In a message dated 7/5/2009 1:15:36 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes: "Before the beginning there was intelligence. And that intelligence is that which is and which has never not been, and it is that which we call God. God is the infinite intelligence that created and sustains all else that is. As the moon to the sun, it is given to us to share in that intelligence dimly." My translation makes a lot more sense to me. I realize that John was attempting to bestow God-credentials on Jesus --- Exactly. His influence was totally nefarious in the Romantic tradition. For example, there is no way a Romance speaker today can use 'verbum' (verbo) with a straight face. Why? John spoiled it for us. In later chapters he says that Christ -- now endowed with God-credentials, as Geary notes -- will say this, and he will say _that_. These things he said were entitled by the Greeks para-bole Roman: parabola "parabola" --- corrupted itself into the vernacular to 'parole' in Italian 'parole' in French 'palabra' in Spanish which is _word_, really, only 'parabolically' so. "Only to find Gideon's Bible" ('Rocky Racoon'). JL Speranza Thinking of Canterbury and why he became Anglican in Buenos Aires, Argentina **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222887319x1201497660/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=Jul yExcfooterNO62) ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html