Seola
Encyclopedia
Seola is an antediluvian
novel published in 1878, written by Ann Eliza Smith. The publishers of the novel are Boston: Lee and Shepard, New York: Charles T. Dillingham.
The majority of the novel purports to be a translation of an ancient scroll diary written by a woman named Seola, who is identified as the wife of Japheth. The Bible book of Genesis indicates that Noah
had three sons named Ham, Shem
and Japheth
. In the appendix section of the novel, Ann Smith describes how she was inspired to write the fantasy. She writes:
Some of her research into the ancient traditions of these nations can be found in her first published work, From Dawn to Sunrise. The appendix and notes section at the end of the novel Seola explain certain passages within the story and how they are supported by real ancient texts. Portions of the story can be perceived as extrapolations from the Haggada, the Mahabharata
, The Book of Enoch
and the creation myths of Greek mythology.
The diary of Seola is about a girl's struggle to resist a wicked world. Her resolve to remain loyal to God is so strong she influences a fallen angel to repentance. The diary is unique because it gives a detailed account on how the Great Deluge started. One of the planets in the solar system becomes unstable and its destruction causes the waters above the expanse to fall.
The beginning entry of the journal gave no doubt as to the era the individual claims to come from. The entry reads, “West Bank of the Euphrates
, first moon-evening, after Adam, four cycles”. The author of the journal identifies herself as Seola, daughter of Aleemon and Lebuda. Her father was the son of Lamech
and his father was Methuselah
. Aleemon had a passion for study and the preservation of historical records. This desire kept him near a grand city which contained a wealth of knowledge on the history of the world written down on scrolls. The city’s name was Sippar
a and it was also known as the city of the Sun. This desire also endangered the lives of his family. It so happened that the city was the royal seat of the one who ruled the planet. This ruler was known as Lucifer
the Light Bearer, King of the Sun. He and his kind were ruling the earth for over 1100 years, since the days of Jared
. These beings were known as the Devas
. The Devas were angelic spirit beings that materialized into human form. Their superior powers enabled them to dominate and instill fear into the human race. They sought after the most beautiful women of mankind and took them as wives. Through the union of the mortal female and the angelic being came male children of large stature. These offspring were known as the Darvand
s. The Darvands were ruthless bullies with strength that none could match.
Seola begins her journal at the request of her father. Her first entries are common and uneventful because the family has been relocated to an isolated section of the forest away from Sippara and their life is peaceful with the isolation. The tranquility eventually comes to an end because the Devas discover their private sanctuary. The threat to the family is neither by wealth or possession but by way of beauty.
" before 1931); the Appendix quotes passages from their published works: Scenario of the The Photo-Drama of Creation
, The Harp of God, Studies in the Scriptures
Voll. I, II, IV-VII and A Desirable Government.
Most names and places in the book were changed. In Angels and Women, Seola and Lucifer are named Aloma and Satanas, and the city of Sippara is called Balonia.
The Golden Age Journal (now Awake magazine) of July 30, 1924, p. 702, recommended that its readers purchase a copy of Angels and Women:
In 1977, in his Secrets of the Lost Races, Rene Noorbergen claims that in 1950, a certain "Dr. Philip Gooch" gave information about an ancient diary written on a scroll which told of the events leading up to the deluge to Aaron J. Smith, leader of the Oriental Archaeological Research Expedition to the supposed location of Noah's Ark
on top of Mount Ararat
. Gooch supposedly wrote:
"The diary was written by Noah's daughter-in-law. The author of the Journal called herself Amoela and she claims to have been a student of Methuselah
. He taught her about the history that transpired from the creation of Adam to the deluge. Her youngest son Javan
placed the completed scroll diary in his mother's tomb after she died in the 547th year of her life. The diary was placed in a crystal quartz case, with tempered gold hinges and clasps. The crystal case was then found by a high ranking Mason in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The original and the translation of the diary were stored in an unknown Masonic Lodge
."
It is apparent that these details were derived by some means from either Seola or Angels and Women.
A first edition (1878) copy of Seola has been known to sell for over $3000 US Dollars. The 1924 Angels and Women has been known to sell for over $400 US Dollars.
Antediluvian
The antediluvian period meaning "before the deluge" is the period referred to in the Bible between the Creation of the Earth and the Deluge . The narrative takes up chapters 1-6 of Genesis...
novel published in 1878, written by Ann Eliza Smith. The publishers of the novel are Boston: Lee and Shepard, New York: Charles T. Dillingham.
The majority of the novel purports to be a translation of an ancient scroll diary written by a woman named Seola, who is identified as the wife of Japheth. The Bible book of Genesis indicates that Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
had three sons named Ham, Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
and Japheth
Japheth
Japheth is one of the sons of Noah in the Abrahamic tradition...
. In the appendix section of the novel, Ann Smith describes how she was inspired to write the fantasy. She writes:
"Seola is a fantasy, revealed to the writer while listening to the performance of an extraordinary musical composition. It was sudden and unforeseen as the landscape which sometimes appears to a benighted traveller, for one instant only, illumined by the lightning's flash.
It does not therefore pretend to be either history or theology, but yet the theory upon which the story is founded is in strict accordance with the sacred writings of the HebrewsHebrewsHebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
and traditions of other ancient nations."
Some of her research into the ancient traditions of these nations can be found in her first published work, From Dawn to Sunrise. The appendix and notes section at the end of the novel Seola explain certain passages within the story and how they are supported by real ancient texts. Portions of the story can be perceived as extrapolations from the Haggada, the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, The Book of Enoch
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
and the creation myths of Greek mythology.
Plot introduction
The greatest discovery of the nineteenth century is found by accident. A team of archaeologists uncover one of the most ancient burial tombs of all time. Inside the tomb they find something far greater than gold or gems, they find a diary of a person who lived more than four thousand years ago. The team pool all their knowledge together in order to translate the scroll diary before it disintegrates in the foreign air.The diary of Seola is about a girl's struggle to resist a wicked world. Her resolve to remain loyal to God is so strong she influences a fallen angel to repentance. The diary is unique because it gives a detailed account on how the Great Deluge started. One of the planets in the solar system becomes unstable and its destruction causes the waters above the expanse to fall.
The beginning entry of the journal gave no doubt as to the era the individual claims to come from. The entry reads, “West Bank of the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, first moon-evening, after Adam, four cycles”. The author of the journal identifies herself as Seola, daughter of Aleemon and Lebuda. Her father was the son of Lamech
Lamech
Lamech is a character in the genealogies of Adam in the Book of Genesis. He is the sixth generation descendant of Cain ; his father was named Methusael, and he was responsible for the "Song of the Sword." He is also noted as the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible, taking two wives, Ada and...
and his father was Methuselah
Methuselah
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
. Aleemon had a passion for study and the preservation of historical records. This desire kept him near a grand city which contained a wealth of knowledge on the history of the world written down on scrolls. The city’s name was Sippar
Sippar
Sippar was an ancient Near Eastern city on the east bank of the Euphrates river, located at the site of modern Tell Abu Habbah in Iraq's Babil Governorate, some 60 km north of Babylon and 30 km southeast of Baghdad....
a and it was also known as the city of the Sun. This desire also endangered the lives of his family. It so happened that the city was the royal seat of the one who ruled the planet. This ruler was known as Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
the Light Bearer, King of the Sun. He and his kind were ruling the earth for over 1100 years, since the days of Jared
Jared (ancestor of Noah)
Jared, or Jered, in Judeo-Christian religious belief was a fifth-generation descendant of Adam and Eve.- Tradition :...
. These beings were known as the Devas
Deva (Hinduism)
' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
. The Devas were angelic spirit beings that materialized into human form. Their superior powers enabled them to dominate and instill fear into the human race. They sought after the most beautiful women of mankind and took them as wives. Through the union of the mortal female and the angelic being came male children of large stature. These offspring were known as the Darvand
Darvand
A Darvand is a child of an angel and a human, usually a male angel and a woman. Darvand creatures appear in Anne Eliza Smith's novel "Seola" published in 1878...
s. The Darvands were ruthless bullies with strength that none could match.
Seola begins her journal at the request of her father. Her first entries are common and uneventful because the family has been relocated to an isolated section of the forest away from Sippara and their life is peaceful with the isolation. The tranquility eventually comes to an end because the Devas discover their private sanctuary. The threat to the family is neither by wealth or possession but by way of beauty.
Derivative works
In 1924, an anonymous author published a revision of Seola under the title Angels and Women. The content within the revised edition depends upon the teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (called "Bible StudentsBible Students
Bible Students refers to followers of the Bible Student movement and a number of related religious communities:* Dawn Bible Students Association* Free Bible Students* Jehovah's Witnesses* Laymen's Home Missionary Movement...
" before 1931); the Appendix quotes passages from their published works: Scenario of the The Photo-Drama of Creation
The Photo-Drama of Creation
The Photo-Drama of Creation, or Creation-Drama, was a four-part Christian film produced by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania under the direction of Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Bible Student movement.The film presented Russell's beliefs about God's plan from the...
, The Harp of God, Studies in the Scriptures
Studies in the Scriptures
Studies in the Scriptures is a series of publications, intended as a Bible study aid, containing seven volumes of great importance to the history of the Bible Students, and the early history of the Jehovah's Witnesses.-Origin and author:...
Voll. I, II, IV-VII and A Desirable Government.
Most names and places in the book were changed. In Angels and Women, Seola and Lucifer are named Aloma and Satanas, and the city of Sippara is called Balonia.
The Golden Age Journal (now Awake magazine) of July 30, 1924, p. 702, recommended that its readers purchase a copy of Angels and Women:
In 1977, in his Secrets of the Lost Races, Rene Noorbergen claims that in 1950, a certain "Dr. Philip Gooch" gave information about an ancient diary written on a scroll which told of the events leading up to the deluge to Aaron J. Smith, leader of the Oriental Archaeological Research Expedition to the supposed location of Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
on top of Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
. Gooch supposedly wrote:
"The diary was written by Noah's daughter-in-law. The author of the Journal called herself Amoela and she claims to have been a student of Methuselah
Methuselah
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
. He taught her about the history that transpired from the creation of Adam to the deluge. Her youngest son Javan
Javan
Javan was the fourth son of Noah's son Japheth according to the "Table of Nations" in the Hebrew Bible...
placed the completed scroll diary in his mother's tomb after she died in the 547th year of her life. The diary was placed in a crystal quartz case, with tempered gold hinges and clasps. The crystal case was then found by a high ranking Mason in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The original and the translation of the diary were stored in an unknown Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
."
It is apparent that these details were derived by some means from either Seola or Angels and Women.
A first edition (1878) copy of Seola has been known to sell for over $3000 US Dollars. The 1924 Angels and Women has been known to sell for over $400 US Dollars.