List of Discordian works

Discordian works include a number of books, not all of which actually exist. Among those that have been published are the Principia Discordia, first published in 1965 (which includes portions of The Honest Book of Truth); and The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which had its first volume published in 1975.

Principia Discordia

Main article: Principia Discordia

Principia Discordia is a Discordian religious text written by Greg Hill (Malaclypse The Younger) and Kerry Thornley (Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst). It was originally published under the title "Principia Discordia or How The West Was Lost" in a limited edition of 5 copies in 1965^[1].

Summa Universalia

The Summa Universalia was another work by Malaclypse the Younger, purported to be a summary of the Universe. It was excerpted in the first edition of the Principia but never published. It was mentioned in an introduction to one of the Principia editions, and the work was quoted from in the first edition.^[2][3]

The Honest Book of Truth

In addition to the Summa Universalia, the Principia Discordia also included selections from Kerry Wendell Thornley's writings, which he named The Honest Book of Truth. These sections are clearly marked, and are subtitled in parody of the bible's books.

The following are the known "books" within The Honest Book of Truth:

• The Book of Explanations
• The Book of Predictions
• The Book of Advice
• The Book of Gooks
• The Gospel According to Fred
• The Epistle to the Paranoids
• The Book of Uterus
• The Indoctrine of the Pineal Gland

Selections from this work can also be found within The Illuminatus! Trilogy.^[4]

The Illuminatus! Trilogy

Main article: The Illuminatus! Trilogy

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson purportedly between 1969 and 1971^[5], and first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex- and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, which hinge around the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third and first person perspectives and jumps around in time. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology and Discordianism.

Zen Without Zen Masters

Zen Without Zen Masters is a book by Camden Benares (The Count of Five), published in 1977, of koans, stories and exercises of a Discordian nature. It includes tales of several early Discordians. "Enlightenment of a Seeker" from this book is also present in Principia Discordia as "A Zen Story". There are references to this story in The Illuminatus! Trilogy, as well.

Liber Malorum

Liber Malorum (The Children Of The Apple) is Discordian work edited by Sean Scullion and published by Paganarchy Press. Twenty-three different authors contributed a large number of short stories, which were woven together by Scullion to make the work as a whole. The name is a Latin pun, with multiple meanings including "The Book Of Evil", "The Children Of Evil", "The Book of Apples", and its official sub-title, "The Children Of The Apple". Themes from the book including the innocence of Eris, Discordianism in the New Aeon, anti-authoritarianism as a path to mystical power and Chaos Magic. Several of the contributing authors are well-known Discordians, chaos magicians and authors, including Ramsey Dukes, Jaq D. Hawkins and Nathaniel Harris. Liber Malorum also includes excerpts from Principia Discordia and from The Illuminatus! Trilogy.

References

1. ^ Malaclypse and Ravenhurst: "Principia Discordia", page 00075
2. ^ "By no means is the Principia our only scripture. All along Greg has been writing what he says is a summary of the Universe, but evidently it will be quite some time before he completes it." Thornley, Kerry: "Principia Discordia", page ix. Illuminet Press, 1991. As quoted at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tilt/principia/intro5.html.
3. ^ Malaclypse and Ravenhurst: "Principia Discordia", pages 2, 10, A14."Exerpted from a treatise concerning The Nature of Gods and The Eristesque Movement, to be found in the SUMMA UNIVERSALIA, the Holy Work of MALACLYPSE (THE YOUNGER), K.C., Omniscient Polyfather of Virginity-in-gold, and High Priest of The Heretic Fringe and Protestant Persuasion of the ERISIAN MOVEMENT of the DISCORDIAN SOCIETY " As found at http://appendix.23ae.com/pd1/17.html , http://appendix.23ae.com/pd1/25.html , http://appendix.23ae.com/pd1/14.html .
4. ^ Shea, Robert and Wilson, Robert Anton: "The Illuminatus! Trilogy", pages 7, 141, 217, 657. Dell Publishing, 1988
5. ^ Illuminatus! was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anton Wilson, Cosmic Trigger I: The Final Secret of the Illuminati (1977), page 145. ISBN 1-56184-003-3