Chapter 65: 629-632
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Repository
1. A location for storage, often for safety or preservation
2. A burial vault
3. A person to whom a secret is entrusted
From WIKI
Page 630
Herodotus
See page 350.
Munchausen
See page 350.
Fountain of Youth
Herodotus mentions a fountain containing a very special kind of water located in the land of the Ethiopians. He attributes the exceptional longevity of the Ethiopians to this water. Tales of healing waters date to at least the time of the Alexander Romance, and were popular right up to the European Age of Exploration. From WIKI
Seven Cities of Gold
A myth that originated around the year 1150 when the Moors conquered Mérida, Spain. According to the legend, seven bishops fled the city — not only to save their own lives, but also to prevent the Muslims from obtaining sacred religious relics. (In another version, the bishops fled from Oporto, Portugal around the year 734.) Years later, a rumor circulated that on the far away island of Antillia—a place unknown to the people of that time—the seven bishops had founded seven cities. The legend says that these cities grew very rich, mainly from gold and precious stones. This idea fueled many expeditions in search of the mythical cities during the following centuries. From WIKI
the eight Immortals
The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary xian ("immortals; transcendents; fairies") in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool (法器) that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals" (暗八仙 àn ~). Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang Dynasty or Song Dynasty. They are revered by the Taoists, and are also a popular element in the secular Chinese culture. They are said to live on Penglai Mountain-Island. From WIKI
Mathesis
See page 194.
"as above, so below!"
See page 487.
Hysteresis
Hysteresis phenomena occur in magnetic and ferromagnetic materials, as well as in the elastic, electric, and magnetic behavior of materials, in which a lag occurs between the application and the removal of a force or field and its subsequent effect. Electric hysteresis occurs when applying a varying electric field, and elastic hysteresis occurs in response to a varying force. The term "hysteresis" is sometimes used in other fields, such as economics or biology; where it describes a memory, or lagging effect, in which the order of previous events can influence the order of subsequent events. From WIKI
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"She was the captive Ward of my Life's great enemy."
This paragraph seems to be Zhang trying to explain - mainly through his battle with Shame - his involvement with the Jesuits, with the Widows of Christ, and also, his nemesis, the Wolf of Jesus - which ultimately led to his escape with Eliza Fields.
Sir William Johnson
See page 532.
the Magi
Magi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BCE, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which was – in the main – the ability to read the stars, and manipulate the fate that the stars foretold. The meaning prior to Hellenistic period is uncertain. From WIKI - In a way the Magi were considered wizardly astronomers moreso than the common term we hear today "wise-men". Also note that only Matthew's Gospel tells of the Magi. This story has been fused with Luke's birth narrative, which tells of Shepherd's seeing an Angel. The two versions have been tangled into the "nativity scene" we commonly see today (ie. the Magi of Matthew visited a "house" where it seems Joseph & Mary had been living for some time, whereas in Luke, the Shepherd's visited a "manger", in other words, in Luke, the place Joseph & Mary were was a temporary place (since there was no place in the Inn). See following page for further discussion of such "inconsistencies".
Kepler
Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, and key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution. He is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astrononomy. They also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation. From WIKI
Dr. Halley
See page 438.
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Dionysius Exiguus
Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Little or Dennis the Short, meaning humble) (c. 470 – c. 544) was a sixth century monk born in Scythia Minor, modern Dobruja, Romania (a small portion is in Bulgaria). He was a member of the Scythian monks community concentrated in Tomis, the major city of Scythia Minor... Dionysius is best-known as the inventor of the Anno Domini era, which is used to number the years of both the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar. He used it to identify the several Easters in his Easter table, but did not use it to date any historical event. When he devised his table, Julian calendar years were identified by naming the consuls who held office that year — he himself stated that the "present year" was "the consulship of Probus Junior [Flavius Probus]", which he also stated was 525 years "since the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ". How he arrived at that number is unknown. He invented a new system of numbering years to replace the Diocletian years that had been used in an old Easter table because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. The Anno Domini era became dominant in Western Europe only after it was used by the Venerable Bede to date the events in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731. From WIKI
Herod
Herod, also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (born 74 BC, died 4 BC in Jericho, was a Roman client king of Israel. He is often confused with his son Herod Antipas, also of the Herodian dynasty, who was ruler of Galilee (4 BC - 39 AD) during the time of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple. Some details of his biography can be gleaned from the works of the 1st century AD Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. From WIKI
taxation decree
Referring to the Census of Quirinius: The "Census of Quirinius" refers to the enrollment of the Roman Provinces of Syria and Iudaea for tax purposes taken in AD 6/7 during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus, when Publius Sulpicius Quirinius was appointed governor of Syria, after the banishment of Herod Archelaus and the imposition of direct Roman rule on what became Iudaea Province (the conglomeration of Samaria, Judea proper, and Idumea). An account of the census was given by the first century historian Josephus, who associated it with the beginning of a resistance movement that he called the Zealots. In Christianity, the Gospel of Luke connects the birth of Jesus with this historical census, while the Gospel of Matthew places the birth at least a decade earlier, during the rule of Herod the Great. Bible scholars have traditionally attempted to reconcile these accounts; most modern scholars, according to Raymond E. Brown, regard this as an error by the author of the Luke Gospel. From WIKI
strange inconsistencies
Referring to what, among biblical scholars, is known as the Synoptic Problem: The synoptic problem concerns the literary relationships between and among the first three canonical gospels which are the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. These are known as the Synoptic Gospels (from the Greek 'syn,' meaning "together," and 'optic,' meaning "seen"). Similarity in content, word choices and event placement indicates some kind of literary interrelationship. The synoptic problem concerns how this interrelation came to be and the nature of the interrelationship itself. Any solution must account for the similarities and differences in content, order, and wording. Possible solutions speculate either a direct relationship (one Evangelist possessed one of the gospels) or indirect (two Evangelists having access to a shared source). The sources may be written or oral; single or multiple. In some sense, the synoptic problem is analogous to the alleged problems in Hebrew Bible scholarship that led to the Documentary Hypothesis. From WIKI
