Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
name	Abel Tasman
birth date	day unknown 1603
birth place	Lutjegast, Dutch Republic
death date	October 10, 1659
death place	Batavia (Jakarta),Dutch East Indies
occupation	navigator and explorer
spouse	Claesgie MeyndrixJoanna Tiercx
children	one girl
nationality	Dutch }}

Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 1603–1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC (United East India Company). His was the first known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands. His navigator François Visscher, and his merchant Isaack Gilsemans mapped substantial portions of Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific Islands.

First pacific voyage

Abel Tasman was born in 1603 in Lutjegast, a village in the province of Groningen. He was first heard of at the end of 1631, as a widower living at Amsterdam, where he married Jannetje Tjaers at that time. In 1633 Tasman joined the Dutch East India Company and sailed to Batavia; four years later he was back in Amsterdam. Tasman signed on for another ten years and took his wife along to Batavia. In 1639 Tasman was sent as second in command of an exploring expedition in the north Pacific under Matthijs Quast. His fleet included the ships ''Engel'' and ''Gracht'' and reached Fort Zeelandia (Dutch Formosa) and Deshima. In 1642 he signed a friendly trading treaty with the Sultan of Palembang, Sumatra offering military protection for pepper.

In August 1642, the Council of the Indies, consisting of Antonie van Diemen, Cornelis van der Lijn, Joan Maetsuycker, Justus Schouten, Salomon Sweers, Cornelis Witsen, and Pieter Boreel in Batavia despatched Abel Tasman and Franchoijs Visscher on a voyage of which one of the objects was to obtain knowledge of "all the totally unknown provinces of Beach".

Beach, and Terra Australis

''Beach'' appeared on maps of the time, notably that of Abraham Ortelius of 1570 and that of Jan Huygen van Linschoten of 1596, as the northernmost part of the southern continent, the ''Terra Australis'', along with ''Locach''. According to Marco Polo, ''Locach'' was a kingdom where gold was “so plentiful that no none who did not see it could believe it”. ''Beach'' was in fact a mistranscription of ''Locach''. Locach was Marco Polo’s name for the southern Thai kingdom of Lavo, or Lop Buri, the “city of Lavo”, (ลพบร, after Lavo, the son of Rama in Hindu mythology). In Chinese (Cantonese), Lavo was pronounced “Lo-huk” (羅斛), from which Marco Polo took his rendition of the name. In the German cursive script, “Locach” and “Beach” look similar , and in the 1532 edition of Marco Polo’s ''Travels'' his Locach was changed to ''Boëach'', later shortened to ''Beach''. They seem to have drawn on the map of the world published in Florence in 1489 by Henricus Martellus, in which ''provincia boëach'' appears as the southern neighbour of ''provincia ciamba''. Book III of Marco Polo’s ''Il Milione'' described his journey by sea from China to India by way of Champa (= Southern Vietnam), Java (which he called ''Java Major''), Locach and Sumatra (called ''Java Minor''). After a chapter describing the kingdom of Champa there follows a chapter describing Java (which he did not visit himself). The narrative then resumes, describing the route southward from Champa toward Sumatra, but by a slip of the pen the name “Java” was substituted for “Champa” as the point of departure, locating Sumatra 1,300 miles to the south of Java instead of Champa. Locach, located between Champa and Sumatra, was likewise mis-placed far to the south of Java, by some geographers on or near an extension of the ''Terra Australis''. As explained by Sir Henry Yule, the editor of an English edition of Marco Polo’s ''Travels'': “Some geographers of the 16th century, following the old editions which carried the travellers south-east of Java to the land of “Boeach” (or Locac), introduced in their maps a continent in that situation”. Gerard Mercator did just that on his 1541 globe, placing ''Beach provincia aurifera'' (“Beach the gold-bearing province”) in the northernmost part of the ''Terra Australis'' in accordance with the faulty text of Marco Polo’s ''Travels''. It remained in this location on his world map of 1569, with the amplified description, quoting Marco Polo, ''Beach provincia aurifera quam pauci ex alienis regionibus adeunt propter gentis inhumanitatem'' (“Beach the gold-bearing province, wither few go from other countries because of the inhumanity of its people”) with ''Lucach regnum'' shown somewhat to its south west. Following Mercator, Abraham Ortelius also showed ''BEACH'' and ''LVCACH'' in these locations on his world map of 1571. Likewise, Linschoten’s very popular 1596 map of the East Indies showed ''BEACH'' projecting from the map’s southern edge, leading (or mis-leading) Visscher and Tasman in their voyage of 1642 to seek Beach with its plentiful gold in a location to the south of the Solomon Islands somewhere between Staten Land near Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope. Confirmation that land existed where the maps showed ''Beach'' to be had come from Dirk Hartog’s landing in October 1616 on its west coast, which he called Eendrachtsland after the name of his ship. Abel Tasman endured a very rough journey from Tasmania to New Zealand. In one of his diary entries Tasman credits his compass, claiming it was the only thing that kept him alive.

Mauritius

In accordance with Visscher's directions, Tasman sailed first to Mauritius and arrived on 5 September 1642. The reason for this was the crew could be fed well on the island; there was plenty of fresh water and timber to repair the ships. Tasman got the assistance of the governor Adriaan van der Stel. Because of the prevailing winds Mauritius was chosen as a turning point. After a four week stay on the island both ships left on 8 October. After one month it started to snow and hail; Tasman changed course more north. Part of the western shore of the continent was already known to the Dutch, but no one had gone as far as Pieter Nuyts.

Tasmania

On 24 November 1642 Abel Tasman sighted the west coast of Tasmania, north of Macquarie Harbour. He named his discovery Van Diemen's Land after Anthony van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Proceeding south he skirted the southern end of Tasmania and turned north-east, Tasman then tried to work his two ships into Adventure Bay on the east coast of South Bruny Island where he was blown out to sea by a storm, this area he named Storm Bay. Two days later Tasman anchored to the North of Cape Frederick Hendrick just North of the Forestier Peninsula. Tasman then landed in Blackman Bay – in the larger Marion Bay. The next day, an attempt was made to land in North Bay; however, because the sea was too rough the carpenter swam through the surf and planted the Dutch flag in North Bay. Tasman then claimed formal possession of the land on 3 December 1642.

New Zealand

After some exploration, Tasman had intended to proceed in a northerly direction but as the wind was unfavourable he steered east. On 13 December they sighted land on the north-west coast of the South Island, New Zealand, becoming the first Europeans to do so. Tasman named it ''Staten Landt'' on the assumption that it was connected to an island (Staten Island, Argentina) at the south of the tip of South America. Proceeding north and then east, he stopped to gather water, but one of his boats was attacked by Māori in waka (canoes) and four of his men and several Māori were killed. Archeological research has shown the Dutch had tried to land at a major agricultural area, which the Māori may have been trying to protect. Tasman named the bay ''Murderers' Bay'' (now known as Golden Bay) and sailed north, but mistook Cook Strait for a bight (naming it ''Zeehaen's Bight''). Two names he gave to New Zealand landmarks still endure, Cape Maria van Diemen and Three Kings Islands, but ''Cabo Pieter Boreels'' is now known as Cape Egmont.

The return voyage

On route back to Batavia, Tasman came across the Tongan archipelago on 20 January 1643. While passing the Fiji Islands Tasman's ships came close to being wrecked on the dangerous reefs of the north-eastern part of the Fiji group. He charted the eastern tip of Vanua Levu and Cikobia before making his way back into the open sea. He eventually turned north-west to New Guinea, and arrived at Batavia on 15 June 1643.

Second Pacific voyage

With three ships on his second voyage (''Limmen'', ''Zeemeeuw'' and the tender ''Braek'') in 1644, he followed the south coast of New Guinea eastwards. He missed the Torres Strait between New Guinea and Australia, and continued his voyage along the Australian coast. He mapped the north coast of Australia making observations on the land, called New Holland, and its people.

From the point of view of the Dutch East India Company Tasman's explorations were a disappointment: he had neither found a promising area for trade nor a useful new shipping route. For over a century, until the era of James Cook, Tasmania and New Zealand were not visited by Europeans – mainland Australia was visited, but usually only by accident.

Later life

On 2 November 1644 Abel Tasman was appointed a member of the Council of Justice at Batavia. He went to Sumatra in 1646, and in August 1647 to Siam (now Thailand) with letters from the company to the King. In May 1648 he was in charge of an expedition sent to Manila to try to intercept and loot the Spanish silver ships coming from America, but he had no success and returned to Batavia in January 1649. In November 1649 he was charged and found guilty of having in the previous year hanged one of his men without trial, was suspended from his office of commander, fined, and made to pay compensation to the relatives of the sailor. On 5 January 1651 he was formally reinstated in his rank and spent his remaining years at Batavia. He was in good circumstances, being one of the larger landowners in the town. He died at Batavia in October 1659 and was survived by his second wife and a daughter by his first wife. The poor in Lutjegast received the small amount of only 25 guilders.

Tasman's legacy

As with many explorers, Tasman's name has been honoured in many ways. These include:

the Australian island Tasmania, renamed after him, formerly Van Diemen's land. It includes features such as:

*the Tasman Peninsula

*the Tasman Bridge

*the Tasman Highway

*the passenger/vehicle ferry ''Abel Tasman''

*and, indirectly, two marsupial species are named after Tasman:

** the Tasmanian Devil

** the Tasmanian Tiger

a plant genus

* Tasmannia

the Tasman Sea

in New Zealand:

*the Tasman Glacier

*Tasman Lake

*the Tasman River

*Mount Tasman

*the Abel Tasman National Park

*Tasman Bay

*the Tasman District

*Abel Tasman Drive, in Takaka.

*the Able Tasman Memorial in Takaka.

The Able Tasmans – an indie band from Auckland, New Zealand.

* In 1985 he was honoured on a postage stamp depicting his portrait issued by Australia Post.

Sources

Edward Duyker (ed.) The Discovery of Tasmania: Journal Extracts from the Expeditions of Abel Janszoon Tasman and Marc-Joseph Marion Dufresne 1642 & 1772, St David's Park Publishing/Tasmanian Government Printing Office, Hobart, 1992, pp. 106, ISBN 0-7246-2241-1.

References

External links

A transcript of a paper on the voyages of Tasman, read to the Royal Society of Tasmania in 1895

The Tasman page at Project Gutenberg of Australia This page has links to Tasman's journal and other important documents relating to Tasman

The Huydecoper journal – Abel Tasman – The State Library of NSW

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 503–504.">J. W. Forsyth, 'Tasman, Abel Janszoon (1603? – 1659)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, Melbourne University Press, 1967, pp 503–504.

Category:1603 births Category:1659 deaths Category:People from Grootegast Category:Dutch explorers Category:17th-century explorers Category:Explorers of the Pacific Category:Explorers of Australia Category:Explorers of New Zealand Category:History of the Netherlands Category:Tasman Sea Category:Explorers of Tasmania

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In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel (Hebrew: קין ,הבל, ''Hevel'', ''Qayin'') (Arabic: هابيل قابيل - Hābīl and Qābīl) are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam (Arabic: إبني آدم) only,.

In the Greek New Testament, Cain is referred to as εκ του πονηρου. In at least one translation this is rendered "from the evil one", while others have "of the evil one." Some interpreters take this to mean that Cain was literally the son of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. A parallel idea can be found in Jewish tradition, that the serpent (Hebrew ''nahash'' נחש) from the Garden of Eden was father to firstborn Cain.

In all versions, Cain is a crop farmer and his younger brother Abel is a shepherd. Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first murder by killing his brother, after God has rejected his offerings of produce but accepted the animal sacrifices brought by Abel.

The oldest known copy of the Biblical narration is from the 1st century Dead Sea Scrolls. Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other texts, and the story is the subject of various interpretations. Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr; while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as an ancestor of evil. A few scholars suggest the pericope may have been based on a Sumerian story representing the conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers. Others think that it may refer to the days in which agriculture began to replace the ways of the hunter-gatherer.

Allusions to Cain and Abel as an archetype of fratricide persist in numerous references and retellings, through medieval art and Shakespearean works up to present day fiction.

Etymology

Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Abel
Venerated in	Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Titles	Righteous, First Martyr
Major shrine	Nabi Habeel Mosque, Damascus
Issues	}}

Cain and Abel are traditional English renderings of the Hebrew names ''Qayin'' () and ''Havel'' (). The original text did not provide vowels. Abel's name is composed in Hebrew of the same three consonants as a root speculated by people to have originally meant "breath", because Rabbis postulated one of its roots thus, also "waste", but is used in the Hebrew Bible primarily as a metaphor for what is "elusive", especially the "vanity" (another definition by the Rabbis of medieval France, Rashi in specific from his translation into Old French) of human beauty and work e.g. Hevel Hayophi (He-vel Ha-yo-fi) vanity is as beauty from the Song of Songs of Solomon. Julius Wellhausen, and many scholars following him, have proposed that the name is independent of the root. Eberhard Schrader had previously put forward the Akkadian (Old Assyrian dialect) ''ablu'' ("son") as a more likely etymology. In the Islamic tradition, Abel is named as ''Hābīl'' (هابيل), while Cain is named as ''Qābīl'' (قابيل). Although their story is cited in the Quran, neither of them is mentioned by name. Cain is called ''Qayen'' in the Ethiopian version of Genesis. The Greek of the New Testament refers to Cain three times, using two syllables ''ka-in'' () for the name.

More recent scholarship has produced another theory, a more direct pun. ''Abel'' is here thought to derive from a reconstructed word meaning "herdsman", with the modern Arabic cognate ''ibil'', now specifically referring only to "camels". ''Cain'', on the other hand, is thought to be cognate to the mid-1st millennium BC South Arabian word ''qyn'', meaning "metal smith". This theory would make the names merely descriptions of the roles they take in the story—Abel working with livestock, and Cain with agriculture—and would parallel the names Adam ("man") and Eve ("life", ''Chavah'' in Hebrew).

The name Abel has been used in many European languages as both surname and first name. In English, however, even Cain features in 17th century, Puritan-influenced families, who had a taste for biblical names, sometimes despite the reputation of the original character. Contrary to popular belief, the surname McCain does ''not'' mean "Son of Cain" in Gaelic, rather it is a contraction (also McCann) of Mac Cathan. Gaelic ''cathan'' means "warrior", from ''cath'' "battle".

Murder and motive

For convenience, the story can be considered in two sections — 1. murder and motive and 2. confrontation and consequences.

Religious sources of the Cain and Abel story can be found in Genesis (950 to 450 BC) in the Hebrew Bible, Sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida) of the Qur'an (early 7th century) and Pearl of Great Price (1851).

Biblical account (Judaeo-Christian)

The Septuagint has a different verse 7:

Motives

Though Genesis depicts Cain's motive in killing Abel as simply being one of jealousy concerning God's favour for Abel, this is not the view of many extra-biblical works. The Midrash and the ''Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan'' both record that the real motive involved the desire of women. According to Midrashic tradition, Cain and Abel each had twin sisters, whom they were to marry. The Midrash records that Abel's promised wife was the more beautiful. Cain would not consent to this arrangement. Adam proposed to refer the question to God by means of a sacrifice. God rejected Cain's sacrifice, signifying His disapproval of his marriage with Aclima, and Cain slew his brother in a fit of jealousy.

In Latter-day Saint extra-Biblical scripture, the Book of Moses contains an expanded account of the story of Cain and Abel. In this account, Cain murders Abel as a result of a covenant of murder with Satan. Following the murder, Cain exclaims, "I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands" (''Pearl of Great Price'', Moses 5:33) indicating that coveting Abel's possessions was another motive for Cain's action.

Abel's death

In Christianity, comparisons are sometimes made between the death of Abel and that of Jesus, the former thus seen as being the first martyr: in , Jesus speaks of Abel as ''righteous''; and the Epistle to the Hebrews states that ''The blood of sprinkling ... [speaks] better things than that of Abel'' (). The blood of Jesus is interpreted as bringing mercy; but that of Abel as demanding vengeance (hence the curse and mark).

Abel is invoked in the litany for the dying in Roman Catholic Church, and his sacrifice is mentioned in the Canon of the Mass with those of Abraham and Melchizedek. The Coptic Church commemorates him with a feast day on December 28.

Burial

According to Shi'a Muslim belief, Abel is buried in Nabi Habeel Mosque, located west of Damascus, in Syria.

Underworld

In classical times, as well as more recently, Abel was regarded as the first innocent victim of the power of evil, and hence the first martyr. In the Book of Enoch (at 22:7), the soul of Abel is described as having been appointed as the chief of martyrs, crying for vengeance, for the destruction of the seed of Cain. This view is later repeated in the Testament of Abraham (at A:13 / B:11), where Abel has been raised to the position as the judge of the souls:

According to the Coptic Book of Adam and Eve (at 2:1-15), and the Syriac Cave of Treasures, Abel's body, after many days of mourning, was placed in the ''Cave of Treasures'', before which Adam and Eve, and descendants, offered their prayers. In addition, the Sethite line of the Generations of Adam swear by Abel's blood to segregate themselves from the ''unrighteous''.

Confrontation and consequences

Bible

Qur'an and Sunnah

The story with the motives and the aftermath of the killing is mentioned in Surat Al-Ma'ida Verse 27 - 32: There is Hadith in Al-Bukari that tells of the consequences Qabil shall take because of slaying his brother:

Mark of Cain

Much has been written about the curse of Cain, and associated ''mark''. The word translated as ''mark'' ('''Oth'', ) could mean a sign, omen, warning, or remembrance. In the Bible, the same word is used to describe the stars as signs or omens, circumcision as a token of God's covenant with Abraham, and the signs performed by Moses before Pharaoh.

The word ''Ot (hard t)'' in Hebrew also means "a letter" (of the alphabet). Jewish mysticism, among other ancient lores, assigns spiritual ideas or powers to written letters and verses. The Mark of Cain may be a letter, a verse, a message, or a talisman.

The Bible makes reference on several occasions to Kenites, who, in the Hebrew, are referred to as Qayin, i.e. in a highly cognate manner to Cain (Qayin). Some therefore believe that the Mark of Cain referred originally to some very identifying mark of the Kenite tribe, such as red hair, or a ritual tattoo of some kind, which was transferred to Cain as the tribe's eponym. The mark is said to afford Cain some form of protection, in that harming Cain involved the harm being returned sevenfold. This is hence seen as some sort of protection that membership of the tribe offered, in a form such as the entire tribe attacking an individual who harms just one of their number.

Baptist and Catholic groups both consider the idea of God cursing an individual to be out of character, and hence take a different stance. Catholics officially view the curse being brought through the ground itself refusing to yield to, not being in harmony with, Cain, whereas some Baptists view the curse as Cain's own aggression, something already present that God merely pointed out rather than added. There are several theories; in the Catholic world one example has been put forth that rather this mark is one of grace, and that perhaps the mark is that of Abel's blood, by which God is saying, "This man is still mine. Vengeance is mine. I will repay. Hands off!" As the heart of God is always ready to show mercy. This view supports Abel as a Christ figure in paralleling Christ’s sacrifice; here a blood sacrifice which acknowledges guilt and counting himself as guilty seeks atonement (this is in contrast to Cain's sacrifice)

In Judaism, the mark is not a punishment but a sign of God's mercy. When Cain was sentenced to be a wanderer he did not dispute the punishment but only begged that the terms of his sentence be altered slightly, protesting "Whoever meets me will kill me!" For unspecified reasons, God agrees to this request. He puts the mark on Cain as a sign to others that Cain should not be killed. Lamech, Cain's descendant, refers poetically to the "mark of Cain" in , in a passage which has been subject to several interpretations.

Wanderer

As Abel's murderer, Cain was commanded to wander the earth in punishment, a tradition arose that this punishment was to be forever, in a similar manner to the (much later) legends of the Flying Dutchman or the Wandering Jew. According to some Islamic sources, such as al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir and al-Tha'labi, he migrated to Yemen.

Though variations on these traditions were strong in medieval times, with several claims of ''sightings'' being reported, they have generally gone out of favour. Nevertheless, the Wandering Cain theme has appeared in Mormon folklore —a second-hand account relates that an early Mormon leader, David W. Patten, encountered a very tall, hairy, dark-skinned man in Tennessee who said that he was Cain. The account states that Cain had earnestly sought death but was denied it, and that his mission was to destroy the souls of men. The recollection of Patten's story is quoted in Spencer W. Kimball's ''The Miracle of Forgiveness'', a popular book within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This widespread Mormon belief is further emphasized by an account from Salt Lake City in 1963 which stated that "One superstition is based on the old Mormon belief that Cain is a black man who wanders the earth begging people to kill him and take his curse upon themselves (M, 24, SLC, 1963)."

Despite these later traditional beliefs of perpetual wandering, according to the earlier Book of Jubilees (chapter 4) Cain settled down, marrying his sister, ''Awan'', resulting in his first son, ''Enoch'' (considered to be different from the more famous Enoch), approximately 196 years after the creation of Adam. Cain then established the first city, naming it after his son, built a house, and lived there until it collapsed on him, killing him in the same year that Adam died.

A medieval legend used to say that at the end, Cain arrived at the Moon, where he eternally settled with a bundle of twigs. This was originated by popular fantasy interpreting the shadows on the Moon face. An example of this belief can be found in Dante Alighieri's Inferno (XX, 126) where the expression "Cain and the twigs" is used as a synonym of "moon".

Legacy and symbolism

In medieval Christian art, particularly in 16th century Germany, Cain is depicted as a stereotypical ringleted, bearded Jew, who killed Abel the blonde, European gentile symbolizing Christ. This traditional depiction has continued for centuries in some form, such as James Tissot's 19th century ''Cain leads Abel to Death''.

Another view is taken in Latter-day Saint theology, where Cain is considered to be the quintessential Son of Perdition, the father of ''secret combinations'' (i.e. secret societies and organized crime), as well as the first to hold the title Master Mahan meaning ''master of [the] great secret, that [he] may murder and get gain''.

The treatise on Christian Hermeticism, Meditations on the Tarot: A journey into Christian Hermeticism, describes the Biblical account of Cain and Abel as a myth, i.e. it expresses, in a form narrated for a particular case, an "eternal" idea. It shows us how brothers can become mortal enemies through the very fact that they worship the same God in the same way. According to the author, the source of religious wars is revealed. It is not the difference in dogma or ritual which is the cause, but the "pretention to equality" or "the negation of hierarchy".

Literature

As the first murderer and first murder victim, Cain and Abel have often formed the basis of tragic drama. Lord Byron rewrote and dramatized the story in the poem "Cain", viewing Cain as symbolic of a sanguinary temperament, provoked by Abel's hypocrisy and sanctimony. In Dante's Purgatory Cain is remembered by the souls in Purgatory in Canto XIV (14) on page 153, verse 133 saying "I shall be slain by all who find me!", Cain is facing the punishment that God has visited upon him for the sin of Envy, which is a similar play on the words in where he says, "I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." John Steinbeck's novel ''East of Eden'' retells the Cain and Abel story in the setting of the late 19th and early 20th century western migration towards California. Also, his novelette ''Of Mice and Men'' draws elements from the story. Baudelaire is more sympathetic to Cain in his poem "Abel et Caïn" in the collection ''Les Fleurs du mal'', where he depicts Cain as representing all the downtrodden people of the world. The poem's last lines exhort, "Race de Caïn, au ciel monte/Et sur la terre jette Dieu!" (In English: "Race of Cain, storm up the sky / And cast God down to Earth!") Miguel de Unamuno's ''Abel Sánchez'' (1917) is a study on envy. Abel receives everything undeservingly, while his friend Joaquín is despised by God and society and envies him. In Thornton Wilder's play The Skin Of Our Teeth (1942), it is stated that Henry Antrobus' real name is Cain and he accidentally killed is brother Abel with a stone. ''Kane and Abel'' is a modern adaptation, a 1979 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer. In 1985, it was made into a CBS television miniseries titled ''Kane & Abel'', starring Peter Strauss as Rosnovski and Sam Neill as Kane. In A Time For Everything (2004) by Karl Ove Knausgård, the story of Cain and Abel is retold with a focus on Cain - an introvert and troubled man who gets the reader's sympathy. In this version, God's favouring of Abel is simultaneously a curse for sneaking into Eden past the Cherubs guarding the gate. It is suggested that Abel in fact wants Cain to kill him, or at least this is what Cain believes - though he later regrets his act, and takes his punishment willingly.

Hermann Hesse briefly discussed the story of Cain and Abel from a non-orthodox point of view in his novel Demian where he also referred to the gnostic group called the Cainites. In ''Ishmael'', Daniel Quinn puts forth the idea of the story of Cain and Abel being an allegory describing the conflict between agricultural and pastoral peoples in the Fertile Crescent.

The author of ''Dracula'', Bram Stoker, revisits the biblical tragedy in his story "''The return of Abel Behena''" about a fraternal friendship gone awry.

Some form of legacy or curse of the name is often seen in literature: the monster Grendel in ''Beowulf'' is a descendant of Cain. In the epilogue to Agatha Christie's novel ''And Then There Were None'', the author refers to the Mark of Cain in laying out the clues. There is a Stephen King short story titled ''Cain Rose Up'', in which a college student goes on a killing spree while ruminating on the story of Cain and Abel. In the DC Comics (Vertigo division) universe, Cain and Abel are a pair of fictional characters based on the Biblical Cain and Abel. Cain is constantly killing off his brother, despite the fact they are both immortals.

In White Wolf's ''Vampire: The Masquerade'' RPG, an altered version of Cain's story, sees Cain(e) visited by three angels on separate occasions while wandering the earth, each of whom ask that he repent for his sins, and each of whom curses him (and all his Progeny) when he refuses. Those curses being: weakness to fire and sunlight, a need to drink of the blood of man, and an inner beast to forever torment him from within, thus making him the Progenitor of all Vampire kind, known among themselves as Cainites.

Cain was traditionally considered to have red hair; the expression "Cain-coloured beard" is used in Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''. In addition, Shakespeare also references Cain and Abel in Act III Scene iii of ''Hamlet'' when Claudius says, "It hath the primal eldest curse upon't/ A brother's murder!" (Lines 40-41).

Their names are often used in works of fiction simply as a reference, also. In ''Waiting for Godot'' by Samuel Beckett, the character of Estragon tries to guess the names of two other characters. He guesses Abel and Cain. One of Jason Bourne's many names in ''The Bourne Identity'' and its sequels was Cain, an operative name in the Treadstone 71 program.

In Masami Kurumada's comic book ''Saint Seiya Next Dimension'', characters inspired in the biblical story have been recently introduced: The Gemini Gold Saints in the 18th century are named Cain and Abel, both representing good and evil, respectively.

In 2009, Portuguese writer José Saramago wrote a novel entitled ''Cain'', which tells an alternative version of the murder of Abel and the life of Cain afterwards.

''Echo'', a self-published comic-book series by Terry Moore following the Phi-project, features as an early antagonist a character who claims to be the original, biblical Cain. He spends much of his time speaking to God and frequently screams biblical and religious-themed quotations in his interactions with other characters. After his death, the character Ivy Raven had one of his fingers sent to a laboratory for carbon dating which revealed that he was approximately 25,000 years old, offering the first substantive proof to support the character's claims. Ivy later performs further research on the history of the story of Cain and Abel, and at one point visits Wikipedia; this portion of the comic includes verbatim quotations from this page.

See also

Bible

Torah

Qur'an

Sumer

The First Mourning

Balbira & Kalmana

References

External links

Torah, Genesis, Chapters 1-6

King James Version

Story of Cain and Abel in ''Sura The Table (Al Ma'ida)''

Qaheen / Cain and Hevel / Abel

Parallel voweled Hebrew and King James Version

Rashi on Genesis, Chapter 4, by Rashi

Baudelaire's poem in French with English translations underneath

Category:Adam and Eve Category:Biblical murder victims Category:Biblical murderers Category:Christian mythology Category:Old Testament saints Category:Sibling duos Category:Torah events Category:Torah people *Main Category:Book of Genesis

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Saint John Bosco
Birth date	August 16, 1815
Death date	January 31, 1888
Feast day	31 January
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion
Birth place	Castelnuovo d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy
Titles	Confessor; Father and Teacher of Youth
Beatified date	2 June 1929
Beatified place	Rome
Beatified by	Pius XI
Canonized date	1 April 1934
Canonized place	Rome
Canonized by	Pius XI
Patronage	Christian apprentices, editors, publishers, schoolchildren, young people, magicians
Major shrine	The Tomb of St John Bosco, Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Turin, Italy
Prayer attrib	}}

John Bosco (; 16 August 181531 January 1888), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century, who put into practice the convictions of his religion, dedicating his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth and employing teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method that is known as the preventive system. A follower of the spirituality and philosophy of Francis de Sales, Bosco dedicated his works to him when he founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales (more commonly known as the Salesian Society or the Salesians of Don Bosco). Together with Maria Domenica Mazzarello, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a religious congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls, and popularly known as Salesian Sisters. In 1876 Bosco founded a movement of laity, the Salesian Cooperators, with the same educational mission to the poor. In 1875 he published ''Bibliofilo Cattolico - Bollettino Salesiano Mensuale'' (''The Catholic Book Lover - Salesian Monthly Bulletin''.) The ''Bulletin'' has remained in continuous publication, and is currently published in 50 different editions and 30 languages.

Bosco succeeded in establishing a network of organizations and centres to carry on his work. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934.

Life

Bosco was born in the evening of 16 August 1815 in Becchi. He was the youngest son of Francesco Bosco (1780–1817) and Margeret Occhiena. He had two elder brothers, Antonio and Giuseppe (1813–1862).

Margaret played a strong role in Bosco's formation and personality, and was an early supporter of her son's ideals. When he was young, he would put on shows of his skills as a juggler, magician and acrobat with prayers before and after the performance.

In 1825, when he was nine, Bosco had the first of a series of dreams which would play an influential role in his work and outlook. This dream "left a profound impression on him for the rest of his life", according to his own memoirs. At the time, being a priest was generally seen as a profession for the privileged classes, rather than farmers, although it was not unknown. Nevertheless, Margaret gave her support to John and he finally left home in February 1828 at the age of twelve.

Priesthood and first apostolates

Don Bosco began as the chaplain of the Rifugio ("Refuge"), a girls' boarding school founded in Turin by the Marchioness Giulia di Barolo, but he had many ministries on the side such as visiting prisoners, teaching catechism and helping out at country parishes.

A growing group of boys would come to the Rifugio on Sundays and feast days to play and learn their catechism. They were too old to join the younger children in regular catechism classes in the parishes, who mostly chased them away. This was the beginning of the "Oratory of St. Francis de Sales". Bosco and his oratory wandered around town for a few years and were turned out of several places in succession. After only two months based in the church of St Martin, the entire neighborhood expressed its annoyance with the noise coming from the boys at play. A formal complaint was lodged against them with the municipality. Rumors circulated that the meetings conducted by the priest with his boys were dangerous; their recreation could be turned into a revolution against the government. The group was evicted.

In 1846 Bosco rented a shed in the new Valdocco neighborhood on the north end of town from a Mr. Pinardi. This served as the oratory's home. His mother moved in with him and in 1847, he and "Mamma Margherita" began taking in orphans.

Even before this, Bosco had the help of several friends at the oratory. There included priests like Joseph Cafasso and Borel, some older boys like Giuseppe Buzzetti, Michael Rua, Giovanni Cagliero and Carlo Gastini as well as Bosco’s own mother.

One friend was Justice Minister Urbano Rattazzi, who despite being anticlerical, nevertheless saw value in Bosco’s work. While Rattazzi was pushing a bill through the Sardinian legislature to suppress religious orders, he advised Bosco on how to get around the law and found a religious order to keep the oratory going after its founder’s death.

Bosco hated the ideals that had been exported by revolutionary France, calling Rousseau and Voltaire "two vicious leaders of incredulity", favouring an ultramontane view of politics that acknowledged the supreme authority of the pope. In 1854, when the Kingdom of Sardinia was about to pass a law suppressing monastic orders and confiscating ecclesiastical properties, Bosco reported a series of dreams about "great funerals at court", referring to politicians or members of the Savoy court. In November 1854, he sent a letter to King Victor Emmanuel II, admonishing him to oppose the confiscation of church property and suppression of the orders, but the King did nothing. His actions, which had been described by Italian historian Erberto Petoia as having "manifest blackmailing intentions", ended only after the intervention of Prime Minister Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour. Despite such criticisms, the King's family did in fact suffer a number of deaths in a short period. From January to May 1855, the King's mother (age 54), wife (32), newborn son (Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Genoa; nearly 4 months old), and his only brother (32) all died.

Several attempts were made on his life, including a near-stabbing, bludgeoning, and a shooting. Early biographers put this down to the growing influence of the Waldensians in opposition to Catholic clergy.

Opposition to Bosco and his work came from various quarters. Traditionalist clergy accused him of stealing a lot of young and old people away from their own parishes. Nationalist politicians (including some clergy) saw his several hundred young men as recruiting ground for revolution. The Marquis de Cavour, chief of police in Turin, regarded the open-air catechisms as overtly political and a threat to the State, and was highly suspicious of Bosco's support for the powers of the papacy. Bosco was interrogated on several occasions, but no charges made. Closure may have been prevented by orders from the king that Bosco was not to be disturbed.

Foundation of the Salesian Family

In 1859, Bosco selected the experienced priest Alasonatti, 15 seminarians and one high school boy and formed them into the "Society of St. Francis de Sales." This was the nucleus of the Salesians, the religious order that would carry on his work. When the group had their next meeting, they voted on the admission of Joseph Rossi as a lay member, the first Salesian brother. The Salesian Congregation was divided into priests, seminarians and "coadjutors" (the lay brothers).

Next, he worked with estarino, Mary Mazzarello and a group of girls in the hill town of Mornese. In 1871, he founded a group of religious sisters to do for girls what the Salesians were doing for boys. They were called the "Daughters of Mary Help of Christians." In 1874, he founded yet another group, the "Salesian Cooperators." These were mostly lay people who would work for young people like the Daughters and the Salesians, but would not join a religious order.

The story of the departure of the first Salesians for America in 1875 is based on the missionary ideal of Bosco. After his ordination, he would have become a missionary had not his director, Joseph Cafasso, opposed the idea. He eagerly read the Italian edition of the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith and used this magazine to illustrate his Cattolico provveduto (1853) and his Month of May booklets (1858).

When Bosco founded the Salesian Society, the thought of the missions still obsessed him, though he completely lacked the financial means at that time. One night, he dreamt again. Being on a vast plain, inhabited by primitive peoples, who spent their time hunting or fighting among themselves or against soldiers in European uniforms. Along came a band of missionaries, but they were all massacred. A second group appeared, which Bosco at once recognized as Salesians. Astonished, he witnessed an unexpected change when the fierce savages laid down their arms and listened to the missionaries. The dream made a great impression on Bosco, because he tried hard to identify the men and the country of the dream.

For three years, Bosco searched among documents, trying to get information about different countries, thus identifying the country from his dream. One day, a request came from Argentina, which turned him towards the Indians of Patagonia. To his surprise, a study of the people there convinced him that the country and its inhabitants were the ones he had seen in his dream.

He regarded it as a sign of providence and started preparing a missionary there. Adopting a way of evangelization that would not expose his missionaries suddenly to wild, uncivilized tribes, he proposed to set up bases in safe locations where their missionary efforts were to be launched.

The above request from Argentina came about as follows: Towards the end of 1874, John Bosco received letters from that country requesting that he accept an Italian parish in Buenos Aires and a school for boys at San Nicolas de los Arroyos. Gazzolo, the Argentine Consul at Savona, had sent the request, for he had taken a great interest in the Salesian work in Liguria and hoped to obtain the Salesians' help for the benefit of his country. Negotiations started after Archbishop Aneiros of Buenos Aires had indicated that he would be glad to receive the Salesians. They were successful mainly because of the good offices of the priest of San Nicolas, Pedro Ceccarelli, a friend of Gazzolo, who was in touch with and had the confidence of Bosco. In a ceremony held on 29 January 1875, Bosco was able to convey the great news to the oratory in the presence of Gazzolo. On 5 February he announced the fact in a circular letter to all Salesians asking volunteers to apply in writing. He proposed that the first missionary departure start in October. Practically all the Salesians volunteered for the missions.

By this time Italy was united under Piedmontese leadership. The poorly-governed Papal States were merged into the new kingdom. It was generally thought that Bosco supported the Pope.

The Preventive System

Bosco's capability to attract numerous boys and adult helpers was connected to his "Preventive System of Education". He believed education to be a "matter of the heart" and said that the boys must not only be loved, but know that they are loved. He also pointed to three components of the Preventive System: reason, religion and kindness. Music and games also went into the mix.

Bosco gained a reputation early on of being a saint and miracle worker. For this reason, Rua, Buzzetti, Cagliero and several others chronicled his sayings and doings. Preserved in the Salesian archives, these remain resources for studying his life. Later on, the Salesian Lemoyne collected and combined them into 77 scrapbooks with oral testimonies and Bosco’s own ''Memoirs of the Oratory''. His aim was to write a detailed biography. This project eventually became a nineteen-volume affair, carried out by him and two other authors. These are the ''Biographical Memoirs''. It is not the work of professional historians, but chronicles that preserve the memories of teenage boys.

Bosco's concerns over his influence

Shortly before his death, Bosco commented "I will reveal to you now a fear... I fear that one of ours may come to misinterpret the affection that Don Bosco had for the young, and from the way that I received their confession - really, really close - and may let himself get carried away with too much sensuality towards them, and then pretend to justify himself by saying that Don Bosco did the same, be it when he spoke to them in secret, be it when he received their confession. I know that one can be conquered by way of the heart, and I fear dangers, and spiritual harm."

Bosco died on 31 January 1888. His funeral was attended by thousands. Soon after there was popular demand to have him canonized. The Archdiocese of Turin investigated and witnesses were called to determine if Bosco was worthy to be declared a saint. The Salesians, Daughters and Cooperators gave supportive testimonies. But many remembered Bosco’s controversies in the 1870s with Archbishop Gastaldi and some others high in the Church hierarchy thought him a loose cannon and a wheeler-dealer. In the canonization process, testimony was heard about how he went around Gastaldi to get some of his men ordained and about their lack of academic preparation and ecclesiastical decorum. Political cartoons from the 1860s and later showed him shaking money from the pockets of old ladies or going off to America for the same purpose. These cartoons were not forgotten. Opponents of Bosco, including some cardinals, were in a position to block his canonization and many Salesians feared around 1925 that they would succeed.

Pope Pius XI had known Bosco and pushed the cause forward. Bosco was declared Blessed in 1929 and canonized on Easter Sunday of 1934, when he was given the title of "Father and Teacher of Youth".

While Bosco had been popularly known as the patron saint of illusionists, on 30 January 2002, Silvio Mantelli petitioned Pope John Paul II to formally declare St. John Bosco the Patron of Stage Magicians. Catholic stage magicians who practice Gospel Magic venerate Bosco by offering free magic shows to underprivileged children on his feast day.

Bosco's work was carried on by his early pupil and constant companion, Michael Rua, who was appointed Rector Major of the Salesian Society by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. Salesians have started many schools and colleges around the world.

Footnotes

Sources and Studies

. These volumes translate A projected 7-volume series, 4 published to date. Translation of

Further reading

Dream of the Great Ship - Interpretations of Saint John Bosco's Dream of the Two Columns

External links

Salesians of Don Bosco Official Website (multi-lingual website)

Salesians of Don Bosco Official Website (Philippine North)

Salesians of Don Bosco Official Website (Philippine South)

Salesians of the UK

UK Salesian (alumnus) website

Don Bosco's important writings in original language

Founder Statue in St Peter's Basilica

Published Writings (italian)

SPYS - Salesian Pastoral Youth Service

Saint John Bosco: Modern Apostle of Youth by the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

- Development office of the Salesian Province of St.Joseph, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA ( INH )

Category:1815 births Category:1888 deaths Category:People from the Province of Asti Category:People from Turin (city) Category:Founders of Roman Catholic religious communities Category:Italian saints Category:Roman Catholic saints Category:19th-century Christian saints Category:Anglican saints Category:Salesian Order Category:Saints canonized by Pope Pius XI

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