In Latin, "doctor" means "teacher": doceo, I teach; docere, to teach; doctor, one who teaches. Hence, "doctrine," that which is taught, and Doctor Mirabilis ("Wonderful Teacher"), the title of James Blish's historical novel.
In English, "doctor" means a medical professional.
In Vault Of The Ages, "Doctor" has come to mean "magician."
A Doctor is:
public scribe;
record-keeper;
teacher;
priest;
medicine man, with some medical knowledge as well as magic rites;
counselor;
sorcerer;
preserver of knowledge.
The High Doctor:
"...was the one who spoke for the gods. He was the agent of those great shadowy powers of sky and earth, fire and water, growth and death and destiny, before which men quailed." (p. 72)
Oh no, a Pagan Pope! Requiring a new Reformation! The parallel with the medieval Pope is reinforced when, just before the reference to gods, we are told that the High Doctor:
"...was the absolute ruler of the order of Doctors, which owned great lands and wealth; and his hold on the people was such that he could stir them up against anyone who dared oppose his stiff will." (p. 72)
Also, he orders people killed if he thinks the gods want it.
5 comments:
Hi, Paul!
It's been a long time since I last read VAULT OF THE AGES, but you raised an interesting point when commenting on the "High Doctor" of that book. MY reaction is to point out that we have never seen anything like a "pagan pope." Before Christianity, religion was a department of the state, with the priests being appointed and paid by the state. Christianity, esp. Catholic Christianity was unique in its insistence on being free of the state. And more and more came to deny the state has any proper role in matters of faith. The quarrels and controversies we have seen between Church and state from Roman times to our own day is unique to Christianity.
Scriptural texts like Matthew 22.15-22 were crucial for gradually developing the idea that the state has no right to intervene in matters relating to the Church. And, of course, Matthew 16.13-18 is the cornerstone of the Papacy.
So, actually, while well done, I'm dubious there can be a pagan "church" as powerful as what we see in VAULT OF THE AGES. The only real world example I can think of being the powerful priesthood of Amon Ra in Egypt from the time of the Second Intermediate period at the end of the XX Dynasty to the XXVI Dynasty. And that was largely due to Egypt going thru of weak royal authority and repeated foreign invasions.
Sean
Sean, thank you for an informed comparison with ancient Egypt! VAULT OF THE AGES is well written and enjoyable but I have been temporarily sidetracked into other reading and next week will be away Tues-Fri for a family funeral.
Hi, Paul!
First, let me correct a small error I made. I should have said the priesthood of Amon Ra became esp. powerful in Egypt during the THIRD Intermediate period, not the second.
And the last sentence of my previous note was a bit garbled. In part, I meant to say "...that was largely due to Egypt going thru A PERIOD of weak royal authority and repeated foreign invasions."
And, I do realize you are busy with family matters relating to the death of your mother. Again, I offer you my condolences.
Sean
At my mother's funeral, I (by my choice) read 1 Cor 13. My daughter, Aileen, read a prayer. En route from St Thomas More RC Church to the crematorium, we passed a Greek Orthodox Church, the only Jain Temple in the Western Hemisphere and an ad for an Evangelical propaganda course. Modern society is like a supermarket for beliefs and ideas. (On an evening walk in Liverpool, I passed a parish church, a Latin Rite Catholic Church, a mosque and a Krishna Temple, then returned to where I was living to practise Zen meditation.)
Kaor, Paul!
While the use of "doctor" as referring to those who are learned medical professionals has become dominant in Western or Westernized countries, we can find wider uses for "doctor" even there. We still have "doctors" of law, literature, philosophy, theology, etc.
Sean
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