The Place of the Lion - Charles Williams (best motivational books to read TXT) š
- Author: Charles Williams
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Mrs. Rockbotham interrupted Miss Wilmotās lengthier explanation. āYou see,ā she said, āwe meet once a month at Mr. Berringerās, and he gives us an Instructionāvery instructive it always isāabout thought-forms or something similar. But I suppose he wonāt be able to this time, and none of us would likeāI mean, it might seem pushing for any of us to take his place. But you, as an outsiderā¦.And your studies are more or less about methods of thought, I understand?ā
She paused, and Damaris supposed they were.
āI thought, if you would read us something, just to keep us in touch withāwell, the history of it, at least, if nothing else,ā Mrs. Rockbotham ambiguously concluded, āwe should all be greatly obliged.ā
āButā, Damaris said, āif Mr. Berringer isā¦incapacitated, why not suspend the meeting?ā
āNo, I donāt want to do that,ā Mrs. Rockbotham answered. āIt would be very awkward, anyhow, to let everybody know before nine tonight-some of them live miles outāā
āYou could telegraph,ā Damaris put in.
āAnd in the second place,ā Mrs. Rockbotham went on steadily, āI donāt think Mr. Berringer would like us to treat it as if it all depended on him. He always insists that itās an individual effort. So we must, in the circumstances, get someone else.ā
āBut where will you hold the meeting?ā Damaris asked. She didnāt want to offend Mrs. Rockbotham who, though only a doctorās wife, had influential relations, among whom was the owner of that literary weekly of which her cousin Anthony Durrant was a sub-editor or something of the sort. Damaris had had an occasional article, done for the public of course, printed there already, and she was anxious to keep the gate open. Indeed it occurred to her at once that if she could only find among her various MSS. a suit able paper, she might use it both for that evening and for The Two Camps, which was the name of the weekly. It had originally been meant to be symbolical of the paperās effort to maintain tradition in art, politics and philosophy while allowing the expression of revolt; though Anthony insisted that it signified the division in the contributors between those who liked it living and intelligent and those who preferred it dying and scholarly, represented by himself and Damaris. He had told her that in a momentās exasperation, because she had insisted on talking of the paper instead of themselves. Anthony was always wanting to talk of themselves, which meant whether she loved him, and in what way, and how much, whereas Damaris, who disliked discussing other peopleās personal affairs, preferred to talk of scholarship or abstract principles such as whether and how soon The Two Camps would publish her essay on Platonic Tradition at the Court of Charlemagne. Anthony had gone off in rather a bad temper finally, saying that she had no more notion of Plato than of Charlemagne, and that her real subject was Damaristic Tradition at the Court of Damaris; upon which he swore he would write a long highbrow article and publish itāDamaris being, for that purpose, a forgotten queen of Trebizond overthrown by the Saracen invasion.
āNobodyāll know any better,ā he had said, āand what you need very badly indeed is a thoroughly good Saracen invasion within the next fortnight.ā
Mrs. Rockbotham was explaining that she had been talking to Mr. Berringerās housekeeper on the telephone. The usual small arrangements had, of course, been made for the meeting, and the housekeeper, though a little reluctant, was under pressure compliant. Mr. Berringer was still lying quite quietāunconscious, Dr. Rockbotham had said. Mrs. Rockbotham and Miss Wilmot however both thought it more likely that the unconsciousness was of the nature of trance, Mr. Berringerās soul or something having gone off in to the spiritual world or somewhere, probably where time didnāt exist, and not realizing the inconvenient length of the period that was elapsing before its return.
āAnd suppose,ā the over-suppressed Miss Wilmot broke out, āsuppose he came back while we were there! What he might tell us! Heād even be able to tell you something, Elise, wouldnāt he?ā
The whole thing sounded extremely disagreeable to Damaris. The more she thought about it, the sillier it looked. But was it worth while, if Mrs. Rockbotham chose to be silly, refusing her request, and running the risk of a hostile word dropped in that influential relativeās ear?
āBut what sort of thing do you want?ā she asked slowly.
Mrs. Rockbotham considered. āIf you could tell us something about thought-forms, now,ā she said. āThatās what weāre trying to shapeāI canāt go into it allābut perhaps a few remarks aboutā¦well, now, Plato? Mr. Berringer told us that Plato wrote a good deal about ideas, and didnāt you tell me you had several studies in Plato almost done?ā
Damaris thought of the Charlemagne paper, but rejected it as being too historical for this purpose. She thought of a few other titles, and suddenlyā
āIf it would be any good to you,ā she said, āI have some notes on the relation of Platonic and medieval thoughtāa little specialist, Iām afraid, but it would be the best I could do. If itās really any useāā
Mrs. Rockbotham sat up with a delighted smile. āHow good of you, Miss Tighe,ā she exclaimed. āI knew youād help us! It will be exactly right, Iām sure. Iāll call for you in the car at half-past eight. And thank you so much.ā
She stood up and paused. āBy the way,ā she asked, āwhatās your paper called?ā
āThe Eidola and the Angeli,ā Damaris answered. āItās just a comparison, you know; largely between the sub-Platonic philosophers on the one side and the commentators on Dionysius the Areopagite on the other, suggesting that they have a common pattern in mind. But some of the quotations are rather quaint and might attract your friends.ā
āIām perfectly certain it will be delightful,ā Mrs. Rockbotham assured her. āThe-the Eidola. What were they? But youāll tell us that, wonāt you? Itās really too kind of you, Miss Tighe, and I only hope one day I shall be able to do something to show my appreciation. Goodbye till half-past eight.ā
Damaris, with the firm intention that Mrs. Rockbotham should have her hope fulfilled by assisting, if necessary, to print the paper in question, said goodbye, and herself took her visitors to the car. Then she went back to her study and set to work to find the lecture. When she did, it appeared even more technical than she had supposed. The main thesis of a correspondence between the development of the formative Ideas of Hellenic philosophy and the hierarchic angelicals of Christian mythology was clearly stated. But most of the quotations were in their original Greek or Latin, and Damaris was compelled to sit down and translate them at once, for fear of later hesitation about an adequate word, into bearable English. She took the opportunity to modify it here and there in case she hurt Mrs. Rockbothamās feelings, changing for example āsuperstitious slaveryā into ācredulous pietyā and āemotional opportunismā into āfervent zeal.ā Not that Mrs. Rockbotham was likely to be worried by any insult to the schoolmen o r Dionysius the Areopagiteāshe added a couple of sentences explaining āAreopagiteāābut Damaris had only the remotest notion what these ladies supposed themselves to be doing, and even in pure scholarship it was never worth while taking risks unless you were pretty sure. The highly intellectualized readers of The Two Camps were almost certain to be free from any prejudice in favour of either the eidola or the angeli, but with Mr. Berringerās disciples one couldnāt tell. She altered āpriestly oppressionā into āofficial influenceā almost automatically, however, recalling that Anthony had told her that a certain number of clergymen took in the periodical, and after a couple of hoursā work felt fairly ready. It would, at worst, give her a chance of reading her paper, which she liked doing; things sounded different when they were read aloud. At bestāwell, at best, one never knew; someone useful might be there. Damaris put the MS. ready and went down to dinner.
At dinner her father began talking. They sat opposite each other in the small dining-room into which two bookcases holding works on Proclus, lamblichus, St. Anselm, and the Moorish culture in Spain had lately crept. The maid supplied them with food, and Damarisāto a less nourishing effect, but with a similar efficiencyāsupplied her father with conversation. He was more than usually thrilled to-day; never had he seen so many butterflies, and yet they had all escaped him.
āThere was a great one on the oak at the top of the hill,ā he said, āand it vanishedāreally vanished just as I moved. I canāt think what sort it wasāI couldnāt recognize it; brown and gold it seemed. A lovely, lovely thing!ā
He sighed and went on eating. Damaris frowned.
āReally, father,ā she said, āif it was as beautiful as all that I donāt see how you can bear to go on eating mutton and potatoes so ordinarily.ā
Her father opened his eyes at her. āBut what else can I do?ā he said. āIt was a lovely thing; it was glinting and glowing there. This is very good mutton,ā he added placidly. āIām glad I didnāt miss this tooānot without catching the other.ā
Damaris looked at him. He was short and rather plump, and he was enjoying the mutton. Beauty! She didnāt know that she hated him, and certainly she didnāt know that she only hated him because he was her father. Nor did she realize that it was only when she was talking to him that the divine Platoās remarks on beauty were used by her as if they meant anything more than entries in a card-index. She had of course heard of ādefence mechanismsā, but not as if they were anything she could have or need or use. Nor had love and Heloise ever appeared to her as more than a side-incident of Abelardās real career. In which her judgment may have been perfectly right, but her sensations were wildly and entirely wrong.
āPlato saysāā she began.
āO Plato!ā answered Mr. Tighe, taking, as if rhythmically, more vegetables.
āāthatā, Damaris went on, ignoring the answer, āone should rise from the phenomenal to the abstract beauty, and thence to the absolute.ā
Mr. Tighe said he had no doubt that Plato was a very great man and could do it. āBut personallyā, he added, āI find that mutton helps butterflies and butterflies mutton. Thatās why I like lunching out in the open. It was a marvel, that one on the oak. I donāt see what it can have been. Brown and gold,ā he added thoughtfully. āItās very curious. Iāve looked up all my books, and I canāt find anything like it. Itās a pityā, he added irrelevantly, āthat you donāt like butterflies.ā
Meaning to be patient, Damaris said, āBut, you know, I canāt take up everything.ā
āI thought that was what you just said Plato told you to do,ā her father answered. āIsnāt the Absolute something like everything?ā
Damaris ignored this; her father on Plato was too silly. People needed a long intellectual training to understand Plato and the Good. He would probably think that the Good was the same thing as Godālike
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