W. B. Yeats and the Golden Dawn society

It is said that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is one of three most influential organizations on Western occultism in the 19th and 20th centuries, along with the Theosophical Society and G. I. Gurdjieff. This organization is also known for involving some famous people in its membership such as Aleister Crowley and W. B. Yeats.

Although it shows somewhat dubious aspects, the origin of the organization traces back to 1887, when Dr. William Wynn Westcott, a London coroner and one of its key founders, found ‘part of a manuscript that was written in brown-ink cipher’.

 

Having frustrated with being a member of the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society, originally founded by infamous Mrs. Blavatsky, Yeats joined to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1890. It is said that when Alister Crowley, one of its prominent members, was thrown out of the organization, around the turn of the century, it was Yeats who played a significant role in doing so.

 

From a different point of view, some argue that Yeats discovered that the Golden Dawn incorporates ‘traditional European Cabalistic Magic and astrology, as opposed to the wisdom of the East’, unlike Blavatsky’s society he belonged previously.

Thus, soon after Crowley left the organization, Yeats took charge of a couple of important roles within the organization and enjoyed his membership until his death on 28 January 1939.

 

Reference:

Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn (2007), William Butler Yeats, Golden Dawn Biographies (accessed 19/02/2010)

http://www.golden-dawn.org/bioyeats.html

 

Hefner, Alan G. (2010), Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Mystica (last modified 11/02/2010, accessed 19/02/2010)

http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/h/hermetic_order_of_the_golden_dawn.html

 

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (2009), Biography of W. B. Yeats (accessed 19/02/2010)

http://golden-dawn.com/eu/displaycontent.aspx?pageid=151-biography-w.-b.-yeats

Anti-Climacus, a pseudonym by Søren Kierkegaard

There are so many cases where an author chooses to use a pseudonym to publish his/her own works. Søren Kierkegaard would be one of the most famous examples for having used various pseudonyms for publishing his philosophical works. For example, when he published The Sickness Unto Death, one of his representative works, he put ‘Anti-Climacus’ as its author’s name whilst put his own name as the editor of the work.

 

There must have be several reasons why he used such pseudonyms. It could be guessed that he might have wanted to protect his privacy because ‘It would not have been difficult… for Kierkegaard’s original readers to guess who the author was’. In addition, it is also argued that he deliberately used various different pseudonyms to divide each name’s role, character and required function. As for Anti-Climacus concerns, it is discussed as following:

‘By comparison with other pseudonyms, Anti-Climacus’ style is relatively calm and precise. His name may suggest that he is intended as a sort of alter ego for "Climacus," a more rambunctious and emotional pseudonym who narrates several other works by Kierkegaard’ (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/sickness/terms.html).

 

If so, then who is another ‘Climacus’? It is known that Kierkegaard published at least two other his works under a pseudonym of Johannes Climacus: The Philosophical Fragments and The Concluding Unscientific Postscripts. As for the character of this Climacus, apart from the origin of the name that came from a Greek monk (c. 570-649) who was the abbot of Saint Catherine’s of Alexandria on Mt. Sinai, Storm sums up as following:

For Kierkegaard, the pseudonym Johannes Climacus represents the subjective approach to knowledge, though this Climacus is not a believer…he leads the reader up to the point by which he can make a decision. Objective knowledge, which is the avowed goal of rational philosophers, is impossible to appropriate by subjective creatures. Thus Kierkegaard was concerned with knowledge that would encourage the soul to turn to God’ (http://www.sorenkierkegaard.org/johannes-climacus.html).

 

Thus, from above quotations, it could be presumed that Kierkegaard used a pseudonym of Anti-Climacus, not only to write in relatively calm and precise style, but also to represents the objective approach to knowledge, in order to pursue the avowed goal as a rational philosopher.

 

Reference:

Sparknotes (2010), Sickness Unto Death – Terms (accessed 18/02/2010)

http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/sickness/terms.html

 

Storm, Dan Anthony (2010), Johannes Climacus, D. Anthony Storm’s Commentary on Kierkegaard – Second Period: Indirect Communication (1843-46) (accessed 18/02/2010)

http://www.sorenkierkegaard.org/johannes-climacus.html

Father of the great dramatist

It was April 1564, when William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town in Warwickshire, England. In what kind of household was he born into? This entry would like to look at the life of his father, John Shakespeare.

 

John Shakespeare was born in 1531 and worked with his father Richard, who was a tenant farmer until 1551, when John ‘moved to Stratford to set up business trading in wool, malt and corn’. It is said that he was ‘skilled in both leatherworking and the curing and processing of fine leather to make ladies gloves and purses for the nobility’. In his early days, it seems that his business ran successful so that he could buy a house in Henry Street in Stratford, which was ‘conveniently near the market’. In 1557, he married Mary Arden, a daughter of ‘one of Warwickshire’s most prominent family’.

 

Besides his business, John’s career in obtaining public position began in 1565, when he became an Alderman of Stratford. This position enabled his son William to be given free education at the local Grammar School. Subsequently, he became the Mayor of Stratford in 1568 and Chief Alderman of Stratford in 1570.

It was 1570, when he first applied his Coat-of-Arms, in other words, the title of gentleman. Despite of its cost, ‘an amount of 30 guineas (£30 pounds and 30 shillings)* to be paid to the College of Heralds’, unfortunately his application this time resulted in unsuccessful.

 

Henceforth, John’s life was lead to the downfall. It is said that by the early 1580s, John ‘descended from being a pillar of the community, and wealthy businessman, to a debtor whose only possession was a house on Henley Street’. Some argue that what caused his downfall and refusal for his application for the Coat-of-Arms might have been related to John’s faith in Catholicism, concerning to the contemporary political situations.

Since 1592, when his son William became successful in London, it seems that John and his family in Stratford managed to escape from their decades of plight. On October 1596, by his second attempt, John and his children ‘were granted permission to display a coat-of-arms’ by the Garter King of Arms. Its design is described as ‘gold with a black banner bearing a silver spear’, with a motto saying, "Non sans droit" (not without right). The right to bear arms meant John and his sons were officially admitted to be a part of Gentry class, and by 1599 John ‘was reinstated on the Stratford Town Council’ (http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-biography-mother-and-father.htm).

John Shakespeare died in 1601 at the age of 70, leaving his beloved wife Mary, who died seven years later in 1608.

 

*The value of 30 guineas in 1570 is approximately equivalent to ‘£7,568.83 (using the retail price index)’ or ‘£78,864.15 (using average earnings)’ (http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/result.php?use[]=CPI&use[]=NOMINALEARN&year_early=1570&pound71=30&shilling71=30&pence71=&amount=31.5&year_source=1570&year_result=2008).

 

Reference:

MeasuringWorth (2009), Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to Present (accessed 17/02/2010)

http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/result.php?use[]=CPI&use[]=NOMINALEARN&year_early=1570&pound71=30&shilling71=30&pence71=&amount=31.5&year_source=1570&year_result=2008

 

William Shakespeare Info (2005), The Parents of William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare Biography (accessed 17/02/2010)

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-biography-mother-and-father.htm

Henri Paul mystery

Countless mysteries have been surrounding to the tragic death of Princess Diana, who was allegedly killed in a fatal ‘accident’ on 31 August 1997. In the accident, not only Diana but also her lover Dodi Fayed and a chauffer called Henri Paul were also killed when the Mercedes, driven by Paul, crashed to a concrete pillar at the speed of 120 miles per hour. Among these three victims, especially the mysteries concerning to Henri Paul have been always controversial. For example, it is quite difficult to explain why a chauffer ‘was carrying the equivalent of £2,000 in cash when he died’ (Botham, p. 8)?

 

Furthermore, the flow of huge amount of money that surrounded Henri Paul in the months before his death is also quite unlikely to be explained. It is said that ‘In the eight months before the crash – almost exactly the same period of time that Diana had been seeing Dodi Fayed – he made five cash deposits at the bank . Each was of exactly £4,000’ (Reid, 2004). Although one of his close friends insists the money was his own because ‘He always had that kind of cash on him whenever I saw him’, ‘He was supposed to take care of rich clients of the Ritz’ and ‘He got a lot of tips – one of £200 was not unusual’(ibid), those who prefer to choose so-called conspiracy theories apt to connect him to secret services such as the MI6.

 

However, referring to an evidence given by an ex-MI6 officer, the same article shows a little possibility for Henri Paul to be involved in the British espionage activities. In which, a former officer, who has enough credibility for being able to explain that ‘The French informant was, in the tradition of secret services, given a code number’, simultaneously reveals that ‘he did not actually see the name of Henri Paul in the MI6 files’ (ibid).

 

Reference:

l        Book

Botham, Noel (2004), The Murder of Princess Diana

Pinnacle Books published by Kensington Publishing Corp. New York

 

l        Internet

Reid, Sue (2004), ‘Diana: The MI6 mystery’ Mail Online. 4 Dec (accessed 15/02/2010)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-329547/Diana-The-MI6-mystery.html

Abraham, the Patriarch

Abraham is one of the most important biblical figures throughout the old and new testaments. First of all, it would be worth to mention on what kind of place and time Abraham was born. According to Wilson, the story of Abraham can be traced back to ‘nearly 4,000 years into a semi-nomadic, Middle Bronze Age culture’. He also argues that ‘Ur in Lower Mesopotamia and Haran in Upper Mesopotamia’, where Abraham lived and grew up, were both centres of ‘moon worship’ (http://www.jesuswalk.com/abraham/0_intro.htm)

 

In the Bible, the story of Abraham could be found in the book of Genesis: in chapter 11, he is referred for the first time being called Abram. Readers can access to his basic biographical detail as well, that ‘he was a shepherd and came from Ur in Mesopotamia – modern day Iraq – after which he and his family moved (to Haran), with his father Terah’.

 

In chapter 12, ‘God asked Abram to leave his home and country’, where was covered with polytheism, in which ‘people believed in and worshipped many gods’, promising him ‘a relationship with God, numerous descendents and land’. Therefore, it can be said that the reactions Abram made to this single God’s promise afterward established the birth of monotheism.

Being asked by the God, although Abram and his wife Sarai did not know even the name of this God, they had to leave their homeland and, ‘As a result of his obedience, God changes his name to Abraham, meaning “father of the people”’ (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/abraham_1.shtml).

 

At first, Abram and his family went into the land of Chanaan and he built altars to the God. When a famine broke out, they journeyed to Egypt. Being expelled by the Pharao for having lied on the status of Sarai as not his wife but his sister, they came back to Bethel, where they found ‘their herds and flocks had grown to be very large’. It is said that Abram and Sarai chose and ‘dwelt in the vale of Mambre in Hebron’.

Having survived unstable times, one day aged Sarai ‘persuaded Abram to take to himself her hand-maid, Agar’ and he does so. Agar bore a boy child Ismael.

‘Thirteen years later God appears to Abram and promises him a son by Sarai, and that his posterity will be a great nation. As a sign, he changes Abram’s name to Abraham, Sarai’s to Sara, and ordains the rite of circumcision’

Following the stories such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha and the couple’s brief staying in Gerara, finally Sarah bore a son, Isaac, to Abraham and he was ‘circumcised on the eighth day’ of his birth.

After the ‘great trial of the faith of Abraham’, in which he was ordered by the God to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Sarah died at the age of 127. It is said that she was buried in a ‘cave in Machpelah near Mambre’.

 

Yet, it is said that old Abraham remarried Cetura after the death of Sarah and had further six children by her, until he died at his age of 170. At his death, he left ‘all his possessions to Issac’, which simultaneously means that nothing to his other children including Ismael, and was buried ‘in the cave of Machpelah’ (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01051a.htm), by both Isaac and Ismael.

 

Reference:

BBC – Religions (2009), Abraham (updated 23/06/2009, accessed 13/02/2010)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/abraham_1.shtml

 

Knight, Kevin (2009), Abraham, New Advent – Catholic Encyclopedia (accessed 13/02/2010)

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01051a.htm

 

Wilson, Ralph F. (2010), Abraham: An Introduction to His Life and Time, Jesus Walk, Bible Study Series – Bible Studies (accessed 13/02/2010)

http://www.jesuswalk.com/abraham/0_intro.htm

Who’s who? – St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom is known as one of the most important Early Church Fathers. Especially, he is known for his eloquence in his written works and oral salmons. However, the real life he lived must had been unexpectedly harsh and unpleasant, in comparison with his posthumous fame.

 

He was born around 347 AD at Antioch, the second city of the Eastern part of Roman Empire at that time. Soon after his birth, his father Secundus, an officer of high rank in Syrian army, died, and he and his elder sister were left to their mother Anthusa, who was only twenty years old at that time.

Despite of such harsh situation, Anthusa sent her son to the best schools of Antioch and this enabled John to be lectured by Andragatius, a philosopher, and Libanius.

In c. 367, he encountered with the bishop Meletius. Soon after this, he ‘began to withdraw from classical and profane studies and to devote himself to an ascetic and religious life’. By 381, he received holy baptism, was ordained lector, lived two years as an anchorite in a cave, and was made deacon by Meletius.

In 386, he was ordained priest by the bishop Flavian, the successor of Meletius. In this Antioch period, it is presumed that he would have already gained him the title of ‘Chrysostom’, which means ‘golden-mouthed’.

 

On 26 February 398, he was ordained Bishop of Constantinople, in a quite unusual way, by Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, and this forced him to attempt moral reforms in the capital city.

His attempts inevitably lead him to conflicts with the ruling class’s interest, especially with the Empress and finally he was deposed and exiled on various forged charges on 24 June 404.

Being deposed, at first he was conducted to Cucusus, a secluded and rugged place on the east frontier of Armenia. In the West, Roman pope Innocent I declared his favour on Chrysostom, in vain. In the summer of 407:

‘the order was given to carry him to Pithyus, a place at the extreme boundary of the empire, near the Caucasus. One of the two soldiers who had to lead him caused him all possible sufferings. He was forced to make long marches, was exposed to the rays of the sun, to the rains and the cold of the nights. His body, already weakened by several severe illnesses, finally broke down. On 14 September the party were at Comanan in Pontus. In the morning Chrysostom had asked to rest there on the account of his state of health. In vain; he was forced to continue his march. Very soon he felt so weak that they had to return to Comana. Some hours later Chrysostom died. His last words were: Doxa to theo panton eneken (Glory be to God for all things) (Palladius, xi, 38). He was buried at Comana. On 27 January, 438, his body was translated to Constantinople with great pomp, and entombed in the church of the Apostles’ (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08452b.htm)

 

Reference:

D’Ambrosio, Marcellino (year unknown), St John Chrysostom: Biography and Writings, The Crossroads Initiative (accessed 10/02/2010)

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_author/41/St._John_Chrysostom.html

 

Knight, Kevin (2009), St. John Chrysostom, New Advent – Catholic Encyclopedia (accessed 10/02/2010)

 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08452b.htm

The Manuscript of Dom Adso of Melk

Unlike Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, this begins with the infamous statements that the author calls FACT, Umberto Eco begins his novel The Name of Rose by referring to a fictional book. In its English translation by William Weaver, information concerning to this fictional book appears in French, probably directly taken from the original text that is written mainly in Italian. Therefore, the title of the book is written as following: ‘Le Manuscrit de Dom Adson de Melk, tranduit en français d’après l’édition de Dom J. Mabillon (Aux Presses de l’Abbaye de la Source, Paris, 1842)’ (Weaver, 1998, p. 1).

 

According to Haft et al., the title above can be translated in English as following: ‘The Manuscript of Dom Adso of Melk, translated into French and based on the edition of J. Mabillon (The Presses of Abbey of the Source, Paris, 1842)’ (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7MMIHDY_4nYC&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=le+manuscrit+de+dom+adson+de+melk&source=bl&ots=2lL60Cdixl&sig=kYoK1kLQonowXrwQxdyO9CeO7Mw&hl=en&ei=lD9xS_bLJIzW7AOipe2DCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=le%20manuscrit%20de%20dom%20adson%20de%20melk&f=false).

It should be noted that in the translation above, a word ‘Dom’ attached to the names of both Adson de Melk and J. Mabillon in the original text disappeared from the latter’s name. Instead of this, Haft et al. adds another information relating to the word ‘Dom’. It says that the word ‘Dom’ represents a title in Benedictine order and, more precisely, it is a shortened form of the very title ‘Dominus’, which means ‘lord’ in Latin.

Furthermore, as for the author of the fictional book, whilst the author describes as ‘a certain Abbé Vallet’, Haft et al. gives further annotation that a word ‘Abbé’ simply means ‘priest or abbot’ (ibid).

 

Reference:

l        Book

Weaver, William (tran.) (1998), Umberto Eco – The Name of the Rose

Vintage, the Random House Group Limited, London

 

l        Internet

Haft, Adele J., Jane G. White and Robert J. (1999), White The Key to “The name of the rose”: including translations of all non-English passages (accessed 09/02/2010)

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7MMIHDY_4nYC&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=le+manuscrit+de+dom+adson+de+melk&source=bl&ots=2lL60Cdixl&sig=kYoK1kLQonowXrwQxdyO9CeO7Mw&hl=en&ei=lD9xS_bLJIzW7AOipe2DCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=le%20manuscrit%20de%20dom%20adson%20de%20melk&f=false

The Priory of Sion – fact or fiction?

In a world famous bestseller novel, The Da Vinci Code, the author Dan Brown stated a following paragraph, before a fictional novel begins, as FACT:

‘The Priory of Sion – a European secret society founded in 1099 – is a real organization’ (Brown, 2004, p. 1).

The popularity of the book provoked a massive controversy and encouraged many researchers working on the authenticity of the paragraph above. Although Brown supported his argument in the same paragraph by referring to a discovery of parchments called Les Dossiers Secrets in 1975, the researches done in latter days mostly agree to the following facts:

1.        The Priory of Sion was founded by four members including André Bonhomme and Pierre Plantard in France, not in Jerusalem, in 1956.

2.        The Priory was not a secret society but a ‘club for boy scouts and nothing more’.

3.        Its name has not taken from Jerusalem but from a near by mountain: Col du Mont Sion.

4.        One of the founders, Pierre Plantard, has even ‘done time in jail’ (http://priory-of-sion.com/psp/id43.html).

 

However, focusing on the year 1099 opens doors accessing to some other possible hypothesise. By connecting the Priory of Sion to the Priory De Scion, which had a closely tied group called the Illmitani, Bruno argues that the Priory in question could be traced back its origin to the end of eleventh century. In this argument he continues:

‘In 1099 the first International banking firms in the world were set up by a group known as the Knights of Templar, a secret society that was created and sponsored by an even more secret society known as the Priory De Scion…The Priory De Scion had a strong influence across Europe during the Christian crusades and is said to have secret powers in Europe today, exercising their influence in the creation of the present European Union’ (http://www.scottbruno.com/priory-de-scion.htm).

 

Reference:

l        Book

Brown, Dan (2004), The Da Vinci Code

Doubleday, New York

 

l        Internet

Bruno, Scott (year unknown), The Priory De Scion & Secret Societies (accessed 08/02/2010)

http://www.scottbruno.com/priory-de-scion.htm

 

Unknown author (year unknown), The Real Historical Origin of the Priory of Sion (accessed 08/02/2010)

http://priory-of-sion.com/psp/id43.html

Where is Marengo?

• Marengo is the name of a town in Algeria, to which Albert Camus refers in his famous novel The Stranger. The novel is set in the 1930s and Marengo is referred as a town near to the Home for Aged Persons, where Meursault, the main character of the novel, visits to participate to his mother’s funeral.
• However, it is impossible to find Marengo in modern maps. Probably due to the change of sovereignty, from France in the 1930s to today’s independent Algerian government, its official name has changed from Marengo to Hajout.
• Some describes the location of the town as ’50 miles from Algiers’ (http://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/srs/Lit121.html) and this distance accords with the location of modern Hajout, close to towns such as Nador and Tipaza on its direction for the Mediterranean Sea. 

Reference:

Google Maps (accessed 04/02/2010)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

 

HoboHideout.com (2009) Marengo, Algeria Map, The Free Encyclopedia of Travel Rooms – Algeria (accessed 04/02/2010)

http://www.hobohideout.com/mp_algeria_marengo_map.php

 

World Soundscape Project, Sound References in Literature (author and year unknown) (accessed 04/02/2010)

http://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/srs/Lit121.html

Basic information about Anne Frank and her Diary

Anne Frank was born on 12 June 1929.

She kept her diary from 12 June 1942 to 1 August 1944, which was later published under the title of ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’.

 

However, it is confirmed that there are several versions of her Diary, as stated below:

l        Version a

This refers to the original unedited diary written by Anne ‘strictly for herself’, from 12 June 1942 to 29 March 1944.

l        Version b

This refers to an edited diary of version a, written and edited by Anne herself. She did it for the purpose to publish her diary after the war, being affected by an announcement made by the Dutch government in exile, which was broadcasted on radio on 29 March 1944. In writing this version, she also ‘invented pseudonyms for the people who would appear in her book’. Of course, she continued to keep her diary until she was forced to stop it until 1 August 1944.

l        Version c

This refers to the diary published in its initial form, which became to be known as The Diary of a Young Girl, world widely.

This was edited by Otto Frank, Anne’s father who survived the Holocaust solely in his family. In doing so, Otto ‘selected material from version a and b’, bearing several points in his mind. They were;

1.        To edit the diary enough short, in order to ‘fit in with a series put out by the Dutch publisher’.

2.        To omit passages Anne referred on sexual topics because ‘it was not customary to write openly about sex’ in 1947, when the diary was initially published.

3.        To omit ‘a number of unflattering passages about his wife and other residents of the Secret Annexe’

l        The Critical Edition

This is a scholarly work initially published in 1989. This contains versions a, b and c, which have been left to the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam, due to the death of Otto Frank in 1980. In addition, this also contains further articles on ‘the background of the Frank family, the circumstances surrounding their arrest and deportation, and the examination into Anne’s handwriting, the document and the materials used’.

 

It is widely accepted that Anne died in Bergen-Belsen, in late February or early March 1945.

 

Every quotation is taken from ‘Foreword’ for The Definitive Edition, below.

 

Reference:

Massotty, Susan (tran.) (2007), The Diary of a Young Girl, the Definitive Edition, Edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler

Penguin Books, London, England