4. The Magus

Eliot approached the Magus somewhat tentatively, but the latter spared him having to attract his attention by turning fully around - he seemed to have been aware for some time of Eliot's approach - and fixed him with a severe look, though nevertheless for the first time with a perceptibly friendly look in his eye.

"You're cold and hungry, Stearns. Come, I'll show you where there is shelter."

Night had fallen fully by now, and Eliot gladly followed the Magus' courteous beckoning gesture. They went a little way along the river bank to a thick stand of trees, and as they entered this together Eliot found it was up against a small rock face; and in that was the mouth of a small cave, enough to make a very passable fireplace. He was delighted to see a cheerful fire was burning in it, throwing warmth back out into the tiny clearing; and with a sign the Magus bade him sit down on a couch of dry moss and leaves which was there; while Standalf sat on one conveniently opposite.

"Time for tea, eh ?" he said , getting up and putting a kettle to boil on a frame over the fire. It soon began to sing invitingly; Eliot was reviving more every second. The Magus produced two big mugs from the cave with teabags in them, and poured the steaming liquid into them once it was ready, merely remarking:

"Yorkshire tea, ofcourse. It's grown east of Leeds, you know."

Eliot found this rather improbable, but was in no mood to argue. The Magus checked that the tea was properly brewed with care and skill, and being satisfied that it was took the teabags out carefully with his fingers, discarding them on a little compost heap at the side of the clearing. Then he added the milk, and a generous measure of brown sugar in each mug. He waved the spoon at Eliot after stirring:

"Coffee spoons is more your style, I think ? Well - needs must when the devil calls an idle tune; and I should know because the one those fool Christians have traduced as the devil is my father !"

Then he handed Eliot the mug without further ado. The tea was glorious ! The Magus produced a bag from his cloak, and in it was some sort of delicious-looking, thick rich brown gingery cake.

"Parkin !" explained Standalf to the hungry poet. "That'll keep you going."

Eliot ate it gratefully. It dried the mouth rather and was therefore quite hard to swallow, but the tea took care of that. The Magus seemed to have thought of everything.

So they sat on their moss couches in the little clearing by the bright fire, all snug and safe and feeling remote from the harsh world and its cares; at least for a brief moment. Standalf began to speak, or as the Anglo-saxons used to put it, opened his word-hoard:

"Well, Stearns, I know all about your strange encounters. I chanced upon Odin's Ravens and they told me: they saw it all."

He paused to eat a bite of parkin and took a swig of tea to wash it down.

"What I would say about those is, don't worry about them; pass on by ! People are strange, and many riddles are not worth the effort of trying to solve."

He suddenly looked Eliot right in the eye and said,

"You need to concentrate."

Then he became reflective again:

"No, no, forget 'em, balleucas to them ! I was waiting for you in fact because I want to talk to you about something far more fundamental. You see, I am trying to evolve a description of all the most basic human needs, drives and attributes. You could say it fascinates me precisely because I'm not fully human. Well, I've got my list as it stands up to now," -

- he took a piece of parchment out of his cloak and passed it across to Eliot -

" - and I would be grateful if you'ld cast an eye over it and tell me what you think. Any comments, anything you think's been omittted, any lacunae, anything not sufficiently basic, anything obscure you want amplifying. I know what it means as far as I'm concerned, but does it make sense to the general reader ?"

He looked at Eliot directly again for emphasis.

"Who in this case you represent."

He fell silent, and Eliot, who was experiencing a pleasant repletion and delightful warmth from the fire, shifted comfortably on his moss couch and studied the list he had been handed.

Suddenly the Magus struck up again:

"Before you get deeply into it, I would offer a few more remarks. You will note that I have not included the Matt-a-pillar's thing about the universal belief in goats. That is surely based on a mis-hearing or a mis-spelling, or some strange private joke. He can be like that." The Magus paused. "He is quite genuinely eccentric, you know, but he also plays up to his reputation for it sometimes. He's prone to monomania as well, which is odd given how diverse his interests are. He knows these are my opinions, and would not mind me telling you . . . . nor would it stop me if he did ! . . . . oh yes, and if you're wondering where I get my inspiration from for things like this," the Magus went on with a slight smile; Eliot was startled; how the deuce could Standalf know that that was precisely what he was wondering about at that moment ? - "well, I simply try and keep my mind clear, and watch and wait for the messages coming in. Now, read - "

Eliot did as he was asked, and turned his attention fully to the list. The parchment was thick to the touch, and on it was written in green ink in beautiful clear handwriting, the following:


LOVE

HATE

FEAR

GRIEF

ANGER

JEALOUSY

FRIENDSHIP

HUNGER

THIRST

LUST

HEALTH

TOOLS

JOY

SINGING

EXPERIMENT

EMULATION
(= how we learn,
hence)


MENTORS

IMAGINATION

STORIES

CONTACT WITH THE DIVINE
(Exaltation, Transcendence,
Encounter with the numinous)

RELICS

CLOTHES

ADORNMENT

GROOMING

SLEEP

DREAMS

GHOSTS

ANCESTORS

FAMILY

POWER
RECOGNITION
STATUS
BELONGING
PURPOSE (Pilgrimage)
MORALE
HIERARCHY - THE TRIBE
TERRITORY (Boundary Stones)

FOOD
SHELTER

hence

A HOUSE FOR THE GOD

MAKING AND INTERPRETING IMAGES

hence SPEAKING/PAINTING/WRITING

ABSTRACT/SYMBOLIC RELATIONSHIP
TO REALITY - exploring it by these means
- we can only understand things by
representing them




WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE OF THE MAGUS' LIST ?

Stand by for Parts 5 and 6, in which I assure you heartily that events take a most unexpected direction !