Chapter 13: Somnium Prelude

Life’s a varied, bright illusion,

Joy and sorrow- light and shade;

Turn from sorrow’s dark suffusion,

Catch the pleasures ere they fade.

Fancy paints with hues unreal,

Smile of bliss, and sorrow’s mood

If they both are but ideal,

Why reject the seeming good?

Hence! no more! ‘tis Wisdom calls ye,

Bids ye court Time’s present aid;

The future trust not- hope enthralls ye,

Catch the pleasures ere they fade.

~ Ann Radcliffe, Song, from The Romance of the Forest

Prelude

From the Treatise on Sacred Geometry by Lord Tolemus

Every language constructed by man is built to accommodate lies.

For example, in the Rul’ voc language of the wildland natives, when someone greets you by asking tuv a ru, or “how are you,” the standard response is fav’ ra. The words fav’ ra are commonly translated as “I am well,” but if one were to indicate that they are well in any other situation, such as after an accident or illness, they would say fol v’ ra.

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After living among the Rul’ voc people for some time, I came to realize that people invariably say fav’ ra in exchange to the greeting tuv a ru no matter their state of physical health or their personal troubles. Therefore, a more precise translation of fav’ ra is “what one says in response to tuv a ru.” Conversely, the words tuv a ru might be better translated as “what one says in order to elicit the response fav’ ra.”

It wasn’t until I made a serious study of the Rul’ voc language that I started to question my native tongue. How many times had I told someone that I was well when I was not, just for the sake of common politeness? How many times had I asked a friend ‘please give my regards to so-and-so’ without really expecting them to do so? I have often met the offer of ‘please have some more wine,’ with, ‘I couldn’t possibly,’ knowing my friend would press me to accept and I would eventually acquiesce.

All of these comfortable words and phrases are social niceties with very little meaning, but they give us a way to make those around us feel that they’ve done their duties as a friend, or else they keep the façade of polite society from degenerating into a frankness the delicate and genteel could not endure.

It is not only in social niceties where such obfuscations exist. As a young and eager scholar, I was presented with two new words- “gravity” and “levity.” I was taught that gravity is the tendency of solid objects and water to fall down- that is, toward the earth- and that levity is the tendency of fire and air to go upward- toward the sky. When my teacher asked why a rock or an apple fell, I would promptly answer “because of gravity,” confident that I was correct.

When I learned geometry, however, I realized that such words were inadequate to describe these concepts. For example, if I were to place a ball upon a ramp, the ball would not pass through the ramp and fall directly to the earth, as the word “down” suggests. Instead, the ball will roll at an angle toward the earth proscribed by the ramp’s incline. The word “gravity” does not explain why the ball will not pass through the ramp, but will fallow the incline instead. The word “gravity” does not explain why a ball will arc down toward the ground if thrown, but only after arcing upward. “Gravity” does not tell what exact quality a ball has that fire lacks, which causes it to fall while fire rises.

Even so, as a boy I was happy to learn new words and believe I had gained knowledge, like a man given a counterfeit coin. He gains no profit by it, but is dazzled by the shine. Most people never question the words they are given by professors, polite friends, or even poets.

The lies of mere words pose a threat to any mind that would seek truth.