The Equinox (Volume I, Number IV)

THE HIGH HISTORY OF GOOD xiii, At Naples he thinketh of the Beast as author of Evil, because Free of Will. The Beast, starting up, is slain by him with a poisoned arrow ; but at the moment of Its death It is reborn from the knight’s own belly. xiv, At Rome he meeteth a red robber in a Hat, who speaketh nobly of It as of a king-dove-lamb. He chaseth and slayeth it ; it proves but a child’s toy. xv. In a Tuscan grove he findeth, from the antics of a Satyr, that the Gods still dwell with men, Mistaking orgasm for ecstasy, he is found ridiculous. xvi. Baiting for It with gilded corn in a moonlit vale of Spain, he findeth the bait stolen by vermin. xvii. In Crete a metaphysician weaveth a labyrinth. Sir Palamede compelleth him to pursue the quarry in this same fashion. Running like hippogriffs, they plunge over the precipice; and the hermit, dead, appears but a mangy ass. Sir Palamede, sore wounded, is borne by fishers to an hut. xviii. Sir Palamede noteth the swiftness of the Beast. He therefore climbeth many mountains of the Alps. Yet can he not catch It; It outrunneth him easily, and at last, stumbling, he falleth. xix, Among the dunes of Brittany he findeth a witch dancing and conjuring, until she disappeareth in a blaze of light. He then learneth music, from a vile girl, until he is as skilful as Orpheus. In Paris he playeth in a public place. The people, at first throwing him coins, soon desert him to follow a foolish Egyptian wizard. No Beast cometh to his call. xx, He argueth out that there can be but one Beast. Following single tracks, he at length findeth the quarry, but on pursuit It eludeth him by multiplying itself. ‘This on the wide plains of France. xxi, He gathereth an army sufficient to chase the whole herd. In England’s midst they rush upon them ; but the herd join together, leading on the knights, who at length rush together into a mélée, wherein all but Sir Palamede are slain, while the Beast, as ever, standeth aloof, laughing. xxii. He argueth Its existence from design of the Cosmos, noting that Its tracks form a geometrical figure. But seeth that this depends upon his sense of geometry ; and is therefore no proof. Meditating upon this likeness to himself—Its subjectivity, in short —he seeth It in the Blue Lake. Thither plunging, all is shattered. xxiii, Seeking It in shrines he findeth but a money-box; while they that helped him (as they said) in his search, but robbed him. xxiv. Arguing Its obscurity, he seeketh It within the bowels of Etna, cutting off all avenues of sense. His own thoughts pursue him into madness. vi