David Silberstein wrote: > On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, David Silberstein wrote: > > >On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Casey Rousseau wrote: > > > >> > >>There's an old, old story (from Plato?) that souls waiting to be > >>incarnated know everything there is to know in heaven and on earth, > >>but that just before they are born, an angel presses a hot coal to > >>their lips, sealing in the knowledge and preventing them from sharing > >>it. > >> > > [snipped] > > > The Platonic theory that study is only recollection, because the > > soul knew everything before entering the world, > > It looks like that's all there is to it: > > http://www.san.beck.org/Phaedo.html#21 > > "Then, Simmias, souls existed previously, > before they were born in human form, > without bodies, and they had wisdom." > > Nothing about angels or hot coals. > > "It's all in Plato, all in Plato! Dear me, what do they teach them > in the schools nowadays?" Thank you for knowing that or knowing where to find it. My googling wasn't hitting an exact match so I left out direct references to either Phaedo or the Talmudic story you mentioned in hopes that perhaps someone would recognize it or have a copy of Prince Ombra at hand. To the left, had I simply waited to post the message until I was home and could refer to the copy I own, I could have short circuited. And yet, last night I did no such thing, since as soon as dinner was done and a quick shopping expedition was completed, I read about a third of Paths of the Dead and fell asleep. I am now convinced that there were two quotes at the beginning of the book. One is from Plato, the other based on the Talmud.