do the Hierogrammates care about the megatherians?

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 17 May 2011, 20:46 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 13:46:24 -0700
Subject: (urth) do the Hierogrammates *care* about the megatherians?
In-Reply-To: <4DD2D68C.2080103 at gmail.com>
References: <SNT123-W41EFC6ADDAE1EAB0420149CF8C0 at phx.gbl>
	<4DD2D68C.2080103 at gmail.com>
Message-ID: <BANLkTimVityOOZtZwbz=uLEAzh4zvaB-tQ at mail.gmail.com>

On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 1:11 PM, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote:
> The caloyer says in _Claw_ in his prayer to the Increate :
>
> "You, the hero who will destroy the black worm that devours the sun; you for
> whom the sky parts as a curtain; you whose breath shall wither vast Erebus,
> Abaia, and Scylla who wallow beneath the wave; you that equally live in the
> shell of the smallest seed in the farthest forest, the seed that hath rolled
> into the dark where no man sees."

> Although it is reasonable to associate "the hero" with Severian, it is hard
> to imagine that he lives in the "smallest seed in the farthest forest." He's
> talking about the Increate there.

Actually, I believe this prayer is Trinitarian -- noting that there
are three parts to it.

The "hero" is indeed Severian, standing in for the Second Person

The one whose breath will wither etc. is the First Person, the God of
the Old Testament associated (at least by Christians) with divine
wrath.

And the one who lives in the smallest seed is the Third Person, the
Holy Spirit, whose in-dwelling is the basis of all life.

At least that's how I read it.
-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes

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