Subject: (urth) Re: Digest urth.v019.n015

From: Kieran Mullen <kieran at phyast.nhn.ou.edu>
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 15:12:56 +0000

>From: m.driussi at genie.com
>Subject: (urth) silence is golden
>Date: Sat, 10 Oct 98 02:59:00 GMT

>Whoops--Kieran Mullen thinks we should shut up.

>Okay!

>=m...

    Eeek!  Surely there is a middle ground between run-away exegesis and
silence.  Either extreme of censorship (on discourse or criticism) seems
bad.

>From: "Robert Borski" <rborski at coredcs.com>
>Subject: Catherine the thief, adrift in time
>Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 00:46:12 -0500

>Question for raster, then (or Kieran M or anyone else.): who's the woman
>arrested by the Praetorians in the loggia when Severian returns to the
>House Absolute (Urth, Ch. 41) since you seem to think my theory's full of
>balloon juice? I still say it's the *original* Katharine, she of canonical
>fame to the Torturer's guild. Who do you?

   Hmm.. Dunno.  I'd better look at Urth again.  BTW, I really
like the phrase "balloon juice."  :-)

>Also, I'd be very happy to entertain anyone's elses notions of who Sev's
>maternal grandparents might be. Of course, that would require original
>thinking, and since it's much easier and cheaper to shoot at other people's
>clay pigeons... 

   By profession I am a scientist.  In my field it is considered valuable
to prove that something is wrong or unreasonable, as well as suggest 
possible theories.   I respect your right to spin explanations as well
as my own to accept or reject them.  If I use the sword of sarcasm too
sharply, my apologies.   

[deletia]

>Earlier this year prion (Sean Whalen) brilliantly observed the connection
>between Appian, the old autarch, and the Latin word for bee, apis. Why this
>works is because Appian was a honey steward before he became autarch. And
>who trained him in his duties as honey steward, the same way Palaemon
>trained Severian? Paeon.

   I liked Sean's insight too.

>But notice how in LEXICON URTHUS, mantis remarks how Palaemon was
>originally known as Melicertes. (I believe prion mentions this too.)  Also
>now recall that the Greek word for honey is meli (Latin, mel).
>
>This is but one clue of many that Paeon and Palaemon are one and the same.

   Hmm... interesting.  Especially since the aquaestor takes on the
role of Master Palaemon.   But isn't it stated or implied that Severian
is the first torturer-autarch?  And wouldn't there have to be an RNA
transfer to Appian during the period we know Palaemon is still alive?
(Actually, do we have a date for his death?)  

                    Kieran Mullen

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/