Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers — Volume 2 by Thomas De Quincey
page 63 of 249 (25%)
page 63 of 249 (25%)
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as was becoming to the two characters--of a great prince acting and a
great priestess suffering--he pushed her gently backwards to the tripod on which, in her professional character, she was to seat herself. Upon this, in the hurry and excitement of the moment, the priestess exclaimed, _O pai, anixaitos ei--O son, thou art irresistible_; never adverting for an instant to his martial purposes, but simply to his personal importunities. The person whom she thought of as incapable of resistance, was herself, and all she meant _consciously_ was--O son, I can refuse nothing to one so earnest. But mark what followed: Alexander desisted at once--he asked for no further oracle--he refused it, and exclaimed joyously:--'Now then, noble priestess, farewell; I have the oracle--I have your answer, and better than any which you could deliver from the tripod. I am invincible--so you have declared, you cannot revoke it. True, you thought not of Persia--you thought only of my importunity. But that very fact is what ratifies your answer. In its blindness I recognise its truth. An oracle from a god might be distorted by political ministers of the god, as in time past too often has been suspected. The oracle has been said to _Medize_, and in my own father's time to _Philippize_. But an oracle delivered unconsciously, indirectly, blindly, that is the oracle which cannot deceive.' Such was the all-famous oracle which Alexander accepted--such was the oracle on which he and his army reposing went forth 'conquering and to conquer.' Exactly on this principle do the Turks act, in putting so high a value on the words of idiots. Enlightened Christians have often wondered at their allowing any weight to people bereft of understanding. But that is the very reason for allowing them weight: that very defect it is which makes them capable of being organs for conveying words from higher intelligences. A fine human intelligence cannot be a passive |
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