An Unremembered History of the World
"I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself." Daniel 7:28
When we speak of history, we must always remind ourselves that we are speaking only of "history as we know it." The task of historians to document, revise and debate the events and meanings of events in human history is a daunting one, even when simplified to contain only that which is known. (By known, I mean known by the human race in our specific line of experience from Adam to the present.)We are not debating Adam and Eve here. That is a tedious debate that is ultimately a matter of faith. Rather, I am proposing that our historians make a greater effort to record the alternate histories alternate histories, the streams that flow from alternate choices that could have been made throughout the courses of time.
In the village of Dunn on the outskirts of Devonshire, England, in the spring of 1698, a sequence of events occurred which would have a dramatic impact on the history of the world. Like the fabled grain of mustard seed, the events seemed small and would have otherwise gone unnoticed had they not been recorded in a journal which has been passed to us through the generations.
The thing that happened - or rather, the sequence of events which this story seeks to uncover beginning with this singular incident in the life of Thomas Olney, a Dunn tailor - is staggering to consider. Perhaps this is why our minds repress such knowledge. It is too weighty. But then, what if... Let us leave off from musings and examine that which we have come to know.
It is well known that in these parts nomadic tribes of gypsies passed with frequency and, on certain occasions especially associated with lunar convergences, the gypsies believed themselves to have the mystical ability to confer special powers to newborn infants.
Olney's wife had been in an unusually protracted labor. He feared her life was endangered. It was a particularly bitter blow to Olney, being naturally inclined to optimism as he was. The only town physician, his name is not important, had gone to the sea for a holiday. Because Olney had expected the good doctor to return in time to deliver the baby, he thus prevented his wife from going to stay with her sister in Devonshire where there were several doctors in service.When it appeared that all was lost, that both mother and child would soon perish, Olney sent word to the gypsies to send someone who could help deliver his wife from her suffering.
Three gypsy women arrived and his son was born within the hour. Partly out of gratitude and partly from delirium, the young father asked the gypsies to bless his son. The women wept and said it would be a privilege.
The boy, who was named Thomas after his father, was placed in the midst of a circle of candles. A strange ritual followed, with incantations in strange languages. The women rubbed a foul ointment on the infant's forehead and proceeded to prophecy. "One day, when this boy is a man, he will be permitted the gift of having one wish granted by the gods, when he wishes for it with all his heart. It will be like a dream, and the world will never be the same.
"The prophecy was accompanied by a strange feeling of both elation and dread, which pierced Olney's heart like a thorn. He wondered what it would be that his son would wish for. And he wondered how the world would be changed.
TO BE CONTINUED
Photo credit: K Pattern 3 by Susie, upper right image on this page
2 comments:
>>>>>>>>That is a tedious debate that is ultimately a matter of faith.
More than tedious, it's tortuous and migraine inducing.
I spent many hundreds of hours of my youth listening to it, and no debate was allowed.
It was a choice of "faith", or "eternity in hell".
Pretty heavy stuff for a kid.
It's a sad fact that your childhood was not unique. Too often things get painted black and white when they are much more complicated. And you are also correct that these issues are a bit heavy to lay on a child.
e.
Post a Comment