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Household Gods

Автор Aleister Crowley

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Дата написания1970-01-01

Язык книгиen

Возрастное ограничение0+

Жанры

зарубежная драматургия зарубежная классика зарубежная старинная литература пьесы и драматургия

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Aleister Crowley Household Gods / A Comedy

SCENE

THE HEARTH OF CRASSUS; AFTERWARDS THE LAWNS, THE WOODS, THE LAKE, THE ISLE.

CHARACTERS

CRASSUS, a barbarian from Britain.

ADELA, his wife, a noble Roman lady.

ALICIA, a servant in the house.

A STATUE OF PAN.

A FAUN.

HOUSEHOLD GODS

THE SCENE is at the hearth of CRASSUS, where is a little bronze altar dedicated to the Lares and Penates. A pale flame rises from the burning sandal-wood, on which CRASSUS throws benzoin and musk. He is standing in deep dejection.

CRASSUS. Smoke without fire! No thrill of tongues licks up The offerings in the cup. Dead falls desire. Black smoke thou art, O altar-flame, that dost dismember, Devour the hearth, to leave no ember To warm this heart. I see her still - Adela dancing here Till dim gods did appear To work our will. The delicate girl! Diaphanous gossamer Subtly revealing her Brave breast of pearl! Now – she's withdrawn At dusk to the wild woods, Mystic beatitudes That dure till dawn. Let life exclaim Against these things of spirit, Mankind that disinherit Of love's pure flame!

[He bends before the altar and begins to weep.]

Ye household gods! By these male tears I swear That ye shall grant this prayer. All things at odds Shall be put straight - Harmonized, reconciled By some appointed child Of some far Fate!

[A curtain has been drawn aside during this invocation, and

ALICIA advances. She smiles subtly upon him; and, giving a

strange gesture, makes one or two noiseless steps of dancing.]

ALICIA.

Master still sad?

CRASSUS. These faint and fearful shores Of time are beaten by the surge of sense, Love worn away – by love? – to indifference. Who knows what god – or demon – she adores? Or in what wood she shelters, or what grove Sees her profane our sacrament of love? ALICIA. I saw her follow The stream in the hollow Where never Apollo Abides. So thick are the trees That never the breeze Stirs them, or sees What satyr inhabits the glen, what nymph in the pools of it hides. Lighter of foot Than a sylph or a fairy, Sinuous, wary, I passed from the airy Lawns, where the flute Of the winds made tremulous music for man. I followed the ripple Of the stream; I crept Where the waters wept - The floss in the foss Gurgling across The bosses of moss, Like a dryad's nipple In the mouth of Pan!

CRASSUS.

O pearl of the house! you came to the end?

ALICIA.

The dusk of the slave, the dawn of a friend?

CRASSUS.

Freedom is thine for the skill and the will.

ALICIA. The skill is mine – but the will lies still, Still as the earth that dare not stir Till the kiss of the sun awaken her! CRASSUS. Yet at these secrets and riddles? Behold! I can fill thy lap with a harvest of gold. ALICIA. Yet all the gold you could give to me Would fall at my feet when I rose to be free.

CRASSUS.

What will you then?

ALICIA. No gift from men. Of my own free will I give you wit, (O man so sorely in need of it!) And happiness; and the flame that hath dwindled On this dull hearth shall be rekindled. But this you must swear: To will, and to dare, To seek the spirit and slay the sense; And for this hour To give me power To lead you in silent obedience, Though I bade you fall on your sword…. CRASSUS. Enough! I give my life as I gave my love. ALICIA. O! love you have not understood. You have not guessed its secret food. You have not seen its single eye; But fear and doubt and jealousy Have risen, and now your love is trembling Like a mountebank dissembling When his trick's detected. Come! To find home we must leave home. CRASSUS. Starless and moonless, hidden in cloud, The night's one flame of pearl.

ALICIA.

The bat flaps; the owl hoots aloud.

CRASSUS.

Lead on; I trust you, girl.

ALICIA. You are bold to trust me; or, have you divined My secret? CRASSUS. No; the crystal of your mind Shows only faint disturbing images, Things passing strange, as if enchanted seas Kept their great swell upon it, and strange fish Played in its oily depths. Some monstrous wish, The shadow of some unspeakable desire, Strikes my heart cold, and sets my brain on fire. ALICIA. Learn this, as we pass through the portico: Fear nothing; there is nothing you can know! And by these terraces and steps that gleam Wintry, although the summer night is hot, This – what we seek is never what we find! Life is a dream, like love; and from the dream If we may wake, we never find it what We would; for the wisdom of a mightier mind Leads us in its own ways To a perfected praise. CRASSUS. Why are these shadows thrown across the lawn From the elms and yews? They were not wont to reach Beyond the branches of that copper-beech. ALICIA. Attend the dawn Of an unknown comet, that shall come From the unfathomable wells of space Into its halidom. CRASSUS. I know it not. Last night I walked alone Here, and saw nothing. ALICIA. I was not with you! There is no God upon the eternal throne Of stars begemming the bewildering blue Unless one has the eyes to see him. Think How we two stand upon the brink Of nothing! Here's a globe, whereto we trust, No larger than the smallest speck of dust Or mote in the sunbeam is to that sun's self, And we are like dead leaves in autumn's whil Of wind upon it. CRASSUS. Mystify me, girl! It is the right of an elf. Surely your flickering fire Will draw me to some mire! ALICIA. Here the stream dips its mouth into the wood. So does youth's calm and chaste beatitude Touch the black mouth of Love, the ancient whore.

CRASSUS.

Girl! what a scorpion leaping from your lips!

ALICIA. My mouth stings as no scorpion ever stang. in this round impudent smiling face of mine There is a poison fiercer than all wine; And from these eyes more subtle sorrows pour Than you can dream. These teeth have been at grips With gods; I have sung what no girl ever sang. These ears have heard An insufferable word!

CRASSUS.

What do you mean?

ALICIA. The secret's in a kiss. Here are no kisses. Here great Artemis Rules; only in the woodland may a man Hide his eyes from her, pledge himself to Pan. Come! through the tangled arches Of cypresses and larches, Stoop; under Artemis we walked upright; But this is Pan's home, and the House of Night.

[They enter the wood.]

CRASSUS. So when I stoop, my cheek comes close to yours. Give me a kiss. ALICIA. The poisonous apple lures Thus the boy's mouth. Beware! CRASSUS. O you are fair! Fairer than ever! In this tangle of trees Your hot breath wraps you in perfume. ALICIA. There is some gloom or doom, A bitter harsh ingredient In these my sorceries Of animal scent. CRASSUS. Yes! there is fear mixed with the fascination. It is the reverence that chastity, be sure! Gains from the impure. ALICIA. O virtuous nation! It is the fear of the uninitiate Before the throne of Fate The hierophant.

CRASSUS.

Kiss me, however!

ALICIA. Did I grant This favour, all were lost. It is your truth To Adela that tempts my youth.

[Henceforth Alicia shakes with silent laughter.]

CRASSUS.

What little breasts you have!

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