This chapter has two scenes:
THE SCULLERY OF THE MANOR, pp. 57-62;
THE FOREST GLADE, pp. 62-65.
In the scullery, Sir Malachi Sheldrake instructs his ward, Jennifer, with yet another Biblical quotation:
"'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.'"
-see Exodus 22:18.
In Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, horrific serial murders are based on such Biblical texts. See Different Uses Of The Bible In Fiction II.
In the glade:
"Everywhere among the trees, whose twigs bent over the Milky Way like claws, wavered dull-blue lights. 'Corposants, those lures of death.'" (p. 63)
The Roundheads pursuing Rupert and Will see:
"'Herne the Wild Hunter!'" (p. 64) (Scroll down.)
Sheldrake reminds his companions that "'...fat Jack Falstaff wore the aspect of...'" Herne. (p. 64)
- and we must remember that, to them, Falstaff is a historical figure.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
At LAST we see Anderson using "glade" in its more conventional meaning of an open space within a wooded area!
And Stirling has argued, convincingly, both here and in DIES THE FIRE that Exodus 22.18 has been persistently misunderstood and mistranslated. That the word translated as "witch" in the AV actually means "poisoner." The Challoner-Reims Exodus 22.18 has this: "Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live." Now I'm wondering, were "wizards/witches" once thought to mean "poisoners"?
Ad astra! Sean
IRRC, the actual Hebrew word is "mekhashepha"
The meaning of this word is obscure, but in the 3rd century BCE, Hebrew scholars translating the bible in Greek rendered it as "compounder of drugs/herbs" -- "pharmakeia" -- but the context makes this clear that it means compounder of -harmful- drugs.
(The Hebrew root involves "chopping up and mixing", as in mixing herbs.)
Now, there was no clear distinction between medicine, sorcery and folk-remedies at the time; all were used together.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And if the Hebrew "mekhashepha" made no clear distinction between medicine, sorcery, and folk-remedies, that explains how "compounder of harmful drugs" could come to mean wizard/witch.
I hope translations of Exodus will eventually use 'poisoner" instead of "witch/wizard" in 22.18.
Ad astra! Sean
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