For wisdom is better than jewels [Open]

[withoutspice]

Sitting on a bench under the shade of a large tree within a garden of the Vatican City, Ghanima Atreides was slowly reading the large book that sat on her lap. She had found an old Roman Catholic Latin Bible in one of the rooms of the 'Casina' of Pius IV that she, along with Alia and Duncan - or Hayt - had claimed as their own.

She had needed time to herself, time away from worrying about her aunt, and how her aunt was taking the news of how Hayt had no recollection of his marriage to Alia. It was sad, though she was sure that time would only lead the two on the path they both belonged on - such was the way of life.

She had chosen a small garden as her refuge, and had found she enjoyed the silence that surrounded it. It seemed as though the Vatican City was not a place that many ventured to, and for that Ghani was indeed pleased.

While many from her world had forgotten the old Earth languages, Ghani had always enjoyed speaking, and using them as a way to communicate with her twin brother, Leto. It had been their secrect way of communicating when they didn't wish others to know what was being said. It was one of the gifts that having so many Other Memories had given them. And it was a gift that provided useful now as she read over the Latin words.

"*... melior est enim sapientia cunctis pretiosissimis et omne desiderabile ei non potest conparari. Ego sapientia habito in consilio et eruditis intersum cogitationibus." Ghani read aloud and couldn't help but agree with the small two verses.


*Proverbs 8:11 and 8:12
11 "For wisdom is better than jewels ; And all desirable things cannot compare with her."
12 "I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion."

Comments

[wanderer-alone.livejournal.com]

"You're not praying to Atom, are you?" comes the query from the dark haired woman approaching from the other side of the tree. "Cos if you are, I'm going elsewhere."

[withoutspice]

Ghanima's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked up from the Bible. Turning her head, she spotted the woman and quickly shook her head. "I do not know of this Atom you speak of, but I'm not praying. It's a verse from this Bible I found," she said, lifting the large book to show the woman.

[wanderer-alone.livejournal.com]

"That's good. Not in the mood for being blown up," and Lone moves round the tree, leaning against it rather than sitting on the bench. "That a pre-war book?"

Lone was never one for religion.

[withoutspice]

Ghani just stared silently at the other woman, wondering if perhaps she'd begun to lose her mind. Though to be honest, the whole differnt worlds thing was in play, she was sure. But she still couldn't help but wonder about the woman's sanity.

Setting the book back down in her lap, she srugged a shoulder. "I suppose it is. In my world, I don't even know if such a book still exsists."

[wanderer-alone.livejournal.com]

Lone is about as sane as they come in the Wasteland, for what that's worth.

"Must be worth a fair bit, then?" and Lone's mind defaults to value. If she can't use it for something, then it can be sold to buy useful stuff with. "Used to be a women I knew, was collecting up all the old books to make sure that they would still be around. Helped her out a couple of times."

[worm-dancer.livejournal.com]

Sheeana was dwelling on holiness after talking to Duncan-the-younger earlier. She ran her fingers along the stained glass windows, the depictions of saints. The scenes were different but the compositions the same. This was the eternal experience of religion. This would be a good place to bring her Acolytes, to show them the commonalities of the sacred experience.

She thought of her younger self, living in a place like this, followed by priest-bodyguards everywhere, there to do the bidding of their Holy Child.

Embarrassingly, this reverie in memory meant she didn't even notice when she came upon Ghanima Atreides.

[withoutspice]

Ghani had heard Sheeana's approach, even before she saw her. The soft crunching of the grass beneath her feet, the way her clothes shifted across her skin. Ghani had heard it all, and had lifted her gaze to watch Sheeana's approach.

Sheeana it seemed was lost in her thoughts. And for a brief second, Ghani couldn't help but wonder what they were.

Carefully, she closed the book and rested her hands on the hard leather cover. "Hello, Sheeana."

[worm-dancer.livejournal.com]

Sheeana whirled, hand automatically going to her crysknife. When she saw who it was though, she let the blade go. Ghanima might have been a preborn but she was not like her aunt.

"Ghanima Atreides...Is that an Orange-Catholic Bible?"

[withoutspice]

Ghani merely shook her head, deciding to say nothing about the other woman's jumpiness. "No, it is not." She looked down at it, her fingers tracing over the gold lettering on the cover. "It's an old Earth Bible. A Catholic one, I believe and it's in Latin."

[jedimacguyver.livejournal.com]

Obi-Wan Kenobi was not a man who dwelt on battle, indeed he had struggled all this life to avoid fighting as much as a man could and still do the work of a peacekeeper. This holy place, the temple of some other order, had been the sight of a grisly conflict not long ago. That he could look at the walls and forget that was a testament to those who had built them. So much struggle in the recent past, and so much yet to come. No, no one had warned him that life as a Jedi would be this...exciting, but then he'd known it from the start hadn't he?

Ghanima's voice echoed sweetly from the stone of the Vatican's architecture, and Obi-Wan followed it, curious. Who could be— ah. The last Bene Gesserit, the woman he'd yet to meet. Part of him hesitated at that thought, while the rest pushed on, and asked, "And the translation?"

[withoutspice]

The calmness of the man's voice caused Ghani to raise her eyes and actually look at him. There weren't many onboard whom she'd meet who seemed to actually be calm and not merely pretending to be. She studied him silently for a moment, watching his face, watching for something that could tell her more about him. Peace and calmness was what she read from him.

Interesting.

"For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion," Ghani finally spoke, easily translating the Latin she'd only moments before read outloud.

Closing the Bible, she held it up for him to see. "They are verses from this Bible I found earlier today."

[jedimacguyver.livejournal.com]

"It rings very true," Obi-Wan replied, as if she had not hesitated, smoothly diplomatic. Emotion, yet peace; Passion, yet serenity, was the mantra. More and more the Jedi had been falling back on the code itself.

He'd never seen that particular religious text before, but he'd always known respect for the innumerable belief systems in the Galaxy, "You found it here? I had wondered what sort of temple this really was. It seems some things are common in all worlds."

[withoutspice]

"So it seems," Ghanima agreed with a small nod of her head. "Religion seems to give others something to latch onto, something to believe and have faith in." Even if at times it seemed that faith was misplaced.

"Yes, I found it in one of the rooms of the building I'm staying in with my aunt and... well the mentat." She couldn't call him Duncan, not yet as the Ghola had yet to reclaim that part of himself. But in time, she knew she would be able to.

[cardsharkgambit.livejournal.com]

"Dat's pretty, cher," an accented voice speaks up from behind Ghanima. The man leaning against a nearby tree is not someone Ghanima has met as of yet but, with the knowledge of all the Bene Gesserit ancestors in her consciousness, she likely heard him coming down the path long before he spotted her.

"What's it mean?"

[withoutspice]

Ghani had heard him approaching, but she had also in a way hoped that he'd continue walking on. So much for the garden being a place of quiet and refuge.

"For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion," Ghani translated for him as she slowly lifted her gaze to finally look at him.

[cardsharkgambit.livejournal.com]

"Not bad," he nodded as he stared down with his fiery red eyes at the pretty blond. "I tink it prettier de other way though. You say it nice."

[withoutspice]

"Thank you," Ghani smiled slightly. "It's Latin. It's not a language that's used anymore though in the world I'm from."

[notadamnangel.livejournal.com]

Dean had his own reasons not to linger around the Vatican. He didn't want to think about that picture of Michael in that shrine inside, or the fact Castiel's here. All gung ho about dragging them back into that mess. Like he and Sam could really escape it. Not have to worry about being some angel's meatsuit, and killing each other as the world ends around them. So it was he scowled a little before he heard a familiar voice speaking in Latin. He only knew it mainly for exorcism purposes but some of it stood out. Still be more up Sam's alley.

He calmed his features, and painted a welcoming smile when he could make eye contact with her.

"Catching up on some 'ancient' reading huh?"

[withoutspice]

She had heard Dean's arrival, had heard it and yet hadn't looked up at him until she was sure he wasn't going to keep walking on.

She smiled softly though as she looked at him. "Yes, I've never actually read a book from old Earth... It's a Bible," she told him, sounding almost proud.

[notadamnangel.livejournal.com]

Dean nodded, "Yeah I recognized it. Pretty easy to get in more world, most hotels got a copy for free." Not that his reading material extended much outside Busty Asian Beauties and related genre.

[withoutspice]

"Oh," Ghani looked down at the Bible. She'd forgot that such things were common in the world that Dean had come from. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at him. "A motel? What is that?"

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"I've heard a lot of languages," he said quietly as he stepped out of the shadows and lowered his hood, "But I've never heard that one. It sounds beautiful, though. What does it mean?"

Luke didn't usually walk around hooded and cloaked--skulk about, Mara would probably say--mostly because unless he had to he didn't do it terribly well, but he'd not wanted to disturb Ghanima while she read. Now that she'd seemed to reach a stopping point, however, he'd decided to step forward and say hello.

[withoutspice]

Her head twisted to the side side and a smile slowly appeared seeing Luke standing there. She hadn't actually spoken to the man very much, but the time she had, she'd actually enjoyed it.

"It's an old Earth language called Latin," Ghani informed him. "It means; 'For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.'"

Ghani looked down at the Bible, running her fingers over the delicate pages. "It's from one of the old religions. Roman Catholic. Which this whole Vatican City was apart of."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"I've never heard of it," Luke said, walking over to sit beside her. "Or the religion it comes from, and to many in my world Earth is only a legend." He tilted his head, eyes scanning the strange words. "It seems like good advice, though, the passage you read. But you'd know more about the religion than I do and could say for certain."

His fingers reached out, wonderingly touching the pages. Real paper, a real woodpaper book, not flimsi. He'd only seen these kinds of things in the Chiss library when he and the others had been searching for Zonama Sekot.

[withoutspice]

"I don't know much about it myself," Ghani admitted. "I do know that in it's time it went through many extremes - though is that not true with many religions?" She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

She watched him as he touched the pages, almost as though he were in awe. She held the book out for him. "You can look at it if you wish. I've already read a good deal of it."