Re: Sorcery and Measurement

From: Julian Lord <jlord_at_free.fr>
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 15:21:00 +0100


Nick :

> Greg wrote:
>
> > Magic is a noncountable thing. You cannot answer it with=20
> > a value of "how many," just "how much." The numbers given
> > are approximate, variable and indefinite. At least, in the
> > Glorantha I know of. It is mythic, not mathmatical.=20
>
> In the late nineties, you were describing Sorcery as the type of magic
> specific to the mundane, *measurable* world, suggesting that sorcerous
> magic, at least, was "countable". Has this changed, or am I grasping the
> wrong end of the stick (that you are hitting me with :-)?

I'll throw my €0.02 into the ring, and opine that although sorcerous magic and indeed spells in general are eminently countable, the Sorcery Plane itself (AKA God) is eminently not so, being infinite, eternal; transcendental, and immeasurable (et cetera) by nature. No-one knows how many angels are dancing on the thin end of the stick in question.

Technically, sorcery is non-countable in esse, and countable in re. Whether or not it's countable in posse is one for the angelic pin-dancing hair-splitters, IMO. Less technically, all "things" are countable ; manifest magic spells count as "things", but the Source does not, and therefore transcends mere numeracy.

Julian Lord

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