(urth) mystery of the guild

O'Donnell, Tim (BOSI) Tim.O'Donnell at bankofscotland.ie
Tue Feb 10 08:57:04 PST 2009


>I've always assumed he was hearkening back to the Greek word 'mysterion,' which generally refers to knowlege that is unknowable, but also means knowlege that is secret, for initiates only (the mystery religions would be one example of this usage). The mystery would therefore be the knowledge of how to torture a person ... probably in such a way that you didn't actually kill them, but sort of dangled them over the precipice of death, so to speak, until you got what you required. Matt Teel 
___

Severian certainly uses the word "mystery" in that sense.  Two examples:

"I'm beginning to think that by
practicing the mystery of our guild while you and I are travelling, I'll be able
to support us."


Let it be sufficient to say that I performed the
prescribed operations on the cattle thief, which terminated in his execution; in
the future, when I describe my travels, you are to understand that I practiced
the mystery of our guild where it was profitable to do so, though I do not
mention the specific occasions.



However, I seem to recall that Severian mentions that his Guild had two secrets and that he would betray both over his narrative.  One is certainly "We obey" but I don't think the other one is mentioned directly.
Having said that I can't find the citation here.  I thought it was at the very start of Shadow...


************************************************************************************************
Find out more about us at www.bankofscotland.ie <http://www.bankofscotland.ie>

The information contained in this message is confidential and is intended for the addressee only. If you have received this message in error or there are any problems please notify the originator immediately. The unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or alteration of this message is strictly forbidden. This mail and any attachments have been scanned for viruses prior to leaving Bank of Scotland Ireland's network. 
Bank of Scotland Ireland will not be liable for direct, special, indirect or consequential damages arising from alteration of the contents of this message by a third party or as a result of any virus being passed on. Bank of Scotland (Ireland) reserves the right to monitor and record e-mail messages sent to and from this address for the purposes of investigating or detecting any unauthorised use of its system and ensuring its effective operation.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Limited is part of HBOS plc and is regulated by the Financial Regulator. Registered in Ireland Number: 8545.  Registered office: Bank of Scotland House, 124-127 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2

****************************************************************************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.urth.net/pipermail/urth-urth.net/attachments/20090210/1d5e655d/attachment-0005.htm>


More information about the Urth mailing list