The Project Gutenberg EBook of Taboo, by James Branch Cabell
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
Title: Taboo
A Legend Retold from the Dirghic of Sævius Nicanor, with
Prolegomena, Notes, and a Preliminary Memoir
Author: James Branch Cabell
Release Date: November 22, 2005 [EBook #17134]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TABOO ***
Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
_TABOO_
_A Legend Retold from the Dirghic of Sævius
Nicanor, with Prolegomena, Notes,
and a Preliminary Memoir_
By
James Branch Cabell
* * * * *
_At melius fuerat non scribere, namque tacere
Tutum semper erit._
* * * * *
NEW YORK
ROBERT M. McBRIDE & COMPANY
1921
_This edition is limited to nine hundred and
twenty numbered copies, of which one hundred
copies have been signed by the author._
_Copy Number __893__
Copyright, 1921, by
JAMES BRANCH CABELL
* * * * *
Revised and reprinted, by permission of the
Editors, from THE LITERARY REVIEW
CONTENTS.
THE DEDICATION
MEMOIR OF SAEVIUS NICANOR
PROLEGOMENA
THE LEGEND:
_How Horvendile Met Fate and Custom_
_How the Garbage-Man Came with Forks_
_How Thereupon Ensued a Legal Debate_
_How There Was Babbling in Philistia_
_How It Appeared to the Man in the Street_
COLOPHON
A POSTSCRIPT
* * * * *
THE DEDICATION
_Laudataque virtus crescit_
* * * * *
"Buttons, a farthing a pair!
Come, who could buy them of me?
They're round and sound and pretty,
And fit for girls of the city."
TO JOHN S. SUMNER
(_Agent of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice_)
For no short while my indebtedness to you has been such as to require
some sort of public acknowledgment, which may now, I think, be
tendered most appropriately by inscribing upon the dedication page of
this small volume the name to which you are daily adding in
significance.
It is a tribute, however trivial, which serves at least to express my
appreciation of your zeal in re-establishing what seemed to the less
optimistic a lost cause. I may to-day confess without much
embarrassment that after fifteen years of foiled endeavors my
(various) publishers and I had virtually decided that the printing of
my books was not likely ever to come under the head of a business
venture, but was more properly describable as a rather costly form of
dissipation. People here and there would praise, but until you,
unsolicited, had volunteered to make me known to the general public,
nobody seemed appreciably moved to purchase.
One by one my books had "fallen dead" with disheartening monotony:
then--through what motive it would savor of ingratitude to
inquire,--you came to remedy all this in the manner of a philanthropic
sorcerer, brandishing everywhither your vivifying wand, and the dead
lived again. At once, they tell me, the patrons of bookstores began to
ask, not only in whispers for the _Jurgen_ which you had everywhere so
glowingly advertised, but with frank curiosity for "some of the
fellow's other books."
Whereon we of course began to "reprint," with, I rejoice to say,
results which have been very generally acceptable. Barring a few
complaints as to the exiguousness of my writing's salacity,--a
salacity which even I confess you amiably exaggerated in attributing
to my literary manner all qualities which the average reader most
desires in novelists,--there has proved to be in point of fact, as my
publishers and I had dubiously believed for years, a gratifying number
of persons, living dispersedly about America, prepared to like my
books when these books were brought to their attention. The difficulty
had been that we did not know how to reach these widely scattered,
congenial readers. But you--like Sir James Barrie's hero--"found a
way."
I cannot say, in candor, that your method of exegetical criticism has
always and in every respect appealed to me. Its applicability, for one
thing, seems so universal that it might, for aught I know, be
employed to interpret the dicta of Ackermann and Macrobius, or even
the canons of Doctors Matthews and Sherman herein cited, and thus open
dire vistas wherein critic would prey on critic, and the most
respectable would be locked in fratricidal strife. Moreover, I have
applied your method to many of the Mother Goose rhymes with rather
curious results.... But happily, I have here to confess to you, not
any disputable literary standards I may harbor, but only my unarguable
debt.
In brief, your aid obtained for me overnight the hearing I had vainly
sought for a long while; and of such thaumaturgy my appreciation will
never be, I trust, inadequate. I therefore grasp at the first chance
to express this appreciation in--as I have said,--a form which seems
not quite inept.
_Dumbarton Grange_
_December, 1920._
Of _The Mulberry Grove_ the following editions have been collated:
(1) The _editio princeps_ of Mansard 1475. An excellent edition,
having, says Garnier, "nearly all the authority of an MS." This
edition served as the basis of all subsequent editions up to that of
Tribebos, 1553, which then took the lead up to the time of Bülg, who
judiciously reverted to that of Mansard.
(2) Bülg, in 4 vols. Strasburg. 1786-89. And in 2 vols. Strasburg.
1786. Both editions containing the Dirghic text with a Latin version,
and the scholia and indices.
(3) Musgrave, concerning whose edition Garnier is of opinion that,
though it appeared later, yet it had been made use of by Bülg. 2 vols.
Oxon. 1800. Reprinted, 3 vols. Oxon. 1809-10.
(4) Vanderhoffen, with scholia, notes, and indices. 7 vols. London.
1807-25. His notes reprinted separately. Leipsic. 1824.
MEMOIR OF SÆVIUS NICANOR
_Saevius Nicanor Marci libertus negabit_
"She went to the tailor's
To buy him a coat;
When she came back
He was riding the goat."
Sævius Nicanor, one of the earliest of the Grammarians, says
Suetonius, first acquired fame and reputation by his teaching; and,
besides, made commentaries, the greater part of which, however, were
said to have been borrowed. He also wrote a satire, in which he
informs us that he was a free man, and had a double cognomen.
It is reported that in consequence of some aspersion attached to the
character of his writing, he retired into Sardinia, and, says
Oriphyles, devoted the remainder of his days to the composition of
sardonic[1] literature.
[Footnote 1: Ackermann reads "Sardinian." It is not certain whether
the adjective employed is [Greek: sardanios] or [Greek: sardanikos]. I
suspect that Oriphyles here makes an intentional play upon the words.]
He is quoted by Macrobius, whereas divers references to Nicanor in _La
Haulte Histoire de Jurgen_ would seem to show that this writer was
viewed with considerable esteem in mediæval times. Latterly his work
has been virtually unknown.
Robert Burton, for the rest, cites Sævius Nicanor in the 1620 edition
of _The Anatomy of Melancholy_ (this passage was subsequently
remodeled) in terms which have the unintended merit of conveying a
very fair notion of the old Grammarian's literary ethics:--
"As a good housewife out of divers fleeces weaves one piece of cloth
(saith Sævius Nicanor), I have laboriously collected this Cento out of
divers Writers, and that _sine injuria_, I have wronged no authors,
but given every man his own; which Sosimenes so much commends in
Nicanor, he stole not whole verses, pages, tracts, as some do
nowadays, concealing their Authors' names, but still said this was
Cleophantus', that Philistion's, that Mnesides', so said Julius
Bassus, so Timaristus, thus far Ophelion: I cite and quote mine own
Authors (which howsoever some illiterate scribblers account
pedantical, as a cloak of ignorance and opposite to their affected
fine style, I must and will use) _sumpsi, non surripui_, and what
Varro _de re rustica_ speaks of bees, _minime malificæ quod nullius
opus vellicantes faciunt deterius_, I can say of myself no less
heartily than Sosimenes his laud of Nicanor."
PROLEGOMENA
_Nec caput habentia, nec caudam_
"I had a little husband, no bigger than my thumb,
I put him in my pint-pot, and there I bid him drum."
Pre-eminently the most engaging feature of a topic which pure chance
and impure idiocy have of late conspired to pull about in the public
prints,--I mean the question of "indecency" in writing,--is the patent
ease with which this topic may be disposed of. Since time's beginning,
every age has had its literary taboos, selecting certain things--more
or less arbitrarily, but usually some natural function--as the things
which must not be written about. To violate any such taboo so long as
it stays prevalent is to be "indecent": and that seems absolutely all
there is to say concerning this topic, apart from furnishing some
impressive historical illustration....
The most striking instance which my far from exhaustive researches
afford, sprang from the fact, perhaps not very generally known, that
the natural function of eating, which nowadays may be discussed
intrepidly anywhere, was once regarded by the Philistines, of at all
events the Shephelah and the deme of Novogath, as being
unmentionable. This ancient tenet of theirs, indeed, is with such
clearness emphasized in a luckily preserved fragment from the Dirghic,
or pre-Ciceronian Latin, of Sævius Nicanor that the readiest way to
illustrate the chameleon-like traits of literary indecency appears to
be to record, as hereinafter is recorded, what of this legend
survives.
Bülg and Vanderhoffen, be it said here, are agreed that it is to this
legend Milton has referred in his _Areopagitica_, in a passage
sufficiently quaint-seeming to us (for whom a more advanced
civilization has secured the right of free speech) to warrant an
abridged citation:--
"What advantage is it to be a man, over it is to be a boy at school,
if serious and elaborate writings, as if they were no more than the
theme of a grammar lad under his pedagogue, must not be uttered
without the cursory eyes of a temporizing and extemporizing licenser?
whenas all the writer teaches, all he delivers, is but under the
tuition, under the correction of his patriarchal licenser, to blot or
alter what precisely accords not with the hide-bound humor which he
calls his judgment? What is it but a servitude like that imposed by
the Philistines?"
THE LEGEND
_Fit ex his consuetudo, inde natura_
"I love little pussy,
Her fur is so warm."
I--How Horvendile Met Fate and Custom
Now, at about the time that the Tyrant Pedagogos fell into disfavor
with his people, avers old Nicanor (as the curious may verify by
comparing Lib. X, Chap. 28 of his _Mulberry Grove_), passed through
Philistia a clerk whom some called Horvendile, travelling by
compulsion from he did not know where toward a goal which he could not
divine. So this Horvendile said, "I will make a book of this
journeying, for it seems to me a rather queer journeying."
They answered him: "Very well, but if you have had dinner or supper by
the way, do you make no mention of it in your book. For it is a law
among us, for the protection of our youth, that eating[2] must never
be spoken of in any of our writing."
[Footnote 2: Such at least is the generally received rendering.
Ackermann, following Bülg's probably spurious text, disputes that this
is the exact meaning of the noun.]
Horvendile considered this a curious enactment, but it seemed only one
among the innumerable mad customs of Philistia. So he shrugged, and he
made the book of his journeying, and of the things which he had seen
and heard and loved and hated and had put by in the course of his
passage among ageless and unfathomed mysteries.
And in the book there was nowhere any word of eating.
2--How the Garbage Man Came with Forks
Now to the book which Horvendile had made comes presently a
garbage-man, newly returned from foreign travel for his health's sake,
whose name was John. And this scavenger cried, "Oh, horrible! for here
is very shameless mention of a sword and a spear and a staff."
"That now is true enough," says Horvendile, "but wherein lies the
harm?"
"Why, one has but to write 'a fork' here, in the place of each of
these offensive weapons, and the reference to eating is plain."
"That also is true, but it would be your writing and not my writing
which would refer to eating."
John said, "Abandoned one, it is the law of Philistia and the holy
doctrine of St. Anthony Koprologos that if anybody chooses to
understand any written word anywhere as meaning 'to eat,' the word
henceforward has that meaning."
"Then you of Philistia have very foolish laws."
To which John the Scavenger sagely replied: "Ah, but if laws exist
they ought to fairly and impartially and without favoritism be
enforced until amended or repealed. Much of the unsettled condition
prevailing in the country at the present time can be traced directly
to a lack of law enforcement in many directions during past years."
"Now I misdoubt if I understand you, Messire John, for your
infinitives are split beyond comprehension. And when you talk about
the non-enforcement of anything in many directions, even though these
directions were during past years, I find it so confusing that the one
thing of which I can be quite certain is that it was never you whom
the law selected to pass upon and to amend all books."
This Horvendile says foolishly, not knowing it is an axiom among the
Philistines that literary expression is best controlled by somebody
with no misleading tenderness toward it; and that it is this custom,
as they proudly aver, which makes the literature of Philistia what it
is.
But John the Garbage-man said nothing at all, the while that he
changed nouns to "fork" and "dish," and carefully annotated each verb
in the book as meaning "to eat." Thereafter he carried off the book
along with his garbage, and with--which was the bewildering part of
it--self-evident and glowing self-esteem. And all that watched him
spoke the Dirghic word of derision, which is "Tee-Hee."
3--How Thereupon Ensued a Legal Debate
Now Horvendile in his bewilderment consulted with a man of law. And
the lawman answered a little peevishly, by reason of the fact that age
had impaired his digestive organs, and he said, "But of course you are
a lewd fellow if you have been suspected of writing about eating."
"Sir," replies Horvendile, "I would have you consider that if your
parents and your grandparents had not eaten, your race would have
perished, and you would never have been born. I would have you
consider that if you and your wife had not eaten, again your race
would have perished, and neither of you would ever have lived to have
the children for whose protection, as men tell me, you of Philistia
avoid all mention of eating."
"Yes, for the object of this most righteous law," declares the lawman,
"is to protect those whose character is not so completely formed as to
be proof against the effect of meat market reports and grocery
advertisements and menu folders and other such provocatives to
gluttony."
"--Yet I would have you consider how little is to be gained by
attempting to conceal even from the young the inevitability of this
natural function, so long as dogs eat publicly in the streets, and the
poultry regale themselves just as candidly, and the house-flies also.
Instead, the knowledge that this function is not to be talked about
induces furtive and misleading discussion among these children, and,
though lack of proper instruction in the approved etiquette of eating,
they often commit deplorable errors--"
To which the man of law replied, still with a bewildering effect of
talking very wisely and patiently: "Ah, but it does not matter at all
whether or not the function of eating is practised and is inevitable
to the nature and laws of our being. The law merely considers that any
mention of eating is apt to inflame an improper and lewd appetite,
particularly in the young, who are always ready to eat: and therefore
any such mention is an obscene libel."
4--How There Was Babbling in Philistia
Now Horvendile, yet in bewilderment, lamented, and he fled from the
man of law. Thereafter, in order to learn what manner of writing was
most honored by the Philistines, this Horvendile goes into an academy
where the faded old books of Philistia were stored, along with
yesterday's other leavings.
And as he perturbedly inspected these old books, one of the fifty
mummies which were installed in this Academy of Starch and Fetters,
with a hundred lackeys to attend them, spoke vexedly to Horvendile,
saying, as it was the custom of these mummies to say, before this
could be said to them, "I never heard of you before."
"Ah, sir, it is not that which is troubling me," then answered
Horvendile: "but rather, I am troubled because the book of my
journeying has been suspected of encroachment upon gastronomy. Now I
notice your most sacred volume here begins with a very remarkable myth
about the fruit of a tree in the middle of a garden, and goes on to
speak of the supper which Lot shared with two angels and with his
daughters also, and of the cakes which Tamar served to Amnon, and to
speak over and over again of eating--"
"Of course," replies the mummy, yawning, because he had heard this
silly sort of talking before.
"I notice that your most honored poet, here where the dust is
thickest, from the moment he began by writing about certain painted
berries which mocked the appetite of Dame Venus, and about a repast
from which luxurious Tarquin retired like a full-fed hound or a gorged
hawk, speaks continually of eating. And I notice that everybody, but
particularly the young person, is encouraged to read these books, and
other ancient books which speak very explicitly indeed of eating--"
"Of course," again replies the mummy (who had been for many years an
exponent of dormitive literacy)--"of course, young persons ought to
read them: for all these books are classics, and we who were more
obviously the heirs of the ages, and the inheritors of European
culture, used frequently to discuss these books in Paff's
beer-cellar."
"Well, but does the indecency of this word 'eating' evaporate out of
it as the years pass, so that the word is hurtful only when very
freshly written!"
The mummy blinked so wisely that you would never have guessed that the
brains and viscera of all these mummies had been removed when the
embalmers, Time and Conformity, were preparing these fifty for the
Academy of Starch and Fetters. "Young man, I doubt if the majority of
us here in the academy are deeply interested in this question of
eating, for reasons unnecessary to specify. But before estimating your
literary pretensions, I must ask if you ever frequented Paff's
beer-cellar?"
Horvendile said, "No."
Now this mummy was an amiable and cultured old relic, unshakably made
sure of his high name for scholarship by the fact that he had written
dozens of books which nobody else had even read. So he said,
friendlily enough: "Then that would seem to settle your pretensions.
To have talked twaddle in Paff's beer-cellar is the one real proof of
literary merit, no matter what sort of twaddle you may have written in
your book, or in many books, as I am here in this academy to attest.
Moreover, I am old enough to remember when cookery-books were sold
openly upon the newsstands, and in consequence I am very grateful to
the garbage-man, who, in common with all other intelligent persons,
has never dreamed of meddling with anything I wrote."
"But, sir," says Horvendile, "do you esteem a scavenger, who does not
pretend to specialize in anything save filth, to be the best possible
judge of books?"
"He may be an excellent critic if only he indeed belongs to the
forthputting Philistine stock: that proviso is most important, though,
for, as I recently declared, we have very dangerous standards
domiciled in the midst of us, that are only too quickly raised--"
Says Horvendile, with a shudder: "You speak ambiguously. But still, in
criticizing books--"
"Plainly, young man, you do not appreciate that the essential
qualifications for a critic of Philistine literature are," said this
mummy bewilderingly, "to have set off fireworks in July, to have
played ball in a vacant lot, and to have repeated what Spartacus said
to the gladiators."[3]
[Footnote 3: It is a gratifying tribute to the permanence of æsthetic
canons to record that Dr. Brander Matthews (connected with Columbia
University) has, in an article upon "Alien Views of American
Literature," contributed to the _New York Times_ of 14 November, 1920,
accepted these three qualifications as the essential groundwork for a
literary critic even to-day; although Dr. Matthews is inclined, as a
concession to modernism, to add to the list an ability to recite
Webster's Reply to Hayne. Since Dr. Matthews frankly states that he
has been incited to this recital of a critic's needs by (in his happy
wording) "the alien angle" of "standards domiciled in the midst of
us," it is sincerely to be hoped that his requirements may be met
forthwith.]
"No, no, the essential thing is not quite that," observed an attendant
lackey, a really clever writer, who wrote, indeed, far more
intelligently than he thought. He was a professor of patriotism, and
prior to being embalmed in the academy he had charge of the
postgraduate work in atavism and superior sneering. "No, my test is
not quite that, and if you venture to disagree with me about this or
anything else you are a ruthless Hun and an impudent Jew. No, the
garbage-man may very well be an excellent judge: for by my quite
infallible test the one thing requisite for a critic of our great
Philistine literature is an ability to induce within himself such an
internal disturbance as resembles a profound murmur of ancestral
voices--"
"But, oh, dear me!" says Horvendile, embarrassed by such talk.
"--And to experience a mysterious inflowing," continued the other, "of
national experience--"
"The function is of national experience undoubtedly," said Horvendile,
"but still--"
"--Whenever he meditates," concluded this lackey bewilderingly, "upon
the name of Bradford and six other surnames.[4] At all events, I have
turned wearily from your book, you bolshevistic German Jew--"
[Footnote 4: Sævius Nicanor does not record the wonder-working
surnames employed to produce this ancient, ante-Aristotlean [Greek:
_katharsis_], and they are not certainly known. But, quite unaided, I
believe, by old Nicanor's hint, Dr. Stuart Pratt Sherman (the
accomplished editor of divers contributions to literature, and the
author of several books) has discovered, through a series of
interesting experiments in vivisection, that the one needful endowment
for a critic of American letters is the power to induce within himself
"a profound murmur of ancestral voices, and to experience a mysterious
inflowing of national experience, in meditating on the names of Mark
Twain, Whitman, Thoreau, Lincoln, Emerson, Franklin, and Bradford."
Compare "Is There Anything To Be Said for Literary Tradition," in _The
Bookman_ for October, 1920. Any candid consideration of Dr. Sherman's
phraseology, here as elsewhere, cannot fail to suggest that he has
happily re-discovered the long-lost critical abracadabra of
Philistia.]
"But I," says Horvendile feebly, "am not a German Jew."
"Oh, yes, you are, and so is everybody else whose literary likings are
not my likings. I repeat, then, that I have turned wearily from your
book. Whether or not it treats of eating, its implication is clearly
that the Philistia which has developed Bradford and six other
appellations perfectly adapted to produce murmurings and inflowings in
properly constituted persons,--and which Philistia, as I have
elsewhere asserted, is to-day as always a revolting country whenever
it condemns,--has had no civilised cultural atmosphere worth
mentioning. So your book fails to connect itself vitally with our
great tradition as to our literature, and I find nowhere in your book
any ascending sun heralded by the lookouts."
"No more do I," said Horvendile; "but I would have imagined you were
more interested in lunar phenomena, and even so--"
"Moreover," now declared another mummy (this was a Moor, called
P.E.M., or the Peach,[5] who through some oversight had not been
embalmed, but only pickled in vinegar, to the detriment of his
disposition),--"moreover, I am not at all in sympathy with any protest
whatever against the scavenger, for it might be taken as an excuse for
what they are pleased to call art."
[Footnote 5: Codman annotates this: "Synonyms, since P.E.M. is
obviously _Persicum Esculentum Malum_--that is, the peach; 'which,'
says Macrobius, 'although it rather belongs to the tribe of apples,
Sævius reckons as a species of nut.'"]
All groaned at this abominable word. And then another lackey cried,
"You are a prosperous and affected pseudo-littérateur!" and all the
mummies spoke sepulchrally the word of derision, which is "Tee-Hee":
and many said also, "The scavenger has never meddled with us, and we
never heard of you," and there was much other incoherent foolishness.
But Horvendile had fled, bewildered by the ways of Philistia's adepts
in starch and fetters, and bewildered in particular to note that a
mummy, so generally esteemed a kindly and well-meaning fossil,
appeared quite honestly to believe that all literature came out of
the beer-cellar of Paff, or Pfaff, or had some similarly Teutonic
sponsor; and that handball was the best training for literary
criticism; and that the cookery-books of fifty years ago had something
to do with Horvendile's account of his journeying, from he did not
know where toward a goal which he could not divine, now being in the
garbage pile. It troubled Horvendile because so many persons seemed to
regard the old fellow half seriously.
5--How It Appeared to the Man in the Street
Still, Horvendile was not quite routed by these heaped follies. "For,
after all," says Horvendile, in his own folly, "it is for the normal
human being that books are made, and not for mummies and men of law
and scavengers."
So Horvendile went through a many streets that were thronged with
persons travelling by compulsion from they did not know where toward a
goal which they could not divine, and were not especially bothering
about. And it was evening, and to this side and to that side the men
and women of Philistia were dining. Everywhere maids were passing hot
dishes, and forks were being thrust into these dishes, and each was
eating according to his ability and condition. No matter how
poverty-stricken the household, the housewife was serving her poor
best to the goodman. For with luncheon so long past, all the really
virile men of Philistia were famished, and stood ready to eat the
moment, they had a dish uncovered.
So it befell that Horvendile encountered a representative citizen, who
was coming out of a representative restaurant with a representative
wife.
And the sight of this representative citizen was to Horvendile a tonic
joy and a warming of the heart. For this man, and each of the
thousands like him, as Horvendile reflected, had been within this hour
sedately dining with his wife,--neither of them eating with the zest
and vigor of their first youth, perhaps, but sharing amicably the more
moderate refreshment which middle-age requires,--without being at any
particular pains to conceal the fact from anybody. Here was then,
after all, the strong and sure salvation of Philistia, in this quiet,
unassuming common-sense, which dealt with the facts of life as facts,
the while that the foolish laws, and the academical and stercoricolous
nonsense of Philistia, reverberated as remotely and as unheeded as
harmless summer thunder.
"Sir," says elated Horvendile, "I perceive that you two have just been
eating, and that emboldens me to ask you--"
But at this point Horvendile found he had been knocked down, because
the parents of the representative citizen had taught him from his
earliest youth that any mention of eating was highly indecent in the
presence of gentlewomen. And for Horvendile, recumbent upon the
pavement, it was bewildering to note the glow of honest indignation in
the face of the representative citizen, who waited there, in front of
the restaurant he usually patronized....
COLOPHON
Here, rather vexatiously, the old manuscript breaks off. But what
survives and has been cited of this fragment amply shows you, I think,
that even in remote Philistia, whenever this question of "indecency"
arose, everybody (including the accused) was apt to act very
foolishly. It has attested too, I hope, the readiness with which you
may read ambiguities into the most respectable of authors; as well as
the readiness with which a fanatical training may lead you to imagine
some underlying impropriety in all writing about any natural function,
even though it be a function so time-hallowed and general as that to
which this curious Dirghic legend refers.
A POSTSCRIPT
(_French of C.J.P. Garnier_)
The swine that died in Gadara two thousand years ago
Went mad in lofty places, with results that all men know--
Went mad in lofty places through long rooting in the dirt,
Which (even for swine) begets at last soul-satisfying hurt.
The swine in lofty places now are matter for no song
By any prudent singer, but--_how long, O Lord, how long?_
_EXPLICIT_
BOOKS _by_ MR. CABELL
_Biography_:
BEYOND LIFE
FIGURES OF EARTH
DOMNEI
CHIVALRY
JURGEN
TABOO
THE LINE OF LOVE
GALLANTRY
THE CERTAIN HOUR
THE CORDS OF VANITY
FROM THE HIDDEN WAY
THE RIVET IN GRANDFATHER'S NECK
THE EAGLE'S SHADOW
THE CREAM OF THE JEST
_Genealogy_:
BRANCH OF ABINGDON
BRANCHIANA
THE MAJORS AND THEIR MARRIAGES
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Taboo, by James Branch Cabell
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TABOO ***
***** This file should be named 17134-8.txt or 17134-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/1/3/17134/
Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sankar Viswanathan, and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions 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 with public domain eBooks. 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
https://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 in the public domain 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 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
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (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
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
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 Michael
Hart, 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
public domain works 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 F3. 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 MERCHANTIBILITY 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, is 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 web page at https://www.pglaf.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. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
https://pglaf.org/fundraising. 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 located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., 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
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://pglaf.org
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 https://pglaf.org
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 including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.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 thirty 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 Public Domain 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:
https://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.
*** END: FULL LICENSE ***
