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havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong · 4 years ago

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Act 2 -- The Two Suns Rise

The coffins raise;

the people fall;

into a land beyond what the People understand.

A magnificent kingdom where the two suns set;

A magnificent kingdom of peace, of glory, of [].

This, is [̴̴̄ͤ̓̊̅̓ͬ̓̾̋͋ͦͮ̍̊̒ͬ͏̢̫̙̼̤̼̥̗̟̀ͅQ͚̥̩̖̣̮̭̣͉͚̓̉ͫ̾̈́̍̅̽̏ͭͩ̍ͬ͗̎ͭ̀2͍̞̻̲͇́̅͋͗ͥ̾̓͐ͭ̓ͭͨͩ̚͢͞F̸̨̈́ͬ̾͗͑̒͊̆ͬ̆̓̑͗̽͊͋ͬ́̀҉̪̬̬̙͚̜͎̱̼̻̦ỹ̧̧̥̦̖̹̝̯̫̥̰͕͙̳̝̺̞̻̦͓̾͐͐ͭ̽͢͢Y̶̌ͮ̉̌̔͆̅́̔̃͗ͪ̒̍̚̚̚͏̡̡̠̯̟͉͚͙̺̞͓͓̝͢2̘͇̱̬̘̭̗̺̺̟̭̪͓̿̃ͯ͒̈̎̑̔̒̎̄ͧ͗̇ͨͯ̀͜9̶̅ͭ̿ͫͤ͋ͭ̋͐ͧͧ͐̍̊ͩͣ̾҉̤̠̳̬̩͓̫͈̣̳̬͟z̴̷̸̼͕̞͕̫̻͕̦͎͈͎̣̞͎̖̪̞ͥͨ͌͗͑͂ͯ͗̈ͪ̈́͑̎ͬ̈́̚ͅY̴̶̐͊͛̃ͦ̈́͒ͥ̊͒̂̿͐̆͏̸̢̙̺̰̤̖̘͉̼̰̱̣S̫̜̫̦̗̈́͊͌̃͝͡4̱̘̤̦̩̦̩̹ͣ̊ͬ̐͂͛͆͋̏ͨ̂ͯ͊̒͢͜=̷͙͙̟̞̯̙͙͍̹̞̪̞̪̘͓͊̋̈ͬ͋̃̀̚̕]̵̮̜̭͍͚͍̮͓̩̪̟͇͓̙̬͍̻̾̾͂ͪ̍̋ͣ̚͜͠

They take their seats.

The seats of the Audience creak as they [sit/lay back/laze/choke].

Laughter fills, overflows the room.

The foolishness of man.

The folly of man.

The cowardice, the stupidity of man.

They witness it all. The actor who was given a broken script, tied together with wire that shatters at a passing wind.

It will begin. The performer knows. They have been waiting all their life.

[Prepare yourselves. A grand adventure begins now. Of the folly/foolishness/demise of man.]

The Audience [cheers/screams/vomits] their applause.

They trust the one who arranges a cast before them -- of masked beings, and of the mask on the table, unused. They pick up their folding fan, the cloth, and smile.

[Let us begin our show.]

"...Good morning, Cadence."

...There's a knock at the door.

The process to waking up were always the same. Ritsuka would always pop up around now, anyways -- calling for me, rapping their knuckles against my door carefully.

The heat, however, would do the rest of the work in awaking me. That same warmth that tended to lull me to sleep...

"...My lord."

...It's suffocating.

"...My lord, you appear to be having some trouble breathing."

...My eyes slowly blinked open, to the sight of a smiling -- if mildly worried- Ushiwakamaru before me. Her mask lay off to the side, as it were the night before, though with the tight vice on us inflicted by Gorgon's tail -- it wouldn't be likely that she could use it anyways.

"...A bit. Nothing I can't recover from."

...Easier said than done, however -- the grip of, well, Gorgon was hard to overstate. Like King Kong grasping hold of their victim atop a tower, though perhaps a bit more comfortable.

"...That said... Gorgon, are you awake?"

...The sleep in my eyes slowly gave way to the darkened quarters I had by now called my home. A decently-sized kotatsu, what was effectively the replacement for a bed at this point, lay in the middle -- about all I could see in the dark, save for the faint outline of Gorgon rolling about a bit past Ushi's head.

"...Yes. As much as I would prefer to have continued resting, your movements have..."

"...Go figure."

...In a moment, the vice grip lessened -- and, perhaps not unlike a bat fresh out of hell, I desperately crawled out, pulling the collar of my shirt to let in some much-needed cooler air.

It seemed Ushi was not too far off, either, making a beeline for her mask, and letting it 'disintegrate' into her Spirit Origin once more, as Gorgon slowly stood up and stretched herself out.

Allowing myself to stumble over to the light switch, finally giving the lot of us some much-needed illumination, my eyes shifted to the lady resting on the bed. 'Presumably, the heat was a bit much.'

Even so -- despite her position being at ease, the woman's blue eyes shot directly over towards me.

"...You're awake, Cadence. I would hope you're prepared to be furthering our rule today, as well."

"I think we have slightly bigger concerns, don't we?"

At my response, the lady only smirked -- sitting up on the bed, she'd rest her head on her closed fist, and raise an eyebrow towards me.

"This Singularity, too, is an obstacle to ruling. You would do well to remove it."

"I wonder how the lot of us would even rule to begin with."

The lady sighed out, as though aware of something I were not.

"You would not be the first king to hold with you a concubine."

"--I'm sorry?!"

"Why, as long as we may share in those honours, I see no reason why it could not work."

Though, she'd stop talking at the glare of Gorgon -- and the snakes, too. At that, she'd stand, walking to the door, though waiting for me to open it.

"Your anger need not be directed at me -- not when you'd be better set serving the King."

"--You damned..."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of cronies to spend your anger on, wherever we are to be headed. Destroy them in my place."

...Despite the cold delivery of her words, the joking jabs certainly worked as intended. Taking care not to say a word until the tensions cooled slightly, I slipped the door open -- in time for Morgan to march through the door, and in time for Gorgon to 'calmly' leave after her. Once the two had set out, Ushiwaka stepped out -- and as did I, just after.

"...My lord, those two always seem to be on the verge of fighting. I would hope not over..."

"I'd sincerely hope the title of 'bad harem anime protagonist' isn't one added to my record. I already have enough titles as is."

"Courtesy of Ritsuka?"

"Who else?"

...The warrior beside me laughed, gently, and began to up her pace -- seemingly intent on catching up to Gorgon and Morgan, who seemed to already be a ways ahead on the path to the Command Room.

"My lord -- you should come a bit faster, you know. Wouldn't want to miss out on Ritsuka's prime explanations, would you?"

'...Are those really so looked forward to?'

...The Command Room was a full place that day.

The Coffins meant for each of the many Masters remained lined up, ready for use -- though it rarely saw a time where more than a few would be closed, and utilized.

At the midpoint between each one, Ritsuka stood -- their smile far weaker than before, at a glance, only to perk up as they felt the gaze of their colleagues.

To their right stood a familiar face -- the goddess summoned not long earlier, Tlazolteotl. Adjusting the headdress upon her head, her gaze settled on me with a borderline bone-chilling smirk before returning to the others.

'...She just keeps doing that.'

After a moment spent waiting for each individual to line up -- myself, Ushiwakamaru, Gorgon, Morgan, Tlazolteotl, and the Caster of Rakugo -- Ritsuka clapped their hands together.

"...Alright! Da Vinci's a little busy today, so I've been put in charge of debriefing this stuff. Olga's never liked the weird stuff this Singularity's got, so she's sitting this one out too, the coward."

'...Da Vinci, did you curse us?'

"Long story short, we've found us a Singularity in the midst of Canada. I... can't really confirm much about what's going on in there, and neither can the others."

...Ritsuka's hand moved up to their cheek, scratching it lightly.

"What I do know is, so far as I'm aware, it's in a city called 'Carcosa' in Manitoba. There's a whole new thing there -- a monarchy -- and whatever it's doing is causing this mess."

'...Carcosa... The capital of Canada.' Simple enough information -- truthfully, what bothered me was what the King were doing down there. 'During my youth, he was far kinder, wasn't he? What changed so much that a Singularity would come about?'

...Though, Ritsuka gave little time for me to process that.

"That's the gist of it. We've been watching it over the past few weeks, and it's just now gotten to the point where we can head to it. The crew we've gathered here should be able to take care of things just fine. We've got a few minutes 'til everything's ready, so do what you need to now."

Calling the meeting off just as quickly as they started it, the uniformity of the Command Room was just as quickly split off -- while Ushiwaka and Morgan turned to examine their coffins, Tlazolteotl pulled both them and Gorgon together -- most likely, whispering some nonsense to them -- before breaking off again.

'...Though, whatever she said, the three of them...'

Surely, I were just making it up -- seeing those three suddenly so serious seemed ridiculous. 'Maybe a bit of fresh air could fix my head, before I jump in.'

So, that in mind, I slipped out of the command room to find the closest equivalent to fresh air -- an empty Chaldean hallway with an A/C unit blowing into it.

...

'Silence.'

Even the commotion of chatter and footsteps in the Command Room was blocked out by the noisy, yet calming sound of an out-of-date air conditioner blowing both air and noise through the vents. Such a thing could easily have you wondering how a unit could be so loud -- and surely, I were, up until I felt a 'friendly' slap to my back.

"--Arash?!"

"Not quite."

My gaze moved behind me -- met with an uncharacteristically calm grin, from a Rider who almost immediately had me frozen still.

"--Please get away from me, Columbus."

...A thief. A horrible thief, of the worst order -- but for once in his life, he heeded instructions, and stepped back.

"...Hm, just as they stated. Go figure you wouldn't trust me even when I'm acting so pleasant."

"--Couldn't you just go die..?!"

"Not yet. Master, there's still money to gain from this place, and I'm not leaving 'til my coffers are filled to bursting and then some. But that's why you've ought to succeed."

...

'...What?'

"--You know as well as I do you're being unsummoned after this!"

"Maybe so, but you'd better believe I'm taking some of that sweet Canadian syrup with me to the Throne. Bring some back when you roast that place to the ground, you hear?"

'...Right, there was a black market of the stuff.'

At any normal occasion, I would likely have called Columbus on his bluff -- that, surely, he'd be all too happy to take the Singularity's residents too, for whatever end he desired.

...But he just turned around, and moved away from the route to the Command Room.

"I own the people here as well as anything else, Master. I may as well gain some stacks off that little Quebecois trade just to spite that place."

'...Go figure. That wasn't encouragement, just a command.'

Briefly, perhaps I would have considered an almost-polite thing coming from a man like that to be an attempt at raising morale -- but, of course, a man like him would have too much trouble not showing his true colours.

'...No wonder I don't trust that thief.'

...Allowing my heart to settle, I turned back to the Command Room -- or at least, the route to it that surely only took me a few hallways.

...Perhaps out of a mixture of spite for that cocky bastard, and from the fact his raw rudeness distracted me from my worries, I took my steps back to the final part of my journey.

...The coffins were never comfortable. Certainly, it only made sense -- they were called coffins.

Beside me, in adjacent coffins, lay Kagekiyo and Gorgon -- hard to miss the latter, as the coffin would usually have to be adjusted for her mildly larger size. Morgan had situated herself somewhere nearby, perhaps adjacent to Gorgon just to mess with her a bit, and Tlaz was... somewhere.

As the Chaldea staff looked over each coffin, fussed over Ritsuka's messily-worn Mystic Code, doted on the Caster right next to them, and listened to Olga barking orders in a terrified-yet-certain demeanour, Ritsuka's eyes settled on me from across the room.

[...You ready for this one?] They mouthed out the words to me, giving a wink at the end of it.

[...Ready as I can be.]

...The coffin doors closed--

--Those words uttered by the machine, the spiritron unsummoning, all of it --

--It had grown the same as always. Even the coffins, mechanical as they seemed, uncomfortable as they were, were familiar -- comforting, almost. Part of 'home.'

'...Part of home, huh?'

...Even thinking of 'home,' only that kotatsu would come to mind.

Perhaps it was due to the time that passed, but that empty, dark room in Toronto felt like little more than a passing dream. The loneliness that felt so stifling back then, now seemed so far away, as though it could never reach me.

'...This is my last mission. And... Afterwards, I'll go home.'

'...After this mission, I'll find a home, and... Everything will be okay.'

...Even when my soul left my form, perhaps to send itself to the final Singularity, there were no worries left. Not even the fear of the transfer failing.

Wherever I opened my eyes next, this would be my final fight.

"...Girls, would it be too harsh to bring you three in for a little talk~? It's about your hubby."

The mischievous voice of Tlazolteotl had captured the ears of the three women -- Ushiwakamaru, who turned on her heel with a curious gaze, answered first, as Gorgon gazed behind her with a long, long sigh out.

"What's the problem? If you're due to take the high ground about his circumstances..."

"Not quite, Ushi. I'd be in no place to talk, you know -- certainly, you aren't the only ones he has acting unwise."

While Gorgon opened her mouth to respond -- likely with a large amount of swears -- Tlaz placed a finger to the being's mouth, and shushed her.

"...Sort out your problems now. Figure out what your relationship looks like -- something I must do as well -- before this Singularity is over."

...At that, Morgan finally found herself bothered to turn around and listen.

"...And why is that?"

"...Ritsuka. They told me something."

...Cold ground awakened me.

Dirt surely stuck to my cheek as I sat up, holding my forehead in the palm of my spare hand to dissuade the headache that tended to come of these rayshifts.

My gaze slowly sharpened, my eyes now settling on the few people before me.

Caster, who had landed sitting down, glancing directly up at the sky.

Gorgon, who was only now standing up, her brow furrowed, faintly cursing.

Kagekiyo -- who was standing still in the dark soil beneath, as though they had been there the entire time.

Morgan, who was dusting off the dirt from her dress -- making use of the gentle moonlight to figure out where it all was.

Tlazolteotl, fixing her poncho as to show some modesty, warming her hands with some steam.

Ritsuka, face down in the dirt.

The large, faintly yellow moon, shining down upon us, and a sky completely blackened -- lacking even the hint of a star.

A forest surrounding us, of evergreen trees, grown as though each intended to touch the sky.

And a woman with red hair, a crow at her side, whose blue eyes suddenly pierced through the lenses of her glasses, through the air -- directly towards us.

"...Who are all of you?"

#fgo #mastersona #gudasona #l o r e #cadenceloreposting #columbina #AE of Rakugo #caster of rakugo

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troybeecham · 4 years ago

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Today the Church remembers St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

Ora pro nobis.

Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367 AD) was a Gallo-Roman bishop. His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. In an age of the Western Church before clerical celibacy became the norm, Hilary was married and the father of Abra of Poitiers, later a nun and saint who became known for her charity.

Hilary was born at Poitiers (Pictavium) either at the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century A.D. His parents were pagans of distinction. He received a classical Greek education and was a Neoplatonist. He happened upon the Old and New Testament writings, with the result that he abandoned his Neo-Platonism for Christianity, and with his wife and daughter was baptized and received into the Church.

The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that about 350 or 353, they unanimously elected him their bishop. At that time the Arian heresy threatened to overrun the Western Church; Hilary undertook to repel the heresy and uphold orthodox Christianity. One of his first steps was to secure the excommunication of Saturninus, the Arian Bishop of Arles, and of Ursacius of Singidunum and Valens of Mursa, two of Saturninus’ prominent supporters.

About the same time, Hilary wrote to Emperor Constantius II a remonstrance against the persecutions by which the Arians had sought to crush their opponents (Ad Constantium Augustum liber primus, of which the most probable date is 355 AD). His efforts did not succeed at first, for at the synod of Biterrae (Béziers), summoned by the emperor in 356 AD with the professed purpose of settling the longstanding dispute, an imperial rescript instead banished Hilary, along with Rhodanus of Toulouse, to Phrygia.

Hilary spent nearly four years in exile, although the reasons for this banishment remain obscure. The traditional explanation is that Hilary was exiled for refusing to subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius and the Nicene faith. More recently several scholars have suggested that political opposition to Constantius and support of the usurper Silvanus may have led to Hilary's exile.

While in Phrygia, however, he continued to govern his diocese from afar, as well as writing two of the most important of his contributions to dogmatic and polemical theology: the De synodis or De fide Orientalium, an epistle addressed in 358 AD to the Semi-Arian bishops in Gaul, Germania and Britain, analyzing the views of the Eastern bishops on the Nicene controversy. In reviewing the professions of faith of the Oriental bishops in the Councils of Ancyra, Antioch, and Sirmium, he sought to show that sometimes the difference between certain doctrines and orthodox beliefs was rather in the words than in the ideas, which led to his counseling the bishops of the West to be more reserved in their condemnation.

The De trinitate libri XII, composed in 359 and 360 AD, was the first successful expression in Latin of that Council's theological subtleties, originally elaborated in Greek. Although some members of Hilary's own party thought the first had shown too great a forbearance towards the Arians, Hilary replied to their criticisms in the Apologetica ad reprehensores libri de synodis responsa. Hilary was a firm guardian of the doctrine of the Trinity as taught by the Western Church, and therefore saw the foreseen Antichrist in those who repudiated the divinity of the Son and thought Him to be but a created Being. "Hence also they who deny that Christ is the Son of God must have Antichrist for their Christ," was the way he stated it.

In his classic introduction to the works of Hilary, Watson summarizes Hilary’s points:

“They were the forerunners of Antichrist. . . . They bear themselves not as bishops of Christ but as priests of Antichrist. This is not random abuse, but sober recognition of the fact, stated by St. John, that there are many Antichrists. For these men assume the cloak of piety, and pretend to preach the Gospel, with the one object of inducing others to deny Christ. It was the misery and folly of the day that men endeavoured to promote the cause of God by human means and the favour of the world. Hilary asks bishops, who believe in their office, whether the Apostles had secular support when by their preaching they converted the greater part of mankind. . . .

“The Church seeks for secular support, and in so doing insults Christ by the implication that His support is insufficient. She in her turn holds out the threat of exile and prison. It was her endurance of these that drew men to her; now she imposes her faith by violence. She craves for favours at the hand of her communicants; once it was her consecration that she braved the threatenings of persecutors. Bishops in exile spread the Faith; now it is she that exiles bishops. She boasts that the world loves her; the world's hatred was the evidence that she was Christ's. . . . The time of Antichrist, disguised as an angel of light, has come. The true Christ is hidden from almost every mind and heart. Antichrist is now obscuring the truth that he may assert falsehood hereafter."

Hilary also attended several synods during his time in exile, including the council at Seleucia (359 AD), which saw the triumph of the homoion party and the forbidding of all discussion of the divine substance. In 360 AD, Hilary tried unsuccessfully to secure a personal audience with the Emperor Constantius, as well as to address the council which met at Constantinople in 360. When this council ratified the decisions of Ariminum and Seleucia, Hilary responded with the bitter In Constantium, which attacked the Emperor Constantius as Antichrist and persecutor of orthodox Christians. Hilary's urgent and repeated requests for public debates with his opponents, especially with Ursacius and Valens, proved at last so inconvenient that he was sent back to his diocese, which he appears to have reached about 361, within a very short time of the accession of Emperor Julian.

On returning to his diocese in 361 AD, Hilary spent most of the first two or three years trying to persuade the local clergy that the homoion confession was merely a cover for traditional Arian subordinationism. Thus, a number of synods in Gaul condemned the creed promulgated at Council of Ariminium (359).

In about 360 or 361, with Hilary's encouragement, Martin, the future bishop of Tours, founded a monastery at Ligugé in his diocese. In 364, Hilary extended his efforts once more beyond Gaul. He impeached Auxentius, bishop of Milan, a man high in the imperial favour, as heterodox. Emperor Valentinian I accordingly summoned Hilary to Milan to there maintain his charges. However, the supposed heretic gave satisfactory answers to all the questions proposed. Hilary denounced Auxentius as a hypocrite as he himself was ignominiously expelled from Milan. Upon returning home, Hilary in 365, published the Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, describing his unsuccessful efforts against Auxentius. He also (but perhaps at a somewhat earlier date) published the Contra Constantium Augustum liber, accusing the lately deceased emperor as having been the Antichrist, a rebel against God, "a tyrant whose sole object had been to make a gift to the devil of that world for which Christ had suffered."

According to Jerome, Hilary died in Poitiers in 367.

Almighty God, you gave to your servant Hilary special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

#father troy beecham #christianity #troy beecham episcopal #jesus #father troy beecham episcopal #saints #god #salvation #peace #theology #holy Trinity

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stljkm · 2 years ago

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There are a lot genres in literature. These genres being stated are being used to some authors to express their creativity in writing.

Genres of Literature

PROSE

is used in an array of ways and for a variety of causes. If your goal is to grasp the literary style, you must comprehend this idea. It's critical to comprehend the definition of prose and how it differs from other writing styles before we continue. Is a writing style that does not adhere to meter or rhyme. Instead, writing uses words to form phrases that are structured into sentences and paragraphs, and it adheres to a grammatical framework. It is employed to convey concepts, ideas, and narratives to readers directly. Prose is a style of writing that has an almost naturally verbal flow and is most frequently found in both fictional and non-fictional works of literature including books, magazines, and journals.

HISTORY OF PROSE

The father of English Prose is William Tyndale. It was discovered by Aloysius Bertrand and Charles Baudelarie who are first person who wrote a literature in the form of prose structure. First appeared on 14th Century in English Literature which is derived from French Prose that originates from Latin word prosa oratio meaning straightforward or direct speech.

EXAMPLES

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens are examples of works in Literature that is in the form of Prose.

DRAMA

A piece of literature called a drama is one that is created with the intention of being performed in front of an audience. This kind of writing is written in the form of a script, and the dialogue delivered by the actors who play the characters serves to tell the narrative.

The History of Drama

The drama's roots run deep in human religion-related predispositions. The same applies to foreign-language dramas as well as English-language drama. Dramas during the classical era of Greece and Rome focused mostly on human religious rituals.

One of the example of drama is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Also, Dumb and Dumber are considered to be a drama. Lastly, Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey are works written in drama form.

FABLE

Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be added explicitly as a concise maxim or saying.

HISTORY OF FABLE

fable, narrative form, usually featuring animals that behave and speak as human beings, told in order to highlight human follies and weaknesses. A moral—or lesson for behaviour—is woven into the story and often explicitly formulated at the end.

EXAMPLES

The Monkey and The Turtle by Jose Rizal, The Dirt Cat and The Carabao Got Tired by Juan Tamad are examples of Fables form in literature

MYSTERY GENRE IN LITERATURE

Follow a detective as they work their way through a case, often known as detective fiction. The reader is transformed into an investigator seeking to solve a mystery as they drop hints and steadily expose evidence. Mystery books typically have an intriguing opening, a thrilling plot, and a gratifying finish that resolves all of the reader's unresolved questions.

HISTORY OF MISTERY IN LITERATURE

Edgar Allan Poe is recognized by the majority of commentators and academics with constructing the contemporary mystery. In 1841, he published a brief novella titled The Murders in the Rue Morgue that featured Auguste C. Dupin, the first fictional investigator in literature. That was a momentous day when a completely new literary form was born.

EXAMPLES OF MYSTERY WORK

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Nick, and Amy Dunne is one of the example of literature form in a mystery style of writing. Also, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, and Sherlick Holmes are considered to be works in the form of mystery genre in literature.

REALIST FICTION AS GENRE

Novels in the realist fiction genre are set in circumstances that could possibly occur in the real world. They attempt to be as accurate as they can by presenting genuine people, places, and stories. Fiction written in a realist style adheres to reality and the natural principles as they are now understood.

HISTORY OF REALIST FICTION

The exotic and poetic Romanticism that ruled the artwork in the decades before the nineteenth century brought an end to the realistic painting movement. Particularly literary realism created an entirely novel writing technique and a new generation of authors, whose impact could continue to be recognized across both English and American literature today.

EXAMPLES

Work of Ta-Nahesi-Coates entitled The Water Dancer, God of Jade and Shadow written by Silvia-Moreno Garcia, and Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie are considered to be a Realist Fiction in Literary art form.

FANTASY IN LITERARY FORM

Fantasy novels are works of fiction that feature imaginary characters and take place in hypothetical settings. They frequently have magical elements and are inspired by mythology and folklore. The genre draws both adults and children.

HISTORY OF FANTASY

Many people believe that The King of the Golden River (1841) marks the beginning of the modern fantasy genre. A fable on the perils of greed and cruelty, it resembles the form of a conventional fairy tale, including two malevolent brothers who perform poorly at a mission and the kind-hearted younger brother who triumphs.

EXAMPLES OF FANTASY

Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series are two well-known works. Rowling. Explore character and worldbuilding in greater detail in Neil Gaiman's MasterClass.

HORROR IN LITERATURE

Readers are intended to be scared, startled, shocked, and sometimes repulsed by horror books. They prey on phobias with terrifying creatures like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, and monsters, typically focused on themes of death, demons, bad spirits, and the afterlife. Plot and characters are instruments employed in horror fiction to evoke a horrifying sensation of foreboding.

HISTORY OF HORROR

In Literary works, the Horror genre of the which was before era of the 18th century marked the beginning of the literary development of terror and intrigue for its own purpose. Horace Walpole is credited with creating the genre; it might be argued that his work Castle of Otranto (1765) established the horror story as a respectable literary genre.

EXAMPLES OF WORK IN THE FORM OF HORROR GENRE

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein (1818), Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839), and Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoke are considered horror in a literature artwork.

Reference : https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-are-the-different-genres-of-literature-a-guide-to-14-literary-genres

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limozasblog · 2 years ago

Text

There are a lot genres in literature. These genres being stated are being used to some authors to express their creativity in writing.

Genres of Literature

PROSE

HISTORY OF PROSE

EXAMPLES

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens are examples of works in Literature that is in the form of Prose.

DRAMA

The History of Drama

FABLE

HISTORY OF FABLE

EXAMPLES

The Monkey and The Turtle by Jose Rizal, The Dirt Cat and The Carabao Got Tired by Juan Tamad are examples of Fables form in literature

MYSTERY GENRE IN LITERATURE

HISTORY OF MISTERY IN LITERATURE

EXAMPLES OF MYSTERY WORK

REALIST FICTION AS GENRE

HISTORY OF REALIST FICTION

EXAMPLES

FANTASY IN LITERARY FORM

HISTORY OF FANTASY

EXAMPLES OF FANTASY

Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series are two well-known works. Rowling. Explore character and worldbuilding in greater detail in Neil Gaiman's MasterClass.

HORROR IN LITERATURE

HISTORY OF HORROR

EXAMPLES OF WORK IN THE FORM OF HORROR GENRE

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein (1818), Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839), and Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoke are considered horror in a literature artwork.

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73ironath · 3 years ago

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"WICKEDNESS WAS NEVER HAPPINESS" For the fact that many of us are involved in wickedness and may not be aware, I deem it fit to make us know that we may know what to do next. Wickedness begins when we are completely unconnected to the FATHER; involved in selective obedience and believes; opposing Godly laws in our Nations and associating with friends that do not have time for the FATHER. When we find ourselves in these circles of deeds, we should know immediately and always station in our minds that Satan is gradually having dominion over us. These intake of such waters into our system has caused a lot of damages, sorrows and unhappiness to lives of individuals and Nations. Specifically my home country. I sometimes sit down and cogitate why men who are stewards of the Lord's properties will take her properties to another Nation to refine and bring it back while she has machines to refine such products. Adding more injuries are men who skyrocket prices, hoards goods and services that are essential to life just for no good reasons. Only to be recognized and make wealth. These has led to oppression in hireling. We may harvest the "I have made it." These conducts is not happiness. It is wickedness and unhappiness. By the time we gradually practice what we hear from the podium and what we teach, we will discover our follies. Somehow, the FEARS of the unknown future has made us to run headlong into these wickedness which is never happiness. While we gather such fears, we should remember these words of the Saviour, wherein he said: "For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment." D&C 104:17-18. We should think of these things that we may be happy here and the next. https://www.instagram.com/p/CksiUk4NCDD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years ago

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THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES- From The Douay-Rheims Bible - Latin Vulgate

Chapter 10

INTRODUCTION

This Book is called Ecclesiastes, or the preacher, (in Hebrew, Coheleth) because in it Solomon, as an excellent preacher, setteth forth the vanity of the things of this world, to withdraw the hearts and affections of men from such empty toys. Ch. --- Coheleth is a feminine noun, to indicate the elegance of the discourse. It is very difficult to discriminate the objections of free-thinkers from the real sentiments of the author. It is most generally supposed that Solomon wrote this after his repentance; but this is very uncertain. S. Jerom (in C. xii. 12.) informs us that the collectors of the sacred books had some scruple about admitting this; and Luther speaks of it with great disrespect: (Coll. conviv.) but the Church has always maintained its authority. See Conc. v. Act. 4. Philast. 132. C. --- It refutes the false notions of worldlings, concerning felicity; and shews that it consists in the service of God and fruition. W.

The additional Notes in this Edition of the New Testament will be marked with the letter A. Such as are taken from various Interpreters and Commentators, will be marked as in the Old Testament. B. Bristow, C. Calmet, Ch. Challoner, D. Du Hamel, E. Estius, J. Jansenius, M. Menochius, Po. Polus, P. Pastorini, T. Tirinus, V. Bible de Vence, W. Worthington, Wi. Witham. — The names of other authors, who may be occasionally consulted, will be given at full length.

Verses are in English and Latin. HAYDOCK CATHOLIC BIBLE COMMENTARY

This Catholic commentary on the Old Testament, following the Douay-Rheims Bible text, was originally compiled by Catholic priest and biblical scholar Rev. George Leo Haydock (1774-1849). This transcription is based on Haydock's notes as they appear in the 1859 edition of Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary printed by Edward Dunigan and Brother, New York, New York.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Changes made to the original text for this transcription include the following:

Greek letters. The original text sometimes includes Greek expressions spelled out in Greek letters. In this transcription, those expressions have been transliterated from Greek letters to English letters, put in italics, and underlined. The following substitution scheme has been used: A for Alpha; B for Beta; G for Gamma; D for Delta; E for Epsilon; Z for Zeta; E for Eta; Th for Theta; I for Iota; K for Kappa; L for Lamda; M for Mu; N for Nu; X for Xi; O for Omicron; P for Pi; R for Rho; S for Sigma; T for Tau; U for Upsilon; Ph for Phi; Ch for Chi; Ps for Psi; O for Omega. For example, where the name, Jesus, is spelled out in the original text in Greek letters, Iota-eta-sigma-omicron-upsilon-sigma, it is transliterated in this transcription as, Iesous. Greek diacritical marks have not been represented in this transcription.

Footnotes. The original text indicates footnotes with special characters, including the astrisk (*) and printers' marks, such as the dagger mark, the double dagger mark, the section mark, the parallels mark, and the paragraph mark. In this transcription all these special characters have been replaced by numbers in square brackets, such as [1], [2], [3], etc.

Accent marks. The original text contains some English letters represented with accent marks. In this transcription, those letters have been rendered in this transcription without their accent marks.

Other special characters.

Solid horizontal lines of various lengths that appear in the original text have been represented as a series of consecutive hyphens of approximately the same length, such as ---.

Ligatures, single characters containing two letters united, in the original text in some Latin expressions have been represented in this transcription as separate letters. The ligature formed by uniting A and E is represented as Ae, that of a and e as ae, that of O and E as Oe, and that of o and e as oe.

Monetary sums in the original text represented with a preceding British pound sterling symbol (a stylized L, transected by a short horizontal line) are represented in this transcription with a following pound symbol, l.

The half symbol (1/2) and three-quarters symbol (3/4) in the original text have been represented in this transcription with their decimal equivalent, (.5) and (.75) respectively.

Unreadable text. Places where the transcriber's copy of the original text is unreadable have been indicated in this transcription by an empty set of square brackets, [].

Chapter 10

Observations on wisdom and folly, ambition and detraction.

[1] Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment. Wisdom and glory is more precious than a small and shortlived folly.

Muscae morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti. Pretiosior est sapientia et gloria, parva et ad tempus stultitia.

[2] The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a fool is in his left hand.

Cor sapientis in dextera ejus, et cor stulti in sinistra illius.

[3] Yea, and the fool when he walketh in the way, whereas he himself is a fool, esteemeth all men fools.

Sed et in via stultus ambulans, cum ipse insipiens sit, omnes stultos aestimat.

[4] If the spirit of him that hath power, ascend upon thee, leave not thy place: because care will make the greatest sins to cease.

Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne demiseris, quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima.

[5] There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were by an error proceeding from the face of the prince:

Est malum quod vidi sub sole, quasi per errorem egrediens a facie principis :

[6] A fool set in high dignity, and the rich sitting beneath.

positum stultum in dignitate sublimi, et divites sedere deorsum.

[7] I have seen servants upon horses: and princes walking on the ground as servants.

Vidi servos in equis, et principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos.

[8] He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.

Qui fodit foveam incidet in eam, et qui dissipat sepem mordebit eum coluber.

[9] He that removeth stones, shall be hurt by them: and he that cutteth trees, shall be wounded by them.

Qui transfert lapides affligetur in eis, et qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis.

[10] If the iron be blunt, and be not as before, but be made blunt, with much labour it shall be sharpened: and after industry shall follow wisdom.

Si retusum fuerit ferrum, et hoc non ut prius, sed hebetatum fuerit, multo labore exacuetur, et post industriam sequetur sapientia.

[11] If a serpent bite in silence, he is nothing better that backbiteth secretly.

Si mordeat serpens in silentio, nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit.

[12] The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace: but the lips of a fool shall throw him down headlong.

Verba oris sapientis gratia, et labia insipientis praecipitabunt eum;

[13] The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is a mischievous error.

initium verborum ejus stultitia, et novissimum oris illius error pessimus.

[14] A fool multiplieth words. A man cannot tell what hath been before him: and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

Stultus verba multiplicat. Ignorat homo quid ante se fuerit; et quid post se futurum sit, quis ei poterit indicare?

[15] The labour of fools shall afflict them that know not how to go to the city.

Labor stultorum affliget eos, qui nesciunt in urbem pergere.

[16] Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and when the princes eat in the morning.

Vae tibi, terra, cujus rex puer est, et cujus principes mane comedunt.

[17] Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness.

Beata terra cujus rex nobilis est, et cujus principes vescuntur in tempore suo, ad reficiendum, et non ad luxuriam.

[18] By slothfulness a building shall be brought down, and through the weakness of hands, the house shall drop through.

In pigritiis humiliabitur contignatio, et in infirmitate manuum perstillabit domus.

[19] For laughter they make bread, and wine that the living may feast: and all things obey money.

In risum faciunt panem et vinum ut epulentur viventes; et pecuniae obediunt omnia.

[20] Detract not the king, no not in thy thought; and speak not evil of the rich man in thy private chamber: because even the birds of the air will carry thy voice, and he that hath wings will tell what thou hast said.

In cogitatione tua regi ne detrahas, et in secreto cubiculi tui ne maledixeris diviti : quia et aves caeli portabunt vocem tuam, et qui habet pennas annuntiabit sententiam.

Commentary:

Ver. 1. Ointment. A fly cannot live in it. Pliny xi. 19. --- Hence the smallest faults must be avoided, (C.) and superfluous cares, (S. Greg.) as well as the conversation of the wicked, (Thaumat.) particularly of heretics. S. Aug. con. Fulg. 14. --- Detractors may be compared to flies: they seek corruption, &c. A little leaven corrupteth the whole lump. 1 Cor. v. 6. C. --- The wicked infect their companions, and vice destroys all former virtues. W. --- Wisdom, or "a small...folly is more precious than wisdom," &c. of the world. 1 Cor. i. 25. and iii. 18. Dulce est desipere in loco. Hor. iv. ode 12. --- Heb. "folly spoils things more precious than wisdom." A small fault is often attended with the worst consequences, (C. ix. 18.) as David and Roboam experienced. 2 K. xxiv. and 3 K. xii. 14. C. --- Sept. "a little wisdom is to be honoured above the great glory of foolishness." Prot. "dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking flavour; so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour." H.

Ver. 2. Hand, to do well or ill. Deut. i. 39. Jon. iv. 11. Chal.

Ver. 3. Fools. People judge others by themselves. C. --- Thus Nero could not believe that any were chaste. Suet.

Ver. 4. Place. If the devil tempt or persuade thee to sin, repent and humble thyself; or if thou hast offended the great, shew submission.

Ver. 5. Prince, who seems to have been guilty of any indiscretion.

Ver. 6. Rich. Such were chosen magistrates. Ex. xviii. 21. Prov. xxviii. 16. and xxx. 21.

Ver. 8. Him. Those who disturb the state or the Church, shall be in danger.

Ver. 9. Stones. Landmarks or walls. Prov. xxii. 18. --- Them. God will punish his injustice, in meddling with another's property.

Ver. 10. Made blunt. After being repeatedly sharpened, (C.) it will be more difficult to cut with it, and will expose the person to hurt himself, v. 9. H. --- Man, since original sin, is in a similar condition. --- Wisdom. The wise perform great things even with bad tools. Heb. "wisdom is the best directress." C.

Ver. 11. Silence. Prot. "without enchantment, and a babbler is no better." H. --- But he compares the detractor to a serpent, (C.) as he infuses the poison into all who pay attention to him. S. Jer. S. Bern.

Ver. 12. Grace. Pleasing and instructive. C.

Ver. 14. Tell him. How foolish, therefore, is it to speak about every thing!

Ver. 15. City. Being so stupid, that they know not, or will not take the pains to find what is most obvious. C. --- Thus the pagan philosophers knew all but what they ought to have known; (S. Jer.) and many such wise worldlings never strive to discover the paths which lead to the city of eternal peace: like him who contemplated the stars, and fell into a ditch. C.

Ver. 16. When thy. Heb. lit. "whose," cujus, as v. 17. H. --- S. Jerom give two senses to this passage, the literal and the mystical, according to his usual custom. The dominion of young men and of luxurious judges is reproved, as well as innovations in matters of religion. Is. iii. 4. Those are blessed who have Christ for their head, descending from the patriarchs and saints, (over whom sin ruled not, and who of course were free) and from the blessed Virgin, who was "more free." They have the apostles for princes, who sought not the pleasures of this world, but will be rewarded, in due time, and eat without confusion. T. 7. W. --- Child. Minorities often prove dangerous to the state, while regents cannot agree. --- Morning, as children eat at all times. This may relate to the ruler who is a child in age, or in knowledge, though it seems rather to refer to his counsellors. Is. v. 11.

Ver. 17. Noble. Royal extraction, (Esqlwn genesqai. Eurip. Hec.) and education, afford many advantages which others, who raise themselves to the throne, do not enjoy. Heb. "the son of those in white," (C.) or "of heroes." Mont. --- Eurim, (H.) or Chorim seems to have give rise to the word Hero. The advantages of birth only make the defects of degenerate children more observable. C. --- Heroum filii noxæ. "The sons of heroes are a nuisance," (H.) was an ancient proverb. --- Season. The time was not fixed; but it was deemed a mark of intemperance to eat before noon, when judges ought to have decided causes. Dan. xiii. 7. Acts ii. 15.

Ver. 18. Through. If we neglect our own, or other's soul, (H.) in the administration of Church, (S. Jer.) or state, all will go to ruin.

Ver. 19. Feast. As if they were born for this purpose, (Phil. iii. 19. C.) fruges consumere nati. Hor. i. ep. 2. --- Money. ---

Scilicet uxorem cum dote fidemque et amicos,

Et genus, et formam regina pecunia donet. Horace, i. ep. 6.)

- Heb. "money answers all purposes," (H.) to procure meat, drink, &c. C.

Ver. 20. Said. Pigeons are taught to carry letters in the east, and Solomon alludes to this custom, or he makes use of this hyperbole to shew, that kings will discover the most secret inclinations by means of spies. We must not speak ill even of those who are worthy of blame. v. 16. C.

#book of ecclesiastes

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nickgerlich · 4 years ago

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Query This

Once again, I am going to write about something most of my students have known their entire lives. It’s hard to believe that 23 years have passed, but Google just turned 23.

And I don’t know what any one of us would do without it.

Sure, they made a marketing misstep right out of the gate when they named their search engine BackRub (presumably because it searched the “back ends” of the internet). To their credit, they quickly realized the folly of their ways, and renamed it Google, even if it is a misspelling of “googol,” which means 10 based to the power of 100.

To be honest, it was a gift that they did misspell it, because it made it easier to trademark as a fake word. The only problem is that they run the risk of becoming generic, because “Google” has long been added as a verb to our lexicon. That’s actually not good when it comes to protecting one’s very identity.

But I cannot stress enough just how important Google has become. It had many competitors in the wild, wild west days of the internet (like Excite, Alta Vista, Dogpile, and others), but it quickly crushed them because it was the best. It wasn’t even about marketing. They just out-searched the search engines.

Today, we still have creaky old Yahoo, as well as a tired alternative from Microsoft known as Bing. Oh, and there are others like Duck Duck Go with their misguided revenue model, which promises to never store user data. Good luck making money without data to sell.

Of course, it is the very selling of data, targeted advertising, etc., that has caused Google to be put under the magnifying glass. Everything for which we search tells a little bit about our story, what is currently top of mind, our interests, our desires, all of the above. It’s like we treat Google nearly on the same plane as a deity, omnipresent and omniscient. That’s a sobering thought in itself.

Through the last 23 years, Google has branched out considerably, trying to become a provider of email, productivity services like Google Docs and other mimics of Microsoft products, social media, maps, apps, and even hardware like security systems and smartphones. That’s a lot of line extending, some of which has been risky and actually losing propositions (I’m looking at you, social media fails!), but it shows a company hell bent on surviving long into the future.

So how big of a presence has Google made in our lives? Big. Take mine, for instance. I routinely turn to either basic Google or Google Maps to find pretty much everything I need to know. Yes, I also use Amazon to search for products, and I use Expedia as a search engine (but never a purchasing portal) to discover which hotels are in a specific city. But it is Google and Google Maps that get the bulk of my usage.

Yes, I know that I have given permission to Google to track everything I do, including on Maps. I get the monthly email showing me everything I did the last 30 days. It knows everything, just like the deity of your choice. They don’t miss a beat.

But I am willing to trade a bit of what is normally called privacy in return for their free services, because I receive great benefit. I don’t care if Google knows where I have been and can draw me a map every month to show me what I already know. Visa, MasterCard, AT&T, and Apple can already do the same, although perhaps by different means. I gave up on the quaint idea of invisibility a long time ago. Too many T&C boxes checked.

Meanwhile, wish a happy belated birthday to the king of search. It has gotten better and better in the last 23 years, to the point of its predictive algorithms knowing what I seek long before I even finish typing.

With or without a back rub.

Dr “Search Me” Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #Google #23 #birthday #search #engine

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saint-of-the-pit · 8 years ago

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The Oracle of Hekate Denounces the Divinity of Jesus Christ

The Neoplatonist Porphyry of Tyre (c. AD 234 – c. AD 305) once consulted an oracle of Hekate concerning Jesus. Here follows the text of the oracle of Hekate concerning Jesus, as well as Porphyry’s interpretation as it appeared in the "Philosophy of Oracles," which is now lost to history. Theodosius II burned all works of Porphyry in 435 and 448 AD. But to some who asked Hekate whether Christ were a God, she replied: “You know the condition of the disembodied immortal soul, and that if it has been severed from wisdom it always errs. The soul you refer to is that of a man foremost in piety: they worship it because they mistake the truth.” To this so-called oracular response he [Porphyry] adds the following words of his own: “Of this very pious man, then, Hekate said that the soul, like the souls of other good men, was after death dowered with immortality, and that the Christians through ignorance worship it. And to those who ask why he was condemned to die, the oracle of the goddess replied, “The body, indeed, is always exposed to torments, but the souls of the pious abide in heaven. And the soul you inquire about has been the fatal cause of error to other souls which were not fated to receive the gifts of the gods, and to have the knowledge of immortal Zeus. Such souls are therefore hated by the gods; for they who were fated not to receive the gifts of the gods, and not to know God, were fated to be involved in error by means of him you speak of. He himself, however, was good, and heaven has been opened to him as to other good men. You are not, then, to speak evil of him, but to pity the folly of men: and through him men’s danger is imminent.”

#Hekate #Jesus Christ #Oracle of Hekate #Porphyry of Tyre #Divinity #Christianity

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troybeecham · 5 years ago

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The Church remembers St. Hilary of Poitiers, bishop.

Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367 AD)was Bishop of Poitiers and is a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" and the "Athanasius of the West." His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful.

Ora pro nobis.

Early life

Hilary was born at Poitiers either at the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century A.D. His parents were pagans of distinction. He received a good pagan education, which included a high level of Greek. He studied, later on, the Old and New Testament writings, with the result that he abandoned his Neo-Platonism for Christianity, and with his wife and his daughter (traditionally named Saint Abra), was baptized and received into the Church.

The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that about 350 or 353 AD, they unanimously elected him their bishop. At that time Arianism threatened to overrun the Western Church; Hilary undertook to repel the disruption. One of his first steps was to secure the excommunication, by those of the Gallican hierarchy who still remained orthodox Christians, of Saturninus, the Arian Bishop of Arles, and of Ursacius of Singidunum and Valens of Mursa, two of his prominent supporters.

About the same time, Hilary wrote to Emperor Constantius II a remonstrance against the persecutions by which the Arians had sought to crush their opponents (Ad Constantium Augustum liber primus, of which the most probable date is 355 AD). Other Historians refer to this first book to Constantius as "Book Against Valens," of which only fragments are extant. His efforts did not succeed at first, for at the synod of Biterrae (Béziers), summoned by the emperor in 356 with the professed purpose of settling the longstanding dispute, an imperial rescript banished the new bishop, along with Rhodanus of Toulouse, to Phrygia.

In exile

While in Phrygia, however, he continued to govern his diocese, as well as writing two of the most important of his contributions to dogmatic and polemical theology: the De synodis or De fide Orientalium, an epistle addressed in 358 AD to the Semi-Arian bishops in Gaul, Germany and Britain, analyzing the views of the Eastern bishops on the Nicene controversy. In reviewing the professions of faith of the Oriental bishops in the Councils of Ancyra, Antioch, and Sirmium, he sought to show that sometimes the difference between certain doctrines and orthodox beliefs was rather in the words than in the ideas, which led to his counseling the bishops of the West to be more reserved in their condemnation.

The De trinitate libri XII, composed in 359 and 360 AD, was the first successful expression in Latin of that Council's theological subtleties originally elaborated in Greek. Although some members of Hilary's own party thought the first had shown too great a forbearance towards the Arians, Hilary replied to their criticisms in the Apologetica ad reprehensores libri de synodis responsa. Hilary was a firm guardian of the Trinity as taught by the Western church, and therefore saw the foreseen Antichrist in those who repudiated the divinity of the Son and thought Him to be but a created Being. "Hence also they who deny that Christ is the Son of God must have Antichrist for their Christ," was the way he stated it.

In his classic introduction to the works of Hilary, Watson summarizes Hilary’s points:

Hilary also attended several synods during his time in exile, including the council at Seleucia (359 AD) which saw the triumph of the homoion party and the forbidding of all discussion of the divine substance. In 360 AD, Hilary tried unsuccessfully to secure a personal audience with Constantius, as well as to address the council which met at Constantinople in 360. When this council ratified the decisions of Ariminum and Seleucia, Hilary responded with the bitter In Constantium, which attacked the Emperor Constantius as Antichrist and persecutor of orthodox Christians. Hilary's urgent and repeated requests for public debates with his opponents, especially with Ursacius and Valens, proved at last so inconvenient that he was sent back to his diocese, which he appears to have reached about 361, within a very short time of the accession of Emperor Julian.

Later life

On returning to his diocese in 361 AD, Hilary spent most of the first two or three years trying to persuade the local clergy that the homoion confession was merely a cover for traditional Arian subordinationism. Thus, a number of synods in Gaul condemneded the creed promulgated at Council of Ariminium (359 AD).

In about 360 or 361, with Hilary's encouragement, Martin, the future bishop of Tours, founded a monastery at Ligugé in his diocese.

In 364, Hilary extended his efforts once more beyond Gaul. He impeached Auxentius, bishop of Milan, a man high in the imperial favour, as heterodox. Emperor Valentinian I accordingly summoned Hilary to Milan to there maintain his charges. However, the supposed heretic gave satisfactory answers to all the questions proposed. Hilary denounced Auxentius as a hypocrite as he himself was ignominiously expelled from Milan. Upon returning home, Hilary in 365, published the Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, describing his unsuccessful efforts against Auxentius. He also (but perhaps at a somewhat earlier date) published the Contra Constantium Augustum liber, accusing the lately deceased emperor as having been the Antichrist, a rebel against God, "a tyrant whose sole object had been to make a gift to the devil of that world for which Christ had suffered."

According to Jerome, Hilary died in Poitiers in 367 AD.

O Lord our God, you raised up your servant Hilary to be a champion of the catholic faith: Keep us steadfast in that true faith which we professed at our baptism, that we may rejoice in having you for our Father, and may abide in your Son, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

Amen.

#jesus #church #saints #holy trinity #christianity

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juliedeardorff · 5 years ago

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“I am constantly discovering, expanding, finding the cause of my ignorance, in martial arts and in life. In short, to be real.” -Bruce Lee

I’ve always been a Bruce Lee fan.

I’m not sure at what point exactly he made such an impression on me; I only know it was a lasting one.

He didn’t believe in limits, barriers, or conformism; he believed in self mastery, authenticity, and testing the abilities of human potential. He had a higher level of thinking that transferred into every area of life. He created his own style of martial arts that had no style — it was adaptable to anything. His legacy is the kind we all aspire to leave; one of significance, purpose; making an impact in the time we’re here.

I have 2 copies of his book, Jeet Kune Do. He was always thinking, always evolving, always learning. I did ‘Bruce Lee Monday’s’ for awhile as a tribute, but people kept asking if I was taking karate instead of focusing on the wisdom.

I looked up some of his habits and how he spent a typical day. According to his daughter Shannon, Bruce dedicated time for physical, mental and spiritual development in his daily life — creating a day filled with training, learning, teaching, writing, and connecting with people.

In other words, he created a schedule that fit his life priorities, not squeezing his life to fit around someone else’s.

Take his advice: research your own experience. Design the life and style you want to live, then do the work to make it a reality. Don’t pursue things society says you should want; don’t conform to anyone else’s expectations. Understand your own.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from him, and from those who knew him. I hope they resonate with you as much as they do with me. -J

1. “I have changed from self-image actualization to self actualization…from blindly following propaganda, organized truths, etc, to searching internally for the cause of my ignorance.”

2. “A man is at his worst when he does not understand himself. He will work to accumulate external securities rather than do the inner work that will bring true security and rootedness. So cultivate and school yourself.”

3. “Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own.”

4. “To see a thing uncolored by one’s own preferences and desires is to see it in its own pristine simplicity.”

5. “We possess a pair of eyes to help us to observe as well as to discover, yet most of us simply do not see in the true sense of the word. However, when it comes to observing faults in others, most of us are quick to react with condemnation. But what about looking inwardly for a change? To personally examine who we really are and what we are, our merits as well as our faults. In short, to see oneself as one is for once and to take responsibility for oneself.”

6. “The conformer seldom learns to depend upon himself for expression; rather he faithfully follows a pattern. As time passes, he will probably learn some dead routines and be good according to his set pattern, but he has not come to understand himself.”

7. “Man, the living creature, the creating individual is always more important than any established style or system.”

8. “As a person matures, he will realize that his skills are not so much tools to conquer others, but tools used to explode his ego and all its follies.”

9. “Although I can tell you what is not freedom, I cannot tell you what it is because that you must discover for yourself.”

10. “…On the sea, I thought about all my past training and got mad at myself and punched at the water. Right then in that moment, a thought suddenly struck me. Wasn’t this water, the very basic stuff, the essence of kung-fu? I struck it just now, but it did not suffer hurt. Again I stabbed it with all my might, yet it was not wounded. I then tried to grasp a handful of it but it was impossible. This water, the softest substance in the world, could fit into any container. Although it seemed weak, it could penetrate the hardest substance in the world. That was it! I wanted to be like the nature of water."

11. “I treasure the memory of past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude.”

12. “The meaning of life is that it is to be lived, and it is not to be traded and conceptualized and squeezed into a pattern of systems.

13. “Each man binds himself — the fetters are ignorance, laziness, preoccupation with self and fear. You must liberate yourself.”

14. “Bring the mid into sharp focus and make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere. The mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought processes and even ordinary thought itself.”

15. “When you are talking about fighting, with no rules. Well then, baby you’d better train every part of your body.”

16. “There is no mystery about my style. My movements are direct, and non-classical. The extraordinary part of life lies in its simplicity. Every movement of Jeet Kune do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I believe that the easy way is the right way.”

17. "A good teacher can never be fixed in a routine. Each moment requires a sensitive mind that is constantly adapting. A teacher must never impose this student to fit his favorite pattern. A good teacher is never a giver of truth; he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. I am not teaching you anything. I just help you explore yourself."

18. Master: “What is the highest technique you hope to achieve?

Bruce: “To have no technique.”

a. “Time would just stop when he was around. He was so inspirational and high-spirited. When I was down, Bruce would always lift my spirits and I would feel better. He could be a serious person one moment and a jokester the next.” -Allen Joe

b. “What many do not know is that Bruce was a practical joker. He giggled a lot, he was somebody you went to high school with. On the other hand, he was very philosophical. He compelled you to be in his presence.” -Jerry Poteet, Bruce Lee’s student and friend.

c. “I met Bruce Lee and he picked up my spirits…he had this inner desire to create equality among people and to try to bring out the best in people.” -Taky Kimora

#goalrecon #goals #hardtokill #nevergiveup #barrierbreaker #consistency #lifestyle #Impact #worlddomination #humanspirit #fearless #mindset #life #inspiration #motivation #perspective #gratitude #satoriseeking #meditation #namaste #R8 #justbecause

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garden-ghoul · 8 years ago

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I can’t believe it’s not the Shibboleth of Fëanor

“starting early out of fear that another farcical thing will prevent me from reading the shibboleth”

Chris’ notes on the shibboleth begin by saying that he has left out a huge number of phonology notes, which I sort of resent although I wouldn’t have read them anyway. Look Chris, if someone has made it here they’re probably enough of a linguistics nerd that they could get SOMETHING out of those. Don’t be a wimp.

Wait, did the exiled Noldor all speak Sindarin while they were in Beleriand? Like all of them? Maybe this shibboleth essay will clarify what the difference actually is between Quenya and Sindarin--I was under the impression that the latter was a language specifically invented and spoken by the green elves in Ossiriand, although I don’t know whether I ever had a reason for thinking that. “In any case, it is impossible to believe that any of the Noldor ever became unfamiliar with the sound þ,” Tolkien assures us. He then goes on to imply that this is ONLY because the Vanyar and Teleri still remembered what þ was.

Anyway, let’s look at how it went down. Feanor was one of the chief linguistic loremasters (!) at the time. This guy is such an obnoxious polymath. He really does have a tiny hammer for the metaphors. Tolkien mentions that his mom Miriel has Very Good Enunciation and is also ridiculously good at embroidery. I’m not sure whether that second one will be relevant, but she is very adamant on continuing to use þ rather than s because that’s how it was when she was a kid. And she makes her whole family use þ too, at the very least when pronouncing her name (Þerinde, or needlewoman)

Feanor loved his mother dearly, though except in obstinacy their characters were widely different.

Ugh. I’m 100% sold on Feanor and Miriel now. This is the cutest shit. I also want to register how glad I am that elves have milk names. I’m wondering what culture Tolkien got that from, because he only really seemed to be into Germanic and Celtic cultures and I haven’t heard anything about that there? omg here’s an even better quote about them:

While she lived she did much with gentle counsel to soften and restrain Feanor. Her death was a lasting grief to him, and both directly and by its further consequences a main cause of his later disastrous influence on the history of the Noldor.

Word of the author says if Miriel had been around Feanor wouldn’t have done so much stupid shit. Should have! thought about what his mom would say! instead of killing hundreds of people at Alqualonde huh!!

Miriel cites the birth of Feanor as the cause of the weariness that made her want to be dead. She assures him that it’s because he’s just too great, but that’s still got to hurt. Having your mom publicly acknowledge that she invented death because she was so tired of you she wanted to die. Holy fuck!

The Valar are ultra dismayed by this, because they keep asking her when she’ll come back to her body and she keeps going “leave me alone!!” and Not Actually Wanting To Be Alive is the one and only disease they can’t heal! Also Finwe is depressed now. The Valar panic. While Finwe is just walking all over Aman because he’s too depressed to stay in one place he walks into Indis, a local(ish) Vanya, and realizes she has had a crush on him for centuries. The process of deciding that they want to get married is handwaved in 5 words, and they go ask the Valar if it’s actually okay. The Valar think leaving Finwe to mourn forever is cruel and letting him get married again is illegal. Y’all. who made the laws. Who made them? Was it you, Manwe?

Since this has nothing whatsoever to do with linguistics anyway I’m going to interject my own thing about the Athrabeth. Andreth made the point that if the fea and hroa aren’t united by love, the body is like a chain. Obviously Miriel’s fea and hroa are not united, and she perceives her son as a chain of duty keeping her on Arda! She has the depression, just like every human, but everyone is super confused by this because depression was supposed to be invented for humans a long time from now. That is--the Eldar were not supposed to be able to “get tired of things.” This is addressed by Andreth’s “grown-up children” comment; elf psychology is fundamentally different from human psychology. What this means is that Miriel invented being mentally ill, I guess. “Just try yoga!” everyone told her, but she insisted on staying dead. Truly a hero of our time.

While I was sidetracked, the Valar made a ruling that Miriel can never ever return to her body now, even if she gets un-depressed. This is another one of those bewildering Catholic things, I guess, where it seems more just to condemn someone to death than to allow a divorce. Or like, their godly DNA was just written too Catholic for them to be able to understand the concept. Anyway Feanor blames Indis for taking his mother away Forever, even though he should really be blaming Manwe, and instantiates a Grudge against her and her children.

Into the strife and confusion of loyalties in that time this seemingly trivial matter, the change of þ to s, was caught up to its embitterment, and to lasting detriment to the Quenya tongue. Had peace been maintained there can be no doubt that the advice of Feanor, with which all the other loremasters privately or openly agreed, would have prevailed. But an opinion in which he was certainly right was rejected because of the follies and evil deeds into which he was later led. He made it a personal matter: he and his sons adhered to þ, and they demanded that all those who were sincere in their support should do the same. Therefore those who resented his arrogance, and still more those whose support later turned to hatred, rejected his shibboleth.

This is really funny to me? Like he was such an asshole that everyone started using s just to spite him. Even Indis of the Vanyar (a þ people if there ever was one) started using s!! It’s like she was trying to aggravate him! No, actually, literally all the Noldor were using s at this point, and Indis just wanted Finwe to like her. When in Rome, et c. Feanor not only thought this was a personal slight toward his mother, he also thought it was a PLOT of the Valar, inspired by ‘fear of his powers’ to ‘oust him from leadership of the Noldor.’ Holy fuck, man, I don’t even know what to do with you. Nobody would care if you didn’t make such a big deal out of it. This is some curse of the Uchiha bullshit right here, he’s just making up reaþons to be mad bc of Loþt Love.

So Feanor tells all his kids that they are better than everyone elþe because they use þ. Now I have to wonder about Nerdanel and how that courtship went. Preþumably he told her she had to þtart uþing hiþ shibboleth or elþe they couldn’t get married.

Oh, look! A bit about Galadriel! She is considered the greatest of the Noldor, which is pretty great, and also understandable considering she is the only one who didn’t get herself killed for a stupid reason. She is the tallest person, like, ever and “a match for both the loremasters and the athletes of the Eldar.” Also her hair was so messy that the light of Telperion and Laurelin got caught in it, unfortunate. Feanor was so astonished by the idea of being able to catch the light of the Trees that he kept bothering her for “a tress” (isn’t that like, a lot of hair?). No sorry he must have asked for a treþþ.

From her earliest years she had a marvellous gift of insight into the minds of others, but judged them with mercy and understanding, and she withheld her goodwill from none save only Feanor.

She ended up following Feanor to Beleriand primarily so she could thwart him at every turn, I love her. She is also too proud to ever renounce her exile and return to Valinor... for like seven thousand years. By the end of the Third Age she was wise enough, finally, to go back. We jump back to when she was just a baby to note that even though her father Finarfin used þ since he hung out with the Teleri all the time and she was therefore raised in a þ household, Galadriel hated Feanor so much that she used s anyway.

After this there are some notes on names! Answers a question that always made me roll my eyes, “why does everyone’s names sound the same??” Elda kids were given a father name at birth that sounded like their dad’s name, and later were given a mother name that described their character because all moms are prophets. What the fuck. They might also get an after name that describes some characteristic or accomplishment, as well as potentially a self name if they just want something cooler (stares at Turin).

The 'true names' remained the first two, but in later song and history any of the four might become the name generally used and recognized. The true names were not however forgotten by the scribes and loremasters or the poets, and they might often be introduced without comment. To this difficulty - as it proved to those who in later days tried to use and adapt Elvish traditions of the First Age as a background to the legends of their own heroes of that time and their descendants - was added the alteration of the Quenya names of the Noldor, after their settlement in Beleriand and adoption of the Sindarin tongue.

I know this difficulty well, as a guy who has read some fanfiction. Introduced without comment indeed.

We ALSO get an answer to the Finwe/Olwe/Ingwe/Elwe question! That suffix derives from ewe, meaning person. So they were Hair Person, ??? Person, Top/Chief Person, and Star person. Except no those are just speculations, and probably the Eldar didn’t all have to have “meaningful” names, which I like. aaahahahaha also the reason they came up with Sindarin names for everyone is because they were Sensitive To Aesthetics and felt really weird saying a Quenya name when speaking Sindarin. Elves!!

It turns out we’ve been using Feanor’s Sindarin name this whole time! Partially Sindarinized. Whatever. Now I understand about Feanaro I guess. On to his half-siblings: Findis was just a portmanteau baby, UNFORTUNATE. It also turns out the Finwe just straight up named EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS SONS FINWE. And later added something when it became clear what they were good at; Feanor got kuru- (craft?), Fingolfin got nolo- (wisdom), and Finarfin got ara- (nobility, bc he was nice). The reason Feanor’s name sounds different from his half-siblings is that he Sindarinized his mother name and they their father names. Like of course he only wanted to be known by his mother name. THAT GUY.

No sorry I got this wrong, this is awful; Finwe (father name) Nolofinwe (mother name) --> Fin Golfin --> Fingolfin in Sindarin.

Fingolfin had prefixed the name Finwe to Nolofinwe before the Exiles reached Middle-earth. This was in pursuance of his claim to be the chieftain of all the Noldor after the death of Finwe, and so enraged Feanor that it was no doubt one of the reasons for his treachery in abandoning Fingolfin and stealing away with all the ships.

SCREAMS. THIS IS SO DUMB. FEANOR NEVER STOPS GETTING MAD ABOUT HOW PEOPLE PRONOUNCE WORDS. Finarfin only prefixed his name after his brother’s death meant that he was supposed to be the next king, so I guess there was a long period where you had Fingolfin and Arfin. All Fingolfin’s sons got -kano suffixes, meaning ‘minor commander,’ transliterated into Sindarin as -gon. And HERE we find the information that Fingon “wore his long dark hair in great plaits braided with gold.” And I feel Triumph, because I have discovered a valid origin for another fandom Thing I kind of thought was totally arbitrary. SO much is made by this fandom of one-sentence throwaways, but I guess that’s what you have to do when nine out of ten sentences are about linguistics.

There’s some stuff about Arafinwean names I don’t care about too much, except for Aegnor--this was his mother name, Aikanaro, meaning ‘fell fire.’ Partially because he had Fire In His Eyes (indicating he loved to fight) and also his hair was stiff and stood up on his head like fire. Holy shit I love this he has gone up the to-draw list by like 5 places.

Ooh and it says Turgon reestablished Quenya as Gondolin’s lingua franca, that’s just so Turgon.

Lastly (I hope) let’s take a look at some Curufinwean names. Recorded largely for my own future reference because I’m assuming the two people reading this already know. [Maedhros] Nelyafinwe (’the third Finwe’ since his father and grandfather were also named Finwe) Maitimo (’hottie’) Russandol (’copper-top’ for his red hair; grandpa Mahtan had the nickname ‘fox’). also notes that he wore a copper circlet. [Maglor] Kanafinwe (’strong-voiced Finwe’) Makalaure (’a metaphor about harps’) [Celegorm] Turkafinwe (’no one’s neck’s as incredibly thick as Finwe’) Tyelkormo/Tyelko (’hasty’) Curufin is just Kurufinwe, his dad’s own name bc he’s the favorite child and also pretty good at crafting I guess. Mother name is Atarinke (’little father,’ because his only characteristic is how much he is just like Feanor) [Caranthir] Morifinwe (’dark Finwe’ because he has black hair) Carnistir (’aww he’s blushing’) (don’t you mean Carniþtir?) [Amras] Pityafinwe (’little Finwe’ awww) Ambarussa (indicating that he and his twin also have red hair, which I am enormously smug about predicting, still) [Amrod] Telufinwe (’last Finwe’; when Feanor said NO MORE KIDS) Ambarto

So basically they all used their mother names except Curufin. Veeeery interesting.

The story is that Nerdanel named the twins BOTH the name Ambarussa and when Feanor begged her to at least give them different names (’look! I made minimum effort! you do it too!’) she said “I will change one of their names to Ambarto, by lottery.” Later she prophecies that one of them will not set foot on Middle Earth and he... names the dead twin with her extra name when he gets burned alive with the ships. Also of significance here, I think, is that Curufin is the one he recruited to help him burn the ships, because he only trusts himself. Fucked up.

#this one made me realize why I like e being pronounced as i more than I like actual i #it's because I get to add approximants! sorry I am a bad choir guy I love approximants #silm #this is a long one folks

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years ago

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THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES- From The Douay-Rheims Bible - Latin Vulgate

Chapter 5

INTRODUCTION

Verses are in English and Latin. HAYDOCK CATHOLIC BIBLE COMMENTARY

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Changes made to the original text for this transcription include the following:

Accent marks. The original text contains some English letters represented with accent marks. In this transcription, those letters have been rendered in this transcription without their accent marks.

Other special characters.

Solid horizontal lines of various lengths that appear in the original text have been represented as a series of consecutive hyphens of approximately the same length, such as ---.

The half symbol (1/2) and three-quarters symbol (3/4) in the original text have been represented in this transcription with their decimal equivalent, (.5) and (.75) respectively.

Unreadable text. Places where the transcriber's copy of the original text is unreadable have been indicated in this transcription by an empty set of square brackets, [].

Chapter 5

Caution in words. Vows are to be paid. Riches are often pernicious: the moderate use of them is the gift of God.

[1] Speak not any thing rashly, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Ne temere quid loquaris, neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem coram Deo. Deus enim in caelo, et tu super terram; idcirco sint pauci sermones tui.

[2] Dreams follow many cares: and in many words shall be found folly.

Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et in multis sermonibus invenietur stultitia.

[3] If thou hast vowed any thing to God, defer not to pay it: for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth him: but whatsoever thou hast vowed, pay it.

Si quid vovisti Deo, ne moreris reddere : displicet enim ei infidelis et stulta promissio, sed quodcumque voveris redde :

[4] And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform the things promised.

multoque melius est non vovere, quam post votum promissa non reddere.

[5] Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: and say not before the angel: There is no providence: lest God be angry at thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.

Ne dederis os tuum ut peccare facias carnem tuam, neque dicas coram angelo : Non est providentia : ne forte iratus Deus contra sermones tuos dissipet cuncta opera manuum tuarum.

[6] Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities, and words without number: but do thou fear God.

Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimae sunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri; tu vero Deum time.

[7] If thou shalt see the oppressions of the poor, and violent judgments, and justice perverted in the province, wonder not at this matter: for he that is high hath another higher, and there are others still higher than these:

Si videris calumnias egenorum, et violenta judicia, et subverti justitiam in provincia, non mireris super hoc negotio : quia excelso excelsior est alius, et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii;

[8] Moreover there is the king that reigneth over all the land subject to him.

et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti.

[9] A covetous man shall not be satisfied with money: and he that loveth riches shall reap no fruit from them: so this also is vanity.

Avarus non implebitur pecunia, et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet ex eis; et hoc ergo vanitas.

[10] Where there are great riches, there are also many to eat them. And what doth it profit the owner, but that he seeth the riches with his eyes?

Ubi multae sunt opes, multi et qui comedunt eas. Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis?

[11] Sleep is sweet to a labouring man, whether he eat little or much: but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

Dulcis est somnus operanti, sive parum sive multum comedat; saturitas autem divitis non sinit eum dormire.

[12] There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner.

Est et alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole : divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui.

[13] For they are lost with very great affliction: he hath begotten a son, who shall be in extremity of want.

Pereunt enim in afflictione pessima : generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit.

[14] As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour.

Sicut egressus est nudus de utero matris suae, sic revertetur, et nihil auferet secum de labore suo.

[15] A most deplorable evil: as he came, so shall he return. What then doth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?

Miserabilis prorsus infirmitas : quomodo venit, sic revertetur. Quid ergo prodest ei quod laboravit in ventum?

[16] All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many cares, and in misery, and sorrow.

cunctis diebus vitae suae comedit in tenebris, et in curis multis, et in aerumna atque tristitia.

[17] This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and drink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured under the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him: and this is his portion.

Hoc itaque visum est mihi bonum, ut comedat quis et bibat, et fruatur laetitia ex labore suo quo laboravit ipse sub sole, numero dierum vitae suae quos dedit ei Deus; et haec est pars illius.

[18] And every man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to enjoy his portion, and to rejoice of his labour: this is the gift of God.

Et omni homini cui dedit Deus divitias atque substantiam, potestatemque ei tribuit ut comedat ex eis, et fruatur parte sua, et laetetur de labore suo : hoc est donum Dei.

[19] For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God entertaineth his heart with delight,

Non enim satis recordabitur dierum vitae suae, eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cor ejus.

Commentary:

Ver. 1. Few. As none can arrive at the perfect knowledge of God, they should be reserved in speaking of Him. W. --- De Deo etiam vera loqui periculosum. Cic. de Nat. --- In prayer, (C.) we must not pretend to give him any information, like the heathens. Matt. vi. 7. H.

Ver. 2. Folly. Under anxiety a person is naturally disturbed with dreams, in which some true ideas may present themselves; in like manner, as a great talker will say some things respecting God, which may not be reprehensible, though the greatest part of his discourse will be nothing to the purpose. This is another abuse. All must speak of God and religion, though few are able to do it, with propriety! C.

Ver. 3. Pay it. Deut. xxiii. Vows must be fulfilled. W. --- God requires that we should keep the commandments; (Lu. x. 28.) and if we engage ourselves to perform some work of supererogation, he expects that we should be faithful. To vow is of counsel; but to comply with it is of precept. An abuse too common among the Jews is here condemned. C.

Ver. 5. Sin by making a vow, above thy strength, (Chal. Pineda) or by speaking what may excite the passions. Thaumat.; Bossuet --- Angel guardian assigned to each one, (W.) or the priest, who took cognizance of vows. C. --- Providence, or "foresight" in me to avoid the evil. Heb. and Sept. "it is an error," (H.) or sin of ignorance, for which certain victims were specified. Lev. v. 4. The neglect of vows could not be thus expiated. C. --- Use no allurements to lust. M.

Ver. 6. Number. Those who observe dreams, are filled with apprehension. The Jews were very subject to this superstition. C. --- As dreams are vain, so are many words or excuses to evade a vow. Jun. Grot. --- Such pretences must not be made. S. Jer. M.

Ver. 7. These. God will bring the wicked to judgment, (C.) and shew for what design he left them in power. H.

Ver. 8. Him. An appeal may be made to the king or to God. Reges in ipsos imperium est Jovis. Hor. iii. ode 1. --- Heb. "the king serves, (Mont.) or is served by the field." Prot. H. --- All have a mutual dependence on each other, and thus the vanity of men and the order of Providence appear. C.

Ver. 9. Money. Avarice is like a dropsy, (C.) or poison, infecting all the person. Sallust. --- The miser is the slave, and not the possessor, of his riches, (S. Chrys.) like Tantalus, who could not drink, though in the midst of waters. Hor. i. Sat. 1. --- Nescis quo valeat nummus, quem præbeat usum.

Ver. 10. Them. He shews the vanity of the great.

Ver. 11. Sleep. Is not the health and content of the poor to be preferred?

Ver. 12. Owner. When they are taken away, they bring greater sorrow, (C.) and even when present, they fill the mind with anxiety. H.

Ver. 13. Affliction. Heb. "by an evil affair," or accident. C. --- Who. Heb. "and there is nothing in his hand." H. - As temporal riches prove detrimental to their owners, so do false philosophy and heresy to those who follow them. S. Jer. W.

Ver. 14. Labour. All must die in this manner. But it is most afflicting that he was formerly rich, and must leave his son indigent. C.

Ver. 16. Sorrow. The person whose riches have been taken away, had made a bad use of them, (C.) living like a miser. It would be more rational to indulge in the pleasures which they afford, though this is also vain. C. iii. 14.

Ver. 19. Delight, while he observes due moderation. His life passes away sweetly. C.

#the book of ecclesiastes

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thejokersenigma · 8 years ago

Text

Joker X Reader Deadly Voice Part 17

Here we go - the next part.

It’s not perfect but I wanted to get it out and I need to sleep!

Hope you enjoy! Comments are welcome! Any requests are also welcome!

Masterlist

“I’ll be nice – like I promised. You can go first.” The Joker said innocently though there was some plan sparking behind his bright eyes.

What had I got myself into? I sighed out loud. Better make the most of it really. I dug around my head through the many questions I had complied over the weeks of dealing with the clown in front of me. Who knew how long this opportunity would last – I need answers but I needed to choose carefully.

I couldn’t think clearly looking at him- his very presence fogged my mind but looking at him completely obscured any clear train of thought I might have. I crinkled my brow in concentration and peered around the room in thought.

“Is that how you think doll or are you having an aneurism?” he asked me and I shot him a glare but his face showed no humour. His patience was clearly fading fast with my lack of response so I grabbed at the first question I could think of.

“Why did that man want to kill me?”

“Revenge.” He stated plainly. I raised an eyebrow at him, “He seemed to believe that I was the one that killed his two colleagues the other day doll.” He expanded, grinning widely, “’fraid I didn’t get the chance to correct him.” He mused.

“Why were you in that alley without your gun anyway?” I asked, still rather confused about that whole night.

“Ah ah ah,” he tutted wagging his finger at me, “one question at a time – it’s my turn now.” He shuffled towards me on the bed, frowned and tapped his chin miming deep thinking. “hmmm…,” His face lit up and he beamed at me deviously, “Did you like killing those men?”

I went to open my mouth when he interrupted me, “Be honest now doll or else I won’t be.” He warned. Damn I wished he couldn’t read me so clearly. I mentally kicked myself; this is why you don’t make deals with the Joker.

What was the answer? I hadn’t enjoyed it in the conventional way someone might enjoy a hobby or a piece of cake but I couldn’t deny there had been some part of me that hadn’t been completely repelled by what I had done. What should, what could I say? I didn’t even know the answer myself.

“Honestly?” I sighed after a moment of silence, he didn’t move or say anything, just watched me,“I have no idea.” I said, shaking my head and looking down at my lap.

He gave a short bark of laughter, “HA – I like your honestly doll!” he exclaimed with a chortling devilishly and shuffling closer still to me. I smirked slightly at his obvious pleasure at my answer than quickly realised what I was doing and cleared my face of emotion. I was sure he had noticed though.

I wondered if I needed to wait for permission to ask my question so I waited in silence until he gestured for me to continue.

“Why were you in the alley without your gun on the night I killed those men?” I asked, remembering my previous question. “Be honest, remember.” I added quickly and he shot me a dark look but I felt it didn’t really carry any threat.

“Drink is good for quieting the voices,” he explained, suddenly grinning brilliantly and twirling his wrists and fingers in a ‘crazy’ gesture around his head -insanity shining bright in his eyes. I raised an eyebrow at his actions and he grinned even wider causing his pale cheeks to crinkle and I noticed the shadows of dimples showing. The oddly boyish feature seemed odd on the psycho’s face.

“You haven’t actually answered the question.” I pointed out when he didn’t say anything more.

His smile dropped along with his arms and he hung his head back letting it roll from one side to the other in a dramatic show of boredom. “What can I say doll? I drank too much, went out some air and just happen to forget my gun.” He drawled. I eyed him suspiciously – I had a feeling that wasn’t the entire story but I didn’t push it – I knew his temper lurked beneath the surface of his calm façade.

“Fine.” I mumbled just for something to say in response

His head snapped back upright again and I thought I caught a look of confusion in his eyes, as if he was surprised that I hadn’t pushed him further on it. But I didn’t think more about it because a sly smile slipped back onto his face, “My turn again doll.” He purred. I didn’t say anything but waited patiently for my fate.

“Do you like it when we kiss?”

I was stunned. I hadn’t expected that, but it was exactly the mind twisting question I’d expect from him. I chewed my bottom lip as if I was thinking, trying to buy myself time to put my mind back together. “Be truthful now baby.” He crooned grinning like the devil himself. “I’ll know if you’re lying.”

I swallowed thickly what do I say? I had to tell the truth – I knew how well he could read me and he’d know for certain if I lied. Plus I was pretty sure he already knew the answer but was toying with me to get me to say it. So what was the truth?

“Well kitten?” he pressed. I nodded slightly. “Use your words otherwise it’s not an answer and I get another question.” He warned.

I was suddenly very aware of how close he had gradually moved toward me. Our knees were basically touching now as we both sat cross-legged on the single bed - like two children at a sleepover. I bit my lip again and looked around the room as I grappled with my mind. I really didn’t want to say it aloud. Saying it out loud was like admitting it was true, that I had somehow fallen for this crazy psychopathic clown. Because that was the question really, it wasn’t just about liking a kiss, it was about liking him. Which was wrong. Was it?

Yes. It was.

I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth as I thought, returning my eyes to my hands crossed in my lap, not wanting to look at him. Then I heard a low growl from in front of me and I flash of white as he moved, then my hair was roughly grabbed and lips smashed into mine. He grinned when I melted against him. He pulled away slightly so his lips hovered above mine and I missed the contact instantly and I had to fight the urge to lean forward and close the distant between us.

He clearly knew this and teased me, “Do. You. Like. It?” With each word he lightly brushed his lips against mine – teasing me and my emotions till I felt I was knotted and tied up with all conflicting strings of thoughts. There was one clear word that echoed through my head, louder than any other, “Yes” I finely breathed letting myself go to feel what I wanted for once. I saw lust in his eyes as he leaned in further but before I could feel him again he abruptly pulled back his face now displaying a mad red lined smirk and he began rocking back and forth laughing crazily.

I felt all the passion drain out of me and my heart drop. I could feel my cheeks burn with shame at my folly. What had I done?! I just basically confessed my feelings to this maniac who had absolutely no feelings what so ever! How could I have been so naïve?! The passion and lust I felt from the kiss was replaced with fury at the crazy clown before me – he was such as user, a teaser – he thought of me as a toy and nothing more. Well then. It was time for me to leave.

I unfolded myself quickly from the bed, ignoring the pain that shot through my shoulder as I moved too harshly. The Joker continued to sway with mirth as I strode the door and swung it open, flinching at the jolt it sent through my arm, though I was beyond caring thanks to the anger that fuelled me.

I swung the door open and stormed out. “[Y/N]?” questioned Frost in surprise seeing me storm into the corridor and slamming the door closed behind me. I glared at him, though I knew none this was his fault, my rage was fuelling my actions as he was guilty by association with the murderer in my hospital room. I stalked past him down the hall having no idea where I was going, but knowing I wanted to get far away from the two of them.

Eventually, as I marched down the halls - taking random lefts and rights when I felt like it – my anger wore off enough that the pain from my shoulder began to pound its way back into the forefront of my mind. It must have been hours since my last pain medication and it was really taking its toll on me - especially with me having been an idiot and thrown it around in my anger.

I stopped in the middle of a short corridor and moved to lean against the wall on my left. I gripped my arm and clenched my jaw as a wave of agony ran through me. I felt tears form in my eyes and I wasn’t sure if it was only from the pain. I turned around so I faced the wall and leant my hot forehead against the colder, hideous shade of orange and let myself silently sob to myself.

Then I heard quick footsteps to my left. “Dollface.” He growled from the end of the corridor and this time I could hear the threat in his words. But I didn’t turn.

He moved silently down the corridor so I didn’t know he was behind me till he grabbed my left arm and swung me around. He slammed me back into the wall and I gasped at the collision force against the back of my head and my wounded shoulder. “You can’t walk away from me!” he snarled, his upper lip curling to reveal his metal caps in the meagre hallway lights. He placed his hands on the wall either side of my face, blocking me from escaping and his body was slightly pressed up against mine.

My fury that had ebbed away flared anew to match his. “Why not?” I demanded. “Why can’t I just leave whenever I want, like a normal person?!”

His breathing was heavy in front of me like it was taking all his will power not to snap my neck.

“Because you’re mine.” He growled.

“I am not yours!” I shouted. “I am not an object! Not a toy to be played with and thrown about!” He looked taken aback by the fact that I was fighting back against him, so I took the opportunity to dig at him a bit more. “If I was anyone’s I would be the Penguin’s anyway – at least I’m contracted to be ‘his’! I pointed out.

I watched a mix of emotion cross behind his eyes before he closed them and I watched the muscle in his jaw jump as he clenched his teeth against his anger and his hands balled into fists on either side of my face. I was not in a good position right now - but I had only myself to blame this time. Why did I have to piss him off so much?!

He punched the wall to my right and I jumped, holding back a squeal of fear. His nostrils flared as he pushed himself back with his knuckles and he stood tall before me. I noticed the dent left in the wall where he had hit and I could feel myself shrink back as I saw every muscle flex under his anger. I couldn’t feel the throbbing in my shoulder anymore – the fear for my life was eclipsing any pain in my body.

Then he swiftly spun on his heel and pulled out his gun, only opening his eyes once he had fired a number of rounds down the hallway. I watched as two nurses dropped to the floor dead. I hadn’t heard them coming in my state, but clearly he had. I gulped as silently as possible when I realised I had stopped breathing.

He turned back to me and I cringed slightly waiting for the weapon to be turned on me. But he seemed to look through me and then let his head fall back as he stretched his arms out to either side. The motion caused his arms to become even more defined under his dark shirt as they tensed and he rolled his neck from side to side like earlier. I thought I could see a grin on his face but I couldn’t really tell. I heard his neck crack and he let his arms fall so his gun hung lazily by his side, bringing his head back up to look straight at me. I cowered as I waited for his wrath but I noticed his jaw was relaxed and, though his face was still serious, he showed no trace of the anger that had consumed him a moment ago. He appeared to have taken his anger out on the two unfortunate nurses.

“Well doll,” he growled lowly, running his hand through his hair to move the stray strands back into place, “I believe it’s my turn?” I blinked at him stupidly. “We’re still playing our little game kitten.” He told me. I guess I had no choice in this.

To save my own skin I went along with it. “A-Ac-Actually, I believe it’s my turn.” I mumbled - my voice still shaky from the events of a few moments ago.

“No, no, kitten,” he scolded playfully, “You had your turn – I believe you asked why you couldn’t just leave like a normal person? And I answered. So now it’s my turn.” He stated bluntly and his grin pulled at his painted mouth. I could feel lump forming in my throat. I wasn’t sure I agreed with this but I wasn’t going to argue with him at the moment when I knew temper wasn’t far away. I was just going to have to go along with it if I was going to get out of here alive – even if I wouldn’t be completely sane.

I sighed in surrender, “Hit me.” I muttered and I was suddenly propelled sideways - only just managing to catch myself on a nearby fire extinguisher that hung from the wall. I brought a hand to my cheek where he had slapped me and felt the heat warm my palm. I pushed myself back upright and clenched my jaw against the sting in my cheek and I felt my shoulder throb from the sudden jolting movement.

“What. The. Hell?!” I spat through gritted teeth shooting daggers at the Joker who remained happily stood before me - the only difference in his appearance being a slight change in how his shirt hung on his frame.

“You told me to.” He said harmlessly lifting his shoulders and looking confused at what he done wrong - but I could see a smirk playing on his lips. I glowered at him but it see to have absolutely no effect on him. I guess it was my own fault really- I did say it. I admitted silently to myself. What had he done to my head that made me think that him slapping me was my fault?!

“Just ask the damn question.” I snapped at him. He pouted at me mockingly before his face was turned serious.

“Why did you blow up my club?”

I was a bit taken aback by the question. I had no idea that he was even thinking of that night and I was completely unprepared to answer the question. “Umm… I-I“

“Honesty now.” Joker reminded me. I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance. I could actually try to lie to him this time, but I was nearly certain that I he would see through it. Should I just tell him? I couldn’t think why not anymore – apart from a wish to stay alive. But if I lied he would find a way to make me tell him – probably through some sort of torture which I wanted to avoid if at all possible. Either way I was going to have to tell him. I took a deep breath and let it out shakily.

“The night you first entered the club you bumped into me remember?”

He looked unimpressed, “I know what happened doll. But I want to know why.” He drawled, clearly bored.

“You didn’t accidentally bump into me. I sought you out.” I declared. His face remained passive but I thought I saw something flash in his eyes. “Initially - when I first came to you - Frost shoved me out of the way and you just kept walking. Then you stopped and asked me to get the boss of the club. I didn’t.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, “Then who did you bring me doll?” he growled, and I could already notice his temper rising again with the realisation that I had disobeyed him.

“I brought you a jackass that had always caused trouble. He was always a drunk, always groped the girls – including me – was always disrespectful, and a general jerk. I figure the world wouldn’t miss him.” The Joker raised his invisible eyebrows at me in surprise at my words – clearly taken aback by this side of me. “I paid him to pretend he was the boss – told him it was a kinky role play I enjoyed.” I explained rolling my eyes at the stupidity of it. “I knew who you were - what you were - what you would do. And you came through. Shot him dead within minutes. Seconds later you claimed the club. There wasn’t much I could do.”

“Sounds like I did you a favour.” Muttered the Joker – not happy to do it for free obviously. He snapped his eyes back to mine. “So why not get the real boss doll hm?” He asked nicely with a creepy, unfriendly smile splitting his face, “Tryin’ protect a friend of yours? A lover?!” he suddenly demanded, his face flashing to a look of pure rage as his temper flared and he bared his sliver teeth at me.

I wasn’t backing down now though – a strange confidence had taken over me. “I couldn’t bring you my boss because I don’t have one!” I retorted. “Your narrow insane mind couldn’t even consider the idea that I could be more than just a singer! Never even thought that I myself could be the one in charge!” I snapped.

One of his hands shot out and grabbed my chin pulling me up to his face and forcing me to stand on my tiptoes as he sneerd at my attitude. “Then tell me dollface,” he drawled, “why would you prime your own club to blow?”

I stared defiantly into his icy eyes, trying to hold onto my anger to power me and not give into the emotion that hovered beneath my façade. But I could already feel the tears beginning to prickle in my eyes. “That’s why I blew it up!” I exclaimed. “That place had been in my family for too many generations to count and you just strode in, shot one idiot, and then took it!” I shrieked in hysteria, my emotions getting the better of me so I could no longer stop the tears from cascading down my cheeks.

“There was nothing I could do!” I cried closing my eyes against the wall of sorrow that slammed into me. “I knew no one would stand up to you! No one I could rely on with enough resources to get rid of you! It would have been a death wish anyway!” I sobbed, opening my eyes to look at him as forced the words out, even though his steel grip on my chin was crushing my mouth and making it hard to talk.

“But as much as I loved that place I couldn’t - wouldn’t - see it run and ruined by the likes of you!” I paused, trying to breathe through my sobs and hiccups. “Better it never existed.” I sniffed, “So now it doesn’t.” I mumbled dropping my gaze so I now stared at the words JOKER written over his abs and the toothy grin.

We stood there in silence for a few moments -him still holding my chin and me weeping quietly to myself, not looking at him. I was certain – now he knew – he would end it finally. Put the bullet in my head – or would he torture me first? I didn’t really care anymore and I contemplated his options for my death as though I was deciding what to cook for dinner.

When his fingers loosened their hold I assumed he was reaching for his gun to end me and I let myself collapse against the wall and onto the floor. I stared at the ground in front of me, but, where I expected to see him stood, all I saw was the greying corridor floor.

He was gone. And I just sat there staring into nothing, sobbing for what I had lost.

#joker x reader #deadly voice #deadly voice part 17 #jared leto joker #joker #fan fic #joker fan fic #fan fiction #joker fan fiction #joker x reader fan fiction #joker x reader fan fic

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breakingthecrown · 8 years ago

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The Sick, Dumb & Happy by The Charm The Fury, Review

By Dan #d

(view my personal tumblr here)

Album Title: The Sick, Dumb & Happy

Band: The Charm The Fury

Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Groove Metal, Pop, Rock

Label: Arising Empire / Nuclear Blast

Release Date: March 17, 2017

When I read Metal Hammer or Revolver magazine, I usually just stick to reading about bands that I’m familiar with. Occasionally I’ll read a random article. But in the most recent Metal Hammer, I decided to do some more exploring and pay attention to the ads and new band articles. The Charm The Fury are one of the bands I saw an ad for, and I am glad I did. This album is something else, plus I’m all about female fronted bands. Yeah yeah Floor Jansen, I know it’s not a genre.

The Sick, Dumb & Happy opens with the song, Down On The Ropes. I wasn’t entirely sure of the song’s message (which would happen more than once proceeding), however it was very pleasing upon first listen. Opening with some speedy guitars and awesome drum beats, it eventually transcended into some nice grooves. Which instantly reminded me of Pantera. When vocalist, Caroline Westendorp made her first appearance, I was instantly drawn in. These vocals are not your typical Halestorm or Evanescence. They’re dirty and raw. Kind of reminded me of Christine Maynard of Level C or Carla Harvey of Butcher Babies. The next song Echoes put me on a trip (in a good way). I had to read the lyrics like ten times to figure out the message of the song. I suspect it’s about believing that fighting yourself is dumb. The lyrics say “Step down, show respect, for the folly of man. Some things are better left unsaid”. Then continues to explain that pounding forces (presumably in her head) are not a war within, but just echoes. Explained by the lyric “This is not a war, this is who we are. I remember what I stand for. It echoes in my head”. On this lyric, the song sounded like Demi Lovato or some pop singer stole the mic for a second. I was very confused by the sudden mood change in the music, but I was cool with it.

Most people know that love is a huge risk. The third track, Weapoonized says “You barely even know that you’re ever going to die” and “You’re just a victim of love’s industry”. Well I knew love was risky but that’s a sad (but probably realistic) view on love. This song is cool in that it has what I like to call “battle of guitars”, in which high guitar riffs and low guitar riffs play interchangeably. Love it. I also like the low, gut wrenching vocals during the bridge. Reminds me of Marilyn Manson or Chris Motionless of Motionless In White. The later is probably a realistic influence, as she also says “Fuck!” at the end of the bridge in a similar manner to how Chris says “Ugghh!” in multiple songs.

When No End In Sight came on, I started to hear even more influences in Caroline’s voice. Her screaming vocals reminded me a lot of Angela Gossow, previously of Arch Enemy. She even reminded me of Jill Janus of Huntress at one point. Specifically because she was still screaming, but in a lower octave then I think Angela usually sung. I’m all about the instrumentation on The Future Need Us Not. There is an epic opening that reminded me of the intro music you hear before fighting a boss in a video game. Okay Okay I admit it, its another high and low contrast. But it almost sounds like during the low riffs, the guitarist is stroking the very bottom of the guitar strings to make a very warped sound. When the singing begins with “The future need us not. It will go unopposed”, there’s so many cool things going on. The low gut vocals are back, with a guitar riff that sounds like the strings are old and deteriorating. All with some awesome, deep drum beats in the background. This is all just within the first 30 seconds of the song

Towards the end of the album is Silent War; which marks the very first appearance of an acoustic guitar. The Demi Lovato pop vocals are totally high jacked, however there are some nice clean vocals here that kind of remind me of Storm Large or Lesley Roy. This is the only non-metal song on the album. It talks about a man who is being tortured by his own mind. The man is “using all of his strength, but still loosing. A war in his head”. Some of the reasons why he’s loosing may be because “the memories won’t show mercy”. Also towards the end is Songs of Obscenity, which I wonder if it’s about Avril Lavigne. The verse “We don’t wear brands. Don’t watch TV. Oh can you say, hypocrisy? We’re singing Woo oo oo, Woo oo oo. Straight to the bank we run this scene” makes me think so. I know Avril Lavigne was sported wearing Dickies in her “punk” days, but when I hear “Woo oo oo, Woo oo oo”, I instantly think Avril. Cause she sings it in a lot her songs. Is this song about her possibly? Probably not.

Overall I’d give this album a 3.5 out 5. While it is original and I applaud the many influences, it does get lost a bit. What exactly do they want their sound to be? Do they want to tour with Arch Enemy, or Motionless In White? Sorry, I went to school for Entertainment Management. I think about marketing shit and packaging bands. However their sound is original, and their lyrics are pretty intelligent. I applaud them for coming up with lyrics I didn’t understand upon first read. As Marilyn Manson says, “Art shouldn’t be answer, it should be a question mark”.

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cwnerd12 · 8 years ago

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hopefully this isn’t too all over the place

On June 20th, 1932, Captain J.S. Blitch died. An obituary in the Tallahassee Democrat praised, “[Blitch] is widely known over the entire country for his humane methods in dealing with convicts.”

Before the funeral, Blitch’s body briefly “laid in state” in the main dining hall at Raiford for inmates to view. House described, “Some inmates came to look at him, the majority didn’t. They said ‘They had seen too damn much of him when he was living,’ and ate too damn much of his sorry grub, too many years, to ever wish to see any more of him, - and if he went to Heaven, they all wanted to be in Hell.”

Assistant Superintendent Leonard Chapman took over Blitch’s role, and life at Raiford continued on as before.

In 1933, the Flat Top building was expanded to include 42 cells and a death cell where prisoners awaiting executions were held. The death cell’s first occupant was Giuseppe Zangara, an Italian anarchist whose assassination attempt on president Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami had been foiled by a wobbly chair. Zangara instead hit Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who eventually died of his wounds. House says that he made a few visits to Zangara while he was housed at Flat Top, but that his attempts at conversation were met with icy silence. Zangara was electrocuted on March 20th, 1933, after expressing dismay that no news photographers had come to witness.

House was assigned to work at the prison bakery, making pastries to be sold at the prison canteen. Every Christmas, he made a fruitcake for the judge who sentenced him, but the judge never ate them, afraid of any extra ingredients House may have added.

On November 25th, 1934, House and his mother were dealt a severe blow when his step-father died, leaving his mother without any means of support. Shortly afterwards, the state Board of Pardons again denied a pardon for House, which House said was due to the fact that they didn’t have the money to make a sufficient bribe.

After this, “Realizing that I had not the ghost of a chance to get out alive to be with my mother… waiting on the Pardon or Parole Board for relief, I somehow started to more fully investigate my case and the legal aspects involved.” House had no means to get the law books he needed, “I did the best I could, I saw some old cast off books on law, I studied them constantly and finally succeeded in getting hold of - among others - ‘THE SOUTHERN REPORTER’ published by the West Publishing Company at St. Paul, Minnesota. It gave the reports and Opinions of the Supreme Court of Florida and various other southeastern states, and what they held in certain cases. I finally started to study Constitutional Law written in 1925 by Lawrence B. Evans, a volume that contained some 12 or 13 hundred pages.”

House began conferring with a lawyer-turned inmate named Michael C. Jones, and through him, House was able to get in touch with a semi-retired lawyer named Edwin L. Bryan, who promised him that he could get a writ of Habeas Corpus from the Florida Supreme Court. in December 1935, he was granted a new sentencing. The following February, he went back to Tampa.

“I’ve learned my lesson,” he told The Tampa Tribune, “I know the folly of crime and when I get out I’m going straight. Considering the good records I have for the last few years and the time I have served, I think the judge might give me a chance. I’m going to try to have a talk with him.” House was resentful that Lester Gildre and John Kinney had been freed in the earlier appeal to the Supreme Court, and that “Big Paul” Huhn had also been freed after serving eight years of his sentence. Brought before Judge W. Raleigh Petteway once again, he claimed to have had nothing to do with the Hav-a-Tampa robbery and the Knight & Wall burglary. He said that with no legal council, the county solicitor had pressured him into making a guilty plea or else he’d be given an un-specified murder charge. The judge reduced his sentence from 60 to 50 years. Perhaps a small victory, but not the resolution House wanted. He once again appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, claiming that Judge Petteway had no authority to pass sentence again, and that House should have been granted his request to withdraw his original guilty plea and enter a new, not guilty plea. in February 1937, the Court upheld Judge Petteway’s sentence.

Some time during all this legal back and forth, House got into a fight with another inmate and once again found himself back in Flat Top. This time, he was kept next to condemned men on “murderer’s row.” The head keeper at Flat Top was a man named J.H. Dowling, a corpulent man who House described as “garrulous,” “exceedingly cruel,” who would walk up and down the corridors singing, “Oh, it won’t be long, it won’t be long, they’ll call my number and name, and I’ll be gone!”

House described watching the condemned be carried away for execution, “Some of these were wild and frightened, crying all the way… Some of these men had to be assisted down the narrow corridor to their doom. A doctor would offer to give them a shot of Morphine to steady their nerves, but over half of them refused it. Most of the condemned would seem to be in a stupor and walked slowly, with eyes straight ahead, as if walking on a cloud. As they reached the electric chair room, a brine soaked sponge would be placed on their shaved heads and the hood pulled down. Three minutes later they would be dead.”

Officiating each execution was the Reverend Leslie Shepherd, who “Would stroll down the corridor with a burning cigarette in one hand and a Bible in the other.” According to House, Brother Shepherd would stop and spend long hours conversing with his favorite convicts, who were all “Homo-sexuals and those ‘good-looking-boys’ convicted of sex crimes. These homosexuals were called ‘gal-boys’ and ‘sweet-mammas’ in the prison language used, and ‘punks.’” Brother Shepherd would inquire, “all about their intimate selves and sexual relations with other convicts… ‘which of the two ways they liked it best,’ and if they were still a ‘virgin.’” House goes on, “The only prisoners at Flat Top that received any favors from ‘Bro’ Shepherd were the ‘girls.’ He would bring them expensive Bibles or dictionaries - candy and cigarettes, along with perfumes or cosmetics - to enhance their feminine beauty… I tried to get him to bring me a dictionary and a large-print Bible, but he always told me that he forgot it.”

When not pampering his favored young convicts, Brother Shepherd would solicit funds for a chapel to be built on the grounds of Raiford. He sent letters to the friends and family members of convicts, having convicts all sign their name so that he couldn't be charged with mail fraud. While construction of the massive main housing unit at Raiford took just over two years, construction of a small chapel at Raiford took over seven years, with each year $50,000 being officially budgeted from the state of Florida for its construction. Clearly, Al House wasn’t the only clever con man at work at Raiford.

In March, 1938, the United States Supreme Court granted House a writ of Habeas Corpus, directing that the state of Florida had to show just cause for holding him.

According to House, “Nathan Mayo, Prison Custodian, was so scared that I would get out that ‘he shook like an aspen-leaf in a forty mile gale,’ for in those days he knew that the prison system of Florida would be thoroughly exposed to the last degree by my mother and me.” On March 28th, the Supreme Court found that the state of Florida did indeed have just cause for holding House, leaving him with no other legal recourse. The only way House could get out of prison was through pardon or parole.

#Al House

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