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To: Tom Clarke who wrote (561)	2/19/2005 12:36:21 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5290

In recent years, it appears, there has entered for the first time, systematically, and unashamed, into the administration of British justice the repellent figure of the agent provocateur, which is a French expression signifying an official spy who causes an offence to secure a conviction; and I use that phrase partly to impress upon you your own profound ignorance and partly because there is no other. There is no other phrase, and for a very good reason; the idea is so repugnant to British notions of fair play and decency that it has never found expression in our language. I have seen no comment, judicial or other, upon the importation of this loathsome practice; it has stolen in, unblessed and almost unobserved, and has taken a firm place in the national life. It is not employed for the suppression of the major crimes, where official dishonour might be forgiven in a noble cause; no constable causes himself to be murdered or robbed for the protection of the public by the apprehension of a dangerous person. But it is the constant support of small prosecutions for small offences wisely invented by righteous people for the hindrance or prevention of public enjoyment. en.wikipedia.org

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (561)	2/21/2005 3:14:12 PM
From: average joe	Respond to of 5290

Cathedral Of The Black Madonna: The Druids And The Mysteries Of Chartres Markale, now in his 70s and retired from teaching Celtic studies at the Sorbonne, has lost none of his boyhood exuberance for the remarkable history and architecture of the great cathedral at Chartres. In this ambitious study, Markale investigates the symbolism of the cathedral, which sits on an ancient druidic sacred site and incorporates both Christian and pagan images, particularly its dedication to the black madonna. However, this book, translated from the French, is not for the neophyte. Readers need more than a cursory understanding of architectural and reliquary terms, not to mention a working knowledge of world religious history and French geography, to fully appreciate it. Despite an eight-page b&w insertion (not seen by PW), this book begs for more graphics—line drawings of architectural elements, historic time lines and photographs of the innumerable madonnas referred to. While fascinating, its academic density may frustrate some readers—there's simply an enormous amount of information to digest. Descriptions of virtually every inch of the cathedral, every moment in its history and every statue found in its vicinity combine with an exhaustive comparison between Celtic and Catholic traditions to make for a comprehensive discussion of not just the Black Madonna, but of one of the most amazing cathedrals ever built. For the prepared reader, this will be a treasure trove. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description: Explores the connection between ancient druidic worship of a virgin at Chartres and the veneration of the Black Madonna. • Examines the Virgin Mary's origins in the pagan worship of the Mother Goddess. • Identifies Mary with the dominant solar goddess of matriarchal societies. The great cathedral of Chartres is renowned the world over as a masterpiece of High Gothic architecture and for its remarkable stained glass, considered alchemical glass, and its mystical labyrinth. But the sacred foundations of this sanctuary go back to a time long before Christianity when this site was a clearing where druids worshiped a Virgo Paritura: a virgin about to give birth. This ancient meeting place, where all the druids in Gaul gathered once a year, now houses the magnificent Chartres cathedral dedicated both to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and to one of the most venerated Black Madonnas in Europe: Our Lady of the Pillar. Coincidence? Hardly, says Jean Markale, whose exhaustive examination of the site traces Chartres' roots back to prehistoric times and the appeal of the Black Madonna back to the ancient widespread worship of Mother Goddesses such as Cybele and Isis. Markale contends that the mother and child depicted by the Black Madonna are descended from the image worshipped by the druids of the Virgin forever giving birth. This image is not merely a representation of maternal love--albeit of a spiritual nature. It is a theological notion of great refinement: the Virgin gives birth ceaselessly to a world, a God, and a humanity in perpetual becoming. amazon.com