Hogfather, The falling angel, rising ape.

 

Definition of angel. 

folk belief, mystic belief version. 

Sometimes it 's used like that in the bible, but it' s more complex than that. Well actually simpler. 

The Greek word angel means a messenger. It can be a heavenly messanger true but in the ancient world, in fact until recently, messengers were a regular and essential part of life. 

In the gospels an 'angel' is sent, ie messenger to take a message in Luke 7v22, Luke 9v52, John 13v16. All translated messenger, but the same Greek word is transliterated elsewhere just as angel. Ho hum. Not good translation practice including the religious biases.

 In this I really think they should have let people decide because in fact so called angels could be a paid messanger like they had paid scribes in public places to write or read for people, no phones of course. Letters were expensive and slow. In the armed forces they called it sending a runner. Any big employer would have people waiting around to run errands, not so out of date. The Meryl Streep character in the Devil Wears Prada has people round her all the time who will do her messages, even phone calls for her. They crop up everywhere once you start looking. Greek plays have them. In the one where Troy is under seige, oh come on, what's it called, anyway a herald and a messenger turn up at the tent of whoever... angel in Greek. It's a thing. 

No court would be without them either. Ladies in Waiting were that. The origins of having waiters in cafés, the same. 

Bible again, the book of revelation has a great big psychedelic court scene, with throne, regional leaders, 7 trumpets ie heralds, 7 scrolls ie official announcements and 7 bowls, a sort of tray business, and doing all the running round, angels, court messengers. Not just Greek theatre but standard goings on in any middle Eastern court. 

You can tell it irritates me the word has been hyped up into way more than what it actually says. Sigh. I'm not a very good pedant, my memory is too poor but some things matter. However to my chagrin I don't think TP knew the difference, he used the familiar incorrect sense which I concede has to become correct, sort of, just through usage  but it is wrong. 

The falling angel, rising ape. 

As you know I think every think every thing comes back to Susan eventually and here I'm pretty sure I'm right lol I don't think it's just a metaphysical speech in isolation just about DEATH but I also think it's referring to Susan's ongoing existential dilemma. 

You know the presentation pendulum swing in SM. 

She's presented as alien as viewed by Miss Butts, then when we see Susan's PoV she's a worried human, she finds out the family secret, accepts the Duty thus immortal, but at the end choses human and runs for it when she hears the non human rat in the gutter. Death looks on as she cries and nods. '' You could choose immortality, or you could choose humanity. You had to do it for yourself. '' 

The needle swings again through out the Susan threads. HF makes it clearer she might run out of human but Death really wants her on board with him but is playing poker, the long game. So the falling supernatural being meeting the rising simian anthropoid is not just talking in big terms about us but also refers to the choices that are less voluntary than Susan thinks, between her two heritages, her two natures.

 There's no justice there's just... Just who? (sorry for rhetorical question) Us. First person plural, plural. The first time he says it I think it's him and Mort,(?) this time... And here all who wants to interpret texts are merely interpreters and TP if he were still here would probably give an enigmatic shrug to show it could be so and if it isn't he wishes he'd thought of it.