The Book of Lies

79

ΚΕΦΑΛΗ ΟΘ

THE BAL BULLIER

1

Some men look into their minds into their memories, and find naught but pain and shame.

2

These then proclaim "The Good Law" unto mankind.

3

These preach renunciation, "virtue", cowardice in every form.

4

These whine eternally.

5

Smug, toothless, hairless Coote, debauch-emasculated Buddha, come ye to me? I have a trick to make you silent, O ye foamers-at-the mouth!

6

Nature is wasteful; but how well She can afford it!

7

Nature is false; but I'm a bit of a liar myself.

8

Nature is useless; but then how beautiful she is!

9

Nature is cruel; but I too am a Sadist.

10

The game goes on; it may have been too rough for Buddha, but it's (if anything) too dull for me.

11

Viens, beau négre! Donne-moi tes lèvres encore!

COMMENTARY (ΟΘ)

The title of this chapter is a place frequented by Frater P. until it became respectable.

The chapter is a rebuke to those who can see nothing but sorrow and evil in the universe.

The Buddhist analysis may be true, but not for men of courage. The plea that "love is sorrow", because its ecstasies are only transitory, is contemptible.

Paragraph 5. Coote is a blackmailer exposed by The Equinox. The end of the paragraph refers to Catullus, his famous epigram about the youth who turned his uncle into Harpocrates. It is a subtle way for Frater P. to insist upon his virility, since otherwise he could not employ the remedy.

The last paragraph is a quotation. In Paris, Negroes are much sought after by sportive ladies. This is therefore presumably intended to assert that even women may enjoy life sometimes.

The word "Sadist" is taken from the famous Marquis de Sade, who gave supreme literary form to the joys of torture.

    Forgot user name/password