Seola
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| Author | Anne Eliza Smith |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Religious, Novel |
| Publisher | Lee and Shepard & Charles T. Dillingham |
| Released | 1878 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback) |
| ISBN | NA |
Seola is an antediluvian novel published in 1878, written by Anne Eliza Smith. The publishers of the novel are Boston: Lee and Shepard, New York: Charles T. Dillingham.
The majority of the novel purports to be a translation of an ancient scroll diary, written by the wife of Japheth. Japheth is one the three sons of Noah who survived the great deluge as depicted in the bible book of Genesis. Anne Smith describes how she was inspired to write the novel in the appendix of Seola. She writes:
"Seola is a fantasy, revealed to the writer while listening to the performance of an extraordinary musical composition. It was sudden and unforeseen as the landscape which sometimes appears to a benighted traveller, for one instant only, illumined by the lightning's flash.
It does not therefore pretend to be either history or theology, but yet the theory upon which the story is founded is in strict accordance with the sacred writings of the Hebrews and traditions of other ancient nations."
Some of her research into the ancient traditions of these nations can be found in her first published work entitled, From Dawn to Sunrise. The appendix and notes section at the end of the novel Seola explain certain passages within the story and how they are supported by real sacred texts.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
The greatest discovery of the nineteenth century is found by accident. A team of archaeologists uncover one of the most ancient burial tombs of all time. Inside the tomb they find something far greater than gold or gems, they find a diary of a person who lived more than four thousand years ago. The team pool all their knowledge together in order to translate the scroll diary before it disintegrates in the foreign air. The beginning entry of the journal gave no doubt as to the era the individual claims to come from. The entry reads, “West Bank of the Euphrates, first moon-evening, after Adam, four cycles”. The author of the journal identifies herself as Seola, daughter of Aleemon and Lebuda. Her father was the son of Lamech and his father was Methuselah. Aleemon had a passion for study and the preservation of historical records. This desire kept him near a grand city which contained a wealth of knowledge on the history of the world written down on scrolls. The city’s name was Sippara and it was also known as the city of the Sun. This desire also endangered the lives of his family. It so happened that the city was the royal seat of the one who ruled the planet. This ruler was known as Lucifer the Light Bearer, King of the Sun. He and his kind were ruling the earth for over 1100 years, since the days of Jared. These beings were known as the Devas. The Devas were angelic spirit beings that materialized into human form. Their superior powers enabled them to dominate and instill fear into the human race. They sought after the most beautiful women of mankind and took them as wives. Through the union of the mortal female and the angelic being came male children of large stature. These offspring were known as the Darvands. The Darvands were ruthless bullies with strength that none could match.
Seola begins her journal at the request of her father. Her first entries are common and uneventful because the family has been relocated to an isolated section of the forest away from Sippara and their life is peaceful with the isolation. The tranquility eventually comes to an end because the Devas discover their private sanctuary. The threat to the family is neither by wealth or possession but by way of beauty.
[edit] Plot summary
The diary of Seola is about a girl's struggle to resist a wicked world. Her resolve to remain loyal to God is so strong she influences a fallen angel to repentance. The diary is unique because it gives a detailed account on how the Great Deluge started. One of the planets in the solar system becomes unstable and its destruction causes the waters above the expanse to fall.
[edit] Miscellanea
Seola was revised in 1924 by an unknown author and retitled to the name Angels and Women.
There is a unique mystery to be found with the Journal of Seola. Rene Noorbergen published a work on ancient civilizaions in the year 1977 and titled it "Secrets of the Lost Races." He made mention of a rumor that spread around 1950. Months prior to the Oriental Archaeological Research Expedition to the supposed location of Noah's Ark on top of Mount Ararat, two individuals expressed their interest in an ancient diary supposedly in the posssession of a masonic order. Dr. Philip Gooch told the expedition leader Aaron J. Smith that the ancient diary gave details of the events leading up to the deluge. He said it was written by Noah's daughter-in-law who was in fact the wife of Japheth. The author of the Journal called herself Amoela and she claims to have been a student of Methuselah. He taught her about the history that transpired from the creation of Adam to the deluge. Her youngest son Javan placed the completed scroll diary in his mother's tomb after she died in the 547th year of her life. The diary was placed in an crystal quartz case with tempered gold hinges and clasps. The crystal case was found by a high ranking Mason in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The original and the translation of the diary were stored in an unknown Masonic Lodge. After the death of Dr. Gooch the research of the diary became an unsolved mystery to this day.
The mystery doesn't have to end there. There happens to be a Chaldean legend written by the Babylonian named Berossus. He claims that a man named Noa was compelled to build an ark to save his household from an impending disaster. Noa dwelt in Syria with his sons Sem, Japet, Chem and their wives Tidea, Pandora, Noela, and Noegla (one of these being Noa's wife.) There is reason to believe that Japet's (Japheth) wife could have been Noela. It is possible that the name Amolea is a distorted form of the name Noela. The biblical account of Genesis gives no clue as to the names of the the wives of the four men, however Berosus mentions all four by name. The male names mentioned by Berossus are very close to the names given in Genesis. It is possible that he could have been right with the names of the wives. Berossus picked up that information from a reliable source of his time. Is it possible that the scroll diary has some truth to it?
The name used in Seola is deliberate by Mrs. J. G. Smith. She said she was compelled to give that name to her main character because of its Norse meaning as the word Soul. It is possible that Mrs. Smith saw the name Noela or Amolea in some literature and prefered to give the character a more poetic name for her novel.
Here's an interesting comparison of the three works relating to the ancient diary:
1. Seola (published in 1878) Javan mentions her death at 800 years of age.
2. Aloma (published in 1924 as Angels and Women) Javan mentions her death at 500 years of age.
3. Amoela (published in ?) Javan mentions her death at 547 years of age.
What is interesting is that the secret masonic diary has a very specific age of death compared to the other two. Mrs. Smith mentions that the scroll diary was also discovered near the end of the nineteenth century. She writes, "North Syrian Mts., May 23, 18--." For some reason she doesn't specify the year of its discovery in her novel. She also leaves out a name of one of the expedition leaders. She describes him as Monsieur S-----. Strange that she leaves these details out only.
