# Severian

*The Urth list — 3 messages, 3 voices, 15 Oct 1998*

<https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/1179>

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### Alice Turner
*15 Oct 1998, 11:25*

I went to the Catholic Encyclopedia- http://www.knight.org/advent/ - to see
more about Severian, but the article has not yet been transcribed.

Bear with me a moment while I rhapsodize about the 1913 Catholic
Encyclopedia, now, lucky for us, in public domain, and in the process of
being transcribed in its enormous entirety onto the web. Compared to this
treasure of 19th century scholarship, the New Catholic
Encyclopedia--feh!--is a pallid thing, shorn of weirdness and wonders, and
ever so politically correct.

The transcription is done entirely by volunteers. If any of you has access
to a university library with the CE (the site helpfully lists locations for
you) and a scanner, you will build up merit in the next life by helping them
out. Not only that, they will list your name at the end of each article
(they have a list of these waiting too). You can be immortal as the one to
transcribe Severian!

-alga

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### Peter Stephenson
*15 Oct 1998, 15:57 · follows Alice Turner*

> "Alice Turner" wrote:
> I went to the Catholic Encyclopedia- http://www.knight.org/advent/ - to see
> more about Severian, but the article has not yet been transcribed.
> 
> The transcription is done entirely by volunteers. If any of you has access
> to a university library with the CE (the site helpfully lists locations for
> you) and a scanner, you will build up merit in the next life by helping them
> out.

Oh, that's neat.  If you're a Protestant, and believe in justification
by faith alone, you don't need the merit, and don't get to transcribe
the Catholic Encyclopedia.

(Well, maybe GW would appreciate the joke.  I'm sure Borges would.)

croncrake

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### Alex David Groce
*15 Oct 1998, 12:06 · follows Peter Stephenson*

I notice NC State has a copy.  I think I'll stop by the library and see how
long it would take to transcribe Severian.

> On Oct 15, 11:25am, Alice Turner wrote:
> Subject: (urth) Severian
> I went to the Catholic Encyclopedia- http://www.knight.org/advent/ - to see
> more about Severian, but the article has not yet been transcribed.
> 
> Bear with me a moment while I rhapsodize about the 1913 Catholic
> Encyclopedia, now, lucky for us, in public domain, and in the process of
> being transcribed in its enormous entirety onto the web. Compared to this
> treasure of 19th century scholarship, the New Catholic
> Encyclopedia--feh!--is a pallid thing, shorn of weirdness and wonders, and
> ever so politically correct.
> 
> The transcription is done entirely by volunteers. If any of you has access
> to a university library with the CE (the site helpfully lists locations for
> you) and a scanner, you will build up merit in the next life by helping them
> out. Not only that, they will list your name at the end of each article
> (they have a list of these waiting too). You can be immortal as the one to
> transcribe Severian!
> 
> -alga

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