Etidorhpa
Encyclopedia
Etidorhpa, or, the end of the earth: the strange history of a mysterious being and the account of a remarkable journey is the title of a scientific allegory
or science fiction
novel by John Uri Lloyd
, a pharmacognocist
and pharmaceutical
manufacturer of Cincinnati, Ohio
. Etidorpha was published during 1895.
The word "Etidorhpa" is the backward spelling of the name "Aphrodite
." The first editions of Etidorhpa were distributed privately; later editions of the book also feature numerous fanciful illustration
s by J. Augustus Knapp. Eventually a popular success, the book had eighteen editions and was translated into seven languages. Etidorhpa literary clubs were founded in the United States, and some parents named their infant daughters Etidorhpa.
dictated by a strange being named I-Am-The-Man to a man named Llewyllyn Drury. Drury's adventure culminates in a trek through a cave in Kentucky
into the core of the earth. Ideas presented in Etidorhpa include practical Alchemy
, secret Masonic orders, the Hollow Earth
theory and the concept of transcending the physical realm.
, Utopian fiction
, and scientific (or pseudo-scientific
) speculation. Jules Verne
's Journey to the Center of the Earth
is the most famous book of this type, though many others can be cited. It imagined another world in the center of a hollow earth.
Among John Uri Lloyd's generation, Bulwer Lytton
's The Coming Race was popular and influential. During the next generation, Edgar Rice Burroughs
wrote a series of "hollow earth" novels.
to nightshade, henbane
, jimsonweed, and psilocybin
mushrooms have been suggested as possibilities — though no real evidence on the matter is available.
The book's Chapter I begins the story of how Drury met the mysterious "I-Am-The-Man", who reads his own manuscript account of his adventures to Drury over many sessions. The mysterious stranger, also known as The-Man-Who-Did-It, relates events that supposedly occurred thirty years earlier, during the early part of the nineteenth century.
By his account, the speaker is kidnapped by fellow members of a secret society, because he is suspected to be a threat to their secrecy. (This was likely based on the 1826 kidnapping of William Morgan
and the start of the Anti-Masonry
movement.) I-Am-The-Man is taken to a cave in Kentucky; there he is led by a cavern dweller on a long subterranean journey. It becomes an inner journey of the spirit as much as a geographical trip through underground realms.
The book blends passages on the nature of physical phenomena, such as gravity and volcanoes, with spiritualist
speculation and adventure-story elements (like traversing a landscape of giant mushrooms). The whole ends with a summary letter from "I-Am-The-Man" and a conclusion from Drury. Subsequent editions of the book added various prefatory and supplementary materials.
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
or science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by John Uri Lloyd
John Uri Lloyd
John Uri Lloyd was an American pharmacist influential to the development of pharmacognosy, ethnobotany, economic botany, and herbalism.He also wrote novels set in northern Kentucky...
, a pharmacognocist
Pharmacognosy
Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well...
and pharmaceutical
Medication
A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...
manufacturer of Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Etidorpha was published during 1895.
The word "Etidorhpa" is the backward spelling of the name "Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
." The first editions of Etidorhpa were distributed privately; later editions of the book also feature numerous fanciful illustration
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
s by J. Augustus Knapp. Eventually a popular success, the book had eighteen editions and was translated into seven languages. Etidorhpa literary clubs were founded in the United States, and some parents named their infant daughters Etidorhpa.
Concept
The book purports to be a manuscriptManuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
dictated by a strange being named I-Am-The-Man to a man named Llewyllyn Drury. Drury's adventure culminates in a trek through a cave in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
into the core of the earth. Ideas presented in Etidorhpa include practical Alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, secret Masonic orders, the Hollow Earth
Hollow Earth
The Hollow Earth hypothesis proposes that the planet Earth is either entirely hollow or otherwise contains a substantial interior space. The hypothesis has been shown to be wrong by observational evidence, as well as by the modern understanding of planet formation; the scientific community has...
theory and the concept of transcending the physical realm.
Hollow Earth
Etidorhpa belongs to a sub-genre of fiction that shares elements of science fiction, fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, Utopian fiction
Utopian and dystopian fiction
The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia...
, and scientific (or pseudo-scientific
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
) speculation. Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth
A Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves a German professor who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth...
is the most famous book of this type, though many others can be cited. It imagined another world in the center of a hollow earth.
Among John Uri Lloyd's generation, Bulwer Lytton
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC , was an English politician, poet, playwright, and novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling dime-novels which earned him a considerable fortune...
's The Coming Race was popular and influential. During the next generation, Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
wrote a series of "hollow earth" novels.
Drugs
Since Lloyd was a pharmacologist, his novel has provoked speculation that drug use contributed to its fantastic and visionary nature. Substances from marihuana and opiumOpium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
to nightshade, henbane
Henbane
Henbane , also known as stinking nightshade or black henbane, is a plant of the family Solanaceae that originated in Eurasia, though it is now globally distributed.-Toxicity and historical usage:...
, jimsonweed, and psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
mushrooms have been suggested as possibilities — though no real evidence on the matter is available.
Synopsis
The complex structure of the books begins with a Preface signed by Lloyd, which presents the frame concept, that Lloyd has discovered a thirty-year-old manuscript by Llewellyn Drury in a library. Then comes a Prologue in which Drury introduces himself.The book's Chapter I begins the story of how Drury met the mysterious "I-Am-The-Man", who reads his own manuscript account of his adventures to Drury over many sessions. The mysterious stranger, also known as The-Man-Who-Did-It, relates events that supposedly occurred thirty years earlier, during the early part of the nineteenth century.
By his account, the speaker is kidnapped by fellow members of a secret society, because he is suspected to be a threat to their secrecy. (This was likely based on the 1826 kidnapping of William Morgan
William Morgan (anti-Mason)
William Morgan was a resident of Batavia, New York, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States...
and the start of the Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry is defined as "avowed opposition to Freemasonry". However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement...
movement.) I-Am-The-Man is taken to a cave in Kentucky; there he is led by a cavern dweller on a long subterranean journey. It becomes an inner journey of the spirit as much as a geographical trip through underground realms.
The book blends passages on the nature of physical phenomena, such as gravity and volcanoes, with spiritualist
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
speculation and adventure-story elements (like traversing a landscape of giant mushrooms). The whole ends with a summary letter from "I-Am-The-Man" and a conclusion from Drury. Subsequent editions of the book added various prefatory and supplementary materials.
External links
- "The World is My University; or, The Life and Adventures of Dr. John Uri Lloyd, M.D., Ph.D."
- http://catalog.bcpl.org/POLARIS/frameset.aspx?toprowcount=60&topurl=http%3a%2f%2fcatalog.bcpl.org%2fPOLARIS%2fSearch%2ftitlereturn.aspx%3fpos%3d1&bottomurl=http%3a%2f%2fbcplfusion.bcpl.org%2fRepository%2fWorldIsMyUniversity.pdf