Beelzebubs-Tales-to-His-Grandson-by-G-I-Gurdjieff

of three-brained beings nearby, it instantly and completely destroys theirexistence, or at least permanently damages the functioning of one or anotherpart of their common presence."The second of the chemical substances I enumerated, called 'aniline,' is acoloring matter that can be used for the dyeing of most of those surplanetaryformations from which the three-brained beings there make all kinds ofobjects needed in the process of their ordinary being-existence."Although thanks to that 'invention,' your favorites can now dye any objectany color they wish, yet how long these dyed objects last—ah, just here liesburied their famous Bismarck's 'pet cat. '"Before that maleficent aniline was invented, the objects produced by yourfavorites for their ordinary existence, such as, for instance, 'carpets,' 'pictures,'and various articles of wool, wood, and leather, were colored with simplevegetable dyes, which in the course of centuries they had learned how toobtain, and these objects would last from five to ten or even fifteen of theircenturies But now, thanks to this aniline, or to dyes with other names thathave this aniline as their base, all that remains of these objects after thirtyyears or so is only the memory of them."And owing to this maleficent aniline, the beings of the community ofGermany have been responsible not only for the rapid destruction of theproducts of all the contemporary beings, but also for the nearly completedisappearance of articles from ancient times from the face of that ill-fatedplanet."And this was because, for various hasnamussian purposes and for theirfamous, as they call them, 'scientific aims,' they set about collecting thesurviving ancient productions from all centuries and, not having the least ideaof how to preserve ancient objects, they only hastened their destruction More-