arak@ukc.UUCP (C.S.Welch) (02/11/85)
It's a little while since the discussion on the real and assumed
meaning of the word immolation, but I've finally managed to remember
where I first came upon the word, and the answer would appear to have
ome bearing on it's association with fire and flames in RPGs.
The writer Clark Ashton Smith published a story called "The City of the
Singing Flame" in 1931. I picked up on it in an anthology of his called
"Out of Space and Time" published in the U.K. in the middle seventies.
In this story, which to my mind is not one of his best, we find the
following passage.
"The throng of worshippers was larger than upon my first visit. The jet
of pure, incandescent flame was mounting steadily as we entered, and it
sang with the pure ardor and ecstasy of a star alone in space. Again,
with ineffable tones, it told me of the rapture of a moth-like death in
its lofty soaring, the exultation and triumph of a momentary union with
its elemental essence.
The flame rose to its apex; and even for me, the mesmeric lure was well
nigh irrestible. Many of our companions succumbed, and the first to
immolate himself was the giant lepidopterous being. Four others, of
diverse evolutional types, followed in appallingly quick sucession."
It seems to me that this shows a very early connection between the word
itelf and fire. Furthermore, if you were ignorant of the meaning of
the word, the context (moth-like death) could easily lead to you to
believe that immolation meant to immerse or cover yourself in flames,
albeit as a form of suicide. (That's what I did until I looked it up
the next day). It would be interesting to know if Gygax et al. ever
read CAS. I reckon it's exactly the sort of thing that would appeal to
the minds that unleashed D&D on an unsuspecting world :-)
"Not a lot of people know that"
Chris Welch
arak@ukc.UUCPjlg@lanl.ARPA (02/21/85)
resulting
flames will roast you.
J. Gilestom@uwai.UUCP (02/26/85)
> the next day). It would be interesting to know if Gygax et al. ever > read CAS. I reckon it's exactly the sort of thing that would appeal to > the minds that unleashed D&D on an unsuspecting world :-) > Yes, Gary certainly has read Clark Ashton Smith; in fact, it seems to me that he even cited him as a good source for a D&D campaign. (in the PHB?) tom -- Tom Christiansen University of Wisconsin Computer Science Systems Lab ...!{allegra,heurikon,ihnp4,seismo,uwm-evax}!uwvax!tom tom@wisc-ai.arpa