The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1894-08-30
RIDDLES OF ANCIENT TIMES.
Anagrams and Acrostics Have Been Known
Since the DAYS Of the PsaImist

Anagrams and Acrostics Have Been Known
since the Days of the Psaimist.
1t seems ridiculous that the people
who lived hundreds and hundreds of
years ago were more interested in puz-
xles than you and l are to-day. This
Us true, nevertheless. The puzzles ]
refer to are those in writing, although
the ancients probably occupied some
of their spare time with strange and
puzzling devices of wood and metal, as
we do What a pleasure it is to solve
the problems in our favoritc maya
zines or newspapers. 1t is very good
exercise for our brains, too, and where
prize is offered to the fortunate boy
or girl who first solves the puzzles of
different kinds, the work is more pleas
ant still in the anticipation of proving
oneself little cleverer than the
Others and of receiving the gift. We
mud that the acrostic is the most an
Gent form of puzzling mankind
Acrostic is Greek for number of
verses, the first letters of which form
woru-someti times a name and some
times sentence. The final letter
may form word, or, as Addison tells
us, the letters will even run down the
center of the verses, as a seam. The
Hebrew poets often make their verses
run over the entire alphabet. Twelve
of the psalms are written on this plan,
the most notable being the
one hundred and nineteenth.
This has twenty-five divisions
of stanzas, corresponding to the
twenty-five letters of the Hebrew al
phabet. Each stanza is formed of
eight couplets, and the first line of
each couplet in the first stanza in the
original Hebrew begins with the letter
aleph, the second commences with
beth. the third with gimel and so on
through the alphabet. The English
divisions of the Psalms are called after
the Hebrew letter that began the coup
let's. 1t was also customary to com
pose verses on sacred subjects after the
fashion of Hebrew acrostcs. This
was done with view to aid the mem
DRY, and such pieces were called abece-
darian hymns
The riddle is also of ancient origin.
The Proverbs of the Bible, or sayings
attributed to Solomon, are often in the
form of riddles. Was it not the queen
of Sheba who proposed riddles to Solo
mon? The Koran, the scriptural book
of the Mohammedans, also contains
riddles, as do some books now in exist
ence, written in Arabic and Persian.
The ancient Egyptians also propounded
riddles, and one of the seven wise men
of Greece, who lived in the sixth cen
fury Il. G., was celebrated for
his riddles in verse. Homer, the
Greek poet, according to u
statement in Plutarch, died of
vexation at not being able to solve
riddle. In the middle ages riddles were
encouraged for amusements on winter
nights in the baronial hall and also in
the monastery. In later days some of
the most brilliant men of letters con-
tributed to the list of riddles.
The anagram, or transposition of the
letters in words or sentences. was much
in vogue in Greece in the olden times.
The Cabalists, or Jewish doctors,
thought that the anagram always
pointed out IA mans destiny. and if his
name written backwards or transposed
in any way spelled word with mean
ing, they firmly believed it revelation
The fiatterers of James l., of England,
proved his right to the British mon
archy as the descendant of the myth
ical King Arthur, from his name Charles
James Stuart, which becomes claims
Arthur's seat. The best anagrams are
those which have in the new order of
letters some Specification appropriate
TO that from which they are formed.
When PLATE asked; "Quid est veritas?"
(What is truth?) he probably had no
idea that his question answered itself
But it did; the transposition made it
"Est vir qui adest'' Ut is the man who
is here. Anagrams were written as
early as 250 Il. c., and their name comes
from the Greek words ana, backwards.
and gramma, Observation-Disclosures
Press.