Next the tale tells how three inferior devils made a loud music with bagpipes1 as Jurgen went into the Black House of Barathum, to talk with Grandfather Satan.
Satan was like a man of sixty, or it might be sixty-two, in all things save that he was covered with gray fur, and had horns like those of a stag. He wore a breech-clout of very dark gray, and he sat in a chair of black marble, on a daïs: his bushy tail, which was like that of a squirrel, waved restlessly over his head as he looked at Jurgen, without speaking, and without turning his mind from an ancient thought. And his eyes were like light shining upon little pools of ink, for they had no whites to them.
"What is the meaning of this insane country?" says Jurgen, plunging2 at the heart of things. "There is no sense in it, and no fairness at all."
"Ah," replied Satan, in his curious hoarse3 voice, "you may well say that: and it is what I was telling my wife only last night."
"You have a wife, then!" says Jurgen, who was always interested in such matters. "Why, but to be sure! either as a Christian4 or as a married man, I should have comprehended this was Satan's due. And how do you get on with her?"
"Pretty well," says Grandfather Satan: "but she does not understand me."
"And what does that mean?"
"It is an expression connotating astonishment6 over an event without parallel. But everything in Hell seems rather strange, and the place is not at all as it was rumored7 to be by the priests and the bishops8 and the cardinals9 that used to be exhorting10 me in my fine palace at Breschau."
"And where, did you say, is this palace?"
"In Noumaria, where I am the Emperor Jurgen. And I need not insult you by explaining Breschau is my capital city, and is noted11 for its manufacture of linen12 and woolen13 cloth and gloves and cameos and brandy, though the majority of my subjects are engaged in cattle-breeding and agricultural pursuits."
"Of course not: for I have studied geography. And, Jurgen, it is often I have heard of you, though never of your being an emperor."
"Did I not say this place was not in touch with new ideas?"
"Ah, but you must remember that thoughtful persons keep out of Hell. Besides, the war with Heaven prevents us from thinking of other matters. In any event, you Emperor Jurgen, by what authority do you question Satan, in Satan's home?"
Jurgen; for he recollected16 upon a sudden what Merlin had shown him.
Grandfather Satan nodded comprehendingly. "All honor be to Set and Bast! and may their power increase. This, Emperor, is how my kingdom came about."
Then Satan, sitting erect17 and bleak18 in his tall marble chair, explained how he, and all the domain19 and all the infernal hierarchies20 he ruled, had been created extempore by Koshchei, to humor the pride of Jurgen's forefathers21. "For they were exceedingly proud of their sins. And Koshchei happened to notice Earth once upon a time, with your forefathers walking about it exultant22 in the enormity of their sins and in the terrible punishments they expected in requital23. Now Koshchei will do almost anything to humor pride, because to be proud is one of the two things that are impossible to Koshchei. So he was pleased, oh, very much pleased: and after he had had his laugh out, he created Hell extempore, and made it just such a place as your forefathers imagined it ought to be, in order to humor the pride of your forefathers."
"And why is pride impossible to Koshchei?"
"Because he made things as they are; and day and night he contemplates24 things as they are, having nothing else to look at. How, then, can Koshchei be proud?"
"I see. It is as if I were imprisoned25 in a cell wherein there was nothing, absolutely nothing, except my verses. I shudder26 to think of it! But what is this other thing which is impossible to Koshchei?"
"I do not know. It is something that does not enter into Hell."
"Well, I wish I too had never entered here, and now you must assist me to get out of this murky27 place."
"And why must I assist you?"
"Because," said Jurgen, and he drew out the cantrap of the Master
Philologist28, "because at the death of Adrian the Fifth, Pedro
Juliani, who should be named John the Twentieth, was through an
error in the reckoning elevated to the papal chair as John the
Twenty-first. Do you not find my reason sufficient?"
"No," said Grandfather Satan, after thinking it over, "I cannot say that I do. But, then, popes go to Heaven. It is considered to look better, all around, and particularly by my countrymen, inasmuch as many popes have been suspected of pro-Celestialism. So we admit none of them into Hell, in order to be on the safe side, now that we are at war. In consequence, I am no judge of popes and their affairs, nor do I pretend to be."
And Jurgen perceived that again he had employed his cantrap
incorrectly or else that it was impotent to rescue people from
Satan. "But who would have thought," he reflected, "that Grandfather
Satan was such a simple old creature!"
"How long, then, must I remain here?" asks Jurgen, after a dejected pause.
"But what has he to do with it?"
"—Since I and all else that is here are your father's absurd notions, as you have so frequently proved by logic30. And it is hardly possible that such a clever fellow as you can be mistaken."
"Why, of course, that is not possible," says Jurgen. "Well, the matter is rather complicated. But I am willing to taste any drink once: and I shall manage to get justice somehow, even in this unreasonable31 place where my father's absurd notions are the truth."
So Jurgen left the Black House of Barathum: and Jurgen also left Grandfather Satan, erect and bleak in his tall marble chair, and with his eyes gleaming in the dim light, as he sat there restively32 swishing his soft bushy tail, and not ever turning his mind from an ancient thought.
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1
bagpipes
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| n.风笛；风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 ) | |
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2
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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3
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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4
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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7
rumored
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| adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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8
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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9
cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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10
exhorting
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 ) | |
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11
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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12
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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13
woolen
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| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
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14
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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15
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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16
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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18
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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20
hierarchies
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| 等级制度( hierarchy的名词复数 )； 统治集团； 领导层； 层次体系 | |
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21
forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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22
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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requital
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| n.酬劳；报复 | |
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24
contemplates
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的第三人称单数 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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25
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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27
murky
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| adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗 | |
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28
philologist
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| n.语言学者，文献学者 | |
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29
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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30
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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31
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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32
restively
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| adv.倔强地，难以驾御地 | |
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