The Anathemata
Sherthursdaye and Venus day (continued)
On Ariel Hill, on Sion tumulus
on Uru Mound, in Salem cenacle
in the white Beth-Ela
according to the disciplina
of this peculiar people
in accord with the intentions
of all peoples
and kindreds
et gentium, cenhedloedd,2 und Völker
David Jones notes
1 cenhedloedd, pronounce ken-hed-loith, th as in nether, plural of cenedl, a kindred.
I use these terms: gens, Volk, cenedl as symbols of the three elements which compose us. Together these three elements, broadly speaking, compose ‘the West’: we are Germans, Latins, Celts and can apprehend only in a Latin, Germanic and Celtic fashion. What we so apprehend, lay hold of—sciences, principles, wisdoms, evangels from, e.g. Hellas at some remove, from judaea at a greater remove—that is another matter. Gentes other from us, of other culture-groups, of other bloods and environments, have no doubt equally significant and warm images. But even if I knew and could pronounce those alien crucial-words, my list could not here extend beyond the three I have found myself using, because they serve sufficiently, within the context, to cover what is historically ‘ours’. I am, of course, also thinking of Apocalypse V, 9, ‘hast redeemed us . . . out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. ‘
additional notes
a Sion tumulus: one of a number of hills in Jerusalem (this name has been applied at various times to three different hills). cenacle: the Upper Room where the Last Supper was celebrated (from Latin cena, dinner). Uru Mound: Jerusalem was originally a village built on a hill. The name ‘Urushalim’ is first found on Egyptian statues circa 2500 BCE and is a word of Canaanite derivation: the prefix ‘uru’, meaning ‘founded by’, and the suffix ‘Shalem’, Phoenician Canaanite god of dusk. Beth-El: house of God.
comments
This particular rite (Passover) though it originated with the Jews, is now, in its form of remembrance of the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, of significance for all peoples, places and times.