CHESMAYNE
be
my love parisene walk be my love ‘I look for a love’: link to a nice melody!
Clementoni Jigsaw Puzzle – World’s Largest. The ultimate jigsaw puzzle - and the ultimate gift - from
Clementoni of
01 The Hindi word ‘preman’ means
‘love, sport.’
“Love ceases to be a pleasure, when it ceases to
be a secret”.
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Lilo serenades Stitch in Walt Disney's Lilo & Stitch - 2002 |
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Photo © Copyright Walt Disney |
02 Kama-sutra,
‘Love-textbook.’ Kama (Hindu).
03 Kiss: mark of affection. A sign of complete submission especially if the feet are kissed. It was also the symbol of
affection of Christians and can be thrown by the hand.
04 Kama (India):
god of love and desire. He holds a bow
with a string of bees which depicts the ‘sweet pain’ of love.
05 To the ancients the liver was
supposed to be the seat of love ie, ‘Love’s Labour Lost’, IV, iii’ or, in the
‘Merry Wives of Windsor, II, I’, - ‘Twelfth Night, III, ii’.
06 Eros (Greek) or Cupid
(Roman). Cupid is the mischievous cherub who
uses his bow and arrow to make people fall in love. Cathy and Heathcliff, Sir Lancelot and
QU Guinevere, Bonnie and Clyde, KI Edward and Wallace Simpson and yourself and your partner (or future partner)
are all targets of his arrows.
07 Freyja - goddess of sexual
love.
08 Scott Peck: “Love is the will to extend one’s
self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual
growth.”
09 “Dream lover fold your arms around
me,
Dream lover, your
romance has found me,
I’m held
in your spell, knowing too well, dreams never tell,
We two
can leave the world behind us.
No body
indiscreet can find us.
Dream
lover of mine, secrets divine I am sharing with you.”
(
10 Agape: Christian love-feast
held in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper when the rich provided food for the poor. Agape was the mother of four children in
Spenser’s Faerie QU (IV, ii, 4188).
The NDE and Heaven by Kevin Williams
Where
is heaven? Is it up in the sky
somewhere? From the beginning of
recorded history, humans have been searching for heaven on earth, the utopia,
their Shangra-la, Nirvana, the happy hunting grounds, paradise lost. History suggests that searching for heaven in
this world is like searching for an illusion.
Religions have been created to help humanity find heaven and the overall
consensus of many religions is that heaven cannot be found on earth, but rather
within us - in our hearts and minds. It
would probably be admitted by many people that heaven is a state of mind and a
figment of the human imagination. By
focusing within ourselves through meditation, dreams, prayer, and even quiet
reflection, we try to connect with the heaven we desire. When we are in love we
say were are in heaven. When we are
separated from love we may feel like absolute hell. It appears that the Golden Rule of loving
others as you would have them love you is a universal concept that may even be
a natural part of human nature. It may
be a principle that is an instinct existing in the very core of us all. Perhaps it is a paradise lost that is ours’
to find after all. Religious figures
such as Jesus and Buddha help humanity understand that love is the way to
heaven and that this heaven is found within.
Near-death
experiencers have a lot to say about heaven.
Concerning the relationship between life on earth and life in heaven,
our life on earth is but a preparation for our life in heaven. We come to earth from heaven for the purpose
of obtain spiritual development and to bring the heaven we came from to earth. It is also here on earth that God and
ourselves can really know what level of spiritual development we desire and
have earned. After death, the level of
our spiritual development determines the spiritual realm we inhabit after
death. Free will is a divine gift from
God to humanity and God does not force anyone to heaven. The level of heaven we develop within us on
earth is the level of heaven we enter after death. When the physical body is removed, we step
into the spiritual condition we have been building within us throughout our
entire life. Since God is love, the
greater spiritual love we build within us, the closer we are to God. This holds true for the spirit world as
well. It is a life of love that leads to
heaven. Love is God’s paradise for
humanity and we can create this paradise from heaven on earth and within us if
we learn to love one another.
11 Anacreon: Greek lyric poet
who wrote in praise of love and wine.
12 Caritas: symbolic figure of
the virtue of love whose attributes include: the Lamb, the Torch,
the Flaming Heart, children and beggars (caring love).
13
Confucius [Kongfuzi or K’ung Fu-Tzu]: 551-479 BC. Probably the most significant
person in Chinese history. Author of
‘The Book of Poetry’, ‘The Book of History’ and ‘The Book of Changes’ [I Ching]
which are referred to as the ‘Confucian Classics’. He has become known as ‘The Ultimate
Sage-Teacher’. The key concept or
essence of his philosophy is LOVE (of people) - [known as ‘ren’], a natural and
humanistic love based on spontaneous feelings which are cultivated through
education. “The sage-KI governs the country without unnecessary complicated
binding procedures. Instead he governs
with morality, as if he were the Northern Star, staying in his position,
surrounded by all other planets”. A
peaceful world is the ultimate goal of Confucianism in spite of the fact that
there have been wars most of the time throughout the dynasties. From: ‘Great Thinkers of the Eastern World’
by Ian P. McGreal.
With
the eyes of my soul body, I looked to see what held me in such love and I
beheld a radiant, Spirit being, so magnificent and full of love that I knew I
would never again feel the sense of loss.
I have no way of explaining how, but I knew the Spirit was Christ. It was not a belief, perception or
understanding, but my recognition of Christ came from my new perspective of
spirit. I did not see the Spirit as I had seen Jesus of
It
didn’t take me very long to figure out who just walked down from the sky. It was Jesus Christ. (Which, these days I call the “Divinity
Figure”, trying to keep it non denominational). Well I knew it was because I
just knew it, he looked “some what” like all the pictures I had seen on earth
of him but then not exactly like all the pictures. It is a pretty awesome feeling to be looking
right at Jesus Christ the son, of God, as he is known here on earth. He was dressed in this long robe which was
blue, he was a slender man (being) much more handsome than ever depicted in his
pictures on earth. His hair was a loose
curly golden blond kind of long but not to long. Just one look at him and you felt like he was
your family, your father. My cells and
atoms wanted to fly right over there and hug him but I knew if I cross that
canyon it would be a pretty permanent journey.
My instincts were what prevented me from crossing the canyon,
intuitively I knew what would happen if I crossed. I wanted to keep my options open if there was
any such thing. It is hard to describe but it seemed like we just looked
at each for what seemed to be hours. The first second I saw him I knew he knew
everything about me, my past, my present, my future. I had the feeling of being worthless or maybe
better said mundane. I could feel and
sense there was nothing I could say to this being that he didn’t already
know. I could feel him inside my head, I
could feel his thought just slightly ahead of everything I was feeling and
thinking. I really wanted to go with him but I was already planning my excuses
not to go. I felt bad because I could
feel him in my head and I could feel I could not deceive this being in any way
or in any thought. It was just like they said on earth. He was all knowing, all seeing and you could
feel it. But he seemed so very relaxed
very forgiving as well, I had many feelings while we just stood there looking
at each others. I find it hard to believe that we can worship so many
God’s as a function of some many religion’s.
Some of which do and do not believe in Jesus. It is a joke that we have so many
interpretations. The whole thing is out
of focus. Remember, the only thing you can take with you
is the love you cultivated on this earth. The most important thing you
leave behind is the love and memories for your loved ones. Immediately time stopped - it became eternal. I was in my body but was taken out of Earths
time frame. There is such a misconception about confusion/dementia in the
dying process. They speak a different language - one of
symbols. They speak in symbols
because there are things that you see and do that have no words in English to
explain. Now, because of working with the dying I know we are not
crazy! Going to work at the hospice
center two days a week is better than church to me, it is a portal to the other
side. The moment that I entered the Light, to become
one with the Light, is a moment that has no parallel in my life! It is a
true experience of inexpressible love. It is a love that can never be
adequately described with words. A love that can only be experienced, the
ever-loving Light - I am in the Light, I am the Light, and the Light is God. There is no way to compare my consciousness
when I was in the Light with my consciousness here on planet Earth. It’s
like asking someone to compare the difference between the light from a thousand
suns exploding at the same time and the light from a match stick. Yes,
they are both light, but beyond that, there is no comparison. I can only
say that I was in a compete state of love and knowing. The love of a
billion home-comings all rolled up into one instant, and the knowing of every aspect
of the complete universe, to become one with God. I had all of my earthly
senses only heightened by a million times.
Yes, I saw the Light and communicated with the Light through all my
senses. We talked, and laughed, and loved one another like long, lost
friends. The Light was also surrounded by countless billions of other
lights who knew me and who I knew. Not people from my life time (at the
time of my drowning) but people (souls) from countless other lifetimes and from
being in the absolute. Yes, being in the
Light with billions of other Lights all around is the most beautiful and
distinctive location in the entire universe.
While I was in the Light, I had to sense of “time” as I know in here in
Earth. I had a complete knowledge of the entire
universe, therefore I knew the Light (God in Earth terms), because I became One
with the Light. There were billions of
other Lights surrounding the Master Light.
Yes, I saw the entire universe and all events, but did not retain any
memory of any future events about my life here on Earth. I knew that I
came from another planet that was at a higher level of consciousness then we
have here on Earth. To realize that you
are One with Light/God, actually an Individual Piece of God - therefore I am
God, as we All Are here on planet Earth.
I can still feel the warmth, unconditional love, and complete absorption
from and by the Light. I know it is true from the very fiber - from the
cellular level of my earthly body! I
don’t fear death, I am waiting to return to the Light soon! I am no longer “religious” I am a “spiritual
being” who believes that we are all One in the Light with God.
My
first question was “Is this heaven?”. “It can be, if that’s what you want.
It can be Hell, as well, if that’s what you believe. This reality is an
extension of you, instantly realized and formed. You always create your own reality, no matter
where you find yourself, for we are all co-creators”. “Where is God? I don’t see him”. I asked.
They became visibly amused, like they were snickering at my question
under their breath. “How can you see
that which you are yourself a part of?
We are all expressions of God.
When you see with your eyes, you see through the eyes of God and he
experiences reality through yours. When
you speak to God, you speak to yourself. We are one and the same, there is no
division or separation. You can no more
‘see’ God than your hand can see you, for it is a part of you and functions
because of you and for your purposes, as well as it’s own. There is no separation. Any that seems to exist is an illusion. The light that surrounds us here is God. It is our source of being and is given freely
to all”. I no longer attend
church. It is a waste of time and
energy. God isn’t interested in being
worshipped, he’s only interested in our experiences and our growth.
Merkaba meditation
“Meditate on the
symbols I give thee. Keys are they,
though hidden from men”.
The source of this Merkaba meditation
This meditation came to me three years ago during a Merkaba meditation session. The story of the meditation came about with
an enigma that is connected to Sefer Yetzira, to the Merkaba meditation or the
kabalistic seven gates meditation, the Sefer Hazohar by Rabbi Shimeon bar Yochai, and the jewelry that I design.
Unconditional love
The meditation itself is an excellent tool for any kind
of manifestation both spiritual and physical.
When you start this meditation you have to keep in mind that the true
nature of creation is unconditional love (I have separated myself from myself
so that I will be able to love myself). Do not try to use this meditation in
order to gain something for yourself alone. Remember all is one and everything
is in its own perfection inside the whole.
So let’s begin…
Start with a meditation (I use the Merkaba meditation) and let your
thoughts dissolve and disappear. Then
place yourself in an empty endless void.
Now place your wish or goal in this void and turn it into a bright
shining white Spark in the endless void, creating an axis from this spark-up
and down. The next step is to create
another axis at the same length as the first one, this time create it from the
middle of the first axis, where the first spark is and pull it backward and
forward. The next step is to create
another axis from the middle to the left and to the right, and then connect all
the end points of the axis to each other.
The structure you’ll create is an octahedron, a double
pyramid. If you know Sacred Geometry, then you are probably familiar with the
five Platonic solids. These five
elements are the basic foundation for every structure in existence. One of them, the Octahedron (the double
pyramid) is the basic foundation for the three dimensions.
The next step is to rotate
the octahedron on each one of the axis. This will turn the octahedron to a
sphere. At this point, in order to bring our idea to life we will repeat the
process of the embryo cell division.
Keep in mind that the secret of creation is the one who separated itself
from itself. Everything beyond this
false reality is one, however this one separated itself into a multitude of
beings, therefore creation always starts with division. That is the
reason the first chapter of genesis starts with the Hebrew letter “Beit” which
equals 2.
So
the next thing we will do is to divide the sphere into two spheres, in two
dimensions it will be the Vesica Pisces, the two circles crossing each other in
the middle, the symbol of the first day of creation and the symbol of
light. The next step is to divide these
two cells to four; place three spheres at the base and one at the top so that
you will create a tetrahedron, the four-facets structure that symbolizes the
four faces of God.
The next division (the third) will create the eight cells structure of the
Egg of Life.
If you will connect all the
middle points of the spheres you will get a three dimensional Star of
David. This eight cell structure
contains the secrets of the musical scales which are the keys to the different
dimensions. This structure contains the infinite potential of every living
creature.
At
this point there is a perfect balance of both masculine and feminine forces
that is the point of balance. It is also
connected to the structure of the Cube octahedron which contains all the five
Platonic structures.
From this point all you have
to is to multiply the 8 to 16 (just focus on the numbers), the 16 to 32 ,the 32
to 64, the 64 to 128, the 128 to 256 and the 256 to 512.
Every multi cell living
creature starts to wear its own unique form.
Now say the Hebrew word “Chai”, alive, and know, feel and believe that
your thoughts taken here are already formed in the higher planes of existence.
Sacred geometry
I
used this after I studied sacred geometry, and to my surprise I found out the
next description of the beginning of creation from the Ancient kabala book “Sefer Hayetzira” (the Book of
Creation):
“He
(God) selected three letters from among the simple ones and sealed them and
formed them into a Great Name,
I H V, and with this He
sealed the universe in six directions.
Fifth; He looked above, and
sealed the Height with I H V.
Sixth; He looked below, and
sealed the Depth with I V H.
Seventh; He looked forward,
and sealed the East with H I V.
Eighth; He looked backward,
and sealed the West with H V I.
Ninth; He looked to the
right, and sealed the South with V I H.
Tenth; He looked to the
left, and sealed the North with V H I.
Behold! From the Ten
ineffable Sephiroth do, proceed the One Spirit of the Gods of the living, Air,
Water, Fire; and also Height, Depth, East, West, South and North”.
Inlaid merkaba with emerald 14 points merkaba
Merkaba meditation and the cosmic language
Here
are some interesting things that I’ve discovered. At one point when I came up to the end of the
meditation I saw the Hebrew letters “Reish”, “Sheen”, “Beit” and “Yood”. At first I didn’t get it, but a short
calculation brought up the number 512.
The name Rashbi is the name of Rabi Shimeon Bar Yochai who is considered
to be the author of the “Zohar”. When I checked it out I’ve found a quote from
an ancient kabalistic book from the 11th century which is called “The writings Of
the
It deals with the higher
planes of existence and “The Seven
Palaces” with the different guardian angels standing on each gate and so
on. On the seventh palace the traveler
will see the four Serafim with the four faces lion, bull, eagle and man. Then he will see 64 faces, 128 eyes and 256
wings before he will watch the throne of God.
If
you will look and count the steps you’ve just made in the meditation from the
four cells or the tetrahedron point you will see that it takes seven steps to
go to 512!
Cosmic language
The
book goes on and says that if the traveler’s soul is pure enough he will enter
the seventh gate and stand before the throne.
What I’ve discovered is that the meditation opened a path to a flow of
knowledge that appears as a cosmic language, that can be found in symbols and
“hints” in the everyday aspects of life.
Two months later, I have created the Genesa Crystal pendant.
Merkaba from the biblical prophet
Now
this whole theme describes the Vision of The Merkaba from the biblical prophet
Yehezkel and the structure of the cube octahedron represents the “Ofanim”, the
wheels within wheels that create the Merkaba.
Chess: the Fickle Lover
Even the most casual of chess players are aware of the Russian dominance
over the game in the 20th century.
Many players can even recognize the 1927 defeat of Capablanca by the
Russian genius, Alekhine at the beginning of Russia’s rule over chess. Chess wasn’t always dominated by Russia, but
throughout the history of modern chess there has always been some country in
the forefront of the chess scene.
In the 15th
- 16th into the 17th century, when chess was just
completing it’s metamorphosis into the game we know today, there were two
countries vying for the role: Italy and Spain.
The Italians had Lucena from whom we’ve learned the famous Lucena
position and through his writings we gained such important lessons as: “if you
play by day, place your opponent facing the light, which gives you great
advantage”.
Other Italian chess greats include Gioacchino Greco (1600-1634) a
professional player and the best in the world in his time; Giovanni Leonardo
(1542-1587) another professional player;
Pedro Damiano (1480-1544) who wrote the first Italian chess book; Giulio
Polerio (1548-1612) the chess author who played the first recorded King’s Gambit
and Caro-Kahn; Pietro Carrera (1573-1647) a player, author and innovator (he
suggested making the board 8 x 10 and the adding of another piece.... Capablanca later championed similar ideas);
Paolo Boi (1528-1598) defeated Pope Paul III in a match and had the distinction
of winning his freedom from prison by winning a chess game.
The Spaniards boasted Ruy Lopez (1530-1580) and Alfonzo Ceron (1535 -?).
Lopez traveled to Rome and defeated all challengers, making him the strongest
player at that time.
As one can see, the Italians outnumbered the Spanish numerically in
having great players, but the Spaniards did have Ruy Lopez. A match between Ruy
Lopez and Alfonzo Ceron versus PaoloBoi and Giovanni Leonardo at the court of
Philip II was arranged. It was the first
international match on record and the Italians took 1st place. This
was the height of the Italian reign.
The next century saw some great Italian players, but not to an equal
extent. Scipone del Grotto; Marco Severino, who developed the Sicilian
defense; Domenico Ponziani (1719-1796) player and author.... lived during
this time. But Italy was losing its
influence in chess.
In 1670 the Cafe de Regance opened in Paris. This place became a center of chess until the
20th century. It closed down
in 1916. Frequenters of this cafe
included such luminaries as Diderot, Robespierre, Rousseau, Voltaire and
Napolean Bonaparte. The place kept a professional chess player on payroll. The first of these was Sire de Legal... later professionals included Deschapelles,
LaBourdonnais, Saint-Amant, Kieseritzky and Harrwitz.
Andre Danican Philidor (1726 -1795) a Frenchman, an operatic composer of
some repute, a student of Sire de Legal, he was the strongest player to date
after he defeated his former teacher, Legal
....no one during his life came ever close to him. He authored some books, popularised
blindfold, simultaneous play and often played games at odds, generally
winning. He was probably the first
player to recognize positional consequences in chess... a concept not to be rediscovered until Morphy
in the 1850s. Philidor secured the
French reign of chess.
After Philidor, Alexandre Deschapelles (1780-1847) became the leading
player. He was a war hero and aprofessional gambler. He claims to have observed three games and
learned allthere is to know about chess.
He was known for his bragging even more thanfor his chess. But, then again, an Englishman who was
trying to set up a match with Deschapelles, returned to England disappointed
with only this to say about him, “M. Deschapelles is the greatest billiards
player in France. M. Deschapelles is the greatest whist player in France. M. Deschapelles is the greatest pumpkin
grower in France. M. Deschapelles is
the greatest liar in France”.
When his student, Louis la Bourdonnais (1797-1840) could beat him,
Deschapelles retired from chess. La
Bourdonnais was an extremely fast player. He could play equally well drunk or
sober, didn't mind noise or distractions. He was sort of a party-animal chess
master. He played a match against Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) an Irishman
playing for England and that country's strongest player. McDonnell was a
methodically slow player with a dour disposition in complete contrast to la
Bourdonnais. The match lasted 84 games and was actually a series of five
matches. Labourdonnais demonstrated his superiority though McDonnell produced
some fine games. It was probably the most important chess match up to that time
and it is still considered a gem.
Saint-Amant learned chess
from Dechapelles also. And he also
advanced past his teacher. He was the
chess professional at Regance for a while.
He eventually lost a match to Howard Staunton, passing the chess legacy
onto England. Saint-Amant later became consul to California and retired to
Algeria, giving up chess permanently.
Staunton's win over
Saint-Amant gave England a slight dominance in chess, but there were other
countries where chess was almost equally as strong. Germany boasted Adolph
Anderssen, Max Lange and Heydebrandun der Lasa, one of the greatest under
appreciated masters of all time. So England's hold was tentative at best...as
shown by Paul Morphy, the great American player in 1859.
Between Morphy and Alekhine, chess’ territorial love
affair was disrupted and chess floundered homelessly. True to form, chess finally rested in Russia
where she’s treated with respect and honor.
But never one to stay fixed in one place, she is now looking at other
suitors, mainly India and China. America has had an occasional fling...brief
affairs - but chess is a fickle lover.
Giovanni Boccaccio
Short biography
Born in Florence? Certaldo? 1313 - Died in Certaldo 1375.
Giovanni was the illegitimate son of the rich merchant from Chellino, who
became an agent of Bardi, the famous Florentine bankers. Boccaccio quickly legitimised his son
Giovanni. In 1327 still representing
the Bardi family Boccaccio took Giovanni to Naples, which at that time, under
the rule of King Robert of the House of Anjou, was an oasis of peace and an
important centre of international culture where one could find the best of the
Italian, Greek, and French intellectuals.
In 1339 the Bardi and with them Boccaccio’s father suffered financial difficulties
due to the English King, Edward III’s failure to repay a huge loan of some
960,000 golden florins needed to finance his battles against France. At the beginning of 1341 Giovanni Boccaccio
was forced to return to Florence. In
1345 the Bardi Bank as a result of financial problems, was forced into
insolvency. Caused in part by the loans made to the King and others, which were
not honoured. From Florence Giovanni
Boccaccio made several trips (Ravenna, Forli, Naples, and Venice) in 1371
returning to the tranquillity of Certaldo.
In 1373 the Commune of Florence asked him to read, each day, a passage
from the Divina
Commedia in St. Stephan of Badia. Unfortunately after two years poor
health compelled him to again retire to Certaldo where he died in 1375, one
year after Petrarca’s death.
We shall take into
consideration the following references to chess
Decamerone
First day: Introduction. (110-112)
Third Day: Conclusion (8)
Seventh Day: II, (13-15)
Filocolo - Book IV, (95-96)
Decamerone
(written in Florence,1349-51)
Free translations
Introduction, First day (110-112)
Here
is a beautiful and fresh place to stay.
We have, as you can see, the game boards and chessboards. Everyone can choose whatever pleases him but
if you follow my advice, do not play a game where one party is frustrated being
inconsiderate of the other party or those who watch the game, but let us pass
the hottest part of the day telling stories.
Conclusion, Third Day (8)
……Filomena
and Panfilo started to play chess…
Seventh Day, novella 7 (13-15)
……..It happened one day that Egano (1) went to hunt birds, leaving Anichino
with Madonna Beatrice, who was unaware of Anichino’s feelings towards her,
though she had more than once looked at him with interest and was favourably
impressed by him. They started to play
chess, Anichino, wishing to please her, with great ingenuity allowed her to win
which made her very happy. Madonna
Beatrice’s women companion went away and let them play chess alone. Anichino (2) sighed deeply; Beatrice asked,
“What’s the matter, Anichino? Are you
bored because I win so often?
“Madonna”, answered Anichino, “a greater thing
than this causes me to sigh”. ……….
Notes
(1) Egano de’ Galluzzi from Bologna was the husband of the beautiful Madonna
Beatrice.
(2) Anichino, who conspired to enter in the house of Egano as a servant, was in
fact Lodovico, a rich young man, determined to win the love of Madonna
Beatrice.
Filocolo
(written in Naples,1336-38)
The plot
This is the story of Florio and Biancifiore, a well-known medieval
topos. Boccaccio in his incipit (I,
1,25) confessed that he wrote his Filoloco at the request of a beautiful
married Neapolitan young lady who was in love with him. The lady, named Fiammetta by Boccaccio, was
in fact Mary of the Aquino’s Counts, an illegitimate daughter of King
Robert. The love affair between
Boccaccio and Mary lasted 3 years (1336-39).
Florio, son of pagan King of Spain (Felix), and Biancifiore, daughter of
a noble Roman couple, were born the same day; and brought up together at the
court of Marmorina (Verona). The two
young people fell in love with each other. The King Felix, not wishing his son
to marry Biancifiore, as she was not of the royal blood, sent Florio to
Montorio, a town near by. The King then
handed Biancifiore over to some merchants who later sold her to an Egyptian
Sultan who lived in Alexandria. When
Biancifiore disappeared from Marmorina, Florio believed her dead, but his
mother told him the truth. Florio,
under the name of Filocolo, started his search for her. After many adventures, he arrived in Naples,
where he spent several days before going to Alexandria where he understood that
Biancifiore was imprisoned in a nearby castle of the Egyptian Sultan. Filocolo planned to enter the castle where
Biancifiore was held in the hope of freeing and then marrying her. Filocolo approached the castle with a ruse
that would oblige Sadoc, the Arab governor of the castle to allow him entry to
the castle. Filocolo explained his
appearance at the castle by saying that whilst out hunting nearby he had to
call back his peregrine falcon, which, after having missed its prey, flew to
rest on a tower of the castle.
Filocolo’s mount was frightened by the noise he made when recalling the
falcon and to his surprise also galloped towards the castle. Then he invites Sadoc to play chess, letting
him win a lot of money so as to procure his help in approaching
Biancifiore.
Historical-Background
Boccaccio
confessed that Fiammetta asked him to write, in exemplary Italian, the famous
story of two young lovers (Florio and Biancifiore) which had up to then been
left to “fabulosi parlari degli ignoranti” (the fabulous tales of the
ignorant). Bocaccio at the end of his
work (V 97,10) acknowledged that the source of his Filoloco was to be found in
a Greek poem written by Ilario, a Greek monk.
We know now that Boccaccio at that time (1336-1338), could not read
Greek so it would have been impossible for him to take inspiration from such a
Greek source. The written origin of the
story of Fiorio and Biancifiore is still a debatable issue today. It seems that around 1160 an anonymous
provincial troubadour elaborated the legend in the form of a poem. The old manuscript copy was lost, and only
some sparse fragments were recorded in a German poem written around 1170. During the 12th and 13th
centuries the story went around Europe, orally and in written form as ‘cantare’ in
Italian, ‘chanson
de geste’ in French or ‘cantares de gesta’ in Spanish. According to Prof. Crescini, (“Il Cantare di
Fiorio e Biancifiore”, Vol. I-II, Bologna 1889-1899; vol. II. Pp.
36-49), Boccaccio took inspiration mainly from an Italian cantare written in
the 14th century (around 1323).
However, it is probable that Boccaccio may have known of other written
versions of this popular story.
Background to the title controversy of the Filocolo
In the Filocolo
(III, 75,5) Boccaccio explains the reason for attributing to his Florio the
classical nickname of Filocolo. “Filoloco
is composed by two Greek names, ‘philos’, and ‘colon’. ‘Philos’ in Greek means love and ‘colon’
means effort so that linking together these two Greek words ‘effort of love’
(fatica d’amore) is implied”.
Boccaccio, who’s knowledge of Greek at this time was imperfect, made an
etymological mistake, choosing not only the wrong word for ‘effort’ (fatica)
from a Greek glossary, but also choosing ‘colon’ (rage) instead of ‘ponos’ or
‘copos’, which are the words for ‘effort or labour’. He also chose ‘philos’ as a translation for
the Italian equivalent of ‘love’, (love in Greek is ‘philia’). With this in mind, two Italian editors of
Venice in the 16th century amended the original title, apparently
incorrectly, with ‘Philopono’ (Tizzone, 1527) or ‘Philocopo’ (Marco Guazzo,
1530) thus giving it the meaning of ’lover of efforts’ (and not ‘effort of
love’ as Boccaccio intended). Since
then Filocolo
has also been wrongly amended to ‘Filocopo’.
Only at the end of the 19th century did A. Gaspary (1879) accept
Filocolo as the original title and V. Crescini (1889-1899) confirmed this,
stating that Boccaccio confused an ‘l’ with a ‘p’ - (‘colos’ instead of
‘copos’).
“Il Cantare di Fiorio e
Biancifiore“ (Crescini, 1889-1899, Bologna) as background to the Filocolo.
(98) Fiorio arrives in
Alessandria of Egypt, goes to an inn and asks the innkeeper Dario whether he
knows where Biancifiore is kept.
(99-104) Dario answers positively but warns Fiore that the governor of the
castle where Biancifiore is kept in custody for the admiral of Egypt is a
wicked, strong and violent man. But…
(104)………….Se puoi giucar con lui [il castellano], [tu Fiorio] serai
gioioso.
If
you can play with him [i.e. the governor of the castle], you [Fiorio] will be
happy.
(105) E se tu [Fiorio] fossi
di scachi saccente (ora intendi ciò ch’io ti voglio dire) se tu ci vai, tieni
bene a mente, che ‘l castellano ti verrà assalire; e tu allora lo invita
dolcemente, se vuol giucare un giuoco il bel mesere; ma se gli vinci un bisante
de’ suoi, per cortesia, donagli tre de’ tuoi.
And
if you [Fiorio] are a virtuoso of chess play (Understand what I want to tell
you) - And if you go there, keep well it in mind that the governor shall want
to attack you, then you quickly invite the nice sir, To play a game (of chess);
But if you win one coin of his Please, give him three of yours........
(108)....e
Fiorio dise:
….se vo’ giucare a scachi io te [castellano] ne ‘nvito.
In addition, Fiorio said:
…. If you like to play chess, I invite
you [governor of the castle] to play with me.
(109) E castellano... dise...
da che del giuoco m’avete invitato vo’ sapere se ne se’ buon giucatore, chiama
li fanti, e feciesi venire lo giuoco delli scachi e li tavolieri.
And
the governor …Said… I want to know if you are a good player. He called the servants and asked them to
bring chess pieces and chessboard.
(110) E Fiorio lo vinse inmantenente, al primo
trato, ben mille bigianti; e ‘l castelan del giuoco era perdente; per niquità
si gitò via li guanti; e Fiorio, com’uom ch’era conosciente, rendegli i suoi e
diegline altretanti e ‘l castellan li prende volentieri,…
In addition, Fiorio won immediately at
the first attempt, well a thousand coins and the castellan having lost the game
arrogantly threw away his gloves but Fiorio as a man who knew how to behave
gave it all back and gave him as many coins as he won in addition, the
castellan took the coins willingly,
(112) e Fiorio dise: sire, in fede mia col
castelano abo asai giucato
And Fiorio said, Sir (Dario) in my
faith I have played a lot with the Governor.
Filoloco
Free translation
[95]
[Filocolo] saw a beautiful decorated chessboard hanging from a wall. Immediately he said: “Sir, I see here a
beautiful chessboard, do you enjoy playing chess?” Sadoc answered, “Yes, I love it. Do you play?” Filocolo replied, “I know a fair
amount”. Then Sadoc said: “Let us play
a while until this heat subsides and then you can return to town.” “With great pleasure” Filocolo answered.
[96] Sadoc then ordered [his men] to lay some
carpets in a cool corner and bring the chessboard and pieces. They sat at the chessboard facing each
other, the game started with a great quantity of money being wagered upon the
outcome. Sadoc wanted to win the wager
whereas Filocolo elected to lose, in order to gain Sadoc’s friendship. Filocolo realised early on in the game that
he knew more about chess than the governor. Filocolo with a Rook and a Knight,
surrounded the governor’s King in his very square who had on the left side one
of his Bishops. (1) Sadoc attacked Filocolo’s King with many possibilities of
check, finally Filocolo had only one safe square in which to place his King
namely by simply moving the King aside towards the square of the Rook. Filocolo, whose move it was, knew that his
second Knight could have checkmated Sadoc’s King, but instead of taking such a
move he moved his Rook back to the square his King should have gone to for
safety. (2) The governor began to smile
when he saw that he could now give checkmate to Filocolo, although he knew that
Filocolo could have previously checkmated him.
Moving his pawn, he checked and mated Filocolo, so winning the
wager. He said laughingly “Young man,
you do not understand the game”. Sadoc
realised very well that Filocolo had failed to checkmate him on purpose, but
because he greatly desired the money, he pretended not to be aware of
this. To which Filocolo answered “Dear
sir, that is how foolish men learn.”
The players started a second game; this time each player doubled the
wager. The governor played wisely and
Filocolo equally so. The governor, as
he made his move said, “Young man, it would have been better for you to let
your falcon escape rather than come here today.” Filocolo was silent, showing in fact that he
was upset at the loss of the money. The game had nearly finished and he was on
the verge of checkmating the governor, at which point he proposed a draw. The
governor noted Filocolo’s generosity, being prepared to offer a draw rather
than win, and thought, “This young man is really amiable and noble. I have never seen anyone like him.” The
third game started and the money wagered was yet again increased. The governor said to Filocolo “Young man,
please I beg of you by the power of your gods, play as skilfully as you know
how, and do not spare me as you have done previously”. Filocolo answered, “My
lord, a poor disciple who plays against the master, is bound to lose, but
because you wish it I shall play as well as I know how”. They commenced the third game and continued
to play for a long time. Filocolo had
the upper hand. The governor became aware of this and was greatly distressed,
his face turned red and he tried to rectify the losing position, but the more
he played the worse his position became.
Filocolo captured a Knight with his Bishop and gave check with his
Rook. This move disturbed the governor
beyond measure, more because of the money that he would lose than by the loss
of the game. He upset the chessboard
with his hand and the chessmen were thrown on the floor. At this Filocolo said “My lord, even wise
men are often upset by this game, I shall not judge you less wise because you
fret over a game of chess. Had you
looked more closely at the game before upsetting the chessboard, you would have
seen that you were not far away, only two moves in fact, from giving me
checkmate. I think you saw it but to
show your kindness towards me, you preferred to lose the game and upset the
board, but it shall not be so, all the money is yours”. Having put the same amount of money on the
table as the governor, he increased it threefold. The governor accepted it all. Showing he understood the other’s words,
said “Young man, I swear on the soul of my father that I have played with many
opponents but I have never met anybody who gave me a checkmate but you, nor
have I ever met a young man as generous as you.
Notes
(1)
In Italian “e solamente un
punto per sua salute gli rimane nel salto del suo Rocco”. In the medieval chess, the King could jump
two squares without castling as we do today.
(2) Dr. Chicco, in a brilliant article published in 1977 (see “Scacco”, page
177-178), suggested that the position on the board described by Boccaccio could
have been an example of this type:
White (Governor):
Bd1, Kf1, pe6, Nc7, Rh7
Black (Filocolo):
Kf8, Ne5, Nf5, Rg2
Black to move.
The solution
1.Ne3+ Ke1 2. Rg8 e7#
Dr. Chicco, a great problemist as well an outstanding scholar of chess history,
wrote that such a position was clearly an early example of “help-mate” which
was supposed to have been invented by the German theorist Max Lange
(1832-1899). In the position described
literally by Boccaccio, taking into account the excellent idea of Dr. Chicco,
alternatively we may have…
White (Governor):
Bd1, Ke1, e6, Nc7, Rh7
Black (Filocolo):
Kf8, Ne5, Ne3, Rg2
Black to move. Filocolo could
have moved Nf3 #, but instead moved Rg8 and so the governor mated Filocolo with
e7#.
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