King Richard

King Richard is a 2021 American biographical sports drama film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and written by Zach Baylin. The film stars Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father and coach of famed tennis players Venus and Serena Williams (both of whom served as executive producers on the film), with Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal in supporting roles.

It premiered at the 48th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and was theatrically released on November 19, 2021, by Warner Bros. Pictures and on the HBO Max streaming service.[4] Although it was a box office failure, grossing $39 million against a budget of $50 million, the film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the screenplay and the performances of Smith, Ellis, and Sidney.[5]

It was named one of the ten best films of the year by both the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review. It earned six nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Actor for Will Smith.

Plot

Richard Williams lives in Compton, California, with his wife Brandy, his three step-daughters Tunde, Isha and Lyndrea, and his two daughters, Venus and Serena. Richard aspires to turn Venus and Serena into professional tennis players; he has prepared a plan for success since before they were born. Richard and Brandy coach Venus and Serena on a daily basis, while also working as a security guard and a nurse, respectively. Richard works tirelessly to find a professional coach for the girls, creating brochures and videotapes to advertise their skills, but has not had success.

One day, Richard takes the girls to see coach Paul Cohen, who is in the middle of practicing with John McEnroe and Pete Sampras. Despite his initial reservations, he agrees to watch the girls practice, and is impressed. However, the Williamses cannot afford professional coaching, and Paul refuses to coach both girls for free; he selects Venus to receive his coaching, while Serena continues to practice with Brandy. Paul encourages Venus to participate in juniors tournaments. She quickly finds success, but Richard stresses to Venus and her sisters that they should remain humble despite their success. At one of Venus's tournaments, Serena also signs up to play, unbeknownst to Richard. As both girls continue to succeed, the family feel as outsiders among the predominantly white, upper-class competition. Richard meets with high-profile agents, but, fearing that his daughters will be taken advantage of, pulls them out of the junior circuit entirely. Paul warns him that his decision will destroy the girls’ chances to turn pro, but Richard stands firm, firing Paul as a coach.

Coach Rick Macci travels to California to see the girls play. Impressed, he takes the girls on, and the family relocates to Florida to train at his facility. Richard surprises Rick by reiterating that the girls will not play juniors, instead training and attending school like normal little girls. In the ensuing three years, questions arise from the media and from Rick about Richard's strategy with the girls and his desire for media exposure. Venus tells Rick that she wants to turn pro. Richard reluctantly agrees, but later reneges, worrying that she will suffer a similar fate to Rick's pupil Jennifer Capriati, who is allegedly suffering from burnout and has been arrested for drug possession. The decision strains Richard's relationships with Venus, Brandy, and Rick. After an argument with Brandy, he reconciles with Venus, agreeing to let her play in the upcoming Bank of the West Classic in Oakland. Before the tournament, the family meets with a Nike executive, who offers them a major sponsorship deal worth 3 million dollars. Rick urges them to accept, but the family collectively agrees to decline, believing that once Venus begins to play she will attract more lucrative offers.

Venus initially struggles in her first professional match against Shaun Stafford, but eventually triumphs. She comes in as a heavy underdog in her next match against top-seeded Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Venus takes the first set and leads in the second before Vicario takes an extended bathroom break, an apparent act of gamesmanship. Sánchez Vicario recovers to win the second set and the match. Richard and Brandy comfort a dejected Venus, telling her to be proud. As the family leaves the stadium, a large crowd of supporters is waiting to cheer her on, and Rick tells Richard that several major shoe companies are anxious to meet with Venus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Richard_(film)

Kamala Devi Harris[b] (born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who has been the 49th and current vice president of the United States since 2021, serving under President Joe Biden. She is the first woman, the first African American, and the first Asian American to be vice president. She is the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history. Harris is the Democratic Party's nominee for president in the 2024 election. From 2017 to 2021, she represented California in the United States Senate. Before that, she was the attorney general of California.

Born in Oakland, California, Harris graduated from Howard University and the University of California's Hastings College of the Law. She began her law career in the office of the district attorney of Alameda County. She was recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and later to the office of the city attorney of San Francisco. She was elected district attorney of San Francisco in 2003 and attorney general of California in 2010, and reelected as attorney general in 2014. As the San Francisco district attorney and the attorney general of California, Harris was the first woman, the first African American, and the first Asian American to hold each office.

Harris was the junior U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021. She won the 2016 Senate election, becoming the second Black woman and first South Asian American U.S. senator. As a senator, Harris advocated for stricter gun control laws, the DREAM Act, federal legalization of cannabis, and reforms to healthcare and taxation. She gained a national profile for her pointed questioning of Trump administration officials during Senate hearings, including Trump's second Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Harris sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, but withdrew from the race before the primaries. Biden selected her as his running mate, and their ticket defeated the incumbent president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, in the 2020 election. Presiding over an evenly split Senate upon entering office, Harris played a crucial role as president of the Senate. She cast more tie-breaking votes than any other vice president, which helped pass bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stimulus package and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. After Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, Harris launched her campaign with Biden's endorsement. On August 6, 2024, she chose Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris

Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard Cœur de Lion (Norman French: Quor de Lion)[1][2] or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior,[3][4][5] was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father.

By the age of 16, Richard had taken command of his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father.[3] Richard was an important Christian commander during the Third Crusade, leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France and achieving several victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, although he finalised a peace treaty and ended the campaign without retaking Jerusalem.[6]

Richard probably spoke both French and Occitan.[7] He was born in England, where he spent his childhood; before becoming king, however, he lived most of his adult life in the Duchy of Aquitaine, in the southwest of France. Following his accession, he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, in England. Most of his reign was spent on Crusade, in captivity, or actively defending the French portions of the Angevin Empire. Though regarded as a model king during the four centuries after his death,[8] and seen as a pious hero by his subjects,[9] from the 17th century onward he was gradually perceived by historians as a ruler who preferred to use his kingdom merely as a source of revenue to support his armies, rather than regarding England as a responsibility requiring his presence as ruler.[10] This "Little England" view of Richard has come under increasing scrutiny by modern historians, who view it as anachronistic.[11] Richard I remains one of the few kings of England remembered more commonly by his epithet than his regnal number,[citation needed] and is an enduring iconic figure both in England and in France.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I_of_England

Alan appeared in Henry I's company at least as early as September 1101, probably at a court held in Windsor Castle,[8] when he witnessed important grants to Norwich Cathedral, confirming its foundation and various endowments.[9][10] Next, he appeared with the king at Canterbury in 1103,[11] where he witnessed the grant of a market to the nuns of Malling Abbey and land acquisitions by Rochester Cathedral, then in the process of rebuilding.[12]

Later that year,[13] or early in the next,[14] Alan was with the king in the New Forest, where the business concerned Andover Priory, a daughter house of the great Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Florent de Saumur.[15] He was probably selected deliberately for this meeting because of his family's close connections with Saumur Abbey: one of his uncles was a monk there.[16] William Rufus had decreed that all chapels in the parish of Andover church should be handed over to the monks or destroyed.[17] One problem at issue revolved around the Foxcote chapel, which was evidently being defended from destruction or annexation by Edward de Foscote, a local landowner. Another seems to have been the administration of justice in the monastic estates.[18] Wihenoc, a monk of St Florent, had initiated an action against the reeve of Andover to have these issues clarified and resolved. Alan Fitz Flaad was called upon to witness a compromise, although Foxcote was among the properties confirmed to the priory by Pope Eugenius III in 1146.[19]

In the autumn of 1105, Alan was called to York to witness confirmation of Ralph Paynel's transfer of his refounded Holy Trinity Priory in York to Marmoutier Abbey, Tours[20][21] and his many endowments of the priory itself.[22][23] At some point, he also witnessed the Roger de Nonant's gift of the church at Totnes and various tithes to the Abbey of Ss Sergius and Bacchus at Angers, a gift earmarked as being for the souls of the royal family.[24]

In May 1110, Alan was at court at Windsor again to witness the king's settlement of a property dispute between Hervey le Breton, Bishop of Ely, and Ranulph Flambard, Bishop of Durham, resolved in favour of the former.[25]

Probably only later did he appear as a witness to a royal command issued to Richard de Belmeis I, the Bishop of London and the king's viceroy in Shropshire, to see that justice was done in the case of a disputed prebend at Morville.[26][27] The collegiate church there had been dissolved and replaced with a priory attached to Shrewsbury Abbey[28] and it seems that the son of one of the prebendaries was resisting the loss of what he regarded as his patrimony. Alan is listed among a group of Shropshire magnates, including Corbets and a Peverel, meeting perhaps during Henry I's 1114 military expedition into Wales. Johnson and Cronne tentatively place the meeting at Holdgate Castle in Shropshire. Eyton dates the event earlier, around the time of a royal expedition to Shropshire in 1109.[29] Whatever the date, it shows Alan as an important member of the Shropshire landowning class.

Territorial magnate

Alan's rapid ascent to wealth and power was a symptom of troubled times. The abortive revolt of Robert de Belleme in 1102 had torn apart the Anglo-Norman system of governing the Welsh Marches. With other Breton friends, Alan had been given forfeited lands in Norfolk and Shropshire, including some which had previously belonged to Robert de Belleme himself.[30] Robert had proved a threat to Henry in both the Welsh Marches and in Normandy, so the king was determined to insert reliable supporters to counterbalance or replace his network of supporters. Alan received more land as he proved his worth. A large portfolio of lands in Shropshire and around Peppering, near Arundel in Sussex, was taken from the holdings of Rainald de Bailleul,[31] ancestor of the House of Balliol, which was also later to provide a king of Scotland. These were lands granted to Rainald by William the Conqueror in recognition of his role as Sheriff of Shropshire. There is no evidence that Rainald or his successor, Hugh, were rebels, and it seems that their lands came to Alan as a consequence of his elevation to the shrievalty of the county. He also gained a stake in the very large estates of Ernulf de Hesdin by marriage to his daughter, Avelina.[32]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_fitz_Flaad

Black Rood of Scotland

Saint Margaret (c. 1045–1093), a Saxon Princess of England, was born in Hungary. Following the conquest of England by the Normans in 1066, she fled to Scotland, where she married Malcolm III Canmore, King of Scotland. She is said to have brought the "Holy Rood", a fragment of Christ's cross, from Hungary or England to Scotland with her. It was known as the Black Rood of Scotland.

The Catholic Encyclopedia reports that Saint Margaret brought the cross from Waltham Abbey, after which it was kept in Holyrood Abbey, which her son erected in Edinburgh.[1]

The relic was removed from Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296, along with the Stone of Scone and other treasures, but the Black Rood was returned in 1328. It was regained by the English following the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346, after which it was held in Durham Cathedral until the Reformation of 1540, when it was presumably destroyed.[2]

Aelred of Rievaulx gave a description[3] of the relic in his Genealogia regum Anglorum ("Genealogy of the Kings of the English" written 1153–54) which has been translated as "It is about an ell long, manufactured of pure gold, of most wonderful workmanship, and is shut and opened like a chest. Inside may be seen a portion of our Lord's Cross, (as has often been proved by convincing miracles), having a figure of our Saviour sculptured of massive ivory, and marvellously adorned with gold."[4] An inventory made in England described the cross and its case in Latin soon after it was taken from Edinburgh Castle in 1296 as; "Unum scrinium argenteum deauratum in quo reponitur crux que vocatur le blake rode", which can be translated as "A silver-gilt casket in which lies the cross called the Black Rood".[5]

Holy Cross Abbey

A fragment of the Holy Rood was brought to a Cistercian Abbey in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland by Isabella of Angoulême, widow of King John of England, and thenceforth the Abbey was called Holy Cross Abbey. The relic was lost following the Cromwellian war in Ireland. However, it was later found and is currently in the Abbey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_(cross)

King Charles III's coronation to feature shards of "True Cross" gifted by Pope Francis

By Haley Ott

April 21, 2023 / 4:24 AM EDT / CBS News

Pope Francis has given King Charles III two shards of wood that the Vatican says are from the "True Cross" on which Jesus Christ was crucified, to be included in the British monarch's upcoming coronation ceremony. The shards will be incorporated into a new cross that will lead the coronation procession on May 6.

The new cross, which was a gift from then-Prince Charles to the Church in Wales, a branch of the Anglican Church, to mark its centenary in 2020, has been made from reclaimed wood, recycled silver and Welsh slate, the Reuters news agency reported. The two small shards donated by Pope Francis have been shaped into a cross and incorporated behind a gemstone.

King Charles III's coronation: What to know for the centuries-old ceremony

"I can confirm that the fragments of the relic of the True Cross were donated by the Holy See in early April, through the Apostolic Nunciature, to His Majesty King Charles III, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, as an ecumenical gesture on the occasion of the centenary of the Anglican Church in Wales," the Holy See press office said Thursday.

King Charles III's coronation: What to know for the centuries-old ceremony

After the coronation, the cross will return to Wales, where it will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic churches there, Reuters reported.

"Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability," Andrew John, the Anglican Archbishop of Wales, said, according to Reuters. "We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide their majesties into Westminster Abbey at the Coronation Service."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/king-charles-coronation-pope-francis-true-cross/

Alan fitz Flaad (c. 1060 – after 1120) was a Breton knight, probably recruited as a mercenary by Henry I of England in his conflicts with his brothers.[1] After Henry became King of England, Alan became an assiduous courtier and obtained large estates in Norfolk, Sussex, Shropshire, and elsewhere in the Midlands, including the feudal barony and castle of Oswestry in Shropshire.[2][3][4] His duties included supervision of the Welsh border.[5] He is now noted as the progenitor of the FitzAlan family, the Earls of Arundel (1267–1580), and the House of Stuart,[6] although his family connections were long a matter of conjecture and controversy.

Arrival in England

Flaad and his son Alan had come to the favourable notice of King Henry I of England who, soon after his accession, brought Flaad and Alan to England. Eyton, consistently following the theory of the Scottish origins of the Stewarts, thought this was because he was part of the entourage of the Queen, Matilda of Scotland,[7] Round pointed out that Henry had been besieged in Mont-Saint-Michel during his struggle with his brothers,[1] an event which probably occurred in 1091. He is known to have recruited Breton troops at that time and, after his surrender, left the scene via the adjoining regions of Brittany, where Dol is situated. This is a likely explanation for the Bretons in the military retinue he brought to England after the death of William Rufus.

Alan's career in England can be traced largely through his presence as a witness to charters granted by the king during his travels in the first decade or more of his reign. Some of his activities were traced by Eyton, and his researches overlap with William Farrer's calendar of Henry I travel. All of the business in which he took part was ecclesiastical, involving grants, sometimes disputed, to churches and monasteries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_fitz_Flaad

Stuart's Cape Audio CD – CD, May 1, 2013

Stuart's got problems...It's raining. He's bored.And worst of all, he's new in town.So he's got a lot to worry about.But what does a kid like Stuart need in order to have an adventure? A cape, of course.

https://www.amazon.com/Stuarts-Cape-Sara-Pennypacker/dp/1470886391

The Capetian dynasty (/kəˈpiːʃən/ kə-PEE-shən; French: Capétiens), also known as the "House of France", is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians and the Karlings. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favour of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans. Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon are still reigning over Spain and Luxembourg.

The dynasty had a crucial role in the formation of the French state. Initially obeyed only in their own demesne, the Île-de-France, the Capetian kings slowly but steadily increased their power and influence until it grew to cover the entirety of their realm. For a detailed narration on the growth of French royal power, see Crown lands of France.

Members of the dynasty were traditionally Catholic, and the early Capetians had an alliance with the Church. The French were also the most active participants in the Crusades, culminating in a series of five Crusader kings – Louis VII, Philip Augustus, Louis VIII, Louis IX, and Philip III. The Capetian alliance with the papacy suffered a severe blow after the disaster of the Aragonese Crusade. Philip III's son and successor, Philip IV, arrested Pope Boniface VIII and brought the papacy under French control. The later Valois, starting with Francis I, ignored religious differences and allied with the Ottoman sultan to counter the growing power of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry IV was a Protestant at the time of his accession, but realized the necessity of conversion after four years of religious warfare.

The Capetians generally enjoyed a harmonious family relationship. By tradition, younger sons and brothers of the king of France were given appanages for them to maintain their rank and to dissuade them from claiming the French crown itself. When Capetian cadets did aspire for kingship, their ambitions were directed not at the French throne, but at foreign thrones. As a result, the Capetians have reigned at different times in the kingdoms of Portugal, Sicily and Naples, Navarre, Hungary and Croatia, Poland, Spain and Sardinia, grand dukedoms of Lithuania and Luxembourg, and in Latin and Brazilian empires.

In modern times, King Felipe VI of Spain is a member of this family, while Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg is related to the family by agnatic kinship; both through the Bourbon branch of the dynasty. Along with the House of Habsburg, arguably its greatest historic rival, it was one of the two oldest European royal dynasties. It was also one of the most powerful royal family in European history, having played a major role in its politics for much of its existence. According to Oxford University, 75% of all royal families in European history, are related to the Capetian dynasty.[1][2][3]

Name origins and usage

The name of the dynasty derives from its founder, Hugh, who was known as "Hugh Capet".[4] The meaning of "Capet" (a nickname rather than a surname of the modern sort) is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with "cape", other suggestions indicate it might be connected to the Latin word caput ("head"), and explain it as meaning "chief" or "head".[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_dynasty

SACROS LATERAN ECCLES

OMNIUM URBIS ET ORBIS

ECCLESIARUM MATER

ET CAPUT

English Translation:

HOLY LATERAN CHURCH,

MOTHER AND HEAD

OF ALL CHURCHES

Basilica of St. John Lateran

The Main or East Façade

https://catholic-resources.org/Photos/Rome-Churches.htm

Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]"

page 463

The CONstitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Crowns of America

So often one hears politicians quoting the British Constitution as if it actually exists by way of adocumentary privilege — but it does not. It is simply an accumulation of old customs and precedents concerning parliamentary sanctions, together with a number of specific laws defining certain aspects. Since Scotland's 1320 Declaration of Arbroath was nullified by England's Treaty of Union in 1707, the oldest Written Constitution now in force is that of the United States of America. It was adopted in 1787, ratified in 1788, and effected in 1789. In that same year began the French Revolution, which abolished feudalism and ‘absolute’ monarchy in France, thereby influencing politics in much of Europe. In close to 200 years since the Revolution, France and other European States (with Britain as a noticeable exception) have adopted Written Constitutions to protect the rights and liberties of individuals — but who champions these Constitutions on behalf of the people? A popular alternative to absolute monarchy or dictatorship has been found in Republicanism. The Republic of the United States was created primarily to free the emergent nation from the despotism of Britain’s House of Hanover. Yet its citizens tend still to be fascinated by the concept of monarchy. No matter how Republican the spirit, the need for a central symbol remains. Neither a flag nor a president can fulfil this unifying role, for by virtue of the ‘party system’ presidents are always politically motivated. Republicanism was devised on the principle of fraternal status, yet an ideally classless society can never exist in an environment that promotes displays of eminence and superiority by degrees of wealth and possession. For the most part, those responsible for the United States’ morally inspired Constitution were Rosicrucians and Freemasons, notable characters such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Charles Thompson. The last, who designed the Great Seal of the United States of America, was a member of Franklin’s American Philosophical Society — a counterpart of Britain’s Invisible College. The imagery of the Seal is directly related to alchemical tradition, inherited from the allegory of the ancient Egyptian Therapeutate. The eagle, the olive branch, the arrows, and the pentagrams are all occult symbols of opposites: good and evil, male and female, war and peace, darkness and light. On the reverse (as repeated on the dollar bill) is the truncated pyramid, indicating the loss of the Old Wisdom, severed and forced underground by the Church establishment. But above this are the rays of ever-hopeful light, incorporating the ‘all-seeing eye’, used as a symbol during the French Revolution.

In establishing their Republic, the Americans could still not escape the ideal of a parallel monarchy — a central focus of non-political, patriotic attachment. George Washington was actually offered kingship, but declined because he had no immediately qualifying heritage. Instead he turned to the Royal House of Stuart. In November 1782 four Americans arrived at the San Clemente Palazzo in Florence, the residence of Charles III Stuart in exile. They were Mr Galloway of Maryland, two brothers named Sylvester from Pennsylvania, and Mr Fish, a lawyer from New York. They were taken to Charles Edward by his secretary, John Stewart. Also present was the Hon Charles Hervey-Townshend (later Britain’s ambassador to The Hague) and the Prince's future wife, Marguerite, Comtesse de Massillan. The interview — which revolved around the contemporary transatlantic dilemma — is doctimented in the US Senate archives and in the Manorwater Papers. Writers such as Sir Compton Mackenzie and Sir Charles Petrie have also described the occasion when Charles Edward Stuart was invited to become ‘King of the Americans’. Some years earlier, Charles had been similarly approached by the men of Boston, but once the War of Independence was over George Washington sent his own envoys. It would have been a great irony for the House of Hanover to lose the North American colonies to the Stuarts. But Charles declined the offer for a number of reasons, not the least of which was his lack of a legitimate male heir at the time. He knew that without a due successor the United States could easily fall to Hanover again at his death, thereby defeating the whole Independence effort. Since those days, many other radical events have taken place: the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, two major World Wars, and a host of changes as countries have swapped one style of government for another. Meanwhile, civil and international disputes continue just as they did in the Middle Ages. They are motivated by trade, politics, religion, and whatever other banners are flown to justify the constant struggle for territorial and economic control. The Holy Roman Empire has disappeared, the German Reichs have failed, and the British Empire has collapsed. The Russian Empire fell to Communism, which has itself been disgraced and crumbled to ruin, while Capitalism teeters on the very brink of acceptability. With the Cold War now ended, America faces a new threat to her superpower status from the Pacific countries. In the meantime, the nations of Europe band together in what was once a seemingly well conceived economic community, but which is already suffering from the same pressures of individual custom and national sovereignty that beset the Holy Roman Empire. Whether nations are governed by military-style regimes or elected parliaments, by autocrats or democrats, and whether formally described as monarchist, socialist or republican, the net product is always the same: the few control the fate of the many. In situations of dictatorship this is a natural experience — but it should not be the case in a democratic institution based on the principle of majority vote. True democracy is government by the people for the people, in either direct or representative form, ignoring class distinctions and tolerating minority views. The American Constitution sets out an ideal for this form of democracy ... but, in line with other nations, there is always a large sector of the community that is not represented by the party in power. Because presidents and prime ministers are politically tied, and because political parties take their respective turns at individual helms, the inevitable result is a lack of continuity for the nations concerned. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is no reliable ongoing institution to champion the civil rights and liberties of people in such conditions of ever-changing leadership. Britain does, at least, retain a monarchy, but it is a politically constrained monarchy, and as such is ineffectual in performing its role as guardian of the nation. The United States, unlike Britain, has a Written Constitution — but has no one with the power to uphold its principles against successive governments who determinedly pursue their own politically vested interests. Is there an answer to the anomaly — an answer that could bring not just a ray of hope but a shining light for the future? There certainly is, but its energy relies on those in governmental service appreciating their roles as ‘representatives’ of society rather than presuming to stand at the head of society. Alongside the political administration, an appointed Constitutional champion would be empowered to keep check on any potential disparities and infringements of the Constitution that might occur. This can be achieved in the manner first envisaged by George Washington and the American Fathers. Their original plan was for a democratic Parliament combined with a working Constitutional Monarchy bound not to Parliament or the Church but to the people and their Written Constitution. In such an environment, sovereignty would ultimately rest with the people, while the monarch (as an operative Guardian of the Realm) would pledge an ‘Oath of Fealty to the Nation’ — not the reverse, as in Britain’s case, whereby the nation pays homage to the sovereignty of Parliament and the monarchy. The unfulfilled ambition of the American Fathers was that government ministers should be elected by the majority vote of the people, but that their actions be directed within the boundaries of the Constitution. Because that Constitution belongs to the people, its champion — as George Washington perceived — should be a monarch whose obligation is not to politics or religion but to the sovereign nation. Through the natural system of heredity (being born and bred to the task), such a Constitutional guardian would provide an ‘ongoing continuity’ of public representation through successive governments. In this regard both monarchs and ministers would be servants of the Constitution on behalf of the Community of the Realm. Such a concept of moral government lies at the very heart of the Grail Code, and it remains within the bounds of possibility for every civilized Nation State. A leading British politician recently claimed that it was not his job to be popular! Not so—a popular minister is a trusted minister, and holding a deserved electoral trust facilitates the democratic process. No minister can honestly expound an ideal of equality in society when that minister is deemed to possess some form of prior lordship over society. Class structure is always decided from above, never from below. It is therefore for those on self-made pedestals to be seen to kick them aside in the interests of harmony and unity. Jesus was not in the least humbled when he washed his Apostles’ feet; he was raised to the realm of a true Grail King — the realm of equality and princely service. This is the eternal ‘Precept of the Sangréal’, and it is expressed in Grail lore with the utmost clarity: only by asking ‘Whom does the Grail serve?’ will the wound of the Fisher King be healed, and the Wasteland returned to fertility.

pages 438-443 "The Sangreal Today"

Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zsH4O_ls0IgWEYXLXWCo7I3IUi32FJhq/view?usp=sharing

Guy Fawkes Day – The Jesuit Treason and the Gunpowder Plot

A plan was hatched by a joint collaboration of the Pope and the Jesuits to blow up the House of Lords during the state opening of Parliament on 5th November 1605. Robert Catesby was the leader of a group of English Catholics who plotted to assassinate the protestant King James 1 in the failed gunpowder plot.

Guy Fawkes, a key member of the group was chosen to bomb the parliament owing to his experience as a soldier in the Spanish army. He smuggled 36 barrels of gun powder into a cellar directly below the Parliament which was enough to obliterate the entire building thereby killing all the key members of the state including the king and high ranking officials.

However, through Divine providence, an anonymous letter was sent to a Catholic called William Parker who was a member of the Parliament. The letter warned him to stay away from the opening of the Parliament. Alarmed by this, he brought this to the attention of King James who then ordered a search of the basement of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was found hiding in one of the cellars guarding a stash of gunpowder and explosives. After being tortured, Guy Fawkes revealed that this was a preplanned Jesuit led Catholic conspiracy to annihilate England’s Protestant government and replace it with a Catholic one.

https://www.secretsunlocked.org/bible/bible-history/guy-fawkes-day-the-jesuit-treason-and-the-gunpowder-plot

The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, set to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.[1] Voters in each state and the District of Columbia will choose electors to the Electoral College, who will then elect a president and vice president for a term of four years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_election

Vice President Kamala Harris

November 4, 2021

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=287432446715585&set=a.287432426715587

Jesuits to elect new superior on Saturday

Jan 15, 2008 / 08:47 am

The 217 Jesuits who are eligible to vote in the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus in Rome will elect a new superior general this Saturday to succeed Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach.

A source from the Society of Jesus announced this week that the delegates at the General Congregation have been discussing among themselves the profile which the new superior ought to have, followed by a vote this coming Saturday.

After Pope Benedict XVI has been informed and has given his consent to the results, the name of the new superior will be disclosed to the public. The election will take place via electronic ballot and, according to the press office of the General Congregation, the election will be the first to take place electronically. Traditionally the new superior is elected for life. For reasons of age, Father Kolvenbach officially resigned this Monday after leading the Jesuits for more than 25 years.

The 80 year-old Dutch priest was elected in 1983 with the consent of Pope John Paul II to succeed Father Pedro Arrupe, who retired due to illness.

Although the internal norms of the General Congregation prohibit campaigning for one candidate or another, reports in the Italian media have singled out Father Lisbert D’Souza of India, Father Orlando Torres of Puerto Rico, Father Jose Morales Orozco of Mexico, Father Mark Raper of Australia, Father Ignacio Echarte of Spain and Father Franco Imoda of Italy, as possible successors to Father Kolvenbach.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/11450/jesuits-to-elect-new-superior-on-saturday

Father Kolvenbach, former Jesuit superior, dies in Beirut

Rome — November 28, 2016Share on FacebookShare on TwitterEmail to a friendPrint

Jesuit Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, whose service as superior general of the Society of Jesus marked a return to normal governance after a period of tension with the Vatican, died in Beirut Nov. 26, four days before his 88th birthday.

After the Jesuit general congregation accepted his resignation as superior in 2008, he returned to Lebanon and served as an assistant librarian at the Jesuit-run St. Joseph University in Beirut.

In a message of condolence to Father Arturo Sosa, the current superior, and his brother Jesuits, Pope Francis praised Kolvenbach's "complete fidelity to Christ and his Gospel" and his "generous commitment to exercising his office with a spirit of service for the good of the church."

When Kolvenbach was chosen as superior general in 1983, his election marked the end of a two-year period in which a papal delegate, Jesuit Father Paolo Dezza, led the society.

St. John Paul II had bypassed the Jesuits' normal governing structure when he named Father Dezza interim head of the society after Father Pedro Arrupe, then-superior general of the Jesuits, suffered a stroke. The pope's action troubled many Jesuits, who saw it as a lack of papal trust in the order and its members' ability to govern themselves.

Born Nov. 30, 1928, in the Netherlands, he entered the Jesuits in 1948. In 1958, he was sent on mission to Lebanon, where he was ordained to the priesthood in the Armenian Catholic rite in 1961 and where he earned his doctorate in theology from St. Joseph University.

An expert in linguistics, he taught in The Hague, Paris and Beirut, before being named rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, the position he held when he was elected superior of the order.

https://www.ncronline.org/father-kolvenbach-former-jesuit-superior-dies-beirut

General Congregation 36 concludes

The 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus concluded on November 12 with a Mass of Thanksgiving at St Ignatius Church, a parish run by the Society of Jesus in Rome.

That morning, after a contemplative examination of the six weeks of work, the 215 delegates voted to close the General Congregation that had begun on October 2. In the closing session, Father General Arturo Sosa thanked the Congregation for its work, using the text of Mark 4:26-29 to emphasise that it is the Lord who will grow the seed they planted.

The day before (November 11), the delegates had evaluated the Congregation in Conference groups but the final evaluation will be done with an online survey. The official text of the decrees resulting from General Congregation 36 are being finalised and will be released in a few weeks.

At the Thanksgiving Mass, Fr Sosa invoked Mary, under the title of Our Lady of the Way, as is traditional in the Society and prayed for her intercession as she accompanied the “friends in the Lord” on their journey home after their travails at the General Congregation. He also asked Mary to help all Jesuits to be true and authentic witnesses of the message of Christ, that they might credibly reflect his face to the world.

The Scripture readings for the Liturgy of the Word were chosen for the occasion. From the First Letter of Saint John (4:7-16), the delegates heard the insistence on mutual love, a reflection of the love of God, which should motivate all our relations, not only among Jesuits, but also with those whom they serve and to whom they are sent. The Gospel was also from St John (Ch 16). It was about the sending out of the disciples at the Ascension “to preach the Gospel to all creatures”. The evangelist ends by underlining that this commission bore fruit: “They went everywhere, the Lord working through them and confirming the Word with the signs that accompanied it.” Even though these signs described by John – facing serpents and deadly poison – may be different through changing centuries and contexts, their healing and liberating character is always relevant, and can certainly ground witness to the Gospel today.

The English translation of Father General’s homily, which he preached in Italian, is available on the GC36 website, and we invite you to read it, to find food for your meditation and support for your apostolic involvement.

The prayers of the faithful were announced in Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Japanese, French, Sinhalese and Arabic. The offertory procession was accompanied by a Congolese liturgical dance – another way in which the Jesuits emphasised the universal nature of their service, which should be always moving, evolving, according to the needs of the times and the peoples. Similarly, an Indian rite, with flowers and incense, was used at the end of the Eucharistic prayer.

At the end of the Mass, the congregation sang the Latin-American Marian hymn Maria del camino, followed by a new expression of the Te Deum. During this canticle, Father General and some members of the assembly – representatives of the Assistancies, some brothers, scholastics and lay people – offered incense to symbolise the prayer ascending to heaven from the whole Society spread all around the world ‘to love and to serve’.

Finally, the congregation sang the hymn that is characteristic of the spirituality of the Society: “Take, Lord, receive all my liberty, my memory, understanding and my entire will, everything I have and possess. You have given all to me. Now I return it. All is yours, dispose of it entirely according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.” [gc36.org]

https://jcapsj.org/2016/11/general-congregation-36-concludes/

Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, former Jesuit superior, dies in Tokyo

Tokyo — May 20, 2020Share on FacebookShare on TwitterEmail to a friendPrint

The Jesuit General Curia in Rome announced that its former superior general, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, died May 20 in Tokyo. He was 84.

He was a member of the Jesuit community of Loyola House in Kamishakujii and had been ill for several years, reported ucanews.com.

A statement said he is deeply mourned by the Jesuits of Japan and Asia-Pacific, his family and compatriots in Spain, and his many friends around the world.

"I offer my sincere condolences to the Jesuit province of Japan, to Father Nicolas' family, to the Jesuits in Spain and the Philippines and to his many friends all around the world," said Fr. Arturo Sosa, current superior general.

"Father Nicolas gave of himself throughout his life. It was a life marked by intense service, calm availability and a deep ability to inculturate in Japan, where he went as a young Jesuit. It was a culture he loved dearly and to which he committed himself.

"His time as general was marked by his sense of humor, his courage, his humility and his close relationship with Pope Francis. All of us here at the Jesuit General Curia mourn him, and a special Mass will be offered here in Rome as soon as we can organize it."

Sosa said all who worked with Nicolas in the General Curia greatly appreciated his presence.

"He will be greatly mourned throughout the society as a wise, humble and dedicated Jesuit, a man of grace and wisdom, simple, unpretentious," he said.

Nicolas had a strong relationship with Pope Benedict and close and warm bonds with Francis.

Nicolas was born in Palencia, Spain, April 29, 1936. He entered the Society of Jesus in September 1953 and was ordained a priest March 17, 1967.

As a scholastic, he was sent to the mission of Japan, where he was a professor of theology, rector of scholastics and provincial, later dedicating himself to social work with immigrants in Tokyo.

For 10 years, he lived in the Philippines, serving as director of the East Asia Pastoral Institute and as president of the Conference of Provincials of East Asia and Oceania. After presenting his resignation as superior general of the Jesuits, he was a spiritual director at EAPI and in the Arrupe International Residence in Manila.

Nicolas served as superior general of the Jesuits from January 2008 to October 2016.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated in Rome in the Church of the Gesu at a date to be determined.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/father-adolfo-nicolas-former-jesuit-superior-dies-tokyo

Devil: the enemy of perfection, particularly of poverty [553]; his or her illusions must be guarded against [260]; against his or her attacks those who are dying must be defended [595]

Index

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and their Complimentary Norms

"Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus: a Roman work of the entire Society, 304 §2"

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Latium is a 1669 work by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It was dedicated to Pope Clement X and a 1671 edition was published in Amsterdam by Johannes van Waesbergen.[1] The work was the first to discuss the topography, archeology and history of the Lazio region.[2] It was based partly on Kircher's extensive walks in the countryside around Rome, although it included sites that he had probably not visited in person.[3] The work included many illustrations of the contemporary countryside, as well as reconstructions of ancient buildings.[4]: 92 It also included an account of his discovery of the ruined sanctuary at Mentorella, which he had already recounted in his 1665 work Historia Eustachio Mariana.[4]: 94

Contents

Kircher’s stated purpose in Latium was to use the physical remains of ancient Latium as illustrations of human mutability and transience.[5] It was divided into five books. The first covered the origins and ancient history of the Latins. The second contained chapters describing (I) the region of Monte Cavo, Lake Albano and the ancient town of Alba Longa; (II) Tusculum; (III) the ancient Praeneste and the modern town of Palestrina, and (IV) the region of Labici and the ancient Hernici tribe. The third book examined the ancient history of Tivoli and the fourth, the countryside and ancient remains around it. The fifth book was devoted to the Pontine marshes.[1][6] The Pontine Marshes to the southeast of Rome had been discussed by Kircher in his 1658 work Scrutinium Physico-Medicum because they were a source of malaria that prevented the agricultural development of the neighbouring region and imposed a heavy burden of disease on its population. Kircher was probably one of the first people to recommend the taking of quinine in Rome to counter malaria. Pope Urban VIII had brought in the Dutch engineer De Wit to begin draining the marshes and in Latium Kircher noted these efforts approvingly, illustrating the devices used to pump out the water.[7]

Ancient history of Latium

In Book I, Kircher advanced the theory that Latium had been populated after the time of the Tower of Babel, or possibly before. Indeed he held that it had originally been settled by Noah, and that this was supported by local legends about Saturn and Janus, who he believed were in fact Noah himself.[5] Thus, he held, the mythological account of the castration of Saturn was a variant of the Biblical story of the discovery of Noah's nakedness by Ham. Such speculative theories were to be developed in his later works Turris Babel and Arca Noë.[8]: 44

During his countryside walks, Kircher was searching for evidence that would allow him to reconstruct the history of the region from its earliest times right up to the pontificate of Pope Alexander VII. Although the timeline he constructed was highly inaccurate, the evidence he gathered was the first attempt at a complete chronological reconstruction of the region’s history.[9]

The Nile mosaic

Around 1600 a Roman mosaic was discovered at the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia at Praeneste. It is known to modern scholarship as "the Nile mosaic" because it is understood to represent the course of the River Nile from the mountains of Ethiopia through Sudan and Egypt to the sea. However in Book III of Latium Kircher offered a completely different interpretation of the piece, based on the idea that it depicted ceremonies in honour of the goddess of fortune. The upper part, he said, depicted wild animals, representing fortune's dangers. He noted that the people of ancient Praeneste were devotees of Hercules, who was famous for having destroyed monsters and overcome ill fortune. Beneath this, he said, was depicted the veneration of the goddess and consultation of her oracle. He correctly identified the temple of Serapis but this did not serve as a clue of the mosaic's real subject. At the bottom there are festivals and processions in honour of the goddess.[4]: 87–88

Illustrations

Latium was published in folio with 27 engraved plates. These included illustrations, maps, and plans, including 15 double-page foldouts.[10] The illustrations included views of the countryside, sculptures, mosaics, coins and mechanical devices such as watermills.[6]

The frontispiece was by Romeyn de Hooghe. It depicted a seated figure of the genius loci Latia. On one side of her stands a mountain on which Atlas hold up the world, and on the other figures a volcano. These emblems represent, perhaps, the temporal and spiritual power of Rome respectively. Above her hang both ancient and contemporary arms. Romulus and Remus and their she-wolf adopted mother play behind her back while a putto presents her with the papal tiara and the keys of Saint Peter. She is wearing regalia that show that her presence and her power are intimately connected with the Catholic Church.[3] Her crown identifies her as the protector of a city, and the star above it is the symbols of the Chigi family to which Pope Alexander VII belonged. She holds a long sceptre topped with the hand of justice and her eyes fall on a mitre, a cardinal's hat, and other Catholic religious objects. Her robe covers the imperial eagle and her foot rests on the orb of temporal power, indicating her primacy over the Holy Roman Emperor. Beneath Latia is inscribed the Latin motto 'Latium cui par nihil est, nihil Secundu' ('Latium, to which none is equal, and second to none'). At the bottom of the illustration the male figures are the gods of the river Tiber and its Tivoli tributary the Aniene. The female figure with butterfly wings is the goddess of the Aniene, otherwise Ino, resting on symbols of her mythological shipwreck.[4]: 39

The imagery of the frontispiece was intended to emphasise the purpose of Kircher’s claim that his contemporary Rome was connected not just to the ancient city that preceded it, but to a both the ancient classical and biblical worlds. The figure of Latia was Etruscan, the sceptre she hold resembled the regalia of ancient Egypt, while Greece was represented by the winged figure of Ino.[9]

The illustration depicting the apotheosis of Homer was signed by Giovanni Battista Galestruzzi. The aerial view of Palestrina and the plate of the Nile mosaic were signed by Agapito de Bernardini.[6]: 178 [4]: 51 The maps in the book were the work of Innocenzo Mattei.[11] The book also reused a number of earlier illustrations from previously published works, by Étienne Dupérac, Daniele Stoopendahl and Matteo Greuter. The image of the reconstruction of Hadrian’s villa was a replica of the illustration by Francesco Contini and the image of the temple of Fortune was a replica of a piece by Domenico Castelli.[6]: 182

Critical reception

The work was criticised by many scholars of Kircher’s time for its inaccuracies and speculations about ancient history. Raffaello Fabretti pointed out that Kircher’s text was full of mistakes,[5] his images of aqueducts were inaccurate and his map wrongly located the source of the Aqua Virgo near Colonna.[12] Kircher intended to write a similar work on Etruria, entitled Iter Etruscum, but this was never published, because the Jesuit censors would not approve it.[3][13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latium_(1669

THE American Capitol abounds with clues of its Roman origins. “Freedom,” the Roman goddess whose statue crowns the dome, was created in Rome at the studio of American sculptor Thomas Crawford. We find a whole pantheon of Roman deities in the great fresco covering the dome’s interior rotunda: Persephone, Ceres, Freedom, Vulcan, Mercury, even a deified George Washington. These figures were the creation of Vatican artist Constantino Brumidi. The fact that the national Statehouse evolved as a “capitol” bespeaks Roman influence. No building can rightly be called a capitol unless it’s a temple of Jupiter, the great father-god of Rome who ruled heaven with his thunderbolts and nourished the earth with his fertilizing rains. If it was a capitolium, it belonged to Jupiter and his priests. Jupiter’s mascot was the eagle, which the founding fathers made their mascot as well. A Roman eagle tops the governing idol of the House of Representatives, a forty-six-inch sterling silverand- ebony wand called a “mace.” The mace is “the symbol of authority in the House.”4 W h e n the Sergeant-at-arms displays it before an unruly member of Congress, the mace restores order. Its position at the rostrum tells whether the House is in “committee” or in “session.” America’s national motto “Annuit Coeptis” came from a prayer to Jupiter. It appears in Book IX of Virgil’s epic propaganda, the Aeneid, a poem commissioned just before the birth of Christ by Caius Maecenas, the multi-billionaire power behind Augustus Caesar. The poem’s objective was to fashion Rome into an imperial monarchy for which its citizens would gladly sacrifice their lives. Fascism may be an ugly word to many, but its stately emblem is apparently offensive to no one. T h e emblem of fascism, a pair of them, commands the wall above and behind the speaker’s rostrum in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. They’re called fasces, and I can think of no reason for them to be there other than to declare the fascistic nature of American republican democracy. 6 A fasces is a Roman device. Actually, it originated with the ancient Etruscans, from whom the earliest Romans derived their religious jurisprudence nearly three thousand years ago. It’s an axe-head whose handle is a bundle of rods tightly strapped together by a red sinew. It symbolizes the ordering of priestly functions into a single infallible sovereign, an autocrat who could require life and limb of his subjects. If the fasces is entwined with laurel, like the pair on the House wall, it signifies Caesarean military power. The Romans called this infallible sovereign Pontifex Maximus, “Supreme Bridgebuilder.” No Roman was called Pontifex Maximus until the title was given to Julius Caesar in 48 BC. Today’s Pontifex Maximus is Pope John Paul II. As we shall discover in a forthcoming chapter, John Paul does not hold that title alone. He shares it with a mysterious partner, a military man, a man holding an office that has been known for more than four centuries as “Papa Nero,” the Black Pope. I shall present evidence that the House fasces represent the Black Pope, who indeed rules the world. Later, I will develop what is sure to become a controversial hypothesis: that the Black Pope rules by divine appointment, and for the ultimate good of mankind.

Rulers of Evil

by F. Tupper Saussy

https://archive.org/details/rulers-of-evil-f.-tupper-saussy_202201/Rulers%20of%20Evil%20F.%20Tupper%20Saussy/

Books: 1. In general: the extent to which they are to be allowed for the private use of Ours [372, 373]; specifically, in the colleges of Ours [372]. See also Library; Publishing books and other scholarly works 2. Administrative: in which are to be recorded: possessions brought by novices and certain of their declarations [57, 200]; the names of those who pronounce vows [530, 545] 3. To be read in the schools: see Authors 4. The writing thereof: see Writing of books;Writers 5. Publication thereof: see Publishing books and other scholarly works

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

In 1990, Harris was hired as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, where she was described as "an able prosecutor on the way up".[37] In 1994, Speaker of the California Assembly Willie BROWN, who was then dating Harris, appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and later to the California Medical Assistance Commission.[37] In February 1998, San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan recruited Harris as an assistant district attorney.[38] There, she became the chief of the Career Criminal Division, supervising five other attorneys, where she prosecuted homicide, burglary, robbery, and sexual assault cases—particularly three-strikes cases. In August 2000, Harris took a job at San Francisco City Hall, working for city attorney Louise Renne.[39] Harris ran the Family and Children's Services Division, representing child abuse and neglect cases. Renne endorsed Harris during her D.A. campaign.[40]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris

Donald Jasper Harris, OM (born August 23, 1938) is a Jamaican-American economist and professor emeritus at Stanford University, known for applying post-Keynesian ideas to development economics.[1]

He is the father of US Vice President and current Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris and lawyer Maya Harris.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_J._Harris

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

Danney Lee Williams Jr. (born December 7, 1985) is a man from Little Rock, Arkansas who claims to be the biological son of Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States.[1] Blood tests ruled out Clinton as the father.[1][2]

Background

Williams was born in 1985 to Danney Williams Sr. and Bobbie Ann Williams.

The story came to notice in the late 1990s when reporting by Newsmax led by celebrity tabloid magazine Star to commission a paternity test prove whether Williams is actually Clinton's biological son.[3] Time magazine cited Star on July 18, 1999 to say that there was no match.[4]

The story was revived in 2016 before the 2016 presidential election and pushed by a number of media outlets including Newsmax, the Drudge Report,[3] as well as WorldNetDaily,[1] and the New York Daily News.[1]

Due to some uncertainties with the original test by Star, Snopes concluded that the claim was unproven.[3] The Washington Post stated that, while the test could not prove Clinton was the father, it did conclusively rule him out as the father.[1]

On October 19, 2016, Williams' lawyers announced their intentions to file a paternity suit to prove that Clinton's DNA matched Williams'.[5] Williams wrote to Monica Lewinsky asking for her dress in order to obtain a sample of Clinton's DNA. However, Lewinsky never replied to Williams.[6] A partial analysis of Clinton's blood, and thus his DNA, was already part of the public record because of the Lewinsky affair investigation.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danney_Williams

Thomas Trace Beatie (born 1974[1]) is an American public speaker, author, and advocate of transgender rights and sexuality issues, with a focus on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.[2]

Beatie came out as a trans man in early 1997. Beatie had gender-affirming surgery in March 2002 and became known as "the pregnant man" after he became pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007.[3] Beatie chose to be pregnant, with donated sperm,[4][5] because his wife Nancy was sterile.

The couple filed for divorce in 2012. The Beatie case is the first of its kind on record, where a documented legal male gave birth within a marriage to a woman, and for the first time, a court challenged a marriage where the husband gave birth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beatie

Silicone breast implants are filled with silicone gel.

https://www.plasticsurgery.org/cosmetic-procedures/breast-augmentation/implants

silicone (n.)

coined 1863 in German from silico-, combining form indicating the presence of silicon, + -one.

also from 1863

Entries linking to silicone

silicon (n.)

nonmetallic element, 1817, coined by British chemist Thomas Thomson from silica (silicon dioxide), from which it was isolated. The name is patterned on carbon, etc. Silicon chip is attested from 1965; Silicon Valley for the Santa Clara Valley near San Francisco is attested by 1974, in reference to the concentration there of manufacturers of silicon chips used in computers, watches, etc.

-one

chemical suffix, from Greek -one, female patronymic (as in anemone, "daughter of the wind," from anemos); in chemical use denoting a "weaker" derivative. Its use in forming acetone (1830s) gave rise to the specialized chemical sense.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/silicone

Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer and polymath, originated the concept of a programmable computer. Considered the "father of the computer",[22] he conceptualized and invented the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century.

After working on his difference engine he announced his invention in 1822, in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society, titled "Note on the application of machinery to the computation of astronomical and mathematical tables",[23] he also designed to aid in navigational calculations, in 1833 he realized that a much more general design, an analytical engine, was possible. The input of programs and data was to be provided to the machine via punched cards, a method being used at the time to direct mechanical looms such as the Jacquard loom. For output, the machine would have a printer, a curve plotter and a bell. The machine would also be able to punch numbers onto cards to be read in later. The engine would incorporate an arithmetic logic unit, control flow in the form of conditional branching and loops, and integrated memory, making it the first design for a general-purpose computer that could be described in modern terms as Turing-complete.[24][25]

The machine was about a century ahead of its time. All the parts for his machine had to be made by hand – this was a major problem for a device with thousands of parts. Eventually, the project was dissolved with the decision of the British Government to cease funding. Babbage's failure to complete the analytical engine can be chiefly attributed to political and financial difficulties as well as his desire to develop an increasingly sophisticated computer and to move ahead faster than anyone else could follow. Nevertheless, his son, Henry Babbage, completed a simplified version of the analytical engine's computing unit (the mill) in 1888. He gave a successful demonstration of its use in computing tables in 1906.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer

Babbage’s, Inc.

10741 King William Drive

Dallas, Texas 75220

U.S.A.

(214) 401-9000

Fax: (214) 401-9002

Public Company

Incorporated: 1983

Employees: 2,400

Sales: $233.4 million

Stock Exchanges: NASDAQ

SICs: 5734 Computer & Software Stores

Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California.[5] The university's campus surrounds the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís which traces its founding to 1777. The campus mirrors the Mission's architectural style and is one of the finest groupings of Mission Revival architecture and other Spanish Colonial Revival styles. The university is classified as a "Doctoral/Professional" university.[6]

The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its six colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education and Counseling Psychology, Leavey School of Business, School of Engineering, Jesuit School of Theology, and School of Law. It enrolls 6,115 undergraduate students and about 3,063 postgraduate students as of Fall 2022.

Santa Clara's sports teams are called the Broncos. Their colors are red and white. The Broncos compete at the NCAA Division I levels as members of the West Coast Conference in 19 sports. Broncos have won NCAA championships in both men's and women's soccer. Santa Clara's student athletes include current or former 58 MLB,[7] 40 NFL,[8] and 12 NBA players and 13 Olympic gold medalists.

Santa Clara's faculty and alumni include U.S. Senators and House representatives, a Pulitzer Prize winner, numerous billionaires and U.S. governors, a Director of the CIA, a U.S. Secretary of Defense, a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, a White House Press Secretary and a United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Santa Clara has Fulbright Scholars as well as 4 Rhodes Scholars.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_University

1885 was a year a full century before the modern time of Marty McFly: 1985. It had been 20 years since Hill Valley's founding and a festival was held to honor the anniversary.

The town consisted of two major dirt streets which intersected at Courthouse Square and the construction of a new county courthouse and clock tower. One of the streets went to the Hill Valley Train Station.

Most of the surrounding countryside was mountains and valleys with deciduous trees and farther out desert with mesas to the north of the town and the ravine to the southeast of the town.

https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/1885

Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer and public official who served as the first female and 78th United States attorney general. Reno, a member of the Democratic Party, held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only William Wirt.

Reno was born and raised in Miami, Florida. After leaving to attend Cornell University and Harvard Law School, she returned to Miami where she started her career at private law firms. Her first foray into government was as a staff member for the Judiciary Committee of the Florida House of Representatives. She then worked for the Dade County State Attorney's Office before returning to private practice. She was elected to the Office of State Attorney five times and was the first woman to serve as a state attorney in Florida. President Bill Clinton appointed her attorney general in 1993, a position she held until Clinton left office in 2001.

The following Department of Justice actions occurred during Reno's tenure:

The 51-day Waco siege standoff and resulting 76 deaths—the Branch Davidians—in Waco, Texas. (The standoff began on February 28, 1993, twelve days before Reno was installed as attorney general). Reno stated in congressional testimony that she authorized the FBI assault on the Branch Davidians because of reports that militia groups were en route to Waco during the standoff "either to help [Branch Davidian leader David] Koresh or to attack him."[48] The FBI had also, erroneously, reported to Reno that children were being abused at the compound.[49] Reno publicly expressed her regret of the decision to storm the compound, and accepted full responsibility for the loss of life.[50]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Reno

Ellen G. White in a group at Reno, Nevada, camp meeting 1888.

14 And deceived them that dwell on the earth by the signs which were permitted to him to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make the [t]image of the [u]beast, which had the wound of a sword, and did live.

Revelation 13:14

"14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she was instrumental within a small group of early Adventists who formed what became known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. White is considered a leading figure in American vegetarian history.[2] Smithsonian named her among the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time".[3]

Scottish doctor Alexander Wood is credited with inventing the modern hypodermic syringe in 1853. His goal was to treat pain in just one area of the body. He attached a hollow needle, an earlier invention by Irish doctor Francis Rynd, to a plunger.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky[a] (née Hahn von Rottenstern; 12 August [O.S. 31 July] 1831 – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian and American mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the leading theoretician of Theosophy.

Born into an aristocratic family in Yekaterinoslav, then in the Russian Empire (now Dnipro in Ukraine), Blavatsky traveled widely around the empire as a child. Largely self-educated, she developed an interest in Western esotericism during her teenage years. According to her later claims, in 1849 she embarked on a series of world travels, visiting Europe, the Americas, and India. She also claimed that during this period she encountered a group of spiritual adepts, the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom", who sent her to Shigatse, Tibet, where they trained her to develop a deeper understanding of the synthesis of religion, philosophy, and science.

Using his newly invented hypodermic syringe he was able to inject pain relief medicine to the area which was causing pain. His first patient was a woman experiencing neuralgia, which causes intense pain after nerve damage. She was injected at the site of her pain with the pain relief medicine morphia. Morphia was a mixture of sherry and morphine, a powerful pain relief medicine.

The Berenstain/Berenstein Confusion Doesn't Exist In A Vacuum. Close. The popular belief that the correct spelling of the Bears' last name was “Berenstein,” not "Berenstain," is one of the most prevalent examples of the Mandela Effect at work in the movie world.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Genesis 2:24

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

1 John 5:7

This Babylonian clay tablet, called Plimpton 322, was created around 1750 BCE in Sumeria, during the reign of Hammurabi the Great.

While more than 1000 years older than Pythagoras, the rows and columns on this table contain Pythagorean triples: integer solutions for the equation a2+b2=c2. For example, (3, 4, 5) is a Pythagorean triple because 32+42=52.

The exact purpose of the tablet has been debated by archeologists. Some think that it was a “teachers aid”, designed to help generate right-angled triangles. Others think it may be a very early trigonometry table.

THE HOUR OF THE TIME

Tape No. 453: "The Hermetic Marriage"

Tuesday, October 4, 1994

The Hermetic Marriage, or the marriage of the sun and the moon, the

origin of the hermetic philosophy, will astound you. You're going to

learn a few things about yourselves, about religion, and about Walt

Disney tonight.

https://www.hourofthetime .com/hermetic .html

"In 1917, the Virgin appeared in Fatima. "The Mother of God" was a smashing success, playing to overflow crowds. As a result, the Socialists of Portugal suffered a major defeat.

"Roman Catholics world-wide began praying for the conversion of Russia and the Jesuits invented the Novenas to Fatima which they could perform throughout North Africa, spreading good public relations to the Muslim world. The Arabs thought they were honoring the daughter of Muhammad, which is what the Jesuits wanted them to believe.

"As a result of the vision of Fatima, Pope Pius XII ordered his Nazi army to crush Russia and the Orthodox religion and make Russia Roman Catholic." A few years after he lost World war II, Pope Pius XII startled the world with his phoney dancing sun vision to keep Fatima in the news. It was great religious show biz and the world swallowed it.

Not surprisingly, Pope Pius was the only one to see this vision. As a result, a group of followers has grown into a Blue Army world-wide, totaling millions of faithful Roman Catholics ready to die for the blessed virgin.

"But we haven't seen anything yet. The Jesuits have their Virgin Mary scheduled to appear four or five times in China, Russia, and major appearance in the U.S.

"What has this got to do with Islam? Note Bishop Sheen's statement: "Our Lady's appearances at Fatima marked the turning point in the history of the world's 350 million Muslims. After the death of his daughter, Muhammad wrote that she "is the most holy of all women in Paradise, next to Mary."

"He believed that the Virgin Mary chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a sign and a pledge that the Muslims who believe in Christ's virgin birth, will come to believe in His divinity.

"Bishop Sheen pointed out that the pilgrim virgin statues of Our Lady of Fatima were enthusiastically received by Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere, and that many Muslims are now coming into the Roman Catholic Church." Article from: http://www.cloakanddagger .de/lenny/alberto_rivera.htm

How the Vatican created Islam (remnantofgod.org)

The Twilight Zone - I of Newton 666 - Sherman Hemsley & Ron Glass (1985)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0ZRKSoN7Vg

Black Rood of Scotland

The Catholic Encyclopedia reports that Saint Margaret brought the cross from Waltham Abbey, after which it was kept in Holyrood Abbey, which her son erected in Edinburgh.[1]

Holy Cross Abbey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_(cross)

King Charles III's coronation to feature shards of "True Cross" gifted by Pope Francis

By Haley Ott

April 21, 2023 / 4:24 AM EDT / CBS News

King Charles III's coronation: What to know for the centuries-old ceremony

After the coronation, the cross will return to Wales, where it will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic churches there, Reuters reported.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/king-charles-coronation-pope-francis-true-cross/

The cross became the object of pilgrimage, notably by Harold Godwinson. "Holy Cross" became the battle-cry of Harold's armies at the battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings. The Holy Rood is said to have foretold Harold's defeat at Hastings: on the way there from the Battle of Stamford Bridge he stopped off at Waltham Abbey to pray, and the legend is that the cross "bowed down" off the wall as he did so, taken as a portent of doom. There have been suggestions that the smaller cross became the "Holy Rood" which was carried to Scotland from Waltham Abbey by St Margaret. There has been further speculation that the site the relics were excavated from was the burial site of Joseph of Arimathea as some versions of the Grail Story conflate the hills of Montacute and Glastonbury, both being dedicated to St Michael. Given that a black flint cross was said to have been carried to Scotland from Waltham, it seems possible that this was one of, or part of one of, the Montacute crosses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_(cross)

The d'Isigny family traces back to before the Norman conquest of England, and William The Conqueror (1028–82) had military commanders named d'Isigny. In 1924, Isigny was renamed Isigny-sur-Mer.

The port was important in facilitating inshore navigation, allowing commercial and industrial activity to be developed and maintained (import of wood from the North; export coal from the mine at Littry and butter). Fishing was important until the end of the 1970s (mussel fishing and small vessels crewed by fishermen from the Hogues quarter). The famous "Caïeu d'Isigny" is a hymn to Isigny's sailors and fishermen, created in 1869 by Alfred Rossel (1841–1926).

Isigny was more than 60% destroyed by two bombardments on 8 June 1944 and has since been almost entirely rebuilt. Isigny played its part in the D-Day landings: Twenty small Dutch schuyts were employed by the Americans to bring stores and equipment inland from the larger cargo ships that were moored off-shore. Charles de Gaulle paid its inhabitants visits on 14 June 1944 and 16 June 1946.

The Disney surname is derived from the town.[4] The earliest known ancestor of Walt Disney, with a similar name, was Jean-Christophe d'Isigny ("of Isigny"),[5] the branch settled in what is today called Norton Disney in England.

On 1 January 2017, the commune was extended by being merged with the former communes of Castilly, Neuilly-la-Forêt, Les Oubeaux, and Vouilly.[6] Until 2015, Isigny-sur-Mer was the seat of the canton of Isigny-sur-Mer, which included 24 communes and had a population of 9,935.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isigny-sur-Mer

Revelation 2:7

1599 Geneva Bible

7 [a]Let him that hath an ear hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches: To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in [b]the midst of the [c]Paradise of God.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2011%3A15%2CMark%204%3A23%2CRevelation%202%3A7%2CRevelation%202%3A11%2CRevelation%202%3A17%2CRevelation%202%3A29&version=GNV

Devil: the enemy of perfection, particularly of poverty [553]; his or her illusions must be guarded against [260]; against his or her attacks those who are dying must be defended [595]

Index

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Sign of the horns, a hand and two-finger gesture also called Devil's Horns, mano cornuta and corna

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Horns_(disambiguation)

The History of Disney’s Mickey Mouse Ears

by Amanda Pemberton | May 18, 2023 | Disney Style

https://www.wdw-magazine.com/disney-mickey-mouse-ears-history/

Revelation 2:17

1599 Geneva Bible

17 [a]Let him that hath an ear, hear what the spirit saith unto the Churches. To him that overcometh, will I give to eat [b]of the [c]Manna that is hid, and will give him a [d][e]white stone, and in the stone a new [f]name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2011%3A15%2CMark%204%3A23%2CRevelation%202%3A7%2CRevelation%202%3A11%2CRevelation%202%3A17%2CRevelation%202%3A29&version=GNV

Effigy of Sir William D'Isney in the parish church of Norton Disney, Lincolnshire

Sir William D'Isney. Tomb effigy of 13th century knight Sir William Disney 1395497 in St.Peter's church

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_family#/media/File:Sir_William_D'Isney_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1395506.jpg

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe is a basilica located in Orlando, Florida at 8300 Vineland Avenue. It was built to service the large number of Catholic tourists who visit the attractions in the Greater Orlando area. While it is a 2,000-seat church of the Diocese of Orlando and provides Mass for the faithful, it has also become a regional tourist attraction. In 2009, it was designated as the 63rd minor basilica in the United States. Since it is not a parish only the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist are celebrated. No weekly bulletins are distributed.

The Shrine consists of the main church, the Rosary Garden, the Mother & Child Outdoor Chapel, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the Shrine Museum, and a gift shop.

History

After the grand opening of Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, the Diocese of Orlando determined that the thousands of Catholics visiting from around the world needed a place to attend Mass. The Diocese arranged for Masses at several area hotels, and in the spring of 1975 Bishop Thomas Grady placed Father Fachtna Joseph Harte in charge of tourism ministry. With projections predicting over 30 million annual visitors to Greater Orlando in the 1970s, Fr. Harte and Bishop Grady worked to establish a permanent location. In 1979, property was purchased for a new facility, named under the patronage of the Virgin Mary.[1]

On December 8, 1984, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, enough funds had been raised to break ground for the first phase of construction. Within two years, the initial facility was completed and on November 23, 1986, the Feast of Christ the King, the first phase was blessed by Archbishop Pio Laghi, Papal Nuncio to the United States. Phase one included landscaping, a building to use as a church and offices, and a bell tower.

On August 22, 1990, the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ground was broken for a main church that would seat as many as 2,000 people. “We want the shrine to be a temple, a sacred place to give glory to God and honor our mother,” said Bishop Norbert Dorsey. “Above all we want it to be a spiritual home, a real hearth.”[1]

At long last, on January 31, 1993, the first Mass was celebrated in the new church. And on August 22, 1993, the church was dedicated. Archbishop Pio Laghi was once again present. Bishop Dorsey proclaimed “a day of great rejoicing” and asked God’s grace upon all who would be drawn to the Shrine.[1]

The use of the title "Mary, Queen of the Universe" is drawn from section 59 of Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church issued in 1964 by the Second Vatican Council, which stated: "Finally, the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death."[2] This usage could reflect Orlando's connection to nearby Cape Canaveral, the liftoff point for America's crewed space program, as spaceflight was likely the inspiration for the term. Cape Canaveral is part of the Diocese of Orlando.

In 2004, Archbishop Thomas Wenski petitioned the USCCB to ask for the Shrine to be elevated from a diocesan to a National Shrine. The petition was granted and “National” was added to the name.[1]

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops held their spring convocation here in 2008.[3] On July 17, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI declared the Shrine a minor basilica because of its ministry to the estimated half million pilgrims and tourists.[4]

Facts

The fourteen aisle windows are entitled "The Magnificat Windows"

It also ministers to Catholic workers at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort.

It is the nearest Catholic church to Walt Disney World.

The Outdoor Chapel features a bronze sculpture of the Mother and Child by Jerzy Kenar

The Museum displays Church art from around the world

The Shrine contains an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) sculpture featuring Mary and Baby Jesus bearing the same name "Mary, Queen of the Universe" sculpted by Jill Burkee of white marble from Carrara, Italy.

In 2015, Bishop John Noonan designated the central door as a Holy Door as part of the celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, and opened it on December 13.[5]

Rectors of the Basilica

Msgr. F. Joseph Harte, 1975 - 2007

Fr. Edward McCarthy, 2007-2011

Fr. Paul Henry, 2011 - 2020

Fr. Robert Webster, 2020 - 2022

Fr. Anthony Aarons, 2022-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Mary,_Queen_of_the_Universe

What's So Special About the Atacama Desert?

By Jennifer Leman published February 12, 2019

Chile's Atacama Desert, the driest nonpolar desert on Earth, stretches across a roughly 600-mile (1,000 kilometers) tract of land wedged between the coastal Cordillera de la Costa mountain range and the Andes Mountains. The region boasts stunning geologic formations and has provided scientists with a wealth of research opportunities.

Old, hot and dry

The Atacama is the oldest desert on Earth and has experienced semiarid conditions for roughly the past 150 million years, according to a paper in the November 2018 issue of Nature. Scientists estimate that the desert's inner core has been hyperarid for roughly 15 million years, thanks to a combination of unique geologic and atmospheric conditions in the area. This perfectly parched inner-desert region spans roughly 50,000 square miles (130,000 square km), according to soil scientist Ronald Amundson of the University of California, Berkeley.

The Atacama is tucked in the shadow of the snow-capped Andes Mountains, which block rainfall from the east. To the west, the upwelling of cold water from deep in the Pacific Ocean promotes atmospheric conditions that hamper the evaporation of seawater and prevent the formation of clouds and rain. [Photos: The Haunting Splendor of Chile's Atacama Desert]

In other deserts around the world, like the Sahara, the mercury can soar above 130 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). But temperatures in the Atacama are comparatively mild throughout the year. The average temperature in the desert is about 63 degrees F (18 degrees C).

An analogue for other worlds

The outskirts of the Atacama are home to communities of organisms that have adapted to thrive in harsh conditions. The desert's hyperarid core, however, is largely devoid of plant and animal life, save for a few strains of microbial life. Scientists hope that studying the dry, dusty conditions of the Atacama will reveal secrets about the key to life in other parts of the universe, such as Mars.

"It's not the biology that makes scientists eager to study in the Atacama Desert — it's the lack of biology," said Henry Sun, an astrobiologist at the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada. Researchers suspect that the microbes that inhabit the desert's hyperarid core — which slip into a sort of stasis during periods of aridity — could survive life on the Red Planet.

"It's a really interesting place to see how tenacious life is on Earth and what the climatic limits to life as we know it really are," said Amundson.

But even the most tenacious of life-forms can be disrupted.

On average, the driest part of the Atacama receives less than a millimeter of rain each year. In rare cases, torrents of rain do fall, and life responds. In 2017, wildflowers bloomed the aftermath of a dramatic downpour. Similar rainstorms were reported in March and August of 2015.

Although the rains awakened fields of wildflowers, the floods had devastating consequences for microbial life in the desert, which has adapted to survive without water. Many microbes in the desert's hyperarid core, for instance, burst after absorbing too much rainwater.

Scientists suspect that these catastrophic storms may become more frequent as the climate changes and atmospheric conditions in the Pacific Ocean fluctuate. "Instead of making the desert drier, climate change could actually make it wetter," said Amundson.

Geologic wonderland

Much of the Atacama Desert's core is caked in thick salt deposits called playas, which can stretch for miles and are nearly half a meter thick (1.6 feet) in some places. The desert is speckled with stones that have been carried across the playas by powerful wind gusts. Alluvial fans, which are large, fan-shaped sediment deposits, connect the desert plateau with the mountains that surround it and suggest that water once flowed from the Andes into the desert.

The Atacama also features a 435-mile-long (700 km) and 12-mile-wide (20 km) swath of desert known as the nitrate belt. Nitrate minerals can be found in everything from explosives to fertilizer and were mined extensively in the Atacama before the 1930s.

Traditionally scraped from the desert's crusty surface or mined from rocky veins, nitrates were initially thought to be carried to the desert by wind-swept sea spray. Recently, scientists discovered that one of the sources for the desert's "white gold" might be ancient, evaporated groundwater.

Other materials, such as lithium, copper and iodine, have also been mined nearby; in some cases, the remnants of these mining operations can be seen from space.

A dazzling array of telescopes

At 16,570 feet (5,050 meters) in elevation, the Atacama Desert plateau may be the best place in the world to spot the solar system's secrets. To the delight of amateur astronomers, the desert sees as many as 330 cloud-free nights each year. High along the Atacama Desert plateau, an array of observatories track the celestial bodies in our solar system and beyond.

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array/submillimeter (ALMA) — a network of 66 telescopes run by an international collaboration of scientific organizations from Europe, North America, East Asia and the Republic of Chile — spies on faraway stars and the planets birthed around them.

The European Space Observatory's Very Large Telescope, helped spot the TRAPPIST-1 system of Earth-like planets, located a mere 40 light-years from Earth, and has gathered data on distant exoplanet atmospheres. This telescope, along with others, has uncovered some of the universe's most intriguing oddities and provided a wealth of data to researchers and astronomers worldwide.

https://www.livescience.com/64752-atacama-desert.html

"Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson on the ISS, looking out of the cupola window (Mars photoshopped to replace Earth). "

Human Missions to Mars: Lessons from COVID-19 – Red Planet Dispatch (nasa.gov)

https://blogs.nasa.gov/redplanetdispatch/2020/10/05/human-missions-to-mars-lessons-from-covid-19/

Walking the Field of Mars

View across the MARTIAN Fields from Piazza Venezia

https://www.deliciousitaly.com/lazio-rome-itineraries/field-of-mars

"Mars, ancient Roman deity, in importance second only to Jupiter. Little is known of his original character, and that character (chiefly from the cult at Rome) is variously interpreted. It is clear that by historical times he had developed into a god of war; in Roman literature he was protector of Rome, a nation proud in war. Mars’s festivals at Rome occurred in the spring and the fall—the beginning and the end of both the agricultural and the military seasons. The month of March, which was named after him, was especially filled with festivals wholly or partially in his honour; the members of the ancient priesthood of the Salii, who were particularly associated with Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, came out several times during the month to dance their ceremonial war dance in old-fashioned armour and chant a hymn to the gods. October was also an important month for Mars. At the festival of the October Horse on October 15, a two-horse chariot race was held in the Campus Martius, and on October 19 the Armilustrium marked the purification of the arms of war and their storage for the winter. The god was invoked in the ancient hymn of the Arval Brothers, whose religious duties had as their object to keep off enemies of all kinds from crops and herds. Until the time of Augustus, Mars had only two temples at Rome: one was in the Campus Martius, the exercising ground of the army; the other was outside the Porta Capena. Within the city there was a sacrarium (“shrine,” or “sanctuary”) of Mars in the regia, originally the king’s house, in which the sacred spears of Mars were kept; upon the outbreak of war the consul had to shake the spears saying, “Mars vigila” (“Mars, wake up!”). Under Augustus the worship of Mars at Rome gained a new impetus; not only was he traditional guardian of the military affairs of the Roman state but, as Mars Ultor (“Mars the Avenger”), he became the personal guardian of the emperor in his role as avenger of Caesar. His worship at times rivaled that of Capitoline Jupiter, and about AD 250 Mars became the most prominent of the di militares (“military gods”) worshiped by the Roman legions. In literature and art he is hardly distinguished from the Greek Ares. There are several Roman myths about Mars. In one, Hera bore him, without Zeus, at the touch of a magic herb given her by Flora. In another, he was the father of Romulus and Remus by Rhea Silvia, a Vestal Virgin. Ovid, in Fasti, tells of Mars’s attempt to seduce Minerva. In the only purely Roman myth, he is tricked into marrying the aged Anna Perenna." Mars | Roman god | Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mars-Roman-god

"Worship and sacrifice

PEOPLE FEARED THE GODS and sought to win their favor or ask for their help. People would pray and make offerings at temples or to seek divine favors or to give thanks afterward. Offerings came in all shapes and sizes, from coins and brooches left by the poor, to SILVER statues donated by the rich. Augustus promised Mars, a new temple if the god helped him to avenge the death of Caesar, and today the remains of the Temple of MARS the Avenger can still be seen in Rome. People also sacrificed food and drink, and burned incense on altars. Animal sacrifices were common, ranging from a single bird to a whole herd of cattle. There were few full time priests or priestesses, except for the Vestal Virgins, who guarded the holy flame of the goddess Vesta in Rome. More priests were important people in public life for whom a priesthood was one of many duties. The emperor was chief priest of Rome. The title was Pontifex Maximus, or chief bridge builder, because he bridged between the people and the gods." page 52

"Ancient Rome"

by Eyewitness Books

"What shall I say of our temporal coadjutors? Are they not also portrayed in the Constitutions men of good conscience, peaceful, cooperative,

lovers of perfection and given to devotion, happy with Martha's part?" The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

"Martha is a feminine given name (Latin from Ancient Greek Μάρθα (Mártha), from Aramaic מרתא (Mārtā) "the mistress" or "the lady", from מרה "mistress", feminine of מרי "master"). Variants in different languages: Maata (Maori)"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_(given_name)

Both Mario and Maria (as well as their equivalents in other Romance languages) are derived from the Latin male name Marius. But, Maria was also the Latinised form of the name of Jesus' mother, which would have been, in Aramaic, מרים, or, in the Latin alphabet, Maryam or Miriam."

https://englishlanguagethoughts.com/2020/12/13/mario/#:~:text=Both%20Mario%20and%20Maria%20(as,Latin%20alphabet%2C%20Maryam%20or%20Miriam.

Marius is a male given name, a Roman family name, and a modern surname.

The name Marius was used by members of the Roman gens Maria. It is thought to be derived from either[citation needed] the Roman war god Mars or from the Latin root mas or maris meaning "male". It may also derive from the Latin word mare meaning "sea", the plural of which is maria.

In Christian times, it was syncretized as a masculine form of the unrelated feminine given name Maria, from the Hebrew Miriam, Aramaic variant Mariam, and used alongside it.

Today, the name Marius is a common given name in Romania, Norway, and Lithuania. The name is also used in the Philippines, France, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa.

The Greek name Marios (Μάριος), the Italian and Spanish name Mario, the Polish name Mariusz, and the Portuguese name Mário are all derived from Marius."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marius_(name)

"Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio[b] on 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church, the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Francis is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the 8th century papacy of Syrian pope Gregory III."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis

The Basilica of Saint-Denis (French: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, now formally known as the Basilique-cathédrale de Saint-Denis[1]) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and architecturally as its choir, completed in 1144, is widely considered the first structure to employ all of the elements of Gothic architecture.[2][3]

The basilica became a place of pilgrimage and a necropolis containing the tombs of the kings of France, including nearly every king from the 10th century to Louis XVIII in the 19th century. Henry IV of France came to Saint-Denis formally to renounce his Protestant faith and become a Catholic. The queens of France were crowned at Saint-Denis, and the royal regalia, including the sword used for crowning the kings and the royal sceptre, were kept at Saint-Denis between coronations.[4]

The site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times. The archaeological remains still lie beneath the cathedral; the graves indicate a mixture of Christian and pre-Christian burial practices.[5] Around the year 475 AD, St. Genevieve purchased some land and built Saint-Denys de la Chapelle. In 636, on the orders of Dagobert I, the relics of Saint Denis, a patron saint of France, were reinterred in the basilica. The relics of St-Denis, which had been transferred to the parish church of the town in 1795, were brought back again to the abbey in 1819.[6]

In the 12th century, the Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic building.[7] In the following century the master-builder Pierre de Montreuil rebuilt the nave and the transepts in the new Rayonnant Gothic style.[4]

The abbey church became a cathedral on the formation of the Diocese of Saint-Denis by Pope Paul VI in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, currently (since 2009) Pascal Delannoy. Although known as the "Basilica of St Denis", the cathedral has not been granted the title of Minor Basilica by the Vatican.[8]

The 86-metre (282-foot) tall spire, dismantled in the 19th century, is to be rebuilt. The project, initiated more than 30 years ago, was to have begun in May 2020, and is expected to take about 11 years at a cost of about €28 million.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Saint-Denis

All that remains of the former Benedictine Abbey of Montmartre, this church dates back to the 12th century and is one of the oldest in Paris, though it has been much restored. Built atop a Roman temple to Mars, it was witness to the founding of the Jesuits in 1534, who met in the crypt under the guidance of Ignatius of Loyola.

Some say that the name Montmartre is derived from ‘Mons Martis’ (Latin for Mount of Mars); others prefer the Christian ‘Mont Martyr’ (Mount of the Martyr), a reference to the 3rd-century St Denis, who, according to legend, walked across Montmartre and on to the site of today’s Basilique de St-Denis after having been beheaded by Roman priests.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/paris/montmartre-and-northern-paris/attractions/eglise-st-pierre-de-montmartre/a/poi-sig/1264286/1323143

Tranquility Base (Latin: Statio Tranquillitatis) is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, humans landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Module Eagle at approximately 20:17:40 UTC. Armstrong exited the spacecraft six hours and 39 minutes after touchdown, followed 19 minutes later by Aldrin. The astronauts spent two hours and 31 minutes examining and photographing the lunar surface, setting up several scientific experiment packages, and collecting 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of dirt and rock samples for return to Earth. They lifted off the surface on July 21 at 17:54 UTC.

Tranquility Base was named by Aldrin and Armstrong, and first announced by Armstrong when the Lunar Module Eagle landed. It is located in the south-western corner of the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility").[1] The U.S. states of California and New Mexico have registered Tranquility Base as a heritage site associated with them, but Texas, the U.S. National Park Service, and UNESCO have declined to do so, due to the technicality that it is not located within their borders.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranquility_Base

[443] 3. 1However, since the Society s religious tranquility and spiritual occupations preclude the distraction and other detriments entailed in holding the office of judge in civil or criminal affairs, 2there should be no acceptance of such jurisdiction, which the Society would be required to exercise either by itself or through others who depend upon it. 3However, for what properly pertains to the well-being of the university, it is desirable that in regard to the students the ordinary civil or ecclesiastical ministry of justice should carry out the will of the rector of the university when he has expressed it in regard to punishing the students [B]; 4and that this ministry should in general give its support in matters pertaining to the studies, especially when such matters have been recommended to it by the rector [C].

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

"Does the Church Have Jurisdiction Over the Moon?

Author: Adelaide Mena Does the Church Have Jurisdiction Over the Moon? Adelaide Mena

Fifty years ago, Father Richard Walsh, a newly ordained priest from Ireland, was settling into his first assignment at his first parish — Church of Our Saviour in Cocoa Beach, Florida, adjusting to the sun and sand and salt that were so different from the cool, green Irish farmland of his youth. Only a few miles away, human history would change forever from the launchpads at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Man was going to the moon. “It was a very exciting time,” Father Walsh told Our Sunday Visitor. “Every time there was a shot coming up, whether it was manned or unmanned, we would pray for it at Mass,” he said, adding that many of the staff and astronauts working on the space program attended the parish. Apollo missions Father Walsh arrived in Cocoa Beach in 1968, shortly before the launches of Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 — manned flights that circled the Earth and the moon, respectively. Over the course of the Apollo program, he was able to witness several “moonshot” launches and developed relationships with both the ground and space crews of the space missions. Indeed, nearly the entire parish was involved in the space program, Father Walsh recalled. “There was a huge excitement when it was going up, and when it touched back down there was a certain amount of relief,” he said of the atmosphere at Church of Our Saviour during the launches he witnessed between 1969 and 1972. “It was always, you know, a shot in the dark, because they d had their share of failures as well.” The Apollo space program was one of several human spaceflight programs initiated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the only one to place human beings on the surface of the moon. Dedicated to fulfilling President John F. Kennedy’s vision of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth” before the end of the 1960s, the scientists and astronauts of the Apollo program persevered through tragic disasters and close calls to achieve what was once thought to be impossible: On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the surface of the moon. The Apollo program successfully was able to land five more manned missions on the moon’s surface. One other landing, Apollo 13, was attempted, however it was abandoned after an accident jeopardized the crew’s safety. ‘Bishop of the moon’ However, the moon mission was not the only change affecting Catholics of Central Florida in the late 1960s. In June 1968, only six months before Apollo 8 orbited the moon for the first time, the Diocese of Orlando was founded, encompassing several counties — including Brevard County, where Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center are located. Following the moon landing, the first bishop of Orlando, then-Bishop, later Archbishop, William Borders claimed to Blessed Pope Paul VI that the Pontiff was speaking with the “bishop of the moon.” According to diocesan records, when the Pope was confused about Bishop Borders’ claim, the bishop explained that according to the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which was in effect at the time, newly discovered territories fell under the jurisdiction of the diocese from where the expedition originated — in this case, the Diocese of Orlando. Of course, Bishop Borders was not the only bishop to claim jurisdiction over the moon under Canon Law. New York Archbishop Terence Cooke claimed jurisdiction as the vicar of the Military Ordinariate, which had jurisdiction over military bases — including the one on Cape Canaveral. Notably, the 1917 Code states that the Pope is the one ultimately responsible for delegating territorial jurisdiction to dioceses. Father John C. Giel, chancellor for Canonical Affairs for the Diocese of Orlando, also notes that ultimately jurisdiction in the Code of Canon Law “means nothing if there is no one to have jurisdiction over. “Since we have yet to find any life on the moon,” he said, “the story only emphasizes Bishop Border’s good and humorous nature that allowed him to be such a good first bishop for central Florida.” Spiritual care Regardless of the ultimate ecclesial jurisdiction of the moon, the Apollo program was an integral part of the parish life at Church of Our Saviour and in the personal life of Father Walsh. While coming to a community so involved in space exploration “was like coming into a new world,” many of the Catholic NASA employees and contractors “were very committed to the Faith,” the Irish priest recalled. Some of the most critical members of the space program attended the parish regularly. “The launch director of the moonshots was a parishioner, and the launch director of the unmanned launches was a parishioner also.” Both the director of launch operations for the manned missions, Walter “Kappy” Kapyran, and the director of unmanned launch operations, Bob Gray, were active in the parish and made sure their parish priests had spots at any launches they could attend. However, the risky nature of the space program was not lost on either Father Walsh or the men and women involved in the Apollo program. The priest recalled one visit from an astronaut who came to the parish for spiritual care shortly before departing on the ill-fated Apollo 13. The astronaut in question “wasn’t supposed to fly, he just took someone’s place at the last moment. Three days before the actual launch he showed up at the church and wanted to go to Confession and Communion before he went up into space,” Father Walsh told OSV. History made While Father Walsh witnessed several Apollo launches, ironically there was one launch that the priest did miss: Apollo 11. “I was present at almost all of the big launches except for the actual moon launch,” Father Walsh said, explaining that he spent most of the summer of 1969 in Washington, D.C., to pursue further studies at The Catholic University of America. Because of this, he ended up watching the launch on television with his fellow students. “I was delighted to be able to see it, but I think I would have been much happier if I had been at Cocoa Beach or at Kennedy Space Center for the actual event,” he said matter-of-factly. “It was such a historic event.” Adelaide Mena writes for Our Sunday Visitor, from Washington. D.C. L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English 19 July 2019, page 6 For subscriptions to the English edition, contact: Our Sunday Visitor: L'Osservatore Romano"

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/does-the-church-have-jurisdiction-over-the-moon-13348

"In the above video, Bro. Joshua Aaron Poole, 32°, House of the Temple Museum Curator and Archival Associate, discusses the history of this unique piece that traveled to the moon with astronaut “Buzz” Aldrin on Apollo XI in 1969 and the flag’s significance to Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite. https://scottishrite.org/scottish-rite-myths-and-facts/featured-artifact-scottish-rite-flag-went-moon/

"Hamaliel—Thereafter, my brother, let this globe be an emblem to remind you of true liberty, for though perfectly regular in form, though it measures equally in every direction it has no boundaries or lines of limitation; where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

(Brother Truth again conducts him once around the room.)

Saphael—God is the first ; indestructable, eternal, uncreated, indivisible. Wisdom, justice, truth, mercy, with harmony and love are of his essence, and eternity and infinitude of extension. He is silent, and consents with mind, and is known to soul through mind alone. In him were all things originally contained and from him all things were evolved. (Halts in front of Saphael.)

Saphael—Brother Truth, whom do you conduct?

Brother Truth—A Commander of the Temple who desires to go out of darkness and to see the true light, and to know the true light in all its purity, and to ask tidings of the times that are promised to man.

Saphael—With the haughty crown of vanity and pride upon his forehead, how can he hope to inhabit Eden, where all are equal sons of the Great Architect of the Universe. This arrogant Commander must cast his crown to his feet if he wishes to proceed. (Brother Truth divests him of his crown.)

Brother Truth—Saphael, it is done.

Saphael—Then let him look to this cross, It is the sign of the sacred dogma of equality, and with it for a monitor we may yet hope for the reign of God on earth. The meek shall inherit the earth.

(Brother Truth again conducts him once around the room.)

Michael—In the beginning, the universe was one soul* He was the all ; alone with time and space, and infinite as they. He had his thoughts : ^^I create worlds'' and lo ! the universe and the laws of harmony and motion that rule it; the first of a thought of God, and the bird and beast, and every living thing but man, and light and air, and the mysterious currents, and the dominion of mysterious numbers. (Halts in front of Michael.)

Michael—Brother Truth, whom do you conduct ?

Brother Truth—^A Commander of the Temple, who desires to go out of darkness and to see the true light, and to know the true light in all its purity, and to ask tidings of the timos that are promised to man.

Michael—^In vain does this man seek to enjoy the happiness of Eden on earth; for he clutches in his hand the treasure of human avarice. (Brother Truth takes the purse from the candidate and hands it to Michael.)

Brother Truth—Michael,'''' he casts it before you to be put into the common treasury.

Michael—Then let him wear the sign of the ardent dove, to indicate that his soul will ever cherish affection for his fellow-man. (Invests him with it.)

Michael—Brother Trnth, yon will now conduct the candidate to Father Adam,''^ (Order is obeyed.)

Father Adam—My son, dost thou desire to be further instructed in these great primitive truths, which are the treasures of the archives of masonry? Candidate~l do.

Father Adam—Art thou prepared to give us thy most solemn pledge and promise that thou wilt strenuously endeavor faithfully to practice that pure morality that flows as a result from the great truths that thou hast heard ; to repent of^ and regret thy short-comings, and thy errors, and to submit patiently to gentle and brotherly rebuke and reprimand if thou shouldest offend? Candidate—I am.

Father Adam—Go, then, and upon thy bended knees, before the altar of truth and the great light, emblem of the God of the Patriarchs, prepare to receive the solemn obligation of a Knight of the Sun. (Brother Truth conducts him to the altar^ and causes him to kneel on both knees.)

"OBLIGATION KNIGHTS OF THE SUN.

I. .( promise and swear^ in the presence of the I Great Architect of the Universe, and of all the brethren here present, never to take arms against my country, directly or indirectly, in any conspiracy whatever. I furthermore promise and swear never to reveal any of the secrets of the degree of Knights of the Sun, to any person or persons unless duly qualified to receive the same, and never give my consent to the admission of any one into our mysteries, until after the most scrupulous circumspection and full knowledge of his life and conversation, and who has given at all times full proof of his zeal and fervent attachment for the order, and a submission at all times to the consistory of Princes of the Royal Secret. I furthermore promise and swear never to confer the degree of Knights of the Sun, without having a permission in writing from the Grand Consistory or from a Grand Inspector or Deputy. j^ I furthermore promise and swear to redouble my zeal ffoi^ all my brethren, Knights and Princes, and should I IwillfuUy violate this my obligation, may my brethren seize me and thrust my tongue through with a red hot iron, to pluck out my eyes and deprive me of smelling and seeing, to cut off my hands and expose me in that condition in the field to be devoured by the voracious animals, and if none can be found, may the lightning of heaven execute on me the same vengeance. So may God maintain me in righteousness and equity. Amen. " Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated Volume 2

https://ia800501.us.archive.org/10/items/scotchritemasonr02blan/scotchritemasonr02blan.pdf

"Space, the final frontier and the quest to boldly go where no man has gone before!" Well, not quite. At this point in history, mankind has been to space several times and has even stepped foot on the moon. But did you know that some of these men were masons? What about that one of them actually claimed the moon as masonic territory for the Grand Lodge of Texas? That man would be none other than Buzz Aldrin, 33°. Born on January 20, 1930, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, 33°, was the son of Edwin Aldrin Sr., a career military man, and Marion Gaddys. Bro. Aldrin graduated from Montclair High School in 1947 and went on to receive an appointment at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated third in his class in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. After graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and was a Fighter Pilot who flew 66 combat missions during the Korean War. When he returned home from the War he earned a Doctorate of Science in Astronautics in 1963 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That same year Aldrin was selected to be a member of NASA’s third crop of Astronauts. Bro. Aldrin was a member of two missions before the famed Apollo 11, those were Gemini 9A and Gemini 12. During the Gemini 12 mission, he was confirmed as a pilot for NASA and set a record for extravehicular activity, which are actions that take place outside a spacecraft such as spacewalks and moonwalks. Aldrin’s record of 7 hours and 52 minutes stood until it was surpassed on Apollo 14, but it still set the precedent that astronauts could work outside a spacecraft. On July 29, 1969, Apollo 11 made their first lunar landing, and the next day Buzz Aldrin became the second person to walk on the moon. While walking on the surface he described the moon as “magnificent desolation.” After Apollo 11, Aldrin worked with NASA until 1971. Afterward, Bro. Aldrin was assigned as Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He served in this capacity until March 1972, when he retired from Active Duty after 21 years of service. Post-retirement, Bro. Aldrin has remained an active supporter of space travel. He has worked with the Florida Institute of Technology and engineers at Purdue University to develop technology and plans to facilitate a manned mission to Mars. Bro. Aldrin currently resides in Satellite Beach, Florida. Brother Aldrin is a member of both Montclair Lodge No. 44 in New Jersey and Clear Lake Lodge No. 1417 in Seabrook, Texas. Additionally he is a member of Scottish Rite in the Valley of Houston where he received his 33°, and the Ararat Shrine Temple in Kansas City, MO. During the Apollo 11 mission, Bro. Aldrin carried a hand made silk flag (pictured on the left) bearing the words “Supreme Council, 33° Southern Jurisdiction, USA.” He also carried a proclamation from the Grand Lodge of Texas issued by then Grand Master J. Guy Smith. The act of Aldrin carrying this proclamation eventually inspired the Chartering of Tranquility Lodge #2000. Named after the landing site of Apollo 11, Tranquility Moon Base."

Famous Freemason From History: Buzz Aldrin Scottish Rite Boston - News

https://www.scottishriteboston.net/en/article_view.php?news_id=835#.ZDtGVrrMJD9

"Albert Einstein once said, “two things inspire me to awe – the starry heavens above and the moral universe within.” Outer space conjures up a sense of mystery and the awe Einstein references. excitement. Looking up at the starry sky at night, we are often met with a feeling that can only be described as a mix of wonder. This simple action of looking up reminds us that there is something bigger than the tiny space we currently take up in the world. Many of us remember that special day on July 20, 1969 when our feelings of awe were palpable as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took small steps for man and giant leaps for mankind. The historic Apollo 11 tour went down in world history, and will always be known as one of the most important space missions of all time. The moonwalk was spectacularly important for NASA, science, and society as a whole. In addition,the first trip to the moon was also important for Freemasonry. Why? Because the Apollo 11 mission to the moon was piloted by none other than Buzz Aldrin, an active Freemason.

Both Feet on the Ground

You might know him as one of the first men on the moon, but we know him as the first Mason on the moon. Brother Edwin Eugene (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr. was an active Mason and is a member of Clear Lake Lodge No. 1417, AF&AM in Seabrook, Texas. He was born January 20, 1930 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey and attended The United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating third in his class in 1951. Brother Aldrin later went on to receive a PhD in Astronautics from M.I.T. in 1963. He served in the Korean War and and is credited with two enemy fighter kills during his tour.Brother Aldrin was initiated into Freemasonry at Oak Park Lodge No. 864 in Alabama and raised at Lawrence N. Greenleaf Lodge, No. 169 in Colorado. He is also a member of York Rite and Arabia Shrine Temple of Houston.

Shooting For The Moon

On the crest of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, The Grand Master of Texas approved Brother Aldrin’s request to open a Representation of the Grand Lodge of Texas on the Moon and, thereby, establish Masonic Territorial Jurisdiction there. He also asked Buzz to carry a special deputation on his journey. Aldrin signed this deputation and confirmed that it was, indeed, carried to the moon. Aldrin also carried a handmade silk Masonic flag with him on his space journey, embroidered with the words, “Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, USA.” After his mission on September 16, 1969, Brother Aldrin visited the House of the Temple in Washington, DC, and presented the flag to Grand Commander Luther Smith. The flag is now located in the archives of the House of the Temple.

The Sky’s the Limit

It’s no secret that there are a number of Masonic astronauts and the questions have been posed: Why are so many astronauts also Masons? And what did the first moonwalk have to do with Masonry? The answer boils down to one simple word: progress. Freemasons have always been on the cutting edge of new advancements and behind the development of impactful breakthroughs and innovations.If the goal is to spread light wherever we go, then why not spread light past earth’s boundaries and into the darkest places we can reach? Brother Aldrin did just that, proving the point that “when man reaches new worlds, Masonry will be there.” Check back into the blog over the next few weeks for more famous Masonic men that have made the venture into the great unknown."

Scottish Rite, NMJ | Buzz Aldrin, Freemason

https://scottishritenmj.org/blog/to-the-moon-and-back-with-buzz-aldrin

"All must hope that someday America would penetrate the deepest secrets of the mysterious orb, the moon," wrote Jules Verne in his 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon. A little more than 100 years after Verne published his science fiction adventure, Americans achieved this dream when astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. What might not be as widely known are the Masonic links to the moon landing fifty years ago and the early years of the NASA manned space program. III. Aldrin, 33rd degree, the second man to step on the moon's surface in the Apollo 11 lunar landing, was a member of Clear Lake Lodge No. 1417 of Seabrook, Texas, as well as a member of the Scottish Rite bodies. Relatively unpublicized is the fact is that Bro. Aldrin carried a double-headed eagle banner of the Scottish Rite, with an inset square and compasses and Grand Commander's emblem, on his space journey. Through his auspices, and acting under special deputation of the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas, Tranquility Lodge No. 2000 was founded in the Sea of Tranquility, though "meeting in Texas until a proper lodge room is constructed on the moon." (See sidebar.) Because of the historic feat of Bro. Aldrin and his fellow crew members, it would be easy to think of him as the one Mason synonymous with space flight. In fact, this would be untrue; Freemasons were involved in the American space program every step of the way that culminated with Neil Armstrong's "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

III. John H. Glenn, Jr., 33rd degree, initially achieved fame as the third American to be launched into space and the first American to orbit the earth, doing so in Project Mercury's 'Friendship 7" spacecraft in February of 1962. Glenn hailed from Concord Lodge No. 688 in New Concord, Ohio, and eventually served as a prominent United States senator and as a presidential candidate. He also came out of retirement to fly on a space shuttle in 1998, in part to conduct research on spaceflight and aging; he currently holds the record being the oldest person ever to fly in space, being 77 years of age at the time of the flight.

III. Leroy Gordon Cooper, jr., 33rd degree, member of Carbondale Lodge No. 92 of Carbondale, Colorado, and the Orlando (Florida) Scottish Rite piloted the "Faith 7" spacecraft on a 22-orbit mission which concluded Project Mercury in May of 1963. Cooper followed up this flight in August of the same year, commanding the two-man Gemini V mission. During Gemini V flight Bro. Cooper, like Bro. Aldrin six years later, carried a Masoni flag in his personal possessions during the mission.

Bro. Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, 32nd degree. was another Mason involved in the American space effort. Grissom piloted the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft on July 21, 1961 during Project Mercury, and later commanded the Gemini 3 mission. Bro. Grissom came to represent the heroism and bravery of the men who served as NASA's early astronauts. Grissom and two fellow astronauts were tragically killed on January 27, 1967, by a flash fire during a launch pad training session on the then-new Apollo I spacecraft, an event which led to extensive redesign of the launch vehicle and its safety systems, upgrades for which Grissom himself had advocated prior to the accident. Grissom was a member of Mitchell Lodge No. 228 and the Valley of Orlando.

Lt. Col. (and Bro.) Donn F. Eisle was command module pilot of Apollo 7 on October 11, 1968; this was the first manned space mission of the Apollo program. Eisle's lodge was Luther B. Turner Lodge No. 732 in Columbus, Ohio.

III. Walter M. "Wally" Schirra, Jr., 33rd degree, also flew on Apollo 7, as well as on earlier Mercury and Gemini missions. He was a member of Canaveral Lodge No. 339 at Cocoa Beach, Florida, and of the Orlando Scottish Rite Bodies.

Like Bro. Schirra, III. Thomas P. Stafford, 33rd degree, also flew in the Gemini missions before serving as the commander of the lunar-orbiting (but not landing) Apollo 8. Stafford, believing that color video would help the public understand the space effort better, also helped develop a miniaturized color television camera system used on Apollo 8 through Apollo 14. He was a member of Western Star Lodge No. 138 in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

Bro. Paul J. Weitz served as astronaut support crew for the Apollo 12 flight. He later flew in space on Skylab and the Space Shuttle. He hailed from Lawrence Lodge No, 708 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Edgar D. "Ed" Mitchell, a member of Artesia Lodge No. 28 in Artesia, New Mexico, served on the crew of Apollo XIV, landing on the moon. However, his service in the moon program went beyond this; Mitchell served as part of the Apollo 13 Missions Operations Team, where he worked on ground-based simulations that helped bring the astronauts aboard the critically damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft back to the earth safely. He thus shared in the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to the team for its efforts. Bro. Mitchell was also active in the Order of DeMolay. Later in his career, he became a source of controversy due to his belief in the reality of UFOs and his work with the Institute for Noetic Sciences.

Of course, not all Masons involved in America's lunar program have been astronauts. Many readers of The Scottish Rite Journal will recognize the surname of III. Kenneth S. Kleinknecht, 33rd degree, as he was brother of III. C. Fred Kleinknecht, 33rd degree, the long-time Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction. An engineer who worked on early manned spaceflight, Kenneth Kleinknecht was appointed manager of the Command and Service Modules of the Apollo Spacecraft Program. Bro. Kleinknecht, a member of Fairview Lodge No. 699 om Fairview, Ohio, and the Pasadena (California) Scottish Rite Bodies, once penned articles on the space program for The New Age Magazine, as The Scottish Rite Journal was formerly known.

Bro. James Edwin Webb was an Administrator at NASA from February 14, 1961, to October 7, 1968. He was a member of University Lodge No. 409 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Oxford Lodge No. 122 in Oxford, North Carolina. His work at NASA is planned to be memorialized in the soon-to-be-launched James Webb Space Telescope, an orbiting space telescope designed to replace, and see even further into space than, the powerful but aging Hubble Space Telescope.

With so many Masons in the space program, it is little wonder that Masons during the 1960s followed the space effort with great interest. Indeed, the November 1969 issue of The New Age Magazine confirms: the issue is entitled "On the Moon," and the cover features a space-suited Bro. Aldrin posing next to the US flag on the lunar surface. The issue also contains an article by III. Kenneth Kleinknecht, 33rd degree (as mentioned above, then serving as Manager for the Command and Service Modules of the Apollo program) called "Freemasonry in the Space Age." Yet even in this moment of American technological triumph, our Masonic brother reminds us of the need to remember things eternal: "Freemasonry teaches eternal, everlasting truths which no amount of scientific development can change or alter...."

Bro. Kleinknecht also notes how many of the early spacecraft had names, frequently chosen by the astronauts themselves, ringing through and through with Masonic and American ideals: "Freedom," Friendship," and "Faith," to name a few. Finally, drawing upon perhaps the greatest achievement of the Apollo program-the picture of the earth, containing all of humanity, floating above the magnificent desolation of the lunar landscape-our brother in 1969 reminds us of the common goals which are shared between science, exploration, and faith: "All men can be bound as one. In God, and only in Him, can mankind find the unifying belief that will bind all races of all countries together." So mote it be!

A CONSTITUTED LODGE IN THE MOON'S SEA OF TRANQUILITY Albert Mackey writes in his Lexicon of Freemasonry that "the Lodge is a representation of the universe, where, as the sun rules over the day, the moon presides over the night." Little could Mackey imagine in writing these lines in the 1800s that one day the moon "which presides over the night" would be host to a Masonic Lodge! In the first lunar landing, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 33rd degree, established in the stead of the Texas Grand Master Tranquility No. 2000 at the Sea of Tranquility on the moon. For the practical purposes, the Lodge has its annual meeting back on earth, in Waco Texas! While man has not been on the moon since the early 1970's, today there is more talk of moon colonization and lodge meetings might become a reality. As the New Age Magazine wrote in December 1969: "When man reaches new worlds, Masonry will be there."

Freemasonry And The 50th Anniversary Of The Lunar Landing Scottish Rite : September/October 2019

https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=616651&article_id=3471314&view=articleBrowser

"The Story Unfolds… Like much of early Masonic history, the origins of the Scottish Rite are uncertain. This is primarily due to the lack of historic documentation prior to the early 1700’s and not to any great veiled mystery. The few records kept were subject to loss, fire, weather and aging. So we can at best only speculate on many of our origins by looking at the few documents, historical references and legends that remain. What We Know In 1754, near Paris, Chevalier de Bonneville established the Chapter of Clermont. The Chapter resided in the College of Jesuits of Clermont, hence the name. It is said to have been created to honor the Duc de Clermont, then Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge of France. The Chapter of Clermont was a “Chapter of the Advanced Degrees” and initially entailed six degrees and was later extended to 25 known degrees. The six initial degrees were 1˚, 2˚ and 3˚ St John’s Masonry, 4˚ Knight of the Eagle, 5˚ Illustrious Knight or Templar, 6˚ Sublime Illustrious Knight. Interestingly enough historically, prior to the time of the Rite’s creation, James II had been in residence at Clermont in exile from Britain from 1688 to his death in 1701. As noted by German Masonic historian, Lenning… “whilst in exile, James II residing at the Jesuit College of Clermont in France, allowed his closest associates to fabricate certain degrees in order to extend their political views.” Lenning believed this to have been an attempt on the part of James and his associates to regain control of the British throne for the House of Stuart. If Lenning is right, this places the origins of the “Rite of Perfection” in the hands of James II and the Jacobite (Stuart) Freemasons who at the time were in exile from Great Britain throughout France and Italy. Lenning also contends that these degrees were introduced into French Freemasonry under the name of the Clermont System. James II died in exile in 1701. His son James III is said to have continued his father’s Masonic legacy and later created further higher degrees. Perhaps James II saw in the Jesuit morality plays of the College of Clermont a vessel for passing on a set of moral lessons. Some of the world’s greatest playwrights had emerged from Clermont. Jesuit tutelage had previously produced great writers such as Lope de Vega, Moliere, Racine, and the Corneille brothers. Ensconced in exile, I believe James II did find the inspiration and the training to help produce what would later become the first six degrees. From out of the darkness… comes light. To be continued… (Author’s note… An in depth look at the Templar influence in Scottish Rite masonry’s origins can be found by visiting the Rosslyn Templars’ website.)"

https://web.archive.org/web/20190615041607/http://www.traversecityscottishrite.com/scottish-rite-history.html

"20 July 1969: Pope Paul VI sends blessings to first men on the moon Marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 historic moon landing, Vatican Radio brings you the voice of Pope Paul VI sending his blessings to the astronauts who "conquered the moon." By Veronica Scarisbrick and Linda Bordoni As millions of men, women and children did across the world on the night of 20 July 1969, Pope Paul VI spent his time glued to the television to watch Neil Armstrong as he became the first man ever to land, and then to walk, on the moon. 50 years after that historic event, scientists agree humanity will have to take another giant step forward to try to equal the achievement and legacy of Apollo 11 and its crew. The powerful significance of the event was not lost on the Pope of the time who became the first Roman Pontiff to send a message hurtling through space in which he blessed the three astronauts who had just landed on the moon, before sending a congratulatory telegramme to then US President, Richard Nixon. But as Veronica Scarisbrick notes in this picture in sound, for Pope Paul VI, the moonwalk was a recognition of the “greatness of God's handiwork”, and the moon “the poetic pale lamp of our nights and dreams”. “Pope Paul VI is speaking to you astronauts: Honor, greetings and blessings to you, conquerors of the moon.” For Pope Paul VI,the moonwalk was a recognition of the greatness of God’s handiwork. The moon itself, he personified poetically as the pale lamp of our nights: “Pale lamp of our nights and our dreams bring to her with your living presence the voice of the Spirit”. As the tiny lunar module neared the surface of the moon, scouring the landscape for a safe stretch to touch down on, all over the world people scoured the fuzzy images from space on their television screens, anxious to see what would happen. Pope Paul was no exception. He too watched the landing from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo which housed the Vatican Observatory. And as Neil Armstrong stepped down on the powdery surface of the moon, Pope Paul VI clapped his hands and said: “We are close to you with our good wishes and with our prayers, together the whole Catholic Church”. Often caught peering at lunar landscapes through the telescope at the Vatican Observatory, Paul VI had always shown a special interest in space travel. In the very first speech of his pontificate, he said that with the blessing of God, it had opened up new era for humanity, and on a later occasion he had given an astronaut a specially engraved bronze plaque to be laid on the surface of the moon, with the words from a Psalm: “O Lord our God, how great your name throughout the earth”. In return, he got a piece of the moon, which today is still kept at Castel Gandolfo."

20 July 1969: Pope Paul VI sends blessings to first men on the moon - Vatican News

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-07/pope-paul-vi-moon-landing-50-anniversary.html

China could seize the moon. We need to stop them

Moon could be another territory grab for China, just like it was with South China Sea

By Arthur Herman Fox News

Published February 29, 2024 5:00am EST

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/china-could-seize-moon-need-stop-them

Incredible NASA's Curiosity Rover Roams Mars with Martian Sounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GueLfhsYPOA

Disney

October 1 at 12:01 AM

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=922345279941193&set=a.649391207236603

Arrival in England

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_fitz_Flaad

Stuart's Cape Audio CD – CD, May 1, 2013

https://www.amazon.com/Stuarts-Cape-Sara-Pennypacker/dp/1470886391

Name origins and usage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_dynasty

SACROS LATERAN ECCLES

OMNIUM URBIS ET ORBIS

ECCLESIARUM MATER

ET CAPUT

English Translation:

HOLY LATERAN CHURCH,

MOTHER AND HEAD

OF ALL CHURCHES

Basilica of St. John Lateran

The Main or East Façade

https://catholic-resources.org/Photos/Rome-Churches.htm

Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]"

page 463

The CONstitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

Territorial magnate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_fitz_Flaad

Blondi (1941 – 29 April 1945)[a][2] was Adolf Hitler's German Shepherd, a gift as a puppy[3][4] from Martin Bormann in 1941. Hitler kept Blondi even after his move into the Führerbunker located underneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery on 16 January 1945.[5]

Hitler was very fond of Blondi, keeping her by his side and allowing her to sleep in his bed while in the bunker. According to Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, this affection was not shared by Eva Braun, Hitler's companion, who preferred her two Scottish Terrier dogs named Negus and Stasi.

Blondi played a role in Nazi propaganda by portraying Hitler as an animal lover. Dogs like Blondi were coveted as "germanische Urhunde", being close to the wolf, and became very fashionable during the Nazi era.[6] On 29 April 1945, one day before his death, Hitler expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Heinrich Himmler's SS.[7] To verify the capsules' potency, Hitler ordered Dr. Werner Haase to test one on Blondi, who died as a result.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondi

The large Latin inscription on the façade reads: Clemens XII Pont Max Anno V Christo Salvatori In Hon SS Ioan Bapt et Evang. This abbreviated inscription translates as: "The Supreme Pontiff Clement XII, in the fifth year [of his Pontificate, dedicated this building] to Christ the Savior, in honor of Saints John the Baptist and [John] the Evangelist".[5] The inscription indicates, with its full title (see below), that the archbasilica was originally dedicated to Christ the Savior and, centuries later, rededicated in honor of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. Christ the Savior remains its primary dedication, and its titular feast day is 6 August, the Transfiguration of Christ. As the cathedral of the pope as bishop of Rome, it ranks superior to all other churches of the Catholic Church, including Saint Peter's Basilica.

Name

The archbasilica's Latin name is Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris ac Sancti Ioannis Baptistae et Ioannis Evangelistae ad Lateranum,[6] which in English is the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist at the Lateran, and in Italian Arcibasilica [Papale] del Santissimo Salvatore e Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Archbasilica_of_Saint_John...

Himmler used the Jesuits as the model for the SS, since he found they had the core elements of absolute obedience and the cult of the organisation.[59][60] Hitler is said to have called Himmler "my Ignatius of Loyola".[59] As an order, the SS needed a coherent doctrine that would set it apart.[61] Himmler attempted to construct such an ideology, and deduced a "pseudo-Germanic tradition" from history.[61] Himmler dismissed the image of Christ as a Jew and rejected Christianity's basic doctrine and its institutions.[62] Starting in 1934, the SS hosted "solstice ceremonies" (Sonnenwendfeiern) to increase team spirit within their ranks.[63] In a 1936 memorandum, Himmler set forth a list of approved holidays based on pagan and political precedents meant to wean SS members from their reliance on Christian festivities.[64] In an attempt to replace Christianity and suffuse the SS with a new doctrine, SS-men were able to choose special Lebenslauffeste, substituting common Christian ceremonies such as baptisms, weddings and burials. Since the ceremonies were held in small private circles, it is unknown how many SS-members opted for these kind of celebrations.[65]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology_of_the_SS

From modest beginnings the SS (Schutzstaffel; Protection Squadrons), became a virtual state within a state in Nazi Germany, staffed by men who perceived themselves as the “racial elite” of Nazi future.

In the Nazi state, the SS assumed leading responsibility for security, identification of ethnicity, settlement and population policy, and intelligence collection and analysis. The SS controlled the German police forces and the concentration camp system. The SS conceived and implemented plans designed to restructure the ethnic composition of eastern Europe and the occupied Soviet Union.

From 1939, the SS assumed responsibility for “solving” the so-called Jewish Question; after 1941, its leadership planned, coordinated and directed the so-called Final Solution of the Jewish Question. This “solution” was the annihilation of the European Jews, which we now refer to as the Holocaust

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ss

2 §1. The character and charism of the Society of Jesus arise from the Spiritual Exercises which our holy father Ignatius and his companions went through. Led by this experience, they formed an apostolic group rooted in charity, in which, after they had taken the vows of chastity and poverty and had been raised to the priesthood, they offered themselves as a HOLOCAUST to God,[2] so that serving as soldiers of God beneath the banner of the cross and serving the Lord alone and the Church his spouse under the Roman Pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth,[3] they would be sent into the entire world[4] for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine. [5]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

[666] 6. 1On the side of the superior general, what will aid toward this union of hearts are the qualities of his person [G], to be treated in Part IX [723-25], with which he will perform his office, 2which is to be for all the members a head from which the influence required for the end sought by the Society ought to descend to them all. 3It is thus from the general as head that all authority of the provincials should flow, from the provincials that of the local superiors, and from the local superiors that of the individual members. 4And from this same head, or at least by his commission and approval, should likewise come the appointing of missions. And the same should apply to communicating the graces of the Society. 5For the more the subjects are dependent upon their superiors, the better will the love, obedience, and union among them be preserved."

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

"Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]"

page 463

The CONstitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

"Revelation 13:18

New International Version

"18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a] That number is 666."

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A18&version=NIV

"Rapture" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fifth studio album Autoamerican (1980). Written by band members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released as the second and final single from Autoamerican on January 12, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Musically, "Rapture" is a combination of new wave, disco and hip hop with a rap section forming an extended coda.[5]

"Rapture" was another commercial success for the band, shipping one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, their fourth and last single to reach the top. It was the first number-one single in the United States to feature rap vocals. The single also peaked at number three in Canada, and number five in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Background

Singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein were friends with Brooklyn- and Bronx-based hip-hop artists such as Fab 5 Freddy (Fred Brathwaite) in the late 1970s. Brathwaite took Harry and Stein to a rap event in the Bronx one night in 1978, and they were both impressed by the skill and excitement as MCs rhymed lyrics over the beats of spinning records and people lined up for a chance to take the microphone and freestyle rap. Harry and Stein went to a few more such events, before deciding to write a rap song of their own in late 1979. They decided to combine what they had seen and heard in the Bronx with Chic-inspired disco music. Keyboardist Jimmy Destri found some tubular bells in the back of the studio, which added a haunting touch to the song. The title "Rapture" was a pun on "rap", according to Stein.[6]

In an early recording the music was slower and simpler. Stein said that "[t]he slower tape was just bass, drums and guitar doubling the bass, I don’t think much else."[7] This version was put aside and later reworked as "Rapture".[8] For "Rapture", Stein said that "[w]e decided to make it faster."[7] Stein later retrieved the original recording, and Harry and Brathwaite added vocals. The result was released in the UK as "Yuletide Throwdown", as a flexi disc given away with the magazine Flexipop.[8]

Stein loved B-movies and science fiction imagery, so he wrote some surreal verses about a man from Mars. For the chorus, Harry tried to capture the feeling of a crowded hip-hop dance floor in the Bronx: "Toe to toe / Dancing very close / Barely breathing / Almost comatose / Wall to wall / People hypnotized / And they're stepping lightly / Hang each night in Rapture." The rap section references Fab 5 Freddy ("Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly"), as well as Grandmaster Flash ("Flash is fast, Flash is cool").

Record World said that "Debbie's sweet, enticing vocal transforms itself into a streetwise jam," calling the song "infectious" and calling the rhythm "hypnotic."[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture_(Blondie_song)

National Lampoon's Vacation, sometimes referred to as simply Vacation, is a 1983 American road trip black comedy directed by Harold Ramis starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy, and Christie Brinkley in her acting debut with special appearances by Eddie Bracken, Brian Doyle-Murray, Miriam Flynn, James Keach, Eugene Levy, and Frank McRae.

It tells the fictitious story of the Griswold family on a cross-country trip to an amusement park and various locations as accidents occur along the way. The screenplay was written by John Hughes on the basis of his short story "Vacation '58," which appeared in National Lampoon.

The film was a box-office hit, earning more than $60 million in the U.S. alone with an estimated budget of $15 million, and received positive reviews from critics.

As a result of its success, five sequels have been produced: European Vacation (1985), Christmas Vacation (1989), Vegas Vacation (1997), Christmas Vacation 2 (2003), and Vacation (2015). In 2000, readers of Total Film voted it the 46th greatest comedy film of all time.[3]

Plot

Clark Griswold, wanting to spend more time with his wife Ellen and children Rusty and Audrey, decides to lead the family on a cross-country expedition from the Chicago suburbs to the southern California amusement park Walley World, billed as "America's Favorite Family Fun Park". Ellen wants to fly, but Clark insists on driving so he can bond with his family. He has ordered a new car in preparation for the trip, but the dealer claims that it will not be ready for six weeks. Clark is forced to buy the "Wagon Queen Family Truckster", an ugly, oversized station wagon after the car he traded in has been crushed.

During the family's travels, they experience numerous mishaps, such as being tagged by vandals after taking a wrong turn in St. Louis, Missouri. Clark aggravates a bartender in Dodge City, Kansas, and is tantalized on numerous occasions by a beautiful young woman driving a Ferrari 308 GTS.

The Griswolds stop in Coolidge, Kansas, to visit Ellen's cousin Catherine and her husband Eddie, who foist cranky Aunt Edna and her aggressive dog Dinky on the Griswolds, asking them to drop her off at her son Norman's home in Phoenix. Eddie asks Clark to spare "$52,000" as he wants to save his property from foreclosure but is too lazy to earn his own money.

After stopping at a decrepit and dirty campground in South Fork, Colorado, for the night, Clark forgets to untie Dinky's leash from the rear bumper before driving off the next morning, killing the dog. A motorcycle cop pulls the Griswolds over and angrily lectures Clark over animal cruelty but accepts Clark's apology as he tearfully recalls losing his own dog. Exiting Colorado, Ellen loses her bag that had her credit cards, and Clark reports them as lost.

While Ellen and Clark argue during a drive between Utah and Arizona, they crash and become stranded in the desert near Monument Valley. After setting off alone to look for help for hours, Clark reunites with his family, who have been rescued and taken to a local mechanic. The mechanic, also the town sheriff, extorts Clark's remaining cash, only to render the car barely operational. Frustrated, the family stops at the Grand Canyon. When Clark is unable to convince a hotel clerk to cash a personal check because his credit cards have mistakenly been reported lost, he raids the cash register behind the clerk's back and leaves the check.

Continuing their drive, the Griswolds find that Aunt Edna has died in her sleep. They tie her corpse to the roof of the car, wrapped in a tarpaulin. Discovering that Norman is out of town when they arrive at his home, they attach a note to the corpse and leave it in the back yard.

Overwhelmed by the mishaps they have encountered, Ellen and the children want to go home, but Clark has become obsessed with reaching Walley World. After an argument with Ellen, Clark meets the Ferrari-driving blonde at a hotel bar, weaves several lies to impress her, and goes skinny-dipping with her in the hotel pool. They are quickly discovered by the family due to Clark’s yelling about the cold temperature. Clark tells the woman the truth, and they part ways amicably. Ellen forgives Clark, and they go skinny-dipping themselves.

The Griswolds arrive at Walley World, only to discover the park closed for the next two weeks for repairs. Slipping into madness over his efforts being for nothing, Clark buys a realistic-looking BB gun and demands that park security guard Russ Lasky take them through Walley World. An LAPD SWAT team soon arrives, but as the family is about to be arrested, park owner Roy Walley shows up to de-escalate the situation. Roy understands Clark's longing to achieve the perfect vacation, bringing back memories of his own family vacation troubles. He decides not to file criminal charges against the Griswolds and lets the family – along with the SWAT team – enjoy the park as his guests.

A montage of snapshots taken during the trip is shown during the credits, ending with one that shows the Griswolds flying back to Chicago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lampoon%27s_Vacation

Fascinating! The words “fascia” and “fascism” both come from the same symbol

PainSci » blog+ • Feb 29, 2020 • by Paul Ingraham

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This is a new excerpt from my resource page about the science of fascia, the sheets of connective tissue that surround and permeate our anatomy. Many massage therapists believe that fascia can get “distorted,” and that their hands can “release” those troubled tissues for profound pain relief and other medical benefits. I believe they are mistaken and there’s no credible scientific inspiration for “fascial therapy.”

The similarity between the terms “fascia” and “fascism” has often been noted and played with, and it’s not just a linguistic coincidence. This etymological digression was not an important addition to my fascia article, but it did add some good colour, and it was a delight to write about a rare convergence of three very different interests: language, musculoskeletal medicine, and ancient Rome. Together at last!

Fascis, fascicle, fascia, fascists!

The words fascia and fascism both come from the Latin word fascis, which first referred to leather straps, then to a bundle of sticks held together by them, and then including an axe. In Ancient Rome, the fascis symbolized political power, law, and jurisdiction, and it was a physical thing, a totem that was toted around by some actual Romans.

The fascis limped into the modern world as an abstract symbol of collective action, which was notoriously revitalized by the National Fascist Party in Italy in 1921: the National Strength-In-Numbers Party, in other words. But it was eclipsed by another symbol of fascism from the ancient world, the swastika, and today hardly anyone recognizes a fascis, even though it persists in all kinds of political and military iconography, despite the negative associations. “How the fasces survived is a mystery: Americans are sensitive, if not hypersensitive, to any potential endorsement of an enemy’s culture, language, or creed in times of war.”

The fascis is the spittin’ image of a bundle of muscle cells wrapped in connective tissue, and so we call that a fascicle, wrapped in fascia — the canonical example of fascia in the human body. A fascis only symbolized strength in numbers, but it is the literal purpose and function of a fascicle.

That’s a whole bunch of linguistic and conceptual convergence.

Etymologically rich trash talk

Skeptics about the clinical significance of fascia sometimes snarkily refer to fascia enthusiasts as “fascia-ists,” which is mostly intended as the cheap pun it sounds like. But its etymological roots go as deep as history, and the insult is more apt than either insulter or insultee realizes: it elegantly references the empty populism of fascism, suggesting that advocates for fascial therapy have nothing going for their claims except strength in numbers.

And what about “fascinate”?

Fascination is closely related to enchantment and still strongly connotes a magical effect: to be fascinated is to have one’s attention captured, as if under a spell. In ancient times, it was meant more literally. The Latin fascinum was a phallus-shaped amulet, a penis charm, and to “fascinate” was to use the power of the fascinum to enchant or bewitch. And what’s more enchanting than a penis, amiright? The Romans were really into their penis power, and I can’t imagine anything more Roman than superstitiously wearing a little cock-and-balls around your neck.

So this word similarity seems like a coincidence, but… I can’t help but notice that a fascis is also a rather phallic symbol. To a Roman, the fascis and fascinum might well have seemed like siblings, each broadly symbolizing potency, just in different contexts with different connotations.

Accuracy disclaimer

This is all oversimplified to the brink of error, but history and etymology are messy, and there’s just too much detail and nuance and uncertainty to ever really get this kind of thing truly complete and correct. For instance, it’s not even clear whether it’s a “fascis” or a “fasces,” each one being used by credible sources. If I have readers with relevant expertise, please set me straight.

https://www.painscience.com/blog/fascinating-the-words-fascia-and-fascism-both-come-from-the-same-symbol.html

super-

word-forming element of Latin origin meaning "above, over" in place or position; also in manner, degree, or measure, "over, beyond;" from Latin super (adverb and preposition) "above, over, on the top (of), beyond, besides, in addition to." This is from *(s)uper-, variant form of PIE root *uper "over."

In English words from Old French, it appears as sur-. Most of the Latin compounds in it are post-classical; it has been a living element in English since 15c. In Medieval Latin and Romanic languages it can be confused with related supra-, and some English words exist in both forms.

In 17c., when many English compounds in super- were coined in religious and spiritual writing, the notion in it was "beyond; not partaking of." Hence superordinary "excellent, better than what is common or usual" (1620s); supersensual "above or beyond the senses, imperceptible to human sense" (1680s); super-rational "that is above or beyond the scope of reason" (1680s).

But it also was used in the sciences in the sense of "in or to the highest or a very high degree," and has come to be felt popularly as "in an exaggerated degree, very much," as in supersensitive "extremely sensitive" (1839); supercool "very fashionable" (1970), which runs contrary to the old sense. Hence supersexual, attested by 1895 as "transcending sexuality; 'platonic' " and by 1968 as "sexual in an extreme degree." Also compare superhuman, which in the 1630s meant "divine, above or beyond what is human," but, by c. 1800, also, and typically since, meant "above the powers or nature of man."

https://www.etymonline.com/word/super-

model (n.)

1570s, "likeness made to scale; architect's set of designs," from French modelle (16c., Modern French modèle), from Italian modello "a model, mold," from Vulgar Latin *modellus, from Latin modulus "a small measure, standard," diminutive of modus "manner, measure" (from PIE root *med- "take appropriate measures"). Sense of "a standard for imitation or comparison, thing or person that serves or may serve as a pattern or type" is from 1630s.

If the Model Boy was in either of these Sunday-schools, I did not see him. The Model Boy of my time—we never had but the one—was perfect: perfect in manners, perfect in dress, perfect in conduct, perfect in filial piety, perfect in exterior godliness; but at bottom he was a prig; and as for the contents of his skull, they could have changed place with the contents of a pie and nobody would have been the worse off for it but the pie. ["Mark Twain," "Life on the Mississippi," 1883]

Meaning "motor vehicle of a particular design" is from 1900 (such as Model T, 1908; Model A, 1927; Ford's other early models included C, F, and 😎. Sense of "artist's model, living person who serves as the type of a figure to be painted or sculpted" is recorded by 1690s; that of "fashion model" is from 1904. German, Swedish modell, Dutch, Danish model are from French or Italian.

also from 1570s

model (v.)

c. 1600, "describe in detail" (a sense now obsolete); 1660s, "fashion a figure or imitation (of something) in clay or wax," from model (n.). Earlier was modelize (c. 1600). From 1730 as "construct or arrange in a set manner." From 1915 in the sense "to act as a fashion model, to display (clothes)." Related: Modeled; modeling; modelled; modelling.

also from c. 1600

https://www.etymonline.com/word/model

PREFACE

Much new material on the Rosicrucians has emerged in recent years. The publishing conditions for the first Rosicrucian manifestoes have been studied in detail and the origin of these writings in Tubingen and Cassel has been set beyond doubt. With this emphasis on local events in Southern Germany it has become increasingly evident that it is time to construct a general perspective of the movement that supplants Frances Yates controversial statement The Rosicrucian Enlightenment (1973). The way to do so is to study the various Rosicrucian replies as they emerged in their local settings. In this book I do this for the Baltic area. I investigate the millenarian aspects of Rosicrucianism as it emerges from a reading of Johannes Bureus’ papers. This material has been little known due to the reticence of researchers to publish on Bureus as a Rosicrucian. When Bureus’ favourite idea, that of The Lion of the North, was studied by Johan Nordstrom in the 1930s, it was readily seen that it could be associated with the Nazi myth of the Nordic Superman. Confronted by the negative role of national myths, Nordstrom abandoned the project of making a synthesis of the Paracelsian and Hermetic material found in Swedish archives. In 1942, Nordstrom’s student Sten Lindroth published on Bureus as a Paracelsian but kept the references to the Lion of the North at a minimum. I show that the Paracelsian myth of the Lion of the North was an essential ingredient in the political use of the Rosicrucian writings.

Rose Cross Over The Baltic The Spread of Rosicrucianism In Northern European

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vWI_uTVg5lzNCDm16itq-PLSavozNR_F/view?usp=sharing

Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model.[2] Brinkley appeared on an unprecedented three consecutive covers of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues in 1979, 1980, and 1981. She spent 25 years as the face of CoverGirl;[3] has appeared on over 500 magazine covers; and has signed contracts with major brands, both fashion and non-fashion.

Brinkley went on to work as an actress, illustrator, television personality, photographer, writer, designer, and activist for human and animal rights and the environment. Brinkley has been married four times, including to musician Billy Joel between 1985 and 1994, having appeared in several of his music videos. Her fourth marriage, to architect Peter Cook, ended in a much-publicized 2008 divorce. Magazines such as Allure and Men's Health have named Brinkley one of the most attractive women of all time.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christie_Brinkley

Christie or Christy (with various alternative spellings) is a given name, used in English for females. The name Christie originated from Italy in 1222,[citation needed] and derives from the Greek names Christos (a reference to Christ, literally 'anointed one') and Christiana (meaning 'follower of Christ').[citation needed] The name Christy appears in Ireland in 1345,[citation needed] and is a common masculine name there. When used as a personal name in English, it is usually a diminutive form of the personal names Christian, Christopher, etc. (masculine), or Christine, Christina, etc. (feminine). The name "Christie" has been assigned other connotations, such as 'angel', 'cute', 'graceful', 'beautiful', 'lovely', even 'princess'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_(given_name)

Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he was the United States Attorney for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008 and a Morris County commissioner from 1995 to 1997. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and 2024.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Christie

Alys of France, Countess of Vexin (4 October 1160 – c. 1218–1220), known in English as "Alice", was a French princess, initially betrothed to Richard I of England. Her engagement was broken in 1190, through negotiations between Richard and her half-brother Philip Augustus of France. Philip then attempted to betroth her to Richard's brother John but this betrothal was rejected. Alys married William IV, Count of Ponthieu, on 20 August 1195. She died between 1218 and 1220.

Life

Born 4 October 1160,[1] Alys was the daughter of Louis VII, King of France and his second wife, Constance of Castile.[2] She was the half-sister of Marie and Alix of France, Louis's children by Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the younger sister of Margaret of France. Just five weeks after Constance died giving birth to Alys, Louis married Adèle of Champagne, by whom he had two further children, including the future King Philip II of France.

In January 1169, Alys was contracted, by Louis and King Henry II of England, for marriage to Henry's son Richard the Lionheart.[3] The 8-year-old Alys was then sent, with no dowry,[3] to England as Henry's ward.

In 1177, Cardinal Peter of Saint Chrysogonus, on behalf of Pope Alexander III, threatened to place England's continental possessions under an interdict if Henry did not proceed with the marriage.[4] There were widespread rumors that Henry had not only made Alys his mistress, but that she had a child with him.[5] Henry died in 1189, and Richard, ascended the English throne. Richard broke off Alys' betrothal in 1190, during personal talks with her brother the French king, Philip Augustus, on their way towards the Holy Land during the Third Crusade.[6] Richard made financial restitutions and married Berengaria of Navarre on 12 May 1191.[6]

Philip had offered Alys to Prince John, but Eleanor prevented the match.[7] Alys married William IV Talvas, Count of Ponthieu, on 20 August 1195.[8] They had a daughter, Marie, Countess of Ponthieu.[9] Alys died between 1218 and 1220.[10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alys_of_France,_Countess_of_Vexin

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is one of nine detector experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The experiment is designed to study the conditions that are thought to have existed immediately after the Big Bang by measuring properties of quark-gluon plasma.[1]

Introduction

Computer generated cut-away view of ALICE showing the 18 detectors of the experiment.

ALICE is designed to study high-energy collisions between lead nuclei. These collisions mimic extreme temperature and energy density that would have been found in the fractions of a second after the Big Bang by forming a quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in which quarks and gluons are unbound.[2]

Understanding quark deconfinement and the properties of quark-gluon plasma are key issues in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and the physics of strongly interacting matter. The results obtained by ALICE support the understanding of the interactions between elementary particles, and of complex phenomena such as color confinement and chiral symmetry restoration. Recreating the quark–gluon plasma and understanding its evolution are expected to shed light on how matter is organized, the mechanisms that confine quarks and gluons, and the nature of the strong nuclear force and its role in generating the bulk of the mass of ordinary matter.

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) predicts that at sufficiently high energy densities, a phase transition will occur with the conventional hadronic matter, where quarks are confined within nuclear particles, transitioning into a quark–gluon plasma, where they are not. The reverse of this transition is believed to have occurred when the universe was approximately one microsecond (10−6 seconds) and may still occur in the centers of collapsing neutron stars and other astrophysical objects.[3][4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALICE_experiment

Arthur's Seat (Scottish Gaelic: Suidhe Artair, pronounced [ˈs̪ɯi.əˈaɾt̪ʰəɾʲ]) is an ancient extinct volcano that is the main peak of the group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland, which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design".[1] It is situated just to the east of the city centre, about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 250.5 m (822 ft), provides excellent panoramic views of the city and beyond, is relatively easy to climb, and is popular for hillwalking. Though it can be climbed from almost any direction, the easiest ascent is from the east, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch. At a spur of the hill, Salisbury Crags has historically been a rock climbing venue with routes of various degrees of difficulty. Rock climbing was restricted to the South Quarry, but access was banned altogether in 2019 by Historic Environment Scotland.[2]

Name

It is sometimes said that its name is derived from legends pertaining to King Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin. Some support for this may be provided by several other hilltop and mountaintop features in Britain which bear the same or similar names, such as the peak of Ben Arthur (The Cobbler) in the western highlands, sometimes known as Arthur's Seat,[3] and Arthur's Chair on the ridge called Stone Arthur in the English Lake District.

Geology

Arthur's Seat is the largest of the three parts of the Arthur's Seat Volcano site of special scientific interest (the other parts being Calton Hill and the Castle Rock) which is designated to protect its important geology (see below), grassland habitats and uncommon plant and animal species.

Like the rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built, it was formed by a volcanic system of early Carboniferous age (lava samples have been dated at 341 to 335 million years old),[4] which was eroded by a glacier moving from west to east during the Quaternary (approximately the last two million years), exposing rocky crags to the west and leaving a tail of material swept to the east.[5] This is how the Salisbury Crags formed and became basalt cliffs between Arthur's Seat and the city centre. From some angles, Arthur's Seat resembles a lion couchant.[6][7] Two of the several extinct vents make up the 'Lion's Head' and the 'Lion's Haunch'.

Duration: 2 minutes and 19 seconds.2:19

Aerial footage of Arthur's Seat and the George Square area of Edinburgh

Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags adjoining it helped form the ideas of modern geology as it is currently understood. It was in these areas that James Hutton observed that the deposition of the sedimentary and formation of the igneous rocks must have occurred at different ages and in different ways than the thinking of that time said they did. It is possible to see a particular area known as Hutton's Section in the Salisbury Crags where the magma forced its way through the sedimentary rocks above it to form the dolerite sills that can be seen in the Section.

The hill bears a strong resemblance to the Cavehill in Belfast in terms of its geology and proximity to a major urban site.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Seat

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,800[1] five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. The stars, the first of which were permanently installed in 1960, are monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, producers, directors, theatrical/musical groups, fictional characters, and others.

The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who hold a trademark right to the combined star & movie camera symbol only, and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. The Hollywood Chamber collects fees from celebrities (or their sponsors) that wish to have a star (currently $75K)[2] which pays for the creation and installation of the star, as well as maintenance of the Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce does not own trademark rights to the star with other symbols (i.e. television, microphone, record disc), so those symbols are free to use for commercial purposes.[3] It is a popular tourist attraction, receiving an estimated 10 million annual visitors in 2010.[4][5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame

World, the: 1. It is proper to our vocation: to go to diverse places and live in whatever part of the world and to be sent wherever the greater service of God and the help of souls can be hoped for [82, 92, 304, 308, 588, 603, 605, 626, 749]; to this purpose is directed the vow of special obedience to the supreme pontiff regarding missions, FI no. 3 [603, 605], 2 §1; consequently a complete availability, mobility, and universality are necessary, 110, 121 4°, 242 §3, 246 7°, 248, 259, 411; at the service of which is chastity, 144 §2; consequently our community is a community for dispersion, 255 §1, 312, 314 §2, 315, 317; thus also the need for communicating with different cultures of the world and for insertion into them, 99 §2, 106 §2, 110, 111, 246 2°; and for promoting that perfect and open cooperation among the members of the entire Society, of whatever province or region they may be, 396 §2. See also Cooperation, interprovincial and supraprovincial; Culture(s); Insertion 2. God is present in the world: exercising the ministry of healing and reconciliation, 246 4°; thus he is there to be sought and found, 223 §§3-4; the world, in great part afflicted with atheism and injustice and increasingly divided by diverse economic, social, and ethnic systems and by other sources of division and opposition, 59 §2, 223 §3, 246 4° 3. The world, as distinguished from religious life: is to be left behind, trampled underfoot, and renounced [30, 50, 53, 61, 66, 297]; it is to be despised because of the love for and imitation of Christ [101]; contempt for it assists in the union of minds and hearts [671]: customs which smack of the world are not to be introduced, 322.

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Holyrood or Holy Rood is a Christian relic alleged to be part of the True Cross on which Jesus died. The word derives from the Old English rood, meaning a pole and the cross, via Middle English, or the Scots haly ruid ("holy cross"). Several relics venerated as part of the True Cross are known by this name, in England, Ireland and Scotland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_(cross)

To sum up: men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified[7] such would our Constitutions have us to be; new men, I say, who have put off their affections to put on Christ;[8] dead to themselves to live to justice; who, with St. Paul in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, show themselves ministers of God[9] and by the armor of Justice on the right hand and, on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, by good success finally and ill success, press forward with great strides to their heavenly country. This is the sum and aim of our institute."

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

In the myths surrounding King Arthur and the Round Table and of those Knights of the Holy Grail who are the forerunners of the Order of the Garter and other knighthoods, one particularly is worthy of interpretation, demonstrating as it does, the use and abuse of power.

The story of Merlin is soon told:

"Merlin was the son of no mortal father, but of an Incubus, one of a class of beings not absolutely wicked, but far from good, who inhabited regions of the air. Merlin's mother was a virtuous young woman, who, on the birth of her son, entrusted him to a priest, who hurried him to the baptismal fount, and so saved him from sharing the lot of his father, though he retained many marks of his unearthly origin.

"At this time Vortigern reigned in Britain. He was a usurper, who had caused the death of this sovereign, Monies, and driven the two brothers of the late king, whose names were Uther and Pendragon, into banishment. Vortigern, who lived in constant fear of the return of the rightful heirs of the kingdom, began to erect a strong tower for defense. The edifice, when brought by the workmen to a certain height, three times fell to the ground, without any apparent cause. The king consulted his astrologers on this wonderful event and learned from them that it would be necessary to bathe the corner-stone of the foundation with the blood of a child born without a mortal father.

"In search for such an infant, Vortigern sent his messengers all over the kingdom, and they, by accident discovered Merlin, whose lineage seemed to point him out as the individual wanted. They took him to the king; but Merlin, young as he was, explained to the king the absurdity of attempting to rescue the fabric by such means, for he told him the true cause of the instability of the tower was its being placed over the den of two immense dragons whose combats shook the earth above them. The king ordered his workmen to dig beneath the tower, and when they had done so they discovered two enormous serpents, the one white as milk, the other red as fire. The multitude looked on with amazement, till the serpents, slowly risen from their den, and expanding their enormous folds, began the combat, when everyone fled in terror, except Merlin who stood by clapping his hands and cheering on the conflict. The red dragon was slain, and the white one, gliding through a cleft in the rock, disappeared.

"These animals typified, as Merlin afterwards explained, the invasion of Utherand Pendragon, the rightful princes, who soon after landed with a great army. Vortigren was defeated, and afterwards burned alive in the castle he had taken such pains to construct. On the death of Vortigren, Pendragon ascended the throne. Merlin became his chief adviser, and often assisted the king by his magical arts.

"Merlin, who knew the range of all their arts,

Had built the King his havens, ships and halls." -- Vivian.

"Merlin continued to be a favorite counselor through the reigns of Pendragon, Uther, and Arthur, and at last disappeared from view, and was no more found among men, through the treachery of his mistress, Viviane, the Fairy, which happened in this wise.

"Merlin, having become enamored of the fair Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, was weak enough to impart to her various important secrets of his art, being impelled by fatal destiny, of which he was at the same time fully aware. The lady, however, was not content with his devotion, unbounded as it seem to have been, but 'cast about,' the Romance tell us, how she might 'detain him for evermore,' and one day addressed him in these terms: 'Sir, I would that we should make a fair place and a suitable, so contrived by art and by cunning that it might ever be undone, and that you and I should be there in joy and solace.' 'My lady,' said Merlin, 'I will do all this.' 'Sir,' and she, 'I would not have you do it, but you shall teach me, and I will do it, and then it will be more to my mind.' 'I grant you this,' said Merlin. Then he began to devise, and the damsel put it all in writing. And when he had devised the whole, then had the damsel full great joy, and showed him greater semblance of love then she had ever before made, and they sojourned together a long while. At length it fell out that, as they were going one day hand in hand through the forest of Breceliande, they found a bush of white-thorn, which was laden with flowers; and they seated themselves under the shade of this white-thorn, upon the green grass, and Merlin laid his head upon the damsel's lap, and fell asleep. Then the damsel rose, and made a ring with her wimple round the bush, and round Merlin, and began her enchantments, such as he himself had taught her; and nine times she made the ring, and nine times she made the enchantment, and then she went and sat down by him, and placed his head again upon her lap.

"And when he awoke and looked round him, it seemed to him that he was enclosed in the strongest tower in the world, and laid upon a fair bed. Then said he to the dame: 'My lady, you have deceived me, unless you abide with me, for no on hath power to unmake this tower but you alone.' She then promised she would be often there and in this she held her covenant with him. And Merlin never went out of that tower where his Mistress Viviane had enclosed him; but she entered and went out again when she listed.

"After this event Merlin was never more know to hold converse with any mortal but Viviane, except on one occasion. Arthur, having for some time missed him from his court, sent several of his knights in search of him, and, among the number, Sir Gawain, who met with a very unpleasant adventure while engaged in this quest. Happening to pass a damsel on his road, and neglecting to salute her, (as all true Knights should) she revenged herself for his incivility by transforming him into a hideous dwarf. He was bewailing aloud his evil fortune as he went through the forest of Breceliande, when suddenly he heard the voice of one groaning on his right hand; and looking that way, he could see nothing save a kind of smoke, which seemed like air, and through which he could not pass. Merlin then addressed him from out of the smoke, and told him by what misadventure he was imprisoned there. 'Ah sir,' he added, 'you will never see me more, and that grieves me, but I cannot remedy it; I shall never more speak to you, nor to any other person, save only my mistress. But do thou hasten to King Arthur, and charge him for me to undertake, without delay, the quest of the Sacred Grail. The knight is already born, and has received knighthood at his hands, who is destined to accomplish the quest.' And after this he comforted Gawain under his transformation, assuring him that he should speedily be dischanted; and he predicted to him that he should find the King at Carduel, in Wales, on his return, and that all the other knights who had been on like quest would arrive there the same day as himself. And all this came to pass as Merlin had said."

[William Cooper]: Now the interpretation of this story, ladies and gentlemen, goes something like this:

And remember in the earlier hour, ladies and gentlemen, we learned that, to the Mysteries, the Holy Grail represents the soul. The soul. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, and they don't even believe that most people have a soul until they prepare the body to receive it. (laughs) So, you are learning...you are learning much faster than you ever could on your own. Skipping ahead:

"In this respect, the Pyramid is a perfect symbol of man when he has reached the state called Illumination of Soul, or Soul Consciousness, or in other words, 'has found the Center, or located the All-Seeing Eye.'"

Skipping ahead again:

"[Dr. Clymer asking:] 'May we look to Masonry in completing the great work, or will it continue to be purely materialistic? Let this be the mission of Masonry, to perfect the work for which its outer symbology stands. Shall it be so?'"

This is an admission that they are purely materialistic at this point and have been throughout their history.

"While this is truly a Masonic work, the work for which the Mason has made a good foundation when he has completed his three degrees, yet it is also a work for every man, and especially a work for those who have taken up, or who have opportunity and inclination to take up, the special training offered freely today by the representatives of the Ancient Schools, through the Illuminati, Sons of Osiris, Magi, and other Fraternities.

Skipping ahead again, several pages...:

"The 'Fire Philosophy' is the basis of all Religious Mysteries and all the secret philosophies of the Universe. It is also the underlying principal on which All Secret Occult Brotherhoods are founded. It was taught in the Ancient Mysteries, and, although the knowledge of it has long been lost to the world, it has always been preserved in the Occult Fraternities.

"'The aim of all true initiation, no matter what the name of the Fraternity may be is to know the nature of the Secret Fire that regenerates the world and which renders him who comes into its possession immortal...'

"...The mystic has always held that Masonry was one of the basis upon which religion was founded, that the Mysteries of Masonry when fully understood, are the same as the Ancient Mysteries, and therefore the Mysteries of religion itself.

"...[section header:]THE WAY TO GODHOOD[?] Be thou a man and thou mayst be a god."

Be a man and thou mayst be a god -- this is the divine command of the New Age. The new commandment teaches how to live that man shall be the first great stage of growth and that God could, may follow manhood. Lt. Col. James "Bo" Gritz is a 32nd degree Freemason of the Scottish Rite, he is a member of the Mormon church and has been initiated in the temple ceremony in which it is revealed to him that Lucifer is the god he follows; that Christ had his chance on earth and failed, and that it is Lucifer's turn. This can be found and referenced and confirmed fully in a book entitled, The Godmakers, and in the video tape by the same name.

Rose Cross College, Part II (aired February 23rd, 1994)

https://viefag.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/transcripts-of-william-cooper-s-mystery-babylon-series.pdf

James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) [a] was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until his death in 1766. The only son of James II of England and his second wife, Mary of Modena, he was Prince of Wales and heir until his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His Protestant half-sister Mary II and her husband William III became co-monarchs. As a Catholic, he was subsequently excluded from the succession by the Act of Settlement 1701.

Raised primarily in France and Italy, when his father died in September 1701 James claimed the thrones. As part of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1708 Louis XIV of France backed a landing in Scotland on his behalf. This failed, as did further attempts in 1715 and 1719. Led by his elder son Charles Edward Stuart, the 1745 Rising was the last serious effort to restore the House of Stuart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart

Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;[b] 17 December 1936) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century papacy of the Syrian Pope Gregory III.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis

James Ray Hart[2] (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is currently signed to WWE in a Legends deal.[1] He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; renamed WWE in 2002) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and used the nickname "the Mouth of the South" (one that was also given to Ted Turner).

Regarded by many to be one of the greatest managers in professional wrestling history, Hart has managed the likes of Andy Kaufman, The Honky Tonk Man, Bret Hart (no relation) and Jim Neidhart (The Hart Foundation), Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, Jerry "the King" Lawler, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Irwin R. Schyster, The Mountie, The Natural Disasters, Dino Bravo, the Nasty Boys, The Giant, and Hulk Hogan. He was briefly the AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion in 1981.

Before becoming involved with professional wrestling, Hart was a member of rock band The Gentrys, best known for their 1965 top five Billboard Hot 100 hit, "Keep on Dancing".[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Hart

The Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA is the first Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, founded in 1801. Its official full name is "The Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General Knights Commander of the House of the Temple of Solomon of the Thirty-third Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America."[1] It is also commonly known as The Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, or by some other varying degree of complete titulage. It is sometimes called the Mother Supreme Council of the World. It is the governing body of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in its jurisdiction,[2] and is one of five Supreme Councils in the United States, along with the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, two Prince Hall Affiliated Supreme Councils, and the Supreme Council of Louisiana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Council,_Scottish_Rite_(Southern_Jurisdiction,_USA)

The Supreme Council, 33º, SJ, USA

1733 16th St. NW

Washington, DC 20009

https://scottishrite.org/

Valley of Traverse City

ANCIENT ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE

The History and Legend of Scottish Rite Origins

The Story Unfolds…

Like much of early Masonic history, the origins of the Scottish Rite are uncertain. This is primarily due to the lack of historic documentation prior to the early 1700’s and not to any great veiled mystery. The few records kept were subject to loss, fire, weather and aging. So we can at best only speculate on many of our origins by looking at the few documents, historical references and legends that remain.

What We Know

n 1754, near Paris, Chevalier de Bonneville established the Chapter of Clermont. The Chapter resided in the College of Jesuits of Clermont, hence the name. It is said to have been created to honor the Duc de Clermont, then Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge of France.

The Chapter of Clermont was a “Chapter of the Advanced Degrees” and initially entailed six degrees and was later extended to 25 known degrees. The six initial degrees were 1˚, 2˚ and 3˚ St John’s Masonry, 4˚ Knight of the Eagle, 5˚ Illustrious Knight or Templar, 6˚ Sublime Illustrious Knight.

Interestingly enough historically, prior to the time of the Rite’s creation, James II had been in residence at Clermont in exile from Britain from 1688 to his death in 1701. As noted by German Masonic historian, Lenning… “whilst in exile, James II residing at the Jesuit College of Clermont in France, allowed his closest associates to fabricate certain degrees in order to extend their political views.” Lenning believed this to have been an attempt on the part of James and his associates to regain control of the British throne for the House of Stuart. If Lenning is right, this places the origins of the “Rite of Perfection” in the hands of James II and the Jacobite (Stuart) Freemasons who at the time were in exile from Great Britain throughout France and Italy. Lenning also contends that these degrees were introduced into French Freemasonry under the name of the Clermont System.

James II died in exile in 1701. His son James III is said to have continued his father’s Masonic legacy and later created further higher degrees.

Perhaps James II saw in the Jesuit morality plays of the College of Clermont a vessel for passing on a set of moral lessons. Some of the world’s greatest playwrights had emerged from Clermont. Jesuit tutelage had previously produced great writers such as Lope de Vega, Moliere, Racine, and the Corneille brothers. Ensconced in exile, I believe James II did find the inspiration and the training to help produce what would later become the first six degrees. From out of the darkness… comes light.

To be continued… (Author’s note… An in depth look at the Templar influence in Scottish Rite masonry’s origins can be found by visiting the Rosslyn Templars’ website.)"

https://web.archive.org/.../scottish-rite-history.html

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus II; Polish: Jan Paweł II; Italian: Giovanni Paolo II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła, Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛv vɔjˈtɨwa];[b] 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II

The Mount St. Helens major eruption of May 18, 1980, remains the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.[4] Fifty-seven people were killed; 200 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed.[5] A massive debris avalanche, triggered by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake, caused a lateral eruption[6] that reduced the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 to 8,363 ft (2,950 to 2,549 m), leaving a 1 mile (1.6 km) wide horseshoe-shaped crater.[7] The debris avalanche was 0.6 cubic miles (2.5 km3) in volume.[8] The 1980 eruption disrupted terrestrial ecosystems near the volcano. By contrast, aquatic ecosystems in the area greatly benefited from the amounts of ash, allowing life to multiply rapidly. Six years after the eruption, most lakes in the area had returned to their normal state.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_St._Helens

Updated May 18, 2023 Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons Both the 2022 National Defense Strategy and the House Armed Services Committee’s bipartisan Future of Defense Task Force Report have identified directed energy as a technology that could have a significant impact on U.S. national security in the years to come. As the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to invest in directed-energy (DE) weapons, Congress may consider implications for defense authorizations, appropriations, and oversight. Overview DOD defines DE weapons as those using concentrated electromagnetic energy, rather than kinetic energy, to “incapacitate, damage, disable, or destroy enemy equipment, facilities, and/or personnel.” DE weapons include high-energy lasers (HEL) and high-powered microwave (HPM) weapons; other DE weapons, such as particle beam weapons, are outside the scope of this In Focus. HELs might be used by ground forces in short-range air defense (SHORAD), counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), or counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) missions. The weapons might be used to “dazzle” (i.e., temporarily disable) or damage satellites and sensors. This could in turn interfere with intelligence-gathering operations; military cmmunications; and positioning, navigation, and timing systems used for weapons targeting. In addition, HELs could theoretically provide options for boost-phase missile intercept, given their speed-of-light travel time; however, experts disagree on the affordability, technological feasibility, and utility of this application. In general, HELs might offer lower costs per shot and— assuming access to a sufficient power supply—deeper magazines compared with traditional munitions. (Although a number of different types of HELs exist, many of the United States’ current programs are solid state lasers, which are fueled by electrical power. As a result, the cost per shot is equivalent to the cost of the electrical power required to fire the shot.) This could in turn produce a favorable costexchange ratio for the defender, whose marginal costs would be significantly lower than those of the aggressor.

Similarly, HPM weapons could provide a nonkinetic means of disabling adversary electronics and communications systems. These weapons could potentially generate effects over wider areas than HELs, which emit a narrower beam of energy. As a result, some analysts have noted that HPM weapons might provide more effective area defense against missile salvos and swarms of drones. HPM weapons have also been considered for use as nonlethal “heat ray” systems for crowd control. Directed-Energy Weapons Programs A number of countries are investing in directed-energy weapons programs. This In Focus discusses a selection of unclassified DE weapons programs in three leading military powers: the United States, China, and Russia. United States DOD requested approximately $1 billion for unclassified DE programs in FY2024. (For additional information about specific U.S. DE weapons programs, see CRS Report R44175, Navy Lasers, Railgun, and Gun-Launched Guided Projectile: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke, and CRS Report R45098, U.S. Army WeaponsRelated Directed Energy (DE) Programs: Background and Potential Issues for Congress, by Andrew Feickert.) DOD does not currently have any DE programs of record. DOD directed energy programs are coordinated by the Principal Director for Directed Energy within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD[R&E]). The Principal Director for Directed Energy is additionally responsible for development and oversight of the Directed Energy Roadmap. According to OUSD(R&E), DOD’s current DE roadmap outlines DOD’s plan to increase power levels of DE weapons from around 150 kilowatts (kW—a unit of power), as is currently feasible, to 300 kW by FY2023, “with goal milestones to achieve 500 kW class with reduced size and weight by FY2025 and to further reduce size and weight and increase power to MW [megawatt] levels by FY2026.” For reference, although there is no consensus regarding the precise power level that would be needed to neutralize different target sets, some analysts believe that lasers of around 100 kW could engage unmanned aircraft systems, small boats, rockets, artillery, and mortars, whereas lasers of around 300 kW could additionally engage cruise missiles flying in certain profiles (i.e., flying across—rather than at—the laser). Lasers of 1 MW could potentially neutralize ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons. In addition to the DE roadmap, OUSD(R&E) manages the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative (HELSI), which former Principal Director for Directed Energy Dr. Jim Trebes notes is “to demonstrate laser output power scaling while maintaining or improving beam quality and efficiency.” HELSI is intended to strengthen the defense industrial base for potential future directed energy weapons by providing near-term prototyping opportunities for industry partners. Dr. Trebes additionally notes that OUSD(R&E) has completed a DOD-wide Laser Lethality Analysis Process Review to identify future needs for the Department and best practices for DE development and use. According to OUSD(R&E), DOD is also testing a Directed Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons https://crsreports.congress.gov Energy Lethality Database that is to serve as a searchable repository for the department’s DE analyses. China According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, China has been developing DE weapons since at least the 1980s and has made steady progress in developing HPM and increasingly powerful HELs. China has reportedly developed a 30-kilowatt roadmobile HEL, LW-30, designed to engage unmanned aircraft systems and precision-guided weapons. Reports indicate that China is also developing an airborne HEL pod. According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, China is additionally pursuing DE weapons to disrupt, degrade, or damage satellites and their sensors and possibly already has a limited capability to employ laser systems against satellite sensors. China [has likely fielded] a ground-based laser weapon that can counter low-orbit spacebased sensors ... and by the mid-to-late 2020s, it may field higher power systems that extend the threat to the structures of non-optical satellites. Russia Russia has been conducting DE weapons research since the 1960s, with a particular emphasis on HELs. Russia has reportedly deployed the Peresvet ground-based HEL with several mobile intercontinental ballistic missile units. Although little is publicly known about Peresvet, including its power level, some analysts assert it is to dazzle satellites and provide point defense against unmanned aircraft systems. Russia’s deputy defense minister Alexei Krivoruchko has stated that efforts are underway to increase Peresvet’s power level and to deploy it on military aircraft. Reports suggest that Russia may also be developing HPMs as well as additional HELs capable of performing antisatellite missions. Potential Issues and Questions for Congress Technological Maturity Directed-energy weapons programs continue to face questions about their technological maturity, including the ability to improve beam quality and control to militarily useful levels and the ability to meet size, weight, and power (SWaP) and cooling requirements for integration into current platforms. Some DE systems are small enough to fit on military vehicles, but many require larger and/or fixed platforms that could potentially limit deployment options and operational utility. In what ways, if any, are DOD technology maturation efforts reducing the SWaP and cooling requirements of DE systems? Weapons Characteristics Although HELs may offer a lower cost per shot than traditional weapons such as missiles, they are also subject to a number of limitations. For example, atmospheric conditions (e.g., rain, fog, obscurants) and SWaP and cooling requirements can limit the range and beam quality of HELs, in turn reducing their effectiveness. Traditional weapons, in contrast, are not affected by these factors. How, if at all, might HEL limitations be mitigated by technological developments, concepts of operation, or other methods? What impact might a failure to mitigate these limitations have on future military operations? Mission Utility Given the strengths and weaknesses of DE weapons, DOD is continuing to examine their role within the military. DOD is additionally conducting multiple utility studies to analyze potential concepts of operation for DE weapons and to assess the scenarios in which they might be militarily useful. How might Congress draw upon the conclusions of these analyses as it conducts oversight of DE weapons programs? What is the appropriate balance between DE weapons and traditional munitions within the military’s portfolio of capabilities? Defense Industrial Base Some analysts have expressed concerns that, in the past, DOD did not provide stable funding for DE weapons programs or sufficient opportunities for the DE workforce. According to OUSD(R&E), HELSI is intended to address these concerns by providing industry with assured prototyping opportunities. In what ways, if any, has HELSI strengthened the defense industrial base for DE weapons? What, if any, challenges does the base continue to face and how might they be mitigated?

Intelligence Requirements

Some analysts have questioned whether DOD has sufficient knowledge of adversary DE weapons systems and materials to develop its weapons requirements. DOD is currently attempting to further define its DE collection requirements for the intelligence community (IC) through the Directed Energy Lethality Intelligence initiative. To what extent, if at all, is this initiative improving connectivity between DOD’s DE community and the IC? What collection requirements, if any, remain? Coordination within DOD Pursuant to Section 219 of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 114-328), OUSD(R&E)’s Principal Director for Directed Energy is tasked with coordinating DE efforts across DOD and with developing DOD’s Directed Energy Roadmap, which is to guide development efforts. To what extent are the military departments and defense agencies adhering to this roadmap? What, if any, additional authorities or structural changes would be required to ensure proper coordination throughout DOD? Related CRS Products CRS Report R46925, Department of Defense Directed Energy Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress, coordinated by Kelley M. Sayler. This report was originally co-authored by John Hoehn. Kelley M. Sayler, Analyst in Advanced Technology and Global Security IF11882 Defense Primer: Directed-Energy Weapons https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11882 · VERSION 8 · UPDATED Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material"

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11882

"Published: 10 October 1996

Russian documents Set out 'tectonic weapon' research

Carl Levitin

Moscow. The first official details have emerged in Moscow of ambitious research into 'tectonic warfare' carried out by the former Soviet Union and subsequently by the government of Russia, and involving atte mpts to stimulate 'artificial' earthquakes as weapons of destruction. According to documents obtained by the newspaper Moscow News, two research programmes, the first known as ' Mercury ' and the second as ' Volcano', were aimed at creating new earthquake epicentres by using underground nuclear explosions . Geophysicists are aware that impending earthquakes may be triggered by underground nuclear explosions . But Western geophysicists remain sceptical about tectonic warfare and have all but abandoned research after two unsuccessful phases of activity in the 1960s and 1980s, says Roger Clark, a lecturer in geophysics at the University of Leeds. Clark is not at all surprised that th e Russians tried to create earthquakes and control their location electromagnetically, however. "This sort of science is very much part of their heritage. We don't think it is impossible, or wrong , but past experience suggests it is very, very unlikely. "

The programme , which was secretly launched by the Communist rulers of the former Soviet Union in 1987, and has been unofficially known to Western geophysicists for several years, is now believed to have been abandoned. It would certainly contravene the terms of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which Russia signe d at the United Nations in Geneva last month . The Mercury project was launched in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, but came to a halt when the republic became independent. It was superseded by the Volcano project. Three underground nuclear tests are believed to have taken place at sites in Kyrgyzstan.

According to the documents, the Mercury project was launched by a secret decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. The objective was to "develop a methodology for remote operation on an earthquake epicentre by using weak seismic fields and research possibilities of transferring the seismic energy of an explosion ".

The documents say that the Mercury project involved 22 scientific and industrial organizations, including the Geological Institute of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences in Baku. The remit extended to developing the electronic equipment to be installed aboard space satellites that would control the tectonic weapon. The scientists were given three years to complete research, with testing planned for 1990.

During the research phase, Azerbaijani scientists grew increasingly confident and, according to the documents, were sure that " after [a] nuclear explosion, subterranean energy may accumulate at huge distances from the epicentre and reach massive capacity, after which the next directed explosion can release it all ".

Underground testing began at the town of Batken in Kyrgyzstan, and was directed by lkram Ke rimov , of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. The documents say that scientists detonated an underground nuclear charge and tried to control the direction of seismic energy release d using British-built equipment known as 'system 9690 ' .

A report prepared by the Mozhaisky Military Engineering Institute concluded that the test had been a success. But progress slowed considerably following Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union. At about this time , Russia embarked on a more comprehensive tectonic warfare programme known as the Volcano project. The Earth Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) became the project headquarters .

Research was scheduled to be completed in 1992, with underground testing beginning the following year. The final test was carried out at a place code-named S36NZ-0Kh; Moscow News believes the letters 'NZ' refer to Novaya Zemlya, where Soviet nuclear testing began in the 1950s."

https://www.nature.com/articles/383471a0

Earthquake Promo [1991-01-26]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtKtRrOfEhk

Volcano is a 1997 American disaster film directed by Mick Jackson, written by Jerome Armstrong and Billy Ray, and produced by Neal H. Moritz and Andrew Z. Davis. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Don Cheadle and Keith David. It tells the story of an effort to divert the path of a dangerous lava flow through the streets of Los Angeles following the formation of a volcano at the La Brea Tar Pits. The story was inspired by the 1943 formation of the Parícutin volcano in Mexico.

Volcano was released by 20th Century Fox in the United States on April 25, 1997. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $122.8 million worldwide on a $90 million budget.

Plot

In downtown Los Angeles, an earthquake strikes. Mike Roark, the new director of the city's Office of Emergency Management, insists on coming to work to help out with the crisis even though he has been on vacation with his daughter Kelly. His associate Emmit Reese notes that the quake caused no major damage, but seven utility workers are later burned to death in a storm drain at MacArthur Park. As a precaution, Mike tries to halt the subway lines near the location of the earthquake. MTA Chairman Stan Olber opposes, believing that there is no threat to the trains. Seismologist Dr. Amy Barnes believes that a volcano may be forming beneath the city due to the earthquake opening a fissure in the fault line; however, she has insufficient evidence to make Mike take action.

Early the next morning, Amy and her assistant Rachel venture in the storm sewer to investigate. While they take samples, another (more powerful) earthquake strikes the city. Rachel falls into a crack and is killed by a rush of hot gases. A subway train derails from falling debris, and a power outage occurs across the entire city. Later, in the La Brea Tar Pits, the volcano begins to erupt. As Mike helps injured firefighters out of the area, lava begins to flow down Wilshire Boulevard. The lava incinerates everything in its path and kills two firefighters in an overturned fire truck. The Roarks become separated, as Kelly is injured when a lava bomb burns her leg and is taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital along with other patients. Meanwhile, Stan leads his team through the tunnel to the derailed train to search for survivors. While his team save everyone aboard, Stan rescues the driver just as lava reaches the train, causing it to disintegrate. Stan sacrifices his life by jumping into the lava flow to throw the driver to safety.

Mike, Amy, and LAPD lieutenant Ed Fox devise a plan to use concrete barriers to create a blockade, which obstructs the lava in its path. A fleet of helicopters dump water collected from the ocean to subdue the lava and volcano, forming a crust and making the plan a success. However, Amy thinks that the magma is still flowing underground through the subway because of the amount of ash still falling. When Mike helps her confirm her suspicions, she calculates that another eruption will occur at the end of the Red Line at Cedars-Sinai and, after calculating the speed of the flowing lava, determines the lava will reach the end of the tunnel in thirty minutes.

Mike devises another plan to demolish a 22-story condominium building to block the lava's path from flowing towards the hospital and the rest of the West Side of Los Angeles, redirecting it into a nearby storm drain. As the lava arrives, Mike's co-worker Gator and an LAPD Bomb Squad officer (trapped under debris) sacrifice their lives to detonate the final explosive charge. Mike then spots Kelly nearby, trying to retrieve a little boy she was watching who wandered off; the two are in the direct path of the collapsing building. Mike barely manages to save them from being crushed as the building collapses. The plan succeeds, and the lava flows directly into the ocean. As it begins raining, the trio emerge from the rubble unscathed and reunite with Amy before heading home.

The film ends with a view of the volcano, named Mount Wilshire. Status: A.C.T.I.V.E.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano_(1997_film)

EVER-BURNING LAMPS

In the Papacy of Paul the Third, in the Appian Way, where abundance of the chief heathens of old were laid, a sepulchre was opened, where was found the entire body of a fair virgin swimming in a wonderful juice, which kept it from putrefaction so well, that the face seemed no way impaired, but lively and very beautiful. Her hair was yellow, tied up artificially, and kept together with a golden circlet or band. Under her feet burnt lamps, the light of which was extinguished at the opening of the sepulchre. By some inscriptions found about the tomb it appeared that she must have lain there fifteen hundred years. Who she was was never known, although many concluded her to be ' Tulliola ', the daughter of Cicero. This discovery has been reported from various hands. Cedrenus makes mention of a lamp, which, together with an image of Christ, was found at Edessa in the reign of Justinian the Emperor. It was set over a certain gate there, and elaborately enclosed and shut out from the air. This lamp, as appeared from the date attached to it, was lighted soon after Christ was crucified. It was found burning—as in fact it had done for five hundred years—by the soldiers of Cosroes, king of Persia ; by whom, at this strange discovery and plunder, the oil was taken out and cast into the fire. As it is reported, this wild act occasioned such a plague as brought death upon numbers of the forces of Cosroes, sufficiently punished for their sacrilegious mischief. At the demolition of our monasteries here in England, there was found in the monument which was supposed to be that of Constantius Chlorus, father to the great Constantine, a burning lamp, which was thought to have continued burning there ever since his burial, which was about three hundred years after Christ. The ancient Romans are said to have been able to maintain lights in their sepulchres for an indefinite time, by an essence or oil obtained from liquid gold ; which was an achievement assumed to have been only known to the Rosicrucians, who boasted this among some other of their stupendous arts. Baptista Porta, in his treatise on Natural Magic, relates that about the year 1550, in the island of Nesis, in the Bay of Naples, a marble sepulchre of a certain Roman was discovered ; upon the opening of which a burning lamp, affording a powerful illumination, was discovered. The light of this lamp paled on the admission of the air, and it was speedily extinguished. It appeared from undoubted tokens in the mode of inscription that this wonderful lamp had been placed in its present receptacle before the advent of the Saviour. Those who saw the lamp declared that the effulgence was of the most dazzling character ; that the light did not flicker or change, but burnt marvellously steadily. A most celebrated lamp, called that of Pallas, the son of Evander, who, as Virgil relates, was killed by Turnus (the account will be found in the tenth book of Virgil's Mneid), is that reported as discovered not far from Rome, as far forward in time as the year 1401. It is related that a countryman was digging in the neighbourhood, and that delving deeper than PERPETUAL LAMPS 15 usual^ he came upon a stone sepulchre, wherein there was discovered the body of a man of extraordinary size, as perfect and natural as if recently interred. Above the head of the deceased there was found a lamp, burning with the supposed fabulous perpetual lire. Neither wind nor water, nor any other superinduced means, could extinguish it ; but the flame was mastered eventually by the lamp being bored at bottom and broken by the astonished investigators of this consummate light. The man enclosed in this monument had a large wound in the breast. That this was the body of Pallas was evident from the inscription on the tomb, which was as follows :

Pallas, Evander's son, whom Turnus' spear

In battle slew, of mighty bulk, lies here.

A very remarkable lamp was discovered about the year 1500 near Ateste, a town belonging to Padua, in Italy, by a rustic who in his explorations in a field came upon an urn containing another urn, in which last was deposited one of these much-doubted miraculous lamps. The aliment of this strange lamp appeared to be a very exquisite crystal liquor, by the everduring powers of which the lamp must have continued to shine for upwards of fifteen hundred years. And unless this lamp had been so suddenly exposed to the action of the air, it is supposed that it might have continued to burn for any time. This lamp, endowed with such unbelievable powers, was discovered to be the workmanship of an unknown contriver named Maximus Olibius, who must have possessed the profoundest skill in chemical art. On the greater urn some lines were inscribed in Latin, recording the perpetuation of this wonderful secret of the preparation and the starting of these (almost) immortal flames.

The Rosicrucians Their Rites and Mysteries

by Hargrave Jennings

https://archive.org/download/rosicruciansthei00jenn_0/rosicruciansthei00jenn_0.pdf

Romulus Augustus (c. 465 – after 511[b]), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne while still a minor by his father Orestes, the magister militum, for whom he served as little more than a figurehead. After a rule of ten months, the barbarian general Odoacer defeated and killed Orestes and deposed Romulus. As Odoacer did not proclaim any successor, Romulus is typically regarded as the last Western Roman emperor, his deposition marking the end of the Western Roman Empire as a political entity. The deposition of Romulus Augustulus is also sometimes used by historians to mark the transition from antiquity to the medieval period.

Very few records survive of Romulus's reign. There are no known policies, laws or inscriptions of significance of the emperor, which leaves the impression that he was a shadowy and relatively inconsequential figure. The nickname "Augustulus" means "little Augustus" and was a derisive reference to his young age. Romulus's immediate family, including his father and possibly his mother, and maybe both his paternal and maternal grandparents, were from the Roman province of Pannonia, and many of his family members had military backgrounds.

Romulus came to power through the usurpation of his predecessor Julius Nepos (r. 474–475 in Italy) in 475. Nepos fled to Dalmatia and continued to claim the imperial title in exile, which hampered Romulus's legitimacy and ensured that he was never recognised by the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno. In 476, the allied barbarian foederati in Italy demanded Italian lands to settle on, which was refused by Orestes. Under Odoacer, the foederati defeated and killed Orestes and deposed Romulus, whereafter Odoacer became the first King of Italy and accepted Emperor Zeno as his nominal superior.

Romulus's life was spared by Odoacer, and he was allowed to retire to the castellum Lucullanum, a great fortress in Campania. Little certain information is known concerning Romulus's life in exile. He might have played a role in founding a monastery at castellum Lucullanum in the 480s or 490s, dedicated to Saint Severinus of Noricum.[3][4] Romulus could have been alive as late as 507 or 511 when Theodoric the Great, Odoacer's successor, wrote a letter to a "Romulus" concerning a pension. Romulus was likely dead before the mid-540s, as accounts of the eastern Roman invasion of Italy at that time do not mention him.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Augustulus

The Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences[a] is a list of propositions for an academic disputation written in 1517 by Martin Luther, then a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany.[b] The Theses is retrospectively considered to have launched the Protestant Reformation and the birth of Protestantism, despite various proto-Protestant groups having existed previously. It detailed Luther's opposition to what he saw as the Roman Catholic Church's abuse and corruption by Catholic clergy, who were selling plenary indulgences, which were certificates supposed to reduce the temporal punishment in purgatory for sins committed by the purchasers or their loved ones.

In the Theses, Luther claimed that the repentance required by Christ in order for sins to be forgiven involves inner spiritual repentance rather than merely external sacramental confession. He argued that indulgences led Christians to avoid true repentance and sorrow for sin, believing that they could forgo it by obtaining an indulgence. These indulgences, according to Luther, discouraged Christians from giving to the poor and performing other acts of mercy, which he attributed to a belief that indulgence certificates were more spiritually valuable. Though Luther claimed that his positions on indulgences accorded with those of Pope Leo X, the Theses challenge a 14th-century papal bull stating that the pope could use the treasury of merit and the good deeds of past saints to forgive temporal punishment for sins. The Theses are framed as propositions to be argued in debate rather than necessarily representing Luther's opinions, but Luther later clarified his views in the Explanations of the Disputation Concerning the Value of Indulgences.

Luther sent the Theses enclosed with a letter to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, on 31 October 1517, a date now considered the start of the Reformation and commemorated annually as Reformation Day. Luther may have also posted the Ninety-five Theses on the door of All Saints' Church and other churches in Wittenberg, in accordance with University custom, at some point between 31 October and mid-November. The Theses were quickly reprinted and translated, and distributed throughout Germany and Europe. They initiated a pamphlet war with the indulgence preacher Johann Tetzel, which spread Luther's fame even further. Luther's ecclesiastical superiors had him tried for heresy, which culminated in his excommunication in 1521. Though the Theses were the start of the Reformation, Luther did not consider indulgences to be as important as other theological matters which would divide the church, such as justification by faith alone and the bondage of the will. His breakthrough on these issues would come later, and he did not see the writing of the Theses as the point at which his beliefs diverged from those of the Roman Catholic Church.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-five_Theses

The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (Latin: Magnum schisma occidentale, Ecclesiae occidentalis schisma), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon both claimed to be the true pope, and were joined by a third line of Pisan claimants in 1409. The schism was driven by personalities and political allegiances, with the Avignon Papacy being closely associated with the French monarchy.

The papacy had resided in Avignon since 1309, but Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1377. The Catholic Church split in 1378 after Gregory XI's death and Urban VI's election. A group of French cardinals declared his election invalid and elected Clement VII as pope. After several attempts at reconciliation, the Council of Pisa (1409) declared that both rivals were illegitimate and elected a third purported pope. The schism was finally resolved when the Pisan claimant Antipope John XXIII called the Council of Constance (1414–1418). The Council arranged the renunciation of both Roman pope Gregory XII and Pisan antipope John XXIII. The Avignon antipope Benedict XIII was excommunicated, while Pope Martin V was elected and reigned from Rome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schism

Pope Leo X (r. 1513–1521) decided to complete the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. As the sale of certificates of indulgences had been a well-established method of papal fund raising, he announced new indulgences in the papal bull Sacrosanctis in 1515. On the advice of the banker Jakob Fugger (d. 1525), he appointed the pluralist prelate Albert of Brandenburg (d. 1545) to supervise the sale campaign in Germany.[note 22] The Dominican friar Johann Tetzel (d. 1519), a leading figure in the campaign, applied unusually aggressive marketing methods. A slogan attributed to him famously claimed that "As soon as the coin into the box rings, a soul from purgatory to heaven springs".[110][111] Frederick the Wise, Prince-elector of Saxony (r. 1486–1525) forbade the campaign because the Sacrosanctis suspended the sale of previous indulgences, depriving him of revenues that he had spent on his collection of relics.[note 23][94]

The campaign's vulgarity shocked many serious-minded believers,[94] among them Martin Luther, a theology professor at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony.[111][113] Born into a middle-class family, Luther entered an Augustinian monastery after a heavy thunderstorm dreadfully reminded him the risk of sudden death and eternal damnation, but his anxiety about his sinfulness did not abate.[114] His studies on the works of the Late Roman theologian Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) convinced him that those whom God chose as his elect received a gift of faith independently of their acts.[115] He first denounced the idea of justification through human efforts in his Disputatio contra scholasticam theologiam ('Disputation against Scholastic Theology') in September 1517.[116]

On 31 October 1517, Luther addressed a letter to Albert of Brandenburg, stating that the clerics preaching the St. Peter's indulgences were deceiving the faithful, and attached his Ninety-five Theses to it. He questioned the efficacy of indulgences for the dead, although also stated "If ... indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of the pope, all ... doubts would be readily resolved".[117] Archbishop Albert ordered the theologians at the University of Mainz to examine the document. Tetzel, and the theologians Konrad Wimpina (d. 1531) and Johann Eck (d. 1543) were the first to associate some of Luther's propositions with Hussitism. The case was soon forwarded to the Roman Curia for judgement.[118] Pope Leo remained uninterested, and mentioned the case as "a quarrel among friars".[111][119]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation

416 Finally, those means that are proposed by our holy father Saint Ignatius in Part X of the Constitutions for the preservation and development not only of the body or exterior of the Society but also of its spirit, and for the attainment of the objective it seeks, which is to aid souls to reach their ultimate and supernatural end, [10] are to be observed eagerly and diligently by all, with a truly personal sense of responsibility for its increase and development, for the praise and service of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and the help of souls. [11]

L. D. S. "

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia [diˈviːna komˈmɛːdja]) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature[1] and one of the greatest works of Western literature.[2] The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it existed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language.[3] It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

The poem discusses "the state of the soul after death and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward",[4] and describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.[5] Allegorically, the poem represents the soul's journey towards God,[6] beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin (Inferno), followed by the penitent Christian life (Purgatorio), which is then followed by the soul's ascent to God (Paradiso). Dante draws on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas.[7] Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called "the Summa in verse".[8]

In the poem, the pilgrim Dante is accompanied by three guides:[9][4] Virgil, who represents human reason, and who guides him for all of Inferno and most of Purgatorio;[10] Beatrice, who represents divine revelation[10] in addition to theology, grace, and faith;[11] and guides him from the end of Purgatorio onwards; and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who represents contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary the Mother, guiding him in the final cantos of Paradiso.[12]

The work was originally simply titled Comedìa (pronounced [komeˈdiːa], Tuscan for "Comedy") – so also in the first printed edition, published in 1472 – later adjusted to the modern Italian Commedia. The adjective Divina was added by Giovanni Boccaccio,[13] owing to its subject matter and lofty style,[14] and the first edition to name the poem Divina Comedia in the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce,[15] published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.

Erich Auerbach said Dante was the first writer to depict human beings as the products of a specific time, place and circumstance, as opposed to mythic archetypes or a collection of vices and virtues, concluding that this, along with the fully imagined world of the Divine Comedy, suggests that the Divine Comedy inaugurated realism and self-portraiture in modern fiction.[16]

Structure and story

The Divine Comedy is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three cantiche (singular cantica) – Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise) – each consisting of 33 cantos (Italian plural canti). An initial canto, serving as an introduction to the poem and generally considered to be part of the first cantica, brings the total number of cantos to 100. It is generally accepted, however, that the first two cantos serve as a unitary prologue to the entire epic, and that the opening two cantos of each cantica serve as prologues to each of the three cantiche.[17][18][19]

The number three is prominent in the work, represented in part by the number of cantiche and their lengths. Additionally, the verse scheme used, terza rima, is hendecasyllabic (lines of eleven syllables), with the lines composing tercets according to the rhyme scheme ABA BCB CDC DED ...[20] The total number of syllables in each tercet is thus 33, the same as the number of cantos in each cantica.

Written in the first person, the poem tells of Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. Beatrice was a Florentine woman he had met in childhood and admired from afar in the mode of the then-fashionable courtly love tradition, which is highlighted in Dante's earlier work La Vita Nuova.[21]

The structure of the three realms follows a common numerical pattern of 9 plus 1, for a total of 10: 9 circles of the Inferno, followed by Lucifer contained at its bottom; 9 rings of Mount Purgatory, followed by the Garden of Eden crowning its summit; and the 9 celestial bodies of Paradiso, followed by the Empyrean containing the very essence of God. Within each group of 9, 7 elements correspond to a specific moral scheme, subdivided into three subcategories, while 2 others of greater particularity are added to total nine. For example, the seven deadly sins of the Catholic Church that are cleansed in Purgatory are joined by special realms for the late repentant and the excommunicated by the church. The core seven sins within Purgatory correspond to a moral scheme of love perverted, subdivided into three groups corresponding to excessive love (Lust, Gluttony, Greed), deficient love (Sloth), and malicious love (Wrath, Envy, Pride).[22]

In central Italy's political struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines, Dante was part of the Guelphs, who in general favored the Papacy over the Holy Roman Emperor. Florence's Guelphs split into factions around 1300 – the White Guelphs and the Black Guelphs. Dante was among the White Guelphs who were exiled in 1302 by the Lord-Mayor Cante de' Gabrielli di Gubbio, after troops under Charles of Valois entered the city, at the request of Pope Boniface VIII, who supported the Black Guelphs. This exile, which lasted the rest of Dante's life, shows its influence in many parts of the Comedy, from prophecies of Dante's exile to Dante's views of politics, to the eternal damnation of some of his opponents.[23]

The last word in each of the three cantiche is stelle ("stars").

Inferno

The poem begins on the night before Good Friday in the year 1300, "halfway along our life's path" (Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita). Dante is thirty-five years old, half of the biblical lifespan of 70 (Psalms 89:10, Vulgate), lost in a dark wood (understood as sin),[24][25][26] assailed by beasts (a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf) he cannot evade and unable to find the "straight way" (diritta via) – also translatable as "right way" – to salvation (symbolized by the sun behind the mountain). Conscious that he is ruining himself and that he is falling into a "low place" (basso loco) where the sun is silent ('l sol tace), Dante is at last rescued by Virgil, and the two of them begin their journey to the underworld. Each sin's punishment in Inferno is a contrapasso, a symbolic instance of poetic justice; for example, in Canto XX, fortune-tellers and soothsayers must walk with their heads on backwards, unable to see what is ahead, because that was what they had tried to do in life:

they had their faces twisted toward their haunches

and found it necessary to walk backward,

because they could not see ahead of them.

... and since he wanted so to see ahead,

he looks behind and walks a backward path.[27]

Allegorically, the Inferno represents the Christian soul seeing sin for what it really is, and the three beasts represent three types of sin: the self-indulgent, the violent, and the malicious.[28] These three types of sin also provide the three main divisions of Dante's Hell: Upper Hell, outside the city of Dis, for the four sins of indulgence (lust, gluttony, avarice, anger); Circle 7 for the sins of violence against one's neighbor, against oneself, and against God, art, and nature; and Circles 8 and 9 for the sins of fraud and treachery. Added to these are two dissimilar, spiritual categories: Limbo, in Circle 1, contains the virtuous pagans who were not sinful but were ignorant of Christ, and Circle 6 contains the heretics who contradicted the doctrine and confused the spirit of Christ.[29]

Purgatorio

Having survived the depths of Hell, Dante and Virgil ascend out of the undergloom to the Mountain of Purgatory on the far side of the world. The Mountain is on an island, the only land in the Southern Hemisphere, created by the displacement of rock which resulted when Satan's fall created Hell[30] (which Dante portrays as existing underneath Jerusalem[31]). The mountain has seven terraces, corresponding to the seven deadly sins or "seven roots of sinfulness".[32] The classification of sin here is more psychological than that of the Inferno, being based on motives, rather than actions. It is also drawn primarily from Christian theology, rather than from classical sources.[33] However, Dante's illustrative examples of sin and virtue draw on classical sources as well as on the Bible and on contemporary events.

Love, a theme throughout the Divine Comedy, is particularly important for the framing of sin on the Mountain of Purgatory. While the love that flows from God is pure, it can become sinful as it flows through humanity. Humans can sin by using love towards improper or malicious ends (Wrath, Envy, Pride), or using it to proper ends but with love that is either not strong enough (Sloth) or love that is too strong (Lust, Gluttony, Greed). Below the seven purges of the soul is the Ante-Purgatory, containing the Excommunicated from the church and the Late repentant who died, often violently, before receiving rites. Thus the total comes to nine, with the addition of the Garden of Eden at the summit, equaling ten.[34]

Allegorically, the Purgatorio represents the Christian life. Christian souls arrive escorted by an angel, singing In exitu Israel de Aegypto. In his Letter to Cangrande, Dante explains that this reference to Israel leaving Egypt refers both to the redemption of Christ and to "the conversion of the soul from the sorrow and misery of sin to the state of grace."[35] Appropriately, therefore, it is Easter Sunday when Dante and Virgil arrive.

The Purgatorio demonstrates the medieval knowledge of a spherical Earth. During the poem, Dante discusses the different stars visible in the southern hemisphere, the altered position of the sun, and the various time zones of the Earth. At this stage it is, Dante says, sunset at Jerusalem, midnight on the River Ganges, and sunrise in Purgatory.

Paradiso

After an initial ascension, Beatrice guides Dante through the nine celestial spheres of Heaven. These are concentric and spherical, as in Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology. While the structures of the Inferno and Purgatorio were based on different classifications of sin, the structure of the Paradiso is based on the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues.

The seven lowest spheres of Heaven deal solely with the cardinal virtues of Prudence, Fortitude, Justice and Temperance. The first three spheres involve a deficiency of one of the cardinal virtues – the Moon, containing the inconstant, whose vows to God waned as the moon and thus lack fortitude; Mercury, containing the ambitious, who were virtuous for glory and thus lacked justice; and Venus, containing the lovers, whose love was directed towards another than God and thus lacked Temperance. The final four incidentally are positive examples of the cardinal virtues, all led on by the Sun, containing the prudent, whose wisdom lighted the way for the other virtues, to which the others are bound (constituting a category on its own). Mars contains the men of fortitude who died in the cause of Christianity; Jupiter contains the kings of Justice; and Saturn contains the temperate, the monks who abided by the contemplative lifestyle. The seven subdivided into three are raised further by two more categories: the eighth sphere of the fixed stars that contain those who achieved the theological virtues of faith, hope and love, and represent the Church Triumphant – the total perfection of humanity, cleansed of all the sins and carrying all the virtues of heaven; and the ninth circle, or Primum Mobile (corresponding to the Geocentricism of Medieval astronomy), which contains the angels, creatures never poisoned by original sin. Topping them all is the Empyrean, which contains the essence of God, completing the 9-fold division to 10.

Dante meets and converses with several great saints of the Church, including Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, Saint Peter, and St. John. The Paradiso is consequently more theological in nature than the Inferno and the Purgatorio. However, Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is merely the one his human eyes permit him to see, and thus the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's personal vision.

The Divine Comedy finishes with Dante seeing the Triune God. In a flash of understanding that he cannot express, Dante finally understands the mystery of Christ's divinity and humanity, and his soul becomes aligned with God's love:[36]

But already my desire and my will

were being turned like a wheel, all at one speed,

by the Love which moves the sun and the other stars.[37]

History

Manuscripts

According to the Italian Dante Society, no original manuscript written by Dante has survived, although there are many manuscript copies from the 14th and 15th centuries – some 800 are listed on their site.[38]

Early translations

Coluccio Salutati translated some quotations from the Comedy into Latin for his De fato et fortuna in 1396–1397. The first complete translation of the Comedy was made into Latin prose by Giovanni da Serravalle in 1416 for two English bishops, Robert Hallam and Nicholas Bubwith, and an Italian cardinal, Amedeo di Saluzzo. It was made during the Council of Constance. The first verse translation, into Latin hexameters, was made in 1427–1431 by Matteo Ronto [fr].[39]

The first translation of the Comedy into another vernacular was the prose translation into Castilian completed by Enrique de Villena in 1428. The first vernacular verse translation was that of Andreu Febrer into Catalan in 1429.[4]

Early printed editions

The first printed edition was published in Foligno, Italy, by Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi on 11 April 1472.[40] Of the 300 copies printed, fourteen still survive. The original printing press is on display in the Oratorio della Nunziatella in Foligno.

Thematic concerns

The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory: each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternative meanings. Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the Letter to Cangrande)[41] he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory: the historical, the moral, the literal, and the anagogical.

The structure of the poem is also quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns distributed throughout the work, particularly threes and nines. The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination. Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of the Inferno, allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."[42]

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" was added later, in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy").[43] Low poems had happy endings and were written in everyday language, whereas High poems treated more serious matters and were written in an elevated style. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of humanity, in the low and "vulgar" Italian language and not the Latin one might expect for such a serious topic. Boccaccio's account that an early version of the poem was begun by Dante in Latin is still controversial.[44][45]

Scientific themes

Although the Divine Comedy is primarily a religious poem, discussing sin, virtue, and theology, Dante also discusses several elements of the science of his day (this mixture of science with poetry has received both praise and criticism over the centuries).[46] The Purgatorio repeatedly refers to the implications of a spherical Earth, such as the different stars visible in the southern hemisphere, the altered position of the sun, and the various time zones of the Earth. For example, at sunset in Purgatory it is midnight at the Ebro, dawn in Jerusalem, and noon on the River Ganges:[47]

Just as, there where its Maker shed His blood,

the sun shed its first rays, and Ebro lay

beneath high Libra, and the ninth hour's rays

were scorching Ganges' waves; so here, the sun

stood at the point of day's departure when

God's angel – happy – showed himself to us.[48]

Dante travels through the centre of the Earth in the Inferno, and comments on the resulting change in the direction of gravity in Canto XXXIV (lines 76–120). A little earlier (XXXIII, 102–105), he queries the existence of wind in the frozen inner circle of hell, since it has no temperature differentials.[49]

Inevitably, given its setting, the Paradiso discusses astronomy extensively, but in the Ptolemaic sense. The Paradiso also discusses the importance of the experimental method in science, with a detailed example in lines 94–105 of Canto II:

Yet an experiment, were you to try it,

could free you from your cavil and the source

of your arts' course springs from experiment.

Taking three mirrors, place a pair of them

at equal distance from you; set the third

midway between those two, but farther back.

Then, turning toward them, at your back have placed

a light that kindles those three mirrors and

returns to you, reflected by them all.

Although the image in the farthest glass

will be of lesser size, there you will see

that it must match the brightness of the rest.

Paradiso, Canto II[50]

A briefer example occurs in Canto XV of the Purgatorio (lines 16–21), where Dante points out that both theory and experiment confirm that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. Other references to science in the Paradiso include descriptions of clockwork in Canto XXIV (lines 13–18), and Thales' theorem about triangles in Canto XIII (lines 101–102).

Galileo Galilei is known to have lectured on the Inferno, and it has been suggested that the poem may have influenced some of Galileo's own ideas regarding mechanics.[51]

Influences

Classical

Without access to the works of Homer, Dante used Virgil, Lucan, Ovid, and Statius as the models for the style, history, and mythology of the Comedy.[52] This is most obvious in the case of Virgil, who appears as a mentor character throughout the first two canticles and who has his epic The Aeneid praised with language Dante reserves elsewhere for Scripture.[53] Ovid is given less explicit praise in the poem, but besides Virgil, Dante uses Ovid as a source more than any other poet, mostly through metaphors and fantastical episodes based on those in The Metamorphoses.[54] Less influential than either of the two are Statius and Lucan, the latter of whom has only been given proper recognition as a source in the Divine Comedy in the twentieth century.[55]

Besides Dante's fellow poets, the classical figure that most influenced the Comedy is Aristotle. Dante built up the philosophy of the Comedy with the works of Aristotle as a foundation, just as the scholastics used Aristotle as the basis for their thinking. Dante knew Aristotle directly from Latin translations of his works and indirectly quotations in the works of Albertus Magnus.[56] Dante even acknowledges Aristotle's influence explicitly in the poem, specifically when Virgil justifies the Inferno's structure by citing the Nicomachean Ethics.[57] In the same canto, Virgil draws on Cicero's De Officiis to explain why sins of the intellect are worse than sins of violence, a key point that would be explored from canto XVIII to the end of the Inferno.[58]

Christian

The Divine Comedy's language is often derived from the phraseology of the Vulgate. This was the only translation of the Bible Dante had access to, as it was one the vast majority of scribes were willing to copy during the Middle Ages. This includes five hundred or so direct quotes and references Dante derives from the Bible (or his memory of it). Dante also treats the Bible as a final authority on any matter, including on subjects scripture only approaches allegorically.[59]

The Divine Comedy is also a product of Scholasticism, especially as expressed by St. Thomas Aquinas.[60][61] This influence is most pronounced in the Paradiso, where the text's portrayals of God, the beatific vision, and substantial forms all align with scholastic doctrine.[62] It is also in the Paradiso that Aquinas and fellow scholastic St. Bonaventure appear as characters, introducing Dante to all of Heaven's wisest souls. Despite all this, there are issues on which Dante diverges from the scholastic doctrine, such as in his unbridled praise for poetry.[63]

The Apocalypse of Peter is one of the earliest examples of a Christian-Jewish katabasis, a genre of explicit depictions of heaven and hell. Later works inspired by it include the Apocalypse of Thomas in the 2nd–4th century, and more importantly, the Apocalypse of Paul in the 4th century. Despite a lack of "official" approval, the Apocalypse of Paul would go on to be popular for centuries, possibly due to its popularity among the medieval monks that copied and preserved manuscripts in the turbulent centuries following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Divine Comedy belongs to the same genre[64] and was influenced by the Apocalypse of Paul.[65][66]

Islamic

Dante lived in a Europe of substantial literary and philosophical contact with the Muslim world, encouraged by such factors as Averroism ("Averrois, che'l gran comento feo" Commedia, Inferno, IV, 144, meaning "Averrois, who wrote the great comment") and the patronage of Alfonso X of Castile. Of the twelve wise men Dante meets in Canto X of the Paradiso, Thomas Aquinas and, even more so, Siger of Brabant were strongly influenced by Arabic commentators on Aristotle.[67] Medieval Christian mysticism also shared the Neoplatonic influence of Sufis such as Ibn Arabi. Philosopher Frederick Copleston argued in 1950 that Dante's respectful treatment of Averroes, Avicenna, and Siger of Brabant indicates his acknowledgement of a "considerable debt" to Islamic philosophy.[67]

In 1919, Miguel Asín Palacios, a Spanish scholar and a Catholic priest, published La Escatología musulmana en la Divina Comedia (Islamic Eschatology in the Divine Comedy), an account of parallels between early Islamic philosophy and the Divine Comedy. Palacios argued that Dante derived many features of and episodes about the hereafter from the spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi and from the Isra and Mi'raj or night journey of Muhammad to heaven. The latter is described in the ahadith and the Kitab al Miraj (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before[68] as Liber scalae Machometi, "The Book of Muhammad's Ladder"), and has significant similarities to the Paradiso, such as a sevenfold division of Paradise, although this is not unique to the Kitab al Miraj or Islamic cosmology.[69]

Many scholars have not been satisfied that Dante was influenced by the Kitab al Miraj. The 20th century Orientalist Francesco Gabrieli expressed skepticism regarding the claimed similarities, and the lack of evidence of a vehicle through which it could have been transmitted to Dante.[70] The Italian philologist Maria Corti pointed out that, during his stay at the court of Alfonso X, Dante's mentor Brunetto Latini met Bonaventura de Siena, a Tuscan who had translated the Kitab al Miraj from Arabic into Latin. Corti speculates that Brunetto may have provided a copy of that work to Dante.[71] René Guénon, a Sufi convert and scholar of Ibn Arabi, confirms in The Esoterism of Dante the theory of the Islamic influence (direct or indirect) on Dante.[72] Palacios' theory that Dante was influenced by Ibn Arabi was satirized by the Turkish academic Orhan Pamuk in his novel The Black Book.[73]

In addition to that, it has been claimed that Risālat al-Ghufrān ("The Epistle of Forgiveness"), a satirical work mixing Arabic poetry and prose written by Abu al-ʿAlaʾ al-Maʿarri around 1033 CE, had an influence on, or even inspired, Dante's Divine Comedy.[74][75]

Literary influence in the English-speaking world and beyond

The Divine Comedy was not always as well-regarded as it is today. Although recognized as a masterpiece in the centuries immediately following its publication,[76] the work was largely ignored during the Enlightenment, with some notable exceptions such as Vittorio Alfieri; Antoine de Rivarol, who translated the Inferno into French; and Giambattista Vico, who in the Scienza nuova and in the Giudizio su Dante inaugurated what would later become the romantic reappraisal of Dante, juxtaposing him to Homer.[77] The Comedy was "rediscovered" in the English-speaking world by William Blake – who illustrated several passages of the epic – and the Romantic writers of the 19th century. Later authors such as T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Samuel Beckett, C. S. Lewis and James Joyce have drawn on it for inspiration. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was its first American translator,[78] and modern poets, including Seamus Heaney,[79] Robert Pinsky, John Ciardi, W. S. Merwin, and Stanley Lombardo, have also produced translations of all or parts of the book. In Russia, beyond Alexander Pushkin's translation of a few tercets,[80] Osip Mandelstam's late poetry has been said to bear the mark of a "tormented meditation" on the Comedy.[81] In 1934, Mandelstam gave a modern reading of the poem in his labyrinthine "Conversation on Dante".[82] In T. S. Eliot's estimation, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third."[83] For Jorge Luis Borges the Divine Comedy was "the best book literature has achieved".[84]

English translations

Main article: List of English translations of the Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy has been translated into English more times than any other language, and new English translations of the Divine Comedy continue to be published regularly. Notable English translations of the complete poem include the following.[85]

Year Translator Notes

1805–1814 Henry Francis Cary An older translation, widely available online.

1867 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Unrhymed terzines. The first U.S. translation, raising American interest in the poem. It is still widely available, including online.

1891–1892 Charles Eliot Norton Prose translation used by Great Books of the Western World. Available online in three parts (Hell, Purgatory, Paradise) at Project Gutenberg.

1933–1943 Laurence Binyon Terza rima. Translated with assistance from Ezra Pound. Used in The Portable Dante (Viking, 1947).

1949–1962 Dorothy L. Sayers Translated for Penguin Classics, intended for a wider audience, and completed by Barbara Reynolds after Sayers's death.

1969 Thomas G. Bergin Cast in blank verse with illustrations by Leonard Baskin.[86]

1954–1970 John Ciardi His Inferno was recorded and released by Folkways Records in 1954.

1970–1991 Charles S. Singleton Literal prose version with extensive commentary; 6 vols.

1981 C. H. Sisson Available in Oxford World's Classics.

1980–1984 Allen Mandelbaum Available online at World of Dante and alongside Teodolinda Barolini's commentary at Digital Dante.

1967–2002 Mark Musa An alternative Penguin Classics version.

2000–2007 Robert and Jean Hollander Online as part of the Princeton Dante Project. Contains extensive scholarly footnotes.

2002–2004 Anthony M. Esolen Modern Library Classics edition.

2006–2007 Robin Kirkpatrick A third Penguin Classics version, replacing Musa's.

2010 Burton Raffel A Northwestern World Classics version.

2013 Clive James A poetic version in quatrains.

A number of other translators, such as Robert Pinsky, have translated the Inferno only.

In popular culture

The Divine Comedy has been a source of inspiration for countless artists for almost seven centuries. There are many references to Dante's work in literature. In music, Franz Liszt was one of many composers to write works based on the Divine Comedy. In sculpture, the work of Auguste Rodin includes themes from Dante. Sculptor Timothy Schmalz created a series of 100 sculptures, one for each canto, on the 700th anniversary of the date of Dante's death,[88] and many visual artists have illustrated Dante's work, as shown by the examples above. There have also been many references to the Divine Comedy in cinema, television, comics and video games.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy

Are there different levels of punishment in hell?

The idea that there are different levels of punishment in hell is graphically portrayed in The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and 1321. In that poem, the Roman poet Virgil guides Dante through the nine circles of hell. The circles are concentric, representing a gradual increase in wickedness, and culminating at the center of the earth, where Satan is held in bondage. Each circle’s sinners are punished in a fashion befitting their crimes. Each sinner is afflicted for all of eternity by the chief sin he committed. According to Dante, the circles range from the first circle, where dwell the unbaptized and virtuous pagans, to the very center of hell reserved for those who have committed the ultimate sin—treachery against God.

Although the Bible does not specifically say there are different levels of punishment in hell, it does seem to indicate that the judgment will indeed be experienced differently for different people. In Revelation 20:11–15, the people are judged “according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Revelation 20:12). All the people at this judgment, though, are thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13–15). So, perhaps, the purpose of the judgment is to determine how severe the punishment in hell will be.

A clearer passage is Luke 10, where Jesus speaks of comparative punishment. First, Jesus says this about a village that rejects the gospel: “I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town” (verse 12). Then He speaks to Bethsaida and Chorazin: “It will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you” (verse 14). Whatever punishment the former residents of Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon were experiencing in hell, the Galilean towns that refused to hear Christ would experience more. The level of punishment in hell seems to be tied to the amount of light a person rejects.

Another indication that hell has different levels of punishment is found in Jesus’ words in Luke 12: “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (verses 47–48).

Whatever degrees of punishment hell contains, it is clear that hell is a place to be avoided.

Unfortunately, the Bible states that most people will wind up in hell: “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13–14). The question one must ask is “which road am I on?” The “many” on the broad road have one thing in common—they have all rejected Christ as the one and only way to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). When He said He is the only way, that is precisely what He meant. Everyone following another “way” besides Jesus Christ is on the broad road to destruction, and the suffering is hideous, dreadful, eternal, and unavoidable.

https://www.gotquestions.org/levels-hell.html

John 14

1599 Geneva Bible

14 He comforteth his disciples, 2, 7 declaring his divinity and the fruit of his death, 16 promising the comforter, 17 even the holy Spirit, 26 whose office he setteth out. 27 He promiseth his peace.

1 Let [a]not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father’s house are many dwelling places: if it were not so, [b]I would have told you: I go to [c]prepare a place for you.

3 [d]And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will [e]come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there may ye be also.

4 [f]And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know.

5 Thomas said unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest: how can we then know the way?

6 Jesus said unto him, I am [g]that Way, and that Truth, and that Life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 [h]If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip said unto him, Lord, show us thy Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus said unto him, I have been so long time with you, and hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me, hath seen my Father: how then sayest thou, Show us thy Father?

10 [i]Believest thou not, that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me: at the least, believe me for the very works’ sake.

12 [j]Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he shall do also, and [k]greater than these shall he do: for I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye ask in my Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask anything in my Name, I will do it.

15 [l]If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever,

17 Even the [m]Spirit of truth, whom the [n]world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him: for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you fatherless: but I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world shall see me no more, but ye shall see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20 At that day shall ye know that I am [o]in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them: is he that loveth me: and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him, and will [p]show mine own self to him.

22 [q]Judas said unto him, (not Iscariot) Lord, what is the cause that thou wilt show thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23 Jesus answered, and said unto him, If any man love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and will dwell with him.

24 He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words, and the word which ye hear, is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

25 [r]These things have I spoken unto you, being present with you.

26 But the Comforter, which is the holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my Name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, which I have told you.

27 [s]Peace I leave with you: my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor fear.

28 [t]Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and will come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would verily rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for the Father [u]is greater than I.

29 And now have I spoken unto you, before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

30 [v]Hereafter will I not speak many things unto you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath [w]nought in me,

31 But it is that the world may know that I love my Father: and as the Father hath commanded me, so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Footnotes

John 14:1 He believeth in God that believeth in Christ, and there is no other way to confirm our minds in greatest distresses.

John 14:2 That is, if it were not so as I tell you, to wit, unless there were place enough not only for me, but for you also in my father’s house, I would not thus deceive you with a vain hope, but I would have told you so plainly.

John 14:2 All the speech is by way of an allegory, whereby the Lord comforteth his own, declaring unto them his departure into heaven, which is, not to reign there alone, but to go before, and prepare a place for them.

John 14:3 Christ went not away from us: to the end to forsake us, but rather that he might at length take us up with him into heaven.

John 14:3 These words are to be referred to the whole Church, and therefore the Angels said to the disciples when they were astonished, What stand you gazing up into heaven? This Jesus shall so come as you saw him go up, Acts 1:11, and in all places of the Scripture, the full comfort of the Church is referred to that day when God shall be all in all, and is therefore called the day of redemption.

John 14:4 Christ only is the way to true and everlasting life, for he it is in whom the Father hath revealed himself.

John 14:6 This saying showeth unto us both the nature, the will and office of Christ.

John 14:7 It is plain by this place, that to know God, and to see God, is all one: Now whereas he said before, that no man saw God at any time, that it is to be understood thus, without Christ: or were it not through Christ, no man could ever see, nor saw God at any time: for as Chrysostom saith, the Son is a very short and easy setting forth of the father’s nature unto us.

John 14:10 The majesty of God showeth itself most evidently, both in Christ’s doctrine and deeds.

John 14:12 The approving of the virtue of Christ is not included within his own person, but it is spread through the body of his whole Church.

John 14:12 That is, not I only do them, but I can also give other men power to do greater.

John 14:15 He loveth Christ aright, which obeyeth his commandments: and because the same is accompanied with an infinite sort of miseries, although he be absent in body, yet doth he comfort his with the present virtue of the holy Ghost, whom the world despiseth, because it knoweth him not.

John 14:17 The holy Ghost is called the Spirit of truth ,of the effect which he worketh, because he inspireth the truth into us, whereas otherwise he hath truth in himself.

John 14:17 Worldly men.

John 14:20 The Son is in the Father after such sort, that he is of one selfsame substance with the Father, but he is in his disciples in a certain respect as an aider and helper of them.

John 14:21 I will show myself to him, and be known of him, as if he saw me with his eyes: but this showing of himself is not bodily, but spiritually, yet so plain as none can be more.

John 14:22 We must not ask why the Gospel is revealed to some rather than to others, but we must rather take heed, that we embrace Christ who is offered unto us, and that we truly love him, that is to say, that we give ourselves wholly to his obedience.

John 14:25 It is the office of the holy Ghost to imprint in the midst of the elect in their times and seasons, that which Christ once spake.

John 14:27 All true felicity cometh to us by Christ alone.

John 14:28 So far is it, that we should be sorry for the departing of Christ, from us according to the flesh, that we should rather rejoice for it, seeing that all the blessing of the members dependeth upon the glorifying of the head.

John 14:28 This is spoken in that, that he is Mediator, for so the Father is greater than he, inasmuch as the person to whom request is made, is greater than he that maketh the request.

John 14:30 Christ goeth to death not unwillingly, but willingly, not as yielding to the devil, but obeying his Father’s decree.

John 14:30 As who would say, Satan will by and by set upon me with all the might he can, but he hath no power over me, neither shall he find any such thing in me as he thinketh he shall.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014&version=GNV

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