Severian / Christ / Logos / Apocatastasis

John Watkins · 24 Nov 2008, 22:56 · from 2008-November.txt.gz

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From: john.watkins04 at gmail.com (John Watkins)
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:56:59 -0500
Subject: (urth) Severian / Christ / Logos / Apocatastasis
In-Reply-To: <W6641132037326531227566789@webmail6>
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Message-ID: <93d4039f0811241456q36613c9bl30aad30e461d9106 at mail.gmail.com>

> Wouldn't that "victory over a demonic power" idea be symbolized by the statement (somewhere in there) that the New Sun will destroy the worm in the heart of the old sun?
>

Yes, it would--at any rate, it seems to evoke the idea of an evil
power (a dragon or wolf) that tries to devour the sun.  That is a very
old idea.  But who is the "demonic power" in the New Sun books?  The
"worm in the heart of the old sun" was placed there by Hierogrammates,
the putative angels, and the "demonic" force, Abaia in his ilk, seem
to (which does not necessarily mean "do") celebrate the coming of the
New Sun.

> and "judgement"
> I agree it doesn't equate to Judgment Day exactly.
> But Severian is tested on Yessod, AS all Humanity, as he does represent ALL humanity, by being the multipersona Autarch.
> remember, the Ascian's were trying to make all man one man in the opposite way, by erasing all differences. The Autarch said their own was the opposite path, that of uniting all humanity in one person.  Severian could truly be called a "Son of Man" in that holding all those personas, he truly does represent all Mankind.
>

This concept, while interesting, does not correspond to a general judgment.

> >And instead of serving as a genuine Last Day, it's just a hit of the reset
> >button.
>
>
> "just"
>

Yes, "just."  Even in its internal cosmology, it's very clear that
Severian's actions are in no way the last word about the humans of
Urth--they're a hit of the reset button so that, in time, the humans
might evolve into Hieros and escape into a higher plane of existence.
That moment, if/when it comes, would be a transcendent moment akin to
a Last Day.  This is a wiping away of the bulk of humanity to leave
behind a virtuous remnant, exactly like the Biblical flood.  It would
be a pretty dramatic error to read the Flood in Genesis and the Second
Coming of Christ as equally important pieces of Christian mythology.

> I believe (perhaps wrongly) that the babylonian flood myths which predate the Bible have a cyclical notion of reset in them.  When Marduk comes around. But I've only read Zacharia Sitchin in that dept, so that may be pretty dodgy.
>

Whether or not this is so, it does nothing to make Severian's cosmic
reset any more like the Second Coming, which is not part of a cyclical
history at all.

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