ROMANIAN MYTHOLOGY

Motto: "Truth needs only two groups of people to surface: some to express it and others to hear it." (Henry THOREAU)

The well-known Greek historian, Herodotus, used to say the following about Thracians: "...after the Indians, the Thracian people constituted the largest ethnicity among all the rest of the world's races. Should they benefit from one ruling only and be spiritually united, they might acceed to become, in my opinion, absolutely undefeatable and to surpass, by far, the greatness of all the other Earth's proud races. The Thracians bear many names, each one according to their living regions, yet all of them show, through almost everything, highly similar customs". But, if Herodotus' knowledge was limited to some 19 Thracian tribes, another historian, Strabon, was nevertheless, depicting no fewer than 22 tribes! Obviously, among such a rich variety of tribal social life forms, some religious differences must have existed, which can no longer be known today. The point is that the Thracian race was great throughout all the Antiquity, and famed because of their physical resistence and their overall skills regarding traditional medicine. A proof of the latter would be to quote Socrates, the great Greek plilosopher, who was once confessing to have personally learned, straight from one of Zalmoxis' apprentices, an incantation of those "ABLE TO MAKE HUMAN BEINGS IMMORTALS". Much later, across centuries, Clement from Alexandria was reproaching to the Greeks a "lack of originality" within their own civilization, and that these would have learned from Thracians their curative incantation formulas: "Sanas incantationes a Thracibulus accepisti" (in Latin, from: Clement of Alexandria, "Appeal Towards Nations", Migne, page 18, column 175b).

THE DIVINITIES: THE GREAT GOD GEBELEIZIS AND THE GREAT GODDESS BENDIS

Gebeleizis, or Nebeleizis, was the Thracians' Supreme Divinity lightning constituting only one of the "weapons" that this he was said to have used. He was represented through the shape of a handsome sculptural male, occasionally wearing a beard. Gebeleizis provoked thunder and lightning. In some representations, he appears seated on a majestic throne, while in others on horseback, holding an arch in his left hand. A snake is seen coming down versus the horse's head. He is also accompanied, at times, by a one-horned vulture. The vulture holds a fish in its beak symbolizing the named Divinity by itself, and also has a rabbit entrapped within its claws. This God embodies the Absolute Master upon Heaven and Earth, the Patron of military aristocracy. He might possess, though, some Uranian- Solar attributes. The Supreme God, the Great God Gebeleizis is also known under the nicknames of Derzelas, Derzis or the Thracian Knight (others consider "THE THRACIAN KNIGHT" as being a later apparition of some Hero, and not of a God). Other times, the God shows up in the hypostasis of a warrior horseman, accompanied by a faithful hound. He holds a spear as an insignia of power, which is ready to be thrown upon a wild boar from the horse's gallop. When not being shown under a warrior or hunter's appearance, he appears as a peaceful horseman, carrying either a torch or a cornu copia. Sometimes, he is presented as having three heads (Tricephalus), alike the accompanying hound, while othertimes as a blessing God, having his right hand's first three fingers risen or opened, the rest being tightened towards the upper palm. He shows up in these ways within all epigraphic and numismatic testimonies found at the ancient cities of Histria and Odesos (the latter presently called Varna). At Limanu (Constanta County), Derzelas appears shown on horseback, as he similarly may be seen on the Racatau and Zimnicea old pottery, or the Bucharest-Herastrau and Surcea (Constanta County again) discovered hoards.

We shall also encounter him later throughout the Antique world, at the Macedonians -"Macedonian Horseman", while Greek Mithology would similarly carry him under the supreme name of Zeus. From Thracia, Gebeleizis' cult had spread to penetrate inside Asia Minor during 7th century B.C., where it was promptly assimilated by Armenians up to becoming their National Divinity, namely Vahagn or the God of War, most famous for his courage in slaying dragons. Vahagn was associated with lightning and thunder, being represented like an imposing man with hair and beard carved out of flames, while "his eyes were scintillating like two Suns". Ultimately, Gebeleizis or "the Thracian Knight", who is to be found in other people's Mithologies as Zeus or Vahagn, has been logically assimilated by Christian nations to become... Saint George (or Gheorghe) killing the Dragon!

The Supreme male Divinity of Geta-Dacians Gebeleizis, later referred to, at the Lower-Danube area Thracians under the likely Greekenized name of Zbelsurdos, also goes by having a feminine alter-ego, a double named BENDIS, the Great Goddess. Ancient representations, recently discovered, show her to our eyes through the face of a full-figured woman, with prominent cheek bones and curly hair either plaited into two tresses or splitted into two big curls surrounding her lovely looks. Is it really possible that the Goddess Bendis, with her two very long blond tresses gently resting on her back, might actually be a predecessor of the fairy Ileana Cosanzeana, from the later-born popular tales of Romanians? In certain situations, the Goddess appears standing between two sacred animals, which are either deers-like, or between a buck and a snake. The Great Goddess Bendis was mostly adored by Thracian women, for she was embodying the Goddess of Moon, Forests and... Magical charms. A head of the Goddess was discovered at Costesti, while archaeological digging around ruins of the old Sarmisegetuza fortress has brought to light a burned-clay made medallion (measuring 10 cm in diameter and 1.5 cm thickness) showing a Goddess bust with a quiver on shoulder. One of her bronze made busts was discovered at Piatra Rosie, measuring 14.7 cm in height and 13 cm width.

Besides the Supreme God Gebeleizis and the Great Goddess Bendis, Thracians have also had a Divinity of Flames and Fireplace and Guardian of the House, respectively the Goddess VESTA (or Hestia, Histia), to the veneration of whom Thracian houses were built strictly in a rectangular form with stoned or wooden walls. The floor was of trodden soil and had a "two-angle" roof. Not far away from Tartaria region, inside the triangular area of the three "Crish" rivers, astounding remains of the first surface dwellings dating from as early as fifth millenium B.C. have been recently uncovered, meaning they were no less than 7000 years old! These types of dwellings, which would spread afterwards through the entire world, indeed seemed to have been the result of a cult dedicated to this Goddess. The walls were initially meant to protect the sacred space within, and in the middle, flames were lit in a fireplace which were constantly taken care of to keep alight.

The fourth millenium B.C. wasn't exactly a lucky one for the future-to-be Romanian people, stated the experts referring themselves to the crumbling period of the legendary continental bridge which was linking Europe with Asia Minor. This bridge collapsed under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, thus leaving plenty of room for the formation of a brand new sea, named the Egean Sea. This generated as well a multitude of larger and smaller islands. Due to the very existence of this terrestrial linking bridge, both ancient and modern Greek historians were entitled to acknowledge the possibility of a migration for the Thracian population from the Pontic-Danubian region to the South of the Balcan Peninsula, and from there, towards Asia Minor itself, reaching to some lands around the Eastern Mediterranean such as Bytinia, Missia, Phrygia, Throada, Lydia etc. As it is known today, the fate of each of these civilizations evolved quite differently. Some "lost themselves" among more numerous tribes and completely "vanished" as national identity inside History's immense pit called "forgetfulness"-the Hititians, for instance. Others disappeared at vast distances, as is the Trojans' case, about whom a legend (Virgilius' "Aeneida") tells how Aeneas, the Thracian, guided the survivors of Troja fortress' doomsday up to the Tybrus River's narrow valley on the Italic Peninsula, where they took over Seven "eternal" Hills and afterwards, gave them Thracian "Latin" names. Still, another legend states that within the Carpathian Space, an extremely wise sheperd, Zalmoxis, showed up who was to take over "the Noble Laws" (that is, the "Beleagin's Code") from the Goddess Hestia (or Vesta).

Zalmoxis-A PROPHETICAL GOD OR A WORSHIPPED PROPHET

Here are Herodotus' testimonies on Zalmoxis: "According to what I have found out from the (ancient) Greeks living on the shores of Helespontus and Pontus Euxinus (which is today known as the Black Sea), the Zalmoxis whom I'm talking about, being just a mortal, was actually a former slave on Samos Island, specifically belonging to Phytagoras, son of Menesarcos. Being granted, afterwards, free man's status from his grateful master, he would skillfully amass large riches and would return to his homeland after accumulating enough wealth, where he would build a large mansion meant to host important gatherings and personally receiving these people and summoning the Thracian land's leaders to party. Meanwhile, preaching everybody that none of them, or their descendants would ever die for real, but everybody was to go to a certain place instead, where they would indeed live forever and enjoy all the finest meals and pleasures which they would only dream of. As he was accomplishing all the already mentioned deeds and was saying such things to the crowds, he secretly ordered an underground residence to be constructed for himself. When it was ready, Zalmoxis disappeared from the nucleus of Thracian social life and descended to his underground "bunker". He lived there for about three or four years. The Thracians thought he had vanished and wanted him back dearly, lamenting his loss as if he were really dead. At the end of his 4th year, Zalmoxis appeared once more to their eyes, thus managing to make his teachings believable through some kind of "personal example". Regarding Zalmoxis' background itself and his underground hiding shelter, I personally don't fully reject everything that is said, but don't believe too much in it either. It seems to me, though, that he might have actually lived many years before Phytagoras' time.So let Zalmoxis be well, whatever he represents, either a human being or some Demon of the Geta (namely Thracian) people" (Herodotus, "Histories", volume IV, pages 94-95). As we can see, the naive identification of God Zalmoxis with one of Pythagoras' slaves, who became afterwards free and wealthy, is being disputed even by Herodotus himself. Why should WE believe it then?...

Similar accounts are also made by Hellanicos from Mithilenes, by the Great Plato, Mnasea (this last one was even considering Zalmoxis as the Eternity God Chronos!), Diodorus from Sicily, Strabon mostly, Apulleius, Lucianus from Samosatas, Orygenes, Porphyrius (232-304) and Julian the Apostle, Aeneas from Ghaza, and Hesychios from Alexandria. All of them heard and discussed about Zalmoxis who remained within people's memories as a God of the so-called "Underworld Kingdom", as being otherwise suggestively described by the Romanian National Poet, Mihai Eminescu, in his poem "The Phantoms":

"On a huge Throne carved in rock, sits rigidly, pale, yet straight,

With his hand holding the Staff, the Pagan and righteous Priest..."

Lithuanians, at their turn, are going to take over "our" Zalmoxis as God Zemeuks, the name signifying "Land" or "Country". He still represents the God of the Earth's depths, but nevertheless the God of vegetation and fertility, the God of ploughmen and sheperds. But, if Gebeleizis was promising them only the immortality of spirit (for the ritual of cremating dead ones on funeral pyres is associated to his cult), Zalmoxis was yet overgranting to his faithfuls COMPLETE IMMORTALITY, both for the soul and body (the funeral procedure being, in this case, burial), while the believers' spirits would keep on living inside the Kingdom of the Underworld God (just alike Harald's, the teen-ager King, next to Maria's, the Danubian Queen, from the same poem "Phantoms" of our Great Eminescu).

The concept of Zamolxian immortality was representing the very Ethics' concept among all young warriors of the "the Dacian (Thracian) Wolves", who were enjoying the imminent Death's perspective and were even laughing at it, precisely in order to show their indifference towards such an event and their looking forward to faster reaching God's underground meadows. These youngsters were fighting and dying joyfully under the "Wolf's Head" Dacian banner, which we would also encounter at the Macedonians, as well as at the so-called "Roman " legions later, that had actually been formed from Thracians living within boundaries of the Roman-occupied territories.

Human sacrifices for religious purposes had proven to be quite singular in Europe, and one can find them strictly among Thracians. With this perspective in mind, most interesting appears to be a certain similarity with the Aztec civilization's religious traditions, about whose civilization Edgar Cayce was surely stating that they would be direct descendants of the "Atlantis" people (namely, inhabitants of former ancient continent Atlantida, from which the very last portion of land went down in the middle of Atlantic Ocean, through a huge disaster, some 12,600 years ago). Should this peculiar resemblance provide a clue, with respect to a very close friend's suggestion in supporting the presumed joint origin between Central America's Indians and Thracians?... Once every five years, Zalmoxis was sent a kind of "messenger" who was to inform the God on the people's wishes. The chosen one, some young warrior of great physical beauty, unparalleled courage in battles and untainted morality, was thrown into three sharpened spears belonging to his fellow warriors. Should he have had the bad luck not to die instantly, he would be insulted and mocked while another "herald" was prepared and immediately "sent" to personally deliver his message to the Underworld God.

While Zalmoxis represented a God of the "Underworld", Gebeleizis was the "Heavenly" God. The discoveries in Orastie Mountains, as well as of the Great Circular Sanctuary within the Sarmisegetuza (Dacians' main fortress), with its pillars' regular disposal, lead us to assume that some celestial examination was also carried out. Archaeological excavations done under the Cluj native historian Constantin Daicoviciu's supervision have brought to light, within the Gradistea Muscelului area (Orastie Mountains), not only an entire complex of Sanctuaries but also a likely original Dacian calendar, and also the remains of a staircase which was, probably, leading towards an underground place of religious cult.

From a wise man such as Socrates, the Great Greek philosopher quoted by one of his peers, namely Plato, we learn about Zalmoxis to have been, besides a brilliant psychotherapist, also a... magician. Overall, a person to whom our forefathers owe their spiritual status through one of the most righteous and human social order Antiquity has ever had. For we have been indeed a kind of "spiritual State", ambivalent creation of the ones initiated by Zalmoxis and of the Great Priests from Kogaion, the Holy Mountain, a reason for which our boundaries lasted always virtually unchanged, even if, at times, either some civilization overlappings or brief artificial territorial divisions might have occured. As Alexandru Strachina has said, in his book "Trailing the Forgotten Ancestors": "Water flows by, yet ... WE remain". And it is merely odd how most of our modern historians are still able to justify their naked indifference towards all these blatant facts.

In order to better outline the existence of a SOLAR CULT among Thraco-Geta-Dacians, along her book, "Romanian Archaic Linguistic References", Dr. Mariana Marcu mentions "the Thracian Horseman" HEROS, also cited in some Egyptian epigraphic documents (as HEROUS, son of the Solar God Amon Ra himself), while several other researchers have argued that this Divinity would represent nothing else but a newer hypostasis of Horus!... The Thracian Knight's Myth appears difficult to understand. Sometimes, his head is shown surrounded by a Solar halo, a four-leaves rosette. It was assimilated by the Greek population at once with their arrival within the Balcan Peninsula, between 1900-1400 B.C., as Zeus (Helios), the Supreme Divinity, also known under other names like Nefelegeretes (actually, the Greek version of Nebeleizis) -meaning "the One who Gathers Clouds", Ombryos -"the Rain Maker", Keraunos -"the One who Lightens" and some more. Within the entire Romanian tradition (that includes Dacian-Romanian, Aromanian, Macedonian), the Thracian Knight's Myth makes an almost canonical scenario of the old Christmas Carols in winter.

An astonished Mr. C. Cinodaru was noticing that Thracians used to hold so-called "PAGAN CELEBRATIONS" during entire APRIL, precisely organized in order to honor THE THRACIAN HERO. Simultaneously with Christianity's consolidation within the Thraco-Dacian zone, this celebration has been replaced with "Saint George's" ("Saint Gheorghe's"), a holiness whose iconography was apparently inspired by that of the "Thracian Knight". Though, in certain Christmas Carols, Saint Gheorghe and Jesus' names misteriously interchange, creating in this way a total discrepancy between the Carol's greeting verses and their supposedly singing time, respectively the Winter season:

"Along the Sun's river meadows

Grow white-bluish apple flowers.

It's God's flower garden essence,

Whitish flowers, apple flowers,

Apple essence, whitish flowers."

Or:

"...His black spurry little horse

Glistening like some raven,

Still his arrow-style cut bonnet,

Bent upon the eyes

Or his mighty spear,

Summer everlasting,

Evening flash of lightning..."

Anybody can see that nothing is mentioned within this so-called "Christmas Carol", which might suggest the Winter period. Yet, summertime appears to be explicitly recollected, as well as an extra quotation of "the Evening Flash of Lightning", namely what was the Thracian God Gebeleizis' symbol. Do you still have any doubts left about it? Within other Romanian Christmas Carol cycles, besides a personification of the Sun itself, the Sun's elder "sister", Salomina, shows up also. Nevertheless, the bride of the Hero coming back from hunting was named Ileana Daliana, or sometimes Lina Melina. We should remember here the Spring time for the Solar God's Celebration at the Thraco-Dacian tribes, just like its environmental background appears clearly pointed out along these "Christmas Carols" narrating, in fact, the time of Nature's rebirth and flourishing of "the apple whitish flowers".

And if within this mythological Romanian-Pelasgian, Thracian or Geta-Dacian puzzle, you choose to name it, we have been successful in discovering, together, our forgotten Faith in the Great God Gebeleizis, the Great Goddess Bendis or Histia, the Goddess of Flames and Fireplace, you still wouldn't have been told the essential unless we also mentioned a Great God of War's existence, namely ARES. The famous Black Sea-exiled Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (43 B.C.-17 A.D.) speaks in his writings about the "Geta individual" next door who was worshipping Ares (an equivalent to the Roman War God Marte), while another Roman, Vegetius, comes to proclaim, no more or less, that "the God Marte has been born from within Thracian Land". And, should we also pay respect to Jordanes' declarations, who was stating that "the Geta people have always adored Marte through an extremely savage cult, killing war prisoners as sacrifices dedicated to His glory...", why should WE wonder then how VLAD THE IMPALER, whom Americans love to call "DRACULA" through Bram Stoker's work of factual History distortion, used to punish the Turkish invaders on Romanian soil by "practicing" his gruesome, Middle Age habit on around 40,000 living prisoners daily?!... On the other hand, on the Roman Emperor Trajan's bas-relief sculpted Column in Rome is presented, probably, the most ancient Warrior God ever, looking grim and ferocious, constantly soliciting a great number of human sacrifices to His glorifying pleasure. Here also appears the barbarian scene of Roman war prisoners being tortured by... Dacian women!

At the South of Danube River, Thracian civilization living around the area used to celebrate as well DIONYSUS, the Grape-Vine Divinity, Patron of the well-known dizzying liquor, whose cult has again been taken over "en passant" by the Greeks who, by this time, were fair-spirited enough in reminding the World that, shortly before Dionysus' coming back home in Thracia, he had initiated himself on Phrygian mysteries at the insistences of His grandmother! Besides the grape-vine, the ivy counted as well among this God's favorite plants. Leaves of the latter, chewed by His extremely "hot" worshippers in combination with large wine quantities, were inducing within those not only drunkeness but even a temporary stage of madness, a mania. Thus, the fact that by far the Thracians' most popular celebration was dedicated precisely to THIS God shouldn't look so surprising. It was annually held in the Autumn, once the grape-vine harvest and grape squeezing were in full progress (some researchers argue, though, it might have taken place once every three years). The night when wine was finally boiling was actually the party's proper night, at the torches' light, and everyone would drink merrily, keeping the party on going this way well into dawn. Maybe this is why Thracians were widely said to be polygamous men. Herodotus, the Greek historian, describes each of them as supportively keeping several wives. Should a "Head of Household" have died, his surviving women were also to face an essential challenge, respectively one mostly beloved by the deceased had to be on the spot identified, so that the closest relative could strangle her in order to be buried along with the late husband. Yet, all other remaining women were simultaneously experiencing genuine pain and great shame not to have been selected as the chosen one (Herodotus-"Histories", fiftth volume, pages 5, 8).

Opposite to the Grape-Vine God's wanton celebration, lasting through centuries was the cult of THE THRACIAN PRIEST, a relevant symbol for the beautiful, future life's acceptation, which was to be dedicated as well to human beings as to all other creatures' welfare. Thus, "THE SPHYNX", a giant megalithical rock standing alone on the Bucegi Mountains' upper platform and having this peculiar shape, was representing, to all Geta people, no less than the so-called "NIGHT MASTER", an entity later acquired by the same ancient Greeks as ORPHEUS. On another hand, every ancient author has written that "the Orphical Mysteries" were indeed celebrated during night time. However, due to their esotherism, Geta-Thracian Religion's elevated concepts were only acquainted to the Great Priests surrounded by a few initiated elite members. The Greek and Roman writers couldn't have left too much information about it, while being totally denied access within the Zamolxian mysteries.

Now, let us return to the "Night Master's" credo, a highly civilizing belief in Music able to tame not only humans, but nevertheless animals, by either cooling down their violent impulses or just soothing the evil instincts inside. Strabon, the already mentioned reputed historian, was also familiar with the last detail on such Pelasgian Priests, or "Prophets", namely telling us that these ones were omniscient men, truly skilled upon the dreams, Oracle prophecies and Divine signs' interpretation, who used to live in specially carved Underground Sanctuaries (called "katagoian", or "kagoian"). Regarding Orpheus' origins themselves, several Greek and Roman legends state that he WAS too a Thracian, "Prince of the Kyconian people" (which makes a perfect ethnical correspondent to the "Kogoian" term). Orpheus' native fortress is said to be Dion, and thus his descent comes from the legendary "Kogoian", Zalmoxis' Sanctuary.

THRACIAN SANCTUARIES

The whole mythical "PANGAION", or "PANGEUL" MOUNTAIN was said to be a sacred place to all Southern Danube area's living Thracian population. On this holy location there supposedly existed a multitude of Sanctuaries, particularly because the mountain also contained plenty of richnesses, such as Gold and Silver lodes. It is assumed to have been situated somewhere within the Dragojon Massif, located in the Oriental Rodophes (a native place, also, for... Spartacus, the Pelasgian gladiator who was to fight and die hard for shaking the very foundations of Roman Empire). Other Sanctuaries were also discovered at Kilicine. Still, logically speaking, similar worshipping places must have existed and been dedicated to the glory of Great Goddess Bendis... if Thracians living in Athens, that is far away from their homeland, were nevertheless able to build a "Bendideion" for their Goddess. For the legendary Pangaion, as a main Thracian worshipping premise, seems to have been exclusively dedicated to Gebeleizis, whose Uranian- Solar Priests, the otherwise called "Wanderers through Clouds", were arguing the human body to be nothing else but the "spirit's prison", the only salvation for the soul being its liberation from the "reclusive" corpse.

Should we quote Adrian Bucurescu in accordance with his work, "The Secret Dacia", the LEGENDARY KOGAION was represented exactly by that mountain which was sheltering a cave where the Pelasgian Great Priest sought at times, refuge and confinement. Strabon writes inside his "Geography" (volume VII, pages 3-5) the following: "...In the same way, this Mountain has also been acknowledged as Sacred, and its very Geta name properly reflects the fact already mentioned: its name, Kogaion, is just alike the River's flowing near by. "KOG-A-ION" signifies "THE MAGNIFICENT'S HEAD", defining also the Bucegi Mountains' Platform where a mammoth sculpted mysterious stone head, covered with some kind of holy cap and locally known as "the Romanian Sphynx", is still to be found". Now, the river flowing "near by", at the mountain's proximity and which Strabon was depicting, couldn't have been another one but the Ialomitza, also called by Geta people through the name "Naparis", meaning "the Heavenly One" or "the Divine One". Yet, the one and only Geta-Thracian inscription explicitly referring to the name of Kogaion appears today to be a single text, made of Orphical versets, on a brick discovered at Romula (Resca, Dobrosloveni, inside the Olt County), sounding as follows: "Great is the God, always and everywhere! Thus should the Heros say, while looking towards Kogaion! Let the Disciples (namely, new recruits) sing: Holy is the Night Master!"

When Strabon used to carefully remind his readers about Dacian Priests living in underground shelters, he was actually referring to THE PRIESTS OF Zalmoxis, the same UNDERWORLD GOD who, from within KOGAION, was offering to his followers a THOROUGH IMMORTALITY, extending itself over body and soul as well. And should THE SPHYNX from Bucegi have represented, for the ancient Geta people, Orpheus' Head, either sculpted by human hands or moulded through some natural phenomena, at any rate it WAS, and WILL EXIST there FOREVER, within the Land of legendary Kogaion, always creating mysteries and spreading a majestic quietness.

Ultimately, I sincerely hope to have succeeded in sketching a complete Mythological Pantheon of our Forgotten Forefathers, either Pelasgians, Thracians or Geta-Dacians, as you choose to name them. Any so-called "Trajanic", "Latin" and "Slavonic" topics don't really belong to US, yet they were subsequently added within time by:

1). any of those willing to generate delusion and minimize the Carpatho-Danubian area population's essential role to the later development of European Civilization, by suggesting that Romania's present corresponding geographical region was not at all the very starting point, the civilization's cradle, but only an obscure province of the now fallen Roman Empire;

2). the ones to have always wanted some territorial revendication upon Romania's various regions, claims that were to be, somehow, vindicated, the only arguments capable of winning ignorants and fools' confidence being the ones related to "origins", "language", "religion" and "history", last one most easily in being mystified;

3). any of those affiliated to special groups of interest, regarding another World's geopolitical division and, as a result, being directly concerned in undermining both the importance and influence which the Romanian people's millenary civilization and culture still own among the Great Family of Nations around the Globe.

There exists, nevertheless, a so-called "FATE OF TRUTH", and, just as THOREAU has once cleverly pointed out, this one "needs only two groups of people to surface: some to EXPRESS IT and... others to HEAR IT".