the iĄaculty oÍ' Graduate Ątudies April, L96[ - MSpace at the ...

I
Lk ^,- ) ø
has fu-sed his con"ùr"olled iO.eas in'to a.n itn;oressionistic
pa[fern i'¿hiclt v¿itl ]aber inÍ'orrn ihe inooci and s,oirii of
the f irst, book.
iijere it no'b foi: ihi-s pr.elud.e, the iropact of the
first book of' the trilogy r'¡oulci nof 'oe as forceful.
The sense of directeci pu-rpose a.nd eiernaL vah:es behind
the external f'ori-ns of iruma.n societ-1r v¡ou-Ici not be so
a,onarenl; nor, once I,{e have oerceived- then¡ as revealing
of the Bildu_qg of l'aracelsus. 'fhe prelud.e has introclu-ced
arnong the forces of human experi.ence the pr:ì-or claiin oí
;jpirii upon exj-stence. It h¿rs f'orecast the iasks v¡hj-ch
i,vilI confront the )rounß theophra.stu-s (Paracelsu-s) in the
firsi book: intuitlve perception of an eternal inr^¡a.rd
valu.e t Tê-esta-blislr-inerit o.i ihe maligned spirit, ancl the
redu-ction to und-erstandable terms of t,hose forces v.¡hich
have been r"encl.ered incomprehensible by human sophisti-
caiion and blind.ness.
'l'hese pro'r:Iens presup;oose the posì-ng of a o,ueslion
tnfhen tire young rninci of Paracelsus begins to probe ifs
r,vorld-. Incì.eed, this prelucie, viiih its fiLtered- light
bha-t effaces t,he sha.rp distinction beti¡een blacl< and'
wliite, insists ui:on Nhat very ;oossibility'
The secono prel-ude dr,veIIs on
three f igu.::es ! Ehe Si;url4.jãger, .''üho
+1^^
is
aspects of
an extensiorl of