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The Delphic Sacrifice, or Divine Consequences
Contributed by
spike
on
Wednesday, 30th March 2005 @ 06:18:41 AM in AEST
Topic:
political
|
Plutarch's Moralia (438a-b) It happened around 100 AD.
"Whenever, then, the imaginative and prophetic faculty is in a proper state for attempering itself to the spirit, inspiration in those who foretell the future is bound to come. And whenever the conditions are not thus, it is bound not to come; or when it does come, to be misleading, abnormal, and confusing, as we know in the case of the priestess who died not so long ago."
How was it for you, Sybil, under your sacred dome
Ensconced on your tripod throne,
The walls spinning in those inner rooms
As you succumbed to the sweet narcotic fumes?
And when the vapours were no longer mild
But made you sick and wild,
Struggling with all your might
Against the grasps of acolytes,
Determined to put a mystic spin
On your ethylene intoxicated ramblings
- How frightening was it for you then?
And as you broke free and fled your sanctum,
Howling in pain and delirium
Collapsing on Apollo’s stairs,
Trying to breath the outside air
Dying, like Pythos, in convulsive throes
Your face in mortal rictus froze
What portent did you see,
Your death as final prophecy?
Sacred Pythian channel, powerful and revered,
Your ambiguous remarks were sought as well as feared
And while some were confusing and absurd,
In that chamber men hung on your every word
A message from godly patriarch to men is not what stands,
For a time you held the fate of empires in your hands
Its just a pity that your centuries of advice,
Required so high a price.
-Still, what did you see?
Copyright ©
spike
... [
2005-03-30 06:18:41]
(Date/Time posted on
site)
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Re: The Delphic Sacrifice, or Divine Consequences
(User Rating: 1 )
by Former_Member on
Saturday, 9th April 2005 @ 07:23:05 AM AEST
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Info | Send
a Message)
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Wow!
*is really impressed by this*
I won't say that I fully understood it or anything, but I *will* say that it was stunning!
The flow of the poem was great, as was the rhythm n all...
In short, awesome work!
Hope to see more from you soon!
~kt |
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Re: The Delphic Sacrifice, or Divine Consequences
(User Rating: 1 )
by Lionel on
Wednesday, 31st May 2006 @ 09:36:37 AM AEST
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a Message)
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| Excellent |
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