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why the name "Wormwood" ?

Comprising most of Lewis' writings.
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why the name "Wormwood" ?

Postby 1marian » August 30th, 2007, 9:25 pm

I wonder why did "Jack" give to the tempter in Screwtape Letters name "Wormwood" ?
recently I've found out that wormwood means certain plant (lat. artemisia)...
(In my native language translation of Screwtape Letters there isn't name Wormwood translated by the name of that certain plant...(lat. artemisia))

and I wonder if it has something to do with the verse (Revelation 8,11)
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. (KJV)

I see no connection between these two Wormwoods, probably it's just random

but incidentally, does anybody have some explanation ?
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Postby Karen » August 30th, 2007, 9:40 pm

Nope, it's not random at all. I'm going to paraphrase from the Wikipedia entry, since it's so badly written, along with other things I've looked up:

Wormwood (Apsinthos in the Greek text) is the "name of the star" in the Book of Revelation (8:11) (kai to onoma tou asteros legetai ho Apsinthos) which John envisions as cast by the angel into the waters, making them undrinkably bitter. It was a common herb and its bitter taste was well known.

There are many further references to wormwood in the Bible.The first is Deuteronomy 29:18, where Moses warns the nation that by joining itself with pagan nations “…there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood.” Wormwood always occurs in connection with judgment and sin. See also Amos 6:11-12, Proverbs 5:1-6, and Lamentations 3:12-19.

Absinthe was a popular drink in the 19th c. made with artemisia. It supposedly made people crazy and was banned for a time, but people still drink it. Here's Degas' The Absinthe Drinker:

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I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. -- Jorge Luis Borges
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Postby Stanley Anderson » August 30th, 2007, 10:17 pm

In addition to what you've described (which is the primary reason for Lewis selecting the name, I'm sure), the various names of tempters and devils in Screwtape Letters, by the very sound of the individual syllables and combinations also evoke icky things, so I'm sure that just the word "worm" in the name contributes to its usefulness in the selection.

--Stanley
…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.
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Postby rusmeister » August 31st, 2007, 3:52 am

"Eh? Two views? There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there's never more than one."
Bill "The Blizzard" Hingest - That Hideous Strength
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Postby moordarjeeling » August 31st, 2007, 4:53 am

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Postby 1marian » August 31st, 2007, 12:56 pm

I can't imagine that the angel of God would drop the demon - star called Wormwood.

for me is still the Wormwood-star something like God's envoy dropped by the angel of God !

I don't no your attitude to the whole Revelation, but I think, we - christians should long for the fulfillment of the scriptures whatever it takes...
The Church as a bride longs for his bridegroom (Marana tha)

therefore I see no connection between these two Wormwoods...
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