Principia Discordia

Principia Discordia is a sacred text of the Discordian religion 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 1965.

History

The full title of the fourth and most popular edition is PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA or How I Found Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found Her: The Magnum Opiate Of Malaclypse The Younger, Wherein is Explained Absolutely Everything Worth Knowing About Absolutely Anything.

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Included on page 00075 is the following note about the history of the Principia:

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:This being the 4th Edition, March 1970, San Francisco; a revision of the 3rd Edition of 500 copies, whomped together in Tampa 1969; which revised the 2nd Edition of 100 copies from Los Angeles 1969; which was a revision of PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA or HOW THE WEST WAS LOST published in New Orleans in 1965 in five copies, which were mostly lost.

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A "Fifth Edition" consisting of a single Western Union telegram page filled with the letter M was published as an appendix to one of the re-printings of the 4th Edition.

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The Principia includes a notice which purports to disclaim any copyright in relation to the work: "(K) All Rights Reversed - reprint what you like." Regardless of the legal effect of this notice, the Principia has been widely disseminated in the public domain via the Internet and more traditional print publishers. Some re-publishers have claimed copyright in relation to the additional material included in their editions.

Related Topics:
Copyright - All Rights Reversed - Public domain - Internet

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Known reprintings of the Fourth Edition:

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• Revisionist Press published a hardcover of the Fourth Edition in 1976. (ISBN 068575085X)
• Loompanics Unlimited published a version (the "yellow version") in 1979, adding an introduction by Robert Anton Wilson, an afterword by Malaclypse the Younger, and the aforementioned "Fifth Edition". (ISBN 1559500409)
• Illuminet Press published a version (the "purple version") in 1991, adding an introduction by Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst. (ISBN 096265342x)
• Steve Jackson Games published a version (the "black version") in 1994, adding 20 pages of new Discordian text, mostly collected from online Discordians. (ISBN 1556343205) Steve Jackson Games also publishes Discordian and Illuminati-inspired games, such as GURPS Illuminati and the Illuminati card game.