WHEREIN IS BEGUN THE GARDENER'S STORY, IN THE COURSE OF
WHICH WE SHALL SEE THE DESTINY OF THE WORLD UNFOLDED IN A
DISCOURSE AS BROAD AND MAGNIFICENT IN ITS VIEWS AS BOSSUET'S
DISCOURSE ON THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE IS NARROW AND
DISMAL
The gardener bade Arcade and Zita sit down in an arbour walled with wild
bryony, at the far end of the orchard.
"Arcade," said the beautiful Archangel, "Nectaire will perhaps reveal to
you to-day the things you are burning to know. Ask him to speak."
Arcade did so and old Nectaire, laying down his pipe, began as
follows:--
"I knew him. He was the most beautiful of all the Seraphim. He shone
with intelligence and daring. His great heart was big with all the
virtues born of pride: frankness, courage, constancy in trial,
indomitable hope. Long, long ago, ere Time was, in the boreal sky where
gleam the seven magnetic stars, he dwelt in a palace of diamond and
gold, where the air was ever tremulous with the beating of wings and
with songs of triumph. Iahveh, on his mountain, was jealous of Lucifer.
You both know it: angels like unto men feel love and hatred quicken
within them. Capable, at times, of generous resolves, they too often
follow their own interests and yield to fear. Then, as now, they showed
themselves, for the most part, incapable of lofty thoughts, and in the
fear of the Lord lay their sole virtue. Lucifer, who held vile things in
proud disdain, despised this rabble of commonplace spirits for ever
wallowing in a life of feasts and pleasure. But to those who were
possessed of a daring spirit, a restless soul, to those fired with a
wild love of liberty, he proffered friendship, which was returned with
adoration. These latter deserted in a mass the mountain of God and
yielded to the Seraph the homage which That Other would fain have kept
for himself alone.
"I ranked among the Dominations, and my name, Alaciel, was not unknown
to fame. To satisfy my mind--that was ever tormented with an insatiable
thirst for knowledge and understanding--I observed the nature of things,
I studied the properties of minerals, air, and water. I sought out the
laws which govern nature, solid or ethereal, and after much pondering I
perceived that the Universe had not been formed as its pretended Creator
would have us believe; I knew that all that exists, exists of itself
and not by the caprice of Iahveh; that the world is itself its own
creator and the spirit its own God. Henceforth I despised Iahveh for his
imposture, and I hated him because he showed himself to be opposed to
all that I found desirable and good: liberty, curiosity, doubt. These
feelings drew me towards the Seraph. I admired him, I loved him. I dwelt
in his light. When at length it appeared that a choice had to be made
between him and That Other I ranged myself on the side of Lucifer and
knew no other aim than to serve him, no other desire than to share his
lot.
"War having become inevitable, he prepared for it with indefatigable
vigilance and all the resourcefulness of a far-seeing mind. Making the
Thrones and Dominations into Chalybes and Cyclopes, he drew forth iron
from the mountains bordering his domain; iron, which he valued more than
gold, and forged weapons in the caverns of Heaven. Then in the desert
plain of the North he assembled myriads of Spirits, armed them, taught
them, and drilled them. Although prepared in secret, the enterprise was
too vast for his adversary not to be soon aware of it. It might in truth
be said that he had always foreseen and dreaded it, for he had made a
citadel of his abode and a warlike host of his angels, and he gave
himself the name of the God of Hosts. He made ready his thunderbolts.
More than half of the children of Heaven remained faithful to him;
thronging round him he beheld obedient souls and patient hearts. The
Archangel Michael, who knew not fear, took command of these docile
troops. Lucifer, as soon as he saw that his army could gain no more in
numbers or in warlike skill, moved it swiftly against the foe, and
promising his angels riches and glory marched at their head towards the
mountain upon whose summit stands the Throne of the Universe. For three
days our host swept onward over the ethereal plains. Above our heads
streamed the black standards of revolt. And now, behold, the Mountain of
God shone rosy in the orient sky and our chief scanned with his eyes the
glittering ramparts. Beneath the sapphire walls the foe was drawn up in
battle array, and, while we marched clad in our iron and bronze, they
shone resplendent in gold and precious stones.
"Their gonfalons of red and blue floated in the breeze, and lightning
flashed from the points of their lances. In a little while the armies
were only sundered one from the other by a narrow strip of level and
deserted ground, and at this sight even the bravest shuddered as they
thought that there in bloody conflict their fate would soon be sealed.
"Angels, as you know, never die. But when bronze and iron, diamond point
or flaming sword tear their ethereal substance, the pain they feel is
more acute than men may suffer, for their flesh is more exquisitely
delicate; and should some essential organ be destroyed, they fall inert
and, slowly decomposing, are resolved into clouds and during long æons
float insensible in the cold ether. And when at length they resume
spirit and form they fail to recover full memory of their past life.
Therefore it is but natural that angels shrink from suffering, and the
bravest among them is troubled at the thought of being reft of light and
sweet remembrance. Were it otherwise the angelic race would know neither
the delight of battle nor the glory of sacrifice. Those who, before the
beginning of Time, fought in the Empyrean for or against the God of
Armies, would have taken part without honour in mock battles, and it
would not now become me to say to you, my children, with rightful pride:
"'Lo, I was there!'
"Lucifer gave the signal for the onset and led the assault. We fell upon
the enemy, thinking to destroy him then and there and carry the sacred
citadel at the first onslaught. The soldiers of the jealous God, less
fiery, but no whit less firm than ours, remained immovable. The
Archangel Michael commanded them with the calmness and resolution of a
mighty spirit. Thrice we strove to break through their lines, thrice
they opposed to our ironclad breast the flaming points of their lances,
swift to pierce the stoutest cuirass. In millions the glorious bodies
fell. At length our right wing pierced the enemy's left and we beheld
the Principalities, the Powers, the Virtues, the Dominations, and the
Thrones turn and flee in full career; while the Angels of the Third
Choir, flying distractedly above them, covered them with a snow of
feathers mingled with a rain of blood. We sped in pursuit of them amid
the débris of chariots and broken weapons, and we spurred their nimble
flight. Suddenly a storm of cries amazed us. It grew louder and nearer.
With desperate shrieks and triumphal clamour the right wing of the
enemy, the giant archangels of the Most High, had flung themselves upon
our left flank and broken it. Thus we were forced to abandon the pursuit
of the fugitives and hasten to the rescue of our own shattered troops.
Our prince flew to rally them, and re-established the conflict. But the
left wing of the enemy, whose ruin he had not quite consummated, no
longer pressed by lance or arrow, regained courage, returned, and faced
us yet again. Night fell upon the dubious field. While under the shelter
of darkness, in the still, silent air stirred ever and anon by the moans
of the wounded, his forces were resting from their toils, Lucifer began
to make ready for the next day's battle. Before dawn the trumpets
sounded the reveille. Our warriors surprised the enemy at the hour of
prayer, put them to rout, and long and fierce was the carnage that
ensued. When all had either fallen or fled, the Archangel Michael, none
with him save a few companions with four wings of flame, still resisted
the onslaughts of a countless host. They fell back ceaselessly opposing
their breasts to us, and Michael still displayed an impassible
countenance. The sun had run a third of its course when we commenced to
scale the Mountain of God. An arduous ascent it was: sweat ran from our
brows, a dazzling light blinded us. Weighed down with steel, our
feathery wings could not sustain us, but hope gave us wings that bore us
up. The beautiful Seraph, pointing with glittering hand, mounting ever
higher and higher, showed us the way. All day long we slowly clomb the
lofty heights which at evening were robed in azure, rose, and violet.
The starry host appearing in the sky seemed as the reflection of our own
arms. Infinite silence reigned above us. We went on, intoxicated with
hope; all at once from the darkened sky lightning darted forth, the
thunder muttered, and from the cloudy mountain-top fell fire from
Heaven. Our helmets, our breast-plates were running with flames, and our
bucklers broke under bolts sped by invisible hands. Lucifer, in the
storm of fire, retained his haughty mien. In vain the lightning smote
him; mightier than ever he stood erect, and still defied the foe. At
length, the thunder, making the mountain totter, flung us down
pell-mell, huge fragments of sapphire and ruby crashing down with us as
we fell, and we rolled inert, swooning, for a period whose duration
none could measure.
* * * * *
"I awoke in a darkness filled with lamentations. And when my eyes had
grown accustomed to the dense shadows I saw round me my companions in
arms, scattered in thousands on the sulphurous ground, lit by fitful
gleams of livid light. My eyes perceived but fields of lava, smoking
craters, and poisonous swamps.
"Mountains of ice and shadowy seas shut in the horizon. A brazen sky
hung heavy on our brows. And the horror of the place was such that we
wept as we sat, crouched elbow on knee, our cheeks resting on our
clenched hands.
"But soon, raising my eyes, I beheld the Seraph standing before me like
a tower. Over his pristine splendour sorrow had cast its mantle of
sombre majesty.
"'Comrades,' said he, 'we must be happy and rejoice, for behold we are
delivered from celestial servitude. Here we are free, and it were better
to be free in Hell than serve in Heaven. We are not conquered, since the
will to conquer is still ours. We have caused the Throne of the jealous
God to totter; by our hands it shall fall. Arise, therefore, and be of
good heart.'
"Thereupon, at his command, we piled mountain upon mountain and on the
topmost peak we reared engines which flung molten rocks against the
divine habitations. The celestial host was taken unaware and from the
abodes of glory there issued groans and cries of terror. And even then
we thought to re-enter in triumph on our high estate, but the Mountain
of God was wreathed with lightnings, and thunderbolts, falling on our
fortress, crushed it to dust. After this fresh disaster, the Seraph
remained awhile in meditation, his head buried in his hands. At length
he raised his darkened visage. Now he was Satan, greater than Lucifer.
Steadfast and loyal the angels thronged about him.
"'Friends,' he said, 'if victory is denied us now, it is because we are
neither worthy nor capable of victory. Let us determine wherein we have
failed. Nature shall not be ruled, the sceptre of the Universe shall not
be grasped, Godhead shall not be won, save by knowledge alone. We must
conquer the thunder; to that task we must apply ourselves unwearyingly.
It is not blind courage (no one this day has shown more courage than
have you) which will win us the courts of Heaven; but rather study and
reflection. In these silent realms where we are fallen, let us meditate,
seeking the hidden causes of things; let us observe the course of
Nature; let us pursue her with compelling ardour and all-conquering
desire; let us strive to penetrate her infinite grandeur, her infinite
minuteness. Let us seek to know when she is barren and when she brings
forth fruit; how she makes cold and heat, joy and sorrow, life and
death; how she assembles and disperses her elements, how she produces
both the light air we breathe and the rocks of diamond and sapphire
whence we have been precipitated, the divine fire wherewith we have been
scarred and the soaring thought which stirs our minds. Torn with dire
wounds, scorched by flame and by ice, let us render thanks to Fate which
has sedulously opened our eyes, and let us rejoice at our lot. It is
through pain that, suffering a first experience of Nature, we have been
roused to know her and to subdue her. When she obeys us we shall be as
gods. But even though she hide her mysteries for ever from us, deny us
arms and keep the secret of the thunder, we still must needs
congratulate ourselves on having known pain, for pain has revealed to us
new feelings, more precious and more sweet than those experienced in
eternal bliss, and inspired us with love and pity unknown to Heaven.'
"These words of the Seraph changed our hearts and opened up fresh hope
to us. Our hearts were filled with a great longing for knowledge and
love.
"Meanwhile the Earth was coming into being. Its immense and nebulous orb
took on hourly more shape and more certainty of outline. The waters
which fed the seaweed, the madrepores and shellfish and bore the light
flotilla of the nautilus upon their bosom, no longer covered it in its
entirety; they began to sink into beds, and already continents appeared,
where, on the warm slime, amphibious monsters crawled. Then the
mountains were overspread with forests, and divers races of animals
commenced to feed on the grass, the moss, the berries on the trees, and
on the acorns. Then there took possession of cavernous shelters under
the rocks, a being who was cunning to wound with a sharpened stone the
savage beasts, and by his ruses to overcome the ancient denizens of
forest, plain, and mountain.
"Man entered painfully on his kingdom. He was defenceless and naked. His
scanty hair afforded him but little protection from the cold. His hands
ended in nails too frail to do battle with the claws of wild beasts, but
the position of his thumb, in opposition to the rest of his fingers,
allowed him easily to grasp the most diverse objects and endowed him
with skill in default of strength. Without differing essentially from
the rest of the animals, he was more capable than any others of
observing and comparing. As he drew from his throat various sounds, it
occurred to him to designate by a particular inflexion of the voice
whatever impinged upon his mind, and by this sequence of different
sounds he was enabled to fix and communicate his ideas. His miserable
lot and his painstaking spirit aroused the sympathy of the vanquished
angels, who discerned in him an audacity equalling their own, and the
germ of the pride that was at once their glory and their bane. They came
in large numbers to be near him, to dwell on this young earth whither
their wings wafted them in effortless flight. And they took pleasure in
sharpening his talents and fostering his genius. They taught him to
clothe himself in the skins of wild beasts, to roll stones before the
mouths of caves to keep out the tigers and bears. They taught him how to
make the flame burst forth by twirling a stick among the dried leaves
and to foster the sacred fire upon the hearth. Inspired by the ingenious
spirits he dared to cross the rivers in the hollowed trunks of cleft
trees, he invented the wheel, the grinding-mill, and the plough; the
share tore up the earth and the wound brought forth fruit, and the grain
offered to him who ground it divine nourishment. He moulded vessels in
clay, and out of the flint he fashioned various tools.
"In fine, taking up our abode among mankind, we consoled them and taught
them. We were not always visible to them, but of an evening, at the turn
of the road, we would appear to them under forms often strange and
weird, at times dignified and charming, and we adopted at will the
appearance of a monster of the woods and waters, of a venerable old man,
of a beautiful child, or of a woman with broad hips. Sometimes we would
mock them in our songs or test their intelligence by some cunning
prank. There were certain of us of a rather turbulent humour who loved
to tease their women and children, but though lowly folk, they were our
brothers, and we were never loath to come to their aid. Through our care
their intelligence developed sufficiently to attain to mistaken ideas,
and to acquire erroneous notions of the relations of cause and effect.
As they supposed that some magic bond existed between the reality and
its counterfeit presentment, they covered the walls of their caves with
figures of animals and carved in ivory images of the reindeer and the
mammoth in order to secure as prey the creatures they represented.
Centuries passed by with infinite slowness while their genius was coming
to birth. We sent them happy thoughts in dreams, inspired them to tame
the horse, to castrate the bull, to teach the dog to guard the sheep.
They created the family and the tribe. It came to pass one day that one
of their wandering tribes was assailed by ferocious hunters. Forthwith
the young men of the tribe formed an enclosed ring with their chariots,
and in it they shut their women, children, old people, cattle, and
treasures, and from the platform of their chariots they hurled murderous
stones at their assailants. Thus was formed the first city. Born in
misery and condemned to do murder by the law of Iahveh, man put his
whole heart into doing battle, and to war he was indebted for his
noblest virtues. He hallowed with his blood that sacred love of country
which should (if man fulfils his destiny to the very end) enfold the
whole earth in peace. One of us, Dædalus, brought him the axe, the
plumb-line, and the sail. Thus we rendered the existence of mortals less
hard and difficult. By the shores of the lakes they built dwellings of
osier, where they might enjoy a meditative quiet unknown to the other
inhabitants of the earth, and when they had learned to appease their
hunger without too painful efforts we breathed into their hearts the
love of beauty.
"They raised up pyramids, obelisks, towers, colossal statues which
smiled stiff and uncouth, and genetic symbols. Having learnt to know us
or trying at least to divine what manner of beings we were, they felt
both friendship and fear for us. The wisest among them watched us with
sacred awe and pondered our teaching. In their gratitude the people of
Greece and of Asia consecrated to us stones, trees, shadowy woods;
offered us victims, and sang us hymns; in fact we became gods in their
sight, and they called us Horus, Isis, Astarte, Zeus, Cybele, Demeter,
and Triptolemus. Satan was worshipped under the names of Evan, Dionysus,
Iacchus, and Lenæus. He showed in his various manifestations all the
strength and beauty which it is given to mortals to conceive. His eyes
had the sweetness of the wood-violet, his lips were brilliant with the
ruby-red of the pomegranate, a down finer than the velvet of the peach
covered his cheeks and his chin: his fair hair, wound like a diadem and
knotted loosely on the crown of his head, was encircled with ivy. He
charmed the wild beasts, and penetrating into the deep forests drew to
him all wild spirits, every thing that climbed in trees and peered
through the branches with wild and timid gaze. On all these creatures
fierce and fearful, that lived on bitter berries and beneath whose hairy
breasts a wild heart beat, half-human creatures of the woods--on all he
bestowed loving-kindness and grace, and they followed him drunk with joy
and beauty. He planted the vine and showed mortals how to crush the
grapes underfoot to make the wine flow. Magnificent and benign, he fared
across the world, a long procession following in his train. To bear him
company I took the form of a satyr; from my brow sprang two budding
horns. My nose was flat and my ears were pointed. Glands, like those of
the goat, hung on my neck, a goat's tail moved with my moving loins, and
my hairy legs ended in a black cloven hoof which beat the ground in
cadence.
"Dionysus fared on his triumphal march over the world. In his company I
passed through Lydia, the Phrygian fields, the scorching plains of
Persia, Media bristling with hoar-frost, Arabia Felix, and rich Asia
where flourishing cities were laved by the waves of the sea. He
proceeded on a car drawn by lions and lynxes, to the sound of flutes,
cymbals, and drums, invented for his mysteries. Bacchantes, Thyades,
and Mænads, girt with the dappled fawn-skin, waved the thyrsus encircled
with ivy. He bore in his train the Satyrs, whose joyous troop I led,
Sileni, Pans, and Centaurs. Under his feet flowers and fruit sprang to
life, and striking the rocks with his wand he made limpid streams gush
forth. In the month of the Vintage he visited Greece, and the villagers
ran forth to meet him, stained with the green and ruddy juices of the
plants, they wore masks of wood, or bark, or leaves; in their hands they
bore earthen cups, and danced wanton dances. Their womenfolk, imitating
the companions of the God, their heads wreathed with green smilax,
fastened round their supple loins skins of fawn or goat. The virgins
twined about their throats garlands of fig leaves, they kneaded cakes of
flour, and bore the Phallus in the mystic basket. And the vine-dressers,
all daubed with lees of wine, standing up in their wains and bandying
mockery or abuse with the passers-by, invented Tragedy.
"Truly, it was not in dreaming beside a fountain, but by dint of
strenuous toil that Dionysus taught them to grow plants and to make them
bring forth succulent fruits. And while he pondered the art of
transforming the rough woodlanders into a race that should love music
and submit to just laws, more than once over his brow, burning with the
fire of enthusiasm, did melancholy and gloomy fever pass. But his
profound knowledge and his friendship for mankind enabled him to triumph
over every obstacle. O days divine! Beautiful dawn of life! We led the
Bacchanals on the leafy summits of the mountains and on the yellow
shores of the seas. The Naiads and the Oreads mingled with us at our
play. Aphrodite at our coming rose from the foam of the sea to smile
upon us."