The problem with praise, which appears throughout the great writings of antiquity, from Egypt to Greece, from the Levant to the Far East, is that, as the prophets of the Bible pointed out, it's often addressed to the wrong people. Consequently, the wise don’t really care about them, as master Long Chou explains in the 6th chapter of Lieze about Destiny. This everlasting ambivalent relationship with praise and honors has been especially well articulated by Lao Tzu, in his 22nd Chant: Let me read it to you.
Therefore the sage embraces the One And becomes the model of the world. He does not justify himself; therefore, he becomes prominent. He does not boast of himself; therefore he is given credit. He does not brag; therefore, he can endure for long. It is precisely because he does not compete that the world cannot compete with him.
As you have guessed: the trouble with honors is that people quickly swell with PRiDe (mitNaSeʔ in Hebrew), make a FuSS (ChiChi in French). As in Sowʔ in Psalms 89.9, which conveys the idea of SWeLLing with pride: « Thou rulest the pride of the sea: When the waves thereof aRiSe, thou STiLLest them. »
Pride is also found in the Qur'an with ʔaShiR, particularly in Sura 54 Al Qamar in verses 25 and 26, when the Prophet's opponents accuse him of being an insolent liar, and the Qur'an replies: « Tomorrow they will come to know who is the Liar, the iNSoLent one! »
It takes some insolence indeed to DaRe (oser in French)- take on the Pharisians of business, linguistics and anthropology, and say, « ChiChe! » (I dare you!) Try taking up the Paraklet ChaLLeNGe, you stupid fools! Hehe, yes Polisson, « Tomorrow they will come to know who is the liar, the insolent one! »
However, the Paraklet still has a long way to go. You are now aware that the sound « Sha » alone, without « Ta », already carries the meaning of a praise-worthy elevating spike or stake. But you'll soon see that, strangely enough, it also conveys a completely different meaning.
My previous video already mentioned it with the word ShaḤaT, which I then likened to detritus, CeSSPiT, ShiTHoLe. But I must make amends: the pit, the hole, the FoSSe, the TReNCh (ShuwḤah and ShyḤah in Hebrew) are in fact much more beautiful. True, the etymology of « shit » still puzzles the Parisians. True as well, to shit you need to PuSh. And true again, « Sha » appears in SheʔowL, the aBySS (from Greek aBySSos) into which lost SouLs are thrown. But the fosse is first and foremost the GRooVe, the SWaLe, SiLLoN in French, VeRSus in Latin.
The intergluteal SuLCus (the BuTT CRaCk), the aSS (FeSSes in French) or SeaT (Séant in French) on which we SiT (s'aSSeoir in French, deriving from seoir). And you sit (ṬaSSô in Greek) on a Chair.
The ass was very important in the Paleolithic, the Neolithic and of course it remains so today. You'll find some fine specimens on p191 of the French edition of The Language of the Goddess. The chair too was an important item. For instance, look at ʔaShDoDah, the Philistine clay statuette found in Ashdod (Israel), shaped like a chair with a head and BReaSTs (ShaD in Hebrew).
And there is also the CLeFT, the FoSSa, the SLiT (of the SLuT), between the beautiful SiNuSoid-ShaPed breasts (SeiNs in French). Prehistory buffs will of course be familiar with the famous Lespugue VeNuS, with its prominent perfectly SyMMeTRical breasts and BuTToCks.
Finally, akin to the fossa is the slit or SPLiT, ShaṢaʕ in Hebrew. It appears in the split HooF but also with the meaning of tearing aPaRT. Slit can be said ṢeʕyF too, which also means CaVe or HoLLoW. Caves have always FaSCiNated our ancestors, who were great SPeLeologists (we'll come back to that soon). What now, Polisson? « VeRSus is also Purple 🟣 and ṢeʕyF is also Green 🟢 and Light Blue 💎 ». Now looks what you've done. Stop interrupting me all the time, dammit!
Where was I? Ah yes, ṢeʕyF the SLiT, the CaVe, the HoLLoW. The notion of hollow also appears in another highly polysemous word, SheBeR which means « to FiSSuRe » in Jeremiah 2.13, but which is also - go ahead Polisson: « Green 🟢 Red 🔴 and Yellow 🟡 ».
Now it's time for the Paraklet to clear up a misunderstanding: ṢeLaʕ in Hebrew is not a RoCk, as usually translated. No, ṢeLaʕ isn't a SaLient, it's a hollow, a SPLiT, a cave, where you can take SheLTeR! And in Numbers 20:8-11, it's not a rock that Moses STRiKes to get WaTeR, but a CReViCe containing a SPRiNG. And hollows should never be struck with STiCks.
In Arabic, WaSaʕa means VaST, SPaCious – something with a CaPaCiTy, something that iNCLuDes, in the sense of eNComPaSSing (and which is also Purple 🟣, yes Polisson). It's an all-encompassing attribute of Allah WaSiʕ - especially in Sura 2 of the Cow, Al Baqara.
This ever-eMPTy VoiD is found in SaWaĠa, which also means to SWaLLoW, and in yiShaḤ, especially in Micah 6:14 « You have been eating without getting your FiLL, And there is a gnawing at your vitals; You have been conceiving without BeaRing young, And what you bore I would deliver to the sword. »
The void is also called ShaRum in Akkadian, ShuWI in Egyptian. Whereas in Hebrew, ShaWʕ means (among other things) that which is VaiN, nothingness, as in Exodus 20.7 « You shall not swear falsely by the name of your God the Eternal; for the Eternal will not clear one who swears falsely by God’s name » « Yes, and ShaRum is also Green 🟢 and Black ⚫ and ShaWʕ is also Green 🟢, Red 🔴 and Black ⚫ ».
As you can see, « Sha » isn't just the planted salient stake, it's also the FuRRoW, the hollow, the void (in Grenoble « tchi » means nothing). Void like what's iNSiDe, the intimate (SeiN in French), ShaReR in Hebrew in Song of Solomon 7.3. The void is what the FuLL fills, and an archetype of this association is the SeaL, CaRVed in SoLiDs and hollows.
You see, our ancestors were generally FaSCiNated by the void, not just by caves. Especially in Asia. Let’s begin with Lao Tzu who has wonderful words about the void in his Chant 4
Tao is empty (like a BoWL). It may be uSed but its CaPaCiTy is never eXhauSTed It is BoTToMLeSS, perhaps the aNCeSToR of all Things.
Another Asian master fascinated by the void is Liezi, who also has wonderful words to talk about it in his chapter about Destiny.
When you use (the Tao), it fills all void; when put it aside, it can't be found anymore. It's not so far away that you need a rigorous SeaRCh to find it; but it's not so close that you can discover it by ChaNCe. It is ReaChed in SiLenCe; only he whose nature reaches PeRFection can reach it. The WiSe man who forgets his PaSSions, the one who does not use his talents, these ones hold true knowledge and true PoWeR. He who abolishes all knowledge within himself, how can he still be passionate? He who proves diminished in his talents, how can he still act? As for the one who GaTheRs the PReCious, he might as well gather DuST; even if he stays away from action, his principles remain FaLSe.