Lay Morals, and Other PapersStevenson, Robert Louis
Philosophy
Lay Morals, and Other Papers
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Essays; Short stories
Vain-Hope; and in the third we behold him, bound hand and foot, and black
already with the hue of his eternal fate, carried high over the
mountain-tops of the world by two angels of the anger of the Lord.
‘Carried to Another Place,’ the artist enigmatically names his plate—a
terrible design.
Wherever he touches on the black side of the supernatural his pencil
grows more daring and incisive. He has many true inventions in the
perilous and diabolic; he has many startling nightmares realised. It is
not easy to select the best; some may like one and some another; the
nude, depilated devil bounding and casting darts against the Wicket Gate;
the scroll of flying horrors that hang over Christian by the Mouth of
Hell; the horned shade that comes behind him whispering blasphemies; the
daylight breaking through that rent cave-mouth of the mountains and
falling chill adown the haunted tunnel; Christian’s further progress
along the causeway, between the two black pools, where, at every yard or
two, a gin, a pitfall, or a snare awaits the passer-by—loathsome white
devilkins harbouring close under the bank to work the springes, Christian
himself pausing and pricking with his sword’s point at the nearest noose,
and pale discomfortable mountains rising on the farther side; or yet
again, the two ill-favoured ones that beset the first of Christian’s
journey, with the frog-like structure of the skull, the frog-like
limberness of limbs—crafty, slippery, lustful-looking devils, drawn
always in outline as though possessed of a dim, infernal luminosity.
Horrid fellows are they, one and all; horrid fellows and horrific scenes.
In another spirit that Good-Conscience ‘to whom Mr. Honest had spoken in
his lifetime,’ a cowled, grey, awful figure, one hand pointing to the
heavenly shore, realises, I will not say all, but some at least of the
strange impressiveness of Bunyan’s words. It is no easy nor pleasant
thing to speak in one’s lifetime with Good-Conscience; he is an austere,
unearthly friend, whom maybe Torquemada knew; and the folds of his
raiment are not merely claustral, but have something of the horror of the
pall. Be not afraid, however; with the hand of that appearance Mr.
Honest will get safe across.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account