Awake!, May 22, 1975

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Awake! — May 22, 1975

Source: jw.org

Contents

Can You Find Security amid Economic Gloom?

Kidnappings—Life in the Balance!

A Language That Is Radically Different

I Was a Palatine Guard

How Does Africa Count?

Mrs. Spider Spins Her Web

The Honeybees’ “Housing Crisis”

Why Be Concerned About the Elderly?

Is Religious “Ecstasy” an Evidence of God’s Spirit Today?

Watching the World

Bible History Comes Alive

Could the World’s End Be Near?

Can You Find Security amid Economic Gloom?

HUMAN society today is experiencing increasing anxieties; and this despite amazing technological achievements. Among the chief reasons for this are economic woes. These have multiplied rapidly, plaguing people with uneasiness, tension and gloom.

The tone and content of recent statements made by economists, consumer group spokesmen, and political, business and labor leaders are alarming. Some even fear a complete economic collapse in Western countries.

But why has the economic picture become so troublesome? What can you do to find security amid economic gloom?

The Toll of Inflation

Basic to economic gloom in Western nations is inflation, which refers to a general increase in prices when the buying power of people exceeds the supply of available goods. For a while this may lead to an economic boom, creating more jobs. But eventually serious problems develop. Why so?

Many factors are involved. But one important reason is that much of the buying power of people rests in borrowed money. There comes a day when people realize that they are deeply in debt. High interest rates and devalued currency may make further borrowing out of the question. They cut back on buying. A lessened demand for many commodities causes industry to reduce production, which may lead to massive unemployment.

This is the situation that many countries find themselves in today. With regard to economic conditions, news sources in the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain and South America use expressions like “‘catastrophe’ of inflation,” and “gloom all around.”

Especially hard hit in the United States recently was the automobile industry. A prolonged sales slump triggered huge layoffs, idling hundreds of thousands of auto workers. The United States unemployment figure then stood at some 7,500,000 persons, fully 8.2 percent of the total work force. “Frightening” and “without parallel” is the way some described the sudden and rapid downturn.

Inflation, like a malignant growth, eats its way into the whole fabric of society. It threatens international trade, monetary exchange, the stability of wage and price levels, savings, investments, individual, business and national solvency, social security and a host of government programs for the needy, such as lower-cost school lunches and food stamps for the poor.

How has all of this affected John Q. Public? U.S. News & World Report remarked: “Inflation . . . now is devouring family savings, putting familiar pleasures out of reach, spreading insecurity.” A survey taken in late 1974 “found consumers in a gloomier mood than at any time since . . . 1946.”

Why have solutions proposed by the experts failed to dispel inflation? It is because inflation is merely a symptom of a more basic cause of economic woes. What is that?

What Prompts Inflation?

In an article entitled “Inflation and Deflation,” written for World Book Encyclopedia, professor of economics Kenneth E. Boulding explains that, when people have money to spend, “they turn to shops and stores, looking for things to buy that they have always wanted.” If industry is not producing enough of these desired items (as during a time of war), “the prices of goods are bound to rise as people bid against each other for the small supply that is available.” Thus it is that inflation springs from the desire of people to accumulate material things excessively. And many of these things are luxury items that have little or no practical value.

All too often this desire for material things is so overwhelming that people go deeply into debt. A ‘live now, get now, pay later’ attitude inclines them to buy on credit and to live beyond their means. An article on credit counseling that appeared in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner reported that the national indebtedness of families and single persons in the United States reached “an all-time record of $820 billion.” The article added that Los Angeles area residents are “rushing to take on new credit, some going deeper and deeper into the hole.”

Of course, it is not likely that the majority of people will curb their desire for material possessions. But you do not have to imitate their selfish course. Getting a balanced view of material things can help you to find security amid increasing economic gloom.

A Balanced View of Material Things

Persons throughout the world, whether claiming to be Christians or not, recognize that Jesus Christ possessed outstanding wisdom and insight. Jesus warned concerning an inordinate desire for material things: “Guard against every sort of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.”—Luke 12:15.

This does not mean that possessions are bad in themselves, or that there is something amiss with living comfortably. The thing to avoid is “covetousness,” which means being “inordinately desirous” of material things.

It will help toward balance for one to reflect on how shallow placing one’s trust in material possessions can be. Have not many individuals “put a little aside” in a savings account for years, only to find that soaring prices and inflated, devalued money have decimated what little they had? If you happen to live on a fixed income, you know all too well the disappointments of putting trust in the value of money.

But what if you have a good job and your wages keep going up to meet the rise in prices? Here, too, there is need for balance. Have you considered, for example, how quickly things can change? The Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin explained: “All over people are beginning to worry about their jobs. And they should. Both because job security is in no way ironclad and because a little thought now could pay dividends later. It’s bad enough to be axed from your job these days. It’s still worse to be caught by complete surprise.”

This is indeed a critical problem. Reduced sales volume and serious shortages are forcing thousands of businesses to shut their doors each year. An executive of an international management consulting firm noted: “In times like these, too many people keep their heads in the sand, feeling it just can’t happen to me, and this is particularly true of people who have been with the same organization for years and years.” When one of Chrysler’s Detroit plants was threatened with permanent shutdown, an employee exclaimed: “I’m kind of scared about this. I’ve got six kids and just bought a new car. If I lose my job, what am I going to do?”

Real estate, too, seems to offer little in the way of security. Property owners suffer from heavy taxation, high maintenance costs, vandalism and inability of tenants to pay their rents.

Seeking security in material possessions amounts to leaning on a broken reed that offers no support. But there is a way to real security. What is that?

The Way to Real Security

The apostle Paul, at 1 Timothy 6:7, 8, makes a practical observation: “For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.” Would not contentment with what you already have ease economic anxiety for you? Probably you possess a number of things that you never use. Would it really hurt to curtail further unnecessary buying?

A person’s opinion of himself may be another factor that contributes to economic problems. Is it not true that much unemployment results from unwillingness on the part of many to do menial work or to work for less pay than they received on a previous job? If a job is needed, how foolish that attitude is! Might it not make more sense to lower one’s standard of living slightly than to remain stubbornly and unnecessarily unemployed? The apostle Paul, a man who learned from personal experience “both how to be full and how to hunger, both how to have an abundance and how to suffer want,” gave this sound counsel: “I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself than it is necessary to think.”—Rom. 12:3; Phil. 4:12.

Another statement of Jesus that can aid toward security in an economic pinch is found at Matthew 6:25, 32, 33: “Stop being anxious about your souls as to what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your bodies as to what you will wear. . . . For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” Hundreds of thousands of persons, both in ancient and in modern times, can testify to God’s ability and willingness to provide the necessities of life for those doing his will.

Seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness can contribute toward security even in an indirect way. How so? Because a person who applies Bible principles in his life becomes more diligent at his work. Instead of loafing on the job, stealing time from his employer, he obeys the counsel at Ephesians 4:28: “Let the stealer steal no more, but rather let him do hard work, doing with his hands what is good work.” Employers will often be reluctant do dismiss or lay off such a worker.

The Bible provides further basis for security in that it foretold the present “critical times hard to deal with,” including severe economic woes, as a sign of “the last days” of the present system of things. (2 Tim. 3:1; Matt. 24:7, 8; Rev. 6:5, 6) Soon, as the inspired Scriptures promise, a new system will obtain earth wide in which economic woes will be gone forever.—2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1-4.

Would you like to enjoy the security of that new system free of economic gloom? Jehovah’s witnesses will be glad to help you to meet God’s requirements for this by conducting a free home Bible study with you.

[Picture on page 3]

The Wall Street Journal, December 12, 1974

Economic Blight Spreads Over Europe;

Jobless Millions Cause Grave Concern

New York Times, February 13, 1975

Inflation’s Grip Tightens on Poor

The Detroit News, December 5, 1974

Conditions in U.S., Japan cited

Global recession feared in ʹ75

The Jerusalem Post, December 12, 1974

No cure in sight for ailing world economy

Kidnappings—Life in the Balance!

NOWHERE does the value of a single life seem more apparent than when a kidnapping occurs. Relatives, friends, sometimes whole nations become galvanized with fear for the life of the hostage. A mood of helplessness and angry frustration prevails. Heroic efforts to meet the kidnapper’s demands are made. Money becomes almost meaningless compared to the value of that one life.

Typical is the view expressed in a New York Times editorial: “As long as the victims’ lives are in danger, efforts to save them are paramount. . . . The first priority must go to saving innocent lives.” Thus authorities usually stay in the background to avoid jeopardizing delicate negotiations for release. And what relief and joy if the victim is released unharmed!

In a few short years, the world has plunged into what some are calling “the age of the kidnapper.” Kidnapping and its more recent counterpart—hostage taking—have suddenly mushroomed world wide. Argentina’s first kidnapping in thirty-five years occurred in 1968. There were two in 1969. But by 1973, they were averaging about ten a week! Ransoms totaled over $50 million that year. One abducted American businessman alone brought his captors more than $14 million.

“About the only growth industry” on the troubled Italian economic scene “is kidnapping,” observes Time magazine wryly. In fact, “kidnapping has become a very profitable industry,” says a member of Italy’s parliament. “In the last five years kidnappers have raked in $24.5-million, no less than $8-million in 1974 alone.”

Other nations around the globe have experienced rapid growth of kidnappings and hostage takings within their borders; but the problem is also international. Abductors now strike almost anywhere in the world. Why do they use such methods?

Why Kidnappings?

What many authorities long feared has taken place. Frustrated political groups seeking a hearing have discovered that kidnapping and hostage taking are ideal political weapons. When certain lives are at stake, they have found, there is little that families or authorities will not do to save them. Modern communications make these incidents into world events that are seen on television screens by countless millions. Thus the abductor’s cause gets global attention far more effectively than any number of less spectacular efforts.

What is most important to political extremists is that it seems to work. It seems to them that the more spectacular the act, the more likely the world is to discuss their grievances and exert pressure on their political opponents. Publicity spreads the word. Success of one group stimulates similar groups in other lands to use the same methods. “When spectacular terror succeeds,” notes the Long Island Sunday Press, “it is almost certain to be repeated, and a self-feeding phenomenon is in motion.”

Viewing the success of political opportunists, common criminals—seeing a way to make easy money with little risk—go into the same business. “We haven’t paid a bank [robbery] claim in the last two years,” says a Buenos Aires insurance man. “The robbers are all into kidnapping.”

To curb the trend, many believe that kidnappings should not be given so much publicity. “Publicity just leads to planting the idea in some [deranged person’s] brain,” declares a U.S. police official. The fact that such acts often come in waves, after a widely publicized incident, seems to bear this out. But others fear the implications of curbing freedom of the press in any way. “Suppression of news, even of the most shocking sort, is the handmaiden of tyranny,” writes the editor of U.S. News & World Report.

Some have even suggested making it a federal crime to pay a kidnapper’s ransom demands. The “family or any others who pay ransom are simply advertising that kidnapping pays,” declares a prominent U.S. government adviser. “They are thereby inadvertently involving countless other innocents in ordeals of terror.”

But others say: Consider the consequences of such a move. Would heartsick relatives of the hostage even notify officials if there were such a law? Would they not be tempted to handle the matter themselves to save their loved one, leaving authorities out altogether? Thus, some observe, enforcement efforts might be thwarted still more.

“Siege Mentality”

Government impotence at curbing the rising tide of criminal and political kidnappings has created a climate of fear among their prime targets—the wealthy and representatives of foreign corporations. Kidnappers have discovered that an executive’s corporation is a sort of “substitute family” that can be forced to pay even higher ransom demands than a wealthy person’s own family.

But they continue to prey on the local wealthy as well. “A siege mentality pervades the millionaire families that dominate local society” in Monterrey, Mexico, reports the New York Times. They have “quietly dropped from the social circuit.” Established life patterns have been changed. Potential victims are no longer free to come and go as they please. Daily schedules have to be varied, different routes taken to work—anything to avoid the habitual patterns for which kidnappers look. Some prosperous people in the north of Italy are reportedly sending their children to school in nearby Switzerland, hoping that they will be safe there.

In some places homes are made into fortresses with shatterproof glass in windows, barbed wire topping surrounding walls, all-night floodlights and patrolling armed guards. Automobiles are armored against bullets. Many hire bodyguards with the latest automatic weapons. Says one American businessman in Argentina: “Fear overshadows everything. I spend more time on safety than I do with [the business].” Another says: “It costs my company $5000 a month just to protect me and my family.”

Thus, aside from the direct cost of ransom payments, kidnapping and hostage taking create a huge burden of related security costs. Private security agencies that supply bodyguards and other protective services report big increases in their business world wide. Kidnap insurance sales are booming. One prominent international company reportedly offers a $1-million policy for about $500 annually if the insured pays the first $2,500 of the ransom. Of course, insured persons would be prime targets for kidnappers were it not for the fact that names are kept completely confidential.

Specially trained anti-kidnap dogs are in demand. One Italian kennel owner who trains killer guard dogs says: “I have already sold trained Alsatian dogs to top company executives, industrialists, actors and professional men and the demand is still growing.” The dogs, costing from $1,600 to $4,800, are trained to attack anyone who assaults their master. They can kill the attacker if not stopped, according to the trainer. One California firm has sold hundreds of guard dogs at $2,500 apiece.

With all the precautions, though, is one safe? A police officer assigned to a highly publicized U.S. kidnapping made this sobering comment: “What you have to realize is that if someone really wants to kidnap a person, that there’s just not much anybody can do to stop it.”

Similarly, an American diplomat, who was kidnapped in Mexico and released after the kidnappers’ demands were met, gave this advice to students at the American Graduate School of International Management: “A lot of people asked about carrying firearms and so forth. I think that’s foolish and ridiculous. You’re so outmanned and outarmed that it wouldn’t do you any good.”

Political activists seem bent on using this most powerful weapon to the limit. A spokesman for one international security firm predicts that his line of business is the wave of the future: “Never before in the history of man have we seen the types of violence, the animalistic acts that we are going to see soon in our society.” Surely mankind is feeling “the increasing of lawlessness” that the Bible predicts would mark “the last days” of this failing global “system of things.”—Matt. 24:3, 12; 2 Tim. 3:1.

A Balanced View of Life

There is something else to think about: Does it not strike you as strange that people are so appalled with threats to the lives of kidnap victims or hostages, yet countless other persons daily threatened with death are almost unnoticed?

Think of the millions who are starving at this very moment—what makes their lives less valuable? Abortions continually snuff out numerous young lives; multitudes are not just kidnapped, but murdered every day around the globe. And what of the myriads already slaughtered and now being killed in this generation’s wars? These lives usually pass with hardly a ripple.

Politics, crime and moral expediency have made life very cheap, while, paradoxically, threats to certain lives cause a terrific furor. As one person put it: “People will give millions to save one life, but very little to save millions of lives!” Do not such lopsided values reveal that there is something very amiss with the worldwide system of things that has produced them?

That is why only the complete global change promised by God can get mankind’s view of life back in balance. That change will necessarily be so sweeping that the Bible speaks of a “new earth” afterward, a new human society under new governmental arrangements, when the “former earth” and its cheap view of life will have “passed away.” Then the value placed on life by the great Life-Giver will prevail—bringing into reality the longed-for condition where “death will be no more.”—Rev. 21:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:13.

A Language That Is Radically Different

BY “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN HONG KONG

INSTEAD of simply learning twenty-six letters as in the English alphabet, how would you like to memorize thousands of picturelike characters? How would you like to write a letter, not by typing at speeds of fifty to eighty words per minute, but by laboriously drawing each character by hand? This is part of learning Chinese, both written and spoken.

Chinese is reputedly one of the oldest languages in the world, and perhaps the most difficult. The difficulty lies mainly in the fact that the Chinese language does not have an alphabet. Instead, it has thousands of different characters. While a standard dictionary for high school students may contain only about 10,000 characters, a comprehensive dictionary contains over 40,000. However, it is generally estimated that if a person knows from 3,000 to 4,000 characters, he should do reasonably well in reading publications of general interest.

Characters are the basic units or symbols of the written language and are all monosyllabic. While each has its own meaning, two or more characters may be combined to form new words. For example, the character “ren” [Art Work—Chinese Character] by itself means “a human”; when combined with the character “min” [Art Work—Chinese Character], the resulting word “ren min” means people of a country. “Ren” can also be combined with two other characters “jiann” (see, [Art Work—Chinese Character]) and “jeng” (prove, [Art Work—Chinese Character]) to form the word “jiann jeng ren” [Art Work—Chinese Characters], meaning a witness. In the language spoken today, usually two or three separate characters are required to denote a single concept or term.

Most Chinese characters are made up of (1) the radical, which often provides a hint to the meaning, and (2) the phonetic, which gives a key to pronunciation. For example, the “heart” radical [Art Work—Chinese Character] or [Art Work—Chinese Character] is found in characters that express thoughts, emotions, personal characteristics and the like. There are 214 radicals listed in most dictionaries, while the number of phonetics varies according to the preference of the individual scholar. Though such phonetics originally were used to indicate the pronunciation of the word, owing to changes in pronunciation over the years, these are no longer reliable. Thus you may find that two characters with the same phonetic part have no similarity at all in their pronunciation nowadays.

The Chinese Writing

Though living in a land where another language is used, you may very well have seen Chinese writings somewhere, perhaps on signs outside a Chinese shop. To you, they may look like some weird drawings. As a matter of fact, a number of characters were originally drawings or pictographs of things they represent, although today the resemblance cannot be seen. For example, the word for sun was originally a circle with a curved line across it [Art Work—Chinese Character], while the present form is a rectangle with a stroke across the middle [Art Work—Chinese Character]. The character for river was originally three curved lines [Art Work—Chinese Character], obviously depicting the meandering of streams, but now the character has become just three straight lines. Sometimes two characters written in proportion are combined to form a new character representing abstract ideas. Thus the one character for brightness [Art Work—Chinese Character] is formed by combining the two characters for sun [Art Work—Chinese Character] and moon [Art Work—Chinese Character]. The word for “good” [Art Work—Chinese Character] is made up of the characters for female [Art Work—Chinese Character] and child [Art Work—Chinese Character], thus revealing the high regard the ancient Chinese had for family life. But the majority of the characters are formed by combining a radical with a phonetic.

When you examine the Chinese characters, you may notice that they are made up of different strokes. According to W. Simon in his book How to Study and Write Chinese Characters, there are at least fifteen different strokes. The number of strokes in a character can be as few as one to as many as thirty-five or more.

Using a Chinese Dictionary

Since one usually has little idea of how an unknown word should be pronounced, the best way to make sure is to consult a dictionary rather than making a guess. A number of different systems for arrangement of characters are in use. The most popular system arranges the characters according to their radicals and number of strokes. Thus you must first be thoroughly familiar with writing the characters and recognizing the radicals.

The characters in the dictionary are arranged under the radical they contain and the radicals are arranged according to the number of strokes, which may be from one to seventeen. So, you first must decide which of the 214 radicals is contained in the word and then count the number of strokes in the radical. Complicated? Well, finding the radical is not always a simple matter either, so most dictionaries give a list of characters the radicals of which are difficult to find. These are arranged according to the number of strokes they have.

Another difficulty is that some words may contain two or even three parts, each of which is a radical. So after trying in vain to locate it under one radical grouping, you must look under another radical grouping. The matter of finding the right radical is further complicated by the fact that the position of the radical in characters varies. It can be at the right, left, top, bottom or even right in the middle.

Once you have found the right radical, then you count the number of strokes in the rest of the character, as all characters having the same radical are arranged according to the number of strokes they have, excluding the strokes of the radicals. This is further complicated when one stroke appears to be two. Thus it can readily be seen that it is quite a laborious task to look up words in a Chinese dictionary.

The Spoken Language

Foreigners learning to speak Chinese often have trouble with the so-called tones, which are inflections of the voice, serving the purpose of distinguishing one word from another. In the national language of China, called Mandarin, there are four tones, namely, the upper even, lower even, rising, departing, though some authorities add a fifth, the entering.a But in Cantonese, a dialect spoken in Canton and Hong Kong, there are nine tones. The difference between one tone and another is usually very small and difficult for foreign students to distinguish. However, the slight difference in pronunciation sometimes can mean a world of difference in meaning. For example, in Mandarin the word for “lord” is “chu3,” while the word for “pig” is “chu1.” So when a foreigner wants to say “tien chu3” (heavenly lord, the term Chinese Catholics use to refer to God), if he is not sure of the right tone, he can easily say “tien chu1” and refer to a heavenly pig instead, much to the puzzlement or amusement of the Chinese listener. Understandably, a foreigner learning the language must keep his sense of humor to avoid discouragement.

This peculiarity of the Chinese language—a great number of words having very similar or identical pronunciation—makes it very difficult for foreigners to master. For example, in Mandarin there are 69 words pronounced as i (short), 7 of which are in tone 1 (upper even), 17 in tone 2 (lower even), 7 in tone 3 (rising) and 38 in tone 4 (departing). While in English two different words with identical pronunciation, such as dear and deer, are exceptions, in Chinese they are extremely common. So when listening to Chinese being spoken, one has to rely heavily on the context to decide the meaning of the words used.

As expected in a big country like China, there are scores of dialects spoken by the people in different parts of the country. In some parts of the country, especially in the south, a traveler may come across different dialects in villages only a few miles apart. Sometimes even people of neighboring villages may have difficulty in understanding one another. Some dialects are similar to one another, such as the ones spoken in northern China, while others do not even sound remotely similar, such as the Cantonese dialect and the Shanghai dialect. These two dialects are completely different not only in their vocabulary, but also in the pronunciation of various characters used in the written language. Also, some dialect words are only spoken but have no written form. Indeed, but for the written language, people from different parts of China would have serious difficulty in understanding one another. Fortunately and amazingly, although the Chinese speak many widely different dialects, they all read one common language, the written Mandarin. With the exception of the Mandarin-speaking persons, all Chinese speak one way and write another way. But if two Chinese cannot speak with each other understandably, they can at least communicate in writing.

Efforts at Reform

Because the Chinese is such a difficult language to learn, especially for foreigners, in modern times efforts have been repeatedly made to simplify it by various methods. Some advocate simplifying the characters, as Communist China has done, so that they can be learned more easily. However, such effort is not at all favored by the Nationalist government in Taiwan, nor by the more conservative-minded and older Chinese. Others have tried romanization, replacing the characters with romanized letters. The first ones to do this were the Catholic missionaries who came to China during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 C.E.). But the literature they wrote in romanized letters was used only by the missionaries themselves. In the nineteenth century, missionaries of Christendom translated the Bible into a number of dialects, such as the Soochow, Shanghai, Ningpo, Amoy and Cantonese dialects, in romanized letters. In 1867, the English scholar T. F. Wade published his own system of romanization, which has been widely used by writers of Chinese textbooks and dictionaries.

Then in 1918 the Chinese government published a set of forty phonetic symbols to help readers to pronounce the characters correctly. These are printed alongside the characters instead of replacing the latter. This phonetic system is used simply as an aid to pronunciation and is not meant to take the place of characters.

In 1934 a Latinized Chinese alphabet was published. It was a rather simple system without any attempt to indicate the particular tones of the words. As a result, it could easily cause confusion and did not prove to be very popular with the people. It has since gone into complete oblivion. Attempts have also been made by Communist China to Latinize the Chinese language, but the matter is still very much in the experimental stage.

Future Prospects

Though repeated efforts have been made to simplify the Chinese language or even change to an alphabetic style, so far such efforts have not achieved any great success. The one peculiarity of the Chinese language mentioned previously, that it has so many words with very similar or even identical pronunciation, certainly makes it very difficult to be expressed clearly and accurately in an alphabetic style. Besides, it would understandably be a formidable task to change the vast amount of classical literature into a romanized language, not to mention teaching 800,000,000 persons a new method! This may partly explain why the Chinese people are still content to use their very difficult language and have their children spend many long hours copying, reciting and memorizing the thousands of characters needed to be literate.

Looking at the hundreds of languages spoken in different parts of the earth, one can readily see how all these different languages have been a divisive force in preventing free communication among the inhabitants of the earth. One only needs to travel to a foreign land without knowing its language to realize how helpless and frustrated one can feel when not able to understand what people say and when not understood by them.

In the interest of free communication among all men, it would certainly be a great blessing if all mankind would speak just one common language. But how could this be done in a world that is becoming increasingly nationalistic and divided?

Happily, though such a task seems to be beyond man’s ability to accomplish, it is not impossible for mankind’s Creator, Jehovah God, to achieve. In fact, it is his expressed will that, in the very near future, all mankind will be united under the righteous and perfect government of God’s kingdom in the hands of his Son Jesus Christ. Then we can reasonably hope to see all mankind speaking one common language that can express their thoughts and feelings perfectly.

[Chart on page 10]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

CHINESE CHARACTERS WITH ALPHABETIC EQUIVALENTS AND ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Yeh1 Ho2 Hua2 shih4 wo3 ti1

Je- ho- vah is my

muh4 jeh3 wo3 bih4 pu1 tsyh4

shep- herd, I shall not

chiue1 far2 Shyh1 pian1 23:1.

want. Psalm 23:1.

[Footnotes]

The different tones are indicated by either tone number or tone signs. There are several systems in use. For example, one tone-number system uses the number 1 to represent the upper even tone, 2 for the lower even, 3 for rising, 4 for departing. This is the system used in this article.

I Was a Palatine Guard

PERHAPS you never knew that the pope has an army. But it is true. For nine years I served in the Vatican military as a member of the Palatine Guard of Honor.

Of course, the pope does not have a regular army, as popes used to. Pope Julius II in the early sixteenth century would assume personal command of his army and lead it into battle. Also, the Roman Catholic Church in the past maintained religious military orders. Of these, The Catholic Encyclopedia says: “These orders surpassed, in that cohesiveness which is the ideal of every military organization, the most famous bodies of picked soldiery known to history.”—1911, Vol. X, page 307.

So it should not really surprise anyone that the modern-day state of Vatican City would also have a militia.

Recent Military Organization

Of the four armed corps that the Vatican has maintained in recent years, the Swiss Guard is probably best known. Since 1505, when Pope Julius II made a treaty with the Swiss to supply constantly 250 men as his bodyguard, a corps of Swiss military have attended the pope. In August 1959 Pope John XXIII reorganized the corps to include a number of officers, two drummers, a chaplain, and seventy guards.

The Noble Guard apparently once had even greater prestige, since The Catholic Encyclopedia called it the “most distinguished corps of the papal military service.” It was formed in 1801. The Papal Gendarmes and the Palatine Guard completed the pope’s defense corps.

The Palatine Guard of Honor was formed in 1850 by Pope Pius XI. He decreed that two existing bodies of militia be united into one body under this new name. Prior to 1870 the Palatine Guard was assigned military operations in war, but afterward their functions were largely ceremonial.

From 1968 to 1971, however, the Noble Guard, Palatine Guard and the gendarmerie were dissolved. So the Swiss Guard alone remains of the Vatican military.

Why I Wanted to Join

My father had been a member of the Palatine Guard for about thirty years, a position of which he and my mother were very proud. And so they desired that I follow the family tradition. But there were other reasons I wanted to join.

I had drifted away from religion in my teens, being deeply influenced by the evolutionary training that I had received in school. So I felt that if I were in close contact with the most prominent religious leaders in the world, including the pope himself, my faith in God might be strengthened.

Also, I must admit, another reason for wanting to join was the esteem and glamour associated with the position. As one of the Palatine Guard a person could meet many famous people and enjoy a place of prominence at important religious functions.

Acceptance

So in 1960, at the age of eighteen, I submitted my application for admittance to the Palatine Guard. After being favorably recommended by my parish priest, I was called for a personal interview.

I remember well the anxiety I felt as I approached the imposing buildings of the Vatican. I entered the reception hall and before me was a long table. Behind it sat the Corps Commander, the Chaplain Colonel and four other persons. At one side of the room hung portraits of ten popes, and beside each of them a wrinkled flag in memory of past battles.

First I was asked some personal questions. Then the chaplain asked me to recite some Catholic prayers, such as the Apostles’ Creed, Act of Faith and Act of Hope. Having failed to pay close attention to religious instruction, I feared that my superficial knowledge would be noted. But my worries proved unfounded, since the interview was only a formality. About a month later, I was admitted to the Palatine Guard.

Training and Dress

After a brief religious service, my training started with about an hour’s lesson on religion. Then every Thursday I attended a course of religious instruction. I hoped that this would help me to grow in knowledge of God and that my doubts regarding his existence would be removed. But it was not to be so. In fact, Church dogmas that were taught us only increased my doubts.

However, I did enjoy the military training. In time, I was permitted to wear the impressive military uniform of the Palatine Guard. It included a black jacket, blue pants made from soft young beaver skin, a white belt, black shoes, and a rigid black hat with visor and a plume of red feathers. Other accessories included an assortment of thick golden cords, and showy golden-colored epaulets that tourists would seek to tear off during parades.

In the Pope’s Service

The pope would hold audiences with visitors in the throne room or in St. Peter’s Basilica. Generally I was assigned anteroom service, being stationed at the entrance to the hall where the pope received his visitors. The visitor would be accompanied by a chamber master or footman, and the moment he passed in front of us we would snap to attention. I particularly remember two high-level visits.

One was that of a Buddhist monk clothed in a yellow tunic. He visited Pope Paul VI during the Vatican Council II to speak in behalf of peace in Vietnam. That visit caused a sensation because, at the time, newspaper stories about Buddhist monks committing suicide by burning themselves were common.

The other visit was that of Queen Elizabeth of England, who is recognized, not only as a political head, but also as head of the Anglican Church of England. In keeping with Vatican protocol, the queen, as well as each person in her retinue, was accompanied by a representative of the pontifical court. On arriving before the pope, the guest’s attendant usually suggests that the guest kiss the ring when the pope extends his hand. Thus the queen bowed and kissed the pontiff’s hand—the head of the Anglican Church bowing to the head of the Roman Catholic Church—quite a successful diplomatic maneuver on the part of the pontifical court!

Other vivid remembrances I have are of the parades when the Palatine Guard, preceded by the sounding of imperial trumpets, would enter St. Peter’s Square. For example, there was the annual June 2 celebration in honor of the Italian army, during which the pontiff imparted the solemn Urbi et Orbi blessing.

I also served in the honor guard during many official visits of heads of states, including those of President de Gaulle of France, King Hussein of Jordan, President Sukarno of Indonesia and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. I served, too, at the entrance to Pope John XXIII’s death chamber in June 1963 and shortly afterward at the election of Pope Paul VI.

Pomp and Ceremony

On Wednesday morning the pope would hold a public audience in the throne room with persons who had made appointments in advance to see him and receive his blessing. It was indeed an impressive spectacle when the pope would appear with his entourage for these occasions.

The pope made his entrance seated on a sort of throne on a platform that was carried by his servants. These would be followed by a large retinue of colorfully and gorgeously attired ecclesiastics and attendants. They had such titles as Cavalier of the Cape and Sword, Secret Gentlemen’s Servant, and Master of the Chamber. Included, too, in the procession were the commanders and officers of the various army corps of the Vatican.

Almost unbelievable scenes of all kinds took place on these occasions. For example, one might see a screaming woman tearing at her hair and raising a crucifix to the pope as he passed by, protected behind the movable wooden railings. Some hysterical persons had to be removed by force. Babies were held on high to have the pope touch them.

Also, extended toward the pope were scores of hands holding a letter or sheet that had written on it some supplication. And church dignitaries near the pope’s portable throne would accept these in a condescending manner. But there were also persons who laughed, others who cried, and still others who remained indifferent. Hymns were sung, and handkerchiefs waved.

Whenever these public audiences were held in St. Peter’s Basilica the scene was even more striking. The acclaim raised at the pope’s entrance followed him like a wave of the sea as he moved along. However, in recent years I noted a decrease in the number of visitors.

Coronation of the Pope

Surpassing, however, the pomp and splendor of papal audiences was the pope’s coronation. “The grandeur,” witnesses have said, “will never be forgotten.” I was there at the coronation of Pope Paul VI on June 30, 1963, and it was indeed a notable event in my career as one of the Palatine Guard. Present were heads of state, ministers, ambassadors, political and military dignitaries, journalists and Catholic and Protestant representatives from all parts of the world.

It seemed almost unreal—all the extravagance, the precious stones, the brilliantly expensive dress of the participants, especially of the pope carried on his triumphal throne, the slowly moving fans of ostrich plumes about him, the music, the ceremony. The grandeur beggars description. The coronation of the ancient Byzantine emperors, after which papal coronations are patterned, surely could not have been more ostentatious.

Then there was the magnificent entrance of the entire papal court in great pomp, with the Palatine Guard heading the procession. The slow-moving procession lasted almost an hour in a merry-go-round of brilliant colors, as a chorus of young voices accompanied the moving line of hundreds of cardinals and bishops. Finally Pope Paul VI was crowned with a splendorous headpiece mounted with precious gems, a regal symbol of the power supposedly conferred on him as the representative of Christ on earth.

But I asked myself: Is it truly the will of God that his Son have such a representative on earth? Is all this pomp proper? Does Christ approve?

Answers I Received

I received an answer from a blind man who took advantage of the opportunity to speak to me at the office where I generally worked. From what he showed me from the Bible I came to appreciate that the pope was not imitating the example of Christ and his apostles. Why, when an Italian army officer fell at the apostle Peter’s feet to do obeisance to him, I learned, Peter said: “Rise; I myself am also a man.” (Acts 10:25, 26) Yet Church leaders behave in utter contrast to Peter!

But there were other matters. The Catholic Church teaches that humans have an immortal soul that they say may be burned forever in a hell of fire or tormented in purgatory, depending upon the sins committed. Yet I learned that the Bible teaches that man is a soul, and he has no separate immortal soul. “The soul that sinneth, the same shall die,” the Catholic Douay Version Bible says. (Ezek. 18:4) And the Bible hell is obviously not a place of fire, as shown by such Bible passages as King David’s prayer to God: “If I descend into hell, thou art present.” The Scriptures make clear that the Bible hell is simply the common grave of mankind.—Ps. 138:8, Douay Version; see also Job 14:13; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Acts 2:31.

Furthermore, I was shown that God is not a Trinity. He is not three coequal gods and yet one God, as the Catholic Trinity teaching, in effect, says. “The Lord thy God is one God,” Christ taught, and he also acknowledged: “The Father is greater than I.” (Mark 12:29; John 14:28, Douay Version) I learned these things from my Bible discussion with this blind man, who is one of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses.

However, thinking about these things began to disturb me, for I realized that I had a responsibility before God to act in accord with these truths. One day I was at the club of the Palatine Guard sitting in the movie-projection room near a monsignor. During the change in reels I asked him in a matter-of-fact way if he knew anything about those people who claim to be able to prove from the Bible that there is no Trinity, that the soul is not immortal and that there is no hellfire. He asked whom I meant. I answered, “Jehovah’s witnesses.” He surprised me when he replied, “Ah, but those are Christians.”

Thus I began a serious study of the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses, and I received the Bible-based knowledge that has truly strengthened my faith in God. In time I dedicated my life to serve the true God, Jehovah, and since then have had the joy of wielding, not a literal weapon, but ‘the sword of the spirit, God’s Word,’ helping others also to learn the truth about Jehovah God and his grand purposes. (Eph. 6:17)—Contributed.

How Does Africa Count?

By “Awake!” correspondent in Nigeria

A FOREIGNER traveling through the continent of Africa during the eighteenth century was undoubtedly impressed with the seemingly endless variety of peoples and cultures. Communication was accomplished by means of numerous highly developed and complex languages. But even more startling, perhaps, was the fact that the peoples were good mathematicians. Some of their methods of calculating are still being used today.

In the eighteenth century the Hausa city of Katsina in northern Nigeria was a center of learning, where Muhammad ibn Muhammad specialized in numerology. However, for most of the sub-Saharan tribes, counting was and is simply a part of their way of life.

How They Count to Twenty

Consider the Yoruba, Ibo and Efik languages of Nigeria and the Gun language, which is spoken in Dahomey. Each language has its peculiar number system and each system is interesting and practical.

Although in the Yoruba, Gun and Ibo languages the numerals from one to 10 each have individual names, there are many dissimilarities in their counting methods. To a large extent, 20 is the basic unit in both Yoruba and Ibo. On the other hand, 40 is more often used as a base in Gun. In Yoruba and Gun, numerals continue to have individual names up to 15, but then the Yoruba language completes the rest of the teens by subtracting from 20. However, in Gun this is done by adding to 15.

In counting from 11 to 19, the Ibos add their units to 10; but the Efiks have a totally different system, using 5 as their basic unit in counting up to 20. Thus the number 6 in Efik is 5 + 1, 11 is 10 + 1, 16 is 15 + 1, and so on. This means that the numerals one to 5 and 10, 15 and 20 all have individual names. Beyond 20 each system employs seemingly complicated ways of designating the numerals. A look at each language should prove interesting.

Up, Up and Beyond Twenty

As we have already seen, the Yorubas make use of 20 as their basic unit. Thus the numerals 20, 200 and 400 have individual names. Other decimal units (progressing by tens) are established by multiplication of 20 or 200, and subtraction of 10 or 100 as required. Thus 60 is expressed by three 20’s, and 50 is expressed as three 20’s minus 10. Of course, the expressions designating these numerals are contracted into single words in each case. The intermediate numbers between decimal figures are expressed by adding units up to 5 and subtracting units beyond 5. Thus 24 is expressed as 20 + 4, while 28 is expressed as 30 − 2. The number 565 is expressed, (200 × 3) − (20 × 2) + 5.

In contrast to the Yorubas, the Ibos, the Efiks and the tribes that speak Gun do not make use of subtraction in expressing their numerals. The Ibos, employing the basic numerals of 20 and 400, establish their large decimal numerals by multiplication and addition. Thus 50 is expressed as two 20’s plus 10 (20 × 2) + 10, and 300 is expressed as fifteen 20’s (20 × 15).

How would you like trying to express 1,000? It is simple; just say: “nnu-abua na ogu-iri” (two 400’s and ten 20’s). Or 1,000,000 is expressed as: “nnu-nnu-isi na ogu-nnu-ise” (400 × 400 × 6) + (20 × 400 × 5). These expressions are perfectly understood by the Ibo villagers.

The system employed by the Efiks is somewhat different. We have already seen that, below 20, 5 is the basic unit. All the decimal numerals that are multiples of 20, up to 100, have individual names. The intermediate decimal numerals are formed by adding 10 to the lower numeral. Thus 50 is expressed as 40 + 10.

It appears that 100 used to be the highest numeral that had a vernacular name. Figures beyond that were expressed as multiples of 100. Now, however, the word “tosin” is used to express 1,000, apparently a corruption of the word “thousand.” Also, the English word “million” is used.

East African Methods

The Malagasy people of the large island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa are thought to have migrated from the Malayan Peninsula more than two thousand years ago. Thus their language is of Malayan origin, and their system of counting dates back to centuries before they left Malaya.

In this system all units from one to 10 have individual names. Numerals from 11 to 19 are expressed as 10 plus the appropriate units. The decimal numerals up to 90 are expressed as multiples of 10, such as “telopolo” (30, or three 10’s). The numerals 100 (“zato”), 1,000 (“arivo”), 10,000 (“alina”), 100,000 (“hetsy”) and 1,000,000 (“tapitrisa”) all have specific names. “Tapitrisa” literally means “end of figures.” Other decimal numerals are obtained by multiplication, as in English, such as “telo arivo” (3,000), “telo alina” (30,000, or 3 × 10,000), and “hetsy tapitrisa” (100,000 × 1,000,000).

The Malagasy people express their numerals backward, and compound figures can become veritable jawbreakers. Try pronouncing 1,569,753 in the Malagasy language: “telo amby dimampolo amby fiton-zato sy sivy arivo sy enin-alina sy dimy hetsy sy iray tapitrisa.” Remember that the numerals are expressed backward, so that it literally means: 3 + 50 + 700 + 9,000 + (6 × 10,000) + (5 × 100,000) + 1,000,000.

On the mainland, the majority of languages spoken in East, Central and South Africa belong to a family of languages that has been given the name Bantu. One of these languages, Swahili, which is reputed to be one of the twelve principal languages of the world, has been modified and affected by other languages, such as Arabic. So we find, for example, that 6, 7 and 9 are designated by Arabic words. All the units have individual names, and the numerals above 10 are formed by adding the units to 10. Twenty and all the other decimal numerals up to 100 have their own name, as does 1,000; but multiples of 100 are expressed by multiplication and addition. Thus 999 is expressed as “mia tisa tisini na tisa” (literally, “hundreds nine, ninety and nine”).

The Cinyanja-speaking peoples have specific names for their units from one to 5 and for the decimal numerals 10, 100 and 1,000. The other units from 6 to 9 are expressed as 5 + 1, and so on. The numbers from 11 to 15 are expressed as 10 + 1, and so on, while 16 to 19 are expressed as 10 + 5 + 1, and so on. A system of multiplication and addition is used in establishing the designations for all the large numerals. Thus 30 is expressed as 10 × 3, and 600 as (5 + 1) × 100. So people in Malawi have quite a mouthful in saying, for example, 66: “makumi asanu ndi limodzi mphambu asanu ndi limodzi” (10 × [5 + 1] + [5 + 1]).

It can readily be appreciated why not only many Cinyanja-speaking persons but also those using other vernacular languages in Africa have adopted the European words for numbers in their everyday speech. So in Nigeria one can hear a man speaking fluent Efik but using English words for numbers, whereas in neighboring Dahomey Fon-speaking persons will often use the French words for numbers.

Practical Systems

The different systems of counting of the tribes in the sub-Saharan civilizations have been well suited to their way of life. A further look at the methods employed by the Yorubas of Nigeria will illustrate this.

Over the centuries, their civilization placed emphasis on trading, and their medium of exchange was the cowrie shell. Buying and selling thus involved the counting and exchanging of large quantities of shells. This explains why the establishing of numbers by subtraction is preferred in their system. They counted their “money” by drawing off groups of five shells in order to establish heaps of 20’s and 200’s. Then to arrive at intermediate numbers they would subtract the few extra ones from the overall total. This minimized the motions involved in counting.

Numbers denoting fractions, order and frequency all have their expressions in the sub-Saharan languages. Some tribes make use of suffixes or prefixes in naming such numbers, while others employ complete expressions or phrases in order to express the idea. In the Swahili expression “kasa robo” (1/4), the literal translation is “less a quarter.” One and three quarters (“mbili kasa robo”) is literally “two less a quarter.”

In African cities up-to-date systems of currency have replaced the use of cowries and manillas or metal bracelets, also once used as a medium of exchange. However, the older complex systems are still widely used in the villages, and even those who cannot read or write in any language are able to accomplish impressive feats of mental arithmetic. Yes, Africa does count in a wide variety of ways and with real skill.

Mrs. Spider Spins Her Web

BEAUTY is in the eye of the beholder, it is said. That can well be stated of Mrs. Spider.

Usually when she happens to come in contact with one of those giants of the earth—Man or Woman—she is greeted with kicks, brooms and flying objects. Her workmanship, one of the marvels of the “world of small things,” is termed a cobweb and brushed aside.

Of course, some humans do speak of the beauty of a dew-covered spider web at dawn. And some do know that Mrs. Spider is normally mankind’s friend, helping to control the insect population and generally striving to stay out of man’s way.

But if more persons knew of her architectural ability, might not even more change their minds? Despite her eight hairy legs and matronly figure, might they not see the beauty of her artistry? Consider just a few of the designs by some of these lady architects.

Web Designs

At first glance many spider webs would appear to be little more than a jumble of thin threads. But further examination will often reveal great ingenuity.

For example, Mrs. Platform Spider (it is always Mrs., as males do not spin webs) strings many “guy wires” in a crisscross pattern. Below these she constructs a tightly woven silk sheet. Flying insects hit the “wiring” and fall into the net below.

Others build a bow-shaped sheet; and yet others, a rounded dome under which the spider hides. Captured insects are pulled through these sheets. Then Mrs. Spider—often a very tidy housekeeper—repairs her silky “tablecloth.”

But not all webs are motionless traps. One spider actually fashions a lasso. This small, elastic web is pulled taut between the twigs of an evergreen tree and held in place by the “cowgirl” until some unsuspecting mosquito bumps into it. Flash! She lets out some slack on her line and the web springs forward, entangling the intruder! With a series of such snapping movements, the mosquito is thoroughly corralled.

While not all varieties of spiders construct webs, such designers are numerous among the more than 29,000 known kinds. And yet, amidst them all, one “family” is considered distinctive, the artists par excellence. They are the orb (or round) web weavers. These, according to one authority, “build the most beautiful and complicated of all webs.”

Would you like to watch an orb weaver and see how she does it? Let us observe Aranea, the “queen of the spider architects,” as she vigorously begins her next project.

Aranea Spins Her Web

First of all, you will have to watch closely, for she moves quickly and decisively. Her first accomplishment must be the securing of a main line or “bridge line” from which to work out the foundation lines of her web.

You may wonder at her choice of location—right over a small stream! Why not pick an easier place? But apparently she knows the value of setting her net over an “insect air-line.”

How will she get a line across the stream? See her perched on that twig and raising her belly into the air? She is casting out a silk thread, which the breeze will lift like a kite as she continues to “play out string.” Holding the string by the claw of one leg, she feels when it hits something on the other side of the brook. Her objective reached, she pulls up the slack in the line and so has her tightrope over the water.

Working from this bridge line, how rapidly she lays out the foundation lines, forming a rectangle (other supports will later stretch this into a many-sided pattern)! Now note how she goes to the center of the top line of this rectangle and, attaching a silk thread, drops through the air to the middle of the bottom line.

With the rectangle thus halved, she goes to the center of this dividing line and attaches another thread. ‘How does she find center without a measuring tape?’ you may ask. A very good question, but no one has discovered the answer!

In any case, from this midpoint Aranea carefully plays out her line and walks up to the top foundation line. Traveling along this line a short distance from its center point, she stops and attaches the new rope. (See Diagram No. 1.) The first “spoke” of a geometric wheel has been formed.

For each spoke she will return to the center point or hub and play out a line by walking along the newly laid webbing. Observe that this little engineer puts one spoke on the right-hand side and then the next on the left—alternating to keep the strain balanced until all the spokes are in! All twenty-five (or more) are marvelously equidistant, when one considers the speed and working conditions.

After strengthening the center with a few spiral lines, Mrs. Spider now seems to lose interest. Starting from near center, she lays down a rough, wide-spaced spiral across the spokes. Sloppy workmanship? No, for this spiral is simply “scaffolding”—a platform from which to do the more difficult finish work. Aranea will dismantle this scaffolding as each section of it is no longer needed.

Now, starting from a point near the edge of the rectangle, she works in a spiral toward the center. For this circular webbing she has switched to an elastic, glue-coated silk. For years this sticky webbing has amazed naturalists. Why so? Because each segment had beads of glue exactly equidistant from one another.

How could this tiny creature measure these out so precisely? Then, finally, the secret came out. After Mrs. Spider has laid her glue-smeared line between two spokes, she plucks or “twangs” it like a violin string. The vibration separates the glue into equidistant drops!

…

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Awake!, May 22, 1975