The Project Gutenberg eBook, Jonah, by Aldous Huxley

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.

Title: Jonah

Christmas 1917

Author: Aldous Huxley

Release Date: July 20, 2020 [eBook #62709]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JONAH***

 

E-text prepared by Tim Lindell
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)
from page images digitized by
the Google Books Library Project
(https://books.google.com)
and generously made available by
HathiTrust Digital Library
(https://www.hathitrust.org/)

 

Note: Images of the original pages are available through HathiTrust Digital Library. See https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2528263

 

 

 

 

JONAH

CHRISTMAS
1917

Printed at the Holywell Press, Oxford.

[1]

JONAH.

A cream of phospherescent light
Floats on the wash that to and fro
Slides round his feet—enough to show
Many a pendulous stalactite
Of naked mucus, whorls and wreaths
And huge festoons of mottled tripes,
With smaller palpitating pipes
Through which some yeasty liquor seethes.
Seated upon the convex mound
Of one vast kidney, Jonah prays
And sings his canticles and hymns,
Making the hollow vault resound
God’s goodness and mysterious ways,
Till the great fish spouts music as he swims.

[2]

BEHEMOTH.

His eyes are little rutilant stones
Sunk in black basalt; scale by scale
Men count the wealth of silver mail
That laps his flesh and iron bones.
And from his navel, deep and wide
As an old Cyclops’ drinking-bowl,
Spring those stout nerves of twisted hide
That are his life and strength and soul.
Basking his belly, fast asleep
He sprawls on the warm shingle bank;
And the bold Ethiops come and creep
Along his polished heaving flank,
And in his navel brew their wine
And drink vast strength and grow divine.

[3]

MINOAN PORCELAIN.

Her eyes of bright unwinking glaze
All imperturbable do not
Even make pretences to regard
The jutting absence of her stays
Where many a Tyrian gallipot
Excites desire with spilth of nard.
The bistred rims above the fard
Of cheeks as red as bergamot
Attest that no shamefaced delays
Will clog fulfilment nor retard
Full payment of the Cyprian’s praise
Down to the last remorseful jot.
Hail! priestess of we know not what
Strange cult of Mycenean days.

[4]

ZOO CELESTE.

Au coin le plus obscur du jardin des déesses
Dort le Singe Idéal, dont les immenses fesses
Etalent de l’Azur les éblouissements.
Une Négresse allaite un troupeau d’éléphants,
Mignons d’Olympe, dont la trompe au pâles lèvres
S’enivre d’un lait noir et qui donne les fièvres
Puis, abreuvés ils vont, balançant sur le dos
Le haut machicoulis fantasque des châteaux
D’ivoire et de jadis, broûter dans la prairie.
Des baleines de cuir, rêvant sur l’eau fleurie,
Font jaillir le cristal tournoyant de leur trombe,
Qui monte vers le ciel, se lasse, puis retombe
Avec un clapotis sonore de tambour
Sur les lotus gonflés de parfums et d’amour
Comme les chairs en feu de l’Anadyomène.
Voici, sur l’or de la plage qui se promène
Béhémot: et dans l’air voici le Roc géant,
Qui pond de temps à autre au giron du néant
De nouveaux univers complets, chacun garni
D’un petit Tout-Puissant qui se croit infini.

[5]

SONNET A L’INGENUE.

Tout en martyrisant les divines mandores
Du mensonge sacré des mots, je songe, ôsi
Nonchalamment belle! à ta voix de colibri:
Avec ta triste voix de colibri tu dores
Toute imbécillité qu’exhale les landores
Dans leurs meurtres de sens à jamais aboli;
Inconsciente, tu perces le coeur ravi,
Où je ne puis qu’à peine ouvrir un peu les stores.
Péniblement de mes bouquins moisis j’évoque
L’esprit mystique et frais de la Sainte Alacocque;
Mais sans verve pour moi saigne le Sacré Coeur.
Tu parles, et ta voix de petite ingénue
Imite un Séraphin, cul nu sur une nue,
Louant Dieu de son psaume infiniment moqueur.

[6]

DIX-HUITIEME SIECLE.

Temple d’Amours passés, ton style rococo
Rappelle tristement le rire d’un gai âge.
Sur ton autel discret les belles de Watteau
Vouaient leur vierge offrande, onzième pucelage.
Derrière tes volets, les beaux après-midis,
Elles out dénoué leur friponne ceinture,
Avec ménagement goûtant le paradis
Pour peur de violer leur chaste chevelure.
Mais, Temple, maintenant te voilà négligé;
Car aucun pied furtif ne sonne sur tes dalles,
Et dans l’Alcôve froid, restes de volupté,
Poussent lubriquement de gros amorphophalles.

[7]

HOMMAGE A JULES LAFORGUE.

Que je t’aime, mon cher Laforgue,
Frère qui connais les nostalgies
Qu’engendrent les sanglots des violons;
Et puis, dans la rue, les pâmoisons
Crépusculaires des orgues—des orgues
D’une par trop lointaine Barbarie.—
O ciel, tu les as senties
Percer ton coeur de Bon Breton!
Tu avais la solitude dans l’âme:
Orphelin par ton génie,
Tu n’as jamais trouvé la femme
Qui pourrait être l’Unique Amie.
Parmi les parfums et les frou-frous,
Malgré toi ta chair est restée pure,
Et tu en as devenu presque fou;
Tu pensais, tu étais un Hors-Nature.
Hélas, il faut que l’on vivote
Selon la Nature et le père Aristote;
Mais c’était une bien autre loi
Que nous suivions, toi et moi.
Vois-tu, mon pauvre Jules,
Nous nous sommes faits assez ridicules.

[8]

SENTENTIOUS SONG.

God’s in his Heaven:—He never issues
(Wise man!) to visit this world of ours.
Unchecked the cancer gnaws our tissues,
Stops to lick chops and then again devours.
They find who most delight to roam
’Mid castles of remotest Spain
There’s luckily no place like home,
And so they start upon their travels again.
Beauty for some provides escape,
Who gain a happiness in eyeing
The gorgeous buttocks of the ape
Or autumn sunsets exquisitely dying.
Some swoon before the uplifted Host,
Or gazing on their navels find
Both Father, Son and Holy Ghost
In that small Ark of Ecstasy confined.
And some to better worlds than this
Mount up on wings as frail and misty
As passion’s all-too-transient kiss,
(Though afterwards—oh, omne animal triste!)
[9]
But I, too rational by half
To live but where I bodily am,
Can only do my best to laugh,
Can only sip my misery dram by dram.
While happier mortals take to drink,
A dolorous dipsomaniac,
Fuddled with grief I sit and think,
Looking upon the bile when it is black.
Chorus, in unison.
Then brim the bowl with atrabilious liquor!
We’ll pledge our Empire vast across the flood;
For Blood, as all men know, than Water’s thicker,
But water’s wider, thank the Lord, than Blood.

[10]

THE OXFORD VOLUNTEERS.

The volunteers in vomit-colour
Go forth to shoot the Lamb of God.
Their leaden faces redden to a blazing comet-colour
And they sweat as they plod.
Parson and Poet Laureate,
Professor, Grocer, Don—
This one as fat as Ehud, that (poor dear!) would grow the more he ate,
Yet more a skeleton.
Some have piles and some have goitres,
Most of them have Bright’s disease,
Uric acid has made them flaccid and one gouty hero loiters,
Anchylosed in toes and knees.
’Tis Duty drags their aching carrion
Through the rain and through the mud.
England calls! From Windsor walls sounds the once Coburgian clarion,
Screaming: Empire, Home and Blood!

[11]

THE CONTEMPLATIVE SOUL.

Fathoms from sight and hearing,
Where seas are blind and deaf.
My soul like a fish goes steering
Her fabulous gargoyle nef:
Her nef of silver and mouldering
Mother-of-pearl with eyes
Of bulging coral smouldering
Down dim green galleries.
To climb the brightening ladder
Of layer on layer of the sea
She dare not; her swimming-bladder
Would burst in the ecstasy
Of sunlight and windy motion,
White moons and the sky’s red gates.
Still in the depth of ocean
She sits and contemplates.

[12]

THE BETROTHAL OF PRIAPUS.

Dark water: the moonless side of the trees:
The Dog-Star sweating in the roses: Mind
Heat-curdled to sheer flesh. For ease
And the sake of coolness, having dined,
I loose a button, wrench a stud.
We belch to the tune of drunk Moselle.
What a noise in the temples—hammering blood.
Shall we sit down? Are we altogether well?
‘How weedily the river exhales!’
‘Like the smell of caterpillar’s dung.’
‘You too collected?’ ‘When I was young,
But used no camphor; Moth prevails
Over moths, you take me.’ Sounding close,
But God knows where, two landrails scrape
Nails on combs. Her hair is loose,
One tendril astray upon the nape
[13]
Of a neck which star-revealed is white
Like an open-eyed tobacco-flower—
Frail thurible that fills the night
With the subtle intoxicating power
Of summer perfume. And you too—
Your scent intoxicates; the smell
Of clothes, of hair, the essence of you.
But for the ferments of Moselle.
I’ld swoon in the languor of your perfume,
In the drowsed delicious contemplation
Of a neck seen palely through the gloom.
Another hideous eructation.—
And I wake, distressingly aware
That there are uglier things in life
Than perfumed stars and women’s hair.—
Action, then, action! will you be my wife?

[14]

FAREWELL TO THE MUSES.

My typewriter has been writing crookedly
For a very considerable time;
It is so hard to write in metre and rhyme
With a typewriter that writes crookedly.
Lines should look clean and decent to the eye,
And mine have ceased to do so; and so that is why
I am ceasing to be a poet....
Because my typewriter writes so exacerbatingly,
So distressingly crookedly.

 

 

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JONAH***

******* This file should be named 62709-h.htm or 62709-h.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/7/0/62709

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided that

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

For additional contact information:

Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works.

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.