The Wisdom of Solomon.

The Wisdom of Solomon

Love righteousness, you who judge the earth;
Give thought to the Lord in goodness,
And you will find Him in the simplicity of your hearts.

For those who do not tempt Him will come to find Him;
He is revealed unto those who believe in Him.

The thought which is evil separates from God,
And His power in its revelation rebukes all thoughtlessness.

For Wisdom does not come into a soul which is evil;
Nor does it reside in a body given to sin.

For the spirit which is holy, the spirit of Wisdom, flies from deceit,
And it is distant from thoughts of evil,
And it reviles every essence of violence.

For the spirit of Wisdom loves man,
And will not justify the blasphemer;
For God is the witness of the inner self,
And he who seeks will find love in his heart, and he who listens will hear His words.

For the spirit of the Lord filled the world,
And he who accepts the whole of the world will understand its voice.

For this reason no one who speaks in violence will be concealed;
Nor will he escape the judgment which is forthcoming.

For the words of the unbeliever will be uncovered,
And the Lord will listen to his every word in revelation of his lawlessness.

For the ear of His envy listens to every work,
And the voice of those who mutter in anger will not be hidden.

Watch that you mutter not in emptiness,
And restrain your lips from slander.
For no word which is vain will be hidden;
A tongue which spreads lies will destroy the soul.

Do not envy, and perish, in the deception of your life,
Nor draw yourselves into destruction in the work of your hands.

For the Lord our God did not create death,
Nor does He rejoice in the destruction of what is living.

He created all things so that they might persist for all time;
And that they might be whole, the creations of the cosmos.
The poison of death is not in their hearts,
Nor is the kingdom of Hell upon the face of the earth.

But those without faith choose it in their works, and in their speech;
They take it to themselves as a fellow, they set it free,
They build upon it a covenant,
For they are worthy of the lot which is theirs.

II

For they said, reasoning in their hearts without understanding,
That our lives are short, full of sorrow,
And there is no ease in the death of man,
And no knowing in the heart of one who journeys to Hell.

For we have existed only in emptiness;
Beyond this life we will be as those who are no more,
For the breath of our lungs is mist,
And the word which moves in our hearts an ember.

For when it withers, the body in its whole will fade like ash,
And the spirit will escape from the body in the manner of air.

There will be no memory of our names, in our times,
No person will give thought to our works,
And our lives will pass on in the way of clouds,
They will dissolve in the way of a breath scattered by the rays of the sun.

Our time is a shadow which passes us always,
And there is no return in our deaths;
For a seal will be set on all souls, and none shall lift that seal.

So go and fill yourself with that which is good;
Use up creation in the hurried way of the young.

Let us sate ourselves with pleasant wine and incense,
And let the fruits of spring not pass us by.

Let us crown ourselves with rosy wreathes not yet withered,

So that none will exceed us in our sinfulness;
Let us leave a symbol of our joy in each place,
For this is our part, and our inheritance.

The lot of the just let us take in violence;
Let us spare no thought to the widow,
Nor let us suffer the shame of graying hair in the greatness of our age.

Let our power become for us the law of righteousness;
For weakness will be judged, and made of no use.

Let us lie in wait for the righteous one,
For he strives to do good service for us,
And he struggles against our works.
He mocks us in our sin against the law,
And he is revealed in our sin through his teaching.

He says that he knows God,
And he brings himself forth as a child of the Lord.

He becomes for us a reproach in our thoughts,
Our eyes cannot bear to look upon him,

For in his life there is no other equal, no likeness,
And his ways are full of change.

We are regarded by him as among the debased,
And he departs from our ways as if they are unclean.
He blesses the ways of the righteous,
And he dares to say that his father is God.

Let us see that his words are true,
And let us tempt him in his way.

If the righteous one is the Son of God,
He will accept him, and He will save him from those who strive against him.

Let us test him with torment and anguish,
For he will understand in his awareness,
And we will try him in his long-suffering heart.

Let us condemn him in a scornful death;
For they will find his worth according to his words.

It is these things they think, and these things that lead them astray;
It is their darkness that has closed their hearts.

And they have not understood the mysteries of God,
Nor have they set their minds on the reward of righteousness;
They have not believed in the honor of those souls which are sacred.

For God created man in immortality,
And he created him in the image of his likeness.

In the envy of the adversary death entered into the world;

It is his own kind who come to know him.

V

Then the righteous one will stand in an unlimited freedom, a shepherd in
The midst of those who tormented him, and those who disregarded him in his weariness.

They will see, and they will tremble in a tremendous fear,
And they will marvel in the wonder of his wholeness,

And they will say in their hearts, repenting
And sighing in the anguish of their spirits,
Saying, This is the one whom at one time we mocked,
Become for us a parable, a reproach of evil,

Thinking him in his lifetime a madness, in his death a scorn.

In how many ways did they consider the son of God,
And his lot in those who are holy?

For we have been deceived in the ways of truth,
And are not worthy of the light of righteousness,
And the sun will no longer shine upon us.

We filled ourselves with lawlessness, and destroyed our own ways.
We went into the wilderness, where none are known to walk;
The way of the Lord, we knew it not.

The high esteem of the heart, what has it done for us?
Or the esteem of men, the boast of our spirit, what has it given us?

All these things will pass in the way of a shadow,
And in the way of a report long faded,

Or in the way of a ship moving upon the water’s waves,
Unable to decide its way,
Or the path of its keel in the wave.

Or in the way of a bird flying forth,
(Though they have never marveled at its flight)
Beating its wings upon the subtle air,
Attaining it in a violent burst of movement,
Touching it with its wings, ascending the heavens,
Never after to be wondered at in its flight.

Or in the way of an arrow fired surely,
Reaching the air, taken by the wind, never to be known in its course.

In this way, having been born, we cease to be;
We have found no wonder in the virtue of existence.
So in our darkness…(manuscript incomplete)

And so the hope of the unfaithful is like a mote of dust, carried by the wind,
As light as a spider’s web, driven away by a whirlwind,
Or like a mist fallen into nothingness,
Like the thought of a lone sojourner, dwelling in a distant day.

VII

There is a spirit which is holy within itself, a spirit of thought, of a form in unity,
A form without form, without price, giving shape to works, full of power,
Existing without impurity, in wisdom, in sinlessness, in the love of good,
Aware of itself, a form which cannot be touched, giving the power to do what is just,

A spirit that loves man, strengthening him, and binding him, taking away care, powerful
In every work, looking upon all things, penetrating within all spirits
Which are holy, giving thought to those things which are subtle.

Wisdom moves more than all things that move;
It penetrates and touches all things in its purity.

For it comes through the might of God,
And through the holy glory of the All-Creator;
For this reason it can never be defiled,

Passing in a light that is eternal,
A holy mirror of the energy of God,
And an icon of all that is good.

Alone in itself, powerful in every work,
And enduring in itself, bringing newness to all things,
And in every generation penetrating each soul that is holy,
Bringing it closer to God, and to the prophets.

For God loves no thing, unless it resides in Wisdom;

For this Wisdom is more beautiful than the living sun,
And greater than the order of all the stars.
And if they liken it to light, it will be first among lights;

For the sun is wont to give its place to night;
But Wisdom is never eclipsed by the dark.

IX

God of my fathers, Lord of mercy,
You who fashioned all things by Your word,
You created man in Your wisdom,
So that he might become lord over all the objects of Your creation,

And guide the world in purity, in righteousness,
Making his judgment in the understanding of his spirit.

Give to me Wisdom, which stood at Your throne,
And do not reject me among Your servants,

For I am Your servant and a son to Your servant;
I am a man without strength, short in life,
Lacking in the understanding of judgment and law.

For if there were one perfect among the sons of men,
He would not have Your wisdom, for it is not found in any man.

You chose me for a king over Your people,
And one who gives judgment over Your sons and daughters.

You commanded me to build a temple in Your holy mount,
And an altar in the city of Your house,
The likeness of Your holy tabernacle which You prepared in the beginning.

And Wisdom was with You, She who has knowledge in all Your works,
And stood in glory when You fashioned the cosmos,
Knowing all that would be pleasant in Your sight,
And all that would adhere to Your commandments.

Send it forth into Your holy skies,
And out upon the throne of Your glory;
For it labors with me, it is in my heart,
So that I might understand what is acceptable in Your sight.

It has knowledge of every work, and understanding of each thing,
And it will guide my way in all things, in wisdom,
Guarding me in its glory,

So that my works will be acceptable,
And I might judge Your nation in righteousness,
And be worthy of the thrones of my fathers.

For who among men will understand the word of God?
Or who will know what the Lord desires?

The meditations of men are fragile, and their thoughts fade into nothingness.

For the mortal body wears on the soul,
And the house of earth piles care on the hearts of those who worry.

For we are like those things upon the Earth;
We find only the products of our hands, in weariness.
Who are they in the heavens who have asked after our deeds?

Or who will have understood Your word,
Save that You give to him Wisdom,
And send Your holy spirit forth in exaltation?

This is the manner in which the ways of all upon the earth were made right,
When men learned all that is pleasing to You,
And were made whole in Wisdom.

I've been dipping back into my Coptic reading materials recently, since I've forgotten half of it (trying to do the Hebrew and Syriac thing recently) and I started reading the really beautiful Coptic translation of The Wisdom of Solomon.  I was always really struck by it, especially with the central characterization of wisdom as being a quality not only of discernment and intellect but of compassion and righteousness.  It has a lot of really nice Platonic ideas coupled with some beautiful poetic imagery that recalls a lot of the great Jewish literature. 

Anyway, I decided to try to translate some of it just for fun.  I don't normally try to translate things, since I think it's a kind of vain exercise, but here it is.  The first part, anyway, I'm slowly working on the rest.  I also have to note that I was looking strictly at the Coptic, and didn't compare it to the Greek or any other versions, so any and all silly mistranslations are my own.

The Wisdom of Solomon

I

Love righteousness, you who judge the earth;    

Give thought to the Lord in goodness,

And you will find Him in the simplicity of your hearts.

For those who do not tempt Him will come to find Him;

He is revealed unto those who believe in Him.

The thought which is evil separates from God,

And His power in its revelation rebukes all thoughtlessness.

For Wisdom does not come into a soul which is evil;

Nor does it reside in a body given to sin.

For the spirit which is holy, the spirit of Wisdom, flies from deceit,

And it is distant from thoughts of evil,

And it reviles every essence of violence.

For the spirit of Wisdom loves man,

And will not justify the blasphemer;

For God is the witness of the inner self,

And he who seeks will find love in his heart, and he who listens will hear His words.

For the spirit of the Lord filled the world,

And he who accepts the whole of the world will understand its voice.

For this reason no one who speaks in violence will be concealed;

Nor will he escape the judgment which is forthcoming.

For the words of the unbeliever will be uncovered,

And the Lord will listen to his every word in revelation of his lawlessness. 

For the ear of His envy listens to every work,

And the voice of those who mutter in anger will not be hidden.

Watch that you mutter not in emptiness,

And restrain your lips from slander.

For no word which is vain will be hidden;

A tongue which spreads lies will destroy the soul. 

Do not envy, and perish, in the deception of your life,

Nor draw yourselves into destruction in the work of your hands.

For the God our God did not create death,

Nor does He rejoice in the destruction of what is living.

He created all things so that they might persist for all time;

And that they might be whole, the creations of the cosmos.

The poison of death is not in their hearts,

Nor is the kingdom of Hell upon the face of the earth.

But those without faith choose it in their works, and in their speech;

They take it to themselves as a fellow, they set it free,

They build upon it a covenant,

For they are worthy of the lot which is theirs. 

Galda's Revenge.

It will only become apparent after five minutes of speaking with me, but I love video game music.  I love video games, but I especially love the music.  So my friend The Knifemaster and I decided to start a video game cover band.  We named it Galda's Revenge, after the main villain of the classic Dragon Spirit: A New Legend, for the NES.  We're mostly interested in doing stuff from the NES and SNES era, but I can foresee a few more modern covers, too.

Anyway, we just recently finished our first song, a cover of the fantastic Dragon Spirit intro.  You can check it out on Youtube here. 

Galda's Revenge--Dragon Spirit Intro

So yeah, I plan to ramble a little about some of my favorite video game music here at some point.  And maybe blog about the Testament of Abraham or some other such obscure ancient text. 

Past Writings

I had two short stories published a while back, and I haven't had a chance to give a shout out to the magazines involved yet, not having had a blog, so here goes.  My story "The Gears Go Awry" appeared in Necrotic Tissue back in January 2011, which can be found here:

amazon.com

My story "Carmilla's Mask" appeared in Origins: Colliding Causalities, by Third Flatiron Publishing, this past December.  It can be found here:

amazon.com

Thanks very much to R. Scott McCoy and Juliana Rew, the editors of these excellent magazines.  

Uninvited, on the NES.

So I’ve been meaning to start a blog about random things that I like for a while now, and I’ve decided I’m going to start it off with a game I played recently that really touched on a lot of interests of mine.  It’s the great Uninvited, for the NES, and I absolutely loved it. 

I had to track the thing down, first, for which I have to thank Ebay (it’s getting hard to find these old games in the wild, now!).  It’s part of a series, of course, the renowned MacVenture series.  I had played Shadowgate before, and loved it, (even when having to resort to a walkthrough for one frustrating part) and I got Déjà Vu along with Uninvited.  I had a lot of fun just marveling over the amazing and cheesy cover art for the game, with a badly dressed and apparently crystal meth-smoking skeleton.  It just doesn’t get awesome like this anymore.    

As usual, the game starts off by throwing you right into the thick of things in an interesting way.  You and your sister are driving along a deserted road when a mysterious form manifests ahead of you, crashing your car into a tree and causing you to lose consciousness.  When you wake up you’re trapped in the car, with your sister nowhere in sight.  The gas is leaking out of the car at a dangerous rate, and if you goof off too long examining the car (like I did!) you burn up hideously in a ball of flames.  Pretty dark stuff for an NES game. 

Anyway, your sister has somehow been spirited away to a very dark mansion along this deserted road.  It’s the mansion itself that really captured my interest and set the mood for the game.  It’s august, and mysterious, and somehow quaint, as the doors shut behind you and you find yourself in a lonely, once-occupied home for a family apparently consumed with the occult.  There are all the usual books on arcane subjects, with silly faux-Latin names, and star charts, and maps of obscure places.  It seems to be a perfect home for people with interesting but useless interests, which is pretty awesome.  Apparently when they weren’t playing chess or wandering in their giant labyrinth they were summoning once-lost demons and reading long lists of names in a language that never really existed. 

There’s a genuine sense of danger in exploring the house, as it seems to emanate a very real malevolent spirit.  It will, in fact, kill you at every step.  There are also useless but once-needed relics of life in the old place, like silverware, and stores of food (and also a nearly unbreakable jar of cookies for a cookie demon) that all contribute to the sense of actually having lived in the house.  It strikes me as a kind of early predecessor to games like Shadowgate 64, which to me very successfully captured the spirit of isolation and haunting memory in a place once occupied by both sorcerers and grieving mothers and fathers. 

But yeah, much like in Shadowgate, you will die, and you will probably die often.  You have to love getting mauled to death by the infamous Scarlet O’Hara, and I rather like the very detailed zombie who is just waiting to destroy you.  The deaths aren’t quite as humorous or ubiquitous as in Shadowgate, but they’re pretty fun, and the images are often pretty disturbing for an NES game.   There’s even a malevolent ruby that will slowly invade your mind and cause you to more or less go insane and die while this crazy scary red skull haunts your every moment.  But the skull looks like it brushes its teeth, so maybe it’s not all bad. 

Another strength of the game is the music.  I would personally rank its soundtrack a little lower than Shadowgate’s, or Déjà Vu’s, but it’s a very strong soundtrack in its own right.  Daylight is the standout, a haunting, magisterial ode that genuinely captures the feel of the mysterious grounds of the manor.  The upstairs theme is great, too, a slightly more mischievous, upbeat number, and the labyrinth and reservoir themes are appropriately dizzying and beautiful.  And the cookie demon thing’s theme is just fantastic. 

I have to admit to having a weakness to games like this, because I have a genuine interest in crazy Latin and Greek literature and obscure Biblical apocrypha and things like that.  I think it’s always neat to see what popular culture does with the occult, and the abiding fascination it holds for us even now, when most of us (at least I’m assuming) don’t really believe you can transmute base metals into gold (even in a Jungian sense) or summon animal-headed demons with fancy names who will turn you invisible and this sort of thing.  There’s a sense of looking after hidden things, invisible things, which I think is important, much like fighting giant robots and searching for dragons. 

I also think it’s really neat that a lot of the story is told through journals and documents that you find locked away throughout the house.  Some of them aren’t even particularly important to the plot, but they reveal a little about both the owners of the home and the two principal students of the master. 

So in conclusion, and with a long breath, I have to say that I really enjoyed this game, and I’m a little sad it’s over.  I’d really like to see games like this still being developed.  It’s hard to find the actual carts, now.  They’re like little treasures at this point, which is kind of awesome.  My only criticism would be that it seemed to end a little abruptly, once a few things fell into place at the end, and much like in Shadowgate a lot of the puzzles and item usage didn’t make nearly as much sense as in Déjà Vu (or any sense at all, really, in a few cases).  But I really had a blast with this game, so I recommend it to anyone who likes the classic point and click games or pretty much anything to do with creepy mansions and that sort of thing.  It won’t disappoint.