Customer Reviews

Principia Discordia - The Magnum Opiate of Malaclypse the Younger

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been after a copy of this particular edition ever since it came out and having got it, proceeded to read it. Fnord.

Being that a Discordian is prohibited of believing what he reads--so sayeth the fifth rule of the Pentabarf--and that this review will be read, that severely limits me in what I can say, especially when one considers that all statements are true in some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some sense, true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some sense, false and meaningless in some sense, and true and false and meaningless in some sense.

There are no rules anywhere. The Goddess prevails.

Hail Eris!

These profoundly entertaining scriptures come close to rivaling James Robinson's edition of the The Nag Hammadi Library as the most important contribution to 20th century metaphysics. And not only for those who consider Discordianism as a form - albeit a weird one - of Gnosticism.

Certain passages are more inspiring than others, like The Enlightenment Of Zarathud and Lord Omar's Epistle To The Paranoids, although only the orthodox version of the latter appears here. According to the Samaritan Codex (jealously guarded by a heterodox sect) and the Octuagint there is an additional verse which reads: "Ye erect tall buildings, only to cast yerselves from the rooves."

The same Codex (but not the Octuagint) also contains The Epistle To The Neurotics by St. Euthanasius that sadly didn't make it into this edition. For well neigh 3000 years scholars have been debating its authenticity. The editors of this edition could at least have included it as an appendix.

These minor gripes aside, I do recommend this work to all those who are searching for the meaning of life, the universe and everything. These exegeses by Malaclypse & Omar of the thoughts of Eris, Greek goddess of Chaos, are amusing and thought-provoking. If you appreciate this type of humour, you will love the work of Robert Anton Wilson.

I recently noticed that I couldn't find my purple version of this book. I have absolutely no idea what happened to it. But if that hadn't happened, I never would have known that there was a hard cover version out. Something mysterious is going on. You should buy this book.

The Book is a masterpiece of confusion, philosophy, humor and a religion that only starts out seeming ridiculous, as you read and reread the book you start to find the wisdom that Malaclypse the Younger was trying to convey and yet wrap his own head around at the time. I have owned three copies of this book and evey time i rebuy it and reread it i get somthing new from it. So grab your copy and all hail Eris.

Finally! Principia Discordia in hardback! It's about time too. It seems I've been waiting thirty odd years for this version. I've worn out and given away so many paperback copies I have now gifted myself a permanent version. Just check out all those neat little additions too, like the 'outroductions' and the bit about the...

No, I'm not going to spoil it for you. Just buy it!

It's awesome to finally see what may be one of the most stealthily influential books of the later 20th century in hardback. A definite must have, especially if you're like me and have already destroyed two paperback copies from over reading...

Thought this book would be entertaining at the very least, but its really just page after page of paragraphs and doodles that make for a very un-fascinating read.