Memory Persistence

8/13/2019 Memory Persistence

1/94

Preferred Citation: Kuberski, Philip. The Persistence of Memory: Organism, Myth, Text. Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress, 1992. http://ark.dlib.or!/ark:/1"#"#/ft"v19n9$%/

The Persistence of Memory

Organism, Myth, Text

Philip Kuberski

UNIVERSITY O !"#IORNI" PRESS

Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford

$ %&&' The Re(ents of the Uni)ersity of !*liforni*

for Claudette

Preferred Citation: Kuberski, Philip. The Persistence of Memory: Organism, Myth, Text. Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress, 1992. http://ark.dlib.or!/ark:/1"#"#/ft"v19n9$%/

for Claudette

Intro+uction

& 1 &

' be!an (ritin! this book (ithout kno(in! it. )fter a su**er in +urope ' a*e bak to California and

(rote out a fe( essays about ities and *useu*s and antiuity. ' be!an to (onder at the po(er that a

fresh enounter (ith anient thin!s had on *e. -alkin! in o*e and )rles, ' had be!un to think about(hat *e*ory is and (hy it is suh a onsolation and a *ystery.

)nyone (ho has lived, off and on, in the o**erial (astes of southern California(here in the

ourse of a deade a series of different buildin!s or for*s of buildin!s an appear on the sa*e site(ill have a sense of absolute otherness and fa*iliarity (hen (alkin! throu!h suh anient ities. 0os

)n!eles *ay not be as old as )rles, but (hen a branh library burns do(n or an apart*ent buildin! is

flattened it enters into the *ind and into the unonsious, alon! (ith everythin!, (hether ro*anti orbanal, that only eists in fra!*ents and traes, in *e*ory.


2/94

oon *y interest in *e*ory broadened fro* ultural to natural topis. ' be!an thinkin! about the *ost

basi of hu*an *ne*onis, thin!s like stars and shells, and (ondered (hy they play suh an i*portant

role in hu*an i*a!inin!s. 'n turn ' be!an to reflet on the role that the natural (orld plays in lendin!

for* and onseuene to our ideas of the self, of onsiene, of a poe*, and of sientifi or*ytholo!ial aounts of hu*an ori!ins. 3ro* there ' eplored the lai*s *ade by biolo!ists and

neurolo!ists about ho( or!anis*s or!ani4e the*selves and ho( the brain is able to ollet, store, and

reollet *e*ories.5he essays in this book bea*e foused on the nature of

& 2 &

*e*ory as it *anifests itself in or!anis*s, *ytholo!ies, and tets, and also on the (ay these three

ele*ents are refleted in one another. )lthou!h there is an order and a onsistent point of vie( in theseessays, ' have not atte*pted to provide a onseutive or u*ulative ar!u*ent. 6y purpose rather has

been to dra*ati4e and illustrate the (ays in (hih *e*ory funtions throu!h assoiations, leaps, or

other disloations out of ti*e or spae and ho( the *ore profound of these ourrenes an !ive us ane( understandin! of our relation to the (orld.

5hus a nu*ber of these essays are onerned (ith eperienes of the subli*e reported by 3reud,

7apoleon, and +r(in hr8din!er, (ith drea*s realled by -ords(orth and esartes, and (ith

sudden refletions desribed by obert ppenhei*er, Kant, and 6arel Proust. +perienes of thiskind *ake a ne( kno(led!e of the unonsious possible, if (e understand by the unonsious *ore

than si*ply the repressed ele*ents of our *ental life. +r(in hr8din!er believed that the unonsious

inluded everythin! that our bodies do (ithout our onsious kno(led!e. espiration, heartbeat,

di!estion are not only autono*i proesses but also for*s of the unonsious. ;iven that the or!anis*is an evolutionary out!ro(th of the past, 1? 3ro* or!anis*sthrou!h *yth and into tets, one an see the persistene of the unonsious and of *e*ory.

-estern individuality and sub%etivity o*e into bein!, as 2? )ordin!

to this *odern and -estern perspetive, the adventures of sub%etivity be!in (ith

& " &

t(o funda*ental ats: (ithdra(al fro* natural flu, and the assoiation of the abstrat (ith the divine.Both of these ats reuire the profound for!ettin! of (hih Breasted spoke, the (earyin! but heroi

repression (hih !ives us notions of our tra!i or eistential or poi!nant ephe*erality.

'n the essays that follo( ' eplore the interplay of for!ettin! and reolletin! in a nu*ber of differentontets. 5he first three essays onern +uropeAs relationship (ith antiuity and the +ast. ra(in! on

arhaeolo!y, psyhoanalysis, and *odernist poetry, =Unonsious Cities= fouses on the (ays in (hih

*odern and anient ities an represent one another in the unonsious. =rea*in! of +!ypt= sho(sho( *odern philosophy, psyhoanalysis, and ine*a reveal =+!ypt= in partiular, and the non

+uropean (orld in !eneral, as a repository for for!otten or denied desires. )nd ='n*ost 'ndia= develops


3/94


4/94

oses onesef in a forest cas for schooing.-alter Ben%a*in

-hen the !reat ities of +urope and 7orth )*eria first be!an to open their under!rounds to the traffi

of *uniipal trains, arhaeolo!ial di!s in the 7ear and 6iddle +ast had already be!un to unover theboundary stones and broken (alls of 5roy, 7ineveh, and Babylon. )s Paris, 0ondon, 7e( Lork, and

Berlin bea*e eletrified, syste*ati4ed, and plu*bed, the ities of antiuity (ere brou!ht to li!ht for

the first ti*e in thousands of years. But even before the di!s of @einrih hlie*ann, ir )rthur +vans,and obert Kolde(ey had substantiated *yths and le!ends fro* @o*er and ;enesis, Charles

Baudelaire had postulated that *odernity (as basially a pereptual faulty that onsisted of re!ardin!

a *odern ityrisin! out(ard, up(ard, and do(n(ard on the au*ulated (ealth of industry and

e*pireas if it (ere area"y ancient. 5o be *odern, Baudelaire i*plied, *eans to see oneAs life in aity like Paris poised on the very ed!e of history, but also in eternity.>1?

)s the lan!ua!es and ities of 6esopota*ia, +!ypt, and the )e!ean bea*e aessible to the eletri

li!hts of *odern arhaeolo!ists, it bea*e possible to onsider anient Babylonians, 6yeneans, and

5ro%ans in an oddly fa*iliar (ay. )fter the devastations of -orld -ar ', Paul FalMry *used, =-e later

ivili4ations . . . (e too no( kno( that (e are *ortal . . . +la*, 7ineveh, Babylon (ere but beautifulva!ue na*es, and the total ruin of those (orlds had as little si!nifiane for us as

& G &

their very eistene. But 3rane, +n!land, ussia . . . these too (ould be beautiful na*es.=>2? 'ndeed,

as +uropean ulture be!an to feel a stran!e interest in, and identify (ith, the fallen ities of

6esopota*ia and the 7ile, a different li!ht (as ast on its o(n ities, both lassial and *odern.)thens and o*e ould never have the sa*e authority after the unoverin! of Knossos and Babel: it

(as as if the very !round beneath the* (ere ru*blin!.

uh refletions (ere by no *eans rare in the early deades of this entury. +4ra PoundAs lassii*a!ist poe* ='n a tation of the 6etro= perfetly epresses this unanny *odernity. Pound desribesin t(o lines the appearane of passen!ers fro* a Parisian sub(ay:

5he apparition of these faes in the ro(dJ

Petals on a (et, blak bou!h.>"?

But (ho or (hat has e*er!ed fro* the under!roundN 5he faes are o*pared abruptly to petals on a

bou!h, a si*ple enou!h analo!y: people return fro* the darkness of the under!round in the sa*e (aythat flo(ers in sprin! return to (et bou!hs. But (hat an the petals the*selves be o*pared toN

)ordin! to the0omeric 0ymns, flo(ers return as Persephone does fro* the under(orld after ishas released her fro* her autu*n and (inter i*prison*ent. Pound (itnesses the return of the fe*inineassoiated (ith or!ani rene(alout of the *odern, and perhaps *asuline, hold of tehnolo!y.

5he sub(ay in PoundAs poe* is the *ediu* that leads to and fro* the under(orld, the hthoni real*

of ele*ental fores that re!ulate the basi natural yles. 'n the unnatural li!ht of the 6etro (ith its

(hite tiles and neat si!ns there is a *eetin! of history and eternity, *odernity and *yth.

ne of 3reudAs last artiles, =) isturbane of 6e*ory on the )ropolis= D19"$E, serves as a dra*ati

illustration of ho( suh a *odern reorientation of ti*e and ti*elessness takes plae in *ental life.

3reudAs =disturbane of *e*ory,= desribed in a publi letter to o*ain olland, had ourred *ore

than thirty years before the artile (as published, durin! his first visit to )thens and the )ropolis. @ereports that his initial


5/94

& $ &

reation upon *ountin! that anient inner ity in 19# (as a nonsensial one: =o all this really "oeseist, %ust as (e learnt at shoolO=>? 3reud eplains ho( this reation (as, a*on! other thin!s, adenial of his o(n suess, (hih ontrasted so starkly (ith the hu*ble eperiene and ahieve*ents of

his father, (ho ould never have o*e suh a distane fro* Fienna.3reudAs denial *anifested itself throu!h a =feelin! of dereali4ation= D1ntfrem"ungsgef2hE (hihovertook hi* at that *o*ent as he asended to the lofty site of -estern rationality. uh feelin!s resultfro* a onflit bet(een e*pirial fats and unonsious assoiations. 'n an atte*pt to balane the

de*ands of reality and the unonsious, the e!o eperienes various dereali4in! sensations (hih all

into uestion either the reality of the real D=-hat ' see here is not real=E or the reality of the onflitD='Ave been here beforeO=E. 5o avoid either of these absurdities, 3reud produed a o*pro*ise (hih

i*plied that he had al(ays doubted the eistene of )thens D=o all this really does eistO=E, but he

ould produe it only =at the ost of *akin! a false state*ent about the past.=

-as it indeed a false state*entN -hat 3reud doubted (as not only the !eo!raphial eistene of)thens in !eneral and the )ropolis in partiularJ his doubts *ust have onerned surpassin! his

fatherAs ahieve*ents, as (ell as surpassin! and dishonorin! the fathers of -estern idealis* and

siene, Plato and )ristotle. But if these unonsious thou!hts found epression in that *o*ent on the

)ropolis, they did so beause 3reud had in fat al(ays doubted that )thens Dthe apital of -estern5hou!htE (as =real.=

uh is the i*pression one !ets fro* The *uture of an 3usionD192$E, (here 3reud o*pares anunsubstantiated =faith= in the !eo!raphial eistene of ities one has never visited, suh as Constane

and )thens, (ith the =teahin!s and assertions= of reli!ion. )t this point in his life he desribes his visitto )thens this (ay:

' (as already a *an of *ature years (hen ' stood for the first ti*e on the hill of the

)ropolis in )thens, bet(een the te*ple ruins, lookin! out over the blue sea. ) feelin! of

astonish*ent

& H &

*in!led (ith *y %oy. 't see*ed to say: =o it really istrue, %ust as (e learnt at shoolO=@o( shallo( and (eak *ust have been the belief ' then auired in the real truth of (hat '

heard, if ' ould be so astonished no(O But ' (ill not lay too *uh stress on thesi!nifiane of this eperieneJ for *y astonish*ent ould have had another eplanation.>?

)s (e have %ust seen, 3reud (ould not offer suh an eplanation until 19"$. ne an appreiate 3reudAs

tentativeness in 192$, for he then assoiated )thens not (ith the ori!in of reason, but (ith the

=unsubstantiated assertions= *ade by reli!ions. @e *ay have reo!ni4ed that the Parthenon and thePropylaea (ere real strutures, but he *ay not have a!reed that the )ropolis (as the =real= foundation

of -estern values. Could any ity D4oisE indeed be so hi!h DacroE as to rise above its *ytholo!ialpastN -as it this that 3reud doubtedN

3reudAs =disturbane of *e*ory= and PoundAs i*a!ist epiphany take plae in unonsious ities (hihsuddenly displae the obtuse fore of real ities. 5hese t(o kinds of ities annot be seurely

distin!uished or neatly inte!rated, beause eah eists in relationship to the other. neAs eperiene of a

ity is, in other (ords, haunted by an unonsious ounterpart: the Paris one has i*a!ined, drea*edabout, and planned to visit annot be left at ho*e. 't o*es alon! and onstantly interferes (ithand


6/94

so or!ani4esthe travelerAs eperiene. ) distint stratifiation separates unonsious epetations and

assoiations, the sattered eperienes of the ity, and the *e*ories that (e (ill ontinue to revise for

ourselves and others. 5hus, (hen one visits Paris for the first ti*e, disappoint*ent or fa*iliarity is

inevitable, and *ore severe feelin!s of "567 vuindiate a po(erful onfir*ation of a lon!held,unonsious idea. uh feelin!s ould be o*pared to enounterin! a !hostof oneself and of a ity.

'n suh *o*ents of disorientation, one suddenly finds oneself on the streets of an unonsious ity.

0ike the si*plest thin!, a ity an evoke the unonsious, but unlike *ost other thin!s, it an alsorepresent it (ith a o*ple of si!ns, streets, and arhitetures. 'n !ivii8ation an" 3ts 9iscontentsD19"#E 3reud tentatively provides suh a detailed *odel in the eternal ity of o*e: =7o( let us, by a

fli!ht of

& 9 &

i*a!ination, suppose that o*e is not a hu*an habitation but a psyhial entity (ith a si*ilarly lon!

pastan entity, that is to say, in (hih nothin! that has one o*e into eistene (ill have passed

a(ay and all the earlier phases of develop*ent ontinue to eist alon!side the latest one.=>G? @e !oeson to desribe this unonsious ity in (hih buildin!s fro* different epohs oupy the sa*e spae on

a ti*eless site. 5hen, despite the attrativeness of the alle!ory, 3reud re%ets it as =an idle !a*e= (hih

serves only to de*onstrate ho( far (e are fro* understandin! *ental life by pitorial *eans. @o(ever

u*ulative its arhitetural =*e*ory,= the eternal ityor any ityis =a 4rioriunsuited for ao*parison of this sort.=

But 3reud *ay have been *ore satisfied (ith this o*parison than he ould ad*it beause it involved

a ity that ould be reahed only =by a fli!ht of i*a!ination.= n another oasion he hose to o*pare

the unonsious to the soalled 6ysti -ritin!Pad,>$? D(hat (e (ould all a =*a!i slate=E, a devie(ith an erasable surfae plaed above a (a tablet. +verythin! (ritten an"=erased= on the surfaeDonsiousnessE is onserved on the (a tablet Dthe unonsiousE. 't is stran!e that 3reud seleted a

hildAs toy to represent the relationship bet(een the onsious and unonsious *inds (hen =beneath=

the toy, so to speak, lay another and perhaps *ore attrative *odel: the pali*psest. -e *ay !uess that3reudAs relutane arose beause Baudelaire had already used this *odel to desribe the brain inesPara"is artificies: =6y brain is a pali*psest and so is yours, reader. 'nnu*erable layers of ideas,i*a!es, feelin!s have fallen suessively on your brain, as softly as the li!ht. 't see*ed that eah buried

its predeessor. But none has in reality perished.=>H? 'f 3reud (ere to have o*bined BaudelaireAs

*odel of the *ind (ith his o(n, he *i!ht have o*pared the unonsious to the series of =5roys=unovered by hlie*ann: a kind of *uniipal pali*psest.

3reud obviously liked the o*parison of psyhoanalysis to arhaeolo!y. @e onsistently o*pared the

at of interpretin! drea*s to the deipher*ent of hiero!lyphi (ritin!. 0ike a philolo!ist 3reud broke

the ode of drea*s, but he also disovered, beneath the superfiial (ritin! of onsiousness and

& 1# &

the hiero!lyphis of the unonsious, a livin! re*nant of the anient past. 'n an 1H9 leture to the

oiety of Psyhiatry and 7eurolo!y in Fienna, five years before the publiation of his drea* book, he

desribed the parallels bet(een psyhoanalysis and arhaeolo!y:

'f his (ork is ro(ned (ith suess, the disoveries are selfeplanatoryJ the ruined (allsare part of the ra*parts of a palae or a treasure houseJ the fra!*ents of olu*ns an be

filled out into a te*pleJ the nu*erous insriptions, (hih, by !ood luk, *ay be bilin!ual,


7/94

reveal an alphabet and a lan!ua!e, and, (hen they have been deiphered and translated,

yield undrea*edof infor*ation about the events of the re*ote past.>9?

Considerin! this ro*anti analo!y bet(een arhitetural and *ental eavation, one be!ins to

understand the thinkin! that led 3reud to o*pare the funda*ental psyhi onflit to the anient;reek tra!edy of edipus. 0ike hlie*ann, 3reud ould de*onstrate, in opposition to *odern

skeptiis*, the literal =truth= of an anient *yth: edipus, 1#? ne *osai (ith (hih he (as espeially taken sho(ed Christ

holdin! out his hand to Peter as they (alked upon the sea of ;alilee. )fter


8/94

that hesawthe dan!ers and opportunities that she had faed so lon! a!o. 5he i*a!inary *osais (ere ahalluinated o*pro*ise be

& 12 &

t(een, on the one hand,


9/94

after his drea* book (as published did he visit o*e, and in this ontet one an appreiate 3reudAs

=idle !a*e= in !ivii8ation an" its 9iscontentsof o*parin! o*e to the unonsiousa !a*e that hehad been playin! for over thirty years.

'n the drea* book 3reud uotes 12? 3reud lai*ed that he had been inspired

by @annibal, but it (as (ar*in! ity, ity full of drea*s,/ -here a !hoststops a passerby in broad dayli!ht?. 5. . +liot ites Baudelaire in a footnote to the follo(in! passa!e in

The >aste an":

Unreal City,Under the bro(n fo! of a (inter da(n,

) ro(d flo(ed over 0ondon Brid!e, so *any,

' had not thou!ht death had undone so *any.>1"?

5he !hosts +liot desribes in 0ondon *ay dra( upon BaudelaireAs Parisian speter, but +liot pressespast that layer of the pali*psest to another: anteAs3nferno. 'n The >aste an"0ondon is an =unreality= (here every phase of ulture is aessible, fro* the Buddhist utras of 'ndia to *odern

advertisin! slo!ans. 0ike hlie*annAs 5roy, like 3reudAs )ropolis, +liotAs unonsious ity re!isters

his o(n (ide readin! and erudition, and thus his poe* ehibits fra!*ents of (ritin!shards of lostivili4ations (hih his literary eavations have turned up. )nd like Baudelaire and FalMry, +liot sees

anient and *odern ities sharin! the sa*e desolation:

3allin! to(ers


10/94

desribed by 3reud and 1?

+liotAs poetry offers little eplanation for the eperienes of the personal, philolo!ial, and ultural

unonsious. 't presents =*o*ents in and out of ti*e= (hih, like PoundAs *o*ents of insi!ht, unoverthe ityAs layers of si!nifiane.

'n/urnt orton+liot presents a different vision of the 0ondon under!round:

6en and bits of paper, (hirled by the old (ind

5hat blo(s before and after ti*e . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5i*e before and ti*e after.

+rutation of unhealthy souls

'nto the faded air.

Pound sees the 6etro station as the site of natural and *ytholo!ial rene(alJ +liot sees the tube stationas an i*a!e of the last %ud!*ent (hen the bodies of the dead are belhed out of the earth like

passen!ers thro(n up by the Under!round. 'n1ast !o-erhe desribes the *o*ent (hen

an under!round train, in the tube, stops too

lon! bet(een stations)nd the onversation rises and slo(ly fades into silene

)nd you see behind every fae the *ental e*ptiness deepen

0eavin! only the !ro(in! terror of nothin! to think about.

& 1G &

'n +liotAs (ork the 0ondon Under!round alls forth the under!rounds of lassial antiuity and the

Christian 6iddle )!es, (ith the first representin! the heerless eternity of pa!an shades, the seond the

tor*entin! eternity of da*ned souls.

5he *o*ents reorded by 3reud, aste an", and in eah instane itsu!!ests ho( *ind or onsiousness has transfor*ed the (orld into an i*a!e of itself: in =5he Burial

of the ead,= (hen the 0ondoners (alkin! to (ork in the *ornin! suddenly evoke the souls of the3nfernoJ in =5he 3ire er*on,= (hen =the *yrna *erhant= propositions the speakerJ and in =-hatthe 5hunder aid,= (ith its apoalypti vision of fallin! to(ers. 5hese are, ho(ever, *ore than dire

oasions, si!ns of fati!ue, and inti*ations that *odern ivili4ation is ready to ollapse. 5hese

dan!erous *o*ents, like 3reudAs =disturbane of *e*ory= and


11/94

of 0ondon or Paris, )thens or o*e, than a ertain dubiousness about =reality.= 'n =5he 3ire

er*on=na*ed after the BuddhaAs disourse eplainin! the effets of desire on the individual e!o

the ity appears in a ontet of unepeted !aiety:

City ity, ' an so*eti*es hearBeside a publi bar in 0o(er 5ha*es treet,

5he pleasant (hinin! of a *andoline

)nd a latter and a hatter fro* (ithin-here fish*en loun!e at noon: (here the (allsf 6a!nus 6artyr hold

'nepliable splendour of 'onian (hite and !old.

5his *i!ht be read si*ply as a sene sho(in! ho( life ould

& 1$ &

be if pleasure, art, and the *ysteries of divinity (ere har*oni4ed. But the passa!e an also lead us out

of 0ondon and +urope, past o*e and )thens, and even beyond 5roy and Babel to 'ndia, (hose sared

tets and literature have al(ays used the ity as a *etaphor for all that is unreal, illusory, and transient.'n thean-avatara Sutrathe Buddha instruts his follo(ers in the (ays by (hih people beo*een*eshed in the nets of (ords: =the i!norant lin! to na*es, si!ns and ideasJ as their *inds *ove

alon! these hannels they feed on *ultipliities of ob%ets and fall into the notion of an e!osoul and

(hat belon!s to itJ they *ake disri*inations of !ood and bad a*on! appearanes and lin! to thea!reeable.=>1? 5o illustrate his ar!u*ent, the Buddha alludes to the elestial *usiians alled the

;andharvas, (hose skill in *usi is so !reat they delude people into takin! illusion for truth. 0in!uisti

disri*ination, the Buddha teahes, =is like the ity of the ;andharvas (hih the un(ittin! take to be areal ity thou!h it is not so in fat. 5he ity appears as in a vision o(in! to their attah*ent to the

*e*ory of a ity preserved in the *ind as a seedJ the ity an thus be said to be eistent and non

eistent.=

+liotAs ity is uite preisely =unreal,= neither real nor illusory, neither the attrative ity of *andolin*usi nor the infernal ity of the (alkin! dead. 5he unanny *o*ents in The >aste an"thus are not*erely infernal and apoalypti visions of hu*an futilityJ they are the fe( essential insi!hts into

*odernity that *ake it possible for +liot to onlude his poe* (ith the lessons on selfless eistene

e*bodied in the/riha"aranya-a ?4anisha"and its fable of (hat the thunder said to !ods, hu*anbein!s, and de*ons.

-alter Ben%a*in, like 3reud,


12/94


13/94

n the t(entyfifth of 5her*idor D)u!ust 12, 1$99, on the evolutionary CalendarE, 7apoleon, havin!

sei4ed +!ypt fro* both the 6a*elukes and the su4erainty of the tto*an +*pire, entered (hat

+!yptolo!ists lai* to be the =Kin!As Cha*ber= of the ;reat Pyra*id of ;i4a. 0ike his predeessor,)leander the ;reat, he asked to be left alone in the heart of the pyra*id. -hen he e*er!ed he (as

reportedly =very pale and i*pressed= and forbade his aides to speak of (hat had happened. @e later

i*plied that he had reeived an inti*ation of his destiny, but still refused to speak of it. +ven in eile att. @elena the inident haunted hi*, but he (ould say nothin! about it: =7o. -hatAs the useN LouAdnever believe *e.=>1?

But one cani*a!ine (hat a youn! !eneral e*barked on (orld onuest in e*ulation of )leander the;reat *i!ht have felt inside the *onu*ental and anient Pyra*id of the !reat Pharaoh Khufu D21Q

22H B.C.E. espite its reputation as a vain!lorious to*b for a tyrannial Pharaoh, a le!end populari4edby @erodotus, there is no epliit evidene that this struture (as elusively a to*b, althou!h that

*ay have been one of its purposes. 5he Pyra*ids have al(ays been ad*ired only if they (ere first

ad*itted to be evidene of a *onu*ental e!otis*, =oriental= eess, and se*ibarbari fanatiis*. )n

& 21 &

ient +!ypt and its arhitetural le!ay have onsistently been presented as a memento morito -esterneyes, (hen they have not also appeared as a drea* of sensuality and barbaris* in a plae and a ti*e(here etre*ities of all kinds *er!e. 't should not be surprisin!, then, that 7apoleonAs revelation

should be ounterbalaned by *ore pratial onsiderations: he had alulated that the stone ontained

in the Pyra*ids at ;i4a (as suffiient to build a (all three *eters hi!h and one *eter thik all around

3rane. )lthou!h this alulation (as si*ply a (ay of =appreiatin!= the enor*ity of the to*bs Dsinethe reuisite dis*antlin! and shippin! of the stones (ould eeed even the en!ineerin! skills of

7apoleonE, it su!!ests etre*e but related responses to the ha4y reappearane of +!ypt on the

+uropean hori4on: ro*anti revery and i*perial do*ination, *etaphysial insi!ht and tehnolo!ial

ad*iration. 5he +!ypt of the 5urkish +*pire ould be possessed, but its antiuity, its apoalyptivistas, (ere another *atter. +!yptian obelisks *ay adorn the *a%or ities of +urope, but =anient

+!ypt= has re*ained in its drea*s.

Consider the ro(ds (ho press throu!h the roo*s of +!yptian antiuities at the British 6useu*. 5heyare not neessarily interested in arhaeolo!y, the ori!ins of ulture, or +!yptolo!y. ) solitary stroll

throu!h the *a!nifient olletions of +ast )sian and 'ndian art the sa*e afternoon onvines one that

there *ust be a speifi reason for this fasination (ith anient +!ypt. 5he eoti and beautiful arts ofChina, ia*, 'ndia, and Persia do not dra( the ro(ds that the rude (ooden saropha!i and bundled

bodies of anient +!yptians do. 5o ite the obviously *orbid uality of the fasination is only the

be!innin! of an ans(er. 3or if the ro(ds are *orbid, so apparently (ere the anient +!yptians, thesholars (ho unearthed their bodies, and the artists (ho ontinue to d(ell on their ulture. )nient

+!ypt (ould appear to be a ulture (here these private fasinations (ith death and eternity (ere !ivenunabashed and *onu*ental epression.

5he idea of eternity has al(ays been a proble* for the -est. 5he anient @ebre(s ultivated the ideathat eternity ould o*e into bein! only after =history= (as o*pleted, (hih is

& 22 &

to say, only after the ovenant of Lah(eh (ith his people (as ountersi!ned and redee*ed by the


14/94

6essiah. Christ *ay have been the 6essiah for those (ho follo(ed hi*, but his o*in! did not end

history, as *any of the first Christians hoped. @e too left the arena of hu*an history in order to return

at a later date. )fter the eond Co*in! and a thousandyear rei!n, then and only then ould =eternity=

be!in. 5he ;reeks, livin! in the shado( of the anient e*pires of the +ast, distin!uished the*selves,like the


15/94

still the 0uor bee, hik and hare

pursue unalterable purpose

in !reen, rosered, lapisJ

they ontinue to prophesyfro* the stone papyrus:

& 2 &

there, as here, ruin opens

the to*b, the te*pleJ enter,there as here, there are no doors:

the shrine lies open to the sky,

the rain falls, here, there

sand driftsJ eternity endures.>2?

'f (e are to understand the partiular lure of anient +!ypt, (e (ill have to distin!uish it fro* other

features of rientalis*: i*a!inary plaes like Babylon, )raby, 'ndia, and Cathay. -hen one reads of

+!ypt in the book of ;enesis it evokes little a(e or (onder. 3or "?

5he sulptor (ho =read= the passions of 4y*andias in his fro(n and lip (as no less distant fro* the

Pharaoh than =the traveller fro* an antiue land= (hose (ords helley pretends to uote. 5hee*bodi*ent of upper and lo(er +!ypt, the di

& 2 &

vine Kin!As passions an only be inferred fro* the (ritin! on his fae (hih the sulptor transribes on

=those lifeless thin!s= (hih the traveler enounters fallen in the sand. -hether one approahes itspyra*ids, its art, or its (ritin!, =+!ypt,= unlike 'ndia or China, i*plies a kind of irreduible distane,

both in ti*e and in spae, (hih su!!ests death or eternity. espite its spatial oinidene (ith *odern

+!ypt, this =+!ypt= is a different ountry entirely.


16/94

5he deipherin! of the +!yptian hiero!lyphis (as thus of *ore than philolo!ial interest in the

7apoleoni era and after. 'ndeed, sine the ti*e of the neoplatonists, hiero!lyphis (ere re!arded as a

*a!ial piture(ritin! (hih probably onealed serets lon! lost to the (orld. 5his tradition

en!endered the idea that the hiero!lyphs *ust be deiphered as pito!raphs or ai"es m5moire. 5heopposin! rational approah e*phasi4ed the idea that the sript (as phoneti and *ust be approahed as

an alphabeti lan!ua!e. espite the osetta stoneAs ori!inal pro*ise as a key to the (ritin! Dontainin!

as it did a sin!le *essa!e (ritten in hiero!lyphis, Copti, and ;reekE, the seret of the hiero!lyphsre*ained seure until the 3renh lin!uisti !enius


17/94

& 2$ &

its thou!hts in stoneJ and (hat it en!raves on the stone are its eni!*asthese hiero!lyphs.

5hey are of t(o kindshiero!lyphs4ro4er, desi!ned rather to epress lan!ua!e, andhavin! referene to sub%etive oneptionJ and a lass of hiero!lyphs of a different kind,

vi4. those enor*ous *asses of arhiteture and sulpture (ith (hih +!ypt is overed.+!ypt is thus a vast (ritin! surfae upon (hih these =hiero!lyphs= are insribed as an epression of

its spiritual stru!!les to(ard a +uropean or ;reek notion of the pirit. 5he ruins of these hiero!lyphs=are !reater and *ore (orthy of astonish*ent than all other (orks of anient or *odern ti*e.=

ne ould epet that @e!elAs on!oin! ar!u*ent a!ainst hiero!lyphi (ritin! in The Phioso4hy ofMin"Dthe 5hird Book of his1ncyco4e"iaE (ould re!ister, if only at the level of *etaphor,a*bivalene about the +!yptian le!ay. istin!uishin! bet(een the =i!n,= (hose *eanin! isonventionali4ed and hene arbitrary, and the =y*bol,= (hose *eanin! derives fro* its representation

of a visible ob%et, @e!el (rites, =5he si!n is so*e i**ediate intuition, representin! a totally different

i*port fro* (hat naturally belon!s to itJ it is the pyra*id into (hih a forei!n soul has been onveyed,and (here it is onserved.=>? +ven (hile ar!uin! for the superiority of alphabeti Dand +uropeanE

ulture over hiero!lyphi Dand )sianE ulture, @e!el is dra(n to link the si!n, and thus the alphabeti

letter, (ith the +!yptian sy*bol par eellene, the pyra*id.

G? 5he vast edifie of @e!elianof

+uropeanidealis* rests upon and !uards its inutterable Dpri*itive, brutish, =)frian=E other. ne anappreiate the po(er of this eni!*ati interplay of orporeal and spiritual, hiero!lyphi and alphabeti,

)sian and +uropean values in @e!elAs stran!e re*arks about =those -onders of the -orld, the

Pyra*ids, (hose destination, thou!h

& 2H &

stated lon! a!o by @erodotus and iodorus, has been only reently epressly onfir*edto the effet,

vi4., that these prodi!ious rystals (ith their !eo*etrial re!ularity ontain dead bodies.= 5he Pyra*ids

of ;i4a ontained no suh bodies in @e!elAs ti*eJ in fat there is still no fir* evidene that they everdid. )lthou!h so*e re*ains have been found in pyra*id fields to the south, the Pyra*ids had only

be!un to be ea*ined by +uropeans (hen @e!el (rote. @e!elAs insistene that the purpose of these

*assive strutures had been finally deter*ined annot but re!ister a ertain aniety about theirpurpose: (hat if the advane*ent of the spirit (hih his philosophi (orks desribe, be!innin! in brute

*aterial onsiousness and risin! to(ard )bsolute Kno(led!e, onealed at its ori!in so*ethin! *ore

than the barbari, the unselfonsious =*onstrosities= of Pharaoni e!otis*N -hat if these *onu*entssi!nify a sophistiation (hih (ould substantiate the s*ilin! ondesension of the +!yptian priests(ho told @erodotus that the ;reeks (ere but hildrenN 5his is a doubt that @e!el annot allo( hi*self

to utter.

5he *ost reent sta!e in the ideali4in! of (ritin! an be found in the =-ritin! oo*= of the British

6useu*: there one an pik up, free of har!e, a fourpa!e pa*phlet entitled =5he tory of -ritin!=by )lbertine ;aur. -ithout *uh preparation the visitor is taken fro* pito!raphi haraters and

;othi alli!raphy to this definition of (ritin!:


18/94

5he purpose of (ritin! is infor*ation stora!e. +ah soiety stores the infor*ation essential

to its eono*i and politial ontinuation. . . . 5he need for a syste*ati for* of (ritin! is

in *any (ays losely onneted (ith the idea of property, its protetion DstateE, ehan!e

DtradeE, and ad*inistration D!overn*entE. 5rade and ad*inistration rather than reli!ion andliterature have been the fosterparents of literay.>$?

0ike @e!el, ;aur (ants to re*ove the ori!in and the purpose of (ritin! fro* any fi!ural or

i*a!inative ontet. -here @e!el sees the pirit e*broiled in unrefleted nature, ;aur sees pri*itivepeople stru!!lin! on the road to the 'nfor*ation )!e: (ritin! stores infor*ation in the sa*e (ay that*a!neti tape stores the di!ital translations of natural lan!ua!e. 'n both ases,

& 29 &

the rude and brutish, the s*elly ualities of the (orld, are lost in the asent to(ard pirit and property.-hen she approahes +!yptian (ritin!, ;aur is attentive only to the (ays in (hih ideo!ra*s and

deter*inatives are o*bined:

-hen (ritin! a (ord the +!yptian sribe ould hoose bet(een various *ethods. @e ould

for ea*ple si*ply (rite the appropriate ideo!ra* follo(ed by a vertial stroke:

6ore freuently he ould use sin!le onsonant si!ns follo(ed by a deter*inative:

r he ould use a double onsonant si!n, follo(ed by t(o sin!le onsonant si!ns, repeatin!

t(o onsonants already epressed by the double onsonant si!n, follo(ed by adeter*inative.

@iero!lyphi (ritin! is understood tehnially as an early approah to an alphabeti sript. -hen ;aur

turns to the advanta!es of alphabeti (ritin!, one learns that =(ritin! thus beo*es *ore eono*i,less labourintensive in relation to the ti*e reuired to learn ho( to read and (rite, and infor*ation an

be stored in less spae. Phoneti sripts are alto!ether *ore osteffetive.= @e!el and ;aur read

hiero!lyphis as an inferior or developin! sript, (hih at best ould advane to(ard, respetively,

pirit and 'nfor*ation. )nd both, uite intentionally, base their analyses on a refutation of thefi!urative and i*a!inary ele*ent. ne ould say that they atively repress this ele*ent of (ritin!, like

an e*barrassin! or bad drea*.

-hen 3reud hose a *etaphor to illustrate the nature of the drea*, he turned to the hiero!lyphforhere (as the very type of the eni!*a. 5o drea*, 3reud lai*ed, (as to en!a!e in a

& "# &

kind of psyhi piture(ritin!. 3reud interpreted drea*s neither as ode, suh as one finds in the

anient ;reek Oneiro-riti-on(hih provided a rote leion of drea* i*a!es and their *eanin!s, noras the bearers of sy*boli or alle!orial interpretations one finds in *yth and literature. 'nstead heinsisted that drea*s be understood to ontain ele*ents of a personal and idiosynrati kind of =(ritin!=


19/94

(hih our sleepin! *inds produe in order both to epress the unonsious and to repress it. 'n *akin!

this distintion, 3reud follo(ed, perhaps (ithout kno(in! it, Charles BaudelaireAs division bet(een

=natural= and =absurd= or =hiero!lyphi=>H? drea*s. =5he produtions of the drea*(ork,= 3reud

(rites, =present no !reater diffiulties to their translators than do the anient hiero!lyphi sripts tothose (ho seek to read the*.=>9? 6odesty prevents hi* fro* pointin! out that =translators= of both

sripts had to a(ait so*eone !ifted enou!h to break their odes. But (hereas Cha*pollionAs !ra**ar

and leion ould be learned by patient sholars, 3reudAs drea* !ra**ar reuired the =peuliar !ifts=(hih harateri4e =artisti ativity.=

@o(ever intelletual and laborious the *easures taken, both Cha*pollion and 3reud (ere superbly

=!ifted= by nature (ith abilities that annot be tau!ht by +!yptolo!ial and psyhoanalyti !ra**ars.

eo!ni4in! this, 3reud ad*its that an earlier and perhaps *ore po(erful preedent for his disovery(as


20/94

5(enty years after (hat 3reud alled his =+!yptian rea* Book= (as published, @o(ard Carter be!an

to unover the !reatest of all arhaeolo!ial treasures, the untouhed burial

& "2 &

vaults of 5utankha*en. 5he disoveries pro*pted near hysteria in the ne(spapers and tabloids. 5he

death of CarterAs sponsor, the +arl of Carnarvon, and of others involved in the di! in subseuent yearsinspired the le!end of 5utankha*enAs urse a!ainst those (ho interrupted his astral eistene in the

-estern 0ands by breakin! into his saropha!us. 5he urse had no foundation in the atual *essa!esdeiphered in the burial ha*bers, but it aurately refleted a popular pre%udie a!ainst the

deseration of the vaults of Pharaohs and, by inferene, the unonsious desire for =eternity.= 5he

popular the*es are as si*ple as they are universal: ven!eane a(aits those (ho (ould ta*per (ith thesilent ha*bers of the dead, even in the na*e of iene. +ven as the papers la*ored for *ore

sensational finds than arhaeolo!ial siene had *ade, they enoura!ed the notion that sieneAs (ork

(as i*proper and unholy, even dan!erous.

) fittin! epression of these a*bi!uous responses appeared in the *ovies and in the palaes (hihehibited the*. 'n @olly(ood espeially, the first theaters (ere *onu*ental and !randiose halls styled

in various eoti voabularies. ;rau*anAs Chinese, the +!yptian, and the Fista 5heatre (ere desi!ned

to over(hel* *ovie!oers (ith sensational effets. ) usto*er (alkin! into the Fista fro* unset

Boulevard entered an eoti and arane hall (here forbiddin! priestly heads stared fro* the (alls. 0ikean initiate, the vie(er passed a series of forbiddin! ions before ad*ission to the *ysteriesand these

(ere nothin! less than a spetral sho( of i*a!es flikerin! upon a sreen. 5his *ost advaned for* of

*ehanial reprodution reuired the *ost arhai at*osphere to have the *ai*u* effet.

0ike a series of hiero!lyphs on a papyrus, the fi!ures and senes unrolled fro* revolvin! reelsonealed in the pro%etionistAs booth. er!ei +isenstein referred to =the ne( lan!ua!e of Cine*a= as

one (hih ould reah audienes in (ays *ore profound than theatrial or literary narratives. 't (as as

if *ovie*akers (ere indutin! the *asses into a seret order harateri4ed by a private lan!ua!e. By

e*ployin! *onta!e, (hih %utaposes si!nifiant i*a!es to advane the plot and to *ake

& "" &

dra*ati points, the fil**akers (ere dra(in! on the lo!i of hiero!lyphis and drea*s. )ordin! to

+isenstein, fil* (as founded on the =opulation Dperhaps (e had better say, the o*binationE of t(ohiero!lyphs= and thus ould not be understood aordin! to the =infleible etter of the a4habet.=>1#?3or this reason, enM Clair desribed *ovies as a =(ritin! in i*a!es= (hih repliated the

interrelationship of pito!raphi and phoneti notation: ='n the ine*a all (e have is the i*a!e. 5heprinted intertitles are a fri!id o**entary.=>11? 5he audiene (as indued to for!et its phoneti and

literary senses of narrative and to learn unonsiously a ne( sript based on (hat Clair alled

=ine*ati synta=: %utaposed i*a!es, *onta!e, loseups, %u*puts, flashbaks, andforeshado(in!s. +isenstein referred to this =visual overtone= resultin! fro* *onta!e to =an atualpiee, an atual ele*ent ofa fourth di*ensionO= 5he *ovie sreen, like the painted (alls on an

+!yptian to*b, like the drea*s inside our brains, presents a *etaphysial spae (here ti*e no lon!er

operates aordin! to its ordinary, relentless lo!i. )ll of these for*s of epression atually =pro%eted=the soul, the desires, and the shado(s of life into a beyond. 't (as universally and unaountably

intoiatin!.

5he unonsious had found, (ith the help of tehnolo!y, a publi foru* veiled in various eoti styles.


21/94

3or several hours, a *ovie!oer ould esape the pressuri4ed and o*petitive ulture of *odernity. 't is

not diffiult to appreiate the enor*ous (orld(ide popularity of a series of =horror= fil*s produed by

Universal Pitures in the early thirties.*ran-enstein, 9racua, and The Mummydra*ati4e thepunish*ent a(aitin! those (ho do not understand the li*its of siene.

'n The MummyD19"2, direted by Karl 3reundE, the the*e e*er!es throu!h a onflit bet(een thearhaeolo!ial ri!or of an eperiened +!yptolo!ist and the understandable uriosity of a youn!

sholar (ho reads a hiero!lyphi spell that revives the *u**y of one '*hotep DBoris KarloffE buriedalive ",$## years before. eadin! the spell frees the *u**y fro* his banda!es, and appropriatelyenou!h the youn! *an replaes the anient +!yptian by losin! his sanity and dyin! in a strait%aket.

'*hotepAs ri*e (as to have loved and atte*pted to

& " &

revive the vir!in Priness )nkhesana*on, (hose soul had found refu!e in the body of @elen

;rosvenor, a beautiful youn! lady, halfBritish and half+!yptian, livin! in Cairo. 5he audiene first

sees her !a4in! out a (indo( at the ;reat Pyra*id of ;i4a, (hile behind her a party of ele!ant+uropeans dane and hat in luurious and eoti roo*s. rea*in! of anient +!ypt in the *idst of

this rih i*perial sene, @elen represents the ontradition bet(een the *aterial benefits of *odernis*

funded by olonialis* and the spiritual desires the +ast has at ti*es a(akened in the +uropean

*arauder. Bein! both British and +!yptian, she an hastise a youn! arhaeolo!ist at the party for hisallous ehu*ation of the priness even (hile fallin! in love (ith hi*.

)t the sa*e ti*e, *e*ories of her for*er eistene are su**oned (hen '*hotep prays at the Cairo

6useu* over the *u**y of the priness. ra(n to '*hotepAs villa, she is sho(n on the surfae of a

pool a (akin! drea* (hih beo*es the sreen onto (hih the fil*pro%etor and the audiene asttheir o(n i*a!ery. 5he drea*fil* tells ho( her anient lover atte*pted to revive her (ith the

hiero!lyphi spell and ho( he (as buried alive for his pains. he is thus influened by t(o loves, one

unonsious and +!yptian and the other onsious and British. 'n an!uish, her youn! lover elai*s:

=5hree thousand seven hundred years a!o(hat has that !ot to do (ith us todayN= 5he *oviede*onstrates ho( very *uh antiuity has to do (ith the present, beause @elenAs dile**a fouses the

ontraditions i*pliit in the appeal of a *ovie alled The Mummysho(n in a *odern theater *ade torese*ble an +!yptian to*b. 't (as as if ine*a, drea*in!, and (ritin! all shared the funda*ental, the

esoteri, ele*ents of the sa*e tehnolo!y.

errida (ould all these apparently disparate *edia instanes of a !enerali4ed =(ritin!,= (hih is to

say everythin! that =!ives rise to an insription in !eneral, (hether it is literal or not and even if (hat itdistributes in spae is alien to the order of the voie.=>12? ne ould then inlude =+!ypt= (ithin this

definition of (ritin!, espeially sine it has been sub%et to the sa*e for*s of repression.

& " &

erridaAs analysis of the -estern repression of (ritin! be!ins by notin! that ethnoentris* has al(ays=ontrolled the onept of (ritin!.= -e an readily see the truth of this observation. @e!el believes

hiero!lyphis to be a *ute and unselfonsious (ritin! stru!!lin! fro* its riental and )frian ori!ins

to(ard ;reek and alphabeti ideality. 3reud uses hiero!lyphis to desribe the drea*(ork that results

fro* the repression of the unonsious, su!!estin! that individual psyhes and (orld history havesi*ilar foundations. ;aur re!ards hiero!lyphis as a less than =osteffetive= *ethod of insription

surpassed by alphabeti =infor*ation stora!e= and seeks to refute the o**on notion that it arose as a


22/94

response to *ytholo!y and reli!ion. 'n eah ase, hiero!lyphi (ritin! is so*ethin! (hih *ust be

overo*e, transended, or repressed beause of its supposedly naive i*itation of the visible (orld.

ine +!yptian reli!ion prefi!ures -estern notions of i**ortality, the soul, and the dyin! ;od

Dsiris/ChristE, it has entered into +uropean refletion as a dan!erous yet entiin! version of*etaphysial values. 5he proble* (ith +!yptian *etaphysis has !enerally been onsidered its

inability to suffiiently distin!uish bet(een *aterial and spiritual eistene, plurality and unity, i*a!es

and ideas. 5e*pted as he is by the proi*ity of +!yptian and -estern values, the popular +!yptolo!ist-allis Bud!e su*s up the +uropean response:

5he +!yptians, bein! funda*entally an )frian people, possessed all the virtues and vies

(hih harateri4ed the 7orth )frian raes !enerally, and it is not to be held for a *o*ent

that any )frian people ould ever beo*e *etaphysiians in the *odern sense of the(ord. 'n the first plae, no )frian lan!ua!e is suitable . . . to theolo!ial and philosophial

speulations, and even an +!yptian priest of the hi!hest intelletual attain*ents (ould have

been unable to render a treatise of )ristotle into lan!ua!e (hih his brother priests (ithoutteahin! ould understand. 5he *ere onstrution of the lan!ua!e (ould *ake suh a thin!

an i*possibility, to say nothin! of the ideas of the !reat ;reek philosopher, (hih belon! to

a do*ain of thou!ht and ulture (holly forei!n to the +!yptian.>1"?

Bud!e, @e!el, and other -esterners drea*in! of +!ypt (ere threatened into onde*nin! preiselythose aspets of +!ypt

& "G &

(hih they ad*ired the *ost: the fi!ural, the plural, the subli*e, a *etaphysis unhanneled by the

lo!i of onepts and the la( of nonontradition. @iero!lyphi lan!ua!e threatened +uropean notionsof property, as errida (rites in Gas, beause =the first lan!ua!e properly so alled is . . .A doubleD8wei"eutigE,A eni!*atiJ it brin!s into play the ontraries bet(een the onsious and the unonsious,on t(o senes at one.=>1? 0o!oentri ulture has refused the fasination (ith +!ypt felt by @e!el,

Bud!e, and others all but a ritial and ondesendin! epression.But this onsidered onde*nation (as ao*panied by a nearly eual and opposite, ho(ever i!norant,

infatuation (ith the =idea= of =+!ypt= (hih led to (hat errida alls =a hierogy4hic 4re6u"ice.=>1?=5he oultation, far fro* proeedin!, as it (ould see*, fro* ethnoentri sorn, takes the for* of anhyperboli ad*iration= in the (orks of )thanasius Kirher and others (ho blindly assu*ed that

hiero!lyphis onealed a truly *etaphysial kno(led!e of the ulti*ate *ysteries of hu*an bein!s and

their history. 'n the sa*e (ay, 3riedrih hle!el (ould speak of anskrit not only as an anient heir ofthe +uropean lan!ua!es, but as the re*nant of a divine speeh. 5he effet of this *ystial infatuation

(as to further enoura!e the rational denuniation of +!ypt and its (ritin!: eah atte*pt to understand

+!yptian ulture outside the onfines of -estern rationalis* ould be heked by sober har!es of=eotiis*.= 5here thus e*er!ed, as errida (rites, =a ertain o*pliity= =bet(een rationalis* and

*ystiis*.=

6ihel erres has desribed a pivotal *o*ent in this -estern internali4ation of +!ypt by elaboratin!

on a fabulous narrative of 5halesA visit to ;i4a. eein! that the Pyra*id ated as a *onu*ental !no*on(hih transfor*ed the surroundin! desert fro* *ere earth into a sundial, 5hales reputedly reversed

this funtion in order to deter*ine not the ti*e of day, but the hei!ht of the Pyra*id: ='nstead of lettin!

the pyra*id speak of the sun, or the onstant deter*ine the sale of the variable, he asks the sun to

speak of the pyra*idJ that is, he asks the ob%et in *otion to provide a onstant flo( of infor*ationabout the ob%et at rest.=>1G? 5hales does this by *ea


23/94

& "$ &

surin! the shado( of the Pyra*id at the preise *o*ent that his o(n shado( is eual to his hei!ht.

erres *akes of this story the arhetypal instane in (hih ;reek rationality is revealed as a rusedesi!ned to eliit kno(led!e of the distant, the vast, and the unsalable throu!h the interposition of a

*odel: thus the invention of ;reek !eo*etry: =@is *athe*atis is the relation bet(een shado(s, t(oserets, t(o for*s and t(o iphers, relation or lo!os, relationship and utterane to be trans*itted,utterane (hih trans*its a relationship. . . . 5he sand on (hih the sun leaves its trae is a sreen, the

(all at the bak of the ave.= )nd so the sienes of !eo*etry, of rationalis*, of anthropolo!y Dif one

reo!ni4es that 5halesA response to the ;reat Pyra*id is one of the first atte*pts by the -est to

*easure or si4e up the +astE are in effet a siene of shado(s. Co*in! presu*ably to learn fro*+!ypt, 5hales is re*e*bered for havin! *easured its prinipal *onu*ent. 0ike 7apoleonAs t(o

thousand years later, 5halesA astonish*ent is uikly overo*e by alulation.

'ndeed, the funda*ental -estern reation to +!ypt an be su**ari4ed by its assu*ptions about the

;reat Pyra*id. 3or @erodotus, as for @e!el, the Pyra*id is a ause for (onder. =-hat *ost eites our(onder at first si!ht of these astonishin! onstrutions,= @e!el (rites, =is their etraordinary

*a!nitude, (hih at one *akes us reflet upon the duration of ti*e, the variety, superabundane andpersistene of hu*an ener!ies (hih is inseparable fro* the o*pletion of suh olossalbuildin!s.=>1$? 5his (onder is both te*pered and inreased by the assu*ption that this *onu*ent (as

=%ust= a to*b. @erodotus reports that Khufu (as, *ore than t(o thousands years after his death, still

reviled for this display of e!otis*. Khufu, @erodotus reports, =brou!ht the ountry into all sorts of*isery. @e losed all the te*ples, then, not ontent (ith eludin! his sub%ets fro* the pratie of

their reli!ion, o*pelled the* (ithout eeption to labour as slaves for his o(n advanta!e.=>1H? 5he

astonish*ent (hih the Pyra*ids evoke is both di*inished and inreased by this assu*ption that they(ere built stritly for personal !lory. 5here is indeed a ertain o*pliity bet(een fasination and

onde*nation in

& "H &

this astonished !a4e. =espite all the (onder they arouse of their o(n aord,= @e!el (rites, =>they?

are nothin! but rystals, *ere shells, (hih enlose a kernel, that is, a departed spirit, and serve asustodians of this still onsistent bodily presene and for*.=>19? ne sees in both ases the (ay in

(hih a *oralisti -estern %ud!*ent is invoked to redue the undeniably over(hel*in! effets of the

Pyra*idsand of +!ypt, of (hih they are the *ost po(erful e*ble*.

5he +!yptolo!ist )h*ed 3akhry lai*s that the lassial le!ends of KhufuAs tyranny are unfounded:=)nient +!yptian history provides no evidene at all to support these stories. Khufu (as apparently an

able and ener!eti rule, durin! (hose rei!n the land flourished and art reahed perfetion.=>2#? 3akhry

nevertheless *aintains the idea that the Pyra*ids are =%ust= to*bs: =)rheolo!ial researh has provedbeyond doubt that the ;reat Pyra*id is nothin! *ore or less than a to*b for Kin! Khufu.= 3akhryAs

sholarly intentions not(ithstandin!, his standard history of the Pyra*ids4roves, by any ri!oroussientifi standards, nothin! of the kind, as any *ildly urious perusal of his evidene (ill sho(. 't isperhaps likely that pyra*ids are to*bs. 5hat they are only to*bs see*s unlikely. )nd in any ase,

+!yptolo!ists see* less than urious about the *eanin! of the pyra*id as an arhitetural for* and the

si!nifiane of ento*b*ent. Considerin! the fat that the Pharaoh (as a livin! !od and the

e*bodi*ent of the nation and its people, *odern notions of burial see* inadeuate to o*prehend itspolitial and *etaphysial *eanin!.


24/94

Peter 5o*pkins eplains that for enturies

't (as attributed to hane that the foundations >of the ;reat Pyra*id? (ere al*ost

perfetly oriented to true north, that its struture inorporated a value for pi Dthe onstant by

(hih the dia*eter of a irle *ay be *ultiplied to !ive its true iru*fereneE aurate toseveral dei*als and in several distint and un*istakable (aysJ that its *ain ha*ber

inorporated the =sared= " and 2D" trian!les Da2S b2T 2E (hih (ere to *ake

Pytha!oras fa*ous, and (hih Plato in his Timaeuslai*ed as the buildin! bloks of theos*os.>21?

5o*pkins asserts that =an advaned siene did flourish in the

& "9 &

6iddle +ast at least three thousand years before Christ, and that Pytha!oras, +ratosthenes, @ipparhusand other ;reeks reputed to have ori!inated *athe*atis on this planet *erely piked up fra!*ents of

an anient siene evolved by re*ote and unkno(n predeessors.= +ven to *ake suh learned and

unpretentious observations as 5o*pkins does invite har!es of pseudosholarship and ro*anti fany.

-hat is behind this i**ediate distrust but the fear that ;reee (as but a narro(, rou!h entrane intothe -est, the ensor for a kno(led!e onsidered even no( to be se*iivili4ed, forei!n, drea*likeN

'f +!ypt in !eneral and the Pyra*ids in partiular have had suh po(erful effets, it is beause they

have allo(ed the unonsious to speakin boundless feelin!, in unanniness, in an epansive

selflessness. 3or fe(er plaes on earth ould appear so substantially in spae, so resistant to the effetsof ti*e. =6an fears 5i*e, but 5i*e fears the Pyra*id,= the li!ht sho( sta!ed at ;i4a announes. 'f this

is true it is beause the Pyra*id has ated as a vast *ne*oni devie, reallin! to people a ertain

unonsious skeptiis* about the reality of 5i*e. )rheolo!ists, 5heosophists, 3ree*asons,osiruians, and onte*porary sets of the 7e( )!e have lai*ed the ;reat Pyra*id to be a vast

to*b, a ha*ber for the elevation of adepts, an astrono*ial observatory, an arhive of lost sienes, a

prophey in stone, a hall of (ei!hts and *easures. 5hose interested in its purely physial propertieshave ar!ued that it onduts ener!y, slo(s or!ani deay, and even sharpens the ed!es of ra4ors. 'ts

enor*ous *ass, its portentous !eo*etrial perfetion, its preise orientation to the ardinal points of

the o*pass, its antiuity: all of these persuade its enthusiasts that it o**e*orates, pro!nostiates,

desribes, oneals, or *easures thin!s of !reat interest to our a!e.

3reud *i!ht have eplained these *etaphysial interests in ter*s of the unonsious death drive. 'n

/eyon" the Peasure Princi4ehe lai*s that (e are driven =to reah an anient !oal by paths alike oldand ne(. . . . 'f (e are to take it as a truth that kno(s no eeption that everythin! livin! dies for

interna reasonsbeo*es inor!ani one a!ainthen (e shall be o*pelled to say that Athe aim ofa ife is "eath.A=>22? 5he =anient

& # &

!oal= (e seek, 3reud lai*s, is euilibriu* of the sort assoiated (ith death and displayed at ;i4a, at

the Falley of the Kin!s, at the 5e*ples at Karnak, or enrypted (ithin our drea*s. -e also find this=anient !oal= in the unsettlin! fa*iliarity of hiero!lyphs, in the effet produed by readin! diffiult

tets (hih (e only partially understand, and at ti*es in the *ovie theater (hen (e are sei4ed by

e*otions the *ovies have not in the*selves produed.

Pyra*idolo!ists have supposed that the ;reat Pyra*id, despite the thousands of years that have


25/94

elapsed sine @erodotus first desribed it in his0istories, still hides undisovered ha*bers. 5he ideais that ertain sound (aves, aused by the reitation of a hant or *antra (ould open the ha*ber.

Preisely in this (ay, the unonsious vaults are opened by ertain (ords, i*a!es, or ehoes (hih

have orrespondenes in the unonsious. 'n their book on 3reudAs =-olf 6an,= 7iolas )braha* and6aria 5orok refer to =ryptony*s,= (ords (hih have =enrypted= other (ords in order to repress a

nearly ulti*ate, =taboo (ord= (hih (ould open the unonsious like a *a!i (ord opens a seret

vault.>2"? -here )braha* and 5orok see the unonsious as a rypt of the unspeakable,


26/94

& 2 &

.,

Inmost In+i*

Pour enfant, amoureux "e cartes et "estam4es,univers est 5ga 7 son vaste a44etit.AhE Bue e mon"e est gran" 7 a cart5 "es am4esEAux yeux "u souvenir Bue e mon"e est 4etit.Baudelaire, =0e Foya!e=

-e probably never overo*e our first i*pressions of distant ountries, ho(ever *uh (e *ay laterlearn of the* throu!h books and personal eperiene. 3or *ost of us this *eans that the olors,

onventions, and le!ends of *aps ontinue to eert their influenes lon! after (e have overlayed the*

(ith different na*es, boundaries, and assoiations. 3or *ost -esterners, 'ndia is, in essene, a teayello( ountry, *arked (ith veinlike rivers the olor of ink, reahin! into the 'ndian ean, (hih is

aua*arine. 5here it see*s to (hirl, like a daner, on the ed!e of a fla!stone the shape of Ceylon. )ndyet this arto!raphi vision arries (ith it the olor of another skin, the hori4on at sea, and the pro*ise

of a final and irrevoable revelation.

'n 1$H" the %urist and lin!uist ir -illia*


27/94

the da(nlike distanes (here anient lan!ua!es and (isdo*s persisted, under -estern eyes, a*id

sualor. 't *ust have been the fulfill*ent of a +uropean lassiistAs seret (ish: to speak an anient

lan!ua!e as a onte*porary, to %oin the advanta!es of *odernity and antiuity, to penetrate *ysteries

veiled even to the anients. 0ater


28/94

*ediu* for the intellet and the spirit, it =ee*plifies the loftiest ideas of the pure (orld of thou!ht,

and displays the entire !round plan of the onsiousness, not in fi!urative sy*bols, but in diret and

i**ediate learness and preision.=>? anskrit and the *ytholo!ies onserved by it (ere thus a kind

of i**ediate or real arhetype of the *ind. 0earnin! anskrit or any anient and ori!inal lan!ua!e (as*ore than a philolo!ial ahieve*ent:

5he pheno*enon of the soul transportin! itself, or, as it (ere, transported all at one into a

lan!ua!e previously uite stran!e to it, so as to understand any spoken or (ritteno*position in it, is ertainly not one of ordinary ourreneJ and in truth, (herever it*anifests itself stron!ly and deidedly, it losely borders on the *arvellous. . . . >'t is? a

(onderful leap of *e*ory . . . an ori!inal reolletion.

uh a reolletion =is not of a *ere foreti*e, but of eternity, but (hih in all propriety still ad*its of

bein! ter*ed a reolletion.= )nd this reolletion =has brou!ht us to the notion of ti*e and eternity,and to the uestion of their reiproal relation.=>G? 3or hle!el, learly, anskrit provided nothin! less

than the *ental oordinates of a for!otten and (hole (orld.

5he onseuenes of $? 3or @e!el, then, 'ndia isfe*inine, beautiful, and fertile, but also effete and deadent. 't an only a(ait the dialeti of history to

brin! +*pire and reason in the for* of a robust, *asuline do*ination and eploitation: =for it is the

neessary fate of )siati +*pires to be sub%eted to +uropeans.=

)nd in order to fortify his o(n selfreliant spirit a!ainst the entie*ents of 'ndia, H? 5he threat of 'ndia

see*s to be that it an displae both the self and nature (ith the fore of its persuasive psyholo!ies

and *ytholo!ies. Both @e!el and


29/94

shunnin! of the responsibilities borne by those (ho believe the*

& $ &

selves able to distin!uish bet(een truth and deeption, fats and desires. 5his is beause the idea of

=(isdo*= is nearly indistin!uishable in our thinkin! fro* fraud, bo!us !eneralities, *u*bo %u*boa

too easy insi!ht into the funda*ental nature of thin!s. 0ike the =eternity= (hih +uropeans a(ait afterthe fulfill*ent of history, =(isdo*= *ust be indefinitely deferred.

5his thinkin! of ourse has fa*iliar undertones: !oin! native, losin! oneAs bearin!s in an oppressive

at*osphere, interpretin! deliriu* as enli!hten*ent, halluination as truth. 5hese are the dan!ersa(aitin! -esterners east of ue4. )nd yet even, or espeially, those -esterners *ost devoted to the

-estern pro%et of analysis and desription of nature have felt this te*ptation to turn +ast, to find (hat

the *ine of anskrit holds for those (ho, in extremis, find )ristotelian lo!i neither pratial norpossible.

)fter the first ato*i test in the 7e( 6eio desert, 1#?

KrishnaAs divinity inheres in the ato*i o*position of *atter, as (ell as in the arhitetonis for*in!the universe: =' a* the supersoul, )r%una, seated in the hearts of all livin! entities. ' a* the

be!innin!, the *iddle, and the end of all bein!s.=

'f he sa( hi*self as death, one of KrishnaAs e*bodi*ents, one of the aspets of universal for*,

ppenhei*er ould do so only beause he had =split= an ato*, started a hain reation (ithin hi!hlyradioative uraniu*. @e had beo*e death beause this first *a%or intrusion into the lattie of *atter

had only released destrution.

'n both The Mahabharata, as sta!ed by Peter Brook,>11? and the Srima" /hagavatam Purana, as


30/94

translated by ). C. Bhaktivedanta, one an hear the resonanes of this *odernist le!end. 'n both (orks

nulear devies are anahronistially deployed in the plae of *ysterious, spiritual (eapons apable of

an unpreedented destrutiveness. 'n the Brook adaptation, Karna, the bastard hero of the Kauravas,

auires fro* Parashura*a the =for*ula= for the ulti*ate (eapon insribed, like the Fedi sriptures,=on a piee of bark.= 'n the translation by Bhaktivedanta Dthe founder of the 'nternational oiety for

Krishna ConsiousnessE, Krishna, ppenhei*erAs apoalypti persona, produes the ulti*ate (eapon.

-hen the ene*ies of the Pandavas have =thro(n the hy*ns of nulear ener!y >brah*astra?,= Krishnatells )r%una that he *ust respond in kind.

-hen the rays of the t(o brah*astras o*bined, a !reat irle of fire, like the dis of the

sun, overed all outer spae and the (hole fir*a*ent of the planets. )ll the populae of the

three (orlds (as sorhed by the o*bined fore of the (eapons. +veryone (as re*indedof the sa*vartaka fire (hih takes plae at the ti*e of annihilation.>12?

& 9 &

5he tehnial apparatuses of nulear (ar blend into anient and *ythial narrative: insi!ht into thestruture of *atter leads to (orld destrutionJ to see into the ori!in is to brin! about the end. )nd so the

*ythi the*e of reurrent (orlds, as elaborated by 6anu and translated by 1"? -hat is the relationship, a-e, bet(een the uanti4ed and ualified sub%ets of physis and lan!ua!eN -hat is the relationshipor the differene bet(een a *aterial (orld and a si!nifiant (orldN

By the t(entieth entury, physis had beo*e a siene on its o(n, not an aspet, as it (as for

esartes and 7e(ton, of the (ider field of natural philosophy. Physis had beo*e essentially a


31/94

*athe*atial eplanation of the *ost funda*ental dyna*is of bodies and heat. -ith the disovery

and alulation of subato*i partiles, the *ission of *athe*atial desription and predition hit a

sna!. 7iels Bohr and -erner @eisenber! disovered and then for*ali4ed the fat that the ations and

reations of subato*i partilesthose oy*oroni o*ponents of an indivisible ele*entould notbe predited. ne had to resort to statistial probabilities of the kind that (ould be used to desribe and

predit the ations and reations of hu*an populations. 5he unertainty priniple postulated by

@eisenber! eplained (hy any atte*pt to *easure both the speed and position of a partile (ouldinevitably alter (hat it atte*pted to deter*ine. Physis appeared to have reahed the li*its of its ability

to desribe (ithout alterin! the physial (orld.

Presented (ith both the apparently illo!ial behavior of *atter at its *ost ele*entaleatly (here

one (ould epet it to be least o*ple and *ost *ehanialBohr and @eisenber! be!an to onsiderthe philosophi onseuenes of (hat they had disovered. Bohr and @eisenber! (ere espeially

interested in the (ays in (hih uantu* physis sho(ed the li*itations of ordinary lan!ua!e and thus

the li*itations of our ordinary apaity for understandin!. Bohr told @eisenber!,

there an be no desriptive aount of the struture of the ato*J all suh aounts *ustneessarily be based on lassial onepts (hih, as (e sa(, no lon!er apply. Lou see that

anyone tryin! to develop suh a theory is really tryin! the i*possible. 3or (e intend to say

so*ethin! about the struture of the ato* but lak a lan!ua!e in (hih (e an *akeourselves understood.>1?

Both understood that this (as not si*ply a proble* (ith ;er

& 1 &

*an or +n!lish or anish: it onerned the basi intelletual si!nifiane of their (ork. -hen@eisenber! asked Bohr ho( they ould ever hope to understand ato*s if they had no lan!ua!e for

the*, Bohr responded: =' think (e *ay yet be able to do so. But in the proess (e *ay have to learn

(hat the (ord Aunderstandin!A really *eans.= 'n other (ords, the lon! and often interrupted history of

ato*is*, (hih be!an (ith speulation and a*e into its o(n throu!h hard alulation andeperi*entation, (ill have the effet of transfor*in! usthe (ay 0os )la*os (ould transfor*

ppenhei*er. 5ehnial sophistiation *ay, for a ti*e, *ake basi uestions like this see*

uni*portant, but they al(ays have a (ay of returnin!.

Bohr, +instein, and @eisenber! all reali4ed that physisA seession fro* philosophy in the seventeenthentury ould not last. ine the li*its of purely desriptive and preditive siene had been reahed,

these *odern physiists (ere fored bak into philosophi refletion. +instein *aintained that uantu*

physis (as an ino*plete theory and thus atte*pted to reestablish the pro%et of lassial physis by%oinin! the theory of relativity (ith it to for* a ;rand Unified 5heory. @eisenber! developed a subtly

skeptial philosophy of representation (hih *aintained the pro%et of uantu* physis but ad*itted

its provisional nature. )nd Bohr be!an to supple*ent the )ristotelian lo!i of nonontradition (iththe 5aoistinfluened onept of =o*ple*entarity,= the idea that a sin!le physial pheno*enon an be

represented aurately in utterly opposin! (ays that for* a tait unity. 5he fat that li!ht ould be

understood both as a (ave and a partile (as not a ontradition (hih indiated that one or both ofthese *odels had to be (ron!: it pointed to a deeper priniple (ithin nature, the interpenetration and

reiproity of opposites.

But it (as +r(in hr8din!er (ho sa( in the paradoial findin!s of uantu* physis a parallel (ith

the teahin!s of the ?4anisha"sand the/hagava"FGita. Before doin! the (ork that earned hi* the7obel Pri4e in 19"", hr8din!er had (ritten a short philosophial treatise entitled See- for the Roa"


32/94

D192E (hih ontests the -estern de*and that all *etaphysial thinkin! be dis*issed. uh a *ission

is itself a tran

& 2 &

sendental !esture, sine it presu*es that sientifi kno(led!e is not itself produed and represented in

!enerali4in!, (hih is to say *etaphysial, (ays. =)ll that is apt to happen is that (e replae the !randold *etaphysial errors (ith infinitely *ore naiveand petty ones.=>1? 'n the sa*e vein -hiteheadde*onstrated that sientifi thou!ht (as do*inated by (hat he alled the =fallay of *isplaedonreteness,=>1G? the naive faith in a orrespondene bet(een intelletual for*s and =brute *atter.=

hr8din!er believed =that to !rasp the basis of pheno*ena throu!h lo!ial thou!ht *ay in all

probability be i*possible, sine lo!ial thou!ht is itself a part of pheno*ena, and (holly involved inthe*. . . . 0o!ial thinkin! brin!s us up to a ertain point and then leaves us in the lurh.=>1$?

)nd this is preisely (hat he and other physiists reali4ed in subseuent years: the nature of a physial

pheno*enon depended on (hat instru*ents or (hat lo!i one applied to it. hr8din!er eplained in

his 7obel )ddress D19""E that uantu* physis left one (ith this onlusion:

+ither this or that DPartile *ehanisEand

5his as (ell as that D-ave 6ehanisE.>1H?

uh a onlusion, in lo!ial ter*s, (as nonsense: the entire (ei!ht of -estern rationality (as opposed

to it.

3or hr8din!er this dile**a onfir*ed his o(n deep skeptiis* about lo!iAs ability to represent thedeep struture of the (orld. @e assu*ed that above all else, the (orld of *ind and ob%ets, (ords and

referents, (as essentially and neessarily a sin!le *anifestation of Brah*an. 0o!ial ontraditions do

not reveal the li*its of the possibleJ they reveal the li*ited uses of lo!i.

uppose, hr8din!er (rites, that you are sittin! on a benh in the *ountains, re!ardin! the landsape

=in the last rays of the departin! sun.= Lou *i!ht (ell think, in this *o*ent, of ho( the *ountainseisted before you a*e into the (orld and (ill ontinue to eist after you have eased to eist. )

hundred years before, perhaps so*eone else sat at this spot, !a4in! (ith the sa*e =a(e and yearnin!=at the t(ili!ht sene. But, hr8din!er asks,

& " &

>ashe so*eone elseN -as it not you yourselfN -hat is this elf of yoursN -hat neessaryondition for *akin! the thin! oneived this ti*e intoyouand not so*eone else, %ustyouand not so*eone elseN . . . -hat %ustifies you in obstinately disoverin! this differene

the differene bet(een you and so*eone else(hen ob%etively (hat is there is the sameN

Clearly (e annot *aintain this infinite uestionin!, eept by appealin! to the *odern belief that the

e!o is an artifat of the body and the ultural fores that surround it. 'n *o*ents suh as this, (hen oneuestions persistently and naively the basis of oneAs self and the i"eaof the self, (e o*e to see, =in aflash, the profound ri!htness of the basi onvition in Fedanta . . . this life of yours (hih you are

livin! is not *erely a piee of the entire eistene, but is in a ertain sense the whoe.=

5o reali4e suddenly that one does not o(n oneAs life, that one has no title to it, has been desribed asboth an estati and a fri!htenin! eperiene. 'n suh *o*ents of =dereali4ation= one reali4es that

every eperiene is o*pounded by *e*ory, that our individuality shi**ers on the bakdrop of


33/94

*ortality like an optial illusion, a moir5effetJ this is ourMoira, or fate. 't is throu!h suheperienes of the unonsious, suh instanes of an aidental psyhi arhaeolo!y, that the individual

sees throu!h the fitions of partiulate eistene into the prehistory of our o(n feelin!s: =5he elf is

not so *uh in-e"(ith (hat happened to its anestors, it is not so *uh the produt, and *erely theprodut, of all that, but rather, in the stritest sense of the (ord, the )6+ 5@'7; as all that: the strit,

diret ontinuation of it, %ust as the elf a!ed fifty is the ontinuation of the elf a!ed forty.=>19? )nd

hr8din!er insists that this vie( is not %ust *etaphorially, but iteraytrue: the partiulate self is, inatuality, also a (ave.

5hree years before ppenhei*erAs epiphany at 0os )la*os, the lin!uist Ben%a*in 0ee -horf eplored

the relations bet(een physial and verbal reality in a re*arkable and propheti essay published by the

5heosophial oiety of 6adras. upposin! that lan!ua!e and *atter (ere aspets of an idential=C)U)0 -0,= -horf (rote,

& &


34/94

re!ard suh books sornfully, althou!h they reo!ni4e that the founders of uantu* physis are lar!ely

responsible for the o*parison of a hi!hly tehnial physis and an arane and forei!n (isdo*

literature. ather than *erely dispara!in! =*ystiis*=(hih of ourse is at the enter of all reli!ions

22? Bernstein is

ri!ht to point out that the parallel is a funda*ental ate!ory error. 5he behavior of uanta an hardly

de*onstrate anythin! funda*ental about the (orld of lar!esale ob%ets like annon balls and hu*anbrains. 5he peuliarity of subato*i partiles is preisely that they behave differently than the lar!er

bodies desribed by 7e(tonian 0a(s. o uantu* physis annot say *uh of relevane about vast

onepts like Brah*an and )t*an, or the elf and the Universe.

5he real the*e of suh books and thinkin! is *ytholo!ial in nature and o*pass: it onerns areoniliation of the o**unal validity of siene and the private si!nifiane of (isdo*, and is as

(ell a historial ro*ane (herein the -est and the +ast are reunited in a sin!le, and !lobal, insi!ht into

reality. 5he illustration in CapraAs book (hih %utaposes anskrit sriptures and euations fro*uantu* physis i*plies this har*oni4ation of alulation and (onder, tehniue and (isdo*. 5he

oneit offered by Bohr and hr8din!er reverses an i*perial senario (herein startled +uropean

adventurers disover in the heart of )sia not the outlandish and alien, but their o(n ulture, as 2"? )rrian reounts

that lon! before rossin! the 'ndus, )leander had affeted riental lothes, fri!htenin! his offiers.

)nd (hen he reahed 'ndia he spoke (ith the yo!is to learn so*ethin! of their philosophy and their

*editative praties. )rrian onludes dryly that )leander epressed interest in and respet for the*,but that they affeted hi* not in the sli!htest.>2?

Before and after )leander, the -estern %ourney +ast is a the*e of both speulation and report. id

Plato, and before hi* Pytha!oras, !o to 'ndiaN )nd did


35/94

3ree*asonry dediated to ertain priniples of the +nli!hten*ent: the brotherhood of *an, a deisti

and nonsetarian divinity, and the *oral and *asoni priniples of

& $ &

upri!htness and suareness. But the 6asons also lai*ed an anient herita!e, a herita!e linkin! the

*edieval !uilds responsible for the ;othi athedrals to the builders of the Pyra*ids, the @an!in!;ardens of Babylon, and the tupas of 'ndia. 5hus beneath the evidently different *ytholo!ies and

ultural for*s ran!in! fro* the subontinent to +!ypt, one sin!le Craft an be traed. 5he tehnialvalues of the +nli!hten*ent and the nineteenth entury (ere thus infused (ith arane si!nifiane

i*plied by the plu*b line, the suare, the level, and the o*pass. 5his speulative aspet of 6asonry

thrived as the lod!es lost touh (ith any atual raft or profession. 'n its plae, *iddle lass andaristorati *e*bers alike (ere induted into the Kni!hts 5e*plar, the Feiled Prophets of the

+nhanted eal*, the ;rand rient of 3rane, the Crypti ite, the )nient )rabi rder of the 6ysti

hrine, the rder of the +astern tar, and *any others (orld(ide. 5he 6asons (ere dediated to

*aintainin! the traditions linkin! +ast and -est, sientifi and esoteri kno(led!e. )ordin! to the6asoni historian . 3. ;ould, =their prospet of revelations, deeper and deeper at every sta!e, fostered

a hope to reah a supre*e !oalthe absolute (isdo* (hose seret (as supposed to have been brou!htfro* the +ast.=>2?

)n espeially su!!estive di!est of this thinkin! an be found in 3ree*asonsA @all, a short (alk alon!Copti treet south and then east of the British 6useu*. 5he to*blike buildin! reveals very little to the

uninitiated: the (alls are hi!h and severe, its doors tall, bron4e, and (ithout knobs or handles, its steps

leadin! no(here unless one is ad*itted. )nd above the doors, !raven in stone, are the (ords: =)U'.F''. 5)C+.= 0isten, look, and be silent: the teahin!s of the Craft are evident in the arhiteture of

the 3ree*asonsA @all in front of you. 't thus beo*es an arhetype of all *ysti soieties, %ust as it

evokes 7oahAs )rk, olo*onAs 5e*ple, and every other enlosure (hih represents the (hole (orldreated by (hat the 6asons all the 3irst Builder, the !reat )rhitet of the Universe.

'n Kiplin!As =5he 6an -ho -ould Be Kin!,= t(o for*er soldiers, seein! the triu*ph of *odernbureauray in British

& H &

'ndia, set out to onuer a ountry untouhed by oloni4ation, a land Kiplin! alls Kafiristan. Both(ay(ard 0od!e *e*bers of the 6asoni rder, aniel ravot and Peahy Carnehan disover in

Kafiristan a lost re*nant of their Brotherhood. -hen ravot tries the 3ello( Craft ;rip on a native it is

ans(ered. )fter he has donned his 6asoni apron, a priest overturns an idol and disovers =the6asterAs 6ark, sa*e as (as on ravotAs apron, ut into the stone.=>2G? 5hey soon onlude that the

alert natives are =sons of )leander= or perhaps the =0ost 5ribes, or so*ethin! like it, and theyAve

!ro(n to be +n!lish.= -ith these redentials, ravot beo*es Kin! and Carnehan his Co**anderinChief. 0eavin! 'ndia beause it has beo*e too onstrited by British bureauray, the t(o adventurersfind, in the (astes of an +urasian plain too obsure even to have inspired -estern *ytholo!ies, Britain,

)nient ;reee, and 'sraelall a(aitin! reo!nition and reunion.

'n


36/94

o*panions, han!ri0a is an ideal, =+astern= solution to the proble*s of life. e*oved fro* the

stresses and violene of a (orld *ovin! to(ard (ar, the inhabitants of han!ri0a en%oy the natural

splendors of their valley and a re*arkable health and lon!evity. Con(ay is fasinated and sedued by

han!ri0a, only to disover that the ;rand 0a*a, this para!on of riental insrutability, is a Bel!ianin"ow. /ut there,in the southern s-y, 4ure as the ines on the 4am of a besse" han", the cear s4ar-ing M.that stan"s for Mothers. . . .ilke, uino +le!ies

n


37/94

& G1 &

elestial brilliane. 3or before both ;reek and 0atin (ords (as the early *ytholo!ial insi!ht that this

dense path of stars (as like spilt *ilk: it (as, so the ;reeks i*a!ined, the *ilk of hea Das in the

;reek, rheo, to flo(E %etted into the sky (hile she sukled her son eus.

'n 5intorettoAs =5he ri!in of the 6ilky -ay,= this nursery tale is told differently. @ere it is not heaAs,but @eraAs breasts (hih %et *ilk into the sky. eus brin!s his son @erales, by )l*ene, to @eraAs

breasts so that he *i!ht beo*e i**ortal. 5intoretto i*a!ines the sene in an a*bi!uous (ay, for @era

see*s overtaken, like one of eusAs *any onuests, but she also see*s to aept her husbandAsbastard. )s eus holds the infant, %ets of *ilk fro* one unsukled breast shoot up(ard to for* ten

stars, and fro* the other do(n(ard to inse*inate the terrene lily. 5hus @eraAs *ilk, like eusAs se*en,

has a !enerative and disse*inatin! fore upon reation. -here eusAs e*issions insribe his o(n

narratives (ithin the natural history of the (orld, @eraAs produe the para!ons of aspiration and purity:the 6ilky -ay and the lily establish and orient hu*an atte*pts to transend the *erely sensual and

eroti. @erales (ill, despite eusAs attentions, die a painful death for his o(n infidelities, but the

overflo(, the eess fro* this bi4arre atte*pt to steal i**ortality, establishes the elestial and earthlye*ble*s of lon!in!.

5he (onderin! urbanite is likely to kno( little of this: he (ill kno( that he is lookin! at a !alay, oneof a ountless nu*ber. 3or this is a persistent feature of sientifi *ytholo!ies: (onder alls for

o*putation and o*putation indues (onder.

-hen to(ard the end of ?ysses0eopold Bloo* and tephen edalus onsider =5he heaventree ofstars hun! (ith hu*id ni!htblue fruit,= it is Bloo* (ho is !iven to alulation. 5he sientifi atehis*

reounts his

6editations of evolution inreasin!ly vaster: of the *oon invisible in inipient lunation,

approahin! peri!ee: of the infinite latti!inous sintillatin! unondensed *ilky (ay,disernible by dayli!ht by an observer plaed at the lo(er end of a ylindrial shaft ### ft

deep sunk fro* the surfae to(ards the entre of

& G2 &

the earth: of irius Dalpha in Canis 6aiorE 1# li!htyears D$,###,###,###,### *ilesE distant

and in volu*e 9## ti*es the di*ension of our planet: of )rturus: of the preession of

euinoes: of rion (ith belt and setuple sun theta and nebula in (hih 1## of our solarsyste*s ould be ontained.

)nd as his *editations are driven ever out(ard in order to o*prehend the i**ensity of (hat (e no(

all =outer= spae, he is, as if by a la( of physis, led to

*editations of involution inreasin!ly less vast. . . . f the eons of !eolo!ial periods

reorded in the stratifiations of the earth: of the *yriad *inute ento*olo!ial or!anieistenes onealed in avities of the earth, beneath re*ovable stones, in hives and

*ounds, of *irobes, !er*s, bateria, bailli, sper*ata4oa: of the inalulable trillions of

billions of *illions of i*pereptible *oleules ontained by ohesion of *oleular affinityin a sin!le pinhead: of the universe of hu*an seru* onstellated (ith red and (hite bodies,

the*selves universes of void spae onstellated (ith other bodies, eah, in ontinuity, its

universe of divisible o*ponent bodies of (hih eah (as a!ain divisible in divisions of

redivisible o*ponent bodies, dividends and divisors ever di*inishin! (ithout atualdivision till, if the pro!ress (ere arried far enou!h, nou!ht no(here (as never reahed.>1?


38/94

5he astrono*ially i**ense and the infinitesi*al have this odd o*pliity: the 4eros *ultiply to a

point (ell beyond the apaity of people, (ho !enerally have diffiulty reallin! *ore than seven

di!its, to visuali4e or oneptuali4e the*. 5hus Pasal, the first person to be fri!htened by the

i**ensity of the heavens and one of the first to desi!n a *odern o*puter, (as led to link infiniment4etit et infiniment gran". )nd it is throu!h these di44yin! alulations that Bloo*, like anyone else,onsiders (ith astonish*ent ho( =the years, three sore and ten, of allotted hu*an life for*ed a

parenthesis of infinitesi*al brevity.= -hat plae has a hu*an life in this beehive of 4erosN'f *odern sientists, like Bloo* or the enthusiasts (ho dra*ati4e their refletions on television, aredriven to alulate the inalulable or enu*erate the innu*erable, this is beause -esterners have been

partiularly prone to onfuse the eternal

& G" &

(ith the infinite. 'n an anti*etaphysial a!e it (ould be inevitable that eternity, the idea of an eistene

(ithout respet to the fition of 5i*e, should be linked to an endless pro!ression of 4eros, to 'nfinity.

'nanted like a *antra, (ords like =billions of billions= nevertheless serve as a perfetly seularinvitation to onsider sared the*es like the Creation, the )poalypse, and +ternity. )nd yet this

enu*eration is nothin! *ore than the *arkin! of dei*als by the onsu**ate fi!ure of nullity, the

4ero. 't should not be surprisin! that the 4ero, usually attributed to )rab *athe*atiians, ori!inated in

'ndia (ith the philosophy of endlessly rene(in! universes and the yo!i and *editative approahes toreality and eternity as e*ptiness Dunyata>V? E.

3or no one has ever oo-e" at the stars, if one *eans by that an ob%etive or an i*passionedinspetion. =5o look at= is a fi!ure of speeh (hih presupposes a disarded theory of optis (hih

holds that our eyes e*it rays of li!ht to(ard pereived ob%ets. 5o see the stars, to be looked at by thestars, is to be penetrated and illu*inated by starli!ht. 'f the neurons in our brains, as ir Charlesherrin!ton has su!!ested,>2? ould be o*pared to the 6ilky -ay, perhaps that is beause for every

star in the !alay there is approi*ately one neuron in our brains: approi*ately 1#11, or one trillion.

>"? 5his is of ourse less a si!nifiant orrelation, or even a =oinidene,= than a traditionalobservation of the orrespondene of the *iroos*os and *aroos*os. 5he orrespondene itself is

less si!nifiant than the fat that sientists, (ho affet an i**unity to the lure of seret sy**etries andparallels, should have *ade it.

5he relationship bet(een the !alay of stars and so*e inner priniple of the elf Dthe soul, destiny,

onsiene, the brainE (ould appear to be the *etaphori ais of any atte*pt to understand *anAs plae

in the universe. =5he fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that (e are underlin!s.=CassiusAs re*arks, even (hile denyin! the tenets of astrolo!ial destiny, situate the very notion of a

truthful understandin! of *en and (o*en as *etaphysial bein!s (ithin a ertain astral ontrat. 3or

ho( is one to !rasp this obvious

& G &

but ne!leted relationship bet(een an infinitely alien (orld represented by the satter of stars on a

su**er ni!ht and the inti*ate and yet so*eho( elusive =self=N

-hether one searhes throu!h sientifi, philosophi, or *ytholo!ial soures, one (ill al(ays find

ele*ental and *etaphysial assertions about the nature and position of people in relation to the stars.6odern sientifi theory holds, (ithout the sli!htest ro*anti e*bellish*ent, that our bodies are the

re*nants of the ori!inative astral eplosion alled the Bi! Ban!. -e are, to be ety*olo!ially preise, a


39/94

disaster D"is I astroE, a fallin! out (ith, or fallout fro*, the stars. But lon! before siene deter*inedthat this ori!inative disaster (as the ori!in of the universe, the ;nostis had postulated that hu*an

bein!s =fell= into their bodies the (ay li!ht falls fro* the stars into the earth. @ans ? +l Chatibi of the @arranites, as ited by


40/94

& GG &

u*ents of ;nostiis*, Platonis*, and Genesisthere is an ele*ental story to be deiphered in the fall ofstarli!ht. 't is there one (ill read the pretet for !ods, invisible or plentiful, hidden in the depths of

spaeJ of influenes, benefiial or *alevolent, onealed in starsJ of desires, enraptured or fri!htened,provoked by the parado of distane and i**ediay.

5he fi!ure of a person rapt in onte*plation of the stars reveals a refine*ent of the onventions of

inti*ay, (hih are too often assoiated (ith ats of introspetion. 5o onfront the oean or a desert

any inuiry into the vastsee*s to have, paradoially, an aura of the private. 'n the )r!entine fil*

Man *acing Southeast, direted by +liseo ubiela, an in*ate in an asylu* (hose presene annot beaounted for in the roster of patients perplees the (eary psyhiatrist by his prolon!ed vi!ils in the

ourtyard. Un*ovin! as a sphin !a4in! into spae and ti*e, this aseti and intent *an re!ards the

southeastern skies, his head at a fied and un(averin! an!le, in apparent antiipation and o**union.-hen he eplains to the psyhiatrist that he is an alien fallen fro* the sky, it see*s as if the

psyholo!ial *etaphor of =alienation= is si*ply bein! enlivened in a literal (ay. But the alienAs effet

on his fello( in*ates han!es the psyhiatristAs *ind: they follo( the alien about, disern his po(erfulbut *eriful presene, and are soon o*in! to hi*, not the physiian, to onfess their sins and be

healed. oon the dotor beo*es onvined that the alien is indeed a kind of fallen !od, a =yberneti

Christ= (hose !rae is onveyed in the *ediu* of a holo!ra*.

't is this traditional ;nosti the*e of fall and the lon!in! for return (hih *akes his alienness sofa*iliar to the *ad*en (ho !ather around hi*. 5heir o(n alienation allo(s the*, rather *ore uikly

than the disenhanted psyhiatrist, to reo!ni4e that rontesAs ondition is their o(n. 5hus as the alien

ontinues to !a4e at the stars, he beo*es *ore hu*an, until his ori!ins, real as

Documents

Memory Persistence