De Historia et Veritate Unicornis
Jan. 6th, 2008 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sanalithThe second "book" I finished this year is called De Historia et Veritate Unicornis (On the History and Truth of the Unicorn): The Facsimile and Translation of an Original Manuscript. Despite it's huge title, this work is only 64 short pages, pretty much all of which contain extremely large, high-quality images. The basic plot is that the author, Michael Green, was approached by a member of a secret society who preserved records of the unicorn, and even had an original spiral horn. Green was asked to translate the manuscripts and publish them, in the hopes of generating more interest in the magic and wonder that is the unicorn. This is clearly not a rocket science book, but I was truly amazed not only at how believable the text was, but at the true feeling of awe and wonder it inspired in me.
The manuscript that was translated by Green was basically the account of one man who, urged by his Master, went on a three-day pilgrimage to "meet" a unicorn and learn about its race. I'm not sure of an exact date, but I think this takes place somewhere around the Renaissance era. One of my favorite aspects of this story was the man discussing the movements of the unicorns from realm to realm, which explains why we don't always see them. He talks about Plato's idea of the different ages, beginning with the Golden Age - the Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden era - and how the unicorn was created as the first animal. He was made to be a guide for man to eventually return to Heaven, but instead of following him, man was corrupted by the serpent (a form of a dragon, which is the unicorn's mortal enemy), and from then on, mankind lived in ages that became increasingly deteriorated, culminating in the current Age of Iron. But the unicorn, who still lives in the Golden Age, has never forgotten his bond with man, and therefore often travels into our current age to attempt to guide us. For some reason, this really resonated with me.
The story ends with a riddle that, when solved, supposedly names the current location of a unicorn's horn. There it waits for a worthy human to find and claim it. As a child, my room was plastered with pictures of unicorns. I always found security in their magic and purity. As I grew older, I never really lost my love for them, mainly because I am a huge believer in balance. I feel like there is so much evil in this world right now that there must be some force of pure, unadulterated goodness out there somewhere to balance it. I've always seen this in the symbol of the unicorn. This book, though clearly a story and not a true historical manuscript, nevertheless reminded me why I love unicorns so much. They are a source of constant hope, and the idea that there are still such creatures out there, perhaps simply blocked by the veil of another age, is a beautiful idea.
Perhaps someday, mankind will be worthy enough to find the horn and use it for peace and healing.
The manuscript that was translated by Green was basically the account of one man who, urged by his Master, went on a three-day pilgrimage to "meet" a unicorn and learn about its race. I'm not sure of an exact date, but I think this takes place somewhere around the Renaissance era. One of my favorite aspects of this story was the man discussing the movements of the unicorns from realm to realm, which explains why we don't always see them. He talks about Plato's idea of the different ages, beginning with the Golden Age - the Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden era - and how the unicorn was created as the first animal. He was made to be a guide for man to eventually return to Heaven, but instead of following him, man was corrupted by the serpent (a form of a dragon, which is the unicorn's mortal enemy), and from then on, mankind lived in ages that became increasingly deteriorated, culminating in the current Age of Iron. But the unicorn, who still lives in the Golden Age, has never forgotten his bond with man, and therefore often travels into our current age to attempt to guide us. For some reason, this really resonated with me.
The story ends with a riddle that, when solved, supposedly names the current location of a unicorn's horn. There it waits for a worthy human to find and claim it. As a child, my room was plastered with pictures of unicorns. I always found security in their magic and purity. As I grew older, I never really lost my love for them, mainly because I am a huge believer in balance. I feel like there is so much evil in this world right now that there must be some force of pure, unadulterated goodness out there somewhere to balance it. I've always seen this in the symbol of the unicorn. This book, though clearly a story and not a true historical manuscript, nevertheless reminded me why I love unicorns so much. They are a source of constant hope, and the idea that there are still such creatures out there, perhaps simply blocked by the veil of another age, is a beautiful idea.
Perhaps someday, mankind will be worthy enough to find the horn and use it for peace and healing.