For my sake the world was created (parable of two pockets)………

 
for my sake the world was created (parable of two pockets)………

It is written, but I say unto you………


Hasidic story of two stones, one in each pocket:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) used to say, “Everyone must have two pockets, with a small stone in each pocket, so that he or she can reach into one or the other, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, one should reach into the one pocket, and, there, [touch the stone to] be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.”  But when feeling high and mighty, one should reach into the other pocket, and [touch the other stone to] recall the words: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.”


The parable of two tiny pebbles, one in each pocket:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) used to say, “Everyone must have two pockets, with a tiny pebble in each pocket, so that he or she can reach into the one or the others, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, one should reach into the one pocket, and, there, be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.”  But when feeling high and mighty, one should reach into the other pocket, and recall the words: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.”


How the jacket you are wearing came to have two pockets:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) used to say, “Everyone must have two pockets, with a paper-scroll note in each pocket, so that he or she can reach into the one or others, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, one should reach into the one pocket, and, there, be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.”  But when feeling high and mighty, one should reach into the other pocket, and read the words: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.”


How the jacket you are wearing came to have two sleeves:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) used to say, “Everyone must have two pockets hidden insight [inside] each sleeves, with a paper-scroll note hidden in each, so that he or she can reach into the one or others, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, one should reach into the one sleeve, and, there, be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.”  But when feeling high and mighty, one should secretly reach into the other sleeve with a hidden pocket [inside], with a hidden [secret] note with a message, and read the words: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.”


How “”Homo Sapien“” came to have one hand and two arms:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) and Rumi used to say, “Everyone must have two forearms hidden insight [inside] each sleeves, so that he or she can look at the one or other, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, one should look at The ONE hand, be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.  When the five fingers work together they shall perform a single task as OnE."  But when feeling high and mighty, one should secretly glance at the other hidden hand and recall the phrase: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.  When The five missing fingers work NOT together, then suffering and tragedy shall rule over the Earthly kingdom.”


The Parable:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) and Rumi used to say, “Everyone must have two hands and two forearms hidden insight [inside] each sleeves, so that he or she can look at the one or other, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, one should look at The ONE hand, be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.  When the two hands and two arms work together, they shall perform a single task as one."  But when feeling high and mighty, one should secretly glance at the other missing hand and missing arm, recalling the phrase: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.  When the two hands and the two arms work NOT together, then chaos, suffering and tragedy shall rule over the Earth.”


The Parable of two legs and one foot:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) and Rumi used to say, “Everyone must have two legs and feet hidden insight [inside] each sock, so that he or she can look at the one or other, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, one should look at The ONE leg and foot, be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.  When the two leg and feet work together, I can go to places, to witness activities at the market, the Temple and do things for myself and my family."  But when feeling high and mighty, one should secretly glance at the other leg and missing foot, recalling the phrase: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.  When the two legs and foot work NOT together, then you shall NOT be able to walk.  You must start all over from the beginning - unlike a baby - and learn to walk with your two arms and one hands.”


The Parable of two hands:

Zen Buddha Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) and Rumi used to say, “A man with no hands and arms walk into a pub.  The waitress would say, what is the sound of one hand clapping?  The Pub exploded with laughters.  Very soon everyone was rolling on the floor with stomach-hurting pain from laughters, unable to stop.  The paramedics and the police came, but they were unable to do anything.  By now all the laughing people were floating in the air, no longer in pain, but still unable to stop laughing.  [Even though they were not needed, the fire truck also came because the nearby fire crew could not believe what was happening at the pub when they overheard the traffic on the radio.  They wanted to see the scene for themselves.]   The local news crew came, went on air, and reported LIVE, On the chaotic crazy scene at the pub, until the Man with no hands and arms whispered, Donald Trump is NOT the President of the United State.  The whisper slices through the merry noisey scene like a hot [plasma] knife through butter.  They all became very sad, no longer laughing, safely floated down on to the ground, and the pub was filled with somber [sound of] silence.  They were so sad that they could no longer drink any more beer, and suddenly became sober with tears in their eyes.  [All the beer makers and related alcoholic and beer establishments went out of business; all the Trump voters were too gloomy and sad to drink alcohol; everyone was sober; there was a massive unemployment; and this became a big problem for Management; the political leaders start to look for a scapegoat.  Meanwhile back at the pub]  The police, the paramedics, and the news crews left [departed] the scene.  The Man with no hands and arms walk out of the bar, down the street, into the setting Sun.  Never to be seen again.  Of course, the Man with no hands and arms [and the other characters in the Parable, including all the babies that has yet to come [arrive] into the world would] eventually pass[es] away, [and this LIFE cycle of the (reproduction - gestation - birthing) processes, the (Living - Aging - Growing) processes, and the (Death - Dying - Disease - Decomposition) processes repeats itself on a bigger   scale - over and over again - for all life; for example, the fruit flies' LIFE cycle is 10 days; "With Drosophila [fruit flies], one need not wait for entire growing season to learn the results of genetic crosses; one can get a new generation every ten days." (p.59, Evelyn Fox Keller 1983); in comparison the human's LIFE cycle is about 49 to 70+ years, with a cut off at around 120 years].  That aspect of all real life stories should be impliciitly [implicit] understood.  No need to bring it up when you are retelling the Parable.” 
 ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
  what the good Earth giveth,
  the good Earth taketh away,
  I am dust and ashes,
  and unto dust and ashes
  I shalt return.’ 


mutatis mutandis - Latin - the necessary changes in details, such as names and places, will be made but everything else will remain the same.,
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Neil Irwin, The Alchemists : three central bankers and a world on fire, 2013
[p.324]
     DEM WAHREN SCHOENEN GUTEN, the inscription on the reconstructioned neo-Renaissance facade reads: "To the true, the beautiful, the good."

     (Irwin, Neil (2013), The Alchemists, the penguin press, new york, 2013 )
(The Alchemists : three central bankers and a world on fire, Neil Irwin, p.324)

 

[U.S. Federal Reserve]
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How the two drawers of the desk of POTUS in the White House came to have two envelopes:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) used to say, “Every desk must have two drawers, with an envelope with a note inside, so that he or she can reach into the one or others, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, he or she should reached into the one drawer with an envelope inside with a message to the current and future POTUSes, and, there, be reminded of The words: “For my sake, the world was created.”  But when feeling high and mighty, one should reach into the other drawer with an envelope inside with no thing [emptiness], and recalled the words: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.”
 

[the White House is in Washington, D.C. (D.C. - Washington, district of columbia )]

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How the two drawers of the desk of the Russian leader in the Kremlin came to have two envelopes:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) used to say, “Every desk must have two drawers, with an envelope with a note inside, so that he or she can reach into the one or others, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, he or she should reached into the one drawer with an envelope inside with a message to the current and future leader of Russia, and, there, be reminded of The Words: “For my sake, the world was created.”  But when feeling high and mighty, one should reach into the other drawer with an envelope inside with no thing [emptiness], and recalled the words: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.” 

 

[The Kremlin is in Moscow, Russia]

 Moscow (also refer to as Moskau)

 Москва
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How the two drawers of the desk of the Chinese leader in Zhongnanhai came to have two envelopes:

Rabbi Simcha Bunam Bonhart of Przysucha (1765–1827) used to say, “Every desk must have two drawers, with an envelope with a note inside, so that he or she can reach into the one or others, depending on the need.  When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or down, he or she should reached into the one drawer with an envelope inside with a message to the current and future leader of China, and, there, be reminded of The Words: “For my sake, the world was created.”  But when feeling high and mighty, one should reach into the other drawer with an envelope inside with no thing [emptiness], and recalled the words: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, I am dust and ashes, and unto dust and ashes I shalt return.”

 

[Zhongnanhai is in Beijing, China (People's Republic of China)]

 Beijing (also refer to as Peking)

 北京

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 ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’

“In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread,
Till though return unto the ground;
For out of it wast thou taken:
For dust thou art,
And unto dust shalt thou return”

source:
        https://www.joincake.com/blog/ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust/
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A Note in Each Pocket: A Parable on Humility, Pride, & Comparative Religion
 September 3, 2013
 · by Paul Chiariello

 · in Ethics & Philosophy, Religion & Secularism.

 · Rabbi Simcha Bunim Bonhart of Peshischa was born in Poland in the mid-1700’s and later became one of the most prominent leaders of Hasidic Judaism in his country. 

He’s also coined one of my favorite parables ever.

The parable is short.  It doesn’t have a title or a main character or a dramatic punch line.  It’s instead more of an observation and recommendation on living life.  A short story where we take what we have and look at it in a new way. 
According to Wikipedia’s uncited entry it goes

    Everyone must have two pockets, with a note in each pocket, so that he or she can reach into the one or the other, depending on the need.

    When feeling lowly and depressed, discouraged or disconsolate, one should reach into the right pocket, and, there, find the words: “For my sake was the world created.”

    But when feeling high and mighty one should reach into the left pocket, and find the words: “I am but dust and ashes.”


source:
        https://appliedsentience.com/2013/09/03/a-note-in-each-pocket-a-parable-on-humility-pride-comparative-religion/
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 ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’

“In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread,
Till though return unto the ground;
For out of it wast thou taken:
For dust thou art,
And unto dust shalt thou return”

source:
        https://www.joincake.com/blog/ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust/
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Taiichi Ohno, Taiichi Ohno's workplace management, 2013                     [ ]
              English translation by Jon Miller

pp.175―178
SELECTED SAYINGS OF TAIICHI OHNO

  p.175
On Teamwork
    I used to tell production workers one of my favorite stories about a boat rowed by eight men.  One rower might feel he is stronger than the next and row twice as hard.  This extra effort upsets the boat's process and moves it off course.

  p.177
On Practice over Theory
    Don't look with your eyes, look with your feet. Don't think with your head, think with your hands.

On Understanding the Numbers
    People who can't understand numbers are useless.  The gemba where numbers are not visible is also bad.  However, people who only look at the numbers are the worst of all.

  p.178
On Taking His Advice
    You are fool if you do just as I say.  You are a greater fool if you don't do as I say.  You should think for yourself and come up with better ideas than mine.

    ( Taiichi Ohno's workplace management: special 100th birthday edition, English translation by Jon Miller, copyright © 2013 by the macgraw-hill companies, inc., pp.175―178 )
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War is a racket (Smedley D. Butler)

 War is a racket (Smedley D. Butler)

 

War Is a Racket is a speech and a 1935 short book, by Smedley D. Butler, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient. Based on his career military experience, Butler discusses how business interests commercially benefit, such as war profiteering from warfare. He had been appointed commanding officer of the Gendarmerie during the United States occupation of Haiti, which lasted from 1915 to 1934.

After Butler retired from the US Marine Corps in October 1931, he made a nationwide tour in the early 1930s giving his speech "War is a Racket". The speech was so well received that he wrote a longer version as a short book published in 1935. His work was condensed in Reader's Digest as a book supplement, which helped popularize his message. In an introduction to the Reader's Digest version, Lowell Thomas praised Butler's "moral as well as physical courage".[2] Thomas had written Smedley Butler's oral autobiography.

According to the HathiTrust online library, the book published in 1935 is in the public domain. A scanned copy of the original 1935 printing is available for download, in part or in whole, on the HathiTrust website, along with a detailed description of the copyrights.[3]

     ••••   •••   ••••

In the booklet's penultimate chapter, Butler recommended three steps to disrupt the war racket:

 1. Making war unprofitable. Butler suggests that the means for war should be "conscripted" before those who would fight the war:

        It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war. The only way to smash this racket is to conscript capital and industry and labour before the nation's manhood can be conscripted. […] Let the officers and the directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories and our steel companies and our munitions makers and our ship-builders and our airplane builders and the manufacturers of all other things that provide profit in war time as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted — to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.

 2. Acts of war to be decided by those who fight it. He also suggests a limited referendum to determine if the war is to be fought. Eligible to vote would be those who risk death on the front lines.
 3. Limitation of militaries to self-defense. For the United States, Butler recommends that the Navy be limited, by law, to operating within 200 miles of the coastline, and the Army restricted to the territorial limits of the country, ensuring that war, if fought, can never be one of aggression.


source:
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket
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 BY

SMEDLEY D. BUTLER

Major General, United States Marines
(RETIRED)



ROUND TABLE PRESS, INC.
NEW YORK 1935




PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY SELECT PRINTING COMPANY, NEW YORK




CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. War Is a Racket

II. Who Makes the Profits?

III. Who Pays the Bills?

IV. How to Smash this Racket!

V. To Hell with War!




WAR IS A RACKET



Chapter One

WAR IS A RACKET

War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

In the World War a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their income tax returns no one knows.

How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dugout? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried the bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?

Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few—the self-same few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.

And what is this bill?

This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations.

For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket; not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it. Now that I see the international war clouds again gathering, as they are today, I must face it and speak out.

Again they are choosing sides. France and Russia met and agreed to stand side by side. Italy and Austria hurried to make a similar agreement. Poland and Germany cast sheep's eyes at each other, forgetting, for the nonce, their dispute over the Polish Corridor. The assassination of King Alexander of Jugoslavia complicated matters. Jugoslavia and Hungary, long bitter enemies, were almost at each other's throats. Italy was ready to jump in. But France was waiting. So was Czechoslovakia. All of them are looking ahead to war. Not the people—not those who fight and pay and die—only those who foment wars and remain safely at home to profit.

There are 40,000,000 men under arms in the world today, and our statesmen and diplomats have the temerity to say that war is not in the making.

Hell's bells! Are these 40,000,000 men being trained to be dancers?

Not in Italy, to be sure. Premier Mussolini knows what they are being trained for. He, at least, is frank enough to speak out. Only the other day, Il Duce in "International Conciliation," the publication of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said:

"And above all, Fascism, the more it considers and observes the future and the development of humanity quite apart from political considerations of the moment, believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace.... War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have the courage to meet it."


Undoubtedly Mussolini means exactly what he says. His well trained army, his great fleet of planes, and even his navy are ready for war—anxious for it, apparently. His recent stand at the side of Hungary in the latter's dispute with Jugoslavia showed that. And the hurried mobilization of his troops on the Austrian border after the assassination of Dollfuss showed it too. There are others in Europe too whose sabre rattling presages war, sooner or later.

Herr Hitler, with his rearming Germany and his constant demands for more and more arms, is an equal if not a greater menace to peace. France only recently increased the term of military service for its youth from a year to eighteen months.

Yes, all over, nations are camping on their arms. The mad dogs of Europe are on the loose.

In the Orient the maneuvering is more adroit. Back in 1904, when Russia and Japan fought, we kicked out our old friends the Russians and backed Japan. Then our very generous international bankers were financing Japan. Now the trend is to poison us against the Japanese. What does the "open door" policy in China mean to us? Our trade with China is about $90,000,000 a year. Or the Philippine Islands? We have spent about $600,000,000 in the Philippines in thirty-five years and we (our bankers and industrialists and speculators) have private investments there of less than $200,000,000.

Then, to save that China trade of about $90,000,000, or to protect these private investments of less than $200,000,000 in the Philippines, we would be all stirred up to hate Japan and to go to war—a war that might well cost us tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives of Americans, and many more hundreds of thousands of physically maimed and mentally unbalanced men.

Of course, for this loss, there would be a compensating profit—fortunes would be made. Millions and billions of dollars would be piled up. By a few. Munitions makers. Bankers. Ship builders. Manufacturers. Meat packers. Speculators. They would fare well.

Yes, they are getting ready for another war. Why shouldn't they? It pays high dividends.

But what does it profit the masses?

What does it profit the men who are killed? What does it profit the men who are maimed? What does it profit their mothers and sisters, their wives and their sweethearts? What does it profit their children?

What does it profit anyone except the very few to whom war means huge profits?

Yes, and what does it profit the nation?

Take our own case. Until 1898 we didn't own a bit of territory outside the mainland of North America. At that time our national debt was a little more than $1,000,000,000. Then we became "internationally minded." We forgot, or shunted aside, the advice of the Father of our Country. We forgot Washington's warning about "entangling alliances." We went to war. We acquired outside territory. At the end of the World War period, as a direct result of our fiddling in international affairs, our national debt had jumped to over $25,000,000,000. Our total favorable trade balance during the twenty-five-year period was about $24,000,000,000. Therefore, on a purely financial bookkeeping basis, we ran a little behind year for year, and that foreign trade might well have been ours without the wars.

It would have been far cheaper (not to say safer) for the average American who pays the bills to stay out of foreign entanglements. For a very few this racket, like bootlegging and other underworld rackets, brings fancy profits, but the cost of operations is always transferred to the people—who do not profit.


source:
        http://gutenbergcanada.ca/ebooks/butlersd-warisaracket/butlersd-warisaracket-00-h.html
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 CHAPTER TWO

Who Makes The Profits?

The World War, rather our brief participation in it, has cost the United States some $52,000,000,000. Figure it out. That means $400 to every American man, woman, and child. And we haven't paid the debt yet. We are paying it, our children will pay it, and our children's children probably still will be paying the cost of that war.

The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits -- ah! that is another matter -- twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent -- the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it.

Of course, it isn't put that crudely in war time. It is dressed into speeches about patriotism, love of country, and "we must all put our shoulders to the wheel," but the profits jump and leap and skyrocket -- and are safely pocketed. Let's just take a few examples:

Take our friends the du Ponts, the powder people -- didn't one of them testify before a Senate committee recently that their powder won the war? Or saved the world for democracy? Or something? How did they do in the war? They were a patriotic corporation. Well, the average earnings of the du Ponts for the period 1910 to 1914 were $6,000,000 a year. It wasn't much, but the du Ponts managed to get along on it. Now let's look at their average yearly profit during the war years, 1914 to 1918. Fifty-eight million dollars a year profit we find! Nearly ten times that of normal times, and the profits of normal times were pretty good. An increase in profits of more than 950 per cent.

Take one of our little steel companies that patriotically shunted aside the making of rails and girders and bridges to manufacture war materials. Well, their 1910-1914 yearly earnings averaged $6,000,000. Then came the war. And, like loyal citizens, Bethlehem Steel promptly turned to munitions making. Did their profits jump -- or did they let Uncle Sam in for a bargain? Well, their 1914-1918 average was $49,000,000 a year!

Or, let's take United States Steel. The normal earnings during the five-year period prior to the war were $105,000,000 a year. Not bad. Then along came the war and up went the profits. The average yearly profit for the period 1914-1918 was $240,000,000. Not bad.

There you have some of the steel and powder earnings. Let's look at something else. A little copper, perhaps. That always does well in war times.

Anaconda, for instance. Average yearly earnings during the pre-war years 1910-1914 of $10,000,000. During the war years 1914-1918 profits leaped to $34,000,000 per year.

Or Utah Copper. Average of $5,000,000 per year during the 1910-1914 period. Jumped to an average of $21,000,000 yearly profits for the war period.

Let's group these five, with three smaller companies. The total yearly average profits of the pre-war period 1910-1914 were $137,480,000. Then along came the war. The average yearly profits for this group skyrocketed to $408,300,000.

A little increase in profits of approximately 200 per cent.

Does war pay? It paid them. But they aren't the only ones. There are still others. Let's take leather.

For the three-year period before the war the total profits of Central Leather Company were $3,500,000. That was approximately $1,167,000 a year. Well, in 1916 Central Leather returned a profit of $15,000,000, a small increase of 1,100 per cent. That's all. The General Chemical Company averaged a profit for the three years before the war of a little over $800,000 a year. Came the war, and the profits jumped to $12,000,000. a leap of 1,400 per cent.

International Nickel Company -- and you can't have a war without nickel -- showed an increase in profits from a mere average of $4,000,000 a year to $73,000,000 yearly. Not bad? An increase of more than 1,700 per cent.

American Sugar Refining Company averaged $2,000,000 a year for the three years before the war. In 1916 a profit of $6,000,000 was recorded.

Listen to Senate Document No. 259. The Sixty-Fifth Congress, reporting on corporate earnings and government revenues. Considering the profits of 122 meat packers, 153 cotton manufacturers, 299 garment makers, 49 steel plants, and 340 coal producers during the war. Profits under 25 per cent were exceptional. For instance the coal companies made between 100 per cent and 7,856 per cent on their capital stock during the war. The Chicago packers doubled and tripled their earnings.

And let us not forget the bankers who financed the great war. If anyone had the cream of the profits it was the bankers. Being partnerships rather than incorporated organizations, they do not have to report to stockholders. And their profits were as secret as they were immense. How the bankers made their millions and their billions I do not know, because those little secrets never become public -- even before a Senate investigatory body.

But here's how some of the other patriotic industrialists and speculators chiseled their way into war profits.

Take the shoe people. They like war. It brings business with abnormal profits. They made huge profits on sales abroad to our allies. Perhaps, like the munitions manufacturers and armament makers, they also sold to the enemy. For a dollar is a dollar whether it comes from Germany or from France. But they did well by Uncle Sam too. For instance, they sold Uncle Sam 35,000,000 pairs of hobnailed service shoes. There were 4,000,000 soldiers. Eight pairs, and more, to a soldier. My regiment during the war had only one pair to a soldier. Some of these shoes probably are still in existence. They were good shoes. But when the war was over Uncle Sam has a matter of 25,000,000 pairs left over. Bought -- and paid for. Profits recorded and pocketed.

There was still lots of leather left. So the leather people sold your Uncle Sam hundreds of thousands of McClellan saddles for the cavalry. But there wasn't any American cavalry overseas! Somebody had to get rid of this leather, however. Somebody had to make a profit in it -- so we had a lot of McClellan saddles. And we probably have those yet.

Also somebody had a lot of mosquito netting. They sold your Uncle Sam 20,000,000 mosquito nets for the use of the soldiers overseas. I suppose the boys were expected to put it over them as they tried to sleep in muddy trenches -- one hand scratching cooties on their backs and the other making passes at scurrying rats. Well, not one of these mosquito nets ever got to France!

Anyhow, these thoughtful manufacturers wanted to make sure that no soldier would be without his mosquito net, so 40,000,000 additional yards of mosquito netting were sold to Uncle Sam.

There were pretty good profits in mosquito netting in those days, even if there were no mosquitoes in France. I suppose, if the war had lasted just a little longer, the enterprising mosquito netting manufacturers would have sold your Uncle Sam a couple of consignments of mosquitoes to plant in France so that more mosquito netting would be in order.

Airplane and engine manufacturers felt they, too, should get their just profits out of this war. Why not? Everybody else was getting theirs. So $1,000,000,000 -- count them if you live long enough -- was spent by Uncle Sam in building airplane engines that never left the ground! Not one plane, or motor, out of the billion dollars worth ordered, ever got into a battle in France. Just the same the manufacturers made their little profit of 30, 100, or perhaps 300 per cent.

Undershirts for soldiers cost 14¢ [cents] to make and uncle Sam paid 30¢ to 40¢ each for them -- a nice little profit for the undershirt manufacturer. And the stocking manufacturer and the uniform manufacturers and the cap manufacturers and the steel helmet manufacturers -- all got theirs.

Why, when the war was over some 4,000,000 sets of equipment -- knapsacks and the things that go to fill them -- crammed warehouses on this side. Now they are being scrapped because the regulations have changed the contents. But the manufacturers collected their wartime profits on them -- and they will do it all over again the next time.

There were lots of brilliant ideas for profit making during the war.

One very versatile patriot sold Uncle Sam twelve dozen 48-inch wrenches. Oh, they were very nice wrenches. The only trouble was that there was only one nut ever made that was large enough for these wrenches. That is the one that holds the turbines at Niagara Falls. Well, after Uncle Sam had bought them and the manufacturer had pocketed the profit, the wrenches were put on freight cars and shunted all around the United States in an effort to find a use for them. When the Armistice was signed it was indeed a sad blow to the wrench manufacturer. He was just about to make some nuts to fit the wrenches. Then he planned to sell these, too, to your Uncle Sam.

Still another had the brilliant idea that colonels shouldn't ride in automobiles, nor should they even ride on horseback. One has probably seen a picture of Andy Jackson riding in a buckboard. Well, some 6,000 buckboards were sold to Uncle Sam for the use of colonels! Not one of them was used. But the buckboard manufacturer got his war profit.

The shipbuilders felt they should come in on some of it, too. They built a lot of ships that made a lot of profit. More than $3,000,000,000 worth. Some of the ships were all right. But $635,000,000 worth of them were made of wood and wouldn't float! The seams opened up -- and they sank. We paid for them, though. And somebody pocketed the profits.

It has been estimated by statisticians and economists and researchers that the war cost your Uncle Sam $52,000,000,000. Of this sum, $39,000,000,000 was expended in the actual war itself. This expenditure yielded $16,000,000,000 in profits. That is how the 21,000 billionaires and millionaires got that way. This $16,000,000,000 profits is not to be sneezed at. It is quite a tidy sum. And it went to a very few.

The Senate (Nye) committee probe of the munitions industry and its wartime profits, despite its sensational disclosures, hardly has scratched the surface.

Even so, it has had some effect. The State Department has been studying "for some time" methods of keeping out of war. The War Department suddenly decides it has a wonderful plan to spring. The Administration names a committee -- with the War and Navy Departments ably represented under the chairmanship of a Wall Street speculator -- to limit profits in war time. To what extent isn't suggested. Hmmm. Possibly the profits of 300 and 600 and 1,600 per cent of those who turned blood into gold in the World War would be limited to some smaller figure.

Apparently, however, the plan does not call for any limitation of losses -- that is, the losses of those who fight the war. As far as I have been able to ascertain there is nothing in the scheme to limit a soldier to the loss of but one eye, or one arm, or to limit his wounds to one or two or three. Or to limit the loss of life.

There is nothing in this scheme, apparently, that says not more than 12 per cent of a regiment shall be wounded in battle, or that not more than 7 per cent in a division shall be killed.

Of course, the committee cannot be bothered with such trifling matters.


source:
        https://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html
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Da Vinci code case (part 4 of 4) (Dan Brown witness statement)

 
Da Vinci code case (part 4 of 4)


Writing The Da Vinci Code

158. My editor Jason Kaufman, has helped me piece together the dates of various events, from the point that I started writing in earnest, through to my move to Doubleday and the launch of The Da Vinci Code. He prepared for me a timeline, and the dates below are taken from that timeline.

159. In January 2001, I had submitted the Deception Point manuscript to Jason and was in Florida visiting my parents. I remember I was swimming in my parents’ pool when Jason called. He told me that Pocket Books loved my Deception Point manuscript and wanted to sign me up for two more books. Jason told me he would call my literary agent and make the offer. I remember asking Jason not to call my agent quite yet. I had been thinking about my agenting situation for some time now, and I had a decision to make. My original literary agent George Wieser had passed away shortly after Digital Fortress had been published. By this point in my career, I had learned enough about publishing to know that if I were ever going to be a successful novelist, I would need team who could orchestrate a large-scale release of my novels.

160. I had been t inking of getting a new agent for some time now, and I had begun to make some inquiries. One agent’s name – Heide Lange – had come up several times through various sources. Only a day or so after I had spoken to Jason, I remember reading online that Heide Lange recently had signed a new thriller writ Brad Thor to a million dollar publishing deal with Pocket Books. I was stunned. I wondered if Heide could get the same kind of money for my new thriller idea. As I researched Heide more carefully, I became very hopeful. On her website I noticed that she had agented several non-fiction books about art (including the classic bestseller “Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain”) as well as books on feminism, (including the famous international bestseller The G Spot, as well as The Feminist Memoir Project.) I recall becoming excited about Heide as a prospect. My new novel –The Da Vinci Code — was all about art and the sacred feminine. Who better to sell it than a woman who had already sold books on these same themes? Then I realized Heide’s last name — LANGE — was an anagram of ANGEL. I am not superstitious, but I recall thinking this was a very good omen.

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161. I got Heide’s number off the Internet and phoned her office. I remember leaving her a voice mail that I hoped would persuade her to call me back. Rather than telling her I wanted her to be my agent, I shared with her that Jason Kaufman at Pocket Books wanted to offer me a multiple book publishing deal, and that I needed someone to negotiate the contract. I figured that even a busy agent would jump at the chance to make 15% on a book deal without having to shop the manuscript. Sure enough, Heide called back within a few hours. I was impressed right from the start. In that short time span, Heide had already researched me online and sent her assistant out to buy one of my novels — Digital Fortress. In fact, Heide had already read a few chapters when she called. I was captivated by Heide’s enthusiasm, energy, and motivation. I immediately told Heide not to read Digital Fortress but rather to read Angels & Demons. I told her that the character and settings in Angels & Demons was “what I was all about”– in particular the art and religious overtones. So Heide bought Angels & Demons, read it and loved it (as did her husband, John Chaffee). She signed me as a client immediately, and I had a good feeling that my career was at last going to turn the corner.

162. Heide and I were negotiating with Pocket, a division of Simon & Schuster that had an option on my next novel. As a part of that process, she suggested that I prepare several proposals to put forward in the hope of getting a multiple book deal. In early January 200l, I prepared short proposals for the novel ideas.

163. Heide asked me to expand upon the short outline I had drafted for The Da Vinci Code before submitting it to Pocket, in the hope that with a longer proposal I could get a better deal. I remember being very eager to impress Heide as much as she had impressed me, and so I plunged into writing this new synopsis with lots of energy. Unfortunately, because I was visiting my parents, I had no office space, and the only private place in their house was a tiny laundry room. I remember writing the expanded outline for The Da Vinci Code inside this tiny laundry room, sitting on a lawn-chair that had been set up at a makeshift desk made out of an ironing board. It was in this laundry room that I wrote an extensive 56 page outline, or Synopsis, fot The Da Vinci Code (D.4). I remember trying hard to make the Synopsis exciting and cinematic. I had already written a similar synopsis of Angels & Demons in hopes of selling the novel to Hollywood, but that had never happened. When I finished The Da Vinci Code Synopsis, I sent it to Heide later in January 2001. This was considerably before the Da Vinci Code was actually written.

164. My Synopsis of the entire novel includes an initial bibliography for The Da Vinci Code. The initial, or ‘partial’, bibliography lists the books I used to lay out the rough story line. In this bibliography, Holy Blood, Holy Grail does not appear. That is because when I wrote the Synopsis I did not own a copy of Holy Blood, Holy Grail nor had I, or Blythe, read it. The partial bibliography is limited to 7 books:

(1) The Templar Revelation – Picknett & Prince (D.53)

(2) The Goddess in the Gospels – Starbird (D.58)

(3) The Woman with the Alabaster Jar – Starbird (D.59)

(4) The History of the Knights Templars – Addison (D.23)

(5) The Hiram Key – Knight & Lomas (D.44)

(6) The Knights Templar – Partner

(7) Born in Blood – Robinson (D.55)

165. I have my copies of all of these books, save for The Knights Templar, by Peter Partner which I can’t find. We have moved house three times since The Da Vinci Code research began — and perhaps that book was lost during one of the moves. It is possible we loaned it out or misplaced it travelling. Also, it is possible that the Partner book was damaged and disposed of at the time of the flood.

166. The bibliography is “partial” in the sense that much of the research for the novel came from conversations, research trips, online sources and essentially sources that are hard to cite. I prepared a similar “partial” bibliography for Angels & Demons. This is not an unusual practice in circumstances where it is impossible to be absolutely specific about sources used; as is particularly the case where the internet is concerned and quoted authors are often not referenced.

167. The absence of Holy Blood, Holy Grail in my Synopsis’ “partial” bibliography is in line with my clear recollection of referring to it only at a later time – it was not a crucial or important text in the creation of the framework of The Da Vinci Code.

168. Despite being certain that Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25), was not consulted until long after this outline was written and submitted, I have carefully gone through every point of this outline to ensure that there is nothing in here which suggests that, contrary to my recollection, I had seen Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Certainly no information or themes present in the outline are to be found only in Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

169. In the Synopsis, the murder in the opening scene features a ritualistic Masonic murder, based on that of Grand Master Hiram Abif. This points to The Hiram Key (D.44), which features Abif in its opening chapters. Also, the presence of elements such as the ‘shroud”, Sophia and Atbash in my Synopsis points very persuasively to Templar Revelation (which pays much attention to such topics) being an important source. By contrast, I have been told during the course of this litigation that Holy Blood, Holy Grail, barely mentions the shroud or Hiram Abif, and does not mention Atbash and Sophia. These sort of points illustrate to me that I was using The Hiram Key (D.44) and The Templar Revelation (D.53) as sources at the time (as well as the others in my partial bibliography) and indicate to me that I am correct in my recollection that I did not look at Holy Blood, Holy Grail until much later.

170. In February 2001, my editor, Jason Kaufman, moved to Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. He has told me that he showed my 56 page Synopsis to his boss, Bill Thomas, who loved it. Heide and I, however, were still negotiating with Pocket, who had an option on my next novel. Once the option period was complete, Doubleday made me an offer, slightly lower than that of Pocket, but I decide to accept it. The reasons for this were twofold: firstly, I wanted to continue working with Jason, in whom I have great faith; secondly, I had been so disappointed by Pocket’s promotion of Angels & Demons and Deception Point, I felt I would have better luck starting afresh with a new publisher. I moved to Doubleday in mid-May 2001.

171. Between May 2001 and March 2002, I launched myself completely into the writing of The Da Vinci Code. During this period, Jason was not shown anything and I had very little contact with him or Heide. On March, 15, 2002, I sent Jason a draft of the first. 190 pages of The Da Vinci Code, so that he could distribute it in advance of Doubleday’s in-house pre-launch meeting for books published in Spring 2003. Jason then edited the draft and, after talking to me, distributed it on March 21, 2002.

172. A notable difference between the Synopsis and the final draft I submitted was the murder in the opening scene. In the final version of The Da Vinci Code I used the Vitruvian Man as a model for the opening murder scene (placing a dead character on the Louvre floor in the same body position as Leonardo da Vinci’s the Vitruvian Man.) This idea was in my mind very early as the Vitruvian man has always been a favourite of mine; I even have personal stationery featuring it.The Synopsis, as I have said, features a ritualistic Masonic murder, based on that of Grand Master Hiram Abif, featured at the beginning of The Hiram Key (D.44). The murder is still set in the Louvre, but I was having problems making this work, and I thought the Vitruvian man would be a far better murder victim.

173. Some of the action scenes are also different. For example, in the Synopsis I have Langdon and Sophie escape the assassin by jumping onto one of the Bateaux Mouches, on the Seine. It is here that Langdon reveals to Sophie the bloodline theory.

174. Another difference if that the peripheral characters are not as developed in the Synopsis; many are un-named or have different names. The Albino monk Silas, is a “massive Spaniard assassin” called Oedipus (an anagram of Opus Dei), Fache is the Capitaine of French Securite. In the final version the character of the Consul General does not exist, instead I included the Teabing character for reasons explained below. Aringarossa (spelt Arangirossa in the Synopsis – perhaps a typo) also plays a different role that is omitted from the final version of the novel.

Chapters 37, 55, and 58

175. By the time we obtained a copy of Holy Blood, Holy Grail (0.25), I had already written the Synopsis and the opening of the novel and had in place the themes of the sacred feminine, the bloodline, and secret history.

176. One of my favourite ways in which to share information with a reader is to have Langdon give an “academic lecture” on the topic. Writing one of his academic lectures is always a lot of fun but requires a firm grasp of specifics. Invariably, when I am preparing to write one of these academic lectures, I ask Blythe to collect and compile as much information as possible on the lecture topic. The Da Vinci Code includes lots of lectures – some long, some short -on topics such as Opus Dei (page 50 and see D.96, D.97, D.178 D.383, D.385 and D.387), the Mona Lisa (chapter 26, and see D.188, D.192 and D.338), goddess worship and suppression of the feminine (chapters 28 and 56, and D.174 and D.186), symbology (chapter 56), PHI (page 131), Fibonacci (page 92 and see D.180, D.183 and D.37), hidden meanings in paintings and other art (chapters 58 and 61, and D.189 and D.191), and Rosslyn (chapter 104, and 0.181 andD.349)

177. There are three “academic lecture” chapters of The Da Vinci Code which contain information that is also in Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25). Those are chapter 37, which deals with the Templars, the Priory and the Grail, chapter 55, which deals with Christianity, Constantine and the Bible, and chapters 58, which deals with lost history, Jesus’ marriage and the Grail as bloodline.

178. In each case, we turned to a number of books we now owned on the topics, including The Hiram Key (D.44), The Templar Revelation (D. 53), the Margaret Starbird books (D.58 & D,59), Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25), which –as I have explained above –was suggested reading in The Templar Revelation, and many others and which, by now, we had bought.

Chapter 55 -the origins of Christianity, Constantine, and the Bible lecture

179. Chapter 55 features Langdon revealing to Sophie his ideas about the origins of Christianity, Constantine and the Bible. These ideas also appeared in the Synopsis, and I re-wrote them for the final version of The Da Vinci Code. I was already familiar with much of this information, particularly that about Constantine, the Council of Nicea, and the surrounding politics. In general terms I have been aware of Constantine’s role in the origin of the Bible as we know it for many years. In addition, I researched the topic while preparing the content of Angels & Demons. But I read a lot more about the topic while writing The Da Vinci Code.

180. On reviewing my research materials, it is clear to me that in the context of researching this particular “lecture”, I also looked at The Hiram Key (D.44), The Templar Revelation (D.53), Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25), The Gnostic Gospels (D.51), and he Woman with the Alabaster Jar (D.59).

181. In the preparation of his statement, I have been shown a document entitled “Constantine”. This as produced for me by Blythe (D.177 and D.322). It is obvious to me that the Constantine document is not in her words, but has been taken from other sources. It is not unusual for her to do this when we are working together. I will tell her the outline of a section of a book I have written and then ask her to go away and make a note of more specific information about the topic which I can use to elaborate my text. At this stage both of us will have read a good deal about the topic, but she is better than me at producing a good summary of the material which we have looked at. If she finds a particular source which has many of the relevant facts collected together, she will make her note from that source. Sometimes she combines a number of sources in her notes to me. Sometimes she adds notes to me to look at other sources as well. There is no fixed pattern.

182. Returning to the “Constantine” document, I can tell from the style that it was not written by Blythe. Again, it was not at all uncommon for Blythe to send me text that was not her own (often she would transcribe paragraphs verbatim from sources in an effort to provide me the exact data I had requested). It has been pointed out to me that much of this particular Constantine document came from Holy Blood, Holy Grail. I would have known at the time that this was a summary of research she had prepared for me.

183. I would usually take a document like this, read it, consider it, and blend it in my mind with all the other material that I had read on the topic, I would cross reference or look again at other notes or other source material and then write a draft of my section of the book. There would usually be several drafts before a section was finished and for each draft I might refer again to notes or other source materials.

184. Throughout this exercise, I would sometimes mark up copies of Blythe’s notes to me, and if I did I would often clear my desk of them when I had finished with them. Because many of the notes Blythe was preparing covered topics about which I was (at first) quite sceptical, I usually looked at Blythe’s notes in conjunction with other sources. I was uncomfortable including specific information in the novel unless I could corroborate it in at least a couple of sources. I do not recall precisely how I used the Constantine document, but it is almost certain that I used it in conjunction with other materials.

185. The Constantine document looks to me like a good summary of what I had been reading about Constantine at the time, and the shift from paganism to Christianity.

Chapter 37 -Templars -Priory -Sangreal, and Chapter 58 – lost history, Jesus’ marriage and the Grail as bloodline lecture

186. As I have said, Chapter 37 includes material on the Templars, their history, their connection with the Priory, and the word ‘sangreal’. Chapter 58 features Langdon and Teabing revealing to Sophie the bloodline theory, as well as some of the imagery in Da Vinci’s paintings. Again, these ideas also appeared in the Synopsis, and I re-wrote them for the final version of The Da Vinci Code.

187. I prepared the lecture parts of these chapters in the same general way as I prepared the lecture in chapter 55. A document that I would very likely have looked at while writing such chapters is that entitled “Langdon reveals to Sophie” (D.185 and D.336). Again it was prepared for me by Blythe – she had gotten the material from the sources we were looking at. The first part of the document deals with the history of the Knights Templar and it goes on to give an explanation for what they were looking for under the Temple of Solomon. A lot of this information (including some of the text), I believe, had come from The Hiram Key (D.44), as did some of my research on the Templars. The document then goes on to look at the Priory of Sion, San Graal, and marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene; I understand that this information (and some text) appears to have come from Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25).

188. This document is an example of one in which Blythe adds a number of notes of her own to tell me to keep in mind points in addition to those which she has set out. The document says “keep in mind these important references” and then there is a list of several points or themes and a corresponding source and page number. Holy Blood, Holy Grail is referenced as well as The Templar Revelation (D.53), Born in Blood (D.55) and The Hiram Key (D.44). For points on the Council of Nicea, Blythe has referenced both Holy Blood, Holy Grail and Templar Revelation. I found Holy Blood, Holy Grail extremely detailed and hard to read, and so I usually went to other books, especially Templar Revelation and The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, to remind myself what they had to say about the subject (by this stage I had already read these books at least once – I still have not read all of Holy Blood, Holy Grail).

189. There is also a note to the effect that the Priory List of Grand Masters can be found on page 131 of Holy Blood, Holy Grai1. At this stage, I had already seen the list many times (for example, Les Dossiers Secrets are available online and I frequently used the internet as a second or third source) and Blythe would have been telling me a convenient way to access it. I do not recall now whether or not I got the list which is primed in The Da Vinci Code from that in Holy Blood, Holy Grail or somewhere else.

190. A further note to me in the document says: “Throughout my readings of all my books, this smell or perfume for some reason keeps: coming up in relation to Mary Magdalene. I have seen this many times.” Here she is reminding me that during her research she has seen lots of references to a perfume coming up in connection with the Mary Magdalene. However, I did not work this into my book.

191. The “Constantine” (D.177 and D.322) and “Langdon Reveals to Sophie” (D;185 and D.336) documents are just two of the more than a hundred documents which Blythe prepared for me. I have dealt with them because they contain material from Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Lots of the others she prepared contain material from other books, online sources or other texts. I have described above how I used this type of document and I do not believe my methods of writing are in any way unusual. I will be very surprised if Messrs. Baigent and Leigh did not make copious notes from the sources which they consulted.

192. In chapter 58 of The Da Vinci Code I cite a passage from the Gospel of Philip and another from the Gospel of Mary, which both allude to Mary Magdalene’s relationship with Jesus and her important role in his Church. The Gospels of Philip and Mary both come from the Gnostic Gospels and I recall seeing them in many sources. For example, Templar Revelation; The Goddess in the Gospels; and The Gnostic Gospels. Also, one of my research documents “was mm author of 4th gospell_#2849” (D.216 and D.359) includes the passage from the Gospel of Philip.

193. I understand that the same passage from the Gospel of Philip appears in Holy Blood, Holy Grail. I cannot now recall what was my source. I do think that I was aware of the passage from the Gospel of Philip before I looked at Holy Blood, Holy Grail, because the many other sources I looked at which include the Gospel of Philip also include the Gospel of Mary.

194. As I have said, in preparing this statement I have looked back to my research sources, including our books. I see that our copy of Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25) is heavily marked up in Blythe’s handwriting in a number of places. I am not surprised -we did use the book as a source, after the Synopsis was written and the writing was well underway. But that is not the only reason why the book is marked.

195. As soon as The Da Vinci Code was published and had become a runaway success, I found myself in a firestorm of controversy. I had never experienced this kind of media attention, and it was very difficult at times (especially the criticism from Christians). Often at my book signings, I found myself interrogated publicly by an angry Christian scholar who quizzed me on details of Bible history from the novel. I remember being attacked by one man over my description of the Council of Nicea (specifically the claim that there had been a vote on Jesus’ divinity), and I recall feeling defenceless because more than a year had passed since I’d researched and written the novel, and the precise names, dates, places, and facts had faded somewhat in my memory. I quickly realized that if I were going to effectively discuss my work on an international stage, I would need something that Blythe termed “a refresher course”.

196. This involved going back to our original resource materials and memorising the details surrounding those ideas about which critics were most upset – the bloodline, the Council of Nicea, Jesus as a husband, etc. Blythe again was on the front lines of gathering information for me. At this time, I know we revisited many of our relevant research materials, including Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and I have little doubt that many of the markings in Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25) were made during this “refresher period” after the novel was published. Blythe’s help refreshing my memory paid off and after it I was more comfortable dealing with journalists or critics.

197. Also, as I have said, I don’t like to write in books, but Blythe writes in books all the time. I know that if she reads a book – that we have bought for research purposes – that has anything to do with any of my novels, she underlines passages as she reads. Blythe is helping me with the research for my new novel, and she is doing just this. So, if she finds a reference to Mary Magdalene, or goddess worship… any of the old subjects, in a new book she still underlines it. She finds this a satisfying thing to do – it reinforces to her that we were on the right track with our earlier research.

198. All of the research books are different pieces of history in theory. Often the books reach the same conclusions – just in a different way. Blythe likes to mark or underline where she finds common links, as it helps her piece the big picture together. Our studies into the origins of the Christian movement and the ancient mysteries continue to this day. Our research and Blythe’s note taking is a continual process.

199. Other examples of Blythe marking books in this way are the books Rule by Secrecy, by Jim Marrs (D.50), and The Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly P. Hall (D.38). Rule by Secrecy was published in 2000, and The Secret Teachings of All Ages in October 2003. My recollection is that I read Rule by Secrecy in Conway one summer and liked it a lot, but hated the conclusion about aliens, which I thought was somewhat silly. I think this was fairly late during the writing of The Da Vinci Code. The Secret Teachings of All Ages was published too late for me to have made use of it in the writing of The Da Vinci Code.

200. However, my copies of both books are marked in many places, including points which Blythe and I were familiar with by the time we read the books. For example, I see that on page 87 of my copy of Rule by Secrecy (D.50), Blythe has annotated the margin next to the words “Arthurian legend concerning the Holy Grail is closely connected to the controversial notion of a continuing bloodline from Jesus – the Sangreal or royal blood”. I can see from one of our documents called “Rosslyn Castle Info” (D.181) that the book appears only to have been looked at by Blythe at the time I was writing the final “Rosslyn” chapters of the book. The fact that Rule by Secrecy (D.50) does not appear in the partial bibliography for the Synopsis supports my recollection. The Secret Teachings of All Ages (D.38) is marked in many places. For example, page 139 is marked despite the fact that the subject matter -the date 25th of December, Constantine and Sol Invictus, is Angels & Demons territory

Names

201. In The Da Vinci Code, in order to amuse myself while writing, and to give added interest to readers, many of my character names are anagrams or are significant in some way.

202. I have played with names in all my books, but I did this a lot in The Da Vinci Code. For example, Jonas Faukman is an anagram of my editor, Jason Kaufman. Silas is a reference to a biblical figure named Silas who was let out of prison by an act of God (The Da Vinci Code, Corgi, page 88). Jerome Collet was inspired by a neighbour of my old pen pal, Sylvie. The Teacher is a reference to Jose Escriva who was the leader of Opus Dei and has often been referred to as “Teacher”. Teabing calls himself “The Teacher” to sound more in tune with Opus Dei and thereby trick Silas.

203. Bishop Aringarosa is a play on words; this character looks like a villain, however this a red herring. “Aringa” is herring in Spanish and “Rosa” in Italian is red. Sister Sandrine Bieil was also inspired by a friend of my pen pal Sylvie. Andre Vernet was a French teacher at Exeter. Rene Legaludec was inspired by the Languedoc region in France. Simon Edwards is a dear friend from England. Pamela Gettum is a town librarian in Exeter. Sir Leigh Teabing is, of course, an anagram of the claimants, Messrs. Baigent and Leigh. The character Colbert Sostaque is based on a young boy Colby, to whom I have been a mentor through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program for the last four years. Jean Chaffee is based on my agent’s husband. Edouard Delaroches is the archivist at Phillips Exeter Academy. Sauniere, as I explain below, is a playful reference aimed at conspiracy buffs, to the mystery at Rennes-le Chateau, which I did not include in The Da Vinci Code.

Sir Leigh Teabing

204. Sir Leigh Teabing, his house, and even his character did not exist in the early drafts of the book. He is not mentioned in the Synopsis. I initially conceived the character because Langdon and Sophie needed somewhere to rest and eat before moving on to London. As well as providing a safe haven for Sophie and Langdon, I needed to create a character who could say some of the more far-fetched and controversial things that I initially had Langdon saying. I wanted to preserve the integrity of my protagonist. I wanted Langdon to be able to stand back, raise questions and play devil’s advocate a little, and also fill in some history. I also did not want Langdon to appear to be too anti Catholic; this is neither the message nor focus of the novel.

205. I included this allusion to Holy Blood, Holy Grail’s authors (as opposed to the other three books I cited, see The Da Vinci Code, Corgi, page 339) in the form of the character, Sir Leigh Teabing (an anagram of Baigent & Leigh) for the following reasons:

• Holy Blood, Holy Grail is an older, more traditional book than The Templar Revelation or some of my other sources. It seemed a more fitting match for my Teabing character whom I had crafted as an old British knight.

• I noticed that the letters in “Baigent” were anagram of “Begin at” and that the signature “L Teabing” was an anagram of ‘ ‘Begin at L”. That led me to think of a clue which Sophie would decipher -“Begin at L” was to be her clue that L was the first letter of a word and she would go on to decipher that the word she was after was Louvre. As it turned out, I did not use this clue in the book.

• In The Da Vinci Code, Sophie’s grandfather called her Princess Sophie, and I thought that calling undue attention to the name “Prince” could be confusing for my readers, so I did not use a Picknett & Prince anagram or reference. I wanted to use the name Starbird, but I thought it sounded too American Indian so decided against it

206. Messrs. Baigent and Leigh are only two of a number of authors who have written about the bloodline story, and yet I went out of my way to mention them for being the ones who brought the theory to mainstream attention. I have been shocked at their reaction: Furthermore I do not really understand it.

207. Over the past ten years, I have placed in my novels the names of more than two dozen close friends and family. The names I choose are always those of people I care for or respect. When I learned that Holy Blood, Holy Grail was the first book to bring the idea of the bloodline into the mainstream, I decided to use the name Leigh Teabing as a playful tribute to Mr. Baigent and Mr. Leigh. I have never once used a novel to denigrate anyone, and most certainly my use of the name Leigh Teabing was no exception, I have seen a document which is entitled “General Statements” and which makes a number of serious allegations against me. The document contains numerous sweeping statements which seem to me to be completely fanciful. It concludes with an assertion that the overall design of Holy Blood, Holy Grail – the design of its governing themes, its logic, its arguments, has been lifted by me for The Da Vinci Code. This is simply not true.

209. There is a huge amount of information in Holy Blood, Holy Grail that I did not look at in any detail and is simply not in The Da Vinci Code. A comparison of the content of the first half of the two books establishes that. And where there is overlap of ideas, the fact remains that I used Holy Blood, Holy Grail merely as one of a number of reference sources for some of the information which The Da Vinci Code sets out. One of the ideas in Holy Blood, Holy Grail – perhaps even the central idea – is advertised on the back of my copy of the book: “Is it possible Christ did not die on the cross’?”. This is not all idea that I would ever have found appealing. Being raised Christian and having attended Bible camp, I am well aware that Christ’s crucifixion (and ultimate resurrection) serves as the very core of the Christian faith. It is the promise of life everlasting and that which makes Jesus “the Christ”. The resurrection is perhaps the sole controversial Christian topic about which I would not dare write; suggesting a married Jesus is one thing, but undermining the resurrection strikes at the very heart of Christian belief.

210. There is a huge amount of information in The Da Vinci Code that is not in Holy Blood, Ho1y Grail, and I find it absurd to suggest that I have organized and presented my novel in accordance with the same general principles as those in Holy Blood, Holy Grail or that I have plundered not only the facts in Holy Blood, Holy Grail, but also the relationship between the facts, the evidence to support the facts. It is simply not true.

211. As well as mentioning Holy Blood, Holy Grail in The Da Vinci Code, I also mentioned by name three other books I used in my research, namely The Templar Revelation (Picknett & Prince) (D.53); The Woman with the Alabaster Jar (Starbird) (D.59); and The Goddess in the Gospels (Starbird) (D.58) (see The Da Vinci Code, Corgi, page 339). I did this as each of the books I mentioned had played a part in the research I did while writing The Da Vinci Code. I have received a letter of thanks from Margaret Starbird, and Blythe remains in friendly contact with her. Margaret’s career has really taken off since publication of The Da Vinci Code. We see her on television specials all the time, and her books are now bestsellers. Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince also sent me a kind letter through their publisher, saying they were very happy with the newfound attention to their books, that they were fans of my work.

212. Henry Lincoln’s name does not feature in The Da Vinci Code. There is no particular reason for this. I remember the “Begin at L” reason for using L Teabing and I also remember that Richard Leigh is the name of a friend of mine (he is a famous song writer), but I do not recall anything about Mr Lincoln. I have read an allegation that I made Leigh Teabing a polio victim and a cripple because it was my cruel way of including Mr Lincoln (who apparently walks with a severe limp) in my anagram. This is both untrue and unthinkable to me. I have never met Mr. Lincoln, and I had no idea he had difficulty walking. If I had known, I definitely would have made a different choice. Also, I did not know that Henry Lincoln had made films for the BBC until told this by my English lawyers. I used the BBC in The Da Vinci Code as a device to give Langdon and Teabing a history together. It was also to raise Teabing’s status so that Langdon would automatically turn to him for advice. I used the BBC in Angels & Demons as well; the BBC is the only British news agency with which American readers are familiar, and it adds credibility.

Promotion of The Da Vinci Code

213. I am quite Sure that a great deal of the success of The Da Vinci Code is down to the excellent promotion the book received. The Da Vinci Code got a huge launch. My first three books were barely promoted. There were more Advance Reader Copies given away for free of The Da Vinci Code than the whole print run for Angels & Demons. I am convinced that The Da Vinci Code would have failed if it had been published by my previous publishers – equally, I think Angels & Demons would have been a big success if published by Random House with as much fanfare as they brought to The Da Vinci Code. Angels & Demons is perhaps even more controversial (it deals with a Pope who had a child), and many people have told me they actually prefer it to The Da Vinci Code.

214. Like The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons also touched on some controversial subjects. Angels & Demons is primarily a thriller – a chase, a treasure hunt, and a love story. It’s certainly not an anti Catholic book. It’s not even a religious book. Much of the novel’s action takes place deep inside the arcane world of the Vatican, and some of the factual information revealed there is startling. But I think most people understand that an organization as old and powerful as the Vatican could not possibly have risen to power without acquiring a few skeletons in its closet. I think the reason Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code raised eyebrows is that both books opened some Church closets most people don’t even know existed. The final message of both books, though, without a doubt, are positive.

215. It is impossible to ignore the fact that The Da Vinci Code launch was one of the best orchestrated in history. It is still talked about in the industry. Articles have been written specifically on The Da Vinci Code launch (0.362). Steve Rubin and his team should get the credit for the success, (Steve is president of Doubleday, which is, part of Random House, Inc.) He made me meet all the booksellers months before the book came out. Many booksellers were in love with the book when they read the ARC. To release 10,000 ARCs is, I understand, unheard of and this was only on the basis of a first draft. I am sure that the publicity would have had the same effect with Angels & Demons.

216. As part of the launch, Jason and I created a web quest.for The Da Vinci Code which is an online treasure hunt to support the book (D.363). This had never been done before in a launch and now all of the big books do it. I must admit, somewhat embarrassingly, that until The Da Vinci Code launch, with the tremendous support booksellers have showed my book, I did not fully understand the role of word of mouth in the process and its power to generate buzz and excitement.

217. The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction. While the book’s characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals depicted in this novel all exist (for example, Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, the Gnostic Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.) characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and select rituals depicted all the novel all exist (for example, Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, the Gnostic Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.). These real elements are interpreted and debated by fictional characters. While it is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit, each in individual reader must explore these characters’ viewpoints and come to his or her own interpretations. If you read the “FACT” page at the beginning of the novel, you will see it clearly states that the descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in the novel are accurate. The “FACT” page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader. My hope in writing this novel was that the story would serve as a catalyst and a springboard for people to discuss the important topics of faith, religion, and history.

218. In closing, I would like to restate that I remain astounded by the Claimants’ choice to file this plagiarism suit. For them to suggest, as I understand they do, that I have “hijacked and exploited” their work is simply untrue.

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.

Full name: DAN BROWN

Position Author

Date 21 December 2005

[Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4]


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Da Vinci code case (part 3 of 4) (Dan Brown witness statement)

 Da Vinci code case (part 3 of 4)


Opus Dei

117. In The D Vinci Code I also wanted to include the grey area in religion and did so by including Opus Dei. This grey area was also explored in Angels & Demons. Opus Dei is a very devout Catholic group, which like many fervent religious groups is met with suspicion and mistrust; only some of which is justified. While Opus Dei is a very positive force in the lives of many people, for others, affiliation with Opus Dei has been a profoundly negative experience. Their portrayal in the novel is based on books written about Opus Dei as well as my own personal interviews with current and former members. In both books I wanted to demonstrate that very few things are black and white; all bad or all good.

118. As an extension to the theme of a religious gray area, I also referred to corporal mortification -vthe practice of self flagellation. For most people, the practice sounds abhorrent. Yet, from my years living in Spain I saw that it is a big part of modem Catholicism in Spain. Every year on Easter prominent bankers and lawyers put chains on their legs and march through the streets as their yearly penance. The practice itself is not uncommon.

The Bloodline

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119 I reached a stage in my research where I had plenty of material for the next novel– perhaps even too much. Blythe had been a great advocate for the novel focusing even more on the area of the suppression of the sacred feminine -he also lobbied hard for me to find a way to use a theory which concerned e legend of the Holy Grail –the so-called “bloodline theory”. This is a well documented theory which, by this stage in the research process, we had read about in many books. for example, in The History of the Knights Templars” by Charles G. Addison (D.23), the Introduction (written in 1997 by David Hatcher Childress) says that “Different versions of the legend exist with the two mo t prominent stating that the Holy Grail is the cup or chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper or, alternatively, the genetic blood-lineage of Jesus.” The “bloodline theory” is what Hatcher Childress describes as “the genetic blood-lineage of Jesus’

120. Initially, I was reluctant to include the bloodline theory at all, finding it too incredible and inaccessible to readers – I thought it was a step too far. However, it after much discussion arid brainstorming with Blythe, I eventually became convinced that I could introduce the idea successfully. Blythe had suggested introduce it as a part of the Goddess worship theme -the lost sacred feminine being embodied by the Church of Magdalene that never was. The more I read on this topic – both in Blythe’s notes and independently in the books and on the internet – the more plausible I found the storyline.

121. I am positive that Blythe and I read about the bloodline theory in many sources before reading any of Holy Blood, Holy Grail. From looking back at my source, all of which I am sure I looked at while researching The Da Vinci Code, I have found numerous references in other texts and materials to the theory.

122. The theory appears in all of the following books: The History of the Knights Templars, by Charles G. AddjsoniD.23); Templar Revelation, by Picknett & Prince (D.5 ); The Goddess In the Gospels, by Margaret Starbird (0.58); The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, by Margaret Starbird (D. 59); and The Tomb of God, by Andrews & Schellenberger (D.24). It also is noted in my research documents, for example, documents entitled “Holy Grail Info” called “grail%2fjeusbloodline info” (D.330); “Myths and Stories of the Knights Templar” ( .235); and “MASONS” (D.261).

123. In preparing this statement, I have also looked at my Synopsis for The Da Vinci Code (D4) (I refer to this document in more detail in 161 below), which I wrote in January 2001 long before we bought or consulted Holy Blood, Holy Grail. This has helped me to work out what were the main sources for he bloodline point. In the Synopsis, I refer to the fact that Merovingian comes from “MER = sea and VIGNE == vine” (which is referenced The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, page 62). Furthermore, when Langdon is explaining the bloodline theory to Sophie on the Seine, I included a note to readers: “including countless biblical references to Jesus as ‘bridegroom” Mary Magdalene as the bride and the vine bearing his sacred fruit, and dozens of Vatican-banned gospels….” This material is all dealt with comprehensively in Margaret Starbird’s books. The first three chapters of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar are called: The Lost Bride, The Bridegroom, and The Blood Royal and the Vine.

124. I am certain that I read the above books and documents before I looked at Holy Blood, Holy Grail. All of my early research came from other sources, which included those listed above and many related websites and articles. (I describe below how I eventually used Holy Blood, Holy Grail).

Secrets, treasure hunts, symbology. codes

125 As with m earlier books, there is a lot in The Da Vinci Code that is familiar – a murder, a chase through foreign locations, the action taking place all in 24 hours, a code a ticking clock, strong male and female characters, and a love interest. The book also builds on what I saw as the great leaps forward I made in Angels & Demons. Again, it is thriller as academic lecture, there is plenty of hidden formation, symibology, codes and treasure hunts. And even more so than in Angels & Demons, the reader is accelerated through the book – I used short chapters, ideally with some form of cliff-hanger at the end of each one.

126. In the following paragraphs I have highlighted some of the many other things that appear The Da Vinci Code – they are all important, and I think they are all reasons why the book has had the impact that it has. The list, however, is not exhaustive – for that, the book itself should be consulted.

127. In The Da Vinci Code, Sophie Neveu witnesses Sauniere taking part in a Hieros Gamos ritual; an event that is to set the background of her relationship with her grandfather, and also combine the bloodline theory with that of Goddess worship. Starbird’s books in particular view the bloodline theory from a Lost Sacred Feminine perspective. While the history of Hieros Gamos is well documented, I made up the idea that it was practiced by the Priory. The description of the ritual itself was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘Eyes Wide Shut’.

128. In my synopsis (described below) I tell readers to imagine this movie, which is probably because I had recently written a synopsis for Angels &; Demons that was geared to film producers (in an attempt to sell the movie rights), and conjuring that image seemed an effective way to convey the mystery and scope of what I was imagining. The images of the clothing I describe came from Blythe, who found them on numerous magical or ritualistic websites, quite apart from anything Priory related. The white and black of the male and female costumes were described on these websites. I recall being pleased that this dove-tailed so nicely with the white and black Cryptex I had planned.

129. The first place I look for ideas on symbols is The Dictionary of Symbols, by Chevalier (D.30). This enormous tome is essentially a dictionary that tells us the origins of symbols that we see every day. Looking at my copy I can see that Blythe has written a note in the inside cover saying “pentagram – the key to higher knowledge and opened door to what was secret”. She has also written: chalice, womb, Vulva – MM as vessel”. These are all symbols that appear in The Da Vinci Code. Another symbology text I used a lot in writing The Da Vinci Code is The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects(Q,,60), mentioned above. I feel that one of the most effective ways of putting forward a theory, is demonstrating the symbology substantiated in it. Suggesting the “chalice” of the Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene’s womb is far more convincing if one understands the symbology behind the image of a chalice.

130. Another significant symbol which I wanted to include is the mathematical symbol PH , the Divine Proportion. As with other symbols in The Da Vinci Code, PHI ties nature to religion, the divine feminine and art. It also links directly with the pentagram and hence Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. I know about PHI from my father, from my early studies in art and architecture (although my art teachers called it “The Golden Ratio”), as well as from books such as Huntley’s The Divine Proportion (D.40)

131. While on the subject of symbology, in one of my documents, “DYC -TO ADDI” (1.91) is a passage I contemplated including about the Fleur de Lis: a significant symbol in The Da Vinci Code.

132. As I state above codes are very much a relic from my childhood and have always fascinated me. For the same reasons that I made Vittoria Vetra an entanglement physicist in Angels & Demons and Robert Langdon a symbologist, I made Sophie Neveu a cryptologist. In Angels & Demons I was particularly keen on the idea of using codes, but did not have as much occasion for it – in that book, I made more use of poems and riddles. In The Da Vinci Code, I decided to explore the device further. As a result, codes feature most prominently in The Da Vinci Code and it therefore seemed appropriate to have Sophie as an ‘expert’ or teacher in order to help solve them; just as Vittoria explained the scientific concepts in Angels & Demons. As a plot device, it also linked her to Langdon. In addition, Sophie’s relationship with Sauniere – solving codes and embarking on treasure hunts – is reminiscent of my own with my father. I wanted to portray this relationship in the novel.

133. I believe another reason I decided to make Sophie a cryptologist is that I recalled how much fun I’d had writing the “cryptologist heroine” (Susan Fletcher) in my first novel Digital Fortress. Back then, there was a naive joy about the writing process (before the frustrations of the publishing business set in), and I think part of me wanted to revisit that by using my new-found plotting skills to reinvent my original character archetype and really put her through her paces. .

134. Poems and anagrams were again two forms of codes or riddles that featured prominently in my childhood. As I have already mentioned, my father used poems in annual Christmas treasure hunts to lead us to our “hidden treasure’. I found among my Da VinciCode research my father’s Christmas Treasure hunt from 1982, Chapter 23 of The Da Vinci Code was directly inspired by one of my childhood treasure hunts.

135. An important code in The Da Vinci Code is the Fibonacci sequence, my knowledge of which came from books such as The Divine Proportion by H. E. Huntley (40), and my father. Not only did I think Fibonacci was an interesting code which fit in comfortably with symbols such as PHI, but it was a plot device used .to introduce Sophie to Langdon. I found among my Da Vinci Code research a document entitled “Leonardo daVinci and the Fibonacc lequence” (0.183), which is a series of specific questions I prepared for Blythe to research on things such as Fibonacci and the Vitruvian Man. PHI, Fibonacci, the Vitruvian Man and Da Vinci all complement each other; they can be linked to so many of the same themes.

136. When I was writing Digital Fortress I researched cryptology and came across Caesar boxes, invented by Julius Caesar. I was also familiar with the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, who created many ingenious machines most of which were never made. At some point I had seen a blueprint of portable safe. It was my idea that Sauniere and Sophie call it a Cryptex. It was used as a dramatic vice to release information slowly. It is essentially a Da Vinci invention with the vinegar and the papyrus. However, it was never made, and I did elaborate a bit on the design. The black and white of the Cryptex were used to symbolize the masculine and feminine theme that runs throughout the novel.

137. The Atbash Cypher is an ancient substitution code based on the Hebrew alphabet. I used it in The Da Vinci Code as the code required to open the Cryptex. The keyword was “Baphomet”, a headstone worshipped by the Templars as a pagan fertility god, traditionally represented as a ram or goat’s head. Application of the Atbash Cypher to the word “Baphomet”, results in the word Sophia – the ancient Greek word for wisdom. I was really amazed by how this code worked, particularly as Baphomet ties in so well with themes of the Templars and sex rites. I acquired information on the Atbash Cypher, Baphomet and Sophia from Templar Revelation and Tomb of God. On page 399 of my copy of Tomb of God(D .24), Blythe has written the notes “Sophia/wisdom, Baphomet/Sophia” and “very cool. Also see TR”. It is dealt with on p.109 Templar Revelation (D.53), which Blythe has also underlined. During the preparation of this statement, I have been told that Holy Blood, Holy Grail also mentions Baphomet in the context of Templar worship – the Templars were accused of worshipping fake gods. However, in Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Baphomet is suggested to be a “bearded male head”.

138. In The Da Vinci Code another device I used to maintain suspense was the mysterious “keystone” that the characters are searching for – a rosewood box, containing the Priory’s greatest secret. “Keystone” is an architectural term used to denote the central stone in an archway, supporting the archway and preventing it from collapsing. Its significance in TheDa Vinci Code was entirely my creation, and has no bearing on the actual meaning of the word. It was my idea to link it with the Priory and the bloodline, and it was also my idea that the Grand Master and his seneschals would keep the Priory secret to the exclusion of all others. I decided that the keystone would be the means of keeping the secret. In The Da Vinci Code it is called a clef de voute, because Sauniere is French. It is far more plausible that the Priory would use the French nomenclature.

.1Locations

139. Locations are very significant to me when writing. In both Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, the locations are often as important as the art itself in telling the story and solving the codes. In my Synopsis for The Da Vinci Code, instead having numbered chapters, I used location headings. Locations not only make the read more enjoyable (in my opinion), they add to the credibility of the ideas put forward. They also give the character of Robert Langdon a further opportunity to “teach” readers. Most people are unaware of the pagan origins of the Pantheon, for example, or the existence of demons’ holes in some churches.

140. In The Da Vinci Code, I wanted to pay homage to the Louvre; a work of art itself. In the novel it is the final resting place for the Holy Grail. I spent time researching I. M. Pei, the architect of the famous and controversial Pyramid. I do not actually own any books, about or by Pei, and I recall doing most of the research online at an architectural website (I believe the site was www.greatbuildings.com, which I see is still active today and still offers the I. M. Pei renderings). This enabled me to download CAD renderings of famous buildings, including the Louvre Pyramid. I remember this because I became very frustrated that my inexpensive computer was too weak to fully display these spatial models without crashing. Nonetheless, I could scroll through the rendered frames slowly, and I became very excited about the Internet as a tool for researching the architecture of the buildings that I would be writing about (Notre Dame, the Louvre, Westminster Abbey, etc). In addition, I found among my research a document that refers to various other sources – presumably from the internet, entitled “Pyramid. The Mona Lisa. Louvre Info. Mitterrand” (D. 192).

141. Other sites that feature or are mentioned in the book, for example St. Sulpice, Notre Dame and Westminster Abbey, I either visited myself, researched on the internet or used guide books. One useful research source was Fodor’s Guide to Paris 2001 (D.35), which particularly has information on the Louvre, St. Sulpice, and Notre Dame.

142. A location that kept resurfacing during my research was that of Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, famous for its symbology and links to the Templars. Rosslyn is one of the last locations visited in The Da Vinci Code, where Sophie finds her grandmother and brother, and her history and heritage are revealed. The predominant source for my Rosslyn information was The Hiram Key, a lot of which is devoted to Rosslyn. Looking back at my copy, Blythe has made copious notes inside on Rosslyn. She also compiled two research documents called “Rosslyn Castle Info (plus notes at end on RBS and HK)” (D.181) and “Rosslyn highlights” (D.349), much of which appears to come from The Hiram Key. I also took information from the Rosslyn Chapel website (www.rosslynchapel.org,uk).

143. In The Da Vinci Code, Rosslyn is just another location, whereas in other texts, including Holy Blood, Holy Grail, it is suggested that Rosslyn is the final resting place for the Grail. It seemed more appropriate to me that Mary Magdalene would be returned by the Priory to France. The symbolism of the inverted angle at Louvre – a chalice – appealed to me, so I returned to focus to the Louvre, where the thriller began.

Review of research sources for The Da Vinci Code

144. A lot has happened since I researched this book, and I cannot remember every detail about which sources I used for what aspects of the novel. In general, however, the history and theory in The Da Vinci Code was readily available in texts other than Holy Blood, Holy Grail at the time I wrote the book. Moreover, Blythe and I studied these texts prior to seeing HolyBlood, Holy Grail.

145. I did look at Holy Blood, Holy Grail (D.25) before completing the book (and in the text I refer to it as being “perhaps the best known tome” on the topic of the bloodline theory (The Da Vinci Code, Corgi, page 339-340)). But the fact remains that my sources for the ideas which I am alleged to have copied from Holy Blood, Holy Grail did not include Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

146. When I did finally look at a copy of Holy Blood, Holy Grail I was surprised by what I read on the cover. This surprise found its way into the pages of The Da Vinci Code. Characters in my novels often speak for me, or reflect my experiences (for example, I have mentioned Sophie and her childhood treasure hunts). In Da Vinci Code, Sophie first sees a book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail in Sir Leigh Teabing’s study -she notes that the cover is emblazoned with the words: INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER. Sophie is puzzled and comments, “An international bestseller? I’ve never heard of it.” (Corgi, page 340). Sophie’s words echo my own personal surprise when I finally saw the cover of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and realized it was an international bestseller. I’d never heard of it until I’d seen it mentioned in some of our other research books.

147. I chose to include the title of Holy Blood, Holy Grail in this chapter (along with three other non-fiction books – The Templar Revelation (D.53), The Woman with the Alabaster Jar (D. 59), and The Goddess in the Gospels (D.58) in the hope that any readers who became curious about the some of the ideas in my book, a fictional thriller, would know where to turn to find jump-off points for additional reading material and more details. Maybe it’s because I have been a teacher, but I have always enjoyed suggesting books to people, especially on esoteric topics. Offering the reader a glance at someone else’s bookshelf seemed like an entertaining way to offer other reading material. I did the exact same thing in Angels & Demons, in which I described a bookshelf bearing three books (The God Particle (D.47), The Tao of Physics, and God: the Evidence (D.37). In that case, my hope was that readers who wanted to know more about the subject matter of that book would know where to look for additional reading material.

148. Holy Blood, Holy Grail maybe a well known source, but it is not one I consulted until the storyline of my book was very well developed. I found most of the relevant ideas in my Templar and Masonic books (such as The History of the Knights Templar (D.23), The Knights Templar and their Myth, Born in Blood (D.55), and The Hiram Key (D.44)); The Templar Revelation; Margaret Starbird’s books – Woman with the Alabaster Jar (D.59) and Goddess in the Gospels {D.S8).

149. I also looked at Donna Read’s programs, Women & Spirituality, and my books on codes and symbols (Dictionary of Symbology, by Chevalier (0.30), Codes, Ciphers and other Cryptic and Clandestine Communication, by Wrixon (0.61), The Divine Proportion, by Huntiey (0.40), Dictionary of Symbols, by Liungman (D.48), The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects, by Walker D.60).and for some basic information about gargoyles, Fodor’s Guide to Paris, 2001 (D.36)). I also looked at The Malleus Maleficarum, by Kramer and Sprenger (D.45), The Gnostic Gospels, by Elaine Pagels (D.51) (I had already read one of her books –The Origins of Satan (D.52), while researching Angels & Demons), and The Tomb of God, by Andrews & Schellenberger (D.24). To a lesser extent I relied on and got ideas from other books and materials, such as Joseph Campbell’s book Transformations of Myth Through Time (D.29), and a TV show I saw of him being interviewed called “Power of Myth”; and Rule by Secrecy, by Marrs .(D.50) (this last book I read late in the writing of the novel).

150. Also, I made full use of the internet and what it offers. In the research and writing of The Da Vinci Code I looked at numerous online sources. I find the internet a great source of factual information, if used carefully. For example, if I needed to find a restaurant in Zurich for a particular scene, I would be able to find out the address and even what’s on the menu by conducting as search online. This all adds detail to the descriptive parts of a novel that makes it all the more credible or realistic to the reader. I try to get these details right (even though do not always achieve this).

151. I often use the internet to give me a sense of whether or not an idea has potential. For example, if I hear a fact that sounds interesting and yet suspect, I will run a narrow search for that information and determine the credibility of people who have written about it. Invariably a narrow search will pull up specific passages from online excerpts of other books (promotional excerpts, commentary, reviews, Amazon, articles, etc.).

152. Large portions of the supporting research for The Da Vinci Code was performed online because of the ease of searching large numbers of documents or specific data and references. For example, with respect to information on I. M. Pei, while I do not actually own any books about or by M. Pei, I was able to find the relevant information online on architectural websites, online excerpts of books about Pei and other websites.

153. In addition I was helped in my research not only by Blythe but by Stan Planton, a librarian based at the University of Ohio. Stan had access to an incredible amount of online material and did “key-word searches” for me via his access to Lexis-Nexis. He sent me literally hundreds of texts from newspapers, journals, magazines, and other articles (including many European sources). In the preparation of this statement, I contacted Stan and spoke to him by telephone. He told me that he recalls doing keyword searches for — (in his words) “Merovingian”, “Magdalene”, “Priory of Sion”, “Templar”‘, “Grail”, “Opus Dei” “bloodline of Christ” and many more. I asked him if he had copies of our correspondence. He looked for them but said that he had sent these emails to me more than three years ago and that they had been long since deleted. It is possible that some of the documents I have made available in the litigation include research papers that Stan found. I have searched my own computer files for electronic copies of Stan’s research, but have found no such records. I believe that those records were stored on my old computer, which was damaged following a serious flood in about March 2004 when I also lost many of my documents and other materials. Two emails of the type of research that Stan said he completed for me are attached as Exhibit DB1.

154. In the late stages of writing The Da Vinci Code, Blythe and I started to use email more frequently to share ideas with each other. The reason for this is that more of our research was taking place on the Internet, and email became the most efficient way of sharing information. For Blythe, sending me cut-and-paste text or a clickable link to a large website was easier than printing out dozens of pages in hardcopy. This was especially true for websites that had lots of photographs (photos were very helpful in writing my descriptive passages, but they printed poorly and ate up expensive printer toner; I preferred to see them online). For some topics, Blythe pulled together many points and typed up a research document, usually covering the research that I had asked her to do on a particular topic. This new tool of email now meant that those research notes appeared in all kinds of different forms – her own extracts, clips from the internet, scans from source books, and website resource files. Sometimes I got a paper copy of those notes, usually an emailed copy, and sometimes both.

155. I don’t like reading things on screen – my eye, sight is pretty good, but I find it tiring to look at the screen when reading. So, if I am at a point where I want to introduce a nugget of information on a work of art, or of a tube station, or of an airfield n Kent, I usually print out the page from the Internet, or from Blythe’s notes and move away from my desk and computer, sit down and read the material. I may highlight points with a pen, or I may move back to the screen to insert some bullet points. Sometimes I can become rather frustrated when presented with too much information. If Blythe’s research is voluminous, I will sometimes read Blythe’s note and ask her to produce something more concise and focused so that I have the very essence of the points.

156. I add Blythe’s research to my own, and then I attempt to distil and make palatable to the reader the raw subject matter. I estimate that I weed out the vast proportion of the research, and present only what I regard as the most interesting bits for the reader. This painstaking process of researching and writing a novel has been described by me as a lot like making maple sugar candy. You have to tap hundreds of trees …boil vats and vats of raw sap… evaporate the water …and keep boiling until you’ve distilled a tiny nugget that encapsulates the essence. Of course, this requires liberal use of the delete key.

157. In many ways, editing yourself is the most important part of being a novelist – carving away superfluous text until your story stands crystal clear before your reader. For every page in each of my novels, I probably wrote ten that ended up in the trash. All of this work leads to the production of a manuscript, revised drafts, and then finally the finished novel. My tendency toward heavy editing (“trimming the fat” as I called it) fuelled the ongoing push-and-pull between Blythe and me. Blythe constantly urged me to add more facts and more history. I was always slashing out long descriptive passages in an effort to keep the pace moving. I remember Blythe once gave me an enormous set of architectural / historical notes for a short flashback I was writing about Notre Dame Cathedral. When I had finished the section, she was frustrated by how little of work actually made the final cut. In these situations, I always remind Blythe I was trying to write a fast-moving page-turner.

[Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4]

source:
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