Both concepts, BERTSOLARIZTZA and KOPLARITZA, are very well known to the dualist BASQUE PHOENICIANS; the ancient PHOENIX' Pedophile~Predator Sea~Peoples~PriestHoods who still attempt to control Western politics, by means of their Zoro~Astrian Freemasonic influence over the Vatican and combined French~German governments.
Nothing else but Freemasonry can explain France's and Germany's common interest and covert goal, in joining forces to prevent the new, improved and wiser American military from exposing the ultimate reality of their plan, which is about who controls the New World Order from their Command and Control Headquarters which is currently located in IRAQ (Assyria).
They've got RHOMBUS~LOZENGES on the soles of their shoes.
The SculPTor
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Basque Dragon~!
Basque Dragon nationalism becomes racism through the philosophical view of many who insist that the Basque "race" is uniquely different from others. They truly believe that a unique evolution had taken place within the territory of the Basque Country. They insist that Basque culture was formed in the Neolithic and survives to this day. Their language, Euskera, has become an instrument for upward mobility and elitism within Grand Orient Freemasonry. Compromise is an art still foreign to the minds of the Basque.
The SculPTor
The SculPTor
Basque alphabet & pronunciation
Sample text
Gizon-emakume guztiak aske jaiotzen dira, duintasun eta eskubide berberak dituztela; eta ezaguera eta kontzientzia dutenez gero, elkarren artean senide legez jokatu beharra dute.
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
THE BIBLE : Basque Priest~Hoods wrote it; Francis Bacon published it !
[There is no better English written this side of Shakespeare than that in the King James Translation."-Charlton Heston 1992]
The 1611 King James Bible is ornamented with Bacon's symbols and in my own special copy of the record edition, also dated 1611, these symbols are Rosicrucianly marked to call the attention of the initiated to them and to tell them that the 1611 Bible is without possibility of doubt, one of Bacon's books.....When Bacon was born, English as a literary language did not exist, but once he died he had succeeded in making the English language the noblest vehicle of thought ever possessed by mankind. This he accomplished merely by his Bible and his Shakespeare." --Edwin D. Lawrence author of Bacon is Shakespeare and The Shakespeare Myth from a lecture October 9, 1912
...The Bible which all of us read and admire from a literary point of view because of it's peculiar and beautiful English was written in that form by Bacon who invented and perfected that style of English expression. The first editions of this Bible were printed under the same guidance and in the same manner as were the Shakespeare plays, and the ornaments for the various pages were drawn in pen and ink and on wood by artists engaged by Bacon who worked under his supervision. Everyone of the ornaments concealed some Rosicrucian emblem and occasionally a Masonic emblem or some initials that would reveal Bacon's name or the name of the Rosicrucians. Such ornaments were put not only in the Christian Bible that Bacon had rewritten but in the Shakespeare plays, and in some of Bacon's own books, and a few other books that were typically Rosicrucinan in spirit.-- Dr. H Spencer Lewis Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order during the 1920-30's, from the Rosicrucian Digest, April 1930
The first edition of the King James Bible, which was edited by Francis Bacon and prepared under Masonic supervision, bears more Mason's marks than the Cathedral of Strasburg.-Manly P. Hall, from a lecture Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins 1929
Bacon edited the Authorised Version of the Bible printed in 1611. Dr. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, one of the chief translators, was Bacon's close friend. The MSS are missing. That Bacon revised the manuscripts before publication is certain. Neither Bilston nor Miles, to whom the MSS were entrusted for final revision, could have given the world such a literary masterpiece. We have their writings. They are mediocre, barren of style, lacking the creative touch.- Alfred Dodd, Francis Bacon's Life-Story 1986
Title page of the 1611 King James Bible.
Francis Bacon and the James 1st Bible
By A. E. Loosley
In the correspondence columns of Baconiana of January 1948, there appeared a letter on the above subject from Earle Cornwall. In it he says:
Here of late I have been reading a bound volume or two of the Baconian booklets, two years earlier Baconiana Magazine, and the Life of Alice Barnham and Thos. Meautys, all from curiosity concerning Bacon's life. He was surely a fascinating character. I have as yet no "Life" of Bacon.
Somewhere I have seen one of those short references to his connection with the translation and publication of King James' Holy Bible, 1611 -- at least the statement that he had some connection with this great work. Yet in my recent search I cannot find any reference whatever to Bacon and the Bible: if he was connected with it he should have credit.
I own a set of Enyclopaedia Americana (1941 latest ed.) which is the counterpart of the Britannica in size and number of volumes. Under "Bacon" I find a generous four-page article by Frederick N. Robinson, Prof. of English, Harvard University; a mention of Bacon's full literary activities, but not a word on Holy Bible. Then under "Holy Bible" dozens of pages by Wm. Berry Smith and under "King James' Version" a record of the 47 translators, "including three or four ancient and grave divines," who worked seven years on the project; again no word of Bacon.
May I, in reply to the inquiry, contribute a little light on the subject? Some years ago, I forget how many, I came to the conclusion that Francis Bacon was mainly, if not entirely, responsible for a threefold undertaking, (1st) the Shakespearian Plays; (2nd) the creation in its present form of Freemasonry, and (3rd) the translation of the Holy Bible into its present well-known Authorised Version. The three were undoubtedly intermingled. All three had very largely the same foundation, the training Bacon received from his foster-mother, Lady Ann Bacon, who was very devoted in her religious beliefs and practise. The young Francis would unquestionably be largely influenced by Lady Ann's guidance.
Bacon evidently knew his Bible very well, and it is my belief that the whole scheme of the Authorised Version was his. He was an ardent student, not only of the Bible but of the early manuscripts. St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and writers of the theological works, were studied by him with industry. He has left his annotations in many copies of the Bible and in scores of theological works. The translation must have been a work in which he took the greatest interest; in fact, it may well be he inspired it. He would follow its progress from stage to stage, and when the last stage came there was only one writer of the period capable of turning the phrases with the matchless style which is the great charm, and is so abundantly evident, in the Authorised Version and the Shakespearian plays. Whoever that stylist was, he produced a result which, on its literary merits, is without a rival.
I have been able, quite recently, to clear up one point of possible doubt and at the same time to establish a claim for its certainty. It was in connection with that 46th Psalm, in which, in the Authorised Version, the 46th word from the beginning is "shake" and the 46th from the end is "spear." Such an arrangement--especially in the 46th Psalm--would be a most remarkable coincidence if it were not intentionally so arranged. In order to satisfy myself on the question, I sought an opportunity of comparing the wording in the Authorised Version with that in one of the earlier versions. I have now been able to satisfy myself that it was not a coincidence at all, but was plainly the result of deliberate planning. I give below, side by side, the wording of the first three and last three verses in the "Breeches" Bible and that in the Authorised Version. In the former the 47 words up to the word "Shake" and the 44 words from "Spear" to the end of the Psalm were altered to 46 in each case in the Authorised Version.
46th Psalm
"Breeches" Bible
Authorised Version
Verse 1
(14) God is our hope and strength and helpe in troubles ready to be found.
(l2) God is our refuge and strength, a very present held in trouble.
Verse 2
(21) Therefore will not we feare though the earth be moved and though the mountains fall into the mids of the sea.
(22) Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Verse 3
(12) Through the waters thereof rage and be troubled, and the mountaines shake (at the surges of the same).
(12) Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake--(with the swelling thereof).
47
46
Verse 9
(7) (He maketh waves to cease onto the ends of the world: he breaketh the bow and cutteth the)--speare and burneth the chariot with fire.
(10) (He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth, he breaketh the bow and cutteth the)--speare in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Verse 10
(23) Bee still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, and I will be exalted in the earth.
(22) Bee still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Verse 11
(14) The Lord of hostes is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge.
(14) The Lord of hostes is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge.
44
46
There are thus three 46's in the Psalm, but it is possible, and I hope admissable, to count a fourth 46. It is recorded that there were 47 divines entrusted by King James with the work of translation. If Francis Bacon was counted as one, though he was probably only in charge of the whole undertaking from a literary standpoint, that would leave 46 as the actual divines entrusted with the translation work, with Bacon as the final editor. If this be true, and I feel one is justified in believing it, a very interesting light is thrown on the keen working of Bacon's mind. The trick would be one in which he would take a keen delight.
From William Smedley's,
The Mystery of Francis Bacon
THE AUTHORIZED VERSION OF THE BIBLE 1611
CHAPTER XVII.
Is it not strange that there is no mention of any connection of Francis Bacon with this work? There was a conference held at Hampton Court Palace before King James on January, 1603, between the Episcopalians and Puritans. John Rainoldes urged the necessity of providing for his people a uniform translation of the Bible. Rainoldes was the leader of the Puritans, a person of prodigious reading and doctrine, and the very treasury of erudition. Dr. Hall, Bishop of Norwich, reports that "he alone was a well furnished library, full of all faculties, of all studies, of all learning--the memory and reading of that man were near a miracle." The King approved the suggestion and commissioned for that purpose fifty-four of the most learned men in the universities and other places. There was a "careful selection of revisers made by some unknown but very competent authority." The translators were divided into six bands of nine each, and the work of translation was apportioned out to them.
A set of rules was drawn up for their guidance, which has happily come down to modern times--almost the only record that remains of this great undertaking. These concise rules have a homogeneity, breadth and vigour which point to Bacon as their author. Each reviser was to translate the whole of the original allocated to his company; then they were to compare their translations together, and, as soon as a company had completed its part, it was to communicate the result to the other companies, that nothing might pass without the general consent. If any company, upon the review of the translation so sent, differed on any point, they were to note their objection and state their reasons for disagreement. If the differences could not be adjusted, there was a committee of arbitration which met weekly, consisting of a representative from each company, to whom the matter in dispute was referred. If any point was found to be very obscure, letters were to be addressed, by authority, to learned persons throughout the land inviting their judgment. The work was commenced in 1604. Rainoldes belonged to the company to whom Isaiah and the prophets were assigned. He died in 1607, before the work was completed. During his illness his colleagues met in his bedroom so that they might retain the benefit of his learning. Only forty-seven out of the fifty-four names are known. When the companies had completed their work, one complete copy was made at Oxford, one at Cambridge, and one at Westminster. Those were sent to London. Then two members were selected from each company to form a committee to review and polish the whole. The members met daily at Stationers' Hall and occupied nine months in their task. Then a final revision was entrusted to Dr. Thomas Bilson and Dr. Miles Smith, and in 1609 their labours were completed and the result was handed to the King. Many of the translators have left specimens of their writing in theological treatises, sermons, and other works. A careful perusal of all these available justifies the assertion that amongst the whole body there was not one man who was so great a literary stylist as to be able to write certain portions of the Authorised Version, which stamp it as one of the two greatest examples of the English language. Naturally the interest centres on Dr. Thomas Bilson and Dr. Miles Smith, to whom the final revision was entrusted.
There are some nine or ten theological works by the former and two sermons by the latter. Unless the theory of a special divine inspiration for the occasion be admitted, it is clear that neither Bilson nor Miles Smith could have given the final touches to the Bible. And now a curious statement has come down to us. In 1609 the translators handed their work to the King, and in 1610 he returned it to them completed. James was incapable of writing anything to which the term beautiful could be applied. What had happened to the translators' work whilst it was left in his hands?
James had an officer of state at that time of whom a contemporary biographer wrote that "he had the contrivance of all King James his Designs, until the match with Spain." It will eventually be proved that the whole scheme of the Authorised Version of the Bible was Francis Bacon's. He was an ardent student not only of the Bible, but of the early manuscripts. St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and writers of theological works, were studied by him with industry. He has left his annotations in many copies of the Bible and in scores of theological works. The translation must have been a work in which he took the deepest interest and which he would follow from stage to stage. When the last stage came there was only one writer of the period who was capable of turning the phrases with that matchless style which is the great charm of the Shakespeare plays. Whoever that stylist was, it was to him that James handed over the manuscripts which he received from the translators. That man then made havoc of much of the translation, but he produced a result which, on its literary merits, is without an equal.
Thirty years ago another revision took place, but, notwithstanding the advantages which the revisers of 1880 had over their predecessors of 1611, their version has failed to displace the older version, which is too precious to the hearts of the people for them to abandon it.
Although not one of the translators has left any literary work which would justify the belief that he was capable of writing the more beautiful portions of the Bible, fortunately Bacon has left an example which would rather add lustre to than decrease the high standard of the Bible if it were incorporated in it. As to the truth of this statement the reader must judge from the following prayer, which was written after his fall, and which was described by Addison as resembling the devotion of an angel rather than a man::
Remember, O Lord, how Thy servant hath walked before Thee; remember what I have first sought, and what been principal in mine intentions. I have loved Thy assemblies; I have mourned for the divisions of Thy Church; I have delighted in the brightness of Thy sanctuary.
This vine, which Thy right hand hath planted in this nation, I have ever prayed unto Thee that it might have the first and the latter rain, and that it might stretch her branches to the seas and to the floods.The state and bread of the poor and oppressed have been precious in mine eyes. I have hated all cruelty and hardness of heart. I have, though in a despised weed, procured the good of all men.
If any have been mine enemies, I thought not of them, neither hath the sun almost set upon my displeasure; but I have been as a dove, free from superfluity of maliciousness.
Thy creatures have been my books, but Thy scriptures much more. I have sought Thee in the courts, fields, and gardens, but I have found Thee in Thy temples.
Thousands have been my sins and ten thousand my transgressions, but Thy sanctifications have remained with me, and my heart, through Thy grace, hath been an unquenched coal upon Thine altar.
O Lord, my strength, I have since my youth met with Thee in all my ways, by Thy fatherly compassions, by Thy comfortable chastisements, and by Thy most visible providence. As Thy favours have increased upon me, so have Thy corrections, so that Thou hast been ever near me, O Lord; and ever, as Thy worldly blessings were exalted, so secret darts from Thee have pierced me, and when I have ascended before men, I have descended in humiliation before Thee.
And now, when I thought most of peace and honour, Thy hand is heavy upon me, and hath humbled me according to Thy former lovingkindness, keeping me still in Thy fatherly school, not as a bastard but as a child. Just are Thy judgments upon me for my sins, which are more in number than the sands of the sea, but have no proportion to Thy mercies; for what are the sands of the sea to the sea? Earth, heavens, and all these are nothing to Thy mercies.
Besides my innumerable sins, I confess before Thee that I am debtor to Thee for the gracious talent of Thy gifts and graces, which I have neither put into a napkin, nor put it (as I ought) to exchangers, where it might have made most profit, but misspent it in things for which I was least fit so that I may truly say my soul hath been a stranger in the course of my pilgrimage.
Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for my Saviour's sake, and receive me into Thy bosom or guide me in Thy ways.
There is another feature about the first editions of the Authorised Version which arrests attention. In 1611 the first folio edition was published. The design with arches, dogs and rabbits which is to be found over the address "To the Christian Reader" which introduces the genealogies is also to be found in the folio edition of Shakespeare over the dedication to the most noble and Incomparable paire of Brethren, over the Catalogue and elsewhere. Except that the mark of query which is on the head of the right hand pillar in the design in the Bible is missing in the Shakespeare folio, and the arrow which the archer on the right hand side is shooting contains a message in the design used in the Bible and is without one in the Shakespeare folio.
In the 1612 quarto edition of the Authorised Version on the title-page of the Genealogies are two designs; that at the head of the page is printed from the identical block which was used on the title-page of the first edition of "Venus and Adonis," 1593, and the first edition of "Lucrece," 1594. At the bottom is the design with the light A and dark A, which is over the dedication to Sir William Cecil in the "Arte of English Poesie," 1589. An octavo edition, which is now very rare, was also published in 1612. On the title-page of the Genealogies will be found the design with the light A and dark A which is used on several of the Shakespeare quartos and elsewhere.
The selection of these designs was not made by chance. They were deliberately chosen to create similitudes between certain books, and mark their connection with each other.
The revised translation of the Bible was undertaken as a national work. It was carried out under the personal supervision of the King, but every record of the proceedings has disappeared. The British Museum does not contain a manuscript connected with the proceedings of the translators. In the Record Office have been preserved the original documents referring to important proceedings of that period. The parliamentary, judicial, and municipal records are, on the whole, in a complete condition, but ask for any records connected with the Authorised Version of the Bible and the reply is: "We have none." And yet it is reasonable to suppose that manuscripts and documents of such importance would be preserved. Where are they to be found?
____
Chapter I What was the Church Trying to Hide?
excerpt from the Book The Bible Fraud by Tony Bushby
Secret ciphers in the New Testament
It was the ëwisest fool in Christendom‰,2 who ëauthorised‰ the translation and publication of the first Protestant version of the Bible into English. He came to the English throne in 1603 and quickly became unpopular because of ëhis disgusting personal habits and his unsavoury character'. 3 He pretended to be a scholar in theology and philosophy,but his learning was shallow and superficial. He wallowed in filth,moral and physical,but was endowed with a share of cunning that his associates called,ëa kind of crooked wisdom ‰.4
For his new edition of the Bible he issued a set of personal ëRules‰ the translators were to follow and ordered revisions to proceed, although he never contributed a farthing to its cost. Work began early in 1607 and took a committee of forty-seven men (some records say fifty-four, others say fifty)two years and nine months to rewrite the Bible and make ready for the press.Each man received thirty shillings per week for his contribution. Upon its completion in 1609,a remarkable event occurred Öthe translators handed over the reviser‰s manuscripts of what is now called the King James Bible to King James for his final personal approval.ëIt was self-evident that James was not competent to check their work and edit it,so he passed the manuscripts on to the greatest genius of all time ...Sir Francis Bacon.‰
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 š1626) was a man of many talents, a lawyer, linguist and composer. He mastered every subject he undertook; mathematics, geometry, music, poetry, painting, astronomy,classical drama and poetry, philosophy, history, theology and architecture. He was a man of many aims and purposes, the father of modern science, remodeler of modern law, patron of modern democracy, and possibly the reviver of Freemasonry. His life and works are extensively documented, and his intellectual accomplishments widely recognized, particularly in academic circles. At the age of sixteen, he was sent to Paris ëdirect from the Queens Hand‰ and there studied Egyptian, Arabian, Indian and Greek philosophy with particular attention given to the Ancient Mysteries and their Ritual Rites. He personally recorded that, while in Paris, he created a secret cipher system that could be inserted into a document without arousing suspicion.While living in Europe, Francis Bacon was initiated into the mysterious Order of the Knights Templar and learnt a very special secret.Before he returned to London,he travelled to France, Italy, Germany and Spain and at the age of twenty completely devoted himself to the study of law. From his understanding of the secret information he had learned during his initiation into the Knights Templar, he conceived the idea of reactivating various Secret Societies and in 1580 founded the secret Rosicrosse Literary Society in Gray‰s Inn. Later in the same year,he founded the Lodge of Free and Accepted or Speculative Masons, also at Gray‰s Inn.
On 25 June 1607 Sir Francis Bacon was appointed Solicitor-General and Chief Advisor to the Crown. He had presented new ideas to the Government for the Reformation of the church and was officially instructed to commence restructuring the Bible. Research in the Records Office of the British Museum revealed that original documents still exist which refer to important proceedings associated with Sir Francis Bacon‰s involvement with the editing of both the Old and New Testaments. They revealed that he personally selected and paid the revisers of the New Testament who completed their task under the instructions of Bacon‰s long-time friend, Dr Andrews.
The first English language manuscripts of the Bible remained in Bacon ‰s possession for nearly a year.During that time :
...he hammered the various styles of the translators into the unity,rhythm, and music of Shakespearean prose,wrote the Prefaces and created the whole scheme of the Authorized Version. 6
He also encoded secret information into both the Old and New Testament An ancient document recorded that the true history of early Christianity was known to the initiates of the Order of the Knights Templar,having originally been
...imparted to Hugh de Payens by the Grand-Pontiff of the Order of the Temple (of the Nazarene sect),one named Theocletes, after which it was learned by some Knights in Palestine.
Regarding the months of editing work applied to the Bible by Bacon,his biographer,William T.Smedley, confirmed the extent of the editing :
"It will eventually be proved that the whole structure of the Authorised Bible was Francis Bacon‰s. He was an ardent student not only of the Bible, but also of early manuscripts.St Augustine, St Jerome,and writers of theological works,were studied by him with industry."8
At the completion of the editing, Sir Francis Bacon and King James I had a series of meetings to finalise editorial matters associated with the new Bible. It was at this time that King James ordered a ëDedication to the King‰ to be drawn up and included in the opening pages. He also wanted the phrase ëAppointed to be read in the Churches‰ to appear on the title page.This was an announcement clarifying that King James had personally given the church ëSpecial Command ‰ for this particular version of the Bible to be used in preference to the vast array of Greek and Latin Vulgate Bibles current at the time. His reason was personal, as King James had previously instructed the revisers to ëdefend the position of the king‰ in their restructuring of the texts.This was seen as an attempt to distance the Protestant Bible from the Catholic version.The Protestant versions of the Bible are thinner by seven books than the Catholic version and the variant churches have never agreed on a uniform Bible.In their translation of 1 Peter 2:13 the revisors changed the phrase ëthe emperor, as supreme‰ to ëthe king, as supreme‰. Because King James‰ Bible was written to support the authority of a king, the later church often referred to it as the one from ëauthority‰, band it later came to be presented as if officially ëauthorised'. In subsequent revisions,the word ëauthorised‰ found its way onto the title page and later still came to be printed on the cover, giving King James‰ new Bible a false sense of authenticity.
***
The 1611 King James Bible is ornamented with Bacon's symbols and in my own special copy of the record edition, also dated 1611, these symbols are Rosicrucianly marked to call the attention of the initiated to them and to tell them that the 1611 Bible is without possibility of doubt, one of Bacon's books.....When Bacon was born, English as a literary language did not exist, but once he died he had succeeded in making the English language the noblest vehicle of thought ever possessed by mankind. This he accomplished merely by his Bible and his Shakespeare." --Edwin D. Lawrence author of Bacon is Shakespeare and The Shakespeare Myth from a lecture October 9, 1912
...The Bible which all of us read and admire from a literary point of view because of it's peculiar and beautiful English was written in that form by Bacon who invented and perfected that style of English expression. The first editions of this Bible were printed under the same guidance and in the same manner as were the Shakespeare plays, and the ornaments for the various pages were drawn in pen and ink and on wood by artists engaged by Bacon who worked under his supervision. Everyone of the ornaments concealed some Rosicrucian emblem and occasionally a Masonic emblem or some initials that would reveal Bacon's name or the name of the Rosicrucians. Such ornaments were put not only in the Christian Bible that Bacon had rewritten but in the Shakespeare plays, and in some of Bacon's own books, and a few other books that were typically Rosicrucinan in spirit.-- Dr. H Spencer Lewis Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order during the 1920-30's, from the Rosicrucian Digest, April 1930
The first edition of the King James Bible, which was edited by Francis Bacon and prepared under Masonic supervision, bears more Mason's marks than the Cathedral of Strasburg.-Manly P. Hall, from a lecture Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins 1929
Bacon edited the Authorised Version of the Bible printed in 1611. Dr. Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, one of the chief translators, was Bacon's close friend. The MSS are missing. That Bacon revised the manuscripts before publication is certain. Neither Bilston nor Miles, to whom the MSS were entrusted for final revision, could have given the world such a literary masterpiece. We have their writings. They are mediocre, barren of style, lacking the creative touch.- Alfred Dodd, Francis Bacon's Life-Story 1986
Title page of the 1611 King James Bible.
Francis Bacon and the James 1st Bible
By A. E. Loosley
In the correspondence columns of Baconiana of January 1948, there appeared a letter on the above subject from Earle Cornwall. In it he says:
Here of late I have been reading a bound volume or two of the Baconian booklets, two years earlier Baconiana Magazine, and the Life of Alice Barnham and Thos. Meautys, all from curiosity concerning Bacon's life. He was surely a fascinating character. I have as yet no "Life" of Bacon.
Somewhere I have seen one of those short references to his connection with the translation and publication of King James' Holy Bible, 1611 -- at least the statement that he had some connection with this great work. Yet in my recent search I cannot find any reference whatever to Bacon and the Bible: if he was connected with it he should have credit.
I own a set of Enyclopaedia Americana (1941 latest ed.) which is the counterpart of the Britannica in size and number of volumes. Under "Bacon" I find a generous four-page article by Frederick N. Robinson, Prof. of English, Harvard University; a mention of Bacon's full literary activities, but not a word on Holy Bible. Then under "Holy Bible" dozens of pages by Wm. Berry Smith and under "King James' Version" a record of the 47 translators, "including three or four ancient and grave divines," who worked seven years on the project; again no word of Bacon.
May I, in reply to the inquiry, contribute a little light on the subject? Some years ago, I forget how many, I came to the conclusion that Francis Bacon was mainly, if not entirely, responsible for a threefold undertaking, (1st) the Shakespearian Plays; (2nd) the creation in its present form of Freemasonry, and (3rd) the translation of the Holy Bible into its present well-known Authorised Version. The three were undoubtedly intermingled. All three had very largely the same foundation, the training Bacon received from his foster-mother, Lady Ann Bacon, who was very devoted in her religious beliefs and practise. The young Francis would unquestionably be largely influenced by Lady Ann's guidance.
Bacon evidently knew his Bible very well, and it is my belief that the whole scheme of the Authorised Version was his. He was an ardent student, not only of the Bible but of the early manuscripts. St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and writers of the theological works, were studied by him with industry. He has left his annotations in many copies of the Bible and in scores of theological works. The translation must have been a work in which he took the greatest interest; in fact, it may well be he inspired it. He would follow its progress from stage to stage, and when the last stage came there was only one writer of the period capable of turning the phrases with the matchless style which is the great charm, and is so abundantly evident, in the Authorised Version and the Shakespearian plays. Whoever that stylist was, he produced a result which, on its literary merits, is without a rival.
I have been able, quite recently, to clear up one point of possible doubt and at the same time to establish a claim for its certainty. It was in connection with that 46th Psalm, in which, in the Authorised Version, the 46th word from the beginning is "shake" and the 46th from the end is "spear." Such an arrangement--especially in the 46th Psalm--would be a most remarkable coincidence if it were not intentionally so arranged. In order to satisfy myself on the question, I sought an opportunity of comparing the wording in the Authorised Version with that in one of the earlier versions. I have now been able to satisfy myself that it was not a coincidence at all, but was plainly the result of deliberate planning. I give below, side by side, the wording of the first three and last three verses in the "Breeches" Bible and that in the Authorised Version. In the former the 47 words up to the word "Shake" and the 44 words from "Spear" to the end of the Psalm were altered to 46 in each case in the Authorised Version.
46th Psalm
"Breeches" Bible
Authorised Version
Verse 1
(14) God is our hope and strength and helpe in troubles ready to be found.
(l2) God is our refuge and strength, a very present held in trouble.
Verse 2
(21) Therefore will not we feare though the earth be moved and though the mountains fall into the mids of the sea.
(22) Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Verse 3
(12) Through the waters thereof rage and be troubled, and the mountaines shake (at the surges of the same).
(12) Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake--(with the swelling thereof).
47
46
Verse 9
(7) (He maketh waves to cease onto the ends of the world: he breaketh the bow and cutteth the)--speare and burneth the chariot with fire.
(10) (He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth, he breaketh the bow and cutteth the)--speare in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Verse 10
(23) Bee still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, and I will be exalted in the earth.
(22) Bee still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Verse 11
(14) The Lord of hostes is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge.
(14) The Lord of hostes is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge.
44
46
There are thus three 46's in the Psalm, but it is possible, and I hope admissable, to count a fourth 46. It is recorded that there were 47 divines entrusted by King James with the work of translation. If Francis Bacon was counted as one, though he was probably only in charge of the whole undertaking from a literary standpoint, that would leave 46 as the actual divines entrusted with the translation work, with Bacon as the final editor. If this be true, and I feel one is justified in believing it, a very interesting light is thrown on the keen working of Bacon's mind. The trick would be one in which he would take a keen delight.
From William Smedley's,
The Mystery of Francis Bacon
THE AUTHORIZED VERSION OF THE BIBLE 1611
CHAPTER XVII.
Is it not strange that there is no mention of any connection of Francis Bacon with this work? There was a conference held at Hampton Court Palace before King James on January, 1603, between the Episcopalians and Puritans. John Rainoldes urged the necessity of providing for his people a uniform translation of the Bible. Rainoldes was the leader of the Puritans, a person of prodigious reading and doctrine, and the very treasury of erudition. Dr. Hall, Bishop of Norwich, reports that "he alone was a well furnished library, full of all faculties, of all studies, of all learning--the memory and reading of that man were near a miracle." The King approved the suggestion and commissioned for that purpose fifty-four of the most learned men in the universities and other places. There was a "careful selection of revisers made by some unknown but very competent authority." The translators were divided into six bands of nine each, and the work of translation was apportioned out to them.
A set of rules was drawn up for their guidance, which has happily come down to modern times--almost the only record that remains of this great undertaking. These concise rules have a homogeneity, breadth and vigour which point to Bacon as their author. Each reviser was to translate the whole of the original allocated to his company; then they were to compare their translations together, and, as soon as a company had completed its part, it was to communicate the result to the other companies, that nothing might pass without the general consent. If any company, upon the review of the translation so sent, differed on any point, they were to note their objection and state their reasons for disagreement. If the differences could not be adjusted, there was a committee of arbitration which met weekly, consisting of a representative from each company, to whom the matter in dispute was referred. If any point was found to be very obscure, letters were to be addressed, by authority, to learned persons throughout the land inviting their judgment. The work was commenced in 1604. Rainoldes belonged to the company to whom Isaiah and the prophets were assigned. He died in 1607, before the work was completed. During his illness his colleagues met in his bedroom so that they might retain the benefit of his learning. Only forty-seven out of the fifty-four names are known. When the companies had completed their work, one complete copy was made at Oxford, one at Cambridge, and one at Westminster. Those were sent to London. Then two members were selected from each company to form a committee to review and polish the whole. The members met daily at Stationers' Hall and occupied nine months in their task. Then a final revision was entrusted to Dr. Thomas Bilson and Dr. Miles Smith, and in 1609 their labours were completed and the result was handed to the King. Many of the translators have left specimens of their writing in theological treatises, sermons, and other works. A careful perusal of all these available justifies the assertion that amongst the whole body there was not one man who was so great a literary stylist as to be able to write certain portions of the Authorised Version, which stamp it as one of the two greatest examples of the English language. Naturally the interest centres on Dr. Thomas Bilson and Dr. Miles Smith, to whom the final revision was entrusted.
There are some nine or ten theological works by the former and two sermons by the latter. Unless the theory of a special divine inspiration for the occasion be admitted, it is clear that neither Bilson nor Miles Smith could have given the final touches to the Bible. And now a curious statement has come down to us. In 1609 the translators handed their work to the King, and in 1610 he returned it to them completed. James was incapable of writing anything to which the term beautiful could be applied. What had happened to the translators' work whilst it was left in his hands?
James had an officer of state at that time of whom a contemporary biographer wrote that "he had the contrivance of all King James his Designs, until the match with Spain." It will eventually be proved that the whole scheme of the Authorised Version of the Bible was Francis Bacon's. He was an ardent student not only of the Bible, but of the early manuscripts. St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and writers of theological works, were studied by him with industry. He has left his annotations in many copies of the Bible and in scores of theological works. The translation must have been a work in which he took the deepest interest and which he would follow from stage to stage. When the last stage came there was only one writer of the period who was capable of turning the phrases with that matchless style which is the great charm of the Shakespeare plays. Whoever that stylist was, it was to him that James handed over the manuscripts which he received from the translators. That man then made havoc of much of the translation, but he produced a result which, on its literary merits, is without an equal.
Thirty years ago another revision took place, but, notwithstanding the advantages which the revisers of 1880 had over their predecessors of 1611, their version has failed to displace the older version, which is too precious to the hearts of the people for them to abandon it.
Although not one of the translators has left any literary work which would justify the belief that he was capable of writing the more beautiful portions of the Bible, fortunately Bacon has left an example which would rather add lustre to than decrease the high standard of the Bible if it were incorporated in it. As to the truth of this statement the reader must judge from the following prayer, which was written after his fall, and which was described by Addison as resembling the devotion of an angel rather than a man::
Remember, O Lord, how Thy servant hath walked before Thee; remember what I have first sought, and what been principal in mine intentions. I have loved Thy assemblies; I have mourned for the divisions of Thy Church; I have delighted in the brightness of Thy sanctuary.
This vine, which Thy right hand hath planted in this nation, I have ever prayed unto Thee that it might have the first and the latter rain, and that it might stretch her branches to the seas and to the floods.The state and bread of the poor and oppressed have been precious in mine eyes. I have hated all cruelty and hardness of heart. I have, though in a despised weed, procured the good of all men.
If any have been mine enemies, I thought not of them, neither hath the sun almost set upon my displeasure; but I have been as a dove, free from superfluity of maliciousness.
Thy creatures have been my books, but Thy scriptures much more. I have sought Thee in the courts, fields, and gardens, but I have found Thee in Thy temples.
Thousands have been my sins and ten thousand my transgressions, but Thy sanctifications have remained with me, and my heart, through Thy grace, hath been an unquenched coal upon Thine altar.
O Lord, my strength, I have since my youth met with Thee in all my ways, by Thy fatherly compassions, by Thy comfortable chastisements, and by Thy most visible providence. As Thy favours have increased upon me, so have Thy corrections, so that Thou hast been ever near me, O Lord; and ever, as Thy worldly blessings were exalted, so secret darts from Thee have pierced me, and when I have ascended before men, I have descended in humiliation before Thee.
And now, when I thought most of peace and honour, Thy hand is heavy upon me, and hath humbled me according to Thy former lovingkindness, keeping me still in Thy fatherly school, not as a bastard but as a child. Just are Thy judgments upon me for my sins, which are more in number than the sands of the sea, but have no proportion to Thy mercies; for what are the sands of the sea to the sea? Earth, heavens, and all these are nothing to Thy mercies.
Besides my innumerable sins, I confess before Thee that I am debtor to Thee for the gracious talent of Thy gifts and graces, which I have neither put into a napkin, nor put it (as I ought) to exchangers, where it might have made most profit, but misspent it in things for which I was least fit so that I may truly say my soul hath been a stranger in the course of my pilgrimage.
Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for my Saviour's sake, and receive me into Thy bosom or guide me in Thy ways.
There is another feature about the first editions of the Authorised Version which arrests attention. In 1611 the first folio edition was published. The design with arches, dogs and rabbits which is to be found over the address "To the Christian Reader" which introduces the genealogies is also to be found in the folio edition of Shakespeare over the dedication to the most noble and Incomparable paire of Brethren, over the Catalogue and elsewhere. Except that the mark of query which is on the head of the right hand pillar in the design in the Bible is missing in the Shakespeare folio, and the arrow which the archer on the right hand side is shooting contains a message in the design used in the Bible and is without one in the Shakespeare folio.
In the 1612 quarto edition of the Authorised Version on the title-page of the Genealogies are two designs; that at the head of the page is printed from the identical block which was used on the title-page of the first edition of "Venus and Adonis," 1593, and the first edition of "Lucrece," 1594. At the bottom is the design with the light A and dark A, which is over the dedication to Sir William Cecil in the "Arte of English Poesie," 1589. An octavo edition, which is now very rare, was also published in 1612. On the title-page of the Genealogies will be found the design with the light A and dark A which is used on several of the Shakespeare quartos and elsewhere.
The selection of these designs was not made by chance. They were deliberately chosen to create similitudes between certain books, and mark their connection with each other.
The revised translation of the Bible was undertaken as a national work. It was carried out under the personal supervision of the King, but every record of the proceedings has disappeared. The British Museum does not contain a manuscript connected with the proceedings of the translators. In the Record Office have been preserved the original documents referring to important proceedings of that period. The parliamentary, judicial, and municipal records are, on the whole, in a complete condition, but ask for any records connected with the Authorised Version of the Bible and the reply is: "We have none." And yet it is reasonable to suppose that manuscripts and documents of such importance would be preserved. Where are they to be found?
____
Chapter I What was the Church Trying to Hide?
excerpt from the Book The Bible Fraud by Tony Bushby
Secret ciphers in the New Testament
It was the ëwisest fool in Christendom‰,2 who ëauthorised‰ the translation and publication of the first Protestant version of the Bible into English. He came to the English throne in 1603 and quickly became unpopular because of ëhis disgusting personal habits and his unsavoury character'. 3 He pretended to be a scholar in theology and philosophy,but his learning was shallow and superficial. He wallowed in filth,moral and physical,but was endowed with a share of cunning that his associates called,ëa kind of crooked wisdom ‰.4
For his new edition of the Bible he issued a set of personal ëRules‰ the translators were to follow and ordered revisions to proceed, although he never contributed a farthing to its cost. Work began early in 1607 and took a committee of forty-seven men (some records say fifty-four, others say fifty)two years and nine months to rewrite the Bible and make ready for the press.Each man received thirty shillings per week for his contribution. Upon its completion in 1609,a remarkable event occurred Öthe translators handed over the reviser‰s manuscripts of what is now called the King James Bible to King James for his final personal approval.ëIt was self-evident that James was not competent to check their work and edit it,so he passed the manuscripts on to the greatest genius of all time ...Sir Francis Bacon.‰
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 š1626) was a man of many talents, a lawyer, linguist and composer. He mastered every subject he undertook; mathematics, geometry, music, poetry, painting, astronomy,classical drama and poetry, philosophy, history, theology and architecture. He was a man of many aims and purposes, the father of modern science, remodeler of modern law, patron of modern democracy, and possibly the reviver of Freemasonry. His life and works are extensively documented, and his intellectual accomplishments widely recognized, particularly in academic circles. At the age of sixteen, he was sent to Paris ëdirect from the Queens Hand‰ and there studied Egyptian, Arabian, Indian and Greek philosophy with particular attention given to the Ancient Mysteries and their Ritual Rites. He personally recorded that, while in Paris, he created a secret cipher system that could be inserted into a document without arousing suspicion.While living in Europe, Francis Bacon was initiated into the mysterious Order of the Knights Templar and learnt a very special secret.Before he returned to London,he travelled to France, Italy, Germany and Spain and at the age of twenty completely devoted himself to the study of law. From his understanding of the secret information he had learned during his initiation into the Knights Templar, he conceived the idea of reactivating various Secret Societies and in 1580 founded the secret Rosicrosse Literary Society in Gray‰s Inn. Later in the same year,he founded the Lodge of Free and Accepted or Speculative Masons, also at Gray‰s Inn.
On 25 June 1607 Sir Francis Bacon was appointed Solicitor-General and Chief Advisor to the Crown. He had presented new ideas to the Government for the Reformation of the church and was officially instructed to commence restructuring the Bible. Research in the Records Office of the British Museum revealed that original documents still exist which refer to important proceedings associated with Sir Francis Bacon‰s involvement with the editing of both the Old and New Testaments. They revealed that he personally selected and paid the revisers of the New Testament who completed their task under the instructions of Bacon‰s long-time friend, Dr Andrews.
The first English language manuscripts of the Bible remained in Bacon ‰s possession for nearly a year.During that time :
...he hammered the various styles of the translators into the unity,rhythm, and music of Shakespearean prose,wrote the Prefaces and created the whole scheme of the Authorized Version. 6
He also encoded secret information into both the Old and New Testament An ancient document recorded that the true history of early Christianity was known to the initiates of the Order of the Knights Templar,having originally been
...imparted to Hugh de Payens by the Grand-Pontiff of the Order of the Temple (of the Nazarene sect),one named Theocletes, after which it was learned by some Knights in Palestine.
Regarding the months of editing work applied to the Bible by Bacon,his biographer,William T.Smedley, confirmed the extent of the editing :
"It will eventually be proved that the whole structure of the Authorised Bible was Francis Bacon‰s. He was an ardent student not only of the Bible, but also of early manuscripts.St Augustine, St Jerome,and writers of theological works,were studied by him with industry."8
At the completion of the editing, Sir Francis Bacon and King James I had a series of meetings to finalise editorial matters associated with the new Bible. It was at this time that King James ordered a ëDedication to the King‰ to be drawn up and included in the opening pages. He also wanted the phrase ëAppointed to be read in the Churches‰ to appear on the title page.This was an announcement clarifying that King James had personally given the church ëSpecial Command ‰ for this particular version of the Bible to be used in preference to the vast array of Greek and Latin Vulgate Bibles current at the time. His reason was personal, as King James had previously instructed the revisers to ëdefend the position of the king‰ in their restructuring of the texts.This was seen as an attempt to distance the Protestant Bible from the Catholic version.The Protestant versions of the Bible are thinner by seven books than the Catholic version and the variant churches have never agreed on a uniform Bible.In their translation of 1 Peter 2:13 the revisors changed the phrase ëthe emperor, as supreme‰ to ëthe king, as supreme‰. Because King James‰ Bible was written to support the authority of a king, the later church often referred to it as the one from ëauthority‰, band it later came to be presented as if officially ëauthorised'. In subsequent revisions,the word ëauthorised‰ found its way onto the title page and later still came to be printed on the cover, giving King James‰ new Bible a false sense of authenticity.
***
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Matriarchal VS Patriarchal: Two Forms of Society
Modern MatriarchUnfortunately the term Matriarchal Society is often used to describe a society dominated by women. This, however, is a misnomer. A Matriarchy is a nonhierarchical society in which decisions are made by consensus. The term originates from the Greek “meter” for mother and “archê” for beginning or origin.
Some other traits of “Matriarchal Societies” include:
• Non Violence
• Sexual Freedom
• Veneration of Ancestors
• Close integration/interaction with nature
• Primary unit is tribal
Patriarchal societies are social systems originally based on the family unit in which authority was inherited through the masculine lineage. For this system to maintain its integrity, female monogamy was a prerequisite and was therefore reinforced by moral and social taboos. Modern technology has made it possible to determine parentage despite promiscuity; however, many of the moral and social taboos remain. Although patriarchies were originally dominated by men, the woman’s suffrage and human right’s movements have helped to diversify gender roles and diffuse power among the sexes. The nature of true equality within a patriarchal system is on going, however.
Another on going debate is the nature of patriarchal and matriarchal thought. Many define patriarchal thought as “Active Doing” while matriarchal is defined as “Being”. In his book Alphabet Versus the Goddess, author Leonard Shlain proposes that the essential characteristics of this matriarchal outlook are holistic, simultaneous, synthetic and concrete while the patriarchal outlook is linear, sequential, reductionist and abstract. His fascinating thesis is based on right brain/left brain dominance and the influence of literacy on the human mind and the development of social structures. His theory diffuses the idea that pre-historic matriarchal cultures where exterminated by more aggressive patriarchal societies but rather evolved into patriarchal societies as communication shifted from image based to word based.
Click here for more definitions and case studies regarding Matriarchal societies.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Fatima-Phoenicians
Each letter of the alphabet is a Philosophers Stone.
The shape-shifted lowercase "S" of the Desdemona typeface is the Holy Grail / Graal (the pictogram is a symbol of the uterus implant designed for a male hermaphrodite).
Note the "PH" link between alPHabet, PHilosoPHer, HermaPHrodite, PHarmacist, ShePHerd. Then, you will overstand the importance of "HP"; Hewlett Packard who let the dogs out~!
Phoenicians are an admixture of Sea Peoples, ShePHerd Kings and Canaanites. Before moving on to Carthage they gave up Canaan to the Hittite/Hebrews, who are otherwise known as the Hycsos and were being evicted from Egypt. Before settling down in Canaan the Hebrews were given a 40 year refresher course on what was expected of them, by the Horites (God - Top Dog Priests), at Mount Sinai.
Fat-ima = Fat I am = Phat/Ptah (God of Zoro-Astrian/Zoro-Babel Freemasonry)
as in Top Hat or Frigian Tuqes, etc. PHrygian Cap
Our Lady of Fatima, Marian apparition at Fátima in 1917
Fatimah, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and wife of Ali
Fatima Aouam, Moroccan middle distance runner
Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani politician and sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Fatima Blush, Bond girl from the movie Never Say Never Again
Fatima (cigarette), brand of cigarettes popular in the United States during the middle of the 20th Century
Fatima (Kipling story), a short story by Rudyard Kipling in Soldiers Three (1888)
Fatima (FSS), humanoid computers in the manga The Five Star Stories.
The thread of His-tory (which should read Her-story, ie: Matriarchal Clan Society) has been blurred on purpose, by the men who wear dresses in public (priests). Fa - it - ma.
Sicilians, Spaniards (Basques), Portugese, and peoples of the Bordeaux region of France, all originated in Carthage, and before that, in Canaan. They were the Phoenicians. In America they became the Mohawk (Iroquois).
The SculPTor
The shape-shifted lowercase "S" of the Desdemona typeface is the Holy Grail / Graal (the pictogram is a symbol of the uterus implant designed for a male hermaphrodite).
Note the "PH" link between alPHabet, PHilosoPHer, HermaPHrodite, PHarmacist, ShePHerd. Then, you will overstand the importance of "HP"; Hewlett Packard who let the dogs out~!
Phoenicians are an admixture of Sea Peoples, ShePHerd Kings and Canaanites. Before moving on to Carthage they gave up Canaan to the Hittite/Hebrews, who are otherwise known as the Hycsos and were being evicted from Egypt. Before settling down in Canaan the Hebrews were given a 40 year refresher course on what was expected of them, by the Horites (God - Top Dog Priests), at Mount Sinai.
Fat-ima = Fat I am = Phat/Ptah (God of Zoro-Astrian/Zoro-Babel Freemasonry)
as in Top Hat or Frigian Tuqes, etc. PHrygian Cap
Our Lady of Fatima, Marian apparition at Fátima in 1917
Fatimah, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and wife of Ali
Fatima Aouam, Moroccan middle distance runner
Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani politician and sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Fatima Blush, Bond girl from the movie Never Say Never Again
Fatima (cigarette), brand of cigarettes popular in the United States during the middle of the 20th Century
Fatima (Kipling story), a short story by Rudyard Kipling in Soldiers Three (1888)
Fatima (FSS), humanoid computers in the manga The Five Star Stories.
The thread of His-tory (which should read Her-story, ie: Matriarchal Clan Society) has been blurred on purpose, by the men who wear dresses in public (priests). Fa - it - ma.
Sicilians, Spaniards (Basques), Portugese, and peoples of the Bordeaux region of France, all originated in Carthage, and before that, in Canaan. They were the Phoenicians. In America they became the Mohawk (Iroquois).
The SculPTor
Who let the DOGS out~?The letters HP or PH as in Pharaohs or PHD degree will lead investigators to the highest operational Freemasons. They are usually linked to the science of diversion.All major transportation systems are linked to auto-pilot computers which must be programmed. They, the auto-pilots, theoretically have the ability to shut down communications and change the direction (YAW WAY) of the CRAFT.A slight shift sideways by Challenger or Columbia would have created the conditions needed for disaster. A major shift in the direction of the Boeing four airCRAFT could explain 911; as well as many other in~flight disasters.HP~Hewlett Packard~ "who let the dogs out" is at the centre of auto~pilot technology!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Vedas
"Veda" redirects here. For other uses, see Veda (disambiguation).
The Vedas (Sanskrit वेद, véda, "knowledge") are a large body of texts originating in Ancient India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature[1] and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.[2]
The class of "Vedic texts" is aggregated around the four canonical Saṃhitās or Vedas proper (turīya), of which three (traya) are related to the performance of yajna (sacrifice) in historical (Iron Age) Vedic religion:
- the Rigveda, containing hymns to be recited by the hotṛ or chief priest;
- the Yajurveda, containing formulas to be recited by the adhvaryu or officiating priest;
- the Samaveda, containing formulas to be chanted by the udgātṛ.
The fourth is the Atharvaveda, a collection of spells and incantations, stories, predictions, apotropaic charms and some speculative hymns.[3]
According to Hindu tradition, the Vedas are apauruṣeya "not of human agency"[4], are supposed to have been directly revealed, and thus are called śruti ("what is heard").[5][6]. Vedic mantras are recited at Hindu prayers, religious functions and other auspicious occasions.
The various Indian philosophies and sects have taken differing positions on the Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy which cite the Vedas as their scriptural authority are classified as "orthodox" (āstika). Other traditions, notably Buddhism and Jainism, which did not regard the Vedas as authorities are referred to by traditional Hindu texts as "heterodox" or "non-orthodox" (nāstika) schools.[7][8] In addition to Buddhism and Jainism, Sikhism also does not accept the authority of the Vedas.[9] [10]
Etymology and usage
The Sanskrit word véda "knowledge, wisdom" is derived from the root vid- "to know". This is reconstructed as being derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *u̯eid-, meaning "see" or "know".[11]
As a noun, the word appears only in a single instance in the Rigveda, in RV 8.19.5, translated by Griffith as "ritual lore":
- yáḥ samídhā yá âhutī / yó védena dadâśa márto agnáye / yó námasā svadhvaráḥ
- "The mortal who hath ministered to Agni with oblation, fuel, ritual lore, and reverence, skilled in sacrifice."
Geldner's translation of the same passage has Wissen "knowledge". [12]
The noun is from Proto-Indo-European *u̯eidos, cognate to Greek (ϝ)εἶδος "aspect", "form". Not to be confused is the homonymous 1st and 3rd person singular perfect tense véda, cognate to Greek (ϝ)οἶδα (w)oida "I know". Root cognate are Greek ἰδέα, English wit, witness, wisdom, vision (the last from the Latin video, videre), German wissen ("to know", "knowledge"), Danish vide (to know) Norwegian viten ("knowledge"), Swedish veta ("to know"), Russian 'ведать/vedat' ("to know"), 'видеть/videt' ("to see"), Polish wiedza ("knowledge"), Latin video ("I see"), Czech vím ("I know") or vidím ("I see"), Slovak vedieť ("to know") or vidieť ("to see"), and Dutch weten ("to know").[13]
In English, the term Veda is mostly used to refer to the Samhitas (collection of mantras, or chants) of the four canonical Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda). The adjective Vedic on the other hand has wide currency, and depending on whether the context is academic (Indological or Philological) or religious (contemporary Hinduism) may refer either to the corpus of Vedic Sanskrit texts or to Hindu tradition in general.[citation needed]
The Sanskrit term veda as a common noun meaning "knowledge"", but can also be used to refer to fields of study unrelated to liturgy or ritual, e.g. in agada-veda "medical science", sasya-veda "science of agriculture" or sarpa-veda "science of snakes" (already found in the early Upanishads); durveda means "with evil knowledge, ignorant"Chronology
The Vedas are among the oldest sacred texts in the world dating from c. 1500-500BCE. Most Indologists agree that an oral tradition existed long before a literary tradition tentatively may have been set in (in one shakha, Kanva) from about the 1st century BCE; however it was again superseded by oral tradition until c. 1000 CE.[14] Due to the ephemeral nature of the manuscript material (birch bark or palm leaves), surviving manuscripts rarely surpass an age of a few hundred years.[15] The Benares Sanskrit University has a Rigveda manuscript of the mid-14th century, however, there are a number of older Veda manuscripts in Nepal belonging to the Vajasaneyi tradition that are dated from the 11th century onwards.
The Vedic period lasts for about a millennium, spanning the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Gavin Flood[16] sums up mainstream estimates, according to which the Rigveda was compiled from as early as 1500 BCE over a period of several centuries. The Vedic period reaches its peak only after the composition of the mantra texts, with the establishment of the various shakhas all over Northern India which annotated the mantra samhitas with Brahmana discussions of their meaning, and reaches its end in the age of Buddha and Panini and the rise of the Mahajanapadas (archaeologically, Northern Black Polished Ware). Michael Witzel gives a time span of c. 1500 BCE to c. 500-400 BCE. Witzel makes special reference to the Mitanni material of ca. 1400 BCE as the only epigraphic record of Indo-Aryan that may date to the Rigvedic period. However Mitanni Indo-Aryan is linguistically slightly older than the language of the Rigveda, and the comparison thus still does not allow for an absolute dating of any Vedic text. He gives 150 BCE (Patanjali) as a terminus ante quem for all Vedic Sanskrit literature, and 1200 BCE (the early Iron Age) as terminus post quem for the Atharvaveda.[17]
[edit] Categories of Vedic texts
The term "Vedic texts" is used in two distinct meanings:
- texts composed in Vedic Sanskrit during the Vedic period (Iron Age India)
- any text considered as "connected to the Vedas" or a "corollary of the Vedas"[18]
[edit] Vedic Sanskrit corpus
The corpus of Vedic Sanskrit texts includes:
- The Samhita (Sanskrit saṃhitā, "collection"), are collections of metric texts ("mantras"). There are four "Vedic" Samhitas: the Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda, and Atharva-Veda, most of which are available in several recensions (śākhā). In some contexts, the term Veda is used to refer to these Samhitas. This is the oldest layer of Vedic texts, apart from the Rigvedic hymns, which were probably essentially complete by 1200 BC, dating to ca. the 12th to 10th centuries BC. The complete corpus of Vedic mantras as collected in Bloomfield's Vedic Concordance (1907) consists of some 89,000 padas (metric feet), of which 72,000 occur in the four Samhitas.[19]
- The Brahmanas are prose texts that discuss, in technical fashion, the solemn sacrificial rituals as well as comment on their meaning and many connected themes. Each of the Brahmanas is associated with one of the Samhitas or its recensions. The Brahmanas may either form separate texts or can be partly integrated into the text of the Samhitas. They may also include the Aranyakas and Upanishads.
- The Aranyakas , "wilderness texts" or "forest treaties", were composed by people who meditated in the woods as recluses and are the third part of the Vedas. The texts contain discussions and interpretations of dangerous rituals (to be studied outside the settlement) and various sorts of additional materials. It is frequently read in secondary literature.
- some of the older Mukhya Upanishads (Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chandogya, Kaṭha).[20][21]
- certain Sutra literature, i.e. the Shrautasutras and the Grhyasutras.
The Shrauta Sutras, regarded as belonging to the smriti, are late Vedic in language and content, thus forming part of the Vedic Sanskrit corpus.[22][23] The composition of the Shrauta and Grhya Sutras (ca. 6th century BC) marks the end of the Vedic period , and at the same time the beginning of the flourishing of the "circum-Vedic" scholarship of Vedanga, introducing the early flowering of classical Sanskrit literature in the Mauryan and Gupta periods.
While production of Brahmanas and Aranyakas ceases with the end of the Vedic period, there is a large number of Upanishads composed after the end of the Vedic period. While most of the ten mukhya Upanishads can be considered to date to the Vedic or Mahajanapada period, most of the 108 Upanishads of the full Muktika canon date to the Common Era.
The Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads often interpret the polytheistic and ritualistic Samhitas in philosophical and metaphorical ways to explore abstract concepts such as the Absolute (Brahman), and the soul or the self (Atman), introducing Vedanta philosophy, one of the major trends of later Hinduism.
The Vedic Sanskrit corpus is the scope of A Vedic Word Concordance (Vaidika-Padānukrama-Koṣa) prepared from 1930 under Vishva Bandhu, and published in five volumes in 1935-1965. Its scope extends to about 400 texts, including the entire Vedic Sanskrit corpus besides some "sub-Vedic" texts.
- Volume I: Samhitas
- Volume II: Brahmanas and Aranyakas
- Volume III: Upanishads
- Volume IV: Vedangas
A revised edition, extending to about 1800 pages, was published in 1973-1976.
[edit] Shruti literature
The texts considered "Vedic" in the sense of "corollaries of the Vedas" is less clearly defined, and may include numerous post-Vedic texts such as Upanishads or Sutra literature.
The latter group of texts is called shruti (Sanskrit: śruti; "the heard"). Since post-Vedic times it has been considered to be revealed wisdom, as distinct from other texts, collectively known as smriti (Sanskrit: smṛti; "the remembered"), that is texts that are considered to be of human origin. This indigenous system of categorization was adopted by Max Müller and, while it is subject to some debate, it is still widely used. As Axel Michaels explains:
These classifications are often not tenable for linguistic and formal reasons: There is not only one collection at any one time, but rather several handed down in separate Vedic schools; Upanişads ... are sometimes not to be distinguished from Āraṇyakas...; Brāhmaṇas contain older strata of language attributed to the Saṃhitās; there are various dialects and locally prominent traditions of the Vedic schools. Nevertheless, it is advisable to stick to the division adopted by Max Müller because it follows the Indian tradition, conveys the historical sequence fairly accurately, and underlies the current editions, translations, and monographs on Vedic literature."[24]
The Upanishads are largely philosophical works in dialog form. They discuss questions of nature philosophy and the fate of the soul, and contain some mystic and spiritual interpretations of the Vedas. For long, they have been regarded as their putative end and essence, and are thus known as Vedānta ("the end of the Vedas"). Taken together, they are the basis of the Vedanta school.
Other texts such as the Bhagavad Gita or the Vedanta Sutras are considered shruti or "Vedic" by some Hindu denominations but not universally within Hinduism. The Bhakti movement, and Gaudiya Vaishnavism in particular extended the term to include the Sanskrit Epics and Vaishnavite devotional texts such as the Pancaratra.[25]
[edit] Vedic schools or recensions
Study of the extensive body of Vedic texts has been organized into a number of different schools or branches (Sanskrit śākhā, literally "branch" or "limb") each of which specialized in learning certain texts.[26] Multiple recensions are known for each of the Vedas, and each Vedic text may have a number of schools associated with it. Elaborate methods for preserving the text were based on memorizing by heart instead of writing. Specific techniques for parsing and reciting the texts were used to assist in the memorization process. (See also: patha)
[edit] Memorization
Prodigous energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from generation to generation with inordinate fidelity.[27] For example, memorization of the sacred Vedas included up to eleven forms of recitation of the same text. The texts were subsequently "proof-read" by comparing the different recited versions. Forms of recitation included the jaṭā-pāṭha (literally "mesh recitation") in which every two adjacent words in the text were first recited in their original order, then repeated in the reverse order, and finally repeated again in the original order.[28]
That these methods have been effective, is testified to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the Ṛgveda (ca. 1500 BCE), as a single text, without any variant readings.[28] Similar methods were used for memorizing mathematical texts, whose transmission remained exclusively oral until the end of the Vedic period (ca. 500 BCE).
The Four VedasThe Four Vedas
The canonical division of the Vedas is fourfold (turīya) viz.,[29]
- Rig-Veda (RV)
- Yajur-Veda (YV, with the main division TS vs. VS)
- Sama-Veda (SV)
- Atharva-Veda (AV)
Of these, the first three were the principal original division, also called trayī, "the triple Vidyā", that is, "the triple sacred science" of reciting hymns (RV), performing sacrifices (YV), and chanting (SV).[30][31] This triplicity is so introduced in the Brahmanas (ShB, ABr and others), but the Rigveda is the older work of the three from which the other two borrow, next to their own independent Yajus, sorcery and speculative mantras.
Thus, the Mantras are properly of three forms: 1. Ric, which are verses of praise in metre, and intended for loud recitation; 2. Yajus, which are in prose, and intended for recitation in lower voice at sacrifices; 3. Sāman, which are in metre, and intended for singing at the Soma ceremonies.
The Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda are independent collections of mantras and hymns intended as manuals for the Adhvaryu, Udgatr and Brahman priests respectively.
The Atharvaveda is the fourth Veda. Its status has occasionally been ambiguous, probably due to its use in sorcery and healing. However, it contains very old materials in early Vedic language. Manusmrti, which often speaks of the three Vedas, calling them trayam-brahma-sanātanam, "the triple eternal Veda". The Atharvaveda like the Rigveda, is a collection of original incantations, and other materials borrowing relatively little from the Rigveda. It has no direct relation to the solemn Shrauta sacrifices, except for the fact that the mostly silent Brahmán priest observes the procedures and uses Atharvaveda mantras to 'heal' it when mistakes have been made. Its recitation also produces long life, cures diseases, or effects the ruin of enemies.
Each of the four Vedas consists of the metrical Mantra or Samhita and the prose Brahmana part, giving discussions and directions for the detail of the ceremonies at which the Mantras were to be used and explanations of the legends connected with the Mantras and rituals. Both these portions are termed shruti (which tradition says to have been heard but not composed or written down by men). Each of the four Vedas seems to have passed to numerous Shakhas or schools, giving rise to various recensions of the text. They each have an Index or Anukramani, the principal work of this kind being the general Index or Sarvānukramaṇī.
Rigveda
The Rig-Veda Samhita is the oldest significant existent Indian text.[32] It is a collection of 1,028 Vedic Sanskrit hymns and 10,600 verses in all, organized into ten books (Sanskrit: mandalas).[33] The hymns are dedicated to Rigvedic deities.[34]
The books were composed by poets from different priestly groups over a period of some 500 years, which Avari dates as 1400 BCE to 900 BCE, if not earlier[35] According to Max Müller, based on internal evidence (philological and linguistic), the Rigveda was composed roughly between 1700–1100 BCE (the early Vedic period) in the Punjab (Sapta Sindhu) region of the Indian subcontinent.[36] Michael Witzel believes that the Rig Veda must have been composed more or less in the period 1450-1350 BCE, in the Greater Panjab, before the onset of the Iron Age.[37]
There are strong linguistic and cultural similarities between the Rigveda and the early Iranian Avesta, deriving from the Proto-Indo-Iranian times, often associated with the Andronovo culture; the earliest horse-drawn chariots were found at Andronovo sites in the Sintashta-Petrovka cultural area near the Ural mountains and date to ca. 2000 BCE.[38]
[edit] Yajurveda
The Yajur-Veda ("Veda of sacrificial formulas") consists of archaic prose mantras and also in part of verses borrowed and adapted from the Rig-Veda. Its purpose was practical, in that each mantra must accompany an action in sacrifice but, unlike the Sama-Veda, it was compiled to apply to all sacrificial rites, not merely the Soma offering. There are two major recensions of this Veda known as the "Black" and "White" Yajur-Veda. The origin and meaning of these designations are not very clear. The White Yajur-Veda contains only the verses and formulas (yajus) necessary for the sacrifice, while their discussion exist in a separate work, the Shatapatha Brahmana. It differs widely from the Black Yajurveda, which incorporates such discussions in the work itself, often immediately following the verses. Of the Black Yajurveda four major recensions survive (Maitrayani, Katha, Kapisthala-Katha, Taittiriya), all showing by and large the same arrangement, but differing in many other respects, notably in the individual discussion of the rituals but also in matters of phonology, accent, grammatical forms, syntax and choice of words.[citation needed]
[edit] Samaveda
The Sama-Veda (Sanskrit sāmaveda ) is the "Veda of melodies" or "Knowledge of melodies". The name of this Veda is from the Sanskrit word sāman which means a melody applied to metrical hymn or song of praise.[39] It consists of 1549 stanzas, taken entirely (except 78) from the Rig-Veda.[40] Like the Rigvedic stanzas in the Yajurveda, the Samans have been changed and adapted for use in singing. Some of the Rig-Veda verses are repeated more than once. Including repetitions, there are a total of 1875 verses numbered in the Sama-Veda recension translated by Griffith.[41] Two major recensions remain today, the Kauthuma/Ranayaniya and the Jaiminiya.
Its purpose was liturgical and practical, to serve as a songbook for the "singer" priests who took part in the liturgy. A priest who sings hymns from the Sama-Veda during a ritual is called an udgātṛ, a word derived from the Sanskrit root ud-gai ("to sing" or "to chant").[42] A similar word in English might be "cantor". The styles of chanting are important to the liturgical use of the verses. The hymns were to be sung according to certain fixed melodies; hence the name of the collection.
[edit] Atharvaveda
The Artharva-Veda is the "Knowledge of the [atharvans] (and Angirasa)". The Artharva-Veda or Atharvangirasa is the text 'belonging to the Atharvan and Angirasa' poets. Apte defined an atharvan as a priest who worshipped fire and Soma.[43] However, the etymology of Atharvan is unclear, but according to Mayrhofer it is related to Avesta athravan (āθrauuan); he denies any connection with fire priests.[44] Atharvan was an ancient term for a certain Rishi even in the Rigveda. (The older secondary literature took them as priests who worshipped fire).
The Atharva-Veda Saṃhitā has 760 hymns, and about 160 of the hymns are in common with the Rig-Veda.[45] Most of the verses are metrical, but some sections are in prose.[46]
It was compiled around 900 BCE, although some of its material may go back to the time of the Rig Veda,[47] and some parts of the Atharva-Veda are older than the Rig-Veda[48] though not in linguistic form.
The Atharvana-Veda is preserved in two recensions, the Paippalāda and Śaunaka.[49] According to Apte it had nine schools (shakhas).[50] The Paippalada text, which exists in a Kashmir and an Orissa version, is longer than the Saunaka one; it is only partially printed in its two versions and remains largely untranslated.
Unlike the other three Vedas, the Atharvana-Veda has less connection with sacrifice.[51][52] Its first part consists chiefly of spells and incantations, concerned with protection against demons and disaster, spells for the healing of diseases, for long life and for various desires or aims in life.[53][54]
The second part of the text contains speculative and philosophical hymns. R. C. Zaehner notes that:
"The latest of the four Vedas, the Atharva-Veda, is, as we have seen, largely composed of magical texts and charms, but here and there we find cosmological hymns which anticipate the Upanishads, -- hymns to Skambha, the 'Support', who is seen as the first principle which is both the material and efficient cause of the universe, to Prāna, the 'Breath of Life', to Vāc, the 'Word', and so on.[55]
In its third section, the Atharvaveda contains Mantras used in marriage and death rituals, as well as those for kingship, female rivals and the Vratya (in Brahmana style prose).
Gavin Flood discusses the relatively late acceptance of the Atharva-Veda as follows:
"There were originally only three priests associated with the first three Saṃhitās, for the Brahman as overseer of the rites does not appear in the Ṛg Veda and is only incorporated later, thereby showing the acceptance of the Atharva Veda, which had been somewhat distinct from the other Saṃhitās and identified with the lower social strata, as being of equal standing with the other texts."[56]
[edit] Brahmanas
Further information: Brahmanas
The mystical notions surrounding the concept of the one "Veda" that would flower in Vedantic philosophy have their roots already in Brahmana literature, for example in the Shatapatha Brahmana. The Vedas are identified with Brahman, the universal principle (ŚBM 10.1.1.8, 10.2.4.6). Vāc "speech" is called the "mother of the Vedas" (ŚBM 6.5.3.4, 10.5.5.1). The knowledge of the Vedas is endless, compared to them, human knowledge is like mere handfuls of dirt (TB 3.10.11.3-5). The universe itself was originally encapsulated in the three Vedas (ŚBM 10.4.2.22 has Prajapati reflecting that "truly, all beings are in the triple Veda").
[edit] Vedanta
While contemporary traditions continued to maintain Vedic ritualism (Shrauta, Mimamsa), Vedanta renounced all ritualism and radically re-interpreted the notion of "Veda" in purely philosophical terms. The association of the three Vedas with the bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ mantra is found in the Aitareya Aranyaka: "Bhūḥ is the Rigveda, bhuvaḥ is the Yajurveda, svaḥ is the Samaveda" (1.3.2). The Upanishads reduce the "essence of the Vedas" further, to the syllable Aum (ॐ). Thus, the Katha Upanishad has:
- "The goal, which all Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which humans desire when they live a life of continence, I will tell you briefly it is Aum" (1.2.15)
[edit] In post-Vedic literature
Further information: Parisista
[edit] Vedanga
Six technical subjects related to the Vedas are traditionally known as vedāṅga "limbs of the Veda". V. S. Apte defines this group of works as:
"N. of a certain class of works regarded as auxiliary to the Vedas and designed to aid in the correct pronunciation and interpretation of the text and the right employment of the Mantras in ceremonials."[57]
These subjects are treated in Sutra literature dating from the end of the Vedic period to Mauryan times, seeing the transition from late Vedic Sanskrit to Classical Sanskrit.
The six subjects of Vedanga are:
- Phonetics (Śikṣā)
- Meter (Chandas)
- Grammar (Vyākaraṇa)
- Etymology (Nirukta)
- Astronomy (Jyotiṣa)
- Ritual (Kalpa)
[edit] Supplementary Vedas
The term upaveda ("applied knowledge") is used in traditional literature to designate the subjects of certain technical works.[58][59] Lists of what subjects are included in this class differ among sources. The Charanavyuha mentions four Upavedas:
- Medicine (Āyurveda), associated with the Rigveda
- Archery (Dhanurveda), associated with the Yajurveda
- Music and sacred dance (Gāndharvaveda), associated with the Samaveda
- Military science (Shastrashastra), associated with the Atharvaveda
But Sushruta and Bhavaprakasha mention Ayurveda as an upaveda of the Atharvaveda. Sthapatyaveda (architecture), Shilpa Shastras (arts and crafts) are mentioned as fourth upaveda according to later sources.
Some post-Vedic texts, including the Mahabharata, the Natyasastra and certain Puranas, refer to themselves as the "fifth Veda".[60] The earliest reference to such a "fifth Veda" is found in the Chandogya Upanishad. "Dravida Veda" is a term for canonical Tamil Bhakti texts.[citation needed]
[edit] Puranas
A traditional view given in the Vishnu Purana (likely dating to the Gupta period[61]) attributes the current arrangement of four Vedas to the mythical sage Vedavyasa.[62]. Puranic tradition also postulates a single original Veda that, in varying accounts, was divided into three or four parts. According to the Vishnu Purana (3.2.18, 3.3.4 etc) the original Veda was divided into four parts, and further fragmented into numerous shakhas, by Lord Vishnu in the form of Vyasa, in the Dvapara Yuga; the Vayu Purana (section 60) recounts a similar division by Vyasa, at the urging of Brahma. The Bhagavata Purana (12.6.37) traces the origin of the primeval Veda to the syllable aum, and says that it was divided into four at the start of Dvapara Yuga, because men had declined in age, virtue and understanding. In a differing account Bhagavata Purana (9.14.43) attributes the division of the primeval veda (aum) into three parts to the monarch Pururavas at the beginning of Treta Yuga. The Mahabharata (santiparva 13,088) also mentions the division of the Veda into three in Treta Yuga.[63]
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