AN: About a year ago, the thought occurred to me that no one had written a needlessly complex philosophical discussion about the nature of Ideya, disguised as an obscure religious text. Clearly, something had to be done about this. Taking the task in hand, I reached down into the most pretentious and pseudo-intellectual depths of my soul and produced this, the Book of Idedynam.
Modeled after the Bhagavad Gita, more impossible to read than the Apocrypha, the Book of Idedynam is more than a work of fan fiction. It is a pile of steaming 'pian crap. I am not proud of what I have done. I am extremely proud of it. Please enjoy it, if such a thing is possible.
Complete versions of the Book of Idedynam (as the title appears on most texts) have existed in European monastic libraries as far back as 1000 C.E. Until recently, it was assumed to have originated shortly before that period and to have been written by an ecstatic monk of an unknown order.
In the 1900s, however, a complete Arabic text was discovered in the ruins of Istanbul, among Arabic versions of Greek philosophic works. Scholars date this version as three hundred years older than the European. On this basis of this apparently translated version, some scholars began to place the book's conception at least as far back as the Athenian period.
Most recently, a fragment of pottery containing a passage similar to the fourth section was found in the Indus valley. Carbon dating indicated that the fragment was older than Sumerian cuneiform, perhaps as old as written language itself. Scholars still debate over whether this fragment is earliest version of this book or simply a source which its author drew upon.
What follows is T.A. Anderson's translation of the Arabic text, considered by many to be the most reliable English translation.
Hope to the hopeless, strength to the fearful, and grace and peace from the Lord of Worlds.
A traveler in a red cloak set out from his home city to bury his dead father. The road between the cities wound through a forest haunted by dark creatures. To pass the time, the traveler began to read from one of the holy books:
"Red for Courage; Courage bleeds,
White for Pure heart's noble needs.
Blue for Knowledge, Heaven's birth,
Green for Wisdom of the Earth.
Yellow Sun brings Hope of Day,
Colors five drive fears away."
A beggar in a white cloak heard the traveler and ran out to meet him. He asked the traveler if he could join him on his journey, for he was too weak and old to walk it alone. Now the traveler was very devout, so he dared not refuse to help a poor old man.
By and by, the hermit became tired and could go no further. But the traveler was determined to continue, so he picked up the old man and began to carry him on his back. The hermit was moved by the traveler's kindness, and asked him where his great strength came from.
Said the traveler, "The holy books all say that Courage is enough to see us through any trouble. Though the road we walk is long and painful, Courage gives us the strength to continue, because it cannot be taken from us."
Said the old man, "How can this be? How can anyone continue without Hope? Is it possible to remain strong if there is no reason to continue on the path? We must put our Hope, our faith into something. We believe we should continue, because. Hope is the substance of things known, but not seen."
"Even so, Hope and faith can be put into the wrong things. That is why we also need Wisdom. A man may know that the sun rises and the sun sets, but only Wisdom can tell him that the night is more dangerous than the day. Some paths lead to destruction and others to life. Wisdom cries out to you, teaching lessons in the lives of those who walked before you. Wisdom is how we know which path to walk."
"And Wisdom is nothing without Intelligence, knowledge. Wisdom can tell us that the night is more dangerous, but through Intelligence we know that it is not the sun that moves, but our world. Through this knowledge, we learn things that lead to greater Wisdom. Wisdom lets us know which road to walk, but Intelligence gives us the practical knowledge we need to survive the journey."
AN PS: So, the quote from the 'holy book' is from a longer poem already posted on I don't think that this counts as reposting, as I'm only quoting part of it...anyways...here's hoping.
The 'history' of the book is complete rubbish made up at 3 in the morning.The word 'idedynam' comes from the Greek bases IDE- (thought, idea) and DYN(AM)- (force, power).It was meant to sound like an outdated, ancient scholarly term for Ideya. Does it?