How is this Heracitean quotation relevant to Poul Anderson? It reminds me of three things:
(i) a passage in CS Lewis' The Great Divorce (London, 1982), where a man who leaves the grey town and approaches the mountains thinks that he must turn back because the lizard on his shoulder, whispering in his ear, gives him dreams that "'...up here...'" are "'...so damned embarrassing.'" (p. 90);
(ii) aspects of my own experience that I will not discuss here;
(iii) Poul Anderson's "Journeys End, " where telepaths are repelled by each other's private thoughts.
"'I am caught by the morning and I am a ghost.'"
-The Great Divorce, p. 117.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I hope the man from Lewis' THE GREAT DIVORCE in your point (i) had the courage to go on, regardless of those embarassing dreams.
And I well remember how the telepaths of "Journeys End" could not endure the ultimate intimacy caused by mind reading. They would have needed to more like the Catholic priest of that story, serene with himself and his faith, for that intimacy to be tolerable.
Sean
Sean,
He did.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Good! It's been a long time since I last read THE GREAT DIVORCE.
Sean
Post a Comment