Vol. II: "From Joseph to Exodus," (1909), http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/loj/loj206.htm].

In the lore of the Coptic Church, Abbaton is the name given to the angel of death. He is given particularly important roles in two sources, a homily entitled "The Enthronment of Abbaton" by Timothy of Alexandria, and the Apocalypse of Bartholomew [Atiya, Aziz S., The Coptic Encyclopedia (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1991)]. In the homily by Timothy, Abbaton was first named Muriel, and had been given the task by God of collecting the earth which would be used in the creation of Adam. Upon completion of this task, the angel was then named to be guardian. Everybody, including the angels, demons, and corporeal entities, felt fear of him. Abbaton engaged in prayer and ultimately obtained the promise that any men who venerated him during their lifetime stood the chance of being saved. Abbaton is also said to have a prominent role in the Last Judgement, as the one who will take the souls to the Valley of Josaphat [Atiya (1991)]. He is described in the Apocalypse of Bartholomew as being present in the Tomb of Jesus at the moment of his resurrection [http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/LostBooks/bartholomew.htm].

~ page 113 ~

The Cheshire cat as envisioned by John Tenniel in the 1866 publication.*

Cheshire cat

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*[Image & caption credit and following text courtesy of Wikipedia]:

The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat appearing in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . Alice first encounters it at the Duchess's house in her kitchen, and then later outside on the branches of a tree, where it appears and disappears at will, engaging Alice in amusing but sometimes vexing conversation. The cat sometimes raises philosophical points that annoy or baffle Alice. It does, however, appear to cheer her up when it turns up suddenly at the Queen of Hearts' croquet field, and when sentenced to death baffles everyone by making its body disappear, but its head remain visible, sparking a massive argument between the executioner and the King and Queen of Hearts about whether something that does not have a body can indeed be beheaded.

At one point, the cat disappears gradually until nothing is left but its grin, prompting Alice to remark that she has often seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat [ The Annotated Alice states that the statement "a grin without a cat" is a reference to mathematics dissociating itself completely from the natural world (Gardner, Martin, The Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass (W.W. Norton, 1999)]. It is this unusual disappearing act for which most people remember the Cheshire Cat.

Cheshire is not an actual breed of cat: but an English county which is famous for its cheese, salt mining, and silk ["Macclesfield Silk Museum Frequently Asked Questions," Macclesfield Silk Museum (http://www.macclesfield .silk.museum/frequently-asked-questions/index.htm)], as well as containing a major railway junction at Crewe, but no especially notable work in the area of cat breeding. However, it has been speculated that the Cheshire cat was intended to be a British Shorthair, as that is the cat breed that Carroll saw on a label of Cheshire Cheese [as shown in Wikipedia's own article concerning Cheshire].

End Notes

dia Britannica Ready Reference 2005 CD-ROM (unlessوReady Reference Library from Encyclop .dia Britannica, Incوotherwise indicated). Copyright 1994-2003 Encyclop

*[Image & caption credit and text (if indicated): courtesy of Wikipedia].