Reading Deuteronomy as an adult, I was impressed with chapter 28<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blessings go from verse 2-14. Very nice things will happen.
Then come the curses. Those last from verse 16-68. Some horrifying curses pour out from this book of Moses. I will not soon forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blessings are clearly not enough motivation, there are four and a half times as many bad things pending on my choices than the rewards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is ancient horror. It\u2019s been popular since the dawn of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greek curses are truly memorable. Narcissus fell in love with his reflection and couldn\u2019t bear to leave it. He wasted away into a pretty flower (I know it as the daffodil).
But Prometheus is chained on a mountaintop and every day an eagle eats his liver out. While he\u2019s alive. But he grows one back every day in order for it to be eaten again. A violent painful life, but with a lovely view.
Sisiphus has to roll a rock up a hill perpetually, and every time he crests the rock falls down. He\u2019s a hardworking curse victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dante\u2019s Inferno draws inspiration from these Greek curse examples, showing the perpetual tortures of hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Demons in The Journey to the West<\/em> aka Monkey King<\/em>(a 15th<\/sup> century Chinese classic, featuring Buddha) operate under a different system. The Emperor of heaven will dispense curses on humans for their wrong that makes them demons. Two of the main sidekicks (a pig and a dragon) are working out their curses in the hopes of being restored. Other demons are firmly evil and may or not be under a curse. They were defensively killed before we learned their history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WARNING! DANGER! STAY AWAY!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Curses are meant to remind people to stay on the right path. For my here and now, I have a concept of what the right path is. I\u2019m less sure about what the Greeks or Romans considered the right path. The ancient Chinese right and wrong is further removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These curses are a strong reminder to keep to the straight path.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reading Deuteronomy as an adult, I was impressed with chapter 28 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee … Continue reading