Posted by Patrick (66.185.84.206) on October 09, 2003 at 17:58:23:
In Reply to: Wouldn't it be interesting posted by Michael on October 09, 2003 at 16:49:02:
Buried treasure! That is great movie material, it is fun to speculate. Personally I think Bessler just decided to give some obscure descriptions about his wheel. Some of it would likely be a play on words or involve double meanings that would only be fully grasped in the native language (German?) of his day.
: Greed is an evil root. (Less is more)
: An anvil receives many blows. (Hammer type of weights used.)
: A driver drives. A runner runs. (Dual circular motion?; see MT 26)
: A seer sees. The buyer buys. (maybe reference to holes & discs)
: The rain flows. Snow falls. (???)
: The jack fires. The bow twangs; (a push or a pull)
: a large herd of fat, lazy,
: plump horses wanders aimlessly. (maybe negative reference to those that tried to copy his wheel)
: The flail wants to be with the
: thresher, not with the scholar. (may have flail shaped mechanism involved)
: Children play among the pillars
: with loud heavy clubs. (reference to pegs & hammer weights)
: Acrobats and shadow-boxers
: are as swift and nimble as the wind.(Dual motion again, maybe MT 26)
: The cunning cat slinks quietly along
: and snatches juicy mice. (tail shaped reference such as MT 13)
: The dog creeps out of his kennel
: just as far as his chain will stretch. (spring action?)
: He knows how to please by playing
: with his toys and knick-knacks.
: He wags his tail, creeps through the hoop,
: and is rewarded with a pat on the paws
: by the stiff fops who watch him. (maybe general metaphorical description of actions occurring within the wheel)
: A wheel appears - is it really a wheel, for it does not have a normal rim. (reference to third wheel?)
: It revolves, but without other wheels inside or outside,
: and without weights, wind, or springs.
: Seen sideways or full face it is as glorious as a peacock's tail. (reference to visual impression; see MT 60 or MT 61)
: It turns to the right and to the left.
: It spins around in any direction whether laden or empty.
: All things belong to one of three kingdoms and you have the evidence before you.
: Without such things as sulfur, salt, and mercury, all things will come to a standstill. (???)
: The qualities of the elements are necessary to keep things going. (attention to detail required? )
: Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter are ready to join in any battle.
(use of spheres?)
: The things we eat run through every limb and sinue of our bodies. ??
: A crab crawls from side to side; It is sound for it is designed thus. ( a crab has eight legs and two pinchers?)
: Poltergeists wander freely through locked doors.
(gravity is the poltergeist!!)
: But softly! - speak softly of all these marvels,
: lest the enemy grows wise! He will drench me with his spittle
: so that I will lose my temper and in a sudden fit,
: cast aside the mantle that conceals my wheel.
: But he shall be thwarted in his desires.