Revelation 6:8

Webster's Bible Translation:
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him. And power was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Other translations of this particular passage can be found here - it's really interesting to see the small variations. Personally, I like the Webster's Bible translation best, though I prefer the use of "Hades" instead of "hell". I think, following the version above, I like the New International Version best. Any thoughts?

Psychopomps

Existing in many religions, a psychopomp is a figure that escorts newly deceased souls to the afterlife, and has been portrayed in many different ways. In Egyptian mythology, for example, Anubis is a jackal-headed god, being depicted as a protector of graves, an embalmer, and the god who not only ushers souls into the afterlife, but also weighs their hearts to determine whether the soul will be allowed to enter the realm of the dead.

Depicted (clockwise) above are several psychopomps: Hermes, an Olympian god from Greek mythology, Mercury, the Roman deity, Anubis, mentioned above, a horse, raven, whip-poor-will, cuckoo, owl, crow, sparrow, and hart. There are many other psychopomps (such as the Welsh Gwyn ap Nudd / Arawn), and in several cultures dead relatives (parents, siblings, forefathers) function as psychopomps.

The word psychopomp originates from the Greek word psuchopompus (ψυχοπομπός), which literally means "guide of souls", and when the depiction is of birds, they are often seen in huge masses, waiting outside the home of the dying. On perhaps an unrelated note, feel free to take a minute to read The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. One could imagine that the raven is a psychopomp who carried away the soul of "the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore"...

Siddhartha

Today I came across a great piece of literature, and devoured it within a matter of hours. Exquisitely written (and translated), the novel I speak of is Siddhartha, Eine indische Dichtung by Hermann Hesse.

I came across the English translation online and found myself drawn in by it, and welcome you to read it as well! It is the tale of an Indian man on his way to enlightenment, to reach the state of Buddha. The entire novel is uploaded here for our enjoyment, and contemplation. I myself am not a Buddhist, but the novel is deep and thought-provoking, following the life of Siddhartha as he searches the way through various teachings, from the ascetics through the worldly teachings of a courtesan to the simple life of a ferryman, and at last finds enlightenment.

The world, my friend Govinda, is not imperfect, or
on a slow path towards perfection: no, it is perfect in every moment,
all sin already carries the divine forgiveness in itself, all small
children already have the old person in themselves, all infants already
have death, all dying people the eternal life. It is nor possible for
any person to see how far another one has already progressed on his
path; in the robber and dice-gambler, the Buddha is waiting; in the
Brahman, the robber is waiting. In deep meditation, there is the
possibility to put time out of existence, to see all life which was,
is, and will be as if it was simultaneous, and there everything is
good, everything is perfect, everything is Brahman. Therefore, I see
whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness,
wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as it is, everything only
requires my consent, only my willingness, my loving agreement, to be
good for me, to do nothing but work for my benefit, to be unable to ever
harm me. I have experienced on my body and on my soul that I needed sin
very much, I needed lust, the desire for possessions, vanity, and needed
the most shameful despair, in order to learn how to give up all
resistance, in order to learn how to love the world, in order to stop
comparing it to some world I wished, I imagined, some kind of perfection
I had made up, but to leave it as it is and to love it and to enjoy
being a part of it.--These, oh Govinda, are some of the thoughts which
have come into my mind.

I do highly recommend it, and am glad that I came across such an interesting piece of work today. I also read two short stories by O'Henry, of which I preferred the story The Last Leaf. It's... bittersweet.
So today was a very constructive day in terms of reading good literature! Have you read anything interesting lately? There's so much left for me to read and discover, but I find that I like these unexpected gems best.