From: Frank Mertus Area: RPSTOVAL To: All 8 Nov 94 10:59:62 Subject: I do not know. UpdReq Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole OF The Law, I don't remember who originally said this, but it goes something like this, "All knowledge begins with the phrase, 'I do not know'". On the surface it seems straight forward enough. You must admit a lack of knowledge before you can begin the pursuit thereof. Something about the phrase kept tickling at the back of my mind. Then it occurred to me that there might be something more to this statement. A deeper meaning. So I decided to break it down and see what I could find. Staring w/ the first word "I"; AN indication of self. The self can then be connected to the personal Will, without much of a stretch. Next "DO"; This shows action. Something getting accomplished. I then connected it to the phrase "To dare". Next "NOT"; This one took a little bit of stretching, but I don't feel that I breached the paradigm. This represents negation on the surface. A lack. I then attributed it to The silence of any magical working. Next "KNOW"; This seemed to be one of the more straight forward correspondences. Simple Knowledge, i.e. To know. I then pieced it together to get "To will, To dare, To keep silent, and To know." or, "To know, to will, to dare, to keep silent". The basic formula of any magical working. This phrase corresponds to the four basic elements "Air, Fire, Water, and Earth", which make up the physical plane. On the surface it says that there is a lack of knowledge. When one delves deeper, it becomes apparent that it is a formula for the basis of all knowledge. Since the four elements are the basis for the physical world, you must combine all the elements together to reach understanding of that world. Therefore the original statement can be rephrased, "All knowledge begins with an understanding of the basic elements of the physical plane." Love Is The Law, Love Under Will. --- ~ OLX 2.1 ~ If you can't laugh at yourself, someone else will. -- DLG Mailroom:QWK v1.0 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718