96
THE STAR IN THE WEST
its
field
of combat
is
an
Aceldama , all this
is
true
enough
:
whose
red banners
beat
Their radiant fire
Into my shrivelled head , to wither Love's desire ?!
but that it must die on the field of its choice is also
most certain .
In
“
The Nameless
Quest ” and
“ Tannhäuser ," we
find
represented
this striving
after
a
more
spiritual
and platonic
ideal of love .
In the former , questing for
the ideal of his hopes , man falls tangled into the arms
of the real ; in the latter , entangled , he strives to tear
away
the
meshes
of his passion , and at length suc
ceeds in releasing himself from the magic threads .
In
“
The
Nameless
Quest ,” Gereth is in love with
the Queen , and the King calls on
a knight
to go on
the Nameless Quest
to a certain pillar
which
lies
at
the end of the road which leads from Human desire to
Divine
contentment ; around
it
lie
the
bones
of
the
“
questing
slain
"
unburied
,
unremembered
,
uncon
fessed
;
Gereth's
name
is
cried aloud
,
and
the King
bids him God
-
speed
,
girding
on
him
his
own
true
sword
,
whilst
the Queen draws from her finger
a
ring
and
places
it
on
his
.
Then
when
he
has
left
their
presence
he notices for the first time
:
There was
no
jewel
in
the ring she gave
!
for
it
was the emblem
of
her total surrender
:
Oh my pure
heart
!
Adulterous love began
So
subtly
to
identify the man
With
its
own perfumed
thoughts
.
So steals
the grape
Into the furtive brain
-
a
spirit shape
Kisses my spirit
as
no
woman can
.
I
love her
-
yes
;
and
I
have
no
escape
.?
1
Aceldama
,
vol
.
i,
p
.
2.
2
The Temple
of
the Holy Ghost
,
vol
.
i,
p
.
188
.