Chapter 5 Lecture 2: Quickly [3]

Compactness is only one aspect of the subject I wish to speak of, and suffice it to say that I have often dreamed that the lengthy cosmological tomes, heroic narratives, and epics could be reduced to the size of aphorisms.In the more busy and hasty times we are facing, literature should strive to achieve the maximum condensation of poetry and thinking. Borges and Bioy Casares co-authored a collection of extremely short stories (Cuentos breves y extraordinarios, 1955).I want to make a collection of stories with only one sentence, or even one line of text.But so far I haven't found a writer comparable to the Guatemalan author Augusto Monterroso: "When I wake up, the dinosaurs are still there."

I know that this lecture, based on invisible connections, has gone too far and may have strayed far from the topic.However, all the subjects I have dealt with this evening, and probably with those of the previous one, can actually be united: they can all be attributed to one Olympian god whom I particularly esteem, namely, Hermes-Mercury, god of communication and mediums.Under the pseudonym Thoth, he became the inventor of writing; he incarnated as "Spirit Mercury" to represent the individual, following CG Jung's study of alchemical symbolism principle.Mercury has winged feet, soaring lightly, agile and flexible, good at judging the situation, free and light, between the gods, gods and men, between the laws of the universe and individual destiny, between natural forces and cultural forms, world objects Relationships are established with all thinking subjects.Is there a better protector I could choose to support my proposal for literature?

For the ancients, who saw microcosm and macrocosm reflected in psychology and astrology, in the connection between disposition, temperament, planets and constellations, Mercury's character was the most indeterminate, the most multitudinous. changing.Viewed more broadly, however, the Mercurian-influenced temperament tends to be communicative, commercial, and mobile, in contrast to the Saturn-influenced temperament, which appears melancholy, contemplative, and solitary.From antiquity it has been believed that the Saturnian temperament suited artists, poets, and thinkers.It seems so.Of course, literature would not be possible if certain people were not strongly inclined to introspection, dissatisfied with the real world, inclined to forget themselves for hours and days at a time and to gaze intently at the still, silent word existing.Indeed, my character conforms to the traditions of the profession to which I belong.I, too, have always been Saturnian, in whatever masquerade I want to put on.My adoration of Mercury may be an expression of my aspirations for who I want to be.I am a Saturn who dreams of being Mercury; everything I write reflects both expectations.

But it is true that Saturn-Chronos is not one of my favorite gods if he cannot exercise some power over me.I have no feelings for him other than his timid side.However, there is another god who has a family relationship with Saturn, and I am very fond of it.The prestige enjoyed by this god in astrology and therefore psychology was not very high, so that his name was not used to name any of the seven planets in the sky seen by ancient peoples, but, after Homer, he was in literature. has always been treated kindly.I am talking about Vulcan (Hephaestus, Vulcan-Hephaestus), the god who does not roam in the sky, but hides at the bottom of the crater, shut in his blacksmith workshop, tirelessly forging the latest Artifacts: jewellery, weapons, scabbards, snares, traps for the gods and goddesses.To Mercury's whimsy, Vulcan's answer was a swinging gait and rhythmic clinking of hammers.

Here, too, I am obliged to mention books I have read by chance; for oftentimes inspiring ideas come from random books that are difficult to classify from a strictly academic point of view.I am referring to a book I read while researching the symbolism of Italian playing cards, Andre Virel's Histoire de notre image (1965).According to the author, a scholar of what I think must be a Jungian claim to the collective imagination, Mercury and Vulcan represent two inseparable and complementary functions of life: Mercury represents resonance, Or engaging with the affairs of the world around us, Vulcan represents focus, or creative concentration.Both Mercury and Vulcan were sons of Jupiter, whose domain was individual and social consciousness.On the maternal side, however, he is descended from Uranus, whose domains are periods of "periodic spirit" of indivisible continuity.Vulcan, on the other hand, is the descendant of Saturn: his domain is the age of "schizophrenia" in which the ego is isolated from the world.Saturn overthrew Uranus, and Jupiter overthrew Saturn.In the end, in the peaceful and bright Jupiter's kingdom, both Mercury and Vulcan still carry some memories of the original dark field, and at the same time turn some original destructive symptoms into some positive factors: Resonance and focus.

After I read Villeret's explanation of how Mercury and Vulcan both contrasted and complemented each other, I began to understand things I hadn't known before, about myself, who I am, and how I should be. how I write, how I should write.It took Vulcan's concentration and skill to record Mercury's encounters and transformations.It takes Mercury's quickness and maneuverability to make sense of Vulcan's endless toil.Also, from the loosely shaped ore matrix, the symbols of office of the gods take shape: the lyre, or the trident, the lance, or the crown. A writer's work must contain many rhythms, Vulcan's and Mercurian's: a certain urgent message and a momentary intuition, which, once formed, acquires The only and nothing else ultimate form of something.However, this is also the rhythm of time, and the passage of time has only one purpose: to stabilize and mature feelings and thoughts, and get rid of all impatience or occasional changes.

This lecture begins with a story.Now let me close with one more story.This is a Chinese story: Zhuangzi is versatile and a skilled painter.The king asked him to draw a crab.Zhuangzi replied that it would take five years, a country house, and twelve servants.After five years he had not yet written, and said, "It will take another five years." The king agreed.At the end of the tenth year, Zhuangzi picked up a brush, and with only one stroke, he drew a crab instantly, which is extremely perfect and unprecedented. [*] Editor’s Note: Referring to the original text, this sentence roughly means “Please allow me to tell you the best story in the world, and let it carry you a long way like a horse.”

[+] Editor's note: festina lente.