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这就是小雁塔及其周围的风景。如果您以后有时间，欢迎来这里参观游玩。
Must be underderstand from far away trought stranger but....A third condition is that the type of imagination must be persistent through fairly long periods of time, otherwise not only will there be an absence of sufficient feeling or momentum to cause the myths to be repeated and kept alive and transmitted to posterity, but the inducement to add to them and so enable them to mature and become complete and finished off and sufficiently attractive to Page 67appeal to the human mind in spite of the foreign character they often bear will be lacking. In other words, myths and legends grow. They resemble not so much the narrative of the story-teller or novelist as a gradually developing art like music, or a body of ideas like philosophy. They are human and natural, though they express the thought not of any one individual mind, but of the folk-soul, exemplifying in poetical form some great psychological or physiographical truth.Apart from this, the influence of Confucianism would have been even greater than it was, but for the imperial partiality periodically shown for rival doctrines, such as Buddhism and Taoism, which threw their weight on the side of the supernatural, and which at times were exalted to such great heights as to be officially recognized as State religions. These, Buddhism especially, appealed to the popular imagination and love of the marvellous. Buddhism spoke of the future state and the nature of the gods in no uncertain tones. It showed men how to reach the one and attain to the other. Its founder was virtuous; his commandments pure and life-sustaining. It supplied in great part what Confucianism lacked. And, as in the Page 63fifth and sixth centuries A.D., when Buddhism and Taoism joined forces and a working union existed between them, they practically excluded for the time all the “chilly growth of Confucian classicism.”The Chinese are not unimaginative, but their minds did not go on to the construction of any myths which should be world-great and immortal; and one reason why they did not construct such myths was that their intellectual progress was arrested at a comparatively early stage. It was arrested because there was not that contact and competition with other peoples which demands brain-work of an active kind as the alternative of subjugation, inferiority, or extinction, and because, as we have already seen, the knowledge required of them was mainly the parrot-like repetition of the old instead of the thinking-out of the new1—a state of things rendered possible by the isolation just referred to. Confucius discountenanced discussion about the supernatural, and just as it is probable that the exhortations of Wên Wang, the virtual founder of the Chou dynasty (1121–255 B.C.), against drunkenness, in a time before tea was known to them, helped to make the Chinese the sober people that they are, so it is probable—more than probable—that this attitude of Confucius may have nipped in the bud much that might have developed a vigorous mythology, though for a reason to be stated later it may be doubted if he thereby deprived the world of any beautiful and marvellous results of the Page 62highest flights of poetical creativeness. There are times, such as those of any great political upheaval, when human nature will assert itself and break through its shackles in spite of all artificial or conventional restraints. Considering the enormous influence of Confucianism throughout the latter half of Chinese history—i.e. the last two thousand years—it is surprising that the Chinese dared to think about supernatural matters at all, except in the matter of propitiating their dead ancestors. That they did so is evidence not only of human nature’s inherent tendency to tell stories, but also of the irrepressible strength of feeling which breaks all laws and commandments under great stimulus. On the opposing unæsthetic side this may be compared to the feeling which prompts the unpremeditated assassination of a man who is guilty of great injustice, even though it be certain that in due course he would have met his deserts at the hands of the public executioner.
"Legend of Naii" at Gallery 1988 SF for Battle Royal.
12" X 24"
Acrylic on wood
SOLD
Gallery 1988 SF- Battle Royal- 1988br.blogspot.com/
More of my paintings and illustrations- martinhsu.com/
Photo Copyright © VW Selburn 2022
A Forbidden Path
If he could out of all, but only one day reclaim,
that day would be the worst of all time, where his life changed.
He was despatched abroad in the world under command,
to pursue and conquer the life of another man.
There is a path that no man should be made to follow.
Victory achieved when so many die, is hollow.
There is no peace when a man watches another die,
and worse still when the bullet was guided by his eye.
When the war is won, peace is lost in the soldier’s mind.
Home again, to the joy of life, the soldier is blind.
His victims are gone, as is he, ground down in guilt deep,
knowing that, each night the same, there is no peace in sleep.
What madness drives men to seek cruel success in battle?
Why condemn good men to die horribly, like cattle?
Soldiers are only human, and killing is madness,
that culminates in wretched misery, and sadness.
The real enemy, is the man who commands the kill,
knowing well, the long term effects can make his men ill.
Where are the leaders, and diplomats fit to advise?
Murder is not virtuous; sanctioned, or otherwise.
© VW Selburn, 30 June 2021
life is a privilege... / to live, to breathe, to wonder / and desire, / to feed with dreams the heart’s perpetual fire / to thrill with virtuous passions, / and to glow - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life... her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
The Goddess Green Tara is a gentle female embodiment of universal compassion in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.. Green Tara represents the virtuous, enlightened, and miraculous activity of all Buddhas. She reaches out her hand in the gesture of granting protection, freeing one from fear, obstacles, and difficulties. With her right foot stepping forward, she is alert, determined, and ready to actively help all who call upon her. Green Tara is known as the 'Swift One' or the 'Swift Liberator' due to her immediate response to those who request her aid. Green Tara's compassion for the welfare of all living beings is said to be even stronger than a mother's love for her children. She is the one who helps us cross over the ocean of suffering and guides us upon the path of enlightenment." Green Tara
If you have any interest in buddhism, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, I highly recommend visiting the linked site above.
FYI I'm not a buddhist by any affiliation or regular practice but I find many aspects of various buddhist practice and philosophy useful in my effort to walk my talk! I happen to love the colors and sounds of Tibetan Buddhism and, in my opinion, the Dalai Lama is among the few leaders, in any arena in our world, who speaks truth and wisdom. All to explain why I have a collection of buddhist imagery in my stream. I don't really consider these "my photos."
When the Fontaine du Soleil (Sun Fountain) was unveiled in Place Massena in 1956, people of Nice were not impressed. Apollo’s “job” according to mythology is to carry the sun across the sky every day and he usually does this in his chariot pulled by 4 horses.
But this Apollo didn’t have a chariot and the 4 horses were on top of his head, forming a sort of crown.
The spectators claimed that he looked like an advertisement for the most popular automobile at the time, the Renault 4CV, known as the “4 horsepower”. So the magnificent Greek deity was saddled with the nickname – “the 4 horsepower statue”.
But there was a bigger problem – and it was located further down the nude sculpture. Some conservative inhabitants of the city thought that his “manhood” was too large, while some older ladies thought it was too small, and college students took to decorating it as a prank.
In an effort to calm the controversy, the sculptor took a hammer and chisel to his creation to reduce the size of the offending member. This operation earned Apollo a new nickname. Now, instead of being called “4 horsepower”, he was called “the virgin”.
His embarrassing surgery proved to be insufficient; it wasn’t enough to satisfy the Catholic women’s “League of Feminine Virtue”. He was still nude as were the bronze statues. The virtuous women gained enough support that in the 1970s the fountain with its naked sculptures was dismantled.
The bronze figures were stored at the water treatment plant and Apollo went to stand guard over the Mayor’s office for a short time before he was moved out of the city centre to stand near a sport stadium where he was less likely to offend the ladies. He stayed there for about 30 years.
In 2007 a reporter researching water treatment spotted the bronze statues at the purification station. He wrote an article about the fate of the Sun Fountain and the public took an interest in it. The fountain was reinstalled with the bronze sculptures in the basin – but the giant Apollo was still not allowed to return.
Finally in 2011, Apollo was reinstated to his rightful position. Today he stands at the centre of the fountain in Place Massena proudly surveying the plaza and all of the passer-by. The Sun Fountain is once again complete and as the artist intended. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for Apollo. But he is quite an impressive sight, even if there is a little less of him than there used to be.
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra (Sanskrit: कामसूत्र About this sound pronunciation (help·info), Kāmasūtra) is an ancient Indian text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse.
It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses. "Kāma" which is one of the four goals of Hindu life, means sensual or sexual pleasure, and "sūtra" literally means a thread or line that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Contrary to popular perception, especially in the western world, Kama sutra is not just an exclusive sex manual; it presents itself as a guide to a virtuous and gracious living that discusses the nature of love, family life and other aspects pertaining to pleasure oriented faculties of human life.
The Kama Sutra is the oldest and most notable of a group of texts known generically as Kama Shastra (Sanskrit: Kāma Śāstra). Traditionally, the first transmission of Kama Shastra or "Discipline of Kama" is attributed to Nandi the sacred bull, Shiva's doorkeeper, who was moved to sacred utterance by overhearing the lovemaking of the god and his wife Parvati and later recorded his utterances for the benefit of mankind.
Historians attribute Kamasutra to be composed between 400 BCE and 200 CE. John Keay says that the Kama Sutra is a compendium that was collected into its present form in the 2nd century CE.
Content
Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra has 1250 verses, distributed in 36 chapters, which are further organized into seven parts.
According to both the Burton and Doniger translations, the contents of the book are structured into seven parts like the following:
1. General remarks
five chapters on contents of the book, three aims and priorities of life, the acquisition of knowledge, conduct of the well-bred townsman, reflections on intermediaries who assist the lover in his enterprises.
2. Amorous advances/Sexual union
ten chapters on stimulation of desire, types of embraces, caressing and kisses, marking with nails, biting and marking with teeth, on copulation (positions), slapping by hand and corresponding moaning, virile behavior in women, superior coition and oral sex, preludes and conclusions to the game of love. It describes 64 types of sexual acts.
Artistic depiction of a sex position. Although Kama Sutra did not originally have illustrative images, part 2 of the work describes different sex positions.
3. Acquiring a wife
five chapters on forms of marriage, relaxing the girl, obtaining the girl, managing alone, union by marriage.
4. Duties and privileges of the wife
two chapters on conduct of the only wife and conduct of the chief wife and other wives.
5. Other men's wives
six chapters on behavior of woman and man, how to get acquainted, examination of sentiments, the task of go-between, the king's pleasures, behavior in the women's quarters.
6. About courtesans
six chapters on advice of the assistants on the choice of lovers, looking for a steady lover, ways of making money, renewing friendship with a former lover, occasional profits, profits and losses.
7. Occult practices
two chapters on improving physical attractions, arousing a weakened sexual power.
Il Kāma Sūtra (sanscrito: कामसूत्र) è un antico testo indiano sul comportamento sessuale umano, ampiamente considerato come l'opera più importante nella letteratura sanscrita sull'amore. Il libro è stato scritto da Vatsyayana ed il suo titolo completo è Vātsyāyana Kāma Sūtra ("Aforismi sull'amore, di Vatsyayana"). Si crede che l'autore sia vissuto in un'epoca fra il I ed il VI secolo, probabilmente durante il periodo Gupta.
Il Kama Sutra contiene 36 capitoli, organizzati in sette parti, ognuna delle quali scritta da un esperto nel rispettivo campo. Le parti sono:
Introduzione (4 capitoli) - sull'amore in generale, il suo posto nella vita di un uomo ed una classificazione delle donne.
Sull'unione sessuale (10 capitoli) - una discussione approfondita sul bacio, vari tipi di preliminari, orgasmo, una lista di posizioni sessuali, sesso orale, parafilia, e ménage à trois.
Sull'acquisizione di una moglie (5 capitoli) - corteggiamento e matrimonio.
Su una moglie (2 capitoli) - il comportamento corretto di una moglie.
Sulle mogli degli altri (6 capitoli) - principalmente seduzione.
Sulle cortigiane (6 capitoli).
Sui mezzi per attrarre gli altri a qualcuno (2 capitoli).
Il Kama Sutra contiene un totale di 64 posizioni sessuali anche rappresentate. Hanno diversi nomi, come ad esempio quelli degli animali o delle azione degli animali. Vatsyayana credeva che ci fossero otto modi di fare l'amore, moltiplicati per otto posizioni per ognuno. Nel libro queste sono note come le 64 Arti. Il capitolo che elenca le posizioni è il più famoso e per questo è spesso scambiato per l'intera opera.
Tuttavia, solo circa il 20 per cento del libro è dedicato alle posizioni sessuali. Il resto è una guida su come essere un buon cittadino e parla delle relazioni fra uomini e donne. Il Kama Sutra descrive il fare l'amore come un'unione divina. Vatsyayana credeva che il sesso in sé non fosse sbagliato, a meno che non lo si facesse frivolmente. Il Kama Sutra ha aiutato le persone a godere dell'arte del sesso in maniera più profonda e può essere considerato una guida tecnica al godimento sessuale, oltre a provvedere ad una descrizione dei costumi e delle pratiche sessuali dell'India di quei tempi.
Il Kama (in sanscrito piacere o benessere) non è infatti percepito come un peccato, ma è uno dei quattro scopi della vita (purushartha).
La traduzione inglese più conosciuta del libro è quella del 1883 di Sir Richard Burton.
il Kamasultra di Jacovitti e Marchesi, scandalizzò i cattolici e costrinse il disegnatore a interrompere la collaborazione con "DiarioVitt". Il solare e ingenuo erotismo di Jacovitti oggi non turba più nessuno, ma permette di completare la conoscenza di uno dei più grandi cartoonist dello scorso secolo, sicuramente il padre del fumetto "made in Italy".
Goddess Tara, a female Buddha and meditational deity, is considered
to be the goddess of universal compassion who represents virtuous
and enlightened activity.
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
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A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
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A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
She looks and feels so wholesome modestly attired in her nice pleated dress draped properly over her pantyhosed knees. Ready to attend in the Sunday church service.
"I think that this is the first time I am meeting most of you. But to me, whether it is an old friend or new friend, there’s not much difference anyway, because I always believe we are the same; we are all human beings. Of course, there may be differences in our cultural background or way of life, there may be differences in our faith, or we may be of a different color, but we are human beings, consisting of the human body and the human mind. Our physical structure is the same, and our mind and our emotional nature are also the same. Whenever I meet people, I always have the feeling that I am encountering another human being, just like myself. I find it is much easier to communicate with others on that level. If we emphasize specific characteristics, like I am Tibetan or I am Buddhist, then there are differences. But those things are secondary. If we can leave the differences aside, I think we can easily communicate, exchange ideas, and share experiences."
~H.H. The Dalai Lama, from "The Art of Happiness"~
This is a little strange to start the year off, i know. But it's also very meaningful for me. Several years ago I read The Art of Happiness, written by The Dalai Lama, and it helped change my life. I am by no means a Buddhist, however I believe their beliefs are some of the most virtuous of all the religions available for us to choose from. To some, they may seem extreme, and they are difficult for most people, even me, to follow to the letter. But the meaning I draw from Buddhism, and the lessons I learned from The Art of Happiness are simple: Be compassionate towards others and you will find happiness in yourself. I try to live my life this way, and though sometimes it is difficult, I also recognize we all struggle and it's what we learn from that struggle that makes us stronger. A strong mind is a happy mind, in my opinion.
In 2009, I hope to strengthen my mind, and in the process to learn to live an even happier life. My resolution this year is not one of health or financial responsibility, but it is to do everything within my power to treat all creatures, human or animal, with compassion so that they might lead a happy life as well. I hope you all have a wonderful new year, and I look forward to the next year of creativity that flows from Flickr into all of our hearts and minds :)
Italian postcard by P. Marzari, Schio (MS), no. 507.
Join now our group Vintage Bikini Postcards. And take a look at our albums Sizzling Swimwear Postcards, Va-Va-Va-Voom Vintage Pin-ups, Beefcake, Beautiful Bikini Beach Babes and It's a Bikini World .
A single white flower dares to bloom amongst the dark mesh of stems.
Will it's ambition survive?
Some more of my abstract shots.
©Bishwajit Sharma. All rights reserved.
There is a lust in man no charm can tame: Of loudly publishing his neighbor's shame: On eagles wings immortal scandals fly, while virtuous actions are born and die.
A virtuous Christian lady wears skirts, dresses and pantyhose all the time. No trousers or jeans because a lady should look godly, modest and feminine.
Moreover ladies do not wear sneakers, but modest shoes and frequently high heeled shoes. Skirts and dresses look a lot better when you wear these shoes.
British "Real Photograph" postcard, no. 182. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
American actor James Stewart (1908-1997) is among the most honored and popular stars in film history. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart had a film career that spanned over 55 years and 80 films.
James Maitland Stewart was born in 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Stewart started acting while studying at Princeton University. After graduating in 1932, he began a career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway and in summer stock productions. In 1935, he signed a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The studio did not see leading man material in Stewart, but after three years of supporting roles and being loaned out to other studios, he had his big breakthrough in Frank Capra's ensemble comedy You Can't Take It with You (1938). Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the film is about a man (Stewart) from a family of rich snobs who becomes engaged to a woman (Jean Arthur) from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family. The following year, Stewart got his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an idealised and virtuous man who becomes a senator in Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939), again opposite Jean Arthur. He won the Academy Award for his work in the screwball comedy The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940), which also starred Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. A licensed amateur pilot, Stewart enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps as soon as he could after the United States entered the Second World War in 1941. Although still an MGM star, his only public and film appearances in 1941—1945 were scheduled by the Air Corps. After fighting in the European theater of war, he had attained the rank of colonel and had received several awards for his service. He remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was promoted to brigadier general in 1959. He retired in 1968 and was awarded the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.
After the war, James Stewart had difficulties in adapting to changing Hollywood and even thought about ending his acting career. He became a freelancer, and had his first postwar role was as George Bailey in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) with Donna Reed. Although it earned him an Oscar nomination, the film was not a big success at first. It has gained in popularity in the decades since its release and is considered a Christmas classic and one of Stewart's most famous performances. In the 1950s, Stewart experienced a career revival by playing darker, more morally ambiguous characters in Westerns and thrillers. Some of his most important collaborations during this period were with directors Anthony Mann, with whom he made eight films including Winchester '73 (1950), The Glenn Miller Story (1954) and The Naked Spur (1953), and Alfred Hitchcock, with whom he collaborated on Rope (1948), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and Vertigo (1958) with Kim Novak. Vertigo was ignored by critics at its time of release, but has since been reevaluated and recognised as an American cinematic masterpiece. His other films in the 1950s included the Broadway adaptation Harvey (Henry Koster, 1950) and the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959), both of which landed him Oscar nominations. He was one of the most popular film stars of the decade, with most of his films becoming box office successes. Stewart's later Westerns included The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964), both directed by John Ford. He signed a lucrative multi-movie deal with 20th Century-Fox in 1962 and appeared in many popular family comedies during the decade. After a brief venture into television acting, Stewart semi-retired by the 1980s, although he remained a public figure due to the renewed interest in his films with Capra and Hitchcock and his appearances at President Reagan's White House. He received many honorary awards, including an honorary Academy Honorary Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, both in 1985. Stewart remained unmarried until his 40s and was dubbed "The Great American Bachelor" by the press. In 1949, he married former model Gloria Hatrick McLean. They had twin daughters, and he adopted her two sons from her previous marriage. The marriage lasted until McLean's death in 1994. James Stewart died of a pulmonary embolism three years later in Beverly Hills.
Source: Wikipedia.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
I am here very early in the morning, enjoying the clear light from a sky washed clean by yesterday's rain. There are a couple of dog walkers abroad already, but otherwise, my drone shouldn't disturb anybody, particularly as I plan to stay mostly out to sea. I stayed last night in a camp site just outside the town and have driven in and parked beside the harbour, which is on the extreme left, just outside the town walls. The castle is just out of shot to the right, the photo mostly being taken up by religious remains.
The remains of three churches are visible here, two within the city wall and one without. Unfortunately, following the Reformation, they were all pillaged for their stone, which is why so little remains. The oldest of the three is identifiable by the tall tower in the centre of the photo. St Rule's Church (St Rule = St Regulus) was a monastic church, built here by Celtic monks known as the the Céli Dé or the Culldees, who started building it in 1123. The chancel of the church is the low bit to the left of the tower, the rest has all gone. The tower is said to have been built so high in order to act as a beacon to pilgrims.
The Culldees were not to enjoy their new church for long. The church of Rome had arrived in Scotland in 1068 with Margaret of Wessex, the (second) queen of King Malcolm III. Born in exile, Margaret's mother was Hungarian and Margaret grew up in an extremely religious environment in the court of King Andrew I, known as "Andrew the Catholic" for his extreme aversion to pagans and great loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church. This seems to have rubbed off on Margaret, who on arriving in Scotland and marrying Malcolm, made it her life's work to replace the ancient (and rather likable) Columban church with the Catholic Church. Rome was so pleased that she was subsequently canonised! It was due to all this that the Church of St Rule was granted to the Augustinian monks.
Although displaced, the Culldees continued to play an important role in the religious life of St Andrews and built a new collegiate church nearby, known as the church of St Mary on the Rock, the partial cruciform foundations of which can be seen on the area of mown grass towards the bottom left of the photo, with its altar base at the east (left) end. Although the church remained in use for a little while after the Reformation, by 1645 the site was being used for the construction of an artillery fort, designed to defend the harbour. It wasn't until the 19th century that the church foundations were rediscovered.
Following their takeover of the the site, the Augustinians started building the cathedral in 1158. Construction took nearly 150 years, being completed in 1318, during which time St Rule's Church remained in use. Once finished, the new cathedral became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland and the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews. In June 1559 during the Reformation, a Protestant mob incited by the preaching of John Knox ransacked the Cathedral, destroying the interior of the building.
(There was much to dislike about the post-medieval Catholic church, but I often wonder whether what replaced it was any more virtuous!)
"Barbara is believed to have lived in the 3rd century AD in the eastern Mediterranean, probably in modern Turkey or Lebanon. She was the beautiful daughter of a wealthy man and, while he was away, to ensure she remained virtuous, he had her locked in a tower. She secretly converted to Christianity and when her father had a bathhouse built for her, she asked the builders to place three windows in it to symbolise the Holy Trinity of the Christian church. When her father saw the windows he recognised their significance and became enraged, reporting her to the authorities. She was arrested, tortured and eventually sentenced to death by beheading. Her father himself carried out the sentence with his sword. He was then struck by lightning and killed, and his body consumed by flames, said to be divine retribution for the murder of his daughter. Because of this, Barbara became associated with thunder, lightning and sudden death.
She is first mentioned as a saint in the 7th century, but became increasingly well-known from the 9th century on. In the 14th century she was recognised as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a group of saints who became particularly venerated due to the belief that they could protect against disease and sudden death. Their veneration began in the Rhineland in Germany at a time when the area was suffering from the Black Death and spread quickly throughout Europe. Barbara is often to be found depicted in medieval works of art, such as church paintings and statues."
Today, 4 December, is the feast of St Barbara. She is associated with explosives and she became the patron saint for those who worked with them, such as artillery-men, military engineers and miners.
This window by Charles Connick is in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral.
Church of St. Michael and All Angels Diseworth Derbyshire built of local stone, in the centre of the village which has been inhabited since Roman times . It stands at St Clements Gate at the meeting of Lady Gate , Grimes Gate and Hall Gate, names which recall its Viking past .
Originally appropriated to nearby Langley Priory of Benedictine nuns who employed some of the villagers, In late 15c Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, purchased a considerable part of the village to found what became Christ's College, Cambridge.
The Priory dedicated to God and the Blessed Virgin described as small and in good repair, was dissolved n June 1536 . At that time there were 6 nuns as well as the prioress, who was very old and impotent. All the nuns desired to continue in religion, and all were virtuous, though one was over 80 and another was feeble-minded. There was a priest attached to the nunnery, and the lay servants consisted of 10 men and 4 women.
The church consists of a chancel, nave, south aisle, north porch and a western tower with dwarf spire, containing a clock, and 6 bells dating from 1626 to 1803:
The present building dates from the 13c, although it is known that a church existed here centuries earlier. It replaced a Saxon single cell church remains of which can been seen in the north wall of the nave.. The 2 blocked windows in the chancel are of Saxo-Norman type. Herringbone work can also be seen inside the building at the base of the old external nave wall in the south aisle chapel.
A large Anglo Saxon font also survives.
The added south aisle is not tied in to the main building but is simply butted up against the existing walls, with buttresses for stability. The original pent roof line can be seen in the east and west walls. On the parapet of the south wall and near the top of the west wall are 4 heads, much defaced by weathering. The east and south west windows in this aisle are early 13c. The taller early 14c window on the south wall, which cuts through the original roof line and into the added masonry, gives the date by which the roof was raised and pitched. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/74G74W The south doorway is 13c and much weathered.
The tower and spire may date from the 1300s. The tower has four triple-chamfered bell openings, their tracery and cusping now removed. The spire has tall broaches and one tier of lucarnes (dormers). The external west door under the tower was blocked and a new window created when the tower and spire were restored in 1896.
The building was originally thatched until the roof was leaded in c 1699, however the increased weight led to distortion of the chancel arch so the brick buttress on the north wall was built. Some of the sheets of 1699 lead have markings of shoe outlines, made with a sharp tool. Much of the stone coping from the parapet of the north wall is missing.
The church is entered through the north porch which was built in 1661. However, the outer heavily weathered arch is in the same style as that of the 13c north and south doors, and may be made from reused stone
the church was restored in 1840, and in 1885 the chancel was restored and fitted with oak and the floor relaid at a cost of £130: there are 150 sittings, 50 at that time being free
In the 19c the living was a vicarage, funded from 106 acres of glebe, with residence, in the alternate gift of the Haberdashers’ Company and Christ’s Hospital, The land belonged mostly to the Master and Fellows of Christ’s College, Cambridge and the owners of Langley Priory after its 16c dissolution, beginning with the Grays, the Cheslyns and ;ater the Shakepears. The college sold their interest in Diseworth in 1920
Two monuments to tragedy stand out - that of Anne Cheslyn who drowned herself in the Priory lake in 1823 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/03L204 ; and Trooper George Harris killed in action at Dewetsdorp, Orange River Colony in 1901 whose monument was erected "by Emily Lock in gratitude to his mother" www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/0HgCw7
The Lock family have 2 monuments of interest , one to young vicar Rev Herbert Lock 1902 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1RmX1r whose hope to erect a church in memory of his younger brother Joseph www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/775hP6 was thwarted by his own early death. - www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/470vh2 2 windows inscribed the St Joseph Benefaction being given instead. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/N5pPK0 It may well be that Trooper Harris's mother nursed Rev Herbert Lock in his final year thus earning Emily Lock's gratitude (?) .
This wreath of oak leaves and acorns is made of sheet gold.
A fragment from this object, now in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is known to come from a tomb near the Greek settlement of Hermonassa. Such wreaths have been found in fourth-century BCE Greek burials throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas. They were awarded to exceptional people in life and marked the deceased as virtuous and worthy of honor in death.
Greek, ca. 320-300 BCE; from a burial in Zelenskaya Gora, Taman Peninsula, Russia.
Met Museum, lend by the Smithsonian American Art Museum (L.1995.24)
Palazzo Pitti, Firenze.
(+2 inside)
The Palatine Gallery, on the first floor of the piano nobile, contains a large ensemble of over 500 principally Renaissance paintings, which were once part of the Medicis' and their successors' private art collection. The gallery, which overflows into the royal apartments, contains works by Raphael, Titian, Perugino (Lamentation over the Dead Christ), Correggio, Peter Paul Rubens, and Pietro da Cortona. The character of the gallery is still that of a private collection, and the works of art are displayed and hung much as they would have been in the grand rooms for which they were intended rather than following a chronological sequence, or arranged according to school of art.
The finest rooms were decorated by Pietro da Cortona in the high baroque style. Initially Cortona frescoed a small room on the piano nobile called the Sala della Stufa with a series depicting the Four Ages of Man which were very well-received; the Age of Gold and Age of Silver were painted in 1637, followed in 1641 by the Age of Bronze and Age of Iron. They are regarded among his masterpieces. The artist was subsequently asked to fresco the grand ducal reception rooms; a suite of five rooms at the front of the palazzo. In these five Planetary Rooms, the hierarchical sequence of the deities is based on Ptolomeic cosmology; Venus, Apollo, Mars, Jupiter (the Medici Throne room) and Saturn, but minus Mercury and the Moon which should have come before Venus. These highly ornate ceilings with frescoes and elaborate stucco work essentially celebrate the Medici lineage and the bestowal of virtuous leadership. Cortona left Florence in 1647, and his pupil and collaborator, Ciro Ferri, completed the cycle by the 1660s. They were to inspire the later Planet Rooms at Louis XIV's Versailles, designed by Le Brun.
The collection was first opened to the public in the late 18th century, albeit rather reluctantly, by Grand Duke Leopold, Tuscany's first enlightened ruler, keen to obtain popularity after the demise of the Medici.
In one particular garden at the cemetery, rows of stone statues of children represent unborn children, including miscarried, aborted, and stillborn children. Parents can choose a statue in the garden and decorate it with small clothing and toys. Usually the statues are accompanied by a small gift for Jizō, the guardian of unborn children, to ensure that they are brought to the afterlife. Occasionally stones are piled by the statue; this is meant to ease the journey to the afterlife.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C5%8Dj%C5%8D-ji
En un jardín en particular en el cementerio, filas de estatuas de piedra de niños representan a los niños por nacer, incluidos los niños abortados, abortados y nacidos muertos. Los padres pueden elegir una estatua en el jardín y decorarla con ropa y juguetes pequeños. Por lo general, las estatuas van acompañadas de un pequeño obsequio para Jizō, el guardián de los niños por nacer, para asegurarse de que sean llevados al más allá. Ocasionalmente, la estatua amontona piedras; esto está destinado a facilitar el viaje a la otra vida.
Mizuko kuyo (水子供養 Mizuko kuyō, "servicio memorial para un feto abortado") es una ceremonia japonesa para las mujeres que han sufrido un aborto espontáneo, aborto inducido o mortinato. Esta práctica es más evidente desde la creación de santuarios en la década de 1970 para tal ritual, con el fin de la tranquilidad de la gestante, descanso del alma del feto y evitar la venganza del espíritu del bebé. Originalmente el mizuko kuyo fue usado para ofrendar a Jizo (Ksitigarbha), un Bodhisattva supuesto protector de los niños. Durante el Período Edo, cuando una embarazada era empujada a cometer aborto o infanticidio por su pobreza, la práctica era adaptada para satisfacer la situación. Hoy día, la práctica del mizuko kuyo continúa en Japón, aunque no es claro su autenticidad histórica en las prácticas del budismo en Japón. La ceremonia varía entre templos, escuelas e individuos. Es común que en los templos budistas se ofrezcan estatuillas de Jizo vestidas a lo largo de los pasillos para este propósito. Algunos de estos servicios han sido criticados por aprovecharse y abusar de las creencias que los japoneses tienen acerca de la posible venganza de los espíritus de los bebés abortados.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuko_kuy%C5%8D
Mizuko kuyō (水子供養) meaning "water child memorial service", is a Japanese ceremony for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. This practice has become particularly visible since the 1970s with the creation of shrines devoted solely to this ritual. Reasons for the performance of these rites can include parental grief, desire to comfort the soul of the fetus, guilt for an abortion, or even fear of retribution from a vengeful ghost.
Mizuko (水子), literally "water child", is a Japanese term for an aborted, stillborn or miscarried baby, and archaically for a dead baby or infant. Kuyō (供養) refers to a memorial service. Previously read suiji, the Sino-Japanese on'yomi reading of the same characters, the term was originally a kaimyō or dharma name given after death.The mizuko kuyō, typically performed by Buddhist priests, was used to make offerings to Jizō, a bodhisattva who is believed to protect children. In the Edo period, when famine sometimes led the poverty-stricken to infanticide and abortion, the practice was adapted to cover these situations as well.
Today, the practice of mizuko kuyō continues in Japan, although it is unclear whether it is a historically authentic Buddhist practice. Specific elements of the ceremony vary from temple to temple, school to school, and individual to individual. It is common for temples to offer Jizō statues for a fee, which are then dressed in red bibs and caps, and displayed in the temple yard. Though the practice has been performed since the 1970s, there are still doubts surrounding the ritual. Some view the memorial service as the temples' way of benefiting from the misfortune of women who have miscarried or had to abort a pregnancy. American religious scholars have criticized the temples for allegedly abusing the Japanese belief that the spirits of the dead retaliate for their mistreatment, but other scholars believe the temples are only answering the needs of the people.
The ceremony is attended by both parents or by one, not necessarily the mother. The service can vary from a single event to one that repeats monthly or annually. Though the service varies, common aspects resemble the ceremony for the recent dead, the senzo kuyō (先祖供養). The priest faces the altar and evokes the names of various Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Mantras, often the Heart Sutra and the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, known as the "Avalokiteśvara Sutra", are performed, as are calls of praise to Jizō. Gifts are offered to the Buddha on behalf of the mourned, typically food, drink, incense or flowers. A kaimyō is given to the deceased, and a statue of Jizō is often placed on temple grounds upon completion of the ceremony.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuko_kuy%C5%8D
Los seis Jizō es una antigua leyenda japonesa perteneciente al budismo, cuyo protagonista es el bodhisattva Jizō (地蔵) o Ksitigarbha (地蔵菩薩), tal como se le conoce en Japón. Jizō es el encargado de proteger las almas de los bebés que no han nacido y de los niños que han muerto siendo muy pequeños, a los que se les llama mizuko (水子) o niños del agua. Jizō es el protector de las mujeres embarazadas y de los niños, así como también de los bomberos y viajeros.
De acuerdo con la leyenda, una pareja de ancianos vivía en un hogar humilde y pasaban por muchas necesidades. Se ganaban la vida vendiendo sombreros de paja que fabricaban con sus propias manos. Sin embargo, eran tan pobres que al llegar el día de Fin de Año no tenían dinero para comprar algo especial para cenar y celebrar dicha fecha. El anciano entonces le prometió a su esposa que iría al pueblo, vendería los sombreros y le compraría algo para cenar. El anciano había llevado consigo cinco sombreros de paja, pero al no conseguir venderlos se propuso a regresar a su hogar. Una gran nevada le sorprendió durante el camino de vuelta y divisó a lo lejos seis estatuas de Jizō, de las cuales sintió pena al estar cubiertas de nieve. El anciano quitó la nieve de las estatuas y les ofreció los sombreros que venía cargando con él. A ver que faltaba un sombrero para una de las estatuas, el anciano se quitó su propio sombrero y se lo colocó al sexto Jizō. Más tarde esa noche, la pareja oyó ruidos fuera de su casa y al salir se encontraron con arroz, mochi, pescado y monedas de oro en su puerta. Posteriormente vieron a las estatuas de Jizō con los sombreros en sus cabezas, quienes agradecieron a la pareja por su bondad.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_seis_Jiz%C5%8D
Kasa Jizō (笠地蔵) is a Japanese folk tale about an old couple whose generosity is rewarded by the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, whose name is Jizō in Japanese. The story is commonly handed down by parents to their children in order to instill moral values, as it is grounded in Buddhist thought. An alternative title, Kasako Jizō can be found in Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures. Its origins belong in the Tōhoku and Niigata regions, with the oldest dispensations coming from Hokuriku, as well as areas of Western Japan such as Hiroshima and Kumamoto Prefectures. Its precise origin, however, remains unknown.
One day in the snowy country there lived an incredibly impoverished elderly couple. On New Year's Day, the couple realized that they were unable to afford mochi (a staple form of rice eaten during the New Year). The old man decided to go into town to sell his home-made kasa, but his endeavors proved unsuccessful. Due to the horrible weather conditions, the old man gave up the task and made his trek back home. In the blizzard, the old man came across a line of Jizō statues, to whom he decided to give his kasa as an offering, as well to keep their heads clear of snow. However, he only had enough kasa on hand to give to all but one statue. He gave the remaining statue his tenugui and went on his way. Upon returning home, he relayed the scenario to his wife, who praised him for his virtuous deed, without criticizing his inability to purchase any New Year mochi. That evening, while the couple was asleep, there came a heavy thumping sound from outside the house. They opened the door to find a great pile of treasures, consisting of such goods as rice, vegetables, gold coins, and mochi. The old couple watched on as the Jizō statues marched off into the snowy distance. Having repaid the old man for his selflessness, the couple was able to celebrate the New Year.
Guido Reni, Bologna 1575 – 1642
Joseph und die Frau des Potiphar - Joseph and Potiphar's wife (ca. 1630)
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA
Genesis tells how Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, was bought by Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Potiphar's wife (who is not named in the Bible) took a liking to the young man and made several failed attempts to seduce him. Here, Reni illustrates one such occasion: The wife clutches Joseph’s robes, pleading with him to make love to her. The virtuous Joseph turns to flee, leaving a fragment of his torn cloak in her hands. Humiliated, the vengeful wife accused Joseph of rape, using this piece of fabric as evidence. Joseph was promptly thrown into prison, where his interpretation of the dreams of other inmates eventually lead to his rise in Pharaoh's household.
The subject also proved a suitable opportunity for Guido Reni to demonstrate his celebrated skill in drapery painting.
“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’”
– Matthew 25:31-46, which is today’s Gospel.
Stained glass window from the Dominican nuns convent church in Lancaster, PA.
Belgian postcard by Edition H. Troukens, Hofstade, licence holder for Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (UFA), Berlin-Tempelhof, no. 1037. Photo: UFA.
American actor James Stewart (1908-1997) is among the most honored and popular stars in film history. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart had a film career that spanned over 55 years and 80 films.
James Maitland Stewart was born in 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Stewart started acting while studying at Princeton University. After graduating in 1932, he began a career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway and in summer stock productions. In 1935, he signed a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The studio did not see leading man material in Stewart, but after three years of supporting roles and being loaned out to other studios, he had his big breakthrough in Frank Capra's ensemble comedy You Can't Take It with You (1938). Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the film is about a man (Stewart) from a family of rich snobs who becomes engaged to a woman (Jean Arthur) from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family. The following year, Stewart got his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an idealised and virtuous man who becomes a senator in Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939), again opposite Jean Arthur. He won the Academy Award for his work in the screwball comedy The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940), which also starred Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. A licensed amateur pilot, Stewart enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps as soon as he could after the United States entered the Second World War in 1941. Although still an MGM star, his only public and film appearances in 1941—1945 were scheduled by the Air Corps. After fighting in the European theater of war, he had attained the rank of colonel and had received several awards for his service. He remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was promoted to brigadier general in 1959. He retired in 1968 and was awarded the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.
After the war, James Stewart had difficulties in adapting to changing Hollywood and even thought about ending his acting career. He became a freelancer, and had his first postwar role was as George Bailey in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) with Donna Reed. Although it earned him an Oscar nomination, the film was not a big success at first. It has gained in popularity in the decades since its release and is considered a Christmas classic and one of Stewart's most famous performances. In the 1950s, Stewart experienced a career revival by playing darker, more morally ambiguous characters in Westerns and thrillers. Some of his most important collaborations during this period were with directors Anthony Mann, with whom he made eight films including Winchester '73 (1950), The Glenn Miller Story (1954) and The Naked Spur (1953), and Alfred Hitchcock, with whom he collaborated on Rope (1948), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and Vertigo (1958) with Kim Novak. Vertigo was ignored by critics at its time of release, but has since been reevaluated and recognised as an American cinematic masterpiece. His other films in the 1950s included the Broadway adaptation Harvey (Henry Koster, 1950) and the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959), both of which landed him Oscar nominations. He was one of the most popular film stars of the decade, with most of his films becoming box office successes. Stewart's later Westerns included The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964), both directed by John Ford. He signed a lucrative multi-movie deal with 20th Century-Fox in 1962 and appeared in many popular family comedies during the decade. After a brief venture into television acting, Stewart semi-retired by the 1980s, although he remained a public figure due to the renewed interest in his films with Capra and Hitchcock and his appearances at President Reagan's White House. He received many honorary awards, including an honorary Academy Honorary Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, both in 1985. Stewart remained unmarried until his 40s and was dubbed "The Great American Bachelor" by the press. In 1949, he married former model Gloria Hatrick McLean. They had twin daughters, and he adopted her two sons from her previous marriage. The marriage lasted until McLean's death in 1994. James Stewart died of a pulmonary embolism three years later in Beverly Hills.
Source: Wikipedia.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
"Chinese socialism is founded upon Darwin and the theory of evolution." Mao Tse-tung (1893 – 1976). Kampf um Mao's Erbe (1977.)
Some of the famous atheists in the atheist Hall of Shame.
Stalin, Marx, Lenin, Kim Jong IL, Mao, Kim Jong Un, Pol Pot, Kruschev, Brezhnev, Honecker, Ceaușescu
Atheism proved itself, in the 20th century, to be the most horrendous, barbaric, murderous and criminal ideology the world has ever experienced. Countless millions suffered and died at the hands of this hideous ideology, they must never be forgotten.
The promised atheist/socialist utopia ... the idea of an atheist Heaven on Earth resulted in a diabolical Hell on Earth.
Who, but a complete idiot would want to resurrect such a monstrous, no-hope philosophy?
Present day, so-called 'new' (improved?) atheists (and communists) try to disassociate themselves from the disastrous record of the world's, first ever, official, atheist states, established in the great, atheist experiment of the 20th century.
But all the examples we have of official, atheist rule are horrendous. And, the tyranny still continues, wherever atheism is the dominant, ruling ideology, as in North Korea.
The ‘new’ atheists try to blame the 20th century’s persecution and brutality completely on communism. They claim it had nothing to do with atheism.
But, although communism is a disastrous economic system, there is no intrinsic reason why it should be brutal, or why it should hate religion, or why it should destroy churches and persecute and murder millions of Christians and people of other faiths.
That is the hallmark of atheist ideology, not of an economic system.
Communism is fatally flawed as an economic system. And, as it thrives on envy, class hatred and division, it is a an anathema to Christianity, and any other religion which preaches love for everyone. Consequently, it is the ideal bedfellow for atheism, but that is different from requiring an intrinsic hatred of God and religion as a matter of state, endorsed policy. That is essentially an atheist ideal.
If communists weren't atheists, why would they outlaw and attack all religion? Karl Marx, the founder of communism, hated religion, because he was also an atheist. He understood that communist, dialectic materialism, class war etc. is incompatible with most religions, so, it could be argued, that to be a bona fide communist, he also had be an atheist.
Lenin was a self-declared atheist who, together with his Soviet Bloc, atheist successors, tried to eliminate religion with brutal repression and wholesale murder.
Thus, history tells us that the atheist experiment has been tried and, from beginning to end, was a brutal and diabolical failure. The new atheists may say: “it's nothing to do with us gov.”
But who wants to risk such devastation again, by giving the atheist ideology another chance? Only a complete idiot would want to take that gamble.
However, it was only to be expected and it could easily have been predicted beforehand, that the inevitable result of atheism's lack of an absolute ethical or moral yardstick would be to wreak havoc on the world - and that is exactly what it did. .
Atheism hasn't changed at all in that respect, because it can't.
Atheism and secular humanism categorically reject the concept of intrinsic right and wrong. Therefore, the ephemeral values, moral relativism and situational ethics of atheism are the ideal recipe for abuse.
We can see from the belligerent, intolerant, rabble rousing rhetoric and anti-religious ranting of today's militant, new atheist zealots, that the leopard hasn't really changed its spots. Let no one doubt it - atheism has an horrendous and hideously, barbaric record... we must never let it happen again.
Moreover, it is a singularly perverse ideology that motivates its adherents to waste so much time of the only life they believe they have, trying to convince everyone else that they are doomed to eternal oblivion. The ultimate reward for atheists is to never know if they got it right, only if they got it wrong.
There is certainly no moral or rational defence for the atheist cult, past or present.
But what do atheists themselves say about their ethical and moral values?
They claim that they DO have an ethical and moral yardstick, and cite the Humanist Manifesto as representing the ethics and moral code of atheism.
So is it really true?
The Humanist Manifesto looks good at first glance, but like most proposals atheists have come up with, when examined closely, it is full of holes.
Problems, problems ....
1. You don’t have to sign up to the Humanist Manifesto to be an atheist.
2. Even if you do sign up to it, there is no incentive to follow it. No reward for following it, and no penalty for not following it. You are not going to be barred from being an atheist because you reject or break the rules of the Humanist Manifesto. It is not enforced in any way.
3. It borrows any desirable ethics, it may have, from Judeo-Christian values, there is no atheist, moral code per se.
Atheism is the ideology of naturalism. Genuine, naturalist, ethical values are basically the Darwinian, ‘law of the jungle’. Progressive evolution and improvement through the survival of the fittest/strongest, and the elimination of any who are weaker or unable to adapt - nature red in tooth and claw, In societal terms - the most powerful, wealthiest, most influential, most cunning, dominate and rule for their own benefit. Anything else in the Humanist Manifesto is actually a contradiction of social Darwinism and naturalism. Any socially desirable or compassionate ethics, which may be included in the H.M, are wholly inconsistent with atheist, materialist, naturalist, and evolutionist ideology.
4. By far the biggest flaw in the Humanist Manifesto is the fact that it is entirely ephemeral. It advocates 'situational ethics' and 'moral relativism'. And that major flaw makes it a worthless scrap of paper.
Why?
Because .....
Situational ethics is based on what people want or find desirable, not on any adherence to what is intrinsically right or wrong.
A good, example of humanist style, situational ethics in practice, is the gender selection abortions now being blatantly carried out in abortion clinics in Britain. It primarily discriminates against female babies, who are especially targeted for killing, because most of the parents who want it, prefer to have boys for cultural reasons.
The abortion clinics openly admit to it happening, and claim it is legal.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pro-choice-aborti...
The abortion act of 1967 certainly did not intend that, and the Government admits it was not intended.
So we have a Government that knows it is going on, it also knows it is not what the abortion law intended, yet it is still reluctant to do anything about it.
Why?
Because it is wedded to the secularist concept of situational ethics, i.e. whatever people want, people get. Any concept of intrinsic right and wrong has to take a back seat, to whatever is the spirit of the times. And that is an example happening right now, in a so-called democracy.
The Nazi persecution of the Jews and other races they considered ‘inferior’ became popular through brainwashing of the public, and was eventually supported by a good proportion of the public.
Hitler cleverly used situational ethics to do what he had persuaded people was right and good.
So, all in all, the Humanist Manifesto and its purported ethical values, is a very dangerous document.
It gives carte blanche to any so-called ethical values, as long they become the fashionable or consensus opinion. Whatever people want, people get, or what a government can claim people want, they are justified in giving to them.
And for that reason it would not stop; a Lenin, a Stalin, a Hitler, a Mao, or a Pol Pot, even if they had signed up 100% to abide by the Humanist Manifesto.
In fact, the 20th century, atheist tyrants even called their regimes ... Democratic People's Republics. They claimed they were representing people's wishes, and thus carried out their 'situational ethics' on behalf of the people.
What about the common, atheist tactic of highlighting alleged crimes and wrongdoing committed by Christians?
The point is ....
Christians who do wrong, go against the teachings of Christianity. It is recognised as ‘sin’. If they blatantly and deliberately go against the intrinsic moral values and teaching of Christianity, they forfeit the right to continue to call themselves Christian. And they can even be excommunicated by the Church, if they fail to admit their actions are wrong.
And, without sincere sorrow and repentance, they don't get to go to the Christian Heaven.
End of story!
Atheists who do wrong, go against nothing, unless it is against the law of the land.
You cannot be chucked out of atheism for doing wrong, you cannot even be censored by atheism for doing wrong, it is a complete free for all, you can simply act with impunity according to your own desires and opinion. Atheists don’t recognise sin, right and wrong is not intrinsic or absolute. Atheism has no, unchanging, moral code. Right and wrong is, ultimately, just a matter of opinion
The atheist 'heaven' is right here on earth, and far from being a 'heaven' it is an horrendous nightmare. Anyone with any sense would call it a hell.
And even the law of the land need not stop atheists .....
Whenever, atheists get into a position of power they change the law to suit their situational ethics. Then they can do whatever they want.
That is what Stalin and all the other atheist tyrants did in their people's DEMOCRATIC republics.
And the atheist thirst for blood does not cease when they live in the so-called 'real' democracies, it is simply sanitised by atheist inspired, situational ethics.
They use their 'humanist' ethics to change the law, accompanied by 'newspeak' and propaganda.
So that what was once considered evil, is not only made legal, it is actually turned around so it is considered a virtue.
The wholesale and brutal slaughter, of the most vulnerable in society ... millions of unborn babies, is callously shrugged off as necessary, for 'free choice'.
Of course murder is always a free choice for the killer, only the dangerous, warped, atheist style, situational ethics could value a killer's free choice to kill, above the victim's right not to be killed, and make murder legal.
The callous slaughter of the unborn, which in most cases, was not even put to the people democratically (it was imposed on them by a handful of secularist politicians, lawyers and bureaucrats), is accompanied by the usual atheist lies and devious propaganda.
Doctors acting illegally over abortions get off scot-free ....
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609950/Scandal-doctors-...
So the secularists simply laugh off democracy, it doesn't stop them, if it gets in the way of their ideology, they just ignore it, like they do with science.
"Democratic societies" how do they impact on situational ethics?
We see, in practice, that democracy is treated with utter contempt .....
Why ask the people? They are apparently not qualified to consider such difficult matters of right and wrong, like whether babies should live or die? You can't give those ignorant peasants, plebs and rednecks a vote on it, ... leave it to the secularist EXPERTS and their wonderful, situational ethics based on 'reason' and 'science'.
We are told by atheist moralists that the unborn baby is not fully human, it is only a blob of jelly, which has, and deserves, NO rights. As usual, they deliberately ignore, or twist, the scientific facts.
And we are also told, anyone who supports the rights of the unborn babies not to be brutally ripped limb from limb is evil and a ‘far right’ fanatic, because they are interfering with free CHOICE.
So the atheist leopard certainly hasn't changed its deceitful, devious, brutal and murderous spots, even in so-called 'real' democratic societies. It simply legalises and sanitises evil and murder and makes it appear good.
Then it can claim atheism is extremely ethical and virtuous, with its own, beautiful, humanist code of morals and conduct .... Yeah Right!
Remind you of anyone?
Always remember ....
Atheist/humanist so-called ethics and morals depend entirely on OPINION, and that is why they are so extremely dangerous.
Atheism has no moral or ethical yardstick, no concept of God-given, human rights ... only OPINION.
But WHOSE opinion?
My opinion?
Your opinion?
Or maybe Richard Dawkins opinion?
Or Sam Harris's opinion?
Or how about Barrack Obama's opinion?
Or why not STALIN'S or POL POT'S opinion?
So don't be fooled by the relentless chorus from the 'new' atheists and humanists, that atheism has its own code of ethics and morals, their code of ethics is based on the OPINION of one or more of the following ... whoever is: the most vociferous, the most charismatic, the most cunning, the most influential, the most powerful, the wealthiest, the most successful propagandist, the most persuasive, the most repressive, or the most brutal.
www.flickr.com/photos/101536517@N06/14797003191
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Unjust laws/evil laws (such as legalised abortion) are effectively null and void. They should not be accepted by any right-thinking person. In any just society, the legalisation of abortion has to be regarded as a crime against humanity, and those guilty will surely be held to account by a more enlightened society.
“civil law cannot contradict right reason without losing its binding force on conscience. Every humanly-created law is legitimate insofar as it is consistent with the natural moral law, recognized by right reason, and insofar as it respects the inalienable rights of every person”. —St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 95, a. 2.w
Why satanism is now on the center stage in the culture war.
www.crisismagazine.com/2019/why-satanism-is-now-on-the-ce...
EUbabel. The shocking occult symbolism of the European Union.
peuplesobservateursblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/togo-all...
"I desire mercy and not sacrifice. I did not come to call the virtuous but sinners." - Magnificat antiphon for the feast of St Matthew (21 Sept).
Mosaic from the Catholicon of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Vintage Austrian postcard. Iris Verlag, No. 5063. Photo by Walter Fredrick Seely, Los Angeles. In the 1910s and early 1920s, Seely (1886 – 1959) was the head photographer for the studio of Albert Witzel, but around 1922 he started his own studio. Trained as a landscape painter, Seely was also an acclaimed painter, who in the last years of his life (1957-59) was the president of the California Art Club. After Seely left Witzel, Max Munn Autrey took over at Witzel's until he started for himself too.
Clean-cut, sensitive Lloyd Hughes (1897- 1958) was an American actor of both the silent and sound film eras. He appeared in such silent classics as Tess of the Storm Country (1921), The Sea Hawk (1924), and The Lost World (1925).
Lloyd Hughes was born in Bisbee, Arizona, in 1897. Hughes received his education at the Los Angeles Polytechnic School. He sought a career as an actor early in life, and one of his first film appearances was a bit part in the silent drama Old Wives for New (Cecil B. DeMille, 1918). His clean-cut appearance and acting ability soon gained him recognition. he had bigger roles in The Turn in the Road (King Cidor, 1919), The Haunted Bedroom (Fred Niblo, 1919), and The Virtuous Thief (Fred Niblo, 1919) with Enid Bennett. His first role as a leading man was in Dangerous Hours (Fred Niblo, 1919), which tells the story of an attempted Russian infiltration of the American industry. He had his breakthrough opposite Mary Pickford in the melodrama Tess of the Storm Country (John S. Robertson, 1921). Other roles included Love Never Dies (King Vidor, 1921) opposite Madge Bellamy, Mother o' Mine (Fred Niblo, 1921) with Betty Blythe, and Children of Dust (Frank Borzage, 1923). A huge success was the adventure film The Sea Hawk (Frank Lloyd, 1924) about an English noble (Milton Sills) sold into slavery who escapes and turns himself into a pirate king. In this screen adaptation of the 1915 Rafael Sabatini novel of the same name, Hughes played his malicious half brother. When the film was released, the New York Times critic called it: "far and away the best sea story that's yet been done up to that point". Another success was the silent fantasy The Lost World (Harry O. Hoyt, 1925) adapted from Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name, and starring Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. It featured pioneering stop motion special effects by Willis O'Brien, a forerunner of his work on the original King Kong. Hughes appeared opposite Mae Murray in the romance Valencia, (Dimitri Buchowetzki, 1926). The film was another box office hit and the title song, 'Valencia', was the top song in the U.S. for the year. Then followed a series of romantic comedies and dramas with Colleen Moore, Mary Astor, and Billie Dove.
Lloyd Hughes made the transition to sound and worked as an actor through the late 1930s. With Lionel Barrymore, he acted in the Science-Fiction film The Mysterious Island (Lucien Hubbard, 1929) based on Jules Verne's 1874 novel L'Île mystérieuse (The Mysterious Island). It was photographed largely in two-color Technicolor and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a part-talkie. Then he co-starred with John Barrymore in the film, Moby Dick (Lloyd Bacon, 1930), the first adaption film of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby Dick which includes a soundtrack. he had a supporting part in the pre-Code drama The Miracle Man (Norman Z. McLeod, 1932) starring Sylvia Sidney. His films soon became less prestigious. He appeared in B-films like Midnight Phantom (Bernard B. Ray, 1935) by Reliable Pictures and Kelly of the Secret Service (Robert F. Hill, 1936) by Victory Pictures. In Australia, he appeared in a couple of films including the drama The Broken Melody (Ken G. Hall, 1938). After a supporting part in the adventure film Romance of the Redwoods (Charles Vidor, 1939), his film career was over. Hughes had met his wife, Gloria Hope, on the set of Tess of the Storm Country. The couple had two children: a son, Donald Reid Hughes (1926), and a daughter, Isabel Francies Hughes (1932). Lloyd Hughes died in 1958 in San Gabriel, California. He was 60.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb. vintagemoviestarphotos.blogspot.com/2013/02/silent-era-ph..., www.californiaartclub.org/history/presidents-of-the-cac/w...
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
"Most Holy Virgin Mary, tender Mother of men, to fulfill the desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the request of the Vicar of thy Son on earth, we consecrate ourselves and our families to thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart,
O Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, we recommend to thee, all the people of our country and all the world. Please accept our consecration, dearest Mother, and use us as thou dost wish to accomplish thy designs in the world.
O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of the World, rule over us, together with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Our King. Save us from the spreading flood of modern paganism; kindle in our hearts and homes the love of purity, the practice of a virtuous life, an ardent zeal for souls, and a desire to pray the Rosary more faithfully. We come with confidence to thee,
O Throne of Grace and Mother of Fair Love. Inflame us with the same Divine Fire which has inflamed thy own Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Make our hearts and homes thy shrine, and through us, make the Heart of Jesus, together with thine, rule and triumph in every heart and home. Amen."
– Pope Pius XII.
August is the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Stained glass window from the Redemptorist church in Toronto.
The Church of St John the Evangelist
East Witton, Wensleydale, Yorkshire.
One the front of the Church it has a memorial stone:
"In the Year of our Lord
One Thousand Eight Hundred and Nine
When the People of the United Empire
Grateful for the Security and Happinefs
Enjoyed the mild and just Government
Of Their virtuous and pious Monarch
Returned Solemn and Public Thanks to
ALMIGHTY GOD
That by the Protection of Divine Providence
His Majesty King George the Third
Had been Preserved to enter on
The Fifteenth Year of His Reign;
The Right Honourable Thomas Bruce Brundenell Bruce
EARL of AILESBURY
The Commemoration of the Event
First Designed
And thence carried into Effect
The Building of this
CHURCH"
STOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
P75
treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/2001/05/20010522%2012-55%20P...
A Critique of Political Economy
www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Capital-...
“...we often derive sorrow from the sorrow of others, is a matter of fact too obvious to require any instances to prove it; for this sentiment, like all the other original passions of human nature, is by no means confined to the virtuous and humane, though they perhaps may feel it with the most exquisite sensibility. The greatest ruffian, the most hardened violator of the laws of society, is not altogether without it.”
Adam Smith (1759)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Z04kX3MIo
awesome talk
James Q. Wilson
$
At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.
This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.
But I was on vacation, or not going to work.
I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.
For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.
It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.
So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.
Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.
We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.
So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.
At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.
As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.
Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.
The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.
The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.
I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.
The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.
So there I was.
Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.
This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.
I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.
Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.
I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.
It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.
I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.
I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.
It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.
I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.
I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.
The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.
I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.
And pray.
I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.
About eight elderly parishioners did, though.
I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.
I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.
After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.
He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.
By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.
Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.
I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.
At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.
With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.
She was now done for Christmas too.
----------------------------------------------------
A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst
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PENSHURST.
THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.
There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.
THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.
The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.
SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.
By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.
Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.
The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.
The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.
This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)
By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.
¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.
PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.
The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.
Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.
This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)
¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.
In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)
The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)
John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)
Rama (/ˈrɑːmə/; Sanskrit: राम Rāma) also known as Raghava, is the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, and a king of Ayodhya. Rama is also the protagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which narrates his idealistic ideas and his greatness. Rama is one of the many popular figures and deities in Hinduism, specifically Vaishnavism and Vaishnava religious scriptures in South and Southeast Asia. Along with Krishna, Rama is considered to be one of the most important avatars of Vishnu. In a few Rama-centric sects, he is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar.
Born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Rama is referred to within Hinduism as Maryada Purushottama, literally the Perfect Man or Lord of Self-Control or Lord of Virtue. His wife Sita is considered by Hindus to be an avatar of Lakshmi and the embodiment of perfect womanhood.
Rama's life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life and time. For the sake of his father's honour, Rama abandons his claim to Ayodhaya's throne to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana decide to join him, and all three spend the fourteen years in exile together. While in exile, Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the Rakshasa monarch of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravana's armies. In a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry and battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned king in Ayodhya and eventually becomes emperor, rules with happiness, peace, duty, prosperity and justice - a period known as Ram Rajya.
The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent and across South East Asia. Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage and devotion to religious values and duty.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu scriptures. Besides the name of the protagonist of the Ramayana (subject of the current article), the name is also given to other heroes including Parashu-Rama (Bhargava Rama) and Balarama (Bala-Rama).
In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu. In the interpretation of Adi Shankara's commentary, translated by Swami Tapasyananda of the Ramakrishna Mission, Rama has two meanings: the supreme Brahman who is the eternally blissful spiritual Self in whom yogis delight, or the One (i.e., Vishnu) who out of His own will assumed the enchanting form of Rama, the son of Dasaratha.
Other names of Rama include Ramavijaya (Javanese), Phreah Ream (Khmer), Phra Ram (Lao and Thai), Megat Seri Rama (Malay), Raja Bantugan (Maranao) and Ramar (Tamil).
The greatness of chanting of Rama's name is mentioned in the Ramacharitamanasa.
In Sanskrit, the word Rama (राम) means 'charming'. The name is commonly given to male in India and Nepal.
Some of the popular names of Rama are:
Rama - charming
Ramachandra - Rama with a moon Raghava - descendent of Raghu
Siyaavar - husband of Sita
Ayodhyapati - king of Ayodhya
Dashrathaputra - son of Dasharatha
Maryada-Purushottam - best ideal man
Shriram
Dashrathi - Son of King Dashrath
SOURCES
The primary source of the life and journey of Rama is the epic Ramayana as composed by the Rishi Valmiki. The Vishnu Purana also recounts Rama as Vishnu's seventh avatar, and in the Bhagavata Purana, ninth skandha, adhyayas 10 & 11, the story of the Ramayana is again recounted in brief up to and including the slaying of Ravana and Prince Rama's return to Ayodhya. Additionally, the tales of Rama are reverently spoken of in the Mahabharata. The earliest documentation of Ram is in the Buddhist text of Dasharatha Jataka.
Composition of Ramayana in its current form is usually dated to 7th - 4th Century BCE. However, other scriptures in Sanskrit also reflect the life of Ramayana. The followers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana, the mula-Ramayana, previously existed. They consider it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki. Another important shortened version of the epic in Sanskrit is the Adhyatma Ramayana. The seventh century CE Sanskrit "Bhatti's Poem" Bhaṭṭikāvya of Bhatti who lived in Gujarat, is a retelling of the epic that simultaneously illustrates the grammatical examples for Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as the major figures of speech and the Prakrit language.
Versions of the Ramayana exist in most major Indian languages; examples that elaborate on the life, deeds and divine philosophies of Rama include the epic poem Ramavataram by the 12th-century poet Kambar in Tamil, and Ramcharitmanas, a Hindi version of the Ramayana by the 16th-century saint, Tulsidas. Contemporary versions of the Ramayana include Sri Ramayana Darshanam by Kuvempu in Kannada and Ramayana Kalpavruksham by Viswanatha Satyanarayana in Telugu, both of which have been awarded the Jnanpith Award. The epic has transformed across the diverse regions of India, which boast their own unique languages and cultural traditions.
The essential tale of Rama has also spread across Southeast Asia, and evolved into unique renditions of the epic – incorporating local history, folktales, religious values as well as unique features from the languages and literary discourse. The Kakawin Ramayana of Java, Indonesia, the Ramakavaca of Bali, Hikayat Seri Rama of Malaysia, Maradia Lawana of the Philippines, Ramakien of Thailand (which calls him Phra Ram) are great works with many unique characteristics and differences in accounts and portrayals of the legend of Rama. The legends of Rama are witnessed in elaborate illustration at the Wat Phra Kaew temple in Bangkok. The national epic of Myanmar, Yama Zatdaw is essentially the Burmese Ramayana, where Rama is named Yama. In the Reamker of Cambodia, Rama is known as Preah Ream. In the Phra Lak Phra Lam of Laos, Gautama Buddha is regarded as an incarnation of Rama.
The mythological sources propose that Rama was born about 1.2 million years ago, during the Treta Yuga, age that lasted 1,296,000 years and his birthday Rama Navami is celebrated in the month of April/May To the Valmiki Ramayana, Rama was born in Ayodhya, India, on 9th day (now celebrated across India as Ram Navami) of Chaitra lunar month (March–April), when Moon and Jupiter were rising in the east in Cancer sign and four other planets (Sun, Mars, Saturn, Venus) were exalted in their exaltation signs. Based on these star alignments, a few astrologers claimed to have calculated the exact date of birth of Lord Rama as 10 January 5114 BC between 12 noon and 1pm.
Childhood
BIRTH AS AN AVATAR
The Ramayana speaks of how the earth goddess Bhudevi, came to the creator-god Brahma begging to be rescued from evil kings who were plundering her resources and destroying life through bloody wars and evil conduct. The deva (gods) also came to Brahma fearful of the rule of Ravana, the ten-headed rakshasa emperor of Lanka. Ravana had overpowered the devas and now ruled the heavens, the earth and the netherworlds. Although a powerful and noble monarch, he was also arrogant, destructive and a patron of evil doers. He had boons that gave him immense strength and was invulnerable to all living and celestial beings, except man and animals.
Brahma, Bhumidevi and the other gods requested Vishnu, the Preserver, to intervene and free the Earth from Ravana's tyrannical rule. Vishnu promised to kill Ravana by incarnating as a man – the eldest son of Kosala's king Dasharatha. According to the Ramayana, king Dasharata remained childless for a long time and finally decided to perform a putrakameshti yaga under the supervision of the royal priest. During the ritual, Prajapati arose from the sacrificial fire and gave a vessel of sacred potion to Dasharata for distribution to his three wives. The three queens drank the divine potion and conceived four sons: Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Goddess Lakshmi took birth as Sita in order to accompany her consort Vishnu and was found by king Janaka of Mithila while he was ploughing a field. Vishnu's eternal companion, the Shesha is said to have incarnated as Lakshmana to stay at his Lord's side on earth. Throughout his life, no one, except a few select sages (among which are included Vasishta, Sharabhanga, Agastya and Vishwamitra) know of his destiny. Rama is continually revered by the many sages he encounters through his life, but only the most learned and exalted know of his true identity. At the end of the war between Rama and Ravana, just as Sita passes her Agni pariskha, Brahma, Indra and the gods, the celestial sages and Shiva appear out of the sky. They affirm Sita's purity and ask him to end this terrible test. Thanking the avatar for delivering the universe from the grips of evil, they reveal Rama's divine identity upon the culmination of his mission.
Other scriptures provide other reasons for the avatar. The chastity of Vrinda, wife of the demon Jalandhara, that protects the life of her husband is destroyed by Vishnu by deceit so that Shiva can slay the demon. She curses Vishnu to be born on earth and that in this birth of his, his wife's (Lakshmi as Sita) purity and chastity will be a question in his mind throughout his life and he will be separated from her and live with sadness and grief.
Another legend narrates that Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers of Vishnu, were cursed by the Four Kumaras to be born on earth three lives; Vishnu took avatars each time to free them of their earthy existence. They as born as Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna, who are both killed by Rama. Also, due to a boon, Kashyapa and Aditi are born as the parents of Rama, Dasharatha and Kausalya. In another version, Svayambhuva Manu and his wife Satarupa are blessed to be born as Rama's parents.
Another tale says that the sage Narada cursed Vishnu to be born on earth as a king, to be helped by monkeys and suffer separation from his wife. Narada also curses Jaya and Vijaya to be born as the demon brothers.
INITIATION OF THE AVATAR
Sage Vishwamitra takes the two princes, Rama and Lakshmana, to his ashram, as he needs Rama's help in slaying several Rakshasas that have been harassing him and several other sages living in the area. Rama's first encounter is with a Rakshasi named Taataka, who is a celestial nymph cursed to take the form of a demoness. Vishwamitra explains that she has polluted much of the habitat where the sages reside and there will not be any contentment until she is destroyed. Rama has some reservations about killing a woman, but since Taataka poses such a big threat to the Rishis and he is expected to follow their word, he fights with Taataka and kills her with an arrow. After her death, the surrounding forest becomes greener and cleaner. Vishwamitra presents Rama with several astras and sastras (divine weapons) that will be of use to him in the future, and Rama masters the knowledge of all the weapons and their uses. Vishwamitra then tells Rama and Lakshmana that soon, he along with some of his disciples, will perform a yagna for seven days and nights that will be of great benefit to the world, and the two princes must keep close watch for the two sons of Taadaka, Mareecha and Subahu, who will try to defile the yagna at all costs. The princes therefore keep a strong vigil for all of the days, and on the seventh day they spot Maricha and Subahu coming with a whole host of Raakshasas ready to pour bones and blood into the fire. Rama points his bow at the two, and with one arrow kills Subahu, and with the other arrow flings Mareecha thousands of miles away into the ocean. Rama deals with the rest of the demons. The yagna is completed successfully
Rama also frees Ahalya, the wife of Gautama Maharishi, from a curse. She was cursed to turn into stone by her husband after a displeasing incident. However, the dust on Rama's feet touched the stone and turned it back into a woman again. Gautama Maharishi was gratified that everything was back to normal again.
Sage Vishwamitra then takes the two princes to the Swayamvara a wedding ceremony for Sita. The challenge is to string the bow of Shiva (Pinaka) and shoot an arrow from it. This task is considered impossible for any ordinary king or living being, as this is the personal weapon of Shiva, more powerful, holy and of divine creation than conceivable. While attempting to string the bow, Rama breaks it in two. This feat of strength spreads his fame across the worlds and seals his marriage to Sita, celebrated as Vivaha Panchami.
After Rama weds Sita and the entire royal family and the Ayodhya army begin their journey back, the great rishi Parashurama (Bhargava Rama) appears before them, having descended from his mountainous hermitage. Parashurama is an extremely powerful rishi, responsible for killing all of the world's tyrannical and oppressive emperors and kings 21 times. He is the sixth Avatara of Vishnu, and finds it unbelievable that anybody could break the bow of Shiva. Considering himself to still be the most powerful warrior-rishi on earth, he brings with them the bow of Vishnu (Saranga), and intends to challenge Rama to prove his strength by stringing it, and then fighting a battle with him to prove superiority. Although the entire Ayodhya army is forestalled by his mystical power, Rama is himself angered. He respectfully bows to Parashurama, and within a twinkling of an eyelid snatches the bow of Vishnu, (that is his own, an example of irony here) strings it, places an arrow and points it straight at the challenger's heart. Rama asks Parashurama what he will give as a target to the arrow. At this point, Parashurama feels himself devoid of the tremendous mystical energy he possessed for so long. He realizes that Rama is Vishnu incarnate, his successor and definitely his superior. He accepts Rama's superiority, devotes his tapasya to him, pays homage to Rama and promises to return to his hermitage and leave the world of men.Rama then shoots the arrow up into the sky with Vishnu's bow, performing a feat true to his supreme, divine nature with his natural weapon. His overpowering of Parashurama and using the supreme weapon with incredible ease and perfection dazzle the spectators and his relatives, but no one save Parashurama and Vasishta associate this with his true identity. It is said that the Rama's arrow is still flying across space, across time and across all of the universe. The day it will return to earth, it is said, it will bring the end of the world. Others say that the flying arrow destroys all evil on earth to uphold dharma and righteousness.
DHARMA OF EXILE
King Dasaratha announces to Ayodhya that he plans to crown Rama, his eldest child the Yuvaraja (crown prince). While the news is welcomed by everyone in the kingdom, the mind of queen Kaikeyi is poisoned by her wicked maid-servant, Manthara. Kaikeyi, who is initially pleased for Rama, is made to fear for the safety and future of her son Bharata. Fearing that Rama would ignore or possibly victimize his younger brother for the sake of power, Kaikeyi demands that Dasaratha banish Rama to a forest exile for fourteen years, and that Bharata be crowned in Rama's place. She had been granted two boons by the king when she had saved his life a long time ago in battle, and the queen now used them to serve her purpose. The king's court and the people are outraged at this turn of events. Dasaratha loved and cherished Rama dearly, and is in personal turmoil. Completely estranged now from his younger wife, he abhors the prospect of separation from Rama. But Rama realizes that the king must not break a solemn promise at any time, and neither should a son disobey his father's command. Sita joins her husband in exile despite his discouraging her, as it is her duty and out of love for Rama that she must be at his side at all times. His younger brother Lakshmana also immediately decides to join Rama rather than remain in the city. As he leaves for exile, the people of Ayodhya are deeply saddened and angered at Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha's heart is broken and he collapses and dies during the night of the sixth day, unable to bear the agony of separation from Rama. Despite the reasoning of Vashistha and the pleas of his brothers, Rama refuses to return. Although horrified at the news of his father's death, Rama finds it impossible that he should break his dead father's word. Rama does not bear any anger towards Kaikeyi, believing firmly in the power of destiny. According to the explanation of the classic, this exile actually presents Rama the opportunity to confront Ravana and his evil empire.
RAMA AND SITA
Rama and Sita are the protagonists in one of the most famous[peacock term] love stories of all time. Described as being deeply in love, Sita and Rama are theologically understood as Incarnations of Lakshmi and Vishnu respectively. When Rama is banished from the kingdom, he attempts to convince Sita not to join him in a potentially dangerous and certainly arduous existence in the jungle, but Sita rejects this. When Rama orders her in his capacity as husband, Sita rejects it, asserting that it was an essential duty of a wife to be at her husband's side come good or ill. Rama in turn is assiduously protective and caring for Sita throughout the exile.
When Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, both Sita and Rama undergo great personal hardships during their separation. Sita protects her chastity assiduously, and survives over a year in captivity on the strength of her love and attention to religious values and duty. She is completely unfettered in her resolve despite Ravana's courting, cajoling and threats. Meanwhile, Rama, not knowing who had kidnapped Sita or where was she taken, often succumbs to despair and tears, denouncing himself for failing to defend her and agonizing over her safety and pain. Sita knows that it is in Rama's destiny to fight to rescue her (she refuses to be rescued thus by Hanuman, who discovers her), but is deeply anxious for his safety and fearful of Ravana's power.
The 'Wedding of Rama and Sita' concerns two entities coming together to form a whole. An Indian marriage forges an alliance not only between two people, but also two families. The marriage of Sita and Rama creates an alliance between two people, two families, and two kingdoms: Mithila, home of Sita, and Kosala, home of Rama. Furthermore, Rama's marriage to Sita on earth parallels the celestial union of Vishnu and Lakshmi; each deity took birth on earth, and so when Rama marries Sita, he is actually reuniting with his divine consort Lakshmi, Goddess of Good Fortune, who brings prosperity to Kosala. At an allegorical level, the union of Rama and Sita represents the relationship between God and the devotee, with Rama as the beloved divine king and Sita as his devotee. Finally, at a societal level, the dance drama brings together north and south Indian dance traditions.
AGNI PARIKSHA
Lord Rama sent a messenger to Ravana that said, "Come to me and I will forgive you," before he slays Ravana. After Rama slays Ravana and wins the war, Sita wants to come before him in the state which over a year's imprisonment had reduced her to, but Rama arranges for Sita to be bathed and given beautiful garments before they are re-united. But even as Sita comes before him in great excitement and happiness,the society starts doubting Sita's purity so Rama decided to prove that his Sita is still pure and chaste in front of the society, so he tells her that she has to give Agni pariksha. At this sudden turn of events, all the vanaras, rakshasas, Sugriva, Hanuman and Lakshmana are deeply shocked.
Sita begs Lakshmana to build her a pyre upon which she could end her life, as she could not live without Rama. At this point, Lakshmana is angered at Rama for the first time in his life, but following Rama's nod, he builds a pyre for Sita. At the great shock and sorrow of the watchers, Sita sits into the flames. But to their astonishment and wonder, she is completely unharmed. Instead, she glows radiantly from the centre of the pyre. But the gods headed by Brahma and Shiva appear, reveal Rama's and Sita's true identity and requests that Rama take Sita back as she is truly pure. Rama replies that he had never doubted her purity for a second, but, the people of the world would not have accepted or honoured her as a queen or a woman if she had not passed this Agni pariksha before the eyes of hundreds. Agni would destroy the impure and sinful, but not touch the pure and innocent, irrespective of Parvati's/Adishakti's curse on him. There is a version of Tulsidas's Ramacharitamanasa, which is popular, which states that Rama had Sita under the protection of Agni God. After Sita was released it was necessary to bring her out of security of Agni god.[50] This finds echo in the sthala purana of Tirupathi. Another version of this, used in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, was that Rama had known Sita was going to be abducted by Ravana ahead of time. So he entrusted her to Agni, the god of fire. Rama did this so that he, who in reality was Vishnu, could kill Ravana. Sita, in turn, left behind a "shadow", or twin-like version of herself behind. The "shadow" Sita had been abducted by Ravana. Therefore, the lila of Agni Pariksha was to retrieve the genuine Sita from the temporary care of Agni Deva. Rama explains this to Lakshmana before the "Pariksha" is done. This version has also been written in the Ram Charit Manas.
SITAS´S EXILE
In the Uttara Kanda, Rama banishes his wife Sita, even as she is pregnant, asking Lakshmana to deliver her safely to the forest. He does so after receiving word that some of his subjects in Ayodhya believed that Sita was unfit due to her long captivity in Ravana's city. As a king is expected to uphold moral principles, Rama reluctantly banished Sita in order to uphold his duty. Sita took refuge under the noble sage Valmiki.
A legend by Rishi Agastya in the epic states that Vishnu in a previous age had been cursed by Rishi Bhrigu, whose wife had been killed by Vishnu for sheltering his enemies escaping from battle. The Rishi condemns Vishnu to be denied for a long age the companionship of his soul mate, just as Vishnu, had deprived the Rishi of his loving wife. Thus Rama, Vishnu's incarnation, must live the rest of his life without Sita.
Many Hindus, such as the followers of Sri Vaishnavism, consider this entire section of the Ramayana to be interpolated, and thus they do not accept the authenticity of this story claiming that Sita was banished. An alternate narration of Ramayana does not state it so. It says that Sita later lived in her father's kingdom of Mithila with her sons Lava and Kusha as per the North Indian (especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) custom that children be brought up in their nanihal, or maternal grandmother's place. Sita and her sons later live in Valmiki's ashram for the boys' education and military training. As per Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, both the princes grew extremely intelligent and strong under Rishi Valmiki's tutelage.
CHILDREN
According to legend, Kusha and Lava are the twin sons of Lord Rama and Sita. Born in the forest after the banishment of Sita from Ayodhya, the twins were educated and trained in military skills as their mother took refuge in Sage Valmiki's ashram, located in a forest on the banks of the River Tamsa.
As Rama performed the Ashvamedha Yajna, a horse strayed into their forest, Rama sent Hanuman to retrieve the horses. Rama's sons Luv and Kush captured the horses. Hanuman, seeing Luv and Kush recognised that they were the son's of Rama. He let them capture him and tie him up. There Hanuman started meditating on the name Rama. Worried Rama sent his brothers to look for the horses. As they saw Hanuman tied up and two boys guarding him, they thought that the two boy had stolen the horses. So Ramas brothers started attacking Luv and Kush. Although Rama's brothers should have won, but Luv and Kush defeated them all, knocking them unconscious. Luv and Kush were protected by Hanuman. Then Rama himself went looking for the horses fearing that Hanuman and his brothers had been attacked. On his way there, Rama intuitively knew that Luv and Kush were his sons and purposely slept on his chariot to delay tension and confrontation with his sons as he knew it would be inappropriate for a father to fight his sons. Upon reaching the battlefield, the sage Valmiki interrupted the potential battle between father and sons by explaining to Rama that Luv and Kush were his sons. A familial reunion took place.
When Devi Sita found out that Lava and Kusha had defeated Ayodhya's forces, she proudly revealed their/her identity. Rama desired Sita and his sons to live with him in his kingdom but as this took place, the general population of the kingdom resented Sita from returning. In response, Sita forsaked her like and sought final refuge in the arms of her mother Bhumidevi, the Goddess Mother Earth and ultimately returned to Rama in the form of Vishnu in Vishnu's abode - indicating that forced separation from her beloved husband is only limited in life on earth compared to her eternal union with her beloved in life after death.
LATER LIFE
Rama's reign is known as the Rama Rajya which lasted for 11,000 years. During this period, people were healthy, holy, satisfied and lived with complete peace and harmony. There was no evil, no wars, no natural calamity and no diseases. Rama ruled the whole earth without using military force as all kings submitted themselves to him. His brothers Bharata and Shatrughna settled in their later lives. Bharata, with the help of his uncle Yudhajita, conquered the eastern land of the Gandharvas and ruled it. Shatrughna slew the Asura Lavana and founded the city of Mathura. Rama acquired a rare gem from Rishi Agastya which entombed the powers of the gods Indra, Varuna, Yama and Kubera, which helped the king rule efficiently. After his reign, Rama and his brothers and his allies peacefully left the earth on the river Sarayu abandoning their mortal bodies. Valmiki Ramayana mentions an abode named Santanaka invested with all spiritual qualities and located beyond Brahmaloka, which was attained by all followers of Rama, after Rama along with his brothers, entered into Vaishnava potency. Lava and Kusha ruled Kosala and continued the solar race.
MARYADA PURUSHOTTAMA
As a person, Rama personifies the characteristics of an ideal person (purushottama) who is to be emulated. He had within him all the desirable virtues that any individual would seek to aspire, and he fulfils all his moral obligations (maryada). Rama's purity and piety in his intentions and actions inspires affection and devotion for him from a variety of characters from different backgrounds. For example, he gave up his rightful claim to the throne, and agreed to go into exile for fourteen years, to fulfill the vow that his father had given to Kaikeyi, one of King Dashratha's wives. This is in spite of the fact that Kaikeyi's son, Bharat, begged him to return to Ayodhya and said that he did not want to rule in place of Rama. But Rama considered his dharma as a son above that of his own birthright and his life's ambition. For such supreme sacrifices, and many other qualities, Rama is considered a maryada purushottamor the best of upholders of Dharma, a basically human but exemplary figure Some of his ideals are as follows: 1. At the time when it was normal for kings to have more than one wife, Rama gave the ideal of having a single wife. In Balakanda of Valmiki Ramayana it is written that Rama and Sita resided in each other's heart.
2. Rama always followed his promise at any cost. In fact, he went to forest to make his father's promise to Kaikeyi true. Another instance was when, he had promised the Spirit of Time that during their conversation, if anyone was to intrude, Rama would have pronounce an instant death sentence upon the individual. They were intruded upon by his beloved younger brother Lakshmana, and to keep his part of the promise, pronounced the death sentence. There are many examples of Rama's promises which he kept. Most important are the promise to sages to save their lives from Rakshasas, getting back Sugreeva's kingdom, making Vibhishana the king of Lanka.
3. Excellent friend: Rama had very touching relations with his friends irrespective of their status. Some of his friends are Nishada-raja Guha, King of Nishaadas (a caste whose profession was hunting the birds), Sugreeva (the Vanara king) and Vibhishana a Rakshasa.
4. Even towards his enemies, Rama showed great nobility and virtue. To gather information about the enemy army's strengths and weaknesses, Ravana sent two of his spies, Suka and Sarana, to the Vanara camps. Disguised as Vanaras they blended into the enemy camp, but Vibhishana saw through their deceit. The duo sought Rama's protection when the monkey warriors thrashed them. Rama gave them refuge. He then asked them what their mission was and whether they fulfilled it. After listening to them, he sent for a Vanara to give them a proper tour of all the Vanara camps and give them all the information they desired about the major soldiers and their strengths. He then told the spies to give this message to Ravana. "Tomorrow morning, I will destroy all of Lanka. Keep all sides of your palace well defended and be ready with all of your men by sunrise." The spies were greatly astonished with Rama's charisma, courage, and adherence to the codes of war. After Rama gave them leave, they knew that their king was bound to lose against this virtuous and courageous man. When Ravana first fought with Rama, Rama defeated him to such an extent that Ravana lost his charioteer, horses, chariot, flag, weapons and armor. Though the situation was at his advantage, Rama instead praised Ravana for a great fight that day, and asked him to retire and take rest, as he must be quite tired. Ravana was greatly embarrassed at this, but he was also gratified that Rama saved his life, and this led him to consider for a moment whether to retreat and give Sita back...
COMPANIONS
Even as Rama is the ideal conception of manhood, he is often aided and complemented in different situations by the characteristics by those who accompany him. They serve Rama devotedly, at great personal risk and sacrifice.
BHARATA AND LAKSHMANA
Absent when Rama is exiled, upon his return Bharata is appalled to learn of the events. And even though Kaikeyi had done all this for his benefit, Bharata is angered at the suggestion that he should take Ayodhya's throne. Denouncing his mother, Bharata proclaims to the city that he would go to the forest to fetch Rama back, and would serve out his term of exile himself. Although initially resentful and suspicious, the people of Ayodhya hail Bharata's selfless nature and courageous act. Despite his fervent pleas to return, Rama asserts that he must stay in the forest to keep his father's word. He orders Bharata to perform his duty as king of Ayodhya, especially important after Dasaratha's death, and orders Shatrughna to support and serve him. Returning saddened to the city, Bharata refuses to wear the crown or sit on the throne. Instead, he places the slippers of Rama that he had taken back with him on the throne, and rules Ayodhya assiduously keeping Rama's beliefs and values in mind. When Rama finally returns, Bharata runs personally to welcome him back. Bharata is hailed for his devotion to his elder brother and dharma, distinguished from Lakshmana as he is left on his own for fourteen years. But he unfailingly denies self-interest throughout this time, ruling the kingdom only in Rama's name. Vasishtha proclaims that no one had better learnt dharma than Bharata, and for this piety he forms an essential part of the conception of perfect manhood, of the Seventh Avatara of Vishnu. Shatrughna's role to Bharata is akin to that of Lakshmana to Rama. Believed to be one-quarter of Vishnu incarnated, or as the incarnation of his eternal companion, Ananta Sesha, Lakshmana is always at Rama's side. Although unconstrained by Dasaratha's promise to Kaikeyi, Lakshmana resists Rama's arguments and accompanies him and Sita into the forest. During the years of exile, Lakshmana constantly serves Rama and Sita – building huts, standing guard and finding new routes. When Sita is kidnapped, Rama blazes with his divine power and in his immense rage, expresses the desire to destroy all creation. Lakshmana prays and pleads for Rama to calm himself, and despite the shock of the moment and the promise of travails to come, begin an arduous but systematic search for Sita. During times when the search is proving fruitless and Rama fears for Sita, and expresses despair in his grief and loneliness, Lakshmana encourages him, providing hope and solace.When Rama in his despair fears that Sugriva has forgotten his promise to help him trace Sita, Lakshmana goes to Kishkindha to remind the complacent monarch of his promise to help. Lakshmana twangs the bow inside the hall quaking the entire building and threatens to destroy Sugriva and the monkey kingdom with his own divine power. Lakshmana is unable to tolerate Sugriva breaking his vow to Rama while enjoying material and sensual pleasures while Rama suffers alone. It is only through the diplomatic intervention of Queen Tara, Sugriva's wife, that Lakshmana is pacified. Tara then scolds and galvanises Sugriva into honoring his promise to Rama. Sugriva and Rama are then reconciled with the help of Lakshmana and Tara. Sugriva sends the monkey hoards to find the location of Sita and lead the monkey army into battle against the demonic forces of Ravana.Lakshmana is uniquely responsible for slaying Indrajit, the invincible son of Ravana who had humiliated Indra and the devas, and outwitted the brothers and the Vanaras on several occasions. Rishi Agastya later points out that this victory was the turning point of the conflict. Rama is often overcome with emotion and deep affection for Lakshmana, acknowledging how important and crucial Lakshmana's love and support was for him. He also trusts Lakshmana to carry out difficult orders – Lakshmana was asked to take Sita to the ashrama of Valmiki, where she was to spend her exile. Lakshmana's deep love for Rama, his unconditional service and sacrifice, as well as qualities of practical judgment and clear-headedness make him Rama's superior in certain situations and perspectives. Lakshmana symbolizes a man's duty to his family, brothers and friends, and forms an essential part of the conception of ideal manhood, that Rama primarily embodies.
JATAYU, HANUMAN AND VIBHEESHNA
When Rama and Lakshmana begin the desperate search to discover where Sita had been taken, after traversing a distance in many directions, they come across the magical eagle Jatayu, who is dying. They discover from Jatayu that a rakshasa was flying away with a crying, struggling Sita towards the south. Jatayu had flown to the rescue of Sita, but owing to his age and the rakshasa's power, had been defeated. With this, Jatayu dies in Rama's arms. Rama is overcome with love and affection for the bird which sacrificed its own life for Sita, and the rage of his death returns to him in the climactic battle with Ravana.Rama's only allies in the struggle to find Sita are the Vanaras of Kishkindha. Finding a terrified Sugriva being hunted by his own brother, king Vali, Rama promises to kill Vali and free Sugriva of the terror and the unjust charge of plotting to murder Vali. The two swear everlasting friendship over sacred fire. Rama's natural piety and compassion, his sense of justice and duty, as well as his courage despite great personal suffering after Sita's kidnapping inspire devotion from the Vanaras and Sugriva, but especially Hanuman, Sugriva's minister. Devoted to Rama, Hanuman exerts himself greatly over the search for Sita. He is the first to discover that Sita was taken to Lanka, and volunteers to use his divine gifts in a dangerous reconnaissance of Lanka, where he is to verify Sita's presence. Hanuman hands Rama's ring to Sita, as a mark of Rama's love and his imminent intention of rescuing her. Though captured, he candidly delivers Rama's message to Ravana to immediately release Sita, and when his tail is burned, he flies and sets Lanka on fire. When Lakshmana is struck down and near death and Rama overcome with love and concern for his brother, Hanuman flies to the Himalayas on the urgent mission to fetch the sanjeevani medicinal herbs, bringing the entire mountain to Lanka so that no time is lost in saving Lakshmana. The Vanaras fight the rakshasas, completely devoted to Rama's cause. They angrily dismiss Ravana's efforts to create international divisions within their army when he suggested that Rama considered them, monkeys, as mere animals. At the end of the war, Indra restores life to the millions of fallen Vanaras.Before the onset of war, rakshasa prince Vibheeshana, Ravana's youngest brother comes to join Rama. Although he loves his brother and Lanka, he fails in repeated efforts to make Ravana follow religious values and return Sita. Vibheeshana believes that Ravana's arrogance and callousness will cause the destruction of Lanka, which is a gross violation of a king's duty, and that Ravana's actions have only propagated evil. Vibheeshana refuses to defend the evil of Ravana's ways and inspired by Rama's compassion and piety, leaves Lanka to join the Vanara Army. His knowledge of rakshasa ways and Ravana's mind help Rama and the Vanaras overcome black magic and mystical weapons. At the end of the war, Rama crowns Vibheeshana as the king of Lanka. Vibheeshana, and to a greater extent Hanuman, embody the perfect devotee in the wider conception of perfect manhood.
RAMA IN WAR
When Rama is thirteen years old, he and his brother Lakshmana are taken by Vishwamitra to the forests, with the purpose of killing rakshasas who are wrecking the tapasya and sacrifices of brahmins. When asked to slay the demoness, Rama demurs, considering it sinful to kill a woman. But Vishwamitra explains that evil has no gender. Rama replies that "My father asked me to follow your orders, I will obey them even if it is a sin". Rama proceeds to slay Tadaka, a cursed yaksha demoness. The killing of Tadaka liberates the yaksha soul who was cursed for a sin, and had to adopt a rakshasi's body. It restores the purity of the sacrifices of the brahmins who live nearby, and protects the animals who live in the forest, and travelers. Rama and Lakshmana are taught the advanced military arts and given the knowledge of all celestial weapons by Vishwamitra. The main purpose of Vishwamitra's exursion is to conduct his yagna without interruption from two evil demons, Maricha and Subahu sons of Tadaka. Rama and Lakshmana guard the sacrifice, and when the two demons appear, Rama shoots an arrow named Manava Astra that carries Maricha across the lands and into the ocean, but does not kill him. Rama and his brother then proceed to kill Subahu and accompanying demons. Rama explains to Lakshmana that leaving Maricha alive was an act of compassion, but the others did not heed the point and chose to attack. During the forest exile, sages plead for protection and help against evil rakshasas who spoil their sacrifices and religious activities and terrorize them. Many rakshasas had even killed and eaten sages and innocent people. At Janasthana, Rama uses his exceptional prowess to single-handedly kill over fourteen thousand demon hordes led by the powerful Khara, who is a cousin of Ravana and Dushana . . .
WIKIPEDIA
___________________________________________
Bishnupur is a town and a municipality in Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India. It is famous for its terracotta temples and the balucheri sarees.
HISTORY
Bishnupur was ruled under the Gupta period by local Hindu kings who paid tribute to Samudra Gupta[citation needed]. Following a long period of obscurity, where the land oscillated between being a minor independent principality and a vassal state . The land is also called Mallabhum after the Malla rulers of this place. It was much later in 994 AD that the place was named bishnupur.The name is derived from the name of the Hindu God 'Vishnu'. The Malla rulers were Vaishnavites and built the famous terracotta temples during the 17th and 18th century at this place. The terracotta temples here are the best specimen of the classical style of Bengal architecture. The legends of Bipodtarini Devi are associated with Malla Kings of Bishnupur.
Bishnupur (the distance from Kolkata is 132 km), now the headquarters of the subdivision of the same name in Bankura district, is a seat of crafts and culture.
For almost a thousand years it was the capital of the Malla kings of Mallabhum, of which Bankura was a part, till their power waned during the times when Mughal Empire weakened under the last monarchs of the dynasty.
The patronage of Malla king Veer Hambir and his successors Raja Raghunath Singha Dev and Veer Singha made Bishnupur one of the principal centres of culture in Bengal.Most of the exquisite terracotta temples for which town is justly famous were built during this period.
Apart from the unique architecture of the period, Bishnupur is also famous for its terracotta craft and its own Baluchari sarees made of tussar silk.
Royal patronage also gave rise to Bishnupur Gharana (school) of Hindustani classical music in late 18th-century
and the Bishnupur school of painting.
WIKIPEDIA
Proverbs 31. Equal in worth. Quite the opposite in strengths & weaknesses.
Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She is energetic and strong,
a hard worker.
18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
her fingers twisting fiber.
20 She extends a helping hand to the poor
and opens her arms to the needy.
21 She has no fear of winter for her household,
for everyone has warm[c] clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads.
She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
where he sits with the other civic leaders.
24 She makes belted linen garments
and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
27 She carefully watches everything in her household
and suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her.
Her husband praises her:
29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
31 Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
The Myth.
Daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and Pasiphae. She married Theseus, king of Athens, and bore him two sons, Acamas and Demophon. At the core of her legend is her relationship with her stepson Hippolytus, Theseus’ son by the Amazon Antiope (or Hippolyte). In what seems to have been the traditional story told by Apollodorus (Epit. I, 18-19), “Phaedra, after she had borne two children, Acamas and Demophon, to Theseus, fell in love with the son he had by the Amazon, to wit, Hippolytus, and besought him to lie with her. Howbeit, he fled from her embraces, because he hated all women. But Phaedra, fearing that he might accuse her to his father, cleft open the doors of her bed-chamber, rent her garments, and falsely charged Hippolytus with an assault. Theseus believed her and prayed to Poseidon that Hippolytus might perish. So, when Hippolytus was riding in his chariot and driving beside the sea, Poseidon sent up a bull from the surf, and the horses were frightened, the chariot dashed in pieces, and Hippolytus, entangled in the reins, was dragged to death. And when her passion was made public, Phaedra hanged herself.” (Sir James George Frazer, Ed)
Phaedra was the subject of at least three Attic tragedies, two by Euripides entitled Hippolytus and a Phaedra by Sophocles. According to Euripides’ second and extant Hippolytus (428 BC), Phaedra is the innocent victim of the struggle between divine powers, and the plain story of Apollodorus is treated with great psychological refinement. Phaedra is a virtuous woman and has been made to fall in love by Aphrodite, who is getting her revenge on Hippolytus, the chaste follower of Artemis, for ignoring her worship. Phaedra, ashamed of this dishonorable love, has struggled to conquer her passion in silence – but to no avail, and so now she is trying to starve herself to death. Her nurse, alarmed because of her obvious illness, worms her secret out of her; and it is the nurse, anxious to ease her mistress’ sufferings, who reveals her love to Hippolytus.
He responds to these well-meant overtures with bitter rage against women in general and Phaedra in particular, and she, afraid that he will tell everything to Theseus, writes a letter to her husband accusing Hippolytus of rape, a slander designed to protect her children from a disgrace they do not deserve. “This day I shall die” she says, “and bring pleasure to Aphrodite, my destroyer. I shall be the victim of a bitter love. But there is another whom I will hurt in dying ….” Then she hangs herself from the rafters. Theseus returns to find his wife dead, to read the letter, and to curse Hippolytus to death by the bull from the sea.
Source: Jennifer R. March. “Dictionary of Classical Mythology”.
The Sarcophagus.
The unhappy love of Phaedra towards Hippolytus was carved several times on Roman sarcophagi. The sculptors represented this myth in two variants, both organized into two panels. The scene carved on the leftmost panel is always the same. It represents the main characters in their house: Phaedra with her nurse surrounded by some handmaids, and Hippolytus ready for the hunt. The two versions differ for the subject carved on the rightmost panel. This sarcophagus is an example of the first variant in which the heroic scene of wild boar hunting follows the domestic scene.
In more recent time the hunting scene is been substituted with a scene involving other characters and temporally and geographically distant from the previous one: the arrival of the delegation sent to Athens to inform Theseus about the death of his son Hippolytus, (2nd variant dating from 2nd half of III cent. AD.)
An archway divides the front panel of the sarcophagus into two halves. At the far left of the frieze sits the richly dressed Phaedra on a sumptuous throne, the arm-rests of which are supported on a sphinx. Overcome by her longing for her handsome stepson, she has turned her head towards a female servant standing behind her; to her right another servant props her chin in her hand, either listening or thinking. The lovesick heroine is portrayed as a respectable and desirable woman of high social standing: a length of her cloak lies over the head on which she wears a diadem, her robe slips Venus—like from her shoulder, and in her right hand she holds a hand garland. The miniature Amor-Psyche group before Phaedra’s throne, and the cupid leaning on a torch at her feet, represent her desire for Hippolytus, who is preparing to depart for the hunt. He holds a spear or lance in his left hand and wears only a chlamys, and stands in front of a temple, doubtless that of Artemis, while his horse beside him paws the ground impatiently. His perfect heroic body, presented frontally to the viewer, contrasts effectively with the flaccid, wrinkled skin of the old nurse next to him. She is holding out her left hand in entreaty or supplication, and has brought her right hand to her mouth in an ambiguous gesture. Two servants accompany Hippolytus: an older man with a beard, of whom only the head is visible next to the tip of the hero's lance, and a younger one, with ‘barbarian‘ features, who carries a throwing-spear over his left shoulder and takes charge of two valuable hunting-dogs.
Beyond the wall limiting the domestic ambience, in the right half of the frieze, Hippolytus is engaged in his favorite activity: the hunting. Riding his horse, he is about to throw his spear against a wild boar suddenly came out from the trees. One of his dogs has already bitten a leg of the beast. Hippolytus is accompanied by a man riding beside him, and by a woman dressed as an Amazon. She is raising her arms to support and urge the hunter. This female character is “Virtus”, the goddess who personifies the value and the strength of the warrior.
The sarcophagus dating from the early 3rd century AD was found in subterranean tomb located along the Via Latina near Rome. Many sarcophagi were here found. Among these, the remarkable Adonis’ sarcophagus preserved at the Vatican Museums and describing the myth of awesome Adonis and Aphrodite.
Source: Zanker P. & Ewald BC., “Vivere con i Miti. L’iconografia dei sarcogagi Romani”
Marble sarcophagus
Ca. 210 AD
Vatican City State, Vatican Museums, Museo Gregoriano Profano
Stop Callin, Stop Callin,
I dont wanna think anymore.
WHOOO so!
Riot Core, Trishella Skytower, and Myself are putting together some Lady Gaga accessories, outfits and what not from the new Telephone video.
Trish will be doing an outfit
Riot will be making a male hair
I'll be making an outfit, some special skins, glasses, and MAYBE a hair from the video.
I do know that I will be modifying Lily for this spectacular event.
Stay tuned, and ill post when these items will be released!
The lovely telephone was provided by Kyrsten Jigsaw of Rbcg
Its all up now here
slurl.com/secondlife/Virtuous%20Estates/53/92/21
Introduction
Christian Movie | "The City Will Be Overthrown" | Warnings of the Last Days
Cheng Huize is a co-worker at a house church in China. She has believed in the Lord for many years, and has worked for the Lord with unwavering enthusiasm. She takes on a lot of responsibilities for the church, and she has compassion for her brothers and sisters. As her church grew more and more desolate with each passing day, the wickedness in her church were more and more frequent. The pastor energetically proposed that the church should start a factory, and led the followers down the path to wealth, and also enticed them to join the Three-Self Church so they could rely on help from the Chinese Communist government. This caused a fierce debate to unfold. The pastor stubbornly acted in his own individual interests and did not hesitate to divide the church, leading the believers down the wrong path. Cheng Huize and a few others held fast to the way of the Lord, and fiercely opposed the church becoming a factory and joining the Three-Self Church. Although the elders at the church expressed that they were opposed to this, they only did so to protect their own status and livelihood. Even though the pastor and elders were all harboring secrets in their hearts, locked in constant strife for their own fame and profit, fighting out of envy, when they saw that most of the good sheep and leading sheep in the church had investigated the Eastern Lightning and turned to Almighty God one by one, they joined together with the Chinese Communist government and fought to repress the Eastern Lightning, blocking the believers from coming to study the Eastern Lightning, urging the followers to report them to the police. They set an example by reporting and arresting the brothers and sisters preaching the kingdom gospel. Cheng Huize and others saw that the pastor and the elders had deviated from the Lord's way a long time ago, and the church had already lost the work of the Holy Spirit and had degenerated into a religious place like Babylon the Great, cursed and reviled by the Lord. Because of this, they decided to investigate the Eastern Lightning to search for the manifestation and work of God. After intense debates with the preachers from the Church of Almighty God, Cheng Huize and the others finally began to see clearly that the leaders of the religious world opposed God in substance, and the reason why the religious world declined, day by day drawing nearer to its destruction: The pastors and elders of the religious world, although they could explain the Bible and hold the Bible in high esteem, they only do so for status and livelihood. They are confusing and ensnaring people. They don't hold God in high regard or bear witness for Him, they don't understand God at all. In the last days, when the incarnate Almighty God appears and does His work, they oppose Him without the slightest scruple, they condemn God's work, even to the point where they unite with the Chinese Communist government to arrest believers. This is enough to prove that they possess a satanic nature that hates the truth and hates God. They are modern-day Pharisees, impersonating virtuous people, antichrists who deny that God becomes flesh. The religious world has already completely become a stronghold for antichrists who are enemies of God. They will absolutely meet with God's curses and punishments. Cheng Huize and others were eventually able to differentiate the antichrist nature essence of the leaders of the religious world, and guided the believers to break away from the confusion and control of the Pharisees, to escape without hesitation from Babylon, the city that will be overthrown …
The 57th Emirate Xenon, Ruler of the Caliphate of Xena, and of it's moral character. His Servitude was marked by intensive aid to the poor, and his normalization of trade relations with Zodiac, and with the Caliphate of Arga. Allowing a branch of the Zodian defense contractor Renminbi Corp. to be set up in the capital city of New Stellac, and in the latter case by arming his police force with Hero Factory equipment originating in Arga.
Compassionate, powerful, and beloved by his people. Long live the virtuous Emirate Xenon.
Temple Bells ringing indicate the invocation of divinity and that the virtuous & noble forces enter and the evil forces depart.
Better seen large on black, and is an amazing eyeful at original size.
Yesterday's Quebec City sunset photo managed to find some success. But it wasn't really "a photo with added texture", but rather an "overlay diptych", a blend of 2 equally important shots. One was a Quebec sunset photo, and this was the other.
This is a close-up of a small slab of sandstone being sold in Gifts from the Earth, a wonderful shop in Carrot Common on Danforth Ave in Toronto. I took it in May 2008 and uploaded later that month and dumped it in a few groups and sets. Since then, in just over a year, it garnered 27 views, 0 comments and 0 faves.
Almost nobody cared about my stuff on Flickr a year ago, and honestly, most of it wasn't that good. (Now it is better, but still not good enough). But I always liked this shot, and always thought it was one of my most under-rated items. For the shot yesterday I flipped, tweaked and twiddled, but here it is as originally uploaded.
~~~
This free texture has a Creative Commons Attribution License. You may use this image, even commercially, or alter it -- provided that you acknowlege me as its original creator, preferably with a link back to this photo page, or to my profile page, or to my Photostream. I would also appreciate it very much if you could leave a comment on the photo page (or the relevant set) with a link to the photo you used it in. This in turn may give me and others some good ideas, and keep the virtuous cycle spiraling upward. :-)
NOTE: If you actually want to use this as a texture, leave a comment below or just fave it. That way, if I can find a better version of this, I can give you a nudge when it is available.
Mount Buzhou (不周山), a pillar holding up the sky. The pillar collapsed and caused the sky to tilt towards the northwest and the earth to shift to the southeast. This caused great floods and suffering to the people....
The characters 伏羲 Fu Xi lit. mean “lie prostrate” & “sacrifice”. In 女媧 Nü Wa, Nü 女literally means ‘female’, whereas ‘Wa’ 媧 has no meaning. Contrary to Shen Nong and Huang Di, Fu Xi and Nü Wa are a rather obscure and distant couple in the misty fog of Chinese antiquity, and only very little is known about them.Fu Xi and Nü Wa pictured with dragon tails intertwined. (Picture by Hughes Songe)..Every school-child in China, Taiwan, and other Chinese places, learns already early on about their original Chinese patriarchs and their histories. But the most ancient Chinese history has become quite embellished over 4 1/2 thousand years and changed into mythology. As a result, the 21st Century Chinese are quite confused about their earliest primo-genitors, and if it weren’t for a very interesting discovery that this article reveals, their earliest patriarchs would have stayed obscure until the end of time.The earliest records speak of “Sān Huáng Wǔ Dì”, meaning the “Three August Ones, Sovereigns or Kings” and the “Five Emperors.” These 3+5= 8 god-kings or demi-gods purportedly used their magical powers to improve the lives of their people. Because of their lofty virtue, they lived to a great age and ruled over a period of great peace.The three Sovereigns are generally denoted as Fu Xi, Nü Wa, and Shen Nong Shi, but in other literary sources Nü Wa is often replaced by Huang Di, one of the five Emperors. Actually, depending on the source, there are six to seven known variations of who classifies as the “Three Sovereigns & the Five Emperors”. Many of these sources were written long after the actual events, during much later dynasties. Hence the distortion.These Three + Five = Eight Chinese primo-patriarchs, concur with a global occurrence of eight Flood survivors in ancient legends.
India: Manu and his 7 ‘Rishis’ = 8. (picture above)
S-India: Satyavratha (Noah) + 3 sons Sharma, Charma, Yapheti +their 4 wives = 8.
Egypt: The ‘Ogdoad‘ [octo=8], Nun {Noah} Heh, Kuk, & (h)Amun + 3 wives = 8.
Sumeria: Uan or Oannes and 7 ‘Apkallu’ (wise men) = 8. OR the 4 post-diluvian Apkalluh with 4 wives would also make 8.
Hebrews: Noah, Shem, Ham, Yapheth + their 4 wives= 8.
Others: Also 8, as we’ll show about the Miao Zu people.The ‘Ogdoad’ also puts to rest the mistaken idea that the Egyptians did not have a Flood story! See how Nun upholds the boat with 7 survivors.In yet another version of the more than 700 global flood stories, the Chinese legend tells how the world was swept by a Great Flood, and only Fu Xi and his sister NüWa survived. They then retired to Kunlun Mountain where they prayed for a sign from the Emperor of Heaven — God — or as he is called in Chinese Shang Di.The Divine Being approved their union and the siblings set about to procreate the human race all over again. It was mythically told of them that in order to speed up the natural procreation of humans, Fu Xi and Nüwa found an additional way by using clay to create human figures, and with divine power entrusted to them, they made these figures come alive. The Han period book Fengsu tongyi 風俗通義 says that in the beginning, just when Heaven and Earth had separated, Nü Wa formed humans out of mud, giving birth to the human race.The new father of humanity Fu Xi then came to rule over his descendants, although reports of his long reign vary between sources. He is supposed to have lived mid 29th century BC, or 2.900 BC, which is very close to the timing of the Biblical flood of about 2.500 BC. Nü Wa after surviving the great flood, “fixed the broken sky/heaven (Tian) with either five or seven colored stones.” “女媧補天 = Nü Wa Bu Tian!”Now the three earliest Chinese historians mentioned Nü Wa. The fourth, the noted Chinese historian Si Ma Qian (in the Shiji, Chapter Benji or prologue) clearly identifies Nüwa as a man with the last name of Feng.“Herbert James Allen erroneously translated Tang dynasty historian Sima Zhen’s interpolated prologue to the Han dynasty Sima Qian’s Shiji. In one of his more serious flaws, Nüwa was described as male even though the Nü (女) in the name means female and the wa (媧) also contains the female radical. ]”Why does obfuscating W.P. dislike Allen’ s translation? Read on and get the full picture why!Some scholars consider Nüwa a tribal leader (or emperor); others consider the name Nüwa a title. Only after the fourth (Si Ma Qian) Nü Wah was suddenly cast into a woman’s role, and became known as Fu Xi’s wife! Over time these histories grew into even more bizarre myths, as the two of them are still proudly reported by Chinese people today, as being half dragons! Their early depictions as a couple shows both of them with intertwined reptilian tails. (see picture at the top) The legend goes as follows:The earliest literary role seems to be the upkeep and maintenance of the Wall of Heaven*, whose collapse would obliterate everything. [Note the association with Flood traditions.] There was a quarrel between two of the more powerful gods, and they decided to settle it with a fight. When the water god Gong Gong saw that he was losing, he smashed his head against Mount Buzhou (不周山), a pillar holding up the sky. The pillar collapsed and caused the sky to tilt towards the northwest and the earth to shift to the southeast. This caused great floods and suffering to the people. Nüwa cut off the legs of a giant tortoise and used them to supplant the fallen pillar, alleviating the situation and sealing the broken sky using stones of seven different colours, but she was unable to fully correct the tilted sky. This explains the phenomenon that sun, moon, and stars move towards the northwest, and that rivers in China flow southeast into the Pacific Ocean. (this account is similar to the Huainanzi account; it was added as The Upkeep and Maintenance of Heaven).Other versions of the story describe Nüwa going up to heaven and filling the gap with her body (half human half serpent) and thus stopping the flood. According to this legend some of the minorities in South-Western China hail Nüwa as their goddess and some festivals such as the ‘Water-Splashing Festival’ are in part a tribute to her sacrifices.Other versions of the story describe Nüwa going up to heaven and filling the gap with her body (half human half serpent) and thus stopping the flood. According to this legend some of the minorities in South-Western China hail Nüwa as their goddess and some festivals such as the ‘Water-Splashing Festival’ are in part a tribute to her sacrifices.As the ancient Chinese also originated from Sumeria, they were most likely familiar with the early Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh adopting its symbolisms.Seeing the similarity between dragontail Nüwa and fishtail Vishnu (next picture) also holding instruments in their hands, there is evidence that perhaps also the early Xia in proximity to the sea, as the Jomon had naval contacts not just with America where the Chinese left 3000 yr. Old stone sea anchors, and the Jomon with Ecuador, seeing the Jomon similarity with Valdivan pottery (Betty Meggers Smithsonian!), but also with seafaring ancient Indians or Dravidians and their versions of the ubiquitous 700 ethnic Flood legends, where Noah was called MaNu (plus his 7 Rishis make 8), or in South India Satyavratha and his three sons Charma, Sharma and Phra Yapeti! (As Biblical Noah, Ham, Shem, Japheth) plus 4 wives also make 8!).Seeing that Ham named the “Land of Cham” in Vietnam and Chambodia and other places in between like India Cambay, after himself, perhaps Ham was one of the very “Oannes sailors of the sea wizards” who personally came as far as the Yellow Sea in his astronomical surveys to map the stars and measure the new post-Flood Earth! Because whether it is politically correct with historical (qu)academia or not, it is a fact that the ancients DID travel the entire earth and its oceans, seeing the ubiquitous spread of pyramids (25 in China!) and Bronze Age megaliths in almost every part of the world!Like Nüwa the Indian god Vishnu who guided Manu also sports a fishtail. Manu was instructed by the god Vishnu who came from the ocean as a fish with a fish tail, (Fish Nu!) to save himself from an impending global deluge! We find a similar symbolism in the early Sumerian demi-god Oannes, who emerged from the sea half fish/half man and taught humans civilisation and culture! Man obviously likes to embellish history!
NOW WHO COULD ‘FU XI’ BE?If we look at the meaning of the characters Fu and Xi, as its sound does not coincide at all with any of the other historical records, unless it is a bastardisation of Vishnu?, we get the following meanings: “Fu” means “lying prostrate” and “Xi” has the meaning of “sacrifice.” The picture arises of a man lying prostrate in front of an animal sacrifice.
According to both the Miao and Hebrew records, after Noah’s Ark had landed, he ordered that his family should present a great thanksgiving sacrifice to God, and so they offered and barbecued some animals. Is it possible that Noah’s original name in Chinese, was the honorable “Fu Xi Nü-Wa“, meaning the “Prostrating Sacrificer Noah”?
Is it perhaps also possible that originally Fu meant Father Noah? Was the character Fu changed perhaps from Fu meaning “father” to Fu meaning “prostrate”, around the same time when Nü-Wa was turned female, and that Fu Xi Nü-Wa was suddenly spliced into two people? Only God knows what really happened. Is that perhaps also the reason why their tails were entwined?
But the most interesting and IMHO most likely explanation for the names Fu Xi Nü-Wa, is when you consider the Chinese accent and its bastardisation of non-Chinese accents. A “bus” in Chinese (& Japanese) becomes “Ba Se” or “Ba Su” for example. Now the Chinese may have been aware of the name NüWa through the Han legends coming overland like Noah, Noe, Nuh, Nu-Uh, Nur, or Noach from the Middle East and Babylon originally. But the Xia (dynasty) who settled closer to the ocean than Huang Di, most likely introduced the concept of fish tailed Vish-NU into China from their contact with the seafaring sons of Ham like Dravidian Cushites from India, where Noah is called Manu under god Vishnu.
And when those early Chinese tried to pronounce Vish-Nu, it probably came out very similar to Fishi-Nüwa or FuXi-NüWa. And that makes a whole lot of sense in the light of Chinese pronunciation. Perhaps the Dravidian/Indian name VishNu was itself a bastardisation of NuAh or Noah, the common patriarch of us all mixed with some of that fish-man Oannes influence! We’ll find out in the Heavenly Museum of REAL History! Ha!
Ararat-Ximu-Nuwa-Huangdi-Xia
And why did Fu Xi & Nü-Wa live such long lives, as Shen Nong did too? Because, according to the most detailed and accurate Biblical account in Genesis, Noah, his wife, and three sons, lived to amazing old ages. According to the Greek ‘Sibylline Oracles’, even the wives of Shem, Ham & Japheth also enjoyed fantastically long life-spans, living for centuries! Noah lived almost a thousand years, totally 950 years in fact! 600 years until the Flood began, and 350 after!
Shem (Miao: Lo-Shen, or Shen Nong Shi?) lived a total of 600 years, according to Genesis. If you divide 600 years by a generation of 35-40 years, you easily arrive at a total of 15 or 17 generations. Huang Di was purportedly a distant descendant of Shen Nong, while also his friend and fellow scholar! Well, if he was 7-18 generations removed from Shem or Shen Nong, that would have been very possible being Shem’s great (17 times) -grandchild.
Shem is considered the forefather of most Arabs and of some Asian tribes. The following are the haplo DNA groups found in nations all over the world. You see that the (orange D) South Asians/South Chinese/Tibetans, and (blue O) Han Chinese belong to different groups. (And most originating in the Middle East where Noah landed his ark in Eastern Turkey on the mountains of Ararat!). (NB: The C3 and Q3 “going across the Bering Street” is pure Darwinist propaganda, because the Bering street was frozen until quite recently. It could not have happened!)
DNAmap
There are many legends about Fuxi and Nü-Wa recorded in several ancient Chinese books such as ‘Book of Changes’, ‘Elegies of Chu’, ‘Writings of Prince Huai Nan’ and the ‘Book of Mountains and Seas’. These legends were all passed on orally until written down, but sadly not via rhyming stanzas, yet their impact is very wide and profound. Now the leading aspects and basic facts of these myths become very meaningful in this new Miao and other inter-ethnic context.
BaGua8Story has it, that Fu Xi is not only the clan leader in the East and the chief of the three sage kings and five virtuous emperors of China at the dawn of human civilization, but also an omnipotent wise man capable of various kinds of skills. He is told to have created the Eight Diagrams and simulated the spider to weave fishing net. He was not only able to make musical instruments, but also good at cooking tasty food. Moreover, he contributed a lot to the traditional Chinese medicine and was the forefather of Chinese civilization. He also formulated etiquette’s and regulations for people, reducing the barbaric marriage by plundering. All that could easily be said of the Patriarch Noah as well!
Was Fu Xi Father Sin of the Chinese?
hittiteshoeHITTITE SHOE with upturned toes
OR was Fu Xi the most ancient patriarch of the Chinese “Father Sin” — son of Canaan & grandson of Ham — the patriarch of the Sinites? Sin was the brother of Heth, the patriarch of the Hittites who lived in Anatolia (now Turkey) but after the Bronze Age Collapse they were defeated and dispersed mixing with conquering tribes. Hittites had long pony tails and turned up shoes!
However Sin and his Sinites were totally lost from history. There are no ancient Middle Eastern records or memorials left of them. Many think that they left the Sumerian homeland already very early, traveling across the Silk Route Eastward and fathered the ancient Chinese and other tribes. Study of ancient China and its language is still called ‘Sinology‘ today, while the ancient Arabs called the Chinese the people of “Sin” & the Greeks called them ‘Sinae’.
Nü-Wa Chinese Name for Noah
Nü-Wa, during the remote legendary period of China, had powerful abilities. It is said that when a great flood took place that the heaven collapsed, and the earth sank under water, while wild beasts cruelly killed common people. Then Nü-Wa repaired the heaven/sky (same character Tian!) with five or seven colored rocks and killed the brutal beasts.
All this coincides nicely with the Hebrew scriptures, where the windows of heaven were broken open! After the flood reached its peak they were closed up, and after the water had retreated God showed Noah a beautiful seven-colored rainbow in that broken sky! It seemed to have appeared for the first time in history, the earth being newly covered with clouds!
Most likely some special ante-diluvial condition prevented clouds or water vapour projecting a rainbow, as well as a clear view of the sun which for some odd reason suddenly became much more visible! So much so that Noah’s global descendants, mostly those fathered by the family rebel Ham even began to worship it, and him as “Hamon Ra the Sun God!”
Instead of worshipping the saving God of their Grandfather Noah, they became ardent Sun worshippers! Egyptians, Canaanites, those early megalith builders in Peru, Mexico, Atlantis, Dwarka, China, and in many other places all over the globe, they all began to worship “that magnificent red sun” shining between the horns of their beloved “mother of all life!” The Holy Cow! Now you know where India got that idea via their early Indus Valley civilisation, and Dravidians? From Ham and his Pharaohs!
whitecow
They even had special sun boxes in many megalithic structures and the solar Temple of Amon-Ra at Karnak (Thebes – at present, Luxor city) in Egypt built some time after 2000 B.C. near the present day Luxor was located in such a way as to align with the summer solstice sunrise and is considered the day of the “manifestation of Ra”.
Yet for all she tried Nü-Wa could not fix the “tilt of the sky” and winter, spring, summer, and fall became permanent! Obviously there was no tilt in the Earth’s axis before the Deluge, as witnessed in the wood-sample found in the mysterious ship-shape in Armenia many believe to be the 5000 year old remains of Noahs’ Ark. That wood has no rings in it!
Nü-Wa and Fu Xi also used clay to create humans and human society by simulating their own appearance. That makes sense when you consider that all of us are the offspring of Noah and his wife, their children created in their likeness!
Nü-Wa also invented a kind of musical instrument called reed pipe wind instrument so that she is esteemed as a musical goddess. Moreover, she created the marriage system to enable humans to multiply offspring, so she is called the marriage goddess, which is very likely, because of her being the mother of all resultant humans. I’m sure they all wanted to be married by Noah and his wife!
And so, all this taken into consideration, everything certainly starts to make a lot more sense than some of the myths and embellishments that sprung up in the minds of the early Chinese storytellers long ago. You can hardly blame them, not having any other comparative historical records to consult with, as we have today.
Again, evidence has come to light that Noah, Shem, Ham & Japheth were real historical people, who built a real historical boat, and survived a real genuine global flood, no matter what skeptic intellectuals are saying against it in the name of “science” falsely so-called. Certainly not my kind of science!
But there is one even more important thing we can conclude from all this, and that is that we need to remember that we are all one family! And that we, as Chinese or Westerners, should all reverence and respect our great great great great great grandfather “Fu Xi Nü Wa” and his Father God! And each and every one of us as well, for we all turn out to be brothers and sisters! True or not?
God bless you brother! God bless you sister!
Love and Peace! Lu.
ancientpatriarchs.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/chinese-mythol...
中國神話的苗族說明證實了諾亞洪水的歷史
每一位在中國、台灣以及大中華地區的學子們很早就已經學過中國的始祖和歷史。 但大部分的中國古老歷史都被修飾美化超過近4500年而且演變成了神話。因此現今21世紀的中國人對於他們最早的祖先相當模糊，若不是這篇文章裡揭露這有 趣的發現，直到末日前，他們可能對自己最早的祖先仍然是模糊不清的。
三皇五帝
最早記載的 ”三皇五帝” 就是指 ”三位尊者” 或是三位君主或王，以及 ”五位皇帝” 。 這些3+5神般的王或半仙人據稱他們運用法力來提昇人類的生活，也因為他們崇高的品德讓他們得以長壽並統治世界帶來長久的和平。 這三位王者分別為伏羲、女媧和神農氏。但在別的文獻記載中女媧通常是被五皇之一的黃帝取而代之。實際上依據資料的來源，有6~7種已知的說法列出到底誰才 是三皇五帝。很多這些資料來源都是在實際事件之後的好幾個朝代所寫的，因此多少會被扭曲
黃帝
那誰會是伏羲呢?
假如讓我們來看伏和羲這兩字，他們的發音雖然和其他歷史記載中的名字不太接近，但我們知道”伏”意謂著”屈身”以及”羲”代表著”犧牲”的意思，我們便可以聯想到一個人屈身於動物貢品前面。
根據苗族和希伯來兩者的記載，在諾亞的方舟停下後，他便告訴他的家人應該要對神感恩，所以他們烤了一些動物來祭拜神，那諾亞原來的中文名字會有可能是”伏羲女媧”嗎? 意謂著”諾亞向神朝貢”?
或者也有可能是”伏”指的是”父親”諾亞? 從”父”的”父親”意思轉變到”伏地”，且在差不多同一個時間，女媧變成了女性而伏羲女媧從一個人分成兩個人? 真相只有神知道! 這或許也解釋了為什麼他們的尾巴會交纏在一起?
再者為什麼伏羲和女媧還有神農都可以那麼長壽呢? 因為根據聖經創世紀裡所記載的，諾亞的妻子和3個兒子也都非常非常的長壽，而根據希臘” Sibylline Oracles”記錄，就連Shem、Ham 和 Japheth的妻子都活的非常久超過一世紀! 諾亞就活了近1000年(事實上是960年)!
Shem(神)(lo-shen神農 or Shen Nong shi神農氏)活了整整600年，根據聖經所記載，假如你將35-40年訂為一代，那600年就將近是15到17代，據稱黃帝是神農的後代,也是他的朋友及之後學者，那黃帝有可能就是神農的(第17代)曾孫子。
神(shem)被視為大部分亞洲人及部分的歐洲部落的先父，以下是一些在世界各地發現的單一DNA族群，藍色D為南方的中國人和橘色O為漢人，兩者分別為不同的族群。
HuangDi-YellowEmperor1-201x300皇 帝或黃帝(姓黃)，認為如此比較像傳奇人物而非神話，也因為他被視為真實歷史人物以及在夏朝前的第一位皇帝，因此伏羲、女媧和神農氏被視為神話中的人物因 為較不為人所知。 黃帝又名軒轅氏，是五位傳奇皇帝中的領袖。黃帝和他的兄弟炎帝一同被認為是中國人的祖先，所以後代的中國人也被稱之為炎黃子孫。(炎帝和黃帝的子孫) 目前中國學術界普遍主張，黃帝是出生於有熊(現今湖南省新鄭)並安葬於陜西的橋山(現今黃陵縣)。黃帝及炎帝兩者都是中國兩大族的祖先，也在之後再度融而 為一。 早期的歷史學家”司馬遷”則記載黃帝事實上是神農氏(簡稱神農)的後裔，雖然只約8到17代的血統，儘管在這中間相隔久遠，黃帝仍被視為是神農的朋友和學 者，很明顯地據說非常的長壽。
在很多中國古老的書籍裡都有記載著伏羲及女媧的傳說，如易經、楚辭集注、淮南子以及山海經，這些傳說有著深遠的影響力且一直被流傳著，這些神話的有部分觀點對這個新苗族及不同族群間是非常有意義的。
故事裡有說到，伏羲不只是東方部落或三皇五帝的領袖，同時也是樣樣精通非常聰明的人。他創造了八卦和模擬蜘蛛網而演變出的魚網，他不只會做樂器也很 會做好吃的飯菜，更對中藥上做出了許多貢獻，身為中國人民文明的始祖，他更替人民規劃出了禮儀規範，變革婚姻習俗，倡導男聘女嫁的婚俗禮節，使血緣婚改為 族外婚，這些和諾亞都很相似。
女媧在古老的中國傳奇裡有著強大的法力，傳說中大洪水時天崩塌，地球被下沉到水裡面，各式猛獸都跑出來虐殺人類，女媧用七彩石補天及捕殺這些猛獸。
這和希伯來文聖經裡的創世紀都有些雷同的地方，上面說到”天堂之窗裂開”! 當大洪水淹到最高點時窗就關起來了，當水乾的時候，神讓諾亞看到了天上的七色彩虹，因這是歷史上的第一次。地球被雲給蓋住，很可能因為天空上面外殼的水的 遮蓋這些紫外線防老化，所以人類可以活得更久一點且還沒有雲彩!
女媧和伏羲也同樣用泥土以他們的外表來造人類社會，那這樣就會很合理如果我們都是諾亞和他妻子的子孫，他們的孩子都很像他們的爸媽，女媧也發明一種樂器叫簧管吹奏樂器，所以她也被稱為音樂女神，因為她作為所有人類的母親，我敢肯定他們都希望能嫁給諾亞和他的妻子!
綜合以上我們所提到的，所有事情似乎比那經過修飾過後的古老神話更加合理。我們也無法怪罪當時這些傳說為何沒辦法像我們現在可以找到其他歷史記載來做比對。
再者，所有證據都指向諾亞、神(Shem) 、漢(Ham)和賈費斯(Japheth)都是那些曾蓋過方舟和真的從大洪水中生還的真實歷史人物，無論說什麼所謂的知識分子在科學的角度上仍還是持懷疑的態度。
ancientpatriarchs.wordpress.com/2016/04/24/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9...
This splendid sage lived for 197 years, a number of presumably tremendous significance. Now he is in Heaven where he looks after Cosmic Harmony and Contemplation, which makes him very popular in DAOist circles.FU-XI is very strong on home improvements, and also spiritual improvements. He’s often seen with a carpenter’s square — which symbolizes both as he created the Eight Trigrams for Divination.Fu Xi 伏羲, also written 伏犧 or 伏戲, also called Mi Xi 宓羲 (also written 宓犧), or Pao Xi 包犧, (also written 包羲, 炮犧 or 庖犧), is one of the mythical Three Augusts 三皇 or Five Emperors 五帝. He is therefore known as Xi Huang 犧皇 or Huang Xi 皇羲 "August Shepherd". His cognomen is Tai Hao 太皞 (also written 太昊) "Great Brightness", his tribal name Huang Xiong 黄熊氏. He was the brother and husband of Nü Wa 女媧. The couple was, according to legend, the creators of the world. Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) stone bricks therefore depict Fu Xi and Nü wa with a human body ending in intertwining dragon tails, each of them holding an instrument of architects, namely scissors (ju 榘) and rulers (gui 規). The story of the couple was very widespread in southern China, where the Miao people 苗 saw themselves as descendants of Fu Xi and Nü Wa. The two of them were, in other words, the parents of mankind. Fu Xi is also the deity representing the east and reigning the element wood (mu 木). According to the books Huainanzi 淮南子 and Lüshi chunqiu 呂氏春秋, he is assisted by the spirit Gou Mang 句芒 who pull out the sprouts of all plants in spring. A story in the Shanhaijing 山海經 says that the mother of Fu Xi was Lady Huaxu 華胥氏 who conceived when she tread on the footpint of the God of Thunder (Leishen 雷神). Fu Xi is credited by several inventions, like the Eight Trigrams (bagua 八卦) used for prognostication. Each one of the trigrams represented a formation of the cosm, like Heaven and Earth, mountains and rivers, wind and thunder, and so on. According to the book Baopuzi 抱朴子 Fu Xi is also credited with the invention of the fishing net. In the song collection Chuci 楚辭 he is called the inventor of music. The book Yishi 繹史 says he invented matrimonial rites that are otherwise attributed to his sister Nü Wa. The Hetu ting fuzuo 河圖挺輔佐 praises him as the one who told men how to use the fire.
Emperor Tai Hao is not always identified with Fu Xi. According to other legends, Tai Hao had the surname Feng 風. His officials had the designations of dragons. His residence was Chen 陳 (modern Huaiyang 淮陽, Henan), and he reigned over the lower course of the Yellow River. The families of this region with the surnames Ren 任, Su 宿, Xugou 須句 and Zhuansou 頊臾 (rather the ruling houses of these minor fiefs of the Spring and Autumn period 春秋, 770-5th cent. BCE) are said to be his descendants. Tai Hao or Fu Xi are also called Green Emperor (Qing Di 青帝 or Cang Di 蒼帝) and ruled over the East.
www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Myth/personsfuxi.html
"In the sign on the right hand, the etymologists know how to read a precept, and the right hand is used for eating. The right hand is therefore appropriate to the things of the earth, and the element D is found in the sign adopted for the Left This square is the symbol of all the arts, especially the religious and magical arts, and is the insignia of Fuxi, the first sovereign , The first soothsayer, Fou-hi is the husband or brother of Niu-koua, whose compass is the insignia. This primordial couple invented marriage also to say good morals. The pictures represent Fou-hi and Niu-koua holding each other by the lower part of the body, and Niu-koua, who occupies the right, holds the compass with his right hand. Left, holds the square with the left hand The square, which produces the Square, emblem Earth, can not be insigned to until after an exchange hierogamic of attributes; , the square rightly deserves to be the emblem of the sorcerer is , and especially of Fuxi, a scholar in the bones of heaven as in those of the earth . Fou-hi can therefore carry the square of the left hand, and the left hand (with the square) evoke the Royal Work, the first hierogamy, the magico-religious activity. The Chinese do not strongly oppose religion to magic, any more than pure to impure. The sacred and the profane do not themselves form two distinct genres. The Right can be devoted to secular works and earthly activities without becoming the antagonist of the Left. Chinese thought is concerned not with contraries, but with contrasts, alternations, correlatives, and hierogamic exchanges of attributes."
Marcel Granet
The war with Zhurong tRAh, banged his head against Mount Buzhou RR Ill the pillar of the sky and the terrestrial a until it broke d 25 There are numerous examples showing how excessive anger, or even joy, can be delete- rious. In another example, the viscount of Zhu furious that one of his employees could inadvertently fell into a brazicr and was burnt alivc xie Hogwei on the other hand, died in a fit of rage while playing weigi, when his oppo nent, on the point of losing, was given a hint by a guest watching the game broad meaning of also encompasses the concepts of fury and rage, as is made clear in the phrase "unable to control one's rage" HIB), to contain one's fury" (8 RBJiA), and "in a towering rage (s HUR). It is also used to refer to the fury of elements, as in "the howl of the vio- ent wind's blowin (1EH89t). In various chéngyii it is described as rage (ili&Z& US), fierce and frightening ourning rage (L & E). Indiscriminate arbitrarily complain about what is here and there U8 illi B), and "venting one's anger on others" TN. It can be hidden (i Tri nursing one's anger and rancour"; to be furious but not dare to speak out), manifested ("showing one's rage th), or modulated ("restraining one's anger at home and venting it outside.
books.google.fr/books?id=lQ55CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA466&lp...(%E4%B8%8D%E5%91%A8%E5%B1%B1&source=bl&ots=28Vw4K4HLv&sig=BSxz_Zn8jm88IhvIhaKdOEeI4GM&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjigJ7h357TAhUBvBQKHQfyAZoQ6AEILDAC#v=onepage&q=Mont%20Buzhou%20(%E4%B8%8D%E5%91%A8%E5%B1%B1&f=false
But who said I'm virtuous?
More pics soon... Still gathering them...
Read about this night at sophielynne1.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-night-of-sophie-vampi...
Jan Hudson - The Virtuous Harlots
Playtime Books 644, 1963
Cover Artist: Robert Bonfils
"She was as money hungry as they come – not even her husband was getting it for free."
Jan Hudson was a pseudonym of George H Smith
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For the album by The Creatures, see Anima Animus.
The anima and animus are described in Carl Jung's school of analytical psychology as part of his theory of the collective unconscious. Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, each transcending the personal psyche. Jung's theory states that the anima and animus are the two primary anthropomorphic archetypes of the unconscious mind, as opposed to the theriomorphic and inferior function of the shadow archetypes. He believed they are the abstract symbol sets that formulate the archetype of the Self.
In Jung's theory, the anima makes up the totality of the unconscious feminine psychological qualities that a man possesses and the animus the masculine ones possessed by a woman. He did not believe they were an aggregate of father or mother, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, or teachers, though these aspects of the personal unconscious can influence a person's anima or animus.
Jung believed a male's sensitivity is often lesser or repressed, and therefore considered the anima one of the most significant autonomous complexes. Jung believed the anima and animus manifest themselves by appearing in dreams and influence a person's attitudes and interactions with the opposite sex. A natural understanding of another member of the opposite sex is instilled in individuals that stems from constant subjection to members of the opposite sex. This instilment leads to the development of the anima and animus.[1] Jung said that "the encounter with the shadow is the 'apprentice-piece' in the individual's development ... that with the anima is the 'masterpiece'".[2] Jung viewed the anima process as being one of the sources of creative ability. In his book The Invisible Partners, John A. Sanford said that the key to controlling one's anima/animus is to recognize it when it manifests and exercise our ability to discern the anima/animus from reality.[3]
Contents
1Origin
1.1Anima
1.2Animus
2Levels of anima development
2.1Eve - Object of desire, provider of nourishment, security and love
2.2Helen - Worldly achiever, intelligent and talented
2.3Mary - Righteous and a paragon of virtue
2.4Sophia - Wise and fully human, equal and not at all an object
3Levels of animus development
3.1Tarzan - Man of mere physical power
3.2Byron - Man of action or romance
3.3Lloyd George - Man as a professor, clergyman, orator
3.4Hermes - Man as a spiritual guide
4Anima and animus compared
5Jungian cautions
6References
7Further reading
8External links
Origin
Anima
Anima originated from Latin, and was originally used to describe ideas such as breath, soul, spirit or vital force. Jung began using the term in the early 1920s to describe the inner feminine side of men.[4]
Animus
Animus originated from Latin, where it was used to describe ideas such as the rational soul, life, mind, mental powers, courage or desire.[5] In the early nineteenth century, animus was used to mean "temper" and was typically used in a hostile sense. In 1923, it began being used as a term in Jungian psychology to describe the masculine side of women.[5]
Levels of anima development
Jung believed anima development has four distinct levels, which in "The psychology of the transference" he named Eve, Helen, Mary and Sophia. In broad terms, the entire process of anima development in a man is about the male subject opening up to emotionality, and in that way a broader spirituality, by creating a new conscious paradigm that includes intuitive processes, creativity and imagination, and psychic sensitivity towards himself and others where it might not have existed previously.[citation needed]
Eve - Object of desire, provider of nourishment, security and love
The first is Eve, named after the Genesis account of Adam and Eve. It deals with the emergence of a man's object of desire. The anima is completely tied up with woman as provider of nourishment, security and love.
The man at this anima level cannot function well without a woman, and is more likely to be controlled by her or, more likely, by his own imaginary construction of her. He is often impotent or has no sexual desire.[citation needed]
Helen - Worldly achiever, intelligent and talented
The second is Helen, an allusion to Helen of Troy in Greek mythology. In this phase, women are viewed as capable of worldly success and of being self-reliant, intelligent and insightful, even if not altogether virtuous. This second phase is meant to show a strong schism in external talents (cultivated business and conventional skills) with lacking internal qualities (inability for virtue, lacking faith or imagination).[citation needed]
Mary - Righteous and a paragon of virtue
The third phase is Mary, named after the Christian theological understanding of the Virgin Mary (Jesus' mother). At this level, women can now seem to possess virtue by the perceiving man (even if in an esoteric and dogmatic way), in as much as certain activities deemed consciously unvirtuous cannot be applied to her.[citation needed]
Sophia - Wise and fully human, equal and not at all an object
The fourth and final phase of anima development is Sophia, named after the Greek word for wisdom. Complete integration has now occurred, which allows women to be seen and related to as particular individuals who possess both positive and negative qualities. The most important aspect of this final level is that, as the personification "Wisdom" suggests, the anima is now developed enough that no single object can fully and permanently contain the images to which it is related.[citation needed]
Levels of animus development
Jung focused more on the man's anima and wrote less about the woman's animus. Jung believed that every woman has an analogous animus within her psyche, this being a set of unconscious masculine attributes and potentials. He viewed the animus as being more complex than the anima, postulating that women have a host of animus images whereas the male anima consists only of one dominant image.
Jung stated that there are four parallel levels of animus development in a woman.[6]
Tarzan - Man of mere physical power
The animus "first appears as a personification of mere physical power - for instance as an athletic champion or muscle man, such as 'the fictional jungle hero Tarzan'".[7]
Byron - Man of action or romance
In the next phase, the animus "possesses initiative and the capacity for planned action...the romantic man - the 19th century British poet Byron; or the man of action - America's Ernest Hemingway, war hero, hunter, etc."[8]
Lloyd George - Man as a professor, clergyman, orator
In the third phase "the animus becomes the word, often appearing as a professor or clergyman...the bearer of the word - Lloyd George, the great political orator".[8]
Hermes - Man as a spiritual guide
"Finally, in his fourth manifestation, the animus is the incarnation of meaning. On this highest level he becomes (like the anima) a mediator of...spiritual profundity".[9] Jung noted that "in mythology, this aspect of the animus appears as Hermes, messenger of the gods; in dreams he is a helpful guide." Like Sophia, this is the highest level of mediation between the unconscious and conscious mind.[citation needed] In the book The Invisible Partners, John A. Sanford said that the key to controlling one's anima/animus is to recognize it when it manifests and exercise our ability to discern the anima/animus from reality.[3]
Anima and animus compared
The four roles are not identical with genders reversed. Jung believed that while the anima tended to appear as a relatively singular female personality, the animus may consist of a conjunction of multiple male personalities: "in this way the unconscious symbolizes the fact that the animus represents a collective rather than a personal element".[10]
The process of animus development deals with cultivating an independent and non-socially subjugated idea of self by embodying a deeper word (as per a specific existential outlook) and manifesting this word. To clarify, this does not mean that a female subject becomes more set in her ways (as this word is steeped in emotionality, subjectivity, and a dynamism just as a well-developed anima is) but that she is more internally aware of what she believes and feels, and is more capable of expressing these beliefs and feelings. Thus the "animus in his most developed form sometimes...make[s] her even more receptive than a man to new creative ideas".[11]
Both final stages of animus and anima development have dynamic qualities (related to the motion and flux of this continual developmental process), open-ended qualities (there is no static perfected ideal or manifestation of the quality in question), and pluralistic qualities (which transcend the need for a singular image, as any subject or object can contain multiple archetypes or even seemingly antithetical roles). They also form bridges to the next archetypal figures to emerge, as "the unconscious again changes its dominant character and appears in a new symbolic form, representing the Self".[12]
Jung's theory of anima and animus draws from his theory of individuation. In order for a person to reach the goal of individuation is to engage in a series of intrapersonal dialogues which help the person understand how he or she relates to the world. This process requires men and women to become aware of their anima or animus respectively, in so doing the individual will learn how not to be controlled by their anima or animus. As individuals are made aware of their anima or animus, it allows them to overcome thoughts of who they ought to be and accept themselves for who they really are. According to Jung, individuals can discover a bridge to the collective unconscious through the development of their anima or animus. The anima and the animus represent the unconscious. The anima and animus are not gender specific and men and women can have both, however, more empirical research is required to determine whether both men and women do possess both archetypes. [13]
Jungian cautions
Jungians warned that "every personification of the unconscious - the shadow, the anima, the animus, and the Self - has both a light and a dark aspect....the anima and animus have dual aspects: They can bring life-giving development and creativeness to the personality, or they can cause petrification and physical death".[14]
One danger was of what Jung termed "invasion" of the conscious by the unconscious archetype - "Possession caused by the anima...bad taste: the anima surrounds herself with inferior people".[15] Jung insisted that "a state of anima possession...must be prevented. The anima is thereby forced into the inner world, where she functions as the medium between the ego and the unconscious, as does the persona between the ego and the environment".[16]
Alternatively, over-awareness of the anima or animus could provide a premature conclusion to the individuation process - "a kind of psychological short-circuit, to identify the animus at least provisionally with wholeness".[17] Instead of being "content with an intermediate position", the animus seeks to usurp "the self, with which the patient's animus identifies. This identification is a regular occurrence when the shadow, the dark side, has not been sufficiently realized".[17]
References
Ewen, Robert B. (2003). An Introduction to the Theories of Personality. Taylor & Francis. p. 66. ISBN 9780805843569.
Jung quoted in Anthony Stevens On Jung (London 1990) p. 206
Sandford, John A. The Invisible Partners: How the Male and Female in Each of Us Affects Our Relationships, 1980, Paulist Press, N.Y.
"The definition of anima". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
"The definition of animus". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
Jung, Carl. The Psychology of the Unconscious, Dvir Co., Ltd., Tel-Aviv, 1973 (originally 1917)
M.-L. von Franz, "The Process of Individuation" in Carl Jung ed., Man and his Symbols (London 1978) p. 205-6
von Franz, "Process" p. 205-6
von Franz, "Process" p. 206-7
von Franz, Process p. 206
von Franz, Process p. 207
von Franz, Process p. 207-8
K., Papadopoulos, Renos (2012). The Handbook of Jungian Psychology : Theory, Practice and Applications. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-135-48078-3. OCLC 817888854.
von Franz, "Process" in Jung, Symbols p. 234
C. G. Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (London 1996) p. 124
C. G. Jung, Alchemical Studies (London 1978) p. 180
Jung, Alchemical p. 268
Further reading
The Invisible Partners: How the Male and Female in Each of Us Affects Our Relationships by John A. Sanford (Paperback – Jan 1, 1979).
External links
Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism website
Sample image with scholarly commentary: Hall of the Bulls at Lascaux
Jung on the anima and animus
vte
Carl Jung
Theories
Analytical psychologyCognitive functionsInterpretation of religionPersonality typeSynchronicityTheory of neurosis
Concepts
The psyche
Anima and animusCollective unconsciousComplexElectra complexInner childPersonal unconsciousPersonaSelfShadow
Jungian archetypes
ApolloTricksterWise Old Man and Wise Old WomanWounded healer
Other
Active imaginationEnantiodromiaExtraversion and introversionIndividuationParticipation mystique
Publications
Early
Psychology of the Unconscious (1912)Psychological Types (1921)Modern Man in Search of a Soul (1933)
Later
Psychology and Alchemy (1944)Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (1951)Answer to Job (1954)Mysterium Coniunctionis (1956)
Posthumous
Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1961)Man and His Symbols (1964)Red Book (2009) Seven Sermons to the Dead (1916)Black Books (2020)
The Collected Works
of C. G. Jung
Psychiatric Studies (1970)Experimental Researche (1973)Psychogenesis of Mental Disease (1960)Freud & Psychoanalysis (1961)Symbols of Transformation (1967, a revision of Psychology of the Unconscious, 1912)Psychological Types (1971)Two Essays on Analytical Psychology (1967)Structure & Dynamics of the Psyche (1969)Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (1969)Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (1969)Civilization in Transition (1970)Psychology and Religion (1970)Psychology and Alchemy (1944)Alchemical Studies (1968)Mysterium Coniunctionis (1970)Spirit in Man, Art, and Literature (1966)Practice of Psychotherapy (1966)Development of Personality (1954)The Symbolic Life (1977)General Bibliography (Revised Edition) (1990)General Index (1979)
People
Jungfrauen
Marie-Louise von FranzBarbara HannahJolande JacobiAniela JafféEmma JungToni Wolff
Colleagues
Sigmund FreudMaria MoltzerWolfgang PauliSabina SpielreinVictor WhiteRichard Wilhelm
Followers
Joseph CampbellJames HillmanErich NeumannMaud OakesJordan PetersonLaurens van der PostSonu ShamdasaniJune SingerAnthony Stevens
Houses
Bollingen TowerC. G. Jung House Museum
Organizations
Bollingen FoundationC. G. Jung Institute in ZürichEranosInt'l Assoc. for Analytical PsychologyInt'l Assoc. for Jungian StudiesJungian Society for Scholarly StudiesPhilemon FoundationPsychology Club Zürich
Popular culture
A Dangerous MethodSynchronicity (albumsong 12)Shadow ManThe Soul KeeperPersona (series)Soul
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anima_and_animus
Jung and the idea of androgyny in human beings
Like all archetypal Jungian representations the anima, in which Jung was interested before the animus, is so named because it emanates from an inner image, an image in the soul, unlike the persona which is a exterior image.
Jung, in The Roots of Consciousness (p. 42.) gives a biological explanation for the fact that there is some kind of residue of the character of the opposite sex:
“The image of the opposite sex resides, to some extent, in each sex, since biologically it is only the greater number of male genes that tips the scales in the choice of male sex. The smaller number of female genes appears to constitute a female trait which, however, usually remains unconscious due to its quantitative inferiority. "
It is on this presence of the two elements male and female that he bases his idea of the androgyny of the human being.
This idea of the androgyny of the human being is rooted in the biological and in the conscious-unconscious psychic totality. The unconscious would then have the coloring of the opposite sex. How to recognize and make accessible to experience the manifestations of this archetype?
This is one of the subjects on which Jung is least clear. However, with many digressions on the general functioning of the psyche, he gives us indications in several guide books of which we will retain Dialectics of the Self and the Unconscious, The Roots of Consciousness, Aion, and Transference Psychology.First coined by famous psychiatrist Carl Jung, the terms “Anima” and “Animus” refer to the indwelling masculine and feminine energies that we all possess. Specifically, the anima is thought to be the feminine part of a man’s soul, and the animus refers to the masculine part of a female’s soul. Both the anima and animus are ancient archetypes (or raw forms of energy) that every being contains.
Let’s explore these parts of us more in depth …
The Anima Explained
Derived from Latin meaning “a current of air, wind, breath, the vital principle, life, soul,” the Anima refers to the unconscious feminine dimension of a male which is often forgotten or repressed in daily life.
As it’s generally considered taboo to embrace the inner female side, men often fail to fully embody and embrace this fundamental energy. Sadly, if a male does embrace his Anima, he is often criticized as being “a wimp,” “a sissy,” “a fag,” and other horribly derogatory names.
However, in the perspective of psychology, in order to fully step into a mature masculine role, a man must go on a quest to explore this inner Divine Feminine energy. In other words, he must unite with the other half of his Soul.
Often, this quest results in some sort of projection, that is, trying to find the ideal lover or soul mate in the form of another idealized person. But we can never embody the Anima through another person – only through our own concerted effort. The key realization here is that we must find this force within us, rather than disown it onto another.
As described by Jungian Psychologist Dan Johnston, the man who has connected with his feminine Anima displays “tenderness, patience, consideration and compassion.” However, repression of the female element within males often results in a negative Anima that emerges as personality traits such as “vanity, moodiness, bitchiness, and sensitivity to hurt feelings.”
Indeed, a man who has failed to embody his Anima also tends to fall prey to emotional numbness and toxic masculine traits such as aggression, ruthlessness, coldness, and a purely rational approach to life.
The Animus Explained
The Animus, which is a Latin word that means “the rational soul; life; the mental powers, intelligence,” is the unconscious male dimension in the female psyche. Due to societal, parental, and cultural conditioning, the Animus, or male element within the woman, is often inhibited, restrained, and suppressed.
But the Animus isn’t always repressed – sometimes, it is actually over-emphasized and imposed upon women. Take Western society for example. Here is a culture that ruthlessly imposes masculine ideals such as stoicism, emotional numbness, and ruthlessness as ways to excel and succeed in life.
All of these external elements can contribute towards a negative Animus, which can reveal itself in a woman’s personality through argumentative tendencies, brutishness, destructiveness, and insensitivity. However, integrating a positive Animus into the female psyche can result in strength, assertiveness, levelheadedness, and rationality.