33875222 Hebdomeros by Giorgio de Chirico

HEBDOMEROS

HEBDOMEROS
GIORGIO DE CHIRICO

*
IVII'II MONSIEUB [NTBODUCTION DUDBON'S BY JOHN Louise: ADVe:NTUBE ASHBEBY AND OTHEI{ TBANSLATIONS ROBERT METAPHYSICAL BY JOHN WBITINGS ASHBERY, BOURGEOIS, DAMON GOLDWATER, AND KRUKOWSKI, POLIZZOTTI MARK

MCMXCII EXACT CHANCE

CAMBRIDGE

DUDRON (1938): 163 EVENING MONSIEUR SOMETHING IT n." "On Silence." and "I Was in New York" © 1992 Exact Change All Rights Reserved ISBN 1-878972-06-5 Painting by Giorgio de Chirico." "The Survivor of Navarino. IV. and Generals. and XII-XX)." "Dream." "That Evening Monsieur Dudron. V..IPT ftlPT WAS 168 G S FRO FROM FROM MEA THE THE R L Y MAN COLLECTION COLLECTION USC RIP OF OF T S (1911-1 PAUL JEAN 91 5) : 175 205 ELUARD PAULHAN PROTEUS 215 .------------- ~ ---------- CONTENTS Hebdomeros © 1964 Flammarion Originally published in French This edition © 1992 Exact Change Published by arrangement with flammarion Introduction: "The Decline of the Verbs" © 1966 John Ashbery Translation of "The Engineer's Son.. LIKE. "Proteus." "Salve Lutetia." "Statues... VII.~- ~ -. VI." and "Courbet" © 1967. f TIN R. and VIII-XI). lnc. for John Ashbery Translation of "Manuscript from the Collection of Paul Eluard" (I. "The Joy of the Return" (1914-15) Private Collection Exact Change books are edited by Damon Krukowski and designed by Naomi Yang PUBLISHER'S NOTE vii ix INTRODUCTION HEBDOMEROS (1929) 1 FRAGMENTS THE THE FROM THE ERA OF SON HEBDOMEROS (1928): ENGINEER'S OF 121 130 SURVIVOR NAVARINO MONSIEUR DUD RON'S ADVENTURE (1939) 139 FRAGMENTS THAT RELATING TO MONSIEUR DUDRON.. Furniture." "Some Perspectives on my Art." and "It Was Something Like" © 1992 John Ashbery Translation of "Manuscript from the Collection of Paul Eluard" (III. "Manuscript from the Collection of Jean Paulhan." and "Letter to Andre Breton" © 1955 The Museum of Modern Art Reprinted by pennission of The Museum of Modem Art Translation of "Monsieur Dudron's Adventure. 1975 John Ashbery Reprinted by permission of Georges Borchardt. II.

"Monsieur th first time. and "It Was Something Like . which also carried a printer's • from Belgrade." and (II b l.. collected hl.. it was unsigned. as befits Hebdomeros.1 hirico. "That Evening " --are -notably udron . the fragments of what seems to have been another novel Adventure. an li d inside the Four Seasons book. the other translations by 10hn Ashbery. The Monsieur Dudron pieces have been translated II~I. PERSPECTIVES (1925) AND GENERALS ON MY ART YORK (1938) (1935) 255 I W AS IN NEW BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 259 11 • translation of Giorgio de Chirico's novel Hebdomeros was previ- u I published in an edition of 500 copies by The Four Seasons Book ty. n originally • I" 10hn Ashbery." "The Survivor of Navarino...- --- ----------- - ESSAYS AND OTHER WRITINGS PUBLISHED BRETON (1922) 222 224 232 236 IN JOURNALS: 219 LETTER TO ANDRE DREAM ON SALVE SILENCE (1924) (1924) PUBLISHER'S (1927) 243 248 NOTE LUTETIA (1925) COURBET STATUES." were previously published in the journals Art and Literature . To this translation by de Chirico. and the publisher has V n untraceable. calls that no such publisher Its provenance existed at the Fifth Avenue address remains." "On Silence. December 18. SOME FURNITURE." ". II 'ngineer's Son. hn hbery for this edition. Most and Mon- these were all written in French coJlection of his "metaphysical" in ephemeral Dudron's journals published or pamphlets. what authoritative riginally 1111 we have attached a number of other literary and constitute writings. New York. appeared whose introduction to the present as a review in Book Week. in 1966.

I.Andre Breton's Nadja. .. the list of major works of surrealist fiction is almost I OIlIpll"l . WI'"I' II. a language not his own. however. '" iOIl of short prose narratives called The Immaculate Conception.( viii) PUBLISHER'S NOTE and Big Sky. pll' Communist novels. With this work and a few of Aragon's Eugene Richie.in. was "110' I'nrlly" a surrealist. f.l:-l. is probably Hebdomeros. The publisher Dennis and Elizabeth Noble and Flammarion.but which could be of great interest to writers today who . yet it has produced few notable surrealist has aged badly like a solemn put-on.. and Keith and Rosmarie Waldrop for their help in the of this volume. pieces appear information . 1 II De Chirico wrote lit -cade after his genius as a painter had mysteriously evaporated. Mark Polizzotti.w. \ 111. then the term ought to be refined iii illl·lllde him and also to exclude a great deal of drivel that can qualify " urrealism under the famous "automatic writing" clause in Breton's 1111111 i '1'1 o. The translations water"Manuscript by Louise Bourgeois and Robert Gold"Manuscript and "Letter to Andre Breton"- from the Collection of Paul Eluard. wrote with Paul Eluard. If this is true. written II Cior"io de Chirico in 1929 and now at last available in English. and he invented for II.'asion a new style and a new kind of novel which he was not to III-(1." from the Collection of Jean Paulhan. novel. Far better is the col- II"v.·I1I'\'!·lymatters that de Chirico. It should be noted that the Eluard manuscript has been corrected and expanded for this edition using material that was not included most of this material in the Soby book." were previously published INTRODUCTION THE DECLINE OF THE ASHBERY VERBS in James Thrall Soby's Giorgio de Chirico and are reprinted courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art. preparation would like to thank John Ashbery. II .'IIII"'lIli. ""ud intermittently Falsey of the Houghton Library. both as a painter and a writer. Anne-Solange the Museum of Modern Art. The finest of them.. Complete bibliographic dates of composition are indicated in the table of contents. Everything about Hebdomeros is mysterious. can be found at the end of the volume.11 I. the official masterpiece.'m has probably been the most powerful single influence on 111(\ tworuieth-century Iliid By JOHN and nearly all of the remaining here for the first time in English. It . it in French. such as The Peasant of Paris and The Adventures II/ Tclcmachus. and (sometimes approximate) Rodney G.

A ship flying unknown colors has arrived in port. but also the sarcasm of the elite. Revolutions and assassinations. where one least expects them. to his great regret. out.(x) INTRODUCTION fohn Ashbery I('cording to the sum of his experiences. ~nd Melmoth. only of a shifting. But they unfold in such a way that HIli' is eldom conscious of a repetition. a kind of "metaphysician" and situations. are always unexpected -'0 take on a power of persuasion which Lautreamont's ill its insane beauty. the setting a shadowy band of young disciples. de Chirico wrote nothing else which can be called literature. This each time that a creation of a special character obliged him 1111141 dll('('d til What gives Hebdomeros a semblance of plot and structure is the irful way in which leitmotifs are introduced. and the movement of the book as a whole. We are III I iluiving seaport town where Hebdomeros and his friends are living III I ensile. Yet except for a few short fragments. one of IIH' plll:iscngers is a certain Thomas Lecourt who is known locally as . who is committed to evil. "IIIIII'IS. texture.-rcl y through being present. The hypnotic quality of Hebdomeros proceeds from de Chirico's ill('l' . towers. like his painting. to Maldoror." as one critic has said. allow a cinematic the cast of characters stitched together In this through various landscapes alone or accompanied widl semicolons. but especially beyond the good. as James Thrall de Chirico. happened as the prophet renounces his mother." /llid (xi) His actions and pronouncenovel. and and frequently change in mid-clause. form a backdrop against which he moves. with every right. he also has a Socratic strain which sets him apart. and tidal waves. for are trying to extend the novel form." But if Hebdomeros shares the epical moodiness of other romantic supermen of the nineteenth century. IIl1d freedom of narration. The novel has no story. when it was reissued in France. "both Dante Virgil. but which.dible prose style. always passionately agoraphobia-inducing ing. earthquakes. * Like Nietzsche il"ihl : a transparent 1III1I'neal than reality. and all but unknown until 1964. that same elite to which he boasted. who evolves by and It remained unobtainable uuuts . which often is necessary to far-reaching minds. of belonging. His long run-on sentences. dropped and reintrovast emigrations. he was obliged to renounce. Hebdomeros His ancestry can be traced back whom de Chirico statuary. of Africa. II lilliing-a II I . lacks. nllid medium. via Nietzsche. Unlike the hero of Lautreamont's Chants de Maldoror. I'rou tian. r but dense medium containing is sometimes forced to speak in "a language that on any other occasion would have brought upon his shoulders not only the sarcasm of the crowd. IllId Ill' Greece. apparently he set little store by Hebdomeros. bourgeois salons in which the hero feels strangely at III'"H·-these 111101 to isolate himself completely and place himself beyond good and evil. the work has an almost Mahlerian. though it reads as if it did. he is uncommitted: "His theories of life varied *Giorgio de Chirico (New York: The Museum of Modern Art. for the city of Turin-its arcades. visions of the Arctic. Its sole character is Hebdomeros. trivial images or details can suddenly congeal' and take 1111 I admired and with whom he shared an enthusiasm public piazzas are common themes in his early paintSoby has pointed ureater specific gravity. Manfred. orchestrated I"\iur " radually the novel builds up to a long central episode. much as a banal object in a de Chirico rubber glove or an artichoke-can rivet our attention is inobjects that are His language. 1955).

'0 Hebdomeros. Hebdomeros eucalyptus flew by singing. 'I am Immortality.. II 1IIII'd-Lo-definedeity. just hours! I." Hebdomeros father. The noises died down.· illlplying. rather like the one Nietzsche seems always to suddenly fall silent at the sight of the mute. (xiii) "the prodigal son". a prey to new and deeper his penetration. . telling his friends a long tale of his own father. but they illlliioitalily is a female noun with the eyes of the father: she exist. Illi whole vast horizon spoke of everlasting life. Nouns have their gender." recent return of his son had undoubtedly alleviated though unfortunately gives a reception in his honor. dying. the curtains which had billowed out romantically in the open windows sank back again like flags when the wind drops. . and he understood. 0 brother . and one in whom the fantastic fluctuation of Hebdomeros' upvr-mind may finally be contained and resolved. Have you ever thought of my death? Have you ever or rather their sex. decline. or simply neutral. which is marred by an soon leaves this region for new adventures doubts of his superiority.1 l John Ashbery . shuttered villa. he is again alone. thought of the death of my death? Have you thought of my life? One day. and the verbs. weary of their past life and of their present life and of the years that still awaited them. of an . which lies in a park of j 111111 (11111(. and being born again. His deliberate rejection of the work for which the world remem1"'1'1'1 him seems curiously prefigured and perhaps even justified by a 1IIIIIrliI' of passages in Hebdomeros. She spoke of immortality in the great starless night. De Chirico himself has long since vanished inside this immor- 1 ilil ." The not entirely satisfactory has found a perfected form' gress along the road to his father's rnent of the return of the prodigal trees. A joyous parade of citizens cheers him on.ulate whiteness.' alas.(xii) INTRODUCTION and his friends watch his weary provilla. the wind held its breath. and. Suddenly he finds himself with a woman who has "the eyes of his father. I. Men in shirtsleeves who had been playing billiards suddenly stopped playing as though they had become immensely weary. she said.. with their long procession of hours. islands.· »nd the "declining verbs" of living." where "a long sacred procession marvelous of heavenly birds. whose sufferings "the "Though autumn had stripped bare the century-old trees. neither sad nor sunny. of which this is perhaps the most It rounding: A few days later the prodigal's not dispelled. as you once said with much finesse.' " And the book ends with a view of "green islands. sad or sunny. after unfortunate quarrel between two guests who are acting in a pantomime.

HEBDOMEROS .

building looked like a German consulate in Melbourne. stairs on a little Doric column carved out of oak and joined to tI'I1 nile! of the banister stood a polychrome statue. at the foot III .· ." when one's thoughts Hebdomeros had escaped was thinking. smiled and said they found the comparison the subject concluded odd.. The idea that the hllilding resembled a German consulate in Melbourne was a purely I"'IHolial one of Hebdomeros'.'h. dreary atmosphere A faint smell of OIH' ussociates oI. Though it was neither a Sunday nor a or Ille IlIIliduy the shops were closed at the time. which gave to this portion ureet a weary. whereas people in general are not in the least perturbed WIIlHIthey see or read or hear things they find completely 1111' '1'1.l1'. "It's strange. Seen from outside." hcgan to climb the stairs. And then began the visit to that strange building located in an ""lil 'I' Iy respectable but by no means dismal street. which were very wide and made throughof varnished wood.. running up the middle was a carpet. .. Large shops II. melancholy with Anglo-Saxon air..1".k Lip the whole ground floor. and he reflected on the difficulty of making "'"' elf understood . but they im- fllI·ili It Iy dropped and went on to talk about something Ilebdomeros from this that perhaps they had not really reached a certain height or lIud. also carved in wood.'rtitood what he meant. the very would keep me obscure. "as for me. that particular towns on Sundays. I. and when he spoke about it to his friends 11"1 "I I'. hung in the air.." 101"11 'hat something uwukr- my understanding at nights.It'ki-. the indefinable and highly suggestive odor given nll'li warehouses adjoining the wharves in a port. ..

llinn uddenly: Society! Move in society. "Here we are!" said Hebdomeros. They were coming to the threshold of a vast. Hebdomeros dentist..diatorswearing diving helmets were practicing halfheartedly. deserted corridors.ornpanions. the frightening. 11111111 lilt IIl'nand a body covered with scars. should they encounter a particularly strange kind of apparition.. he tried to fight down this uneasiness by reminding himself he was not alone. in the classic pose of a captain prudently halting him a little.·harge of his men. a staircase made of varnished wood with a thick carpet in the middle which muffled his Jootsteps-(in to measure by a shoemaker named Perpignani.(2) representing HEBDOMEROS a Californian Negro with his hands stretched above his felt as though he were going upstairs to visit a in venereal diseases. looking more warily around them. R. like those condor-men Leonardo drew for amusement among his catIIlId Vision of Rome. and looking as if its thoughts were elsewhere. hi h-c ilinged room. "Gladiators! There's an enigma word. (personal delivery).. this perturbed Giorgio de Chirico (3) head. They stayed abreast of one another but moved apart a little so they could get downstairs quickly and freely. II .P. P. Hebdomeros' IIIIIII'U.·ilina III It II"ii" iftemoons in Rome. At that moment Hebdomeros thought of his childhood dreams.D. decorated in the style of 1880. the lighting and I 111'11'11. Live the life of a socialite. ~'" IiW. the leap through the window into empty space (suicide in a dream) and the gliding descent. athletic fellows carrying that two of his friends were with him-strong. which was completely bare of fur- automatics with spare magazines in the pockets of their trousers. its head lowered. as if he were crushing bags of nuts at every step). How to behave. speaking in a low voice to the younger And he thought of the music halls whose brightly conjure up visions of Dante's paradise. plait).'111'. holding aloft a gas lamp whose burner had an asbestos mantle over it. he also thought of 01 liili . in a corner Ii f." said Hebdomeros.. a retired gladiator with eyes like a v IIII·lled by a bored instructor. . in a state of anguish he would be climbing a staircase bathed in a dim light.S. any case even outside his dreams his shoes rarely squeaked for he had them made known throughout the father. Anguish at nightfall. . 111. throwing his arms out in front iii IliH . the immense canopy over the uugrnenting t III ""11 the evening shadows. Then came the apparition of the bear. without standing 1111 lipltH: you could see its complicated entrails and clear-cut internal . 11111 Ii IWelU and blood-soaked other hand. It was a dream which always foretold i II illhie.. Invitation card.illl siood an enormous grand piano with its top up.V. (repondez. relentless bear that follows you on the stairs and along the corridors. when the games would be over for the day I Ille sun sinking lower in the sky. More of those upholstered doors and short. the headlong flight through rooms with complicated exits. a sailor's song. was hopeless when it came to buying shoes. they slowed down and began to climb on tiptoe.. when the world was young. and he felt the onset of something like the colic. his shoes made a horrible noise.reminded one of the gaming rooms at Monte Carlo. When they saw they were coming to the floor which they had been told had a history of being haunted by strange apparitions. or a doctor specializing IIpllllHand anatomical fragments. on the town for the high quality of his leather.'/11 ctiqueue.(llI.1 atmosphere I of this room. In a corner of the drawing III.ornpanions. especially sickness. and smells floating up from sand .

with the wax running hammers. a world apart. (4) anatomy. He was only happy when nobody took the slightest notice 1""1· 10 be dressed like everybody else. piercing or the disaster in Martinique.. attracted served the mysterious reminded 1111 II of the soul. taut like Ulysses' bow. in the inviolability the scene before them really did have an underwater one of large aquaria. as there to be seen. I"""f. But-that II have been if one of those chandeliers in the melogenous stretched domeros. Or else he would have liked people to pay attention 11111 ~ rull to the fuse ofan infernal to make you despair.. to come. lit II Ifl no wish to awaken ~III unk from their admiration. especially 11.1h deep down he felt instinctively ill 'Iilll by other without making a sound. i II' several nights of deep meditation plI. and hindering to his companions. "Better not think about it. for they had never met you.. without by a complicated with his friends in the immorin ghosts and the ele- d. o---. III in a totally different way. in his friends. even if they were ~Iunces. (Translator's in . the original. Yes. people. right away. even to the enigmatic things III IIwls.1 ·kin of the leopard? 111"111 He hated discussions over the whole scene: that pianist sitting at his instrument was nothing about him that deserved out of a drama. they had never heard of the war in the Transvaal any hold over them.--_ . he he also their rancor. in the dreams of this kind. neither prussic they did not recognize you. hissing like damp logs. the little felt-covered turning laden with pink and blue wax down the steel strings. I. But misgivings were aroused with him. and those characters moving around the piano with cups of coffee in their in all things.It silence lay and playing if only on account of the diffused light planet? Do you believe in metempsychosis._ HEBDOMEROS but you could easily imagine what a catastrophe it would Giorgio de Chirico (5) flllVil"Ollment. the only thing to do was to live and let live.ernal questions: 11101 her What is life? What is death? Is life possible of the laws of nature. Moreover. as: Great! Marand eventually those who discussed complex feelings flll!. never '".What a disaster pit. as Heb- ddlil"lIlt to give a reply. question/t-r-wet« they really aliv~? . in what is enigmatic A strange. quail's heads looking through the portholes and watching unobplant and animal life of the deep. in the subconscious about cicadas. of the atmosphere. nothing could disturb them or have acid nor a stiletto nor an armorpounds of lyddite in it bullet.. Hebdomeros the hundred all such exclamations ""I._ __::---. It would have been very to the question." said Hebthen all three of them. animate and inanimate. the precise working of candles had fallen into the piano with all the candles lit. holding looked silently and intently at in a highly always did when his mind was haunted hands as though in the face of danger.h(.1 others' glances piercing his back or sides. '''lflll"lling disasters of dogs. and he knew no way of altering anyIldll' about it.fllTed their high opinion of themselves.) would have burned away slowly.\liMI. they imagined they were passengers IIH' ·I. It was enough held that it was the effect of the II. all these people lived in a world of their own.hlwlI. For that matter. inexplicable "1'''"''. he was afraid of opening a discussion fill Hli scene. hands. 1':". he would have liked that: to note.If a rebel (let's call him that) had had a mind to light machine. they knew nothing about anything.11111'1"0 just like that.IIIS! Wonderful! gave him little or no satisfaction III III it dllll("d him. which eliminated all the shadows. . making the gestures and movements of athletes jumping in slowmotion films. their hysteria. quality to it. the astonishing advanced submarine. that pianist you didn't really see. to attract no attention. ·.'vn.

which had stood on the buffet for ninety-two years.: The closed door would not budge.(6) HEBDOMEROS 1111 W 1M Giorgio de Chirico said and done-apart of looking up-at early Chaldean (7) have all the advantages and satisfaction of being famous but with none of the bother. constantly exposed W to the dangers of storms: Let my arms be your oars and my tresses your ropes. For the great black fishes might swallow you up I It the fathomless depths of the sea. of a thunderclap III \1 Illnl' I" 11. Ex. had caused Hebdomeros half-Byronic. But no one ever went into the adjoining II re was the place of the buffet. and he could not help taking the words of the 1"1 1. swelling ill I h.· would bring down misfortune on these men. with clockwork regularity. And it was true that the pieces were arranged in the form of a trapezoid. It had "" "" o ' . The sea was smooth. Now and then.I 1 11. But nobody moved. iflel' 1'111 ('(:n 1. and when . lip by shame. if you will! Ex.· Ii rht of the setting sun. . as could easily be seen at that moment.urred to Hebdomeros to associate the idea of cockroaches 1111. acute disappointment. Achilles' brother was of the opinion that it was the way on the floor which was largely responsible the pieces were scattered from the fact they were looking down astronomers who kept watch III 1.It. 1111 HII rh I he fine summer nights. The lady of the house (the woman accused by the whole district of being a terror to young Achilles) was the least impressed of all. to the extent of immobilizing them. this was completely untrue.. at black cockroaches in the depths of the empty pots. open sea. The life of a sybarite...". or of paleontologists eagerly looking at a fossil just brought to light by the pick. With the palms of their hands resting on their bent knees and their elbows sticking out as though they were sitting on invisible stools. . and each was putting in his word.: The broken vase was very valuable. Though it was widely believed he was a child-martyr whose cruel mother gave him a beating on the slightest pretext. Between one wave and the was absolute silence and calm.1 III(' idea of fish. nobody accused him. the silver teapot and the dread 'I' Ii I h.'1'1 1MII bad omen for the fishermen. I up toward the stars. . the whole family being gathered together in the middle of the dining room round the broken remains of their cherished vase from Rhodes. lying out on terraces with their heads 111"lI'd 11111111. Let's take the example of the broken vase. perfectly mirroring the sky from the shore. she was the first to break the spell they were under as they gazed. but the two words great and black reminded him III II poi rnant scene. then crashing headlong 'gainst the shore with sliced in two. This was the setting in which IIlIi" . They were staring with the intent interest of archaeologists watching a statue being unearthed. half-Homeric.. as something which sooner or I' . the idea of the sky being turned upside down had mesmerized these good folk.llId that moment they were the worthy colleagues or Babylonian III i110H(. Some said they knew of expert craftsmen who did this kind of work so perfectly that afterward you couldn't see any sign of the break..h. which he had once followed 1'1 "II witnessed toward evening on the rocky shores of an arid island. 111111 gathering speed.l1l1i1 I'OS heard for the first time the entreaty of the fisherman's h AI (irst he thought her husband had already set out in his boat III Ilid Ih . the seven members of the family stared down at the whitish fragments. wave began to form at some distance . They were talking of gluing the pieces together again. for hypnotizing the seven members of the family. like a well-known constellation.

pine trees. then settling their quarrel without coming to blows and offering us one of those magnificent lavishly provided der-in feelings and analyzed was blushing trousers stones. as their lives charms hanging from their watch chains. chasing a playful butterfly as a bush. its only opening could be seen far in the distance especially \ II loword the north. by American French ones. whose emerald waters wearing crumpled. squatting it was a cheerless 1. II II tragedy and catastrophes. I" Ih north (the side diametrically opposite the sea) the horizon This made Hebdomeros down.1 poses of exotic dancers.n who.! ereens and men cut to pieces. Hebdomeros fist fights. 1"'11\'which remained blurred in his mind's eye. 11.11 mountain whose other side sloped down toward the gulf. The later he caught sight of the husband. 1111 ~one to the seaside or the country to escape from the midsummer ill" ""'ii) II' would walk down the Avenue des Citronniers to them talking. He could vaguely studio. This episode feel a vague sadness instead depths Yet he should have been glad at the thought of being devoured But such is human Weare by the great black fish his nets on for nature: we hunger of the sea. bystanders when we come was trying to recall upon a crowd of people in the street and find that it's only a ring of round a hawker selling fountain pens..11. whereas from a discars smashed to smithtance we had been imagining horrible disasters.1111'1' I. rather dirty. of his hut.. one on each arm.. nearer you could see trees. them was saying that sometimes he woke up hungry during the night. quietly for a II Giorgio de Chirico (9) III' had taken to having a large bowl of milk set out on the bedside at night.· Ilright light of that fine October day it was as though the hapless "111 racked by the torture of a never-ending storm.. while behind it flutters behind II. A gust of in his heart. exposing him to view. III II. r nights when the town was almost deserted . . was even more brutish. II "It of .111" with all the purity of a Swiss landscape. III 1111" Illuming with two young ladies of easy virtue. alas!-but by being ashamed IIII1I1.. with their snow-capped peaks sparkling in the sunshine. were warlike and boastful by demigods who. though older. dinner they had together. ururu the door open. when we see two angry people hurling violent insults at each other. or again. white linen waist- '''"1115ina torrent.n blew from the sea had twisted III11111. The fierce winds them into the would-be everything. was quietly mending always disappointed then drank it down at one gulp before going to sleep.(8) Fortunately. he ended III II moment with the absolute wr-r III and as he made his way to the hotel for his evening meal he like a pure young girl who. III thought of all this as he examined this made a rather curious contrast stillness which layover his state of mind. mingled with a \ 11"11 got into bed he took up the bowl. so that the room was lit like an artist's 1111. but who later.1 through this opening III lilill. raising it as though to pour II(. few moments HEBDOMEROS on this occasion his anguish was short-lived. Idillion. In 'III was telling how (its inhabitants at about three sense of disappointment. of the hotel. 111'111 WIIHthe site of the famous caves inhabited 111111 IIl1l1g. coats with elaborate III' Husel and of the bridges over the Rhine. a part of I'IIII'TI a room which had no windows facing the sea. I"jll~ III " In the little garden the goatee beards. in the fathomless the doorstep hut some thirty yards from there. mending 111111" his maid when she came to turn back the sheets I)y II his nets in his fisherman's wind had pushed made Hebdomeros that the fisherman.10111 as he half listened eros.. suddenly comes upon a male adult with his strewn with small polished the two men with One of to satisfy a need as natural as it was urgent.. so no wonof his films and so rare. i. Still further off in the distance majestic moun111111 IIIH('high.

..1<. on the other 111111. The peacocks.'rnal. II II IIu..1.. 1111111'. III Illi unyielding was thinking Areopagites. human being could have summoned to rise and escape from watchful circle. with the nonchalance of Platonic boy-lovers..1 walls of which all those fifty-year-old Ihe 1"ld.41 under the trees of the wild garden. whose main dish was rotting red causing them to writhe all night in that stank of dirty out mullet which poisoned by the midsummer toilets and linoleum. this whole of Herakles bearded warby grinding bitter plants and the art trees. though quality and he had known them by heart with gardens draped in the evening mist. turned into sages and poets and taught their grandcathedral. prostitutes. ulptor had engraved his name and the date of the work. politician holding a stone scroll on S 111111101 statue of the tail-coated Ih\' 11I. igning interest f II.'It when this can be done without difficulty. breasts. a "seismic waves as they broke at regular intervals I".·d 011 their enlarged riors of flawless profiles and virile beauty stood guard. somewhere . moss grew. massive and heavy as a miniaturized bare the century-old vast horizon spoke of everlasting life.'v(. And he yielded to the delight of reliving a bygone the throes of colic as they lay in their hotel rooms on sheets made hot heat.. It would have needed IIt..1 h-bdomeros I I..!'"I' . It was gone now.(10) HEBDOMEROS into the blissful Giorgio de Chirico 111. at a party.i .1I I hioned villa whose long veranda was crammed l sons the art of making medicines Though autumn had stripped 1111 d flowers. with dinners on the beach. 1111111 Olli' I' of tuning the huge lyre. everyone had thrown math' _ I' Ii there in the darkness. There are dwi 1I. Hebdomeros recalled those dinners the bathers.. was a child. It was time to get up and go out. the burning summer. for example. III hour of twilight. drew near. looking as arms were sitting with their Herculean like wrestlers 1111111. posing for a photogcourage "11'1.111. won: of very indifferent 1. That is why Hebdomeros preferred to in all the pictures and objets d'art.artillery at the barracks or was it an earthquake.. \ 11"'1. coastal as he stood in the middle of the room. It was the season when Valtadore out of their boxes and shook off the naphthaline Winds on shore The weather fine Evening storms Of summertime._ IlIf.h conveyed the very peculiar (11) gave heart-rending with plants and wore on and the time for them to cross the threshold kingdom of Life Eternal then.1.l'yone is talking and gesticulating.1 11101"are times when this is much more difficult to do. tails tilt wl. hll. ivy climbed and green took the winter carpets that covered them . that was \ 111. So now the great problem was to get out.." as the newspapers put it? The whole population of the 111_1 ••• '1 wns spending the night in the open." 11"11 "" i\ nd their hostile eyes converged on him like the guns of a '1l1l1dl'OIion an enemy's fort. tombstones 1IIIId' "lay to slip past the guests and take French leave. I. . as they trailed their II I through the windows and arranged them in the main square.. quality of the facade of this 1. Before the shrines in which the sacred moldered and rusted away under sacrosanct when the guests are going in that case it is om to another. in a stifling atmosphere through the open window came the sound of the on the shore. this thought had been nagging at Hebdomeros for some time.h II. .. absorbed by the need to be clever and round weapons "II Illilliuntly the conversations they have begun. Along the brick walls on the side the sun's rays never reached.11(.

"compared to what that town was like on summer nights. was why he spent whole nights sitting up in bed." said Hebdomeros. u veritable ceiling stretching over the town. onized. and countless offerings had been laid on the deserted shores of a sea whose every wave bore thousands and thousands of roses. the sky was as blue as a . as predicted in the books of astrology. after all that. for the north attracted them more than the other points of the compass. only the north existed for them. seeking a fugitive ideal in the midst of so many fellow sufferers. and those who at other times dreamed of the north forgot their reveries. lunds. autumn and spring. this fairly low but wellproportioned looking for all the world like an enormous toy had been finally placed in position. between his pipe and tobacco pouch. Yet. in corded bales. would stand in the peaceful shade of the Or again. with hideous gnomes leering and making threatening waves. every one of the same shape and as alike one another as twins. to end up in this huge glass house. Yes. it was blue all over from top to bottom. "But it's nothing. would have bought and sold merchandise 110 front faced south and so toward the sea. Years of one's youth. HI eping there. or make sculptures of warriors and great politicians so that their effigies. where the wet nurses gathered with their babes. Its the fashion of the day.piece of taut paper. sooner or later. and the children came to lean over it. The youths already old enough 10 chanting: there would be the ocean in a storm. retiring at night into wagons fitted up as traveling homes and which. those children who loved to daydream. they would have traded with neighboring lands. On those days of supreme happiness." It was Parthenand ephebogogized. to govern 'a tles or setting traps baited with black olives for the whistling black- birds-all public affairs or to take sword in hand to defend the sacred soil of their motherland. sometimes sublime or engestures on the foaming crests of the of asgreen. east and west-all sense of direction. At noon in those transitional seasons. along the path slowly walked a woman dressed all in white. Sometimes the solid silver cups and laurel crowns were carried off by ~i rls who sped over the arena like does with feet of bronze. then. And now. or the children still playing at making sand of them would have been called. naked or clothed according 10 side of a path whose edges were shaded by almond trees in blossom. later they would feel the pull of the west as well. her face thoughtful and serious. so white in the moonlight!-and those truly prodigious nights when flowers thrown into the air fell thick and fast. Or yet again. there was doubt about it: all these young people were living in a never-ending . of serenades by the foot of those necropolises. while on the table. in fact-was lind adolescent lost to these young people. gentle slopes rising on either and visions appeared. the children and the youths enjoyed equal status. tired from the day's hunting. pedagogized building. they might have been called upon to explore far-off squares. This. But at such moments it sometimes happened that the back wall opened up like a theater curtain sometimes terrifying. after several failures. and sometimes also you would see a spring landscape tonishing poetry and peacefulness: practice in the palestra. - (12) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (13) Some said that a comet was coming and with it the end of the world. its stem was to the north. his head in his hands. the candle burned down and dripped into strange shapes." -------~ . south. there was no doubt about it: all these young people were living through one of the most moving hours of their lives. the sense of north. these virgin athletes gymnasts at practice running on the shining tracks. it was no whiter near the horizon. to the cries of hyenas and ju ·kals. but for the moment. or else to trade and build. When that happened.

Hebdomeros shunned il in favor of the park where the pine trees grew. the kind of people who could understand him. his house was a cheerful sight. ---- - - -=. nights bathed in the soft light of the moon! I am not struck down by sickness. silhouettes recognized from the street. uuquestionahiy II'(. from being completely Even far into the night. at least). "hoked the unfortunate tree.:-. since too much happiness. And it was work. as the whole city lay sleeping sky. regular daily work. Only in the rest of the city was joy as the workmen feverishly Sunday. senators. under the star-filled speculations. obsessed as they were by the highest metaphysical overwhelmed. but little by little the great concrete buildings IllId sprung up. There were generals. But in this stronghold of the pure in heart there was undiminished strove to have everything ready for the appointed day. and his painters-or do ·tors had forbidden hou e was dying with him. and yet I am going to die!" It was so beautiful. Even when he turned over to take a few minutes' ust. In former days. be they Etruscan couples or landgraves armed . for Nature. musical voice. there was nothing in his attitude reminiscent Ii" on stone sarcophagi. as for him.. for a strange epidemic was raging among them. The lemon trees were already giving off Though the district was now elegant and so much more lively. regular congress of ghosts.-:~- -- (14) HEBDOMEROS Ih Giorgio de Chirico room-a (15) present. hoping to catch them in little-known poses and expressions. wise in all she does (so people say. as though he were trying to convey to a circle of intimate friends. on which the man known as King Lear to habitues of the palace amused himself by spying on the birds. ' - - -~. they were the silhouettes specially for sparrows. would not have let such intense. which prevented all their minds. They were martyred s. impulsive young people. could have weakened the moral fiber of these sensitive. either. ·ndly trees. Lying down on the platform. with its green hutters and its garden. he was singing in his powerful. high mountains and rocky peaks! Fare- whit tnircases ended in a kind of platform. Each one bore a stairway made of wood. Henceforth it was only a matter of hours. so healthy and tonic. he no longer looked like a human being. the day of rest. And now you saw other faces in the of the room a ghosts and t. these spiral which ("'i and. going forward by leaps and bounds. the deep distress of the bandit being taken away to the galleys: "Farewell. like too much sorrow. rather less cheerful. he took snuff to avoid smoking (his him to smoke). slowly but surely their relentless encirclement ruund Ir the now joyless house. the joyful sound of their work resounded advancing. but people said they were ancestral window would open and against the dark background II rur IIC)Lhing but a figment of the imagination. a regular torture-collar III. in muted tones. when his body was strong nnd radiant with health.. over the smiling. sometimes he sang softly. these attractive. rather one painter. Sometimes a would appear. until it allIed up to that memorable afternoon (for they had worked all morning under the scorching sun of a premature summer at the finishing touches and final adjustments to the almost-completed a strong fragrance work). such delicately bred happiness last too long. fertile hillsides tightened c'e)v red with fruit trees. through the interior cloisters. The neighbors no longer recognized one another. he was slowly dying. college.~-"~.--~ ~ " . as motionless u log. from the windows which let in the spring HII n hine the view stretched all around. Everything was progressing. in the lighted winclear enough to be of the people in dows of that house which reminded one somewhat of a town hall or a shadowy figures stood out. But he did not look of those figures that IIIl lik ' a statue. He watched 0111 well. twined round its trunk like a giant snake. so poignant! Meanwhile.

which is why he brought to mind the corpses uncovered at Pompeii. he would think then of the unfortunate polar bears. That was why the platform looked upside down as he lay upon it in watch. and who in ancient statuary represented the source of the richness of lands. alas. In general he considered birds' heads as bad omens. the explorer would muse as he gazed at the great wingless genii lying on the clouds. These thoughts came to him mostly when he was in the garden . Nor did he remind one of how near the tract of pines. out of his room whose walls were overed with furs and with photographs depicting ships. or warriors wounded or dying. which were far from being as ·imple as they at first appeared. for there are two of them. with their elbows supported by amphorae lying on their sides. The thought of the grape harvest made Hebdomeros think back to those days. the kind of inn that gave that cheers and refreshes us. A rhinoceros was standing knee-deep and bronze in the farmyard manure heap. a ridiculous partition which merely erved to mark off the different areas. cabbages stood the inn. and the slow. Nor was there anything that reminded one of those old men with flowing beards and gentle eyes. and tears would come to his eyes. Among ·auses us to dwell on immortality and on the theory that nothing is lost. he was becoming plaiformized. desperately clinging to the drifting icebergs. regally reclining among reeds. lying about among the ill-kept flower beds of this melancholy garden there were bronze hoisting-frames pachyderms. And he thought of people in Italy making horns (the devil) for the same reason when they met with something they were superstitiously afraid of. hastily nailed in place to hold up the floor so that it might withstand an impact which would never come. for a crossbeam meant to the strengthen the possible weakness of the planks could only be imagined as being nailed on underneath. his halts in the snow. the cock's head he found less perturbing. as bearers of misfortune. to prevent quarreling among the neighbors and keep them from trampling on one another's and lettuces. arduous process of sailing in the cold waters of the north. that gladiators lay. he recalled his own journ ys. Seen from such close quarters. Across the clear autumn sky sailed great white statuesque ·Iouds. amid which. indecently naked and rivers. I will warm them in mine!" This was the courtesy that gods alone can show! I say gods. Through lying so long on the platform. the hen's took pride of place. It wasn't.(16) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (17) from head to foot. providing their painted or sculptured figures with birds' heads as a homeopathic apprehensions: evil driving out cure for their fears and superstitious evil. he was turning into something like a large piece of undressed wood. it was at such moments that the explorer would come out onto the balcony of his suburban house. lay the wingless genii. in poses of sublime majesty. as black as ink against the whiteness of ice floes. and he was much given to metaphysical in which he thought of quails' heads most of all. He thought of the Egyptians. just as the Roman countryside does on days when the grape harvest is taken in. The enigmatic. the kind of inn that makes us think about the transmigration of souls. sparrows looked really monstrous. alarming quality of the heads of birds had more than once sent Hebdomeros off into complicated soliloquies meditation. yes. everything living on in other shapes and other forms of matter. and behind the wall. there are two: White Neptune and the other birds' heads which made him uneasy. "Give me your cold seas. This strange man looked more as though he were petrified. perturbing. nothing destroyed. and the goose's and duck's even less so. he was finally becoming part of it. joy and comfort to our grandparents.

but to all the god of the South. in tact was one of the chief that the black race is more polite than any of the others. Hebdomeros he replied that he knew no more about it than anyone else and that. and he could not have borne for a moment the thought that his friends found him lacking in it. moreover. in the pose of Hebdomeros in a pensive mood looking at a Renan in the famous Renan in Front of the Parthenon by Andre Brouille. and one of them had distinguished Its meaning was somewhat obscure.olonel's orderly would be carefully folding his master's trousers. far-off landscape of factories and smoking chimneys. and it was the black god that had just said these across the vastness of the world. the days went by rather monotonously for Ilebdomeros. as Chronos does the faces of old men. the window of his bedroom faced onto a courtyard. after wiping them with a cloth soaked in benzine. and men in breeches carrying ladders. An artist's thought is profound-these most important were the opening words of an article that the famous newspapers of the capital. The maid. She rather liked Hebdomeros' worried. He rose early each morning. still half asleep. it was always the same scene that met his eyes: maids brushing clothes It the kitchen windows. a griffon terri or. And yet.(18) Black Neptune. he always liked to observe great tactfulness his personal relationships. On this rock stood three crosses. a very blonde girl with quite a good figure. and also that it has a warmer heart and more sensitive soul. laughter and talk of the servants in the house opposite. too. the noise. he never gave a very straight answer on these occasions. stretching HEBDOMEROS which is the same as saying the god of the North and out his seaweed-laden arms to his white colleague deduced from all this Giorgio de Chirico (19) articles and studies that were written about it. around which Roman legionaries were bustling. on the road. Hebdomeros The artist had depicted could be seen sitting on a stone. the artist had shown a dog. because of its had won nevertheless a silver medal. in his opinion. below. Apart from all this. men with imperial profiles and double chins held in by their helmet straps. there were weeping women. This soldier was assiduously courting a maid. as he did every day. he had even known painters among the Negroes. the work of this painter remained a mystery to everyone. and both of them looked mockingly at Hebdomeros each time he appeared at the window. dusty road bordered by a rather low outcrop of rock which digging and blasting had pitted and furrowed in many places. before. he saw facing him the back of the building which adjoined his. The painting Caucasus and Golgotha depicted a wide. the year human virtues. Hebdomeros As he was known to be a friend of was questioned by several people. who had been nicknamed "the dragonfly" by one of Hebdomeros' friends. but the painting. he would have considered it very indiscreet to question the Negro on the subject. But instead of portraying the drama of adultery. was much friendIi r to her neighbor when the colonel's orderly wasn't there. coming unexpectedly a pair of sparrows pecking at the cherries upon set out for the master's when he rose and. The young maid's liking for Hebdomeros grew stronger as time went breakfast on a table in the garden. in spite of the critic Etienne Spartali had devoted to the Negro painter in one of the . the same Negro had won an honorable mention for a painting entitled In Flagrantis. went to open the shutters of his room. words. the painter. balanced appearance. himself with a painting submitted to the Salon called Caucasus and Golgotha. thoughtful appearance and sometimes when she saw him looking out of the window she asked him if he were homesick. almost always wakened by as In the morning. and just opposite his own window an artillery .

. Heartsick. One of them." she thought sadly. going hack to bed after standing his rifle in a corner. and. had the idea of kicking it around with a well-aimed toe. on a Sunday morning. or the stride of someone wulking quickly but carefully. and sat down on a stool. using the old shoe. of thieves ready 10 steal the wrought-iron tables and chairs from the garden. and weary. the beaches." he thought. to distract . the corpses of pirates moved slowly back and forth. the vast desert of the night. "who believed naked children. or a hurdle at a Irack meet as it was overturned by a kick. greedy for marble. his cane and his overcoat on the sill of a first-floor window and he. IJUt not enough to make him forget the country house of a general. at once Hebdomeros. at least. One afternoon. like a matricide being led to the gallows. the whole family of Ih general stood around the oval table and gulped down their meal of ri . he rambled at length through the countryside. but soft. the servant girl was at the kitchen window. where t rrible storms sometimes broke suddenly. sent it soaring off among his friends who ducked. howling with joy each time his toes. as seaweed moves even when the sea is calm. He thought of prowlers. turbulent family. a sweet song came to soothe Hebdomeros' last moments of rest. and so. He thought that his sadness was caused by the fact that the chirping of the birds and the singing of the young orphans reproached him for not being pure enough. bathed in the clear waters of rushing streams. in the villages hailed him from the distance. having spied in a corner an old shoe with a flapping sole. he remembered that in his childhood he had felt the same sadness when in the evening after the sun had set he heard the chirping of the sparrows as they gathered in the trees to pass the night. and thinking of Hebdomeros. dazed Hebdomeros a little. On nights when he could not sleep II ' lay in his room on the ground floor and stared at the ceiling dimly lit from outdoors. jumped about like a savage. had hacked at and torn away in many places. coming in contact with the old shoe.I iar and solemn. and she felt she would have come to love him if an unexpected incident had not suddenly shattered her dearest dreams and illusions. The crossing of that lake which was as vast as an ocean. and grasping his hunting rifle beIw en his hands. But now it was no lunger a bedroom. and so the four friends improvised a soccer game. h ad of a large. "It must have been a stray dog playing tricks on me. sometimes a shadow passed across it. at that moment she saw him coming out into the courtyard with three of his friends. and near under three feet of water.e with peppers. having completely lost his homesick look. in his nightshirt and with bare feet. she was alone. the refuge of a weary traveler. but the wildest and the most excited of all was Hebdomeros. shouting. the young maid closed the window. began to chase the old shoe ahead of him with swift kicks. a moonless summer night. he gently edged the door open and peered out: nothing. placed the half-polished disappointed teapot on the kitchen table. busy cleaning a silver teapot. put his hat. a shape like l huge drawing compass that was opened and closed. too. the singing came from a girls' orphanage and each time it plunged him into a black despair. hodies skinny. "And I. toward the end of a beautiful April day. delighted.(20) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico himself. no one. the echo died away in the deep valleys darkened by the shadows of the plane trees. having a wonderful time. who. from far off came the echo of the waterfalls rushing down from the tops of those high mountains which men. holding their plates up to their chins with their left that he. before the noise of the servants ended his sleep. (21 ) steeple bells their by. was not like the others!" Sometimes. and so he Ilprang from his bed.

. for there was merrymaking of the open-air theaters on the other under those thirsty for blood. drifted as in a dream. the relightning. a few zigzagged through the gathering darkness like drunken . and with her arms bare. with a handful of timorous invalids. a gentle mist blanketed the outline of the shore. immortal because they were ever renascent. where the lizards. to be yoked to the plow like animals. to toil anywhere. Hebdomeros . to harvest the hemp in the midsummer heat. toward that enchanted of taking the silverware and the family heirlooms to the pawnshop. rhythmically. To defend the town. with cardsharps who stripped him of everything he owned. the fierce invaders who arms at the ready. and the next day there would be the humiliation rowing money from the servants. black demons. to go back to those luxurious waiting villas. where only the soft light of the moon held sway. Moreover. Courageous though he was. The children. sheer madness. this head of a family. When it was the hour to return. their faces flushed from alcohol and from overeating. Fat bankers. this general. and who were even now advancing. I crnples that were like huge toys and chastely tinting with pink the sratues which stood on low pedestals. in a velvet bodice. with sheaves of wheat decorating their bows. He would play until dawn in hotels. blonde and very beautiful. paradise on earth. But the men. and of borNight had not yet fallen completely. low-lying mountains. in each of them a young peasant tight-laced girl. These arful prayers often went on until dawn. rowed gently and hesitated. they had a never-failing for often the roistering continued until the early dawn. while the joyful song of the blacksmiths lind the noise of the rustic carts._< -- --~--:~--~. side: the whirring excitement huck to their dismal palaces. made frightful scenes. reducing them to poverty. who never knew what to do with his hands or where to put that fatal cane which had been lost and found again in the canals of redhued Venicepatience. newly risen. except for Hebdomeros. cobbled roads. the way barbers hold their porcelain bowls when they rub alum and water on the freshly shaved cheeks of their customers. "' " - -- --~ - - ------~~ -- (22) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (23) hands. was ruining himself at cards. a journey. who had had dinner earlier with their governesses at a separate table.ornpletely. artificial slithered over the ancient stones like man. and on the other by the floodlights of the luxurious hotels along the waterfront. there. "Svetonia! Svetonia!"-but it was only the memory of In echo. as they did in the days when the blossoming arbors and the grottoes rang with the call of that squint-eyed gional. until that moment when the setting fire to the gold on the pediments of the miniature Everything came to life. d voured by the mosquitoes with proboscises I moon. 10 acetylene lamps which drew the demented moths to them to be burned. hopes were setting off on gulf lit up on one side by the full In electric trains as brightly lit as theaters. would have been could un- II id landed from ships which covered them with long-range guns. they threatened the headwaiters. built among the ruins. dulled by lack of sleep and by indigestion. and pleas that they spare their husbands. they there were endless offered to go and work on their lands. this was paradise. the sky cast a gray-violet shade upon the water where hundreds of small boats. ruining them oppose. I hen seconds after each report the acrid odor of the smokeless powder floated through the open windows. while the guests lay sleeping. asking nothing in return. sunk to their knees in the mud of the marshes. now amused themselves firing their Winchesters at the first bats who birds. and the were chased blazing sun rose in triumphant splendor behind those nearby. with having them fired. The wives were waiting for them. was heard. who were pale with terror. crammed with carrots and lurching h avily along the hard.

his legs wrapped in rugs and shawls to his knees. as it does in a cave. for he could only urinate with great difficulty (and sometimes went for days without doing so at all). And then there was the rain. then. an endless rain. he would have liked 1·11 him that he hated panoramas. in the distance. overcoat familiarly off his shoulders. rain today like yesterday and like tomorrow. Iuod rooms where one could shut oneself up. Hebdomeros. a steady rain. around it. as Hebdomeros called it-created by such questions. so that he should not take a turn for the worse and die suddenly from the stagnant urine in his system. Hebdomeros rsk d to pay his bill and said good-by to the hotelkeeper. his expression vacant. servants. and their With my sailor's telescope you can even villa with flowered terraces. moved by the impressive sight of the slumbering trees with their leaves shivering in the shadows. until sunset. and which have made our region famous for their products. gloomy iouds jumped sluggishly about in the little garden of his hotel. his mind a blank. " And then. to quit those parts." lidded. with the curtains drawn . In the parks which smelled of plants rotted by the extreme dampness. athby imitating with their mouths the sound letic young men responded . in order to break the mood-the Stimmung. bed for the sheets were never really dry. first. Shepherds in rags. persisted in posing invariably the same questions: re chirping in that special way which indicated a change in the the hotelkeeper and elir' tion of the wind. twisting the buttons on his client's hrushing Ihe. Once again he had to leave. surrounded by their melancholy flocks. having left them sufficient provisions. there.(24) HEBDOMEROS I hal Giorgio de Chirico (25) derstand the futility of such a gesture. all the trees took the shape of weeping willows. it had begun to blow from the north and that would clear the sky: "You know.h a glimpse of people leaning out the windows. a multilingual old man. whose as faithful as they were well-trained. some of the old people insisted that the birds w ease which made it necessary that he always lie in his chair at a certain angle. Another ghost. a Cabinet Minister. which are 1'('ul works of art. soaked to their skins. Ih barometer was rising." the sea with the port and the mass offactories and workshops which lire always busy. he led his companions to a safe place. they are always "'IV filII 'n from their precipices of a long and sonorous fart. "you know. who did his host to show him that the rain wouldn't last forever and that the year hc·fore. under the taciturn watch of his servants. ('III "Where is it all going? Toward what unknown shores do all these things sail? . some cynical. Hebdomeros felt . to the north. he lay there. during the rare days of fine rolled his wheelchair weather. he found moss growing ill the closets where he hung his clothes. town with the cathedral. and more than one reckless mountain climber has to his death. the river wonderful view from here. the weather had been magnificent. this distinguished invalid suffered from a highly pernicious dis- the dampness was getting the better of him. you see the towers of the old town hall. the clearings were haunted. stood leaning on their long crooks. on those nights when the moon was full. if not a heavy one. you west are the famous peaks known as the Dragon's Teeth.. wlu h flows through the middle of the town and the bridges. where he might recover his strength and hi" lost hopes. Stretched out in his wheelchair.. that he liked nothing but rooms. the whole ring of hills. at the same season. besides. Mr. in clear weather we have a on the plain. he was cold in Iii." Iii Hebdomeros listened to him politely. by the presence of a man of genius. he headed toward a damp. then further to the 'red with snow. too. wooden mountain. And there. and.

and especially afraid he wouldn't be understood. the sick I"uder wracked by swamp fever. the companion. that thought caused him deep sadness. that he was sick of it. and it was this. he would go to the kitchen before he sat down at a table to peep into the pots and see what had been cooked. and even more afraid that people would think him mad and report him to the local medical authorities. nevertheless. ceilings. it's an atonement. and then he filled his helmet with water and holding it with great care. -~--~. and when fate was kind he crouched lik a panther to slake his thirst eagerly. my dear. Often the prisoners of this invincible horde were amazed to see tl'al the leaders. no other solution came to him. He stared at the outline spirits that day. The hour of his leaving A servant who might have been a model for Giotto had to rrunsport the sick and wounded the chiefs lay in.. So he paid his hotel bill. to appease his congallantly offering his arm to his wife." science. he climbed from the gully to rejoin his fellows. felt the attachment attachment a bronze sea-god. as if they were carcasses. too. for they knew they had been invited to dine in the evening with the colonel commanding the garrison and that the dinner would be followed by a glittering reception. who lay sweating on the straw in a wlIgon. both were in excellent treated when wounded or sick like the most humble. Hebdomeros which bound him to this hotel. --==~ _. he felt how the and grew each day. their bloodstained in the dust-colored harnessed iously. WeI' mounted on a dolphin. he made gifts of obscene photographs. and went off down toward the plain. Then came the endless journey.I'all these fierce and fatalistic warriors were at heart both kind and cnerous. he thought of the hour of separation. watched the long line of the invading hordes moving to th west. which was rather high for the place and the time of year. to whom. their heads covered with aprons to keep off the flies that attacked them fefig trees that were petrified by the heat. There was nothing to show which of the wagons used to these great migrations. but they themselves wished this. stood guard over the main entrance. from time to time. h explained the strength of-that the most 'Ihs ure soldier. they thought always of the friend. Only Hebdomeros lu-ld himself alooffrom . like the newest maidservant . in return the chef described The hotel Hebdomeros his erotic prowess. . but he didn't say a word about all the things he preferred. it had to be done. sulphurous. Giorgio de Chirico haul Hebdomeros off like a rag to a second-class . sounded. the long and in xplicable halts at small. When he went into the little restaurant where he always ate. he was on very good terms with the chef. thaL left at two o'clock. deserted stations lost in the middle of the countryside. whose rank would have entitled them to every attention. face down. The town was full of hot fountains. as motionless as statues on their small white horses in carnival fashion like the steeds of Saracen leaders. Chieftains. but he could do nothing else. The town was surrounded by high volcanic mountains and the heat was stifling. some of them stayed at was some distance from armed with a trident and the sea. their II 'ads held high and their right hands proudly planted on their armorrlud thighs. 1'0 Butchers' boys slept. I~. a young engineer who worked on building an extension of the railroad line exclaimed over and over that he had had enough of this life. wlii horde which no enemy could withstand. "It must be done. as the captain said.'urrying a soup tureen. and the cicadas chirped obsessively hurbarian kings.lid then a soldier with parched Now throat would search the dried-up I'iv rbeds for a last drop of water.--~ (27) carriage of the local (26) HEBDOMEROS the corners of rooms and low and the doors closed. driving before them the cattle stolen from the peasants. most of which was imaginary. .

instead." But the real reason desolate plains toward the white cities. ~ . or very tall women with the and by his weeping family. like that mysterious as a tree in autumn. cones. malevolent sows and their piglets. curling into the Biblical shapes of Jewish candelabra. the moon in its final quarter h use. among both the staff and the customers. their shapes to be a dome but a ceiling and obscene. The sea of stars stretched ridiculous Hebdomeros drinking into the distance. quite clean. he sometimes bolt of the garden gate. depleted (29) but still their points lingered a long time. as with people who were do on days of heavy in that tavern was to one of his young ruddyhad the house. o would doubtless continue to live. _ -~~=§~_~ ----==:--. Was he. this apostle whom he had imagined staff in his hand. dismay written on their faces. knowing that their brothers are waiting there. these were the first words of the classified Attracted hy leprous mcountered by this tempting offer. writing his memoirs.c~ --~-~~~~~~~~~~~- (28) of the sands. Hebdomeros with obscene as someone floated aimlessly above the parade ground. Hebdomeros friends. therefore. in love with him. streets filled with silent crowds. wearing horn-rimmed reputation of unfailing kindness. which appeared geometric angel. spread like tripods hurled from the sky. the angel again assumed and carried the aspect of a tripod In the eternal monks pursuing was the exquisite. he climbed squalid walls and covered dreams went into a huge tavern packed and where the smoke from pipes and cigars was so thick that as steamboats claimed that an elderly barmaid of a mother's this man." he said. set off through graffiti. from his father and where his sons. an aged general lay dying.· -~. that angel which had nothing but the indispensable. ~- - v - -- - - - *' -=----::=-- _':::_-=:. so when of this man. modest although stylized and baroque. speaking is something like all those who trek far across love. which had been bruised man who. "In her love. f'u. this had more than once taken was a child. Ilebdomeros had sheltered shinbone under the porticos. no! Wir zahlen Geld. launched into space the soul to heaven. threatening HEBDOMEROS which even now the desert winds whirled into inverted touching the ground. dark stairways flanked and at last he more than his head the realms the soul of the general took the form of the purest smoke.ade f that house. roaming around the world with a pack on his back and a pilgrim's his eyes shining. of his soul. he was for more than a month so that he could look after his by the flying hooves of a mule. and when at dawn he left his suburban glasses. II ads of birds would vanish at his approach. when Hebdomeros . "there once in his childhood h Id high. we pay cash. rising like smoke into the between them and' sky. One of those whom life tosses about like ad he had placed in the papers. Sometimes. with their wives and at moments of being visions. to look with nostalgia had inherited children. infinite sensitivity a dreamer? But his outstanding by his officers. Having received the soul of the dead. faced man. his hand resting on the and deep feeling at the which he lit now and then by a flash of lightning that angel as stripped necessary bed where. one had to make headway bellowing.<:. but who. quality its dim glow over the that angel unadorned dry. the strictly Giorgio de Chirico built at the edge of a forest which was partially impressive.-. only a romantic. near a He also had the reputation kind of antidote for bad luck and the evil eye. fog. II. giving it a sweet sadness. watching for them eagerly. flotsam on a stormy sea? Alas. saw one day hurtling from one floor and swoop into a room. as if the sky no longer seemed Captive balloons. whom his father found himself in the presence he went to the tavern was his hope of meeting a shaggy-haired. and whose shirts were never He had been seen to weep. and which Hebdomeros surrounded of a large apartment house to another like this.

Silent. were silhouetted culean arms. The scales suddenly "But. Hebdomeros saw him and saw him- H-Jf. in a hammock hung between two blossoming cherry trees. Meanwhile the sky grew darker and darker until. where the window. myopic. punts were moored at the banks of the river. yes. But now.(30) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (31) him to the theater and had shown him. "Pay you money! Pay you money!" he yelled. A feeling of Yes. gentle lamb of Isaac to the altar attached. Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. what about your real estate? slipped from Hebdomeros' eyes. and now the peasants put their cows in them when they were about to calve. al last. their sleeves rolled up on their Herof the cow shed. more precisely. had a whitish. one could make uut the flash of the steel blades in the semidarkness . her head fallen on her breast. for the back of the building ('lJced a street higher than that where the front door was. so much did he shake the tables in pounding them with his fists between guffaws. He went up 10 the window and looked through it. He wanted only to flee. like silver and mercury. he still could dearly see the large prehistoric stone fonts where. where is your real estate? And your stocks? And your bonds?" terrible shame swept over him in a great shudder and his face turned scarlet. her back against the wall. to leave this place. and then at noon. ape-man who burst out laughing at the sight of him. Although the light from the lanterns the peasants had hung in the corners was dim. then opening the window and leaping into space like a diver into water. into a corner. and the goats. this gave them the vague appearance of funeral gondolas. the punts. IIl1dthere. II bdomeros passed behind a cattle shed. a luntern on the ground shone on a cow lying on manure with her little rulf. reassured by his immobility. like Isaac offering himself up for sacrifice: Oh. reflecting the sky covered with clouds at twilight. roaring with it as if he were possessed. he would fall asleep in the midday warmth.\ 1 1'0 the right. on provincial stages. later they had been used by washerwomen for scrubbing clothes. no matter where. milky color which contrasted sharply with the dark and almost black tint of as dark forms against the the bank. a ray of moonlight coming through a small window of the f splashed light. a young peasant girl dozed on a bench near the group of animals. and her arms limpid water. in that large stone cistern devoid of all decoration (this by 110 means spoiled its appearance). stern-faced men. bent over him. the Devil firing a rifle in a room. although something had changed in the layout of the streets and the location of the castle. bubbling over with laughter. unci suggested the tragedy of Venice during the epidemics of the plague unci the deaths of the great painters I' who were struck down by the lentless scourge. Hebdomeros found himself again in the same town. my good man. boats or. simply to flee. to flee. he would take a siesta. no matter how. carefully shearing him. He would perhaps go to China. in almost no time all the inkwells had been knocked over. night had spread its somber wings over the whole region. opposite. . naked and kneeling. to flee. to disappear. unable to turn back that inexorable flow of immigration toward the west. was at the level of a man's head. on his Hide. according to legend. Hebdomeros saw a sneering. or rather it seemed the same. too. lay the remains of the first five fabulous kings who governed the town. where the water. would warily approach and begin to nibble gently at the leaves of the creepers nearby. he would live the life of a night owl in the pagodas that shone like huge lanterns.

at first he had refused the duel: "Fight?" he exclaimed in a surprised tone. of pains. From time time his wife and daughter. . The season it was already the end of March. for woe to them if he caught them in his room! One felt this was a life which ould not continue. often. that he loved sausage and rice. the maid then added. he was interested only in questions of eating. him remorselessly Furthermore. as women ride. in the midst of an indescribable 10 ull its train of worries. by offering him cigarettes. real models of devotion. he rummaged in the garbage cans that stood before the carriage gates of houses. lunatic way of life of this peculiar gourmet did not last much longer. and at the same time Hebdomeros thought of the death of the Duke of Enghien. /1. "Fight in front of a woman?". he rode a horse without a saddle. his shirt open on his chest. blood flowed from a long gash on his left cheek and stained his shirt. X has gone out. should canvassers. life with j. both legs on the same side.heese. or else: Mr. cut off from the world. without being a gourmet. Whenever he met a friend or even an acquaintance. 1.(32) HEBDOMEROS observing the two scenes II I. However. pancakes. of pleasures and of joys. if he had not been hailed point-blank the madman because. he forgot. some dates. and there and then he would to learn what he had eaten for lunch or wherever he went he carried a thin metal stick withdrew walking backwards without taking their eyes off him. of his important meteorological work approached. took advantage of the rare moments when he was overcome by fatigue and lack of food md fell asleep for a short time. had hysterics every evening.1. thought that if a painter had depicted them in a picture he would have called his canvas The Two Mothers. in the street or elsewhere. to this last answer obstinate visitors replied that they would wait until Mr. He often said. the unrestrained. question dinner. he seemed not to notice it. What name shall I give? answered of the cow and the peasant girl.0. and in early April he would have to seclude himself up there. Hebdomeros invariably: Mr. he never failed to stop him.-Oh. Mr.ving asked the ritual Giorgio de Chirico question: (33) around a child lying on her lap. then they crept into his small office on tiptoe and. X had returned from his errand. unabashed. that is quite impossible. X goes out on an errand he stays away Jor several days . in the turret of his castle.. no matter where or when the meeting took place. at the bottom of the fonts.\tluges. and a decanter salted of cold coffee on the table. X is not in. they were singing as only the lovestricken nightingale can sing deep in a flowered garden on a sweet would have lingered much longer at the by one whom all the town called summer night. they window of the shed to watch the strange scenes taking place inside. to anyone willing to listen. journalists or simply the bothersome or the curious ring his bell. passed.Jor when Besides. or: Mr. the daughter. with a quick gesture he pointed out the young girl in a flowered bodice who remained seated in the middle of the meadow in the pose of a Joan of . the maid. as he returned home late at night. after Loward the first glimmer of dawn an officer without a tunic. after having left a tray with a roll. Marseilles. Hebdomeros.. weaving between the haystacks. That was the period when. Emma. And yet. Marius. The father sought to wheedle his son. II not only closed his door to everyone but he also refused to go home mealtime. it was the shadows cast on the wall by the lantern on the ground that awakened naturally these memories in a man with a vivid imagination and a head stuffed with ideas acquired from reading. who was a cook in and so the night wore on and with a sharp point. Immersed in a comparative study of his improved wind disorder. he refused to see anyone. as Hebdomeros understood it. X has gone out on an errand.

white letters. no. evil beacons in the vast halls. that projected shadow of a cock. Now the hours had passed. as all hours pass. oh. "" rather that silhouette. persisted. the approach of that season which a great poet termed violent. whirling stable doors and the wooden benches of parks as high as housetops. a curtain raised and here is the dance. luxury and lewdness display their fireworks. turned slightly. the change which had taken place in the atmosphere was so little perceptible that any man less observant and sensitive than Hebdomeros would never have noticed it. through the great windows open on the night the sky with multiplying to infinity is seen. the strong smell of wine. however. whose quadrupleplated safes are stuffed with bank notes. the weather vane on the steeple. (35) Arc who hears the voices. solace. by the new government. decorated with a lavishness and a . understood that the wind from the sea was coming at last and he rejoiced with all his heart. "It's a of the local photographer. closeness drawn aside. heralds the hot who detested the atmosphere of end of which relentlessly kind of out-of-date quadrille and finally decided to pair up at the wish of' a mysterious force and formed this strange inscription at some disrunce from the ground: scro DETARNAGOL BARA LETZTAFRA Suddenly the whole outdoors lost its atmosphere. sketched in the air a «lvanced a little from all directions. happily these cataclysms. hesitated. The sun was high in a sky without but which was veiled slightly by a fine haze that heralded hounded out summer." people whispered in cafes and in the a screen I cal squares. solemn letters like those carved in stone. that languorous which represented a stylized rooster. at the same time it rose. phenomena which would force him to long and prothe cool and gentle wind. on the other. inevitably. it sliced top of another. I heir months. I rick its Stimmung. became more slowly. raw and rotting. but indeed the air was no longer still.(34) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico he had been forced to fight and . on ide it ate the steeple while. some moments later the state of the atmosphere changed. give themselves up to a frantic orgy. black clouds charged with electricity invade the vault of heaven. a stage set is changed. The shadow on the sundial marked noon. nevertheless. the wind of hope and Until then all had gone well. Now the feet of the cock touched the ground and his comb Ih clouds.d more obsessing and began to dominate the landscape and to play " rOle in the life of this humble and peaceful corner. that which had to happen happened clouds. the guests. he also had a foreboding that he was to take part in some inexplicable found meditation.. now it ually descended.levemess completely unknown before. spring. they swim in it with the movements of divers turning about under I he water. the city and its all its constellations . mendous squalls of rain and wind overturn all in their paths. it was an imporI urce. were far distant. wi III" a role that would never have been previously suspected. plunging the country into apocalyptic darkness. it wasn't one of those brusque changes such as occur in America and in certain Africa where. dead drunk and lying jumbled one on ". rose from the deep caves where monks and smugglers. all at once. I he Again a movement. acting like a corrosive. and the air still. snored. a violent light from the side lit the rafters and the floor boards. standing out against it spreading out with a slow and inexplicable regularity. not a breath of wind. but suddenly the cock. as deadly as unexpected.. while the sky is pure while treregions of equatorial uid into the sky. Hebdomeros. the celebration in American megaron.

comforting panorama of those palestrae mosaicked with white rectangles. . a vintage model of a locomotive encircled by a serpent swallowing his . having interior courtyards and oblong. who while they excused themselves for their lack of luxury and their simple fare insisted each time on paying for his meal. heads thrust into their shoulders and flung behind.-"It's p ople who questioned k now what might happen. of a hurricane. Martiobarbulus. own tail was portrayed . however." she said to her husband. he grumbled something incomprehensible: who had for an hour been patiently awaiting but in the movement that he made he uncovered his left arm up to his saw that on his arm he had a most curious tattoo. and now the scene changes again. who lived on the second floor of a comfortable house. Hebdomeros had to flee. the voice that sang ceased . ." But just try to persuade one so obstinate.(36) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (37) austere temples. he made his way to that city built like a fortress. helping himself by the moldings. by the terraces whose walls and arches were hugged by climbing plants. porta collina profectus est. and she also saw it as a bad omen. the torrents roared and foamed under the bridges. "you'll see that this life belt is so like a funeral wreath that sooner or later it will finish by bringing you misfortune. When in the afternoon after a frugal meal eaten in the company of champion jumpers and champion boxers. the heavy rhythmic footsteps of a cohort marching toward the northern gate. at last. or running races.." best to be prepared. his awakening. Then his heart beat with joy. Hebdomeros just had time to jump into a dark corner from which he could watch all these strange scenes at his ease. suffering the torture of the ravenous twins clinging to her long teats. the silent phalanxes of gladiators march all around. elbow and Hebdomeros." he would reply to him about this strange habit. the springs creaked and. A gallop of horses. . the immense iron gates of the garden were sent crashing as if at the passage and the barbarians appeared at the door of the salon. like stags hunted down by hounds. continually forced into a corner by the undercurrent and. swollen by the recent rains. and with what joy! From there he took in at a glance the whole vast. "for you never His wife. turned toward the wall in his sleep." cried the voice of a monarch from somewhere down there. . he always found the same well-built men there. "May the universe crumble. could never get used to seeing that life belt placed at the foot of the bed. a herald of misfortune. the wind chases the clouds and then there is a desperate flight of the moon behind them. while still sleeping. the director of an important shipping company. perfect gentlemen all. sometimes the moon disappears for a while and all at once it seems that the whole earth has been muffled like a wooden bell. suddenly. . geometric gardens which relieved the severe shape of the ramparts. he hoisted himself up to the window which was placed very high. like the window of a prison. and without being seen. Another peculiarity of the director was that he always kept a large life belt placed on the floor and leaning against the foot of the bed. hideously gilded. Hebdomeros was gazing at that woman and child when. squares and trapezoids where young athletes were throwing the discus with classical movements. is seen. "You will see. . too. He went all around his room in a boat. she found it rather funereal. perfectly healthy long whips with leaded thongs crack horribly. then its rays pass through the clouds again as the wind blows them apart. sweeping everything before them. not without reason she thought of it as a morbid idea. all white on the sacred rocks. and the she-wolf. abandoning his frail craft and gathering all his strength and skill as a former gymnast. hurling their cry of war and making their standing in their stirrups.

climbing. men with suepicious expressions. Illd amusement for guests and children. their and once they had passed through the upheaval 1'111 ' . in many. Constructions which took the form of mountains. sleep was for him the double knot. in whom they recognized themselves perfectly. like a relic. of those unending lines of honest workers crossing again and again the bridges slung from steel pylons.(38) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (39) in body and mind. by this very fact they were pyrophiles. they were immortal for they knew neither dawn nor dusk. like salamanders. And if and then in the evening to return to their peaceful homes and humbly share bread and meat with their wives and their children. he sensed that a knot prevented them from moving their arms and legs freely. without at the same time being so remote as not to notice the passage and not to hear the echoes of those armies on the march. from a word. these obscure workings of fate did not prevent men from going about their business. The knot-people. among those with the anxious irritated expressions. but whom a benign and a combination of circumstances had brought into prominence. Monday and Friday were market days. which is to say that. as he called them. from recounting something with wit. jumpwriting. bedrooms And thus strange scaffoldings loomed in the middle of and salons. However. of which the middle of each II we of Japanese vellum was disfigured by two or three short lines of pH . painting-in for intelligence. he saw life as a huge knot which death untied. sons until a tanker or a friendly sailing ship comes to throw them a few cases of spoiled preserves. and yet he knew that in reality it was not just exactly ina.i v ing him the sweet illusion of fame. in all those whom II ' recognized at once by certain exterior signs which never failed him. II bdomeros sensed a binding. that signified neither that he was an innocent nor a fanatic. like these islands they were outside the human mainstream. h cause of this the knot was for Hebdomeros a cipher infinitely more profound and disturbing than the ithyphallic sign or that of the anchor or the two-edged ax. sweltering factories. were for Hebdomeros the living and walking symbol of human stupidity. and then he solemnly stated so among his friends and acquaintances and tried among to dupe himself. sterile and constipated. sheltered they lovedfire.ven among those who in the throng of their fellows enjoyed a reputation he saw the knot and the powerlessness to comprehend. Moreover. and engaged in their favorite occupation: the making of trophies. The rooms which them were like those islands which are found outside the sometimes wait entire seamain sea routes and where the inhabitants twaddle. . And often. swimming and diving. the latest volume of their favorite poet. those who then placed the adored volume. printed in a few numbered copies. ill all these manufacturers of superfluous art and literature. only eternal noon. the complete untying of the knot lay according to him in the eternity outside birth and death. joy and /lild true talent and haunted certain cafes where they arrived carrying lind r their arms. and yet he also regarded death as a knot retied which birth in turn undid. on those days agents and traders like that. for like mountains they had been born of an inner fire. yet balanced forms bore witness to the burst of fire that had brought them into being. whose mouths had never laughed with candor. of creation. austere but at the same time droll. who was inevitably and like them impotent. from running. those impotent and annoyed intellectuals who feared and hated irony . he wanted to believe: he forced himself to believe that such and such a man was intelligent. from comprehending. outside.udoesoteric foolishness and pretentious contorted. first in the morning in the half-light of dawn to get to their screeching. sometimes Hebdomeros let himself be too trusting.

spreading its rays along the main municipal road. silent files. the curtain rose. any moment he was to begin a long nocturnal climb and needed to rather his strength.(40) HEBDOMEROS W Giorgio de Chirico IlTlOrSpainted on Grecian vases. over this distressing gestures. to give them appointments for the following week. in long black files the syphilitic and gonorrheal traders returned to the neighboring towns. and willing. they gathered in the market place. it was one of his principal weaknesses ulways to have a certain nostalgia for the past. They flew into a rage and swore at their dogs. Shepherds who at that hour were following this road to return to their hamlets toward the west received full in the eyes all this late wealth of light. Having left the town. but clumsy and . they lengthened beyond meaIII' . And then the sun disappeared completely behind the line of low hill at the horizon. IIOW there where frozen winds keep the a long time on the mountains. but what predominated was orange peel and crushed cigar stubs. the bald. and the night blew over the town where stopped in a valley which themselves . so he sat down on a stone where he had first placed hi carefully folded coat and plunged into deep thought. they reached III . Hebdomeros visible to them alone. panic-stricken by their masters' reproaches. the shadows climbed into the sky and stretched out over the earth. as if followed by phalanxes IIllIIOSt orizontally over the crimson dust of the road. the marble politicians. they crossed towns. whatever their clients' trouble. The sun sank low on the horizon. Hebdomeros abandoned himself happily to this nostalgia. he maintained that nothing evokes memories of the past so profoundly as the moments before or immediately following the afternoon nap. Toward the end of the day the square slowly emptied. while up there on the left. the latter never failed. still muttering oaths. and the shadows h "f shepherds and crooks also lengthened. the crescent ih purifying breezes of the approaching last echoes of the labor of men were dying away. resembled /\ t lay a short distance away from the highest mountain rising in the east. which. the shepherds. that road which linked the city with its neighboring towns. that was why he liked also to sleep in the iftemoon. To his friends he said that it is simply a question of training. seen in profile. they were vigorous young people. it prevented them from seeing their flocks and annoyed them intensely. and the square became deserted as if troops had swept it with repeated salvos of rifle fire. and the sages in stone. but his friends were not always the intellectually elite he might have desired. Many of them were people suffering from venereal diseases become chronic because of early neglect. in order to see better. far-off land of the Cimmerians. they touched those lands whose iuhahitants are dressed all year round in thick furs and have a compli ated and obscene mythology. they took advantage of their brief stay in the city to consult specialists in the afternoon. put their left hands to their foreheads like visors while with the right they brandished the long crooks they were the helmets of never without and which.·1. countries and seas. sometimes sullied by city smoke. unknown great men leaned over their books. The sun's rays lengthened (41) now made their way to the town from all inhabited corners of this flat and monotonous region in long. began running and barking right and left and being more nuisance than help. in the nowof the moon shone hard and cold. their instruments and their rolls of paper. even for a past that had been completely fulfilled. slowly. with each memory from the past. monstrously.ar sky. The only trace of the departed crowd was rubbish of all kinds strewn on the paving scene bronze warriors maintained their bellicose of fanatical soldiers who were stones.

sailors and some local fishermen. standing on the prow. take a three-quarter view and a foreshortened of its appearance like a horse. Africa. observe from which angle it looks or a plumed helmet. But for the moment these don't worry anybody. Then knowledge and skill we can be pile we begin to have the air of topflight surgeons. a certain slow deliberation in batches. and in meditation on theorems guarantees. we go out into the street not knowing that we have drawn on our back and our nose painted with age and experience. and from which like the molding on your ceiling. position it resembles . on the advice but they pressed of an apostle: send them far away to those still little explored trademarks. takes in its place.re the world will know its last great civilization lurover loorny predictions Illn cr been involved in the difficult game of reversing our angle of vision. continued Far off. ind never to be forgotten. for you and the in his discourses. against the mockery of skeptics. particularly time and switching seekers and get dirty as we work. the souls of born prevail over instinct. who at heart believe become at once subtle and forceful.ircumstances discourse. we do. Iw u too fast and needs to adjust itself. I'V And you. into the sky. remove it and note what form the memory see . heated heart. "we flounder great poet who died about twenty years ago. when you have found a sign. unheardwe rhythmical march which carries forward the great human races. the philosopher. lifting his head toward the window of the room where he was working at a table covered with books and papers. behind the hills overlooking first paleness of the dawn was creeping chastely the town to the east. look at it from the front and from the side. circulate lenary po ts. crumpled a clown's arabesques naturally gradually papers and grimy rags bestrew the floor. a vast. which makes people laugh and turn around as we pass by. we spatter the walls around us. seen in everything youth. this may be said without flattering hnv 101 always pitted your obstinacy nobility as metaphysical rant and generous . my friends: be methodical. discipline.yphontius. we sun." nature and the subtleties said Hebdomeros I"'ilrt of the earth. you have always had faith in the if one thinks of the ardor of creations capital. we even lands which our milwith its seal and don't to the wanton child. in series. by several to him in silence. they form an impressive we build supports grant unlimited credit to those furnishing closed against the ardor learned by heart of a solidity to withstand the requisite all tests. like the evening prayer taught by the bigoted and his disciples. I he round. but behind of reserves.n less in space of your elect souls. turn it round and view. him and he was obliged finally to do as Christ did in the same waste your strength. which itself resembles "What is that murmur which risesfrom the dark streets?" asked l. a march which nothing can resist." Thus spoke Hebdomeros. than in time. in which a huge heart: the moored by the shore and. green. more and more closely he climbed onto a boat his inspired throughout civilization the wide world creations has as yet but faintly from our stock. it is the continent and sharing the fate of the moon. particularly this slowness. wh . when it suggests the aspect of a ladder. who had been joined listened rround marked this is why I say to you. we stain the objects we touch. you have always lived in the comforting halfIi ht given to your cool rooms by the shutters of the noonday tutor up one on top of the other. we get our things into a mess. I dare even say overheated.(42) HEBDOMEROS the requirements of his exabout Giorgio de Chirico (43) it often very slow to grasp and understand ceptional beginning. without meaning to we paint ourself with face. According 0(' II of his outstanding mind. "At the to the predictions before growing cold as you all have you.

their glance was full of an infinite «lness (the sadness of demigods). flowery arbors.-uriously hlue like the eyes of Nordic children. of thos H and tired stomachs. The only weapon whose name might be because people are not in the habit of and stuffed animals whose was the cannon.(44) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (45) He lived in a modest apartment above the porticos which framed the main square of the town. but which looked more like a fort. more youthful. When the black sails of pirate ships appeared far off on the sea. the inhabitants of the villas would run to take refuge in this structure. On the crest of the highest of these hills was a huge structure which was said to be a monastery. rifle.The others. it was surrounded by a crenelated wall pierced by loopholes. any more than fauns. they were all there. their they took with them their most precious objects. they abhorred weapons and moreover knew nothing of how to handle them. "II .ll'ry succeeding. animals and objects from very far were landing one another hearty. particularly in front of their children. IIH tools. His father also had been a philosopher. there were veterans among them. If the children happened to be present. sirens and tritons. pistol. true earthly paradises of our planet where dwellers. to scanning great keeping cannon in their houses. no weapons. They left nothing in the abandoned villas but a few pieces of old furniture. The refugees III III huge building were. 1IIId ven pools where fish swam and where swans of immaculate whiteIII'»!:! glided with their breasts to the wind. or even a large barracks or a vast powder magazine. old centaurs 111'1:. In the middle of the vast 11111\. taboo words by these hysterical puritans. or hunters of eagles and .·llUmois. C'I' r-lv "il II fatigued by the continual turmoil of business and the go during the torrid summers to nurse their swollen and that W. Plen- t d'lIl provisions were stacked in the vaults. he threw a chill upon the company and created an uneasiness difficult to dispel. extremely comfortable. fountains ornamented with fine statues. the words revolver. those centaurs with their mottled rumps. in the shadow of the thick white eyebrows which contrasted . pawing the ground /llid chasing with great swishes of their tails the flies which clung "h~linately to their twitching flanks. ignorant of these customs. drunk with massacre and looting. presence in the middle of the empty rooms frightened the first pirates men. began to talk about weapons. sunny corners where till i I trees grew. they were all at the door. it was as attentive and steady as IlIc~gaze of sailors or mountain -listances and distinguishing dwellers. if to prove the contrary. r than the others. the gaze in general of those accustomed IIWUy. they looked desiccated and if under the weight of years their bones had broadened and lengthwith their dark complexions. All this enabled the refugees I" forget their unhappy situation as the besieged and to imagine thems in one of those spas. so that the hills dotted with villas and fine terraced gardens could easily be seen. WilD opened the doors. the atmosphere became pronounced intolerable. Not only had they no weapons in their homes but they avoided pronouncing the name of a weapon. Hebdomeros could not share the opinion of skeptics who considered that all this was make-believe "c·lIl. and the eminence of his work had moved his fellow citizens to erect this monument in his honor in the middle of the largest and most beautiful square in town. furthermore. their eyes were gentle and sky if some stranger.aurs had never existed.d. . From his window he could see the back of the statue of his father which stood on a low pedestal in the middle of the square. The houses which surrounded this square were fairly low. linen and clothes. their books. and dagger were considered although thinner.r courtyards were artistically laid out gardens.

all wearing some sort of mask."ke I like a dusty pier extending into a vast sea. a total abandon truly and without warning locomotives pulling whole 1111 the lamps lit. The Hebyounger ones became nervous at the approach of the man-horse. at least for the moment. the noise of the bells IIIId adult centaur detached himself from the group and trotted off along the paths going down to the river. everywhere ground-floor rooms with all the windows open and a cynicism. Hercules on the bank. '. my young friends. domeros. here at the crossroads. a moment or two before sunset. thought he had discovered the reason for it:-surely \ III. "We dined early that day. there he stopped to chat with the washerwomen who were beating their linen. when the voices of the oracles had fallen d. the mantle whose color deepens dregs of wine. one all around.III 8. "" ih tranquil period later. the setting sun still illuminated the countryside mantle.II lu-carne alarming. cences of a mythological nature which troubled them. panting with exertion as he shoots his poisoned darts. who had more than once witnessed intrigued by the anxiety of the young washerwomen. he told himself. People.- -- -- '" --- --- - (46) open-handed HEBDOMEROS slaps and amused themselves by lashing out with their Occasionally an . to that of the 1f1l('SLion marks and open the doors onto the unknown. uuheard-of. an indiscretion.110 Giorgio de Chirico (47) the valley. Sweating innkeepers the pavement. dragging with him the woman.. and then the blood-soaked torso. leaned over 111(' low balconies and stared unabashed "'ITtl (.(.rs lid now. hooves against the fences of the vegetable gardens. stained with so that when the younger girls cleared away the food left on the table after the meal and shook out in the yard the tablecloths gravy and redwine. The column advanced enthusiastically. lreet they took a sharp turn to the left with the classic movement . screaming and disheveled a drunken bacchante. or else would Id'i Ihe curtains veiling the mystery of the long-closed chambers. the centaur crossing the river among the eddies. suddenly II' iins entered the streets where the crowds were milling about. kneeling on the bank.'"uldn't tell where they might have gone but on reaching the end of III(. and hoisted aloft like the aerials of ships on "I'"'IIIY seas strange flags on which were painted and engraved many a and which were sure guarantees . ful dolphins toward the sanctuary which normally even the initiate only with trembling. hoping themselves being carried off.. Those were the . The procession was climbing up from the low point of that road that dips at one point . But the older 'washerwomen reassured them. ruins! Temples of Neptune flooded by the sea! Waves buffeting the carrying his muddy sandals in his hand. I anners to the wind. saying there was nothing to fear. their already saw like always verging on the dramatic. they added after a pause during which they seemed to pursue a memory that it was like the time of the procession. and which clings like a second skin to the centaur's pi I. when it was utterly useless to let oneself be leep next to the effigy of a divinity would bring the answer to the Oh 'ilil IllIti up in deserted temples at nightfall by distracted guardians.'nL as if the spirit had emigrated far from the earth. departure point of a whole long series of inspirations II the scene. straining at the bow. such that to the people watching from the village it fireworks was deafening. by these memories.Ii iurbing cipher.es. 1'''' . I. was always but this time he it was reminis- cupricious as they were surprising.ds for the day with inscrutable faces and dignified clothes sat at cafe ." the confusion of the holiday crowds rushed to put their tables out at the strait-laced passers-by. and then followed up his thought:-haunted feminine imagination. and lit fires in the windows of the low houses.

. you of the symbolic. disappeared the shadows of the countryside. and when one has paid But it's a lake as vast as the sea and fits of temper. from the dangers of the outside world. a consoling lake. Spring. big and black. then the big fish bite by the dozen and you haul them ill Lwo at a time. joyous hats passed Ilidi . he confessed his dislike of Biblical scenes. And in the cafes turned into the crazy effort to smile at stupid jokes. or comets with deleterious tails appear on the horizon. he maintained that behind the idea of d epicting Christ as a lamb lurked a sensual urge of a particular kind.(48) HEBDOMEROS into Giorgio de Chirico iuuuntaj naides like vultures' nests. lying in line! Yuu call that the slaughter of the innocents? But at this point Hebpaying no attention to the passengers who made I"llnof him as they crossed the gangway. the maid from the house opposite. I il then necessary to renounce one's place. coat with the astrakhan collar? You who are the prototype of the eternal traveler. with a cavalry detachment close behind. and if the motorboats rush to your rescue. like whirlwinds. beware then of then you will shouting coarse jokes. children? Hebdomeros is in love with Louise. in a voice strained a little by emotion. a peaceful unruffled lake. has dangerous habitue to another: Que fera le villageois? Que fera le vil? (question) Ah! joie! (exclamation) . their open coffins. the calves in the district druwning. and the first heavy drops of rain fall on the water as lit . makes food indigestible. that hero lying down on the mountaintop would keep watch and contemplate the stars. nudging their wives and roaring with laughter. gardens. and the silly puns that bounced from one And that customer who declared that all were chipping in to buy a wreath for the lor a first-class ticket to insist on traveling second-class IIlild protests of the conductor? whi h.ates with his red hand the whole sweep of the valley and the river Ililining through it. (49) of goldfish in bowls and. are lined up on the beaches in the south. on this train that stinks of cattle soaked by an August Where are you going. despite the dogs barked in the distance. the air is filled with the obsessive smell of lemon. storm begins.. now opaque. like the sea. And when the weather is sultry. always ready to protect the sick child from the grasping hands of bandits downpour. no matter enemy send his crack regiments right up to the face? Heart of steel with windows opening onto villages clinging to the gaLes of the city. gruesome spectacle. setting off on the right path. which. unconscionably groups of young people wearing beribboned three-cornered cubes of smoke the continual tension. but a different lake this time. Might we go back now? The five horses drawing the carriage would set off at trot. . like garlic and onions. where the aVarICIOUSinnkeeper like the life of man. spring! he has put on his new suit. and that charming city 1!lIilLlike an amphitheater around the lake? Oh. the bells are ringing in the parish church towers and spring smiles on the vegetable Funeral procession. ers. washed by the shower. all day in the sun and then all night on the great mountain as black as a stranded whale that huge man. Corpses in tuxedos. now crystal-clear. reflect the lights from the shopwind(lwS so well you'd think you were in Venice. helmeted warrior with the sinister he would say. k !lUW what it means to be reborn on this summer afternoon when the id walks. unmentionably and here are oranges with their obscene flowWhere are you bound for. butcher who had died the previous day." "you feel protected though the ruthless in praise of cafes with red plush in the style of the eighteen-eighties. lind he concluded with a declamation divans and ceiling decorations "There. cribed as immoral and lewd. Where are you. on the end of your Florentine rlomeros protested. which he d .

mountainous wI! IIIIILalmost extinct race of mammoths. and coffee which is always drunk very hot and spiced. the rainy season has already begun. wh 11 of crows have made their nests. and the ostrich fleeing desperately thousands from the Arab horseman. Already the air grew warmer and the plants turned green plain. Their aim was clear: to wait until a mammoth had on the remains behind the rocks. Once there. with the striking . spring was behind a rising curtain. hundreds of tiny waterfalls. led round. and the ruins where bridges and castles with their numberless lif Wllfl not a man to trust appearances. one hand on the huge IIlil' Lones that bore the sculptured likeness of two-headed Janus sur- 1IIII1InLedy a male sex organ. he remembered how many times so he re- III "lIrly childhood he had been deceived by appearances.ll lit IlIillH ill I" ' air. I ""ping his leaded cane and automatic pistol within reach. often he . But winter passed without any unusual nces. and then the turrets. zealous students who work with joy and perseverance just enough to brighten this bit of path and throw a poetic note in the way of the in austere classrooms where everything is only promise. II'. toward groups of huntsmen with their hounds were crossing the volcanic region in fierce pursuit of the few survivors of High in the sky the vultures III(' east. but despite the reassuring appearances of the vultures and animal bones which lay . tiring work spend their time preparing food. as provisions have to be laid in for the winter. once you are in that cafe it's all the same to you. where. like those of eagles but interwoven with feathers as white and "I'I as goose feathers. tumbled down the mountainsides. and now and again they would drop or rise in the air.'(:Lof a stage decor appearing II mbolisrn floated over nature. and when night fell he slept with one eye open. Iw'n killed and cut up and then to gorge themselves the last huntsman and hound had disappeared III pite of the presence he was safe in this cabin.S in blossom. biscuits. sat by the wayside. \ ill' . puddles are forming in the rather tall grass. as he had noticed no trace of human life in the vicinity. the continual rains have soaked the ground and the paths are slippery. an air of I. you are safe and if you stand on tiptoe and look through the skylight you can see the enemy ships dropping anchor off the deserted shore and launches crammed with warriors being rowed swiftly toward the bank. fed by the angels with enormous 1111'11 ing snows. each has his own task and his appointed place. the youngest go off in search of game. And then a kind of solidarity springs up among these refugees." Hebdomeros thought that he was still wary. the polar bear splashing about among the ice blocks or fighting with a walrus for a mangled fish. daisies and cornflowers make a timid appearance. 1"lIring some ill-fated missile from the earth. which consists of preserved honey. the women and children are placed in and safety in the back of the shop behind the large boxes and the crates of canned food. in places. but they never lost sight 1)1' the huntsmen. Everywhere signposts with oversized lettering.(50) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (51) or couples of lions spitting flames walk through the middle of the town. in this Nordic country it arrived suddenly. 1II!linedon his guard. the angels were watching with a melb nncholy air the couples who moved off arm in arm beneath the almond II'I'(. Iii 1'1' 111"'111'1' ready if necessary any unpleasant surprise. they also see that the weapons are carefully cleaned and that shoes and clothes are mended. It is there that all those unfitted for dangerous kid's meat.Iii I IIOL even take off his shoes and slept half-clothed. the goatherds had come down from the surrounding mounand played cheerful tunes on their long copper flutes. or iron-beaked birds infest the trees in the city squares or buzzing insects swarm down on the steaming feces of cholera victims.

1 where thousands n 1. Happiness these words could be seen in lights on the main gateway carved in wood and painted in bright pastel their faces red from the heat. seized by a wild panic. the refuge of those whom and kindness of men does not their solemn arches were silent 111111111' neglects but whom the gratitude 1<l'j'l. far from the noise and the smoke. profound peace which sleep demands. of bed and ran for the sirens. kept vigil alone in the darkness. and it would hardly officers waited up at its gates to ask if At the edge of this ineffable If one believes that pity can give birth to array of inexpressible life. at the very heart it had its boundaries have been district the 111. which he did. and those pyramids IIVI'II The hyenas then abandoned . hurried Their only entertainment Ilidl formed the central part of a gigantic triumphal arch upon which lit" Ii rures of women.'. 1111111'. of the rocks. cent streaks. hi lit· to their feet.111111<:. unearthed jumped rushing cadavers 11I11'oil:)m. the world slept buried in an immense tranquillity. puppet master. of the fiancee or of the who dozed on their wagons and only half-opened and set their beasts an eye at each bump." ' the main country roads. jumped the half- lImned calmed let out such howls that the foremen.111'. seen thus at night these wagons Leaving the monset off at top speed looked almost apocalyptic..(52) whitening HEBDOMEROS here and there in the grayness wild or desolate. rather badly.h diminished. The drivers. . began. made their whips whistle off at full tilt. as a wave dies on the beach. surprising if zealous celebrations Indeed. \ & who awaited them down there.I11'1'<:tOI'S public affairs to have built by indifferent of while constructing ir peaceful and fled toward the nearby mountains. with phos- of kings advance strous station of this metropolis where close to eight million men bustled about from morning to night without rhyme or reason.itOI'. it was here that the convulsive on the vast horizon of Hebdomeros' . were blowing. the vanity of human the who employees that the fear of oblivion compelled 11110he dark night. took advantage the puppet smoked and wagons ran along tiny rails. " III show. hair that the cruel feelings its laws and statutes to declare. t Ii 11< I even men with their Cretan eyes. Infinite nos- you had anything a whole promising traffic of the great city came to a halt.1< t riun large mining plants were dotted here and there and was an evening at with a head like Giorgio de Chirico (53) and the coming and going of the busy pe- was not particularly all over it. an hysterical man subject to epileptic as he manipulated his little cardboard fits. These puppet shows were not as quiet and naive as might be thought. constituted and frontiers. This idea had come to a sculptor an Assyrian king who boasted of having been the pupil of a fashionable master and who enjoyed quite a reputation in his own social circle for at times the playing the flute. to waking with a start.h appears of watchdogs with mud-spattered I'l\lIHunts set at their heels. The glory of the past. Hebdomeros off toward that region of nocturnal of the city. homes near a window open on the coolness of fireflies striped the darkness Thus it is in vain that processions 1'. a world apart. like obstinate tritons. then there's whi . bearded "II~ Its Rights: came at last to die. 1111I<. fortresses The of their rare moments of leisure to go fishing or practice shooting at empty bottles. chimneys engineers. them thought of other things. one would have thought them a troop of IIIII\T·d gypsies going to beg bread under the implacable <'<IIlHLant menace luvc. the landscape 11111 nt of the vehicles <'111 . into the long trumpets of which rose beside it. the hour was well advanced so the storm which agitated the troubled heart of Hebdomeros at last. seen from afar their solemn aspect seems alas! Were it not for the glint of the weapons bransun and the di hcd by the cavalry escort. customs which. even out Ihr. by the way.

"Eloquence and the smallest objects.(54) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico I'I. that fantastic slap in the face at poverty and abstemiousness. disrespectful. I' in III'I'P ndicular sheaves. the a moment above all solitary. on the surface of the lake which began to seethe. Then among the overIIIrned stools and the fragments of bottles the tablecloths strewing the tloor wrap themselves like elephant traps around the feet of the hurrying waiters loaded with dishes. the tender chastity. do not dissolve in an endless flood of tears. hydropical after having hung philosophers. eye turned toward like a missile over the motley pattern of towns. but the deepest compassion he felt for those men who eat alone in restaurants. thus causing real disasters. especially cruel and can defile dl"I'C where those sinister lakes. despair to the navigator b 1111 III motionless caravel in midocean. over the tamed forests where each tree has its name and its history. why all the personnel of the with the furniture. insult. took on the hieroglyphic admissible form of a giant greyhound with a body of an inlength. clouds heavy as rocks and 1IIIck as night were torn apart by the sporadic flight of jagged lightning. true phantoms living in another atmosphere. "before these indiscreet displays. riddled repeated from with caves and which the even light coming from the ceiling made appear still more unreal. arometers in offices were fair and steady. their with their brazen look the virginal purity. Myrmidons! Myrmidons! . toward the rich who suffer and toward the poor. 111(\ opened their disquieting iky like the eye of the Uranoscopus.. tenderness. clothes demigods become poseurs tried to be clever on the quicklime-spattered tlrrough uul . his friends. I that they oozed from the cracks in the rocks.. over the fields whose vast hollow is made fertile by more than one seed which the provident farmer sows at the opportune moment. toward the loquacious man and the taciturn.rtiary epoch. lire wishing to appear simple and unaffected. with water still and black whose depths II It! never been sounded.lless nights in the trains of the state railways. of well-being. tablecloths. the busy serv- . this cry reverberated along the deserted beaches. a hypothetical ordnance survey map. before umptuous stilllifes where bananas and pineapples fall in an avalanche the flanks of disemboweled that provocative presumptuousness before that gigantic Millions and millions of warriors invaded the vineyards. the country. have seen vengeance grinning in the shadows. in his imagination heightened by the sleel. they went into the water so wouldn't get wet. the infinite the ineffable melancholy of this moment they are living. Will into water. for at the same time he of the past. The great hypostases which accompanied als were followed by unforgettable never failed to be present. through those mountains modeled in relief. with the manager and the cashier. and sometimes they waited whole days was revolted.II() 10 echo. which the simple fisherman II I. passing through spectacles. [lu-n the rain fell and fell without end. they said. covering them with a shame so gentle and so poignant that one doesn't understand premises. and Hebdomeros' compassion turned toward all humanity. hi' Inches of a barren fig tree on the bank. before these deer and polychrome pheasants. 'harming fashion calls the parson-fish. passing dll' 'I' . I~II' hese strange storms to break in order to have the chance to make t Ihis subtle joke. when they are seated near a window so that the passers-by. At other points of the globe." he said. bounding in a rigid leap across the world. Hebdomeros w IS thinking ruldressing 10 the wine jugs and all the dishes down to the saltcellars these telluric upheavat which Hebdomeros one might have said of something else. (55) as in talgias and sudden bursts of emotion which. in long packed strands. Above the peristyle the sky was clear and of a deep 1111('.

his head tilted slightly backeye (in this case it can be said since he the profile of a woman engraved on one side of it. Ird ings and combats at night.. in silence.(56) HEBDOMEROS by a flood . Ilk.f oar and to look death in the face. after all. were all in their I'I'I'-':H11. is one-eyed. rather than submit to the shame of disguising themselves as W"II"'".01k' . like abandoned ships. the acropolis!"No. the Pericles I present to you the end of a hot summer day." huge dysenteric mares come to graze ward. think. This was. greatly disturbed this noble society gentlemen. were more than likuly to spend a sleepless night.against the hard and cold drum of a column.ed to form a kind of grotto were less disturbed by the play of the .. But at length he returned to reality and talked of September mornings on the sacred hill which overlooked the city. "there is no question. of a crow or of Paulus. their milieu. for the sight of the shore did not interest III ... leading to terrible wreckage accompanied and shriveled bodies of chickens.•. he rose and spoke in a voice grave but strange.1 li~ht. II'" . the old picadors whom age has sent from the arena but for which they retain a nostalgia. this time. and these fishermen accustomed to the nautical mythology were at all impressed III1. The windows were open. on the .tI 111" f. far from making him ridiculous. though there is indeed a Pericles. When evening came the long shafts 1." he replied with a sly smile. long and knockrecall.I kneed.etic warriors and disabused I" find themselves in proximity to a pile of ruins which in falling had . 1.111111 . firmly planted on their armor. rather were of the luxury hotels lighted on every "lIIong them turned their backs to the sea." Hebdomeros on the tender camomile blossoms which flower in the shadow those who have preferred to of sauces of all colors on which float. whose only resource was to lean their aching I. magnificent attitudes and listened to him speak. the roasted could go no farther. and who was the affectionate friend of sculptors. and to hide that infirmity he wears his helmet pulled down on his head as far as the middle of his nose. ronism. his legs. at once voices arose:The acropolis.-1.pirates listening to their chief recounting the appalling stories of I". as if he did not see the two thousand six hundred and seventy-five faces of those men who came there to hear him and who kept their eyes fixed on him. IIf "rI Giorgio de Chirico (57) ants topple over. their by what was going on around them. with a compassionate world. apart from the anachhis left shoulder with a careless . threaten to sink with each stroke of the oar. especially when he throws his chlamys over gesture. the faithful. he rose like those shadows which rise on the damp walls of cells when a lantern is placed on the ground. he who was felled by the implacable plague at architects and poets. but the others. he holds a coin in his left hand and contemplates was one-eyed) for a long time. it is not the one of whom you instinctively painters. those who had the luck "I 11K .lorious ruins. lloor and shining like beacons on the high. as pregnant peasants and as wet nurses and mingling with that I "Iwd of two-legged ewes to escape in crammed and overladen boats At the moment they remained lying on the ground around \ liI. but even so he has style and a certain elegance. It sometimes happened that certain them at all. at evening when the square is deserted.lhdomeros in idle. H:k .11' tors. which the searchlights installed by the rebels on the surround"I heights beamed in all directions. those whom fright. selfishness and 1IIIIIwfui cowardice have not conquered. sheer cliffs at the foot of whi h long waves died away silently.y intrigued by the presence Among the drumlike shapes of the fallen columns where.

seating himself at the table to 11111 "III 11111 I I111 11"11 a modest meal which he prepared himself. Now it sometimes happened pipe '. drawn by the whispering of all those sea-gods stranded below on the dark beach. of a scrawny bird (a kind of undernourished i' l!\'Io"enarian hunter who was at the same time his neighbor in the brought to him each day. whose activity so strongly attracted the attention of every- III I act "Justice above all. by dint of economy. which.ires of their gastrointestinal . leaving this place where there was nothing more for them to do. which made him think of hunting where logs blazed. to rehearse his role. So he placed the . drinking cheerfully and smoking long winter and the happy meetings of hunters in inns. yawning. sometimes he also placed cotton 111111 iii ing around it. singing.old dog. not to avenge himself for the bad treatment to which they had subjected him on many occasions. ten years before. entered the suburbs that were like the backstage personages.came close to mysticism and obsession. he considered this ililo Lwocategories: moral and immoral. lark) which oft n.. Hebdomeros and his companions. under an aspect of weariness and "I' blueberry jam. after stretching hard enough I" . Up at dawn. their gait accelerated by the steep slope which remained alone up went down toward the marketplace. in order to play this role on the dusty boards. and his soul was filled with II. in spite of new ideas and the evolution of tastes and customs. > ight of certain restaurants where gourmets go to satisfy the obscene .In:. to paint stilllifes of game. the twilight descended gently. Hebdomeros have enough courage to invite them to share his meal. asked never succeeded in giving himself a satisfactory that finding himself alone in his Ili:-. of the city. on those boards which. for he liked. II one." he said. on the terraces. plunged in his meditations. In fact. he whistled 1111 Ilii. like actors who await the cue to go on stage and there to recite with all the skill their masters have taught them that which they know by heart or almost.I. he had rented a small Later. they went off cheerfully." If someone kilo ked at the door just as he was about to sit down to eat. consisted of an end of rye bread and a spoonful there in that house where. room shabbily sides. while it cooked he turned it uround. He divided dishes ill fact about food in general. sustained furnished. At the dinner hour he plucked the bird and put it in a small with some goat's butter and a little salt. saving on all by that will which.r with a little sugar. this meal consisted. are always somehow dirty and shameful. he would I i II room. More than once Hebdomeros. it was there that each of these to prepare himself. perated sarcasm of many of his contemporaries. apart II"lin the tiny roast bird. 1(1bird on a table with a napkin. Thus every evening Hebdomeros bought a bird Ilillli him which he did not eat until the following evening. went to apply make-up. sticking it with a fork and always repeating out loud the lillie entence: "It must feel the heat. he had succeeded in renting the whole house and in dispossessing the original tenants. had always dominated his life.lislocare his bones. He had a moral theory about different dishes. his three friends always left him toward six in the evening. but to punish them for their meanness. He was utterly disgusted by apparatus. with it he drank fresh beer yeast dissolved in filtered Will . when he meditated on so many unsolved enigmas.moments of leisure. seated near the ""'places pOI himself this question: Why is there always something shameful about the theater?-He answer. who followed him. which earned him the antipathy and " 1I weakness.. This old man had a worship for hunting \ Ili. the rich guests in evening clothes had come out. as if it were snow. It must feel the heat.(58) HEBDOMEROS Ii Giorgio de Chirico (59) balconies.·1.

while the right foot up there was pressing down upon the pure. neither his faithful friends nor even that virgin with the ardent glance and II" royal walk to whom the hymn was dedicated. II" lrunspeakahle f Giorgio de Chirico (61) a righteous and holy indignation. contracts. was the act of eating how sensible people and cream. etc. in his eyes. by his legions in the conquered I. he feared the whatIII/'l-people-say. disgusting mollusk with all the accompanying paraphernalia slices of black bread.S thin slivers of lemon. detention. which. and before this new life. acquae calidae. 1"~lween his left toes Mexican bandits were pursuing each other like hnlf-starved wild animals round overheated rocks during the dog days. see. He also found very immoral the habit of eating ice cream in cafes. before the magnificent panorama spread '1111 like a map of the world. Now the trees which had invaded the rooms and . He put it all oI"WIl 10 human stupidity. have for ought to be stamped out vigorously was the exaggerated and instinctive raw vegetables: artichokes preserved in vinegar. he should have liked to nurse it as a hepatic patient his liver at the hot cholagogic springs. Beaten white of egg and whipped cream were also. But what upset him most was to of a meal. when it is still alive. . which he considered as immense and eternal II sucking at them with bestial delight. ridiculous harangues about the aroma of oysters. which makes you think of the sea and waves dashing against the cliffs and similar nonsense that only someone totally devoid of all sense of decency and self-control would find amusing. while on . swollen every day II fresh examples. fat weasel-faced old men nodding their heads in front of the notched. white l'l'gions among the polar bears. his feet at the end of his outspread legs touched different lands. IIllny. and with 111I'1nied away the thousand voices of the mysterious forest and its d diHturbing odor. especially. partiality. at the beginning buttered I'H'kill the doors as if about to commit rape or incest. .IITidorsof his house moved off slowly toward the south. and the whole ritual seasoned Ii peptic and in love. Caesar. cucumbers. that women. he suddenly saw the Oceans. they were already far off. a sentence varying from ten to fifteen years of also. He considered strawberries and figs the most immoral of fruits. the oyster addicts swallowing this of carefully with small glasses of special white wine. actions in the depths of the darkest rooms and double- he fled from those who ate lobsters. Most punishable. he could not understand could commit such obscene acts and how they had the courage to do in front of other people. No one read the hymn he composed that evening. jagged crenelations of the glaciers that rose up like the ruins of famous cathedrals destroyed in war. impure substances. etc .(60) HEBDOMEROS Like Orestes pursued by the Furies to break and then armored monsters. they emigrated 'roups. in families and tribes. Like the I'olossus of Rhodes. pickles. in his view. this faith. or long.. instead of hiding the shame of . an offense so serious as to deserve but a Colossus of Rhodes infinitely enlarged in a II r 'am. according to his code. he hated these social circles that were as indiscreet as till' I III were obtuse. . taciturn servant whom Hebdomeros called 1':11 menides was sweeping out the ruins that were still strewn about the 1I00r. Being served in the morning for breakfast with fresh figs covered with crushed ice was.. An aged. Unshakeable lilllll! He should have liked to nurse it. Another thing that he thought was extremely immoral and often verging on voracity. tiln universe and in which he had unshakeable faith. strawberries so in public. surrounded Illq I revolting theories and obscene explanations of the effect lemon has on the mollusk. harmful. first taking a nutcracker the paws and pincers of these hideous. . for Hebdomeros. and the whole idea of putting cubes of ice in drinks. .III"'.

muffled at first and barely perceptible. then. but the recollection moments spent in the midst of a scattered and indifferent public was quite enough to console him. Indeed soon the rumbling of thunder. quick and regular like the movement of eyelids. still addressing smile. gusts of wind sweep through the garden. the shapes of those temples and sanctuaries run narrow passes built in plaster rhut stand at the foot of sheltering mountains and rocks through which that made one strangely aware not only of the unknown worlds nearby but also of those distant horizons heavy with . I" Ihe IlIlIk illg and bald old men who. that. 'Shut the windows! Shut the windows!' cries the lady of the house. rash young his young disciple with a corners of the low-ceilinged rooms. luminous and warriors. turned his steps again toward the rivers with toward the decaying palaces whose domes and weather vanes rose up under the ever-fleeing clouds. just where the ornamental moldings joining the walls to the ceiling formed a right angle. whirling up the dead leaves and the magazines left on the cane chairs. IV I 1111. "I don't like the look of those faces. portraits move in their frames and pictures on the wall drop to ghostly cooks. so that their nephews will not have to blush referring to them. This forbidding whose solemn door was closed at the moment ought to have of what he had seen there during nddened him. funereal violinists hurriedly in cases that look like babies' tlli' unfortunate III(' concrete pluce to make observations I"lil heard.(62) HEBDOMEROS Eskimos all 111111111-. and then heavy.1 di over there on the other bank. moving up slowly out of the r-hiaroscuro of his memory and little by little defining themselves in his mind. completely plucked long legs. that avoids or you would have preferred t"" iningful of the fine clear days by the set off in ships ""lihore. compact groups of philosophers blocks in soft. you would have preferred III(' proverb says. rather. panic-stricken. but. think of the Immortals II) blessing those who love them and wllo. put away their instruments sight: strange bare. to whom he replied: "All right. He saw. as r all that and don't trust appearances. is growing louder." pl"pure to die with dignity. armed with their ivory-headed WIt"11 1111111. held mysterious secret meetings in 1111' rround. prototypes of assassins. warm drops of rain begin to fall on the dusty paths with the noise of a finger flicking at thick. for they know that this is the best to return later to their loved ones and live there without malice without remorse. run round the dining table on their like miniature ostriches. like polycephalic colors. what you are thinking." burst out one of Hebdomeros' youngest disciples. silent lightning streaks flash. Giorgio de Chirico (63) the threshold of their stinking huts lined with sealskins. one sees this inexplicable hens. wearing golden helmets and silver breastplates. think IIV( the company of these phantoms on an enclosed veranda when the long.." Hebdomeros banks. I understand. better to return as a ghost than never at all. Once again the flares rose silently in the distance into the great. taut material. it is true that they return only as ghosts. inspiration then you'll no longer have like the one I have speeches referring to microbes and surgical instruments and turns pale with fright when tactless people use expressions like breast-feeding. climb stealthily up canes. phantoms of a puritanical society restricted or at least I can guess the well-behaved by its laws. You would have preferred added Hebdomeros. where are the bedrooms of those distinguished- wrapped up in furs politely offered their wives to excited explorers. discuss midwives and methods of childbirth. dark night. rushing madly through the rooms like Niobe obsessed by the sight of her children bristling with darts. econd floor. young man. "But think. and herald the storm approaching in the distance.

has never come to sit at their table or their bedside. heated by hats. you are far from town. on the other bank. hustle of street life momentarily halted by a passing funeral procesthe country is again full of life and gaiety and shows all this off or remorse. there where the last pavements are like harbor quays before the sea of fields and meadows. those who remain waVe their handkerchiefs the polychrome and raise their hands in salute: Be happy! Lebe toohll May fortune smile on you! Good luck! But behind waves of this sea decked out with red poppies and Wilh his arms crossed like a stern tribune watching an orgy. "for too is harmful.llect. bellying out in the spring wind. you think . the very sad paintings of epochs long the guide was saying.11 ill 1111. you could go on board. A magic word shone in the air like the cross of Constantine and multiplied itself in space to the edge of the horizon like the ads for a toothpaste: I"w. that demon who snickers constantly at your side. "It's to maintain the balance. hanging on the wall. he has hing the flight of the lark that rises in the sky like the white pingin the evening when they return tired to their cottages. and women. appeared. 11l' was thinking: "These men are happy. calling now and again in the low v r followed them as they go off to work at sunrise.. tempting demon who haunts us others. before this unexpected 1. but happy or one thing is certain. waving their terrified trunks in the face of the tempest.onsumption of fermented drinks. sickle on shoulder. and he saw the Flood: masses of water swirling over the plains. "I' dried-up riverbeds. dance in a circle round slippery 1'. II.(64) adventure HEBDOMEROS that ever since his unhappy childhood Hebdomeros had I Illid Giorgio de Chirico . that is that the unhappy. Will I'ling ball on a jet of water in a shooting booth. the night gods Were whispering at the frontiers of the town. still less does he follow I hem I'I'UWS.lilll-\.'(. or simply undisturbed. in regular couples regain the neighboring mounturns «roak that I have always liked. IIII' on that subject there would be much to say as well. just opposite the sacred place where the golden columns of the Temple of Immortality gleamed in the rays of a sun nailed to the Center of the ceiling so that it could not sink down. Now the thousand noises of the countryside spring up again like i It. \ nhout embarrassment 111" wreathed with flowers the peasants and peasant women." much happiness 11111111 .. while the after gorging themselves on rotting carcasses lying at the bottom with a slow rhythmic flight. clinging to the last remaining rocks while elephants stood out. silhouetted black against the livid flashes of lighting. visible.. But was it really worthwhile evoking all that? Insomnia in the suffocating night and the tiger's eyes shining in the bedroom near the closed mosquito net. then they too disappear and then peace descends once and birds that had stopped singing for a sight. in front of the farms whose doors 11111.' ." And so Hebdomeros saw Christ insulted dead. And we know what it means. or at least they seem to be. set off and sail at leisure on the yellow waves of ripe wheat or on the green ripples of fresh grass. burst out again into joyful war- Delphoil Delphoi! A soft sighing noise like laurel over the countryside bushes bent over by the autumn winds passed through the warm air and.·d up in a very calm sea..nt. over there at the end of this part of the town that juts out like a promontory into the sea of fields. those who remain behind in the last cafe. the sails. with muscles like Titans. IIIIIIOUS III II. The moonlight was so soft that the mountains seemed very near.1. men of sensibility and .ornflowers the boat disappears (65) slowly as if it were being swal- always loved. "II' . Hebdomtared thoughtfully at these noisy manifestations of innocent joy.::> and with sharp cries throw into the air their beribboned oII'O/') by the crowd and then dragged by the legionaries before Pilate.

Ih ·ir weapons thunder and hoisted up the poles and masts their 1111. not to mention his friends and disciples.il"morning scales. had been so well conc~ived that they could have with: tood far greater pressures. who was flying over the looked down. the life on this road lin~d with houses from each . you think yourself easy and free when all of a sudden you realize that you are not alone. someone is still sitting on your bench. uid pennants. the tempting demon. this gentleman dressed with an outmoded elegance whose face reminds you vaguely of certain photographs of Napoleon III and also of Anatole France at the time of The Red Lily. yes. was stretched 11.1. long after he has disappeared. when you get up.(66) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (67) yourself as free and easy as a schoolboy who has played hookey. after all. farms. the weather was still very fine. events of an unheard-of solemnity followed one another with the fatality dictated by the goddess History as she sat on a cloud with a book lying haises longues. alive. it's always he. These old men were alive. made out on one of the chaises longues. the clearings were carpeted with very green young grass where played and shouted which looked clean. on the sunny heights green trees were spaced children mingling the various shades of their happily. while below in the harbor iron-plated vessels 11111. the worst misdemeanors. and if you lose your patience and begin to hurl stones at him with all your strength. at that moment Mercury." he will rush off across the fields like a madman. and when the burst of catlnon fire echoed through Where return? To the mines? Hebdom~ros instinctively avoided til' v III y he raised his staff in one hand and waved it with joy. that the chairs Wereable to support such which th~y had taken to be made "lllir-ely of stone. All that would have be~il quite normal. imitating to the life the barking of a dog. lilli' places pepper and-salt.ane were in fact all metal. yes. and said as much to his companions.1 II bdomeros. but something unusual drew their attention and III1(1 them realize that things were not as normal as they had at first .1 sad. 1111. t h. Yet. cheerful and inviting poked their pointed roofs up between the trees. portly C~binet Ministers "'ere shaking hands with . lilt' II nn her knee. he will leap out from behind a tree. In front of each house was a small ~. In a while. sad or happy. you think yourself easy and free and indulge in dreams and memories of the past. this gentleman who is looking at you with a sly laugh. everything was bathed in light. in your life.1 unhealthy areas where fever reigned unchecked all the year round iunkeepers place sulphate of quinine on the tables as elsewhere Rather the bore~om of a life adjusted to logical a~d not lacking in poetry.rden with cane benches 1111.' hands of a watch but essentially 11111 .iI which rose the lament of pianos bothered by adolescents practicing Ihl. IlIlIosing surroundings. pill. and you set off along the dusty path. but when they drew they saw that the armchairs ui-urer "I' . nearby. houses that were modest but foliage. . recollecting the faces of women you have loved and the most important events. shouting insults and accusing you in front of the villagers of even of raping little girls and setting fire to rather tired and This long soliloquy had made Hebdomeros out at intervals. would hardly h!lv!: been averse to taking a few days' reSt in these monotonous.11111 IO(lking into the eyes of monarchs whose torsos were mosaicked 1111 medals and ribbons.·hdomeros was astonished II weight. and the interweaving of the steel threads. thought. in each garden an enormous old man. II I. you are sitting on a bench near a deserted path shaded by trees whose thick foliage checks the burning rays of the sun and forces them to filter harmlessly through and pick out on the road the perforated notes of an aerophone disc.inted a straw color.l unshed tears. till" 1111.

that you ought never to visit the South 111111 I he East. which soon began to look like a battlefield after the battle. who approved the idea. Sometimes a light flush spread over their behind the they talked from one garden to the next. it was as if they were suffering from an eternal stiff neck and wished to avoid the slightest movement from fear the pain. cheeks and in the evening when the sun had disappeared nearby wooded mountains tI" 1111111' k. whereas the South is a little II~. then it was decided to have them taken away so that they shouldn't uselessly encumber the little gardens of the villas. 'yare deleterious and corrosive lands.'I'I.(68) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (69) men on but only just. gentle wisdom that falls Ih palm trees along with the ripe dates. I h se are strongholds Il!luck . I would advise you to beware of the South and the East. it was a man with a disquieting manner and a horrible squint. but also cool oases where you III 1t"11 11"111 or \I II for nothing more..\ the East. in the chaste hours of morning. called himself a sculptor was summoned.III. but their heads remained of reawakening motionless. he mingled in his conversation stupid puns and coarse jokes and his breath stank of brandy from yards away. down there behind the black cliffs whose silhouette looked like the figures of gothic apostles the moon rose. soon this part of the heavens too was 1. friends. thin ones at first that came at intervals like great Illtlli I telling stories of long ago. "All the same we should go north. if you have something to say or something to show. friends.lill'k veils trailing from some invisible hand up there and then denser 111111 that came closer together. in no time at all the whole sky was to his he went on. say it and how it in the North and the West. not by frontal III " will stay there. 1. there was a very faint glow of life in their faces and the upper part of their bodies. a pale. Hebdomeros and his friends stood like shipwrecked " IliIl. 11111 that does not mean. it was fleeing on the clouds across 1111 . But one evening the big stone men no longer spoke. wide world the inimical things far outnumber the favorable ones. northern moon. beyond the stormy sea that threw up great mountains onto the shore. at times their eyes would move. lay Africa. .. even the top of the cranium was cold and their eyes had closed.·k. The eternal cause of these brawls was a dead animal that two hunters at once claimed to have killed. holding their rifles by the end of the barrel and brandishing them like clubs or grasping their hunting knives in their fists. you will have more chance there Ihllil unywhere else of being understood and rewarded for your pains. however it is by way of the North that one must II. They spoke of the days of hunts for roe deer and grouse in the forests that were damp and dark even at noon. there is joy in work and sleep without IIII'OW.d h"I'" the sky was still bright. II. "It is true. Hebdomeros watched the oming from the south and scudding away toward the north in clouds. beauty and light. To the North lie life and I'lippiness.. towns whitened by the intense the sun. and a kind of strange. He arrived with a case full of mallets of various sizes and set to work right away." "I hili Ihe North is a little like the West. III Ih . The tide rose up to these pitiful fragments. specialists who were hastily called to examine them found that the tiny glimmer of life that had kept them alive until then had disappeared. a man who. which result only in failure and loss of men and equipment. .1"llIh-l I II . but they must not think of it. one after the other the old stone men were broken up and thrown into the valley. yes. looking toward the south. they recalled how many times they had rushed upon one another." said Hebdomeros r uurpunions. they knew that over there whence Ih gale. the day will come when not only will you go there but to be taken through a ruse. thirst and dysentery.

ri ver which ran through it and fertilized • be for you a cause of remorse and a desire to follow in ~heir tepid water flows from the faucets "I 1 \ 11K asily navigable right up to the fish-filled lake where it emptied. once finished. The position of this town. . the in the bowels of the men claimed the doors to the fresh winds that ~ive . and with attention is not sufficient... 1111. wu. happens house. the luxuriant ."th.oals to replace those damaged by the storm and preparing salt equipment on the mass of the at the mouth and which and work.lds The lake lay in a hollow surrounded its depths.I" III dawn.(70) HEBDOMEROS and good strategy and know h\)w to That your friends and relatie'rs.!'·11 in harmonious applauded and then got to their feet to look down at the little flying unfamiliar the sailors were repairing specialists 'He went down fighting. strange tales were told. making quarreled among "111111'1. where men have fair skins and blue eyes and wl1lere with a magnifying glass.ros called the most happily situated in the universe.ndering on its surface. At present when deeper I~yers bathe yo~~ life swe1\t in 11I"I. while talkative and long-haired I"nil I ' lves as they installed l'II'lkwater dll1l1 scientific That the highway under construction. the t{}cky tI'lli hied these perspicacious IIi hi of the imagination. light of fame. all that you will see in lhese III(" battlements.1 iyes new life to the plants and flowers and bring the animals out frorr the lairs and dens they had fled to from the heat of the midday sun. courage is not sufficient.wing the period at the entrance 1111 (71) so you must have sound tactics your wits. thifl k of at the sea lions biting fiercely into the wooden craft that pitch alarmi'<gly. The crater of into rocks which fog and factory smoke had masked during the of smoke and small yellow and in the valley disappeared by steep walls. by thick walls. colors had anchored that the sails.hllnged. which Hebits countryside and pipelines in the heat of the dog \:lays in ~our . and disciples and seascapes Til ink towns over which eternal fog and mist spretllcl a can look straigll\ at which can be '\exfriel'. The fact is that no one dared to venture forth . opening. alternated I h. even people follow your activities gates they now found themselves combat them using not only your courage but also your knowled~~ and whom you have never heard of but who know yoll. and think also of the great pine forests on the high mountainsides the hour the sun disappears summits.1I. where in full daylight albino children artists work long hours on portraits amined. or and sympathy may one daY say: Giorgio de Chirico 1. round about them the in style and the ogival arches rose on all When he had finished his long speech. protected sometimes curves. As sometimes lundscape unfriendly 1 faded gradually away to give place to the ugly outline of in the shadows. otherwise III have seen in the dead of night monsters from the Tertiary period leaned against balustrades or lay down as they listeoc:ed. slowly in the clear air behind as it sinks. of reason force you to accept discipline ever finer and greater achievements in the eternal shirtsleeves shouldn't footsteps...III but which now loomed up suddenly volcano began to spew out whirlwinds vegetation hluish flames. which probably disappeared declared that at the middle of the lake they had tried in vain serious-minded the orb of the sun.' I. if the flies attack your food and if the milk and sauces tun' bad in the cupboards.I Irk ness. young men who were given to lyrical night had fallen and the scene the gentle charm of this in dreams Meanwhile. also of those blessed kindly veil. among drains if suspiciously of hlld)(lr where two frigates easy . think of going hunting in the polar regions.' pleasures words is regret for your wild youth wasted away in the pursuit until the moment you reached maturity. and drive you tOward which henceforth engineers IlIlIvi 'ions." Hebdomeros' it) iound ".

a sunny countryside. but once night fell you saw the other side of the coin.(72) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (73) into the middle of the lake. he was driving before him toward the darkness of lc p his flock of dreams. would rather have put up with the opposite: living in anguish during the day. He was an intrepid 1IIInnl who unfortunately wimmer and once. though for the photograph he had let his beard grow. life. "He had a passion for beards. he who guides the souls that beans cause dreams to be dark and confused. while surrounding M rcury and his strange flock all was dark and desolate as though they hud entered a vast tunnel. but once night fell. having wished to attempt a river in flood. men going about their busi- peasants working in the fields. in this he agreed with Pythagoras. his luce adorned with a black beard that contrasted with the almost infantile . of the relatively recent past that we find in the portraits of our parents in their youth. behind Mercury and his flock. for. an artist of great had died very young. as everyone knows. He looked upon sleep as something sacred and very gentle and he did not allow his peace to be disturbed by anyone or anything. one couldn't pass one's nights in the fear of meeting an ichthyosaur or of being awakened from a deep sleep by the roar of a volcano. Hebdomeros. background in the distance. pia e of his staff. in roles but they are . Hebdomeros was more decided than ever to leave this land which hid behind a deceptive facade of peacefulness and fertility strange snares and terrors. the blinds lowered and the doors shut. He expressed a similar respect for the children of sleep. that is. he was wept by the current and. "he loved certain aspects of the past. On the wall above his bed Hebdomeros had hung II 1110 1 curious picture painted by one of his friends. but also of bringing dreams to the I"t·p of the living. II bdomeros sincerely regretted the death of the young artist. for in I It . As long as the sun was shining all went well. towns. namely dreams.xpression of his features. who maintains II Still. he disappeared in the eddies. All the same. that was why he had engraved on the legs of his bed an image of Mercury oneiropomp. Mercury was encharged by Jupiter not only with exercising the profession of psychopomp. as can be seen from the following menu served to Hebdomeros and his friends in a restaurant where they went for dinner: CARROT SOUP HI' III dead to the world beyond. this photograph shows the artist from in front. he used to shave. as film actors sometimes do to look more convincing where this ornament to the male features is indispensable. The picture was very well composed. despite his own efforts and the efforts of rhose who tried to save him. one ARTICHOKES CIGOT MASHED SEMOLINA STEWED OF MUTTON POTATOES PUDDING PRUNES IIW III'S. to be able to retire in perfect safety and peace of mind. The picture holding a crook in III' had painted depicted Mercury as a shepherd. the bringer of dreams. in short. yet the inhabitants were by no means uncivilized and their tastes were quite refined. harbors. he kept photograph taken a few days before the reckless attempt that was to cost him his life. And also because of dreams Hebdomeros refrained from eating beans al dinner. once the bolts were drawn. moreover a row of small vermilion red buoys marked the beginning of the area where the sounding line no longer touched bottom." said Hebdorneros whenever his friends asked him for details about the young artist's life.

long a widower. the arrival in our port of the steamer Argolide. hate and pain he ways these three words: 'Oh! the scoundrel!' It's that he has happened after her marriage to glance at the portrait of Clotilda. the old man the stern face who recently underwent an operation on his liver. Surely if he had fully realized his own worth. quite wrong. Now and then during his reveries he passed his hand over his forehead as if to push sad thoughts and unwelcome images from his mind and raising his head he said: "Let us talk further about him. But to get back to the subject. than such a homecoming.I de Cologne. but he used to say that. frightened . to achieve an athletic feat that others with better training and greater resistance would certainly have brought off successfully. wilh «u also know that he lives not far from here in a villa hidden among ou ·alyptus trees." the harbor.lllIsts that you and I know well. often h stares into space in front of him. in fact he seldom of its preparation call him the 'butterologist' I~ ts angry and his smile under his white mustache is always sad. who five years ago left his father's house 10 roam the world and live his life.(74) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (75) wrong.1 it's on this very ship that young Lecourt is returning to his homel\Own.1 moment on the. You know his father. out of bravado. for a false beard always looks more real on the screen than a true one. from a certain Just as dangers and risks. at once numerous pigeons. having seen them always since our IllIrli st childhood. This IIIJ man. prodigal son. the hands on the clock and the shadows on the sundials have reached that fateful point which some say indicates midnight in deserted the hour of ghosts far more interesting and complicated than those which ordinarily appear before us at the stroke of graveyards or in the lonely ruins of a haunted castle under the pallid light of the moon as it bursts the storm clouds. this young artist who fell victim to his own daring. just as a film set made of wood and cardboard is always more 'authentic' than a natural one. from our balcony can be seen the villa's park. carefully avoiding Eai. there is nothing more moving. especially without the usual show of killing the fatted calf and the white-bearded old man stretching out his forgiving . and point of view. his hands dutch the arms of the chair and then in a voice trembling with anger.11. instinctively everyone pulled out his watch. if we go out on the balcony now it shouldn't be long before we see him. yes. his features contract. he attributes I rreat importance to butter and has devoted long hours to the study throughout the ages. The cannon shot you have just heard. Among perfumes he only liked Eau de Lubin. mustache. "We have not yet reached the middle of the day. thinking it was noon. hardly ever leaves the house. my dear friends. Thomas Lecourt. but Hebdomeros put out a restraining hand. occasionally he would have worked away quietly. he would not have risked his life in that way. Eau de Lubin had a more evocative scent. my friends. a handsome his daughter lotilda. hunchbacked Clotilda who was left pregnant a few months man with a blond Hebdomeros said these last words a burst of cannon fire echoed round by the explosion. his friends sometimes jokingly but he does not get angry. l4imply announcing IIdH event would be of no interest had I not heard. Ih 1. through local gossip. the cannon shot you have just heard does not mean that the sun in space. whirled past the balcony. But try telling that to the film directors who spend their time looking for fine sites and picturesque vistas. they understand nothing!" Hebdomeros fell silent and stared thoughtfully at the gentle arabesques of an oriental carpet he had just bought. though there are moments when u flash of anger passes through his eyes. alas. the Lecourt son is returning to his father's house. and whom everyone called from 11. by her husband.

hut no lavish extras.lml. the wind held its breath." Following Hebdomeros' imply neutral. like a lion dis. leaning on a long staff and carrying on his back a heavy bag and a coat rolled up and tied with string. in mystery and at the to metaphysical began to announce on to the balcony. cleared for the occasion of all the plants and flowerpots. then his appetite returned and he thought with 1. weary of their past life and of their present life and of the years that still awaited them. He was careful to precede ""'lIlcement with a violent roll of drums. but he was just /I bit of a gourmand. 11111. "I'P 'aring into the jungle again with the antelope it has taken by surprise II il drank at the water's edge. The sky was covered with a thin layer of clouds and from time to time a small breeze blew very gently. intelligent way. he liked the taste He also liked Jews and everything to do with them. In the middle of the eucalyptus park the father's house maintained a stubborn silence behind its closed shutters 1)1' Israel he also set off on a journey. as soon as they saw him arrive. he never o Ie'called with excessive pleasure the joys of the table. Men in shirtsleeves to which Hebdomeros and his friends The garden of the villa was lit up by Venetian lanterns lixed to the trunks of the eucalyptus trees. the curtains which had billowed out romantically in the open windows sank back again like flags when who had been playing billiards the wind drops. I'ompany of Jews he would relax and enjoy a sweet and strange torpor " . they all shouted together: "There he is. . others took a position at the windows and they all watched the white road that sloped down to the harbor. appetizing things to eat. for in this suddenly stopped playing as though they had become immensely weary. a buffet had been set lip where the guests could find many healthy. .8Ure f the noonday meal. This was the moment that Hebdomeros 1'I'preciated most of all. whistling imperceptibly in the dry grass and telegraph wires.h as he felt on journeys. there he is!" and then louder still: "Three cheers for the one who has come back! Three cheers for the wanderer's return! Three cheers for the prodigal son!" These shouts and cheers spread from house to house and set the whole place in an uproar. sad or sunny.(76) HEBDOMEROS invitation some of his friends went out III Giorgio de Chirico (77) arms. A policeman coming out of II IIlIITOW. little interested complications. With shrill cries the swallows cut through the air in long black streaks. for when traveling he always had a slight i IIIpression of being in a dream. The sky in the west was still bright. soon at the end of the road appeared a man who plodded wearily along. and as if in sympathy everything else gradually fell silent too.ngers as well as cargo. soon flags appeared in the windows. clear water and strong toli ICCO. everything was quiet and still. in a discreet. To celebrate the return of the prodigal son. aping the military parade step and making with their mouths all sorts of unmentionable the roll of the drum. men left their work to gangs of children started to march noises to imitate come and see what was happening.-111 ""l1sible Ilip \)1' his voice the next steamer departure times and which ships took each an- 1"'!'It. A town crier. and on the veranda. with their long procession of hours. neither sad nor sunny. he was far from being a glutton. when he found himself with the children in front of the escort of soldiers. in the "I' bread and grilled mutton fat and fresh. The noises died down. dark cul-de-sac put a stop to this sacrilege by seizing the • in and returning with him back into the passage. and it was Hebdomeros' friends who gave the signal. a few days later the ruther gave a large reception w re invited. just hours! Everyone became and thoughtful. but you felt that this would not last long.. a journey to the end of the dark nizht of history and human races.

·: "Sir. cut out of an exercise book. nd reeling that the other was overdoing things. the first guests began Hebdomeros arrived too. leaning on hiP hildren for support. it was caused by two of the actors in the third and final sketch. He was 1111 dark and the whiteness of the houses faded gradually away. they separated IWI) the two men.11. been able to take a joke.. Old Lecourt led the applause each time.. on his left. he slapped his fellov' "I"or in the face. was going beautifully: the party had an atmosphere of Though in fact it was quite justi/ h. maintaining a dreamy silence.lid acquaintance of the master of the house and was particularlj by nature. High in the sky the last rays of the setting sun tinted with a soft rose one side of the little violet clouds that had arranged themselves like an amphitheater.'1 when he turned his back on the class to write on the black' IIII'''~I. his arrival and his presence was not particularly noticed. havinj and what we are acting is purely imaginary.The actor playing the part of the teacher was a man of abou' 1111 wit h a small gray mustache that curled up at the ends. suffering which the recent return of his son had undoubtedly alleviated though unfortunately thoughtfulness not dispelled. when suddenly a most unfortunate incident occurred. you are going too far. Lecourt the elder had foreseen their and had had the idea of entertaining them by setting II. the town hall clock soon struck nine. it was said he had been a con' pupil pinned the little man ontd . but out . surrounded by his friends. and while the teacher was giving the lesson the pupils played on him all sorts of tricks. 1. Thomas. Everything short comic sketches which were warmly applauded.(78) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico 11I"li~·"larwas more enterprising I' II II (79) western country the long summer days stretch out very late and night falls very slowly.. II tit: with rage.· presence of the venerable master of the house. declareP I""d enough to be heard by all: "I'm proud to have a husband lik~ . his specialty was t~ little paper man. the noise of a train going off somewhere toward the north could be heard in the distance.·d. "And you. 11111 contrary to what he had hoped and desired. The guests refrained from dancing." 1.lp of the other actors.11 1111 r-ible and punctilious r ill the East and that he loved hunting snipe. leading away her husband. which finally calmed the overexcited guests' ntertainment was abandoned.. of respect for the moral suffering of the master of the house. Sir. on his right and his son. stepping forward.11 lost all self-control and.. are forgetting that we are actors on ~ Besides. !!lIn "l. simplicity and charm in spite of a few sly couples who. moved off slowly toward the shadows of the park. One in I'lirret. toward the eucalyptus I hilt!" trees in the garden. the outlines of the trees grew than the others..1. but the countryside all around the town began to be invaded by darkness. but it was onlj' II. talking excitedly and emotionally about this unpleasant incident' the ex-consul's wife. jus' '" indignantly. and with tht 1 . Just as the actor the part of the mischievous pili ill " . this reply was the last straw and drove the ex-consul into a fury.. sitting in the front row with Clotilda." To which the other replied. the scene of this one-act comedy was a schoolroom. to arrive. The audience moved off to tht who was still Tit· whil warmth. he suddenly turned round. and said in a drf 1. I Ihe honor of knowing you for quite some time. I believe that you've II II v r-r up a small stage in the main drawing room of the villa and putting out several rows of chairs hired from the local cafe. onto the teacher's 1111. The spectators rushed onto the stage.· Illil of his jacket for the tenth time. You could have sworn that this evening would end as quietly as it had begun. On this stage amateur actors presented his daughter."1.

which was not difficult as that even someone who knew nothing whatsoever about astronomy would have known them.. they were so easily recognizable Hebdomeros was delighted.led-in fact. mended. whose opposite side has apparently never IH'i~nseen." "IV!'I'ran down his spine for he knew what that meant . the insistent chirping of the sacred. yes the p PIt. and the Great Bear. that are probably forests and from which at IIi rht come sighs and stifled groans as though a giant were chained up 11i. Night-owl instincts were aroused in everyone. II IHIIy dug in the sand.<. you could feel that daylight was not far away. dark ether. with her beautiful. "I' Ihat mountain over there. are cared for gently and skillfully and emerge 1111 bandaged up. he knew nights I I••11'. You could see the Heavenly Twins. III 1111'111 too well.. 11111 hot days that followed the nights filled with visions. The Virgin. lonely Orion was moving away into the depths of the heavens with his club on his shoulder and the faithful Dog at his heels... classical pose. patched up. and Orion. as good as new! Could it be that life is nothing but immense lie? Nothing but the shadow of a fleeting dream? Is it but the echo of the mysterious blows that resound on the rocks uoihing the strangest of whims. the 11111of traffic came from the main road and lights were going on in the . Him. Hebdomeros. including Hebdom- Giorgio de Chirico (81) Down in the harbor fishing boats were weighing anchor. in the east the sky grew Hebdomeros suddenly said to himself. lay on a cloud and turned her head gracefully as she looked down at the world still asleep in these last hours of the night. \ 111'11 specters of famous temples that vanished centuries ago stand the 11111 ruujestically against the dark sides of mountains.)1'wounded zebras. further over to the left was Libra. and a cold .. to the master of the house and his sight: the constel- children before leaving the villa. more intensely than other people and was always ready to give way to at the expense of self-control. slowly revolving and always staying the same distance apart as though they were fixed to the same axis. the last guests. the Fish. those mornings following sleepless nights. he stopped and began to point them out.r and suffering without hope under the great."Insomnia. dis- IIr. invisible cicadas and the "But. with their pans lying horizontally.' Iidows of the houses. Nobody felt like going home now. whose grounds were already hidden Outside. and further away there were Pisces. were gradually coming to life again. summer only IiIHfilled with phantoms of the great sculptures of antiquity. \ ith an irregular profile.(80) HEBDOMEROS The party was almost over. dragging his furry body along through the deep. empty and motionless and held in to suit all tastes and to satisfy who felt every emotion perfect balance. Fresh breezes from things eros. all 11111111111. III! edge of the sea. leaning against each other in a tranquil. fat and appealing. with canoes pulled up onto the beach and trenches and down there behind 1111itals. and on whose summit can be seen by day dark masses. there were constellations III" HI'CI passed into the air like a silent call. enthusiasm. perfect little hospitals where even the zebras. generously proportioned body. stitched 1111 together again. were paying their respects in darkness. and the relentI. shimmering star- . i "why do I dream about a battle by the trenches tiny 11111IIs search for a cool spot at noon by the banks of a muddy river. immediately suggested going who worked all night repairing the railroad. cute." thought Hebdomeros. the sky was an unforgettable lations were so clearly arranged that they formed real pictures drawn in dots like the illustrations in dictionaries. he knew them well. the Scales. and who to a little cafe which stayed open until morning to cater to the workmen and engineers came there to take a break and have a snack.

like the sharp talons of d an aut I vu 1tu . husband.h 1k Wit out 00 ' \W Int\. Cameo. the rumors had been started. d r . r-harnbers and reception rooms.ere entirely unfounded. so active. lights.(82) hi h ci 1 't~ l'jS a rebellion and had maintained that the rumors w IC circu ate. of mythology ame to the door of the bachelor's The unmade bed and the .()..IlWk exchange so that they could speculate their optimistic arguments lullow when it was seen to be a false alarm. smoking the ornamental urprised to see this man. but as soon as they ighted a stranger raircase leading on their backs and they barked of the palace.rously stabbed to death. h '. Hebdomeros this and had said so to his friends.and they were precisely those who had refused to b e I ~u.. their faces were all identical. obscene little theater. that luxurious mansion in an unimaginable by two enormous the hair bristled watchdogs at its main gate. in bygone days.e~ t~ey sparkled with dazzling brightness in the center of t h e s h opwt. noblemen treach. with folding screens placed before their h . uu entered a confusing vestibules. catac 1ysms an d p 'J lao'~es striking the world and destroying what man had create.arnily contemplating disorder. h were 1uxury..1 not the time to think of work. Luxus. ' nNoll. lying with their fists clenched and their beards in the air. 1 ce d'0re fallen over the metropolis. It was certainly liill""since accepted 11l. d S om~-'tI ~tl'rJ1esa sure. led by a man like a colossus Wit n ildi b Ul Illg si tes . People passed by him III a regu ar ' I <-lo(ltItlllOUS flow. so they were a pipe and There . tit him.1' They looked at him without seeing him and saw him . shamelessly flaunted its rna Ievo Ient fir~ l' ki ~&_ And then rebellions broke out like storms in burning summer s res -s. the bodies of these doors. has too much common sense to . so you asked a tail-coated steward. elf p'-jDceS hidden deep in dark parks. with people they knew.===== HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico III!' (83) aid. I rra LO-t e \l \. guarded molding on the ceiling. Indllutled them like catapult missiles at the armor-clad 'Gltel" first exc h ange I ' Some had prudently fled. others had fallen at the 'ieve t h er. now and then some separa\ "'6 c h bli dletnselves from their invisible chain and stopped betore tell di h \d~(l~ windows of the jewelers' shops. standing on little cube-shaped bases covered Wit re ve v I . usually spend whole days ill ing in an armchair. ] the crowns of monarchs assassinated by moonI'Ightt III t hei ~ \Jorned . First you had to go up the majestic from the grounds to the interior maze of corridors. You simply had to take a guide. with his feet on a stool. your soul felt weightless of the dead.. as if they were riveted to a chain in perpetua 1 m~ itif'. h h d fhuii spoke Hebdomeros to himself. foaming at the mouth. determined men. and in the meantime mg t a 0'1 . by money-grabbing bankers trying to provoke a slump in the on the rise that would It was these same people with phrases like: Our had etc.fp1ows. You felt a like the souls to join her you you were like Alcestis following Hercules lightness coming over you then. filled sky?" .r iridescent darts and their minith d 1 ttl.. then anteand I'l:rociously... ora~ ancient god. ith t h e b ear <\\ Fjefce. who walked in front of you to show you the way .. halls. snatched huge wooden beams from d oors 0f t h e h (j a. and thus surrounded by an atmosphere bedroom. when footmen still carried halberds of noblemen often lay at the thresholds run behind the carriages with smoking torches in their hands.avy doors. 'l"'e would emerge between the heavy drapes that formed t h e b ac kd rop " \J{ thiS brilliantly illuminated. ~t\'e ypocritical mask of lust. -e 'e'dl.'e "ere the sonorous names of the now-famous diamonds t h at h a d one. as a star shines on a calm summer night in the far corner 0f t h e \J s'k'" a star that for centuries has witnessed wars. wns no news from the palace. etc . \ ho always ended eq notion. ~==========:. rapacious hand. Now these priceless stones t h rew '1:1 • iature northe~~t in all direct~ons thei. they were as gentle as lambs.

I concentrated III on an oleograph on the wall in front Ii depicting Red Indians on horseback chasing a herd of wild buffalo s a bush-covered plain. his face to the ground. for big trees. he was wearing a short shirt that hardly reached his groin and left his sexual organ exposed with its swollen veins. "it's having presence of mind that often saves a man's life. The masks which hid people's faces fell one after the other. . banal decor of those rooms whose mirrors were covered with thin purple muslin so that the ~ilt-framed Ilk. I should add that he had first taken the precaution of putting out the lights." Hebdomeros ended his story with these solemn the sublime ecstasy to words: "At that moment I may have experienced lave. addressing a young lady. was lying Giorgio de Chirico (85) walls covered with signed photographs willi the large legs and eat's eyes. I was sitting in the \ liling room. Suddenly I heard the muffled sound of man with owl- 111'1'0 1111 upholstered door being opened behind the waiting room door. a fierce desire for peace ~nd bourgeois living came over everyone and then." impress by this speech. madam. "yes. the bandages and boxes of cotton wool that had been used to on top of small oriental tables and which made one think of the somber tend his swollen knee were scattered inlaid with mother-of-pearl mind off things. Then I walked forward slowly. Hebdomeros was quickly reassured. wearing a long white smock. "Yes. ironic expression. r\tther excited. of flying machines and invincible phalanxes of white warriors with helmets of gold who would crush the enemy under their avenging heels and. as a how he had felt the first time he had gone he said. red-faced man in his fifties. holding my head up and looking straight in front of me. A sensual relaxation. cheered him in the their faces flushed with quare in front of the church. without Jostling. f. madam. and there stood an athletic-looking Orient and of those hapless victims sewn into sacks and thrown at the deepest hour of the night into the dark waters of the bay. I got up quickly "I «-ned in its turn." escape. had he not thought of picking up one of the wrought-iron garden tables and using it as shield. in a world finally restored to peace. slowly. with a sur- smiling at him as though he had just sung song in a language she did not understand. while fireworks went off. pri ed.' He bowed silently waved me into his consulting room. wild with joy. he. as well as the vile. they moved into the solid. for he was the man Hebdomeros On the bed with his legs apart. . would regenerate humanity in the shadow of their sky blue standards. Hebdomeros told . whom he expected was looking at him indulgently. Then Hebdomeros thought of deliverance. feeling Qhild. as he always did in the presence of this blonde woman . The next day the people. which prevented the assassins from aiming straight and made it easier for him In fties shouldn't soil them. but they had peaceful expressions that inspired the greatest confidence. my feet were cold and my stomach was queasy. base prostration known to the But the lady. bells rang merrily lind pretty village girls in regional costume. he had imagined their hidden faces to be highly alarming. how he had met that friend who later '\ccompanied him on all his journeys and of his passionate love. To take III I regrets. ~r perhaps the hundredth time. which eyes. my mind was II complete blank . Then. The prince who was attacked by eight outlaws in the pay of the antimonarchists would certainly have died. The people began to converse on the divans '\nd sofas and between one armchair and another. bespectacled /llId I1l1d aid in an assured voice: 'Good morning doctor. he described tl::)the dentist to have a tooth out. "And moreover." said a solidly built. especially the oak and plane tree.(84) HEBDOMEROS spoke of many tragedies and was seeking. . I known to heroes.

"wait. In an attempt to dispel the Stimmung created by the fall of dusk. Iwilight.10 '0 out I have to grope like a blind man for my stick and hat. politely but firmly. madam. Let's stay in this semidarkness while it lasts. . as I watch my paintings sinking into a fog another world._ . who had at the sadly on and and whose beg you. r-r thicker as though they were entering derful woman who for ten long years had the strength and determination from the world. don't light the lamps yet." to listen a man wearing a black tie. selfishness \\'I'ird face was now almost hidden in darkness. he somehow found the courage to say in a voice splitting 'God forgive me.. and of this man who. I know that 111111 that dusk was slowly-gathering in intensity.e. Such people go at night. sir. "I' Ihe dark.' " were it not and father. or at the seaside. At that very moment he came face to face with a was bitter. without lighting but extremely warm and hospitable. \ hcreas I love the shadows of twilight. bony face. they are much more hospitable 1111. The outlines of things lose their as they did in the periods when the art of painting I am talking to you as an artist. s of people n without it occurring !IIi rht be among them some photomaniacs. I plead \VI. And that is forearm. and even when night has fallen I leave my lamps unlit.(86) excitement. 1111: you once again: do not light the lamps. diminished mysteries would have gone on indefinitely. reached and objects all look more mysterious in this dim light. 1. and perhaps also some scotophobes. drawn by the light of hundreds of lamps. in the drawing room. phantoms disappear hardness into their unknown kingdom. then III 1. At such times I lose III costly embroidery. It was simply revolting. The conversations of the darkness. gazed thoughtfully He reflected smooth. and they make me daydream-I dear friend. ~df in strange reveries and darker. sea. For the rest. in darkness. Yes. I love this hour.1 and to think about his own problems as well as about the still-unresolved that hover over men. to satisfy to keep dozens to him that there (11)1. I have always loved it.1 ('UreS and theaters II uiakes the water glow like a pool of molten metal." said this man. IliH dubious was prepared "No." -and can't help it. where II". Under the effect which began to make felt its weight. as seagulls hover over the storm-tossed proposed lighting the lamps but seeing that no one moved He had barely left his chair when he he turned and recognized in the chin and grabbing his forearm. sir. which he had clung to throughout Ii "I to force himself peuker. its highest point of perfection. the light of the sun at noon on city full of life and activity. as night began to fall over the town. who was sitting in a large. once light arrives. . It's the phantoms of people and things that we see. Hebdomeros adapted III'intellectual complications i. red velvet armchair. nnother sphere where I could never reach them. the aspect of his physique particularly had struck him as being the drawing room. with he tightened his grip on Hebdomeros' his speech-"I Hebdomeros. I am not the king. ureet. people who passionately people who were afraid lov d light. she was that unique. and with an elongated unpleasant when he had first entered to all this. even from her mother no.. the discussions each person seemed to withdraw into himself quares and streets. I love the hour of pale woman whose expression to hide her shame and despair with emotion: . Hebdomeros felt someone shadows he got up to light them himself: restful. bumping chairs and easels as I make my way to the door and go down into people prefer bright light. tupidity and incommensurate romantic yearnings. brought HEBDOMEROS him presents of all kinds in baskets lined with won- Giorgio de Chirico (87) Ilti' lumps. I . Notice how people which. quite well to a society free Never- I can assure you that I have often stayed in my studio.

(88)

HEBDOMEROS

Giorgio de Chirico
iii wl.i h I am greatly attached.

(89)

theless, it was not lacking in maniacs, and there were even one or two lunatics. Among these was an art teacher who lent young people sums at high interest, against a varying between eight and fifteen francs,

But as you like it so much, take it; I'll

II lid it to you for a while. I'll be only too happy to give you this

"I"

IHure." His delighted

friend took the false jewel and, of course, the art teacher in being rethat incited

collateral of clothes or parts of clothing; the collateral he preferred was shirts and vests. He laid all the deposits neatly in drawers and closets and each one had a tag, attached the sum of money lent, etc. Sometimes after lunch he took a friend by the arm and said in a mysterious tone: "At two o'clock I have to see someone on important business." But this important business consisted simply in meeting one of the people who owed him money, who had given him a shirt or a waistcoat against a loan of twelve francs, and offering to let him have the waistcoat back if he repaid the sum of five francs. Sometimes this art teacher's mindedness transactions were, morally speaking, highly dubious. Among his acquaintances there was a young man whose absentto a button by a piece of string, bearing the name and address of the owner, the date of the transaction,

Ii 0 days after at the latest he had lost it. Whereupon
III

\ j,il,:d and moaned about the sentimental and material loss this meant him and after much lamentation he finally succeeded reasons, 1111,,1 a sum at least twenty times what he had paid for the trinket. d 'I'IIOH' were the main reasons, the fundamental ""hdomeros to quit this society. Where was it? How did it happen? V I. did it happen? He could not answer these questions himself. iVll'lIlories, people will say! Memories! What a deep resonant word, so had ,'vo(:aLive and full of feeling! It grips you simply to say it, or even read
II. nuL this time it was not a question of a memory. Hebdomeros
, 1111 •

out onto the balcony of his hotel room. It was only one step, one which displayed all the horror of a lion hunt in

I,'p off the carpet,

1\ I'I·ja, from the room to the balcony, a balcony that was neither too Iii h nor too low; Hebdomeros
'I!I!:

was notorious and who lost things with the greatest ease.

hated balconies at a dizzy height; this In

The art teacher exploited his young friend's weakness in the following way: he showed him artificial jewelry of no value whatsoever, tiepins, rings, cuff links, bracelets and the like. He bought this jewelry from small junk dealers in the out-of-the-way quarters of the town and often got the~ for a penny or two from tramps he met in the course of his nocturnal wanderings. to show particular When showing them off, he waxed lyrical over friend had the misfortune their beauty and value. If his absent-minded

was just right. In the middle of it was a flagpole without a flag,

uuuched by cords to the scrollwork of the wrought-iron balustrade. I" hysteria with their impassioned,
III

II... past this balcony had been used by demagogues, rousing the crowds ringing words, and making thouuids of mouths, gaping in crimson, sweating faces, scream their faith

the meridian heat or in the shadowy torchlit night. Now there was to be seen but a few rustic stools, standing round tables of plane which gave shade to this peaceful spot, a dried-up tables. leaf fell in

nothing Ire

interest in one of these trinkets, he looked broken-

I"I urh-hewn wood; now and then, from the top of the centuries-old ,·jr ·Ies onto the empty, deserted

hearted and, laying both hands on his friend's shoulder and looking intently into his eyes, said in a pathetic voice: "My dear fellow, this piece of jewelry would be yours if only it were not a family souvenir

Close by there was a cool, jugs filled with amber-

1'1,;ar spring, pouring over a few earthenware

(90)

HEBDOMEROS

Giorgio de Chirico

(91)

colored wine. This was more than enough to arouse the enthusiasm of Casca, the painter who hailed from the south. Addressing himself to Hebdomeros, he expressed his emotion simply but lyrically: "Now a there's happiness for us artists," he said. "What do we need, after all, to be happy? A couple of apples on a table with salt and pepper, ray of sunlight burden of life; and last and most important-" and most important, a clear conscience. on the floor, a sweet, faithful woman to lighten the and here he paused for "last to

1111i'~' longing for a deleterious purity, needled by the wish for something
III 111'1',

omething perfect; and all this in a desert country where every in finding an

,,,,.I sown rots or dies fruitless?" Hebdomeros asked these questions
HI Ililll elf rather than his friends and never succeeded
1111

w r. He would have liked to interrogate

those muscular ascetics

1111, momentarily resting from their brutal exercises, fell into styled
1111.1 noble poses as though they wished to show neither to their brother 1,,111 rs nor to the profane onlookers the weariness that tortured their I"..den limbs. But most of the time these muscular ascetics did not "'1,1
lIt(k

a moment to look around the circle of people listening to him-

Yes, a clear conscience,

be able, rather to have the right, in the evening when, tired from the day's work, we stretch out in bed to enjoy a well-earned rest, to have the right to say not only the famous words: I too am a painter, which is all very fine, but which unfortunately is not everything, but also the less famous but not less important words: I too am an honest man." This kind of talk always got on Hebdomeros' before. His instinctive friendliness, and his extremely refined upbringing, incommensurable nerves. He had heard it reinforced by his high intelligence often led him to make the best

. They looked at Hebdomeros with contemptuous irony, and, outthe stadium, nudged each other and snickered malicious, taciturn and irritating, when they met was quite un-

Idlli. This attitude,

!I"n,l.andable. Their profession was difficult, and despite the undeniable I". iuty of the performances Ii "'II. o'dock
IIll; 1111

they gave the citizens, one could hardly

.. that they rolled in riches. On Sundays, when they organized sham in front of the prefect and his wife, they began training at five in the morning and during the winter months by lamplight. to spare fights

of things and to listen politely to the ravings of these maniacs, whose logic was equaled only by their madness, sometimes in such obvious, but sometimes also so difficult to detect that no one noticed it, except for psychiatrists of genius who had specialized cases-and even then . . . ! For some time Hebdomeros leaving a restaurant

Mor than once the prefect's wife had begged her husband

e athletes their early morning rehearsals and to let them cut down the tableaux vivants, which showed the death of Patroclus, But the sweet continuous pathetic scenes requests took place.

hetween the Greeks and Trojans, and other episodes drawn from the
I'll .rns of Homer.

were in vain. The prefect

avoided this society and one day

Sometimes

extraordinarily

fairly late at night with his friends he stopped on

worked in a cool room looking out onto a garden. The windows were
'IP n and the blinds lowered. Hebdomeros

the edge of the pavement and exclaimed: "Why do we have all these revolutions? Masses rising up like mountains shaken by earthquakes? Why these credos murmured in the mournful obstinate whisper of a seeing everything in straight grim purpose in life, uncompromising,

loved those blinds; some-

limes, finding himself at the prefect's house, he would spend whole. II rlf-hours
K
>

looking at them and lose himself in dreams before them,

eing there a peaceful countryside full of tranquil poetry; lakes sur-

(92)

rounded ~~h~':ll==h;;;;';;;;h=======;;;;;;;;;;i;;====== d . y I S on w IC castles and villas raised their harmless towers th. , pO,n\ed roofs; ducks floating by the water's edge' fishermen drying t en net~, th d ld c lk ' " ' , I m e sun, an 0 to ending their hfe tranquilly in perfect conllJug~ harmony, winding their way slowly toward the church whose b e towe\- d ' td h 'II h hi k Th__ ormna e t e VI age ouses like a hen surrounded by her c IC s. 'Vhe th cs. :» u: · n e prerect s wire appeared Hebdomeros withdrew discreet Iy 1U\ th II di , f me Ion. 0 e sma£' mmg room nearby that always smelled strongly o Th u: h J e pre ect s wire t en, with slow steps, approached her h us b anv, h 'd k Sh w 0 contmue to wor at his table without raising his head. e wa~, \.ery beautiful with her black bandeaux framing a face the co Ior of I", h ' d II h'dd en bY ory; der npe an ' we -made body was revealed rather than I h er ress; floor besid hi hai commg close to the prefect she slipped to the eSI", d , k nee Im~ "\ f IS chi air, an ,with her arms on the knees of her husband , ,e ore rrn on the hard parquet, her beseeching face turned towar d tlll~, " , taciturn anad mtransigent man, she gazed at him her cheeks wet With t~ Th ' ,h '. ars. ere was a scent of furniture polish and wine spirits In t e air, % f th f ' li h d J,_ orne 0 e urmture was covered up, the parquet, zealously po IS e , ·... ad t I I' th eat hI e tan h ' ex 'reme y s Ippery surface. She begged him to spare e% r , hd fi t en latIgue and stram. All, alas, in vain! The evening of t e hate \ed, the tableaux vivants took place. Up to the last moment one ad bOt d f " fG " e or an act 0 od; something that would have prevented t h e perfom. f ki ance rom ta mg place: an earthquake a revolution the passage 0 f '\ id I hi b comet, a II a wave; but, as always m these circumstances ~I~ ~ d ' , H e bd omefO pene ; everything took place in calm and perfect order. 'd' hh e h ope d for ~ rmxe Wit t d" crowds that, filled the restaurants; he still e unexpecte ; he questioned the people around him rea d t h e paI\ I' . , ers, ent an attentive ear to the conversation of his neighbors h e next t bl at t N hi a e. ot mg; not a cloud on the horizon; plain quiet

==----9

HEBDOMEROS
I III

Giorgio de Chirico where: in heaven That evening,

(93)

and on earth. So he had to bow before the surrounded by his friends, The riddle he attended the of this ineffable and forming and immobile by

u-wituble.
1" dil!'mance
I I! II

and understood everything.

IIltlpO"'ition of warriors, of attack

of pugilisrs, difficult to describe and defense,

.orner of the drawing room a block, many-colored

III il~ gestures
IIIIII~ "II~

was at bottom understood

If alone; he realized this at once when he saw the facial expresof the other spectators. The fact of being the only person present worried him. He felt a of loneliness, and he when the desolation a thing so rare and profound

III romprehend

","tlden fear, the fear of solitude, 1oI1",ke to his friends
1I1I1H
It II II'.
0

of his fears. But imagine his astonishment of commiserating or pessimistically of their contemporaries,

"e

latter,

instead

commenting "But

intellectual

capacities

crowded around

Ililll and, grasping IllIjny yourself, Hebdomeros

his arms and his hands,

cried all together:

sir, that's the important thing!" went home that evening with a heavy heart. Those and wanted carved in stone like the laws submissive as sheep, as sheep he

Jllinciples that he cherished IIl'cumulated
IW lUi

"I' Moses were no longer worthy in his eyes. Far distant, beyond the
habits and regulations,

lu-rded in their pens waiting the fatal hour of the slaughterhouse,
they approached,

two symbolic figures, Pity and Work, growing smaller and smaller hand in hand, the distant low horizon. But, Great it all was. Charming ribbons, disturbing bubbles, flames without heat lines drawn with a toward the zigzags, or

=:

(:od! How confusing

dlliting like greedy tongues,
wuves, persistent

tt. "

h,.i II iance even the memory of which he had thought long lost, soft and unvarying,
rose and rose incessantly

"I'iling of his room. It all took off in spirals, Hlruight and slow, or perfectly perpendicular

in regular

like the lances of disci-

from ridiculous and mock-heroic decisions. the strongest Hebdomeros had ever known. that neither gods nor men can ever begrudge you. having emptied the last pitcher of wine. 1. And what man following a new idea had not. and to avoid those impressions.I. he still dreamed. The spades and the scythes covered with rust lay in the farmyards near the overturned ploughs. several canvasses were sketched out and some nearly finished. the empty cans were placed neatly in cupboards with a consoling symmetry.. and friends. work thou shalt be saved and thou shalt save them. free from frenzy.lIt in a more normal fashion. worried humanity. It was certainly not a cyclopean work. yes. and other calamities Illd low at the moment would last no longer than the preceding fevers. But at present he also rolt more at ease. which develop each year more and more and are fruitful Iii . There was in his mind then a so full of possibilities the chase to like a crowd in the streets. the shapes were progressing. By joys of mad.'II'Y on this earth amongst the crowd of your contemporaries. abandoned follow yet another new idea encountered even more seductive riences. to remold. to break those stupid laws that human ignorance had created across the centuries. ploughshares to dislocate deputies pointing to the sky.lumber invade his limbs. as an amateur. strange company. and what again? Are we travelers. sleep claimed him more and more. he found it difficult to raise his eyelids. that usually made a thousand small noises among the grasses and the plants. But he knew too well. sailing on the same ship past the shores strung along these new II IiI 1111 lilli' and of power they made him angry with reality. Hebdomeros felt the gentle . the lictors. all that can only strengthen (95) plined troops. slowly but surely. He had achieved and But ~iOmething. the corners of the room were clean now. at least there was something. without at the same time falling into worse errors. the lazy ruffians yawned and stretched themselves enough their bones.. And as he supposed that all would "come back to normal again" he allowed his thoughts to linger that evening beyond the prescribed limits.' 1I0t Are all brothers. a song of infinite sweetness. thus justifying your existence and sanctifying your Ip.aI"S.. at least once in his life. who left him sulkingly after hnving stolen from him and sucked him dry.. whence came all these disturbances and inner conflicts. more smiling one? And these changes. from II. He had not completely wasted his day. along the road and judged Judging from previous expe- way that.(94) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico 11. May a solemn and sustained music accompany you in your difficult task with another song. that night were still..\ had foreseen the war and the ensuing peace. one of those sustained lind powerful tasks that force the respect of the most skeptical oblige future generations to bow before The Complete Works . rocky and inhospitable these stabilizations give already to the living man on the earth a luuk to a sweeter. had written this in chalk on the door of his house one night when all slept and a heavy silence weighed on the land because the ceiling was very low and even the insects. Your life will be your life! Go and do. times exceeded his intellectual your structure and increase your I" Idi~ious gifts.1' ull. that at powers. the bearing on their athletic chests the insignia of absolute authority. [urotaste of the joys of heaven. II Ii. alas. \ . so he stretched out his legs in the ..I. Try to be happy and good! It was with these words that Heb. and sisters. he followed his foolish fancies. to search. Hebdomeros than the first .. and Hebdomeros had foreseen them as thought that the spiritual fever which laid him 1. change their dry.' 1I fecund tree. to live again. To create. But now the hour of rest had sounded.meres usually greeted his servants.

' li t' and practical orientation of our . finally. I. It IS no .Id"d-IIP nver strewn . t e pr.(96) fresh clean sheets. ition But he always dIed him in a precanous POSI1 ' d h a pac I '''''M an 'f h tt r he could easily have . . . " hil hical problems that had . down there the complete relaxation. At last! At last alone! The mountain." pretty women powdering their noses at the windows of the Pullman So spoke those men whom Hebdomeros had long known but with whom he could never be on cordial terms because he did not respect them.I 11101111'(: that " d' hi . ' thinker. '1 t will all become an" f the very first c ass. . armored in a worker. the . . as e . th e appraIse . e . w IC a . 1'III"rOItedhIS weanness.:~tr:: :~hilosophY arising from a 'arne time t ere are 1 d minds of men can never be high ideal whose mark on the sou s an . uard: the beautiful scenery. But basically all that is only an escape. They were not unknown to him. Y specu . And yet all was not rose-colored in these lands. speeches. HEBDOMEROS hi yawned in executing the notes of a descending Giorgio de Chirico lui 1141 wa' always on IS g."' t paradoxlCa to VISua ize III thrnical steps.saur ~nd the ~::::~~ p. " he i reasmg matena IS IC HI 'ratIOn t e inc " hIked along in regular. l'IvllJzatlOn. id hi h h d happened to him severa . h d him dunng t IS ate sum ' p"rt I ularly aunte.. one flees to the next exile. the hairy by all the formidable fashion against a thousand dangers that the ordinary man. despised cars. so Irregular t at one a hoi. his forehead sweaty."111' 'aug t Y . 1 'the sun The writer. II "Icanmg 0. f hf of the earth like the d ' d to dIsappear rom t e ace uchronous. past these expensive but charming luxury hotels. lortunete er. those aspects d ith J'oyby a charming and I seeme d to have been create WI an unconditional con. that high enormous thing. bl k of stone and on the shore . 110) longer h ave e h" the observer the th poet the metap ysician. I'll I~>S the beaches to pass around the th li ne of the coast usmg f IiiIIuwc I e 1 . hid the discouraging sight of law-bound cities.. which or t at rna e . 'W t was lacking' one d b pened WIth dynamitea er ' h a to eo. but who vanished before the threat of danger and afterward formed colonies. thought Hebdomeros. the conscience pleas to appease and avoid the annoyance of remorse and the scrutiny of those who rightly or wrongly are ranged before you as judges if not executors. his shoes dirty. true societies of mutual aid where they recognized one another by imperceptible signs to which they alone possessed the key. . as t ey wa . " h h d to be an acrobatIC . There was. the bearded and spectacled man busily running about the railway platform with a small valise in his hand. the father of a family. h h bit f doing but at the risk 0 H bdomeros was m tea 1 0. swollen. f llowed the bed of a d kd sea Sometlmes one 0 III III irl y from a ar ~ep . 11 h ophet the scrutmlzers.111'1'. hi 1 mer "Taking into con. he terrain was 1 " ' ks rose almost perpenth mountams' impressive roc . we can walk arm in arm under the palm trees that edge this uneventful sea. 1 III"kK. And then. WIth enormous oc s .." ' "h id to hIS fnends. the th right to claIm a pace in . To sleep the sleep of the just! What man really has the right to believe himself just? "Art sanctifies all. as Hebdomeros well knew.'IIK 10 cross e . . those men with the heroic attitudes as long as peace and tranquillity reigned around them. we are in the same situation. e c. r the seer t e see er or riddles. "Since you are here." So men sometimes believe. black as a gigantic amphibious animal cast upon the beach. G d had never mspue m im . (97) scale. h b the mcommg n e. e sa '1 ' I' from now on a SOCIal . cannot in the least imagine. h k after new songs. I'lclector 0f pamtmgs 0. db lating on the vanous P 1 osop 1II'\lIde . and turning onto his left side he slept the sleep of the just. estme y '11 tell me now that at the ichthyo. e . " th reasoners the askers . you are therefore my brother and my accomplice.. 'I f h 1 sures of the mind will h h Iives on y or t e p ea uue where ternan w0 . the d reamer.

sailing between the banks of a narrow river. bears no fruit. . l. II was not the type of man to hesitate or waste time in boring and II eless speech. have seen that alarming an accent of love or the attraction of fantasy. Thus they theorize on words and phrases that strike the mind with their monumental ring such as. He fired his pistols quickly with the precision of an and when he had emptied all his ma~azines . the light of this eternal idealism that is as necessary. I'lit it is then precisely that things begin to get complicated. judging by the majority of opinions is the one that counts most. all that is pure nonsense. is plain: to wait until the curtain rises suddenly. full of ulterior ideas at the back of 'l'lu. Yes. after all. cold. The lesson of danger. because you are still the only ones who. calmly sat down xpert marksman. to app~ar m ln-Iore the footlights violently bathed in light from head to toe. gardens rises over deep valleys. 'PIIII('d errors for which. IIlId IIIWIi." 'y hope to be able to continue thus happily from pleas~re to pleasure without ever seeing the reverse of the coin. 1III. even I4lacial in appearance.Ii . know nafvete of these optimistic . because . he quickly WIped at a table and ate with a hearty appetite an order of ham and eggs. basically. 1111. they deceive themselves 'I' atly. or the voice which grew silent. 1111 repair to their dens to dry out their powder in the sun and sharpen Iii. "do'es of streams.1 10 given in full knowledge to eventualists without bursting with laughter. trod a beaten path to slip especially those seated in the front I" hind the tall. dear friends. Doubtless it is necessary for humanity to cross this black tunnel in order to find on the other side.ludes of their knives and daggers on polished stones gathered at it as well as 1. I.they an~ Renown. since in their precocious and clear positivism they no longer have the amazement of newcomers faced with the sentiments and spectacles that so deeply troubled their elders. Giorgio de Chirico (99) effaced. and you. I will even say as indispensable. the baseness of their aims. to human souls as I air is to the lungs. dear friends. as little as one is a psychologist. during long years. there where the coolness of watered . b low which the audience.with ~assion. ignorant of every calling. have understood me-our know who they are-even. and I'll go even further. say this to you. who am telling you this. And our worth as thinking and acting beingsup to now. squalid curtain raised a few inches only from the stage.and hands on a batiste handkerchief. But you know as well as I that human beings cannot without great difficulty shake off the prejudices pettinesses and that are for many the main causes of their misery in this thrown terror into those places of luxury and pleasure. but whose ardent heart overflowed. they were only partly responsible. I'll say that in all this. but.(98) HEBDOMEROS till yll h I. one can divine. Vocation liberated from the dark cells where. can see the muddy shoes of the actors as they pass to and fro. which. Returned to the . and whatever else. and not only in this.aim of these crafty creatures. my dear friends. his shot-blackened first case. alas. hopmg 101" a thunderous applause to greet their appearance and later to be IIOl'nein triumph on the shoulders of a delirious crowd to the door of ." sad world. the weakness of the strong. In the kill-joy at work many times. One needs the unashamed and indulgent men to take them seriously and discuss such rubbish til. "Infamous nourishment. worth is not duplicated at all in you when they give to the same degree in those creators of whom I am thinking-and and perhaps especially.ir hotels under the amused eyes of the porters and bellboys. that bald and muscular man. they put through their paces a mi~ute portion of mankind the contents of a boat.il' inds. their expressions those who. even one as small as a punt.

ng a dusty road that led to the towns where municipal elections wer~. proJects: . ese Slg ts. Posters covered the walls. Under the patronage Communal Prosperity. has given a foretaste of how it interprets the word in preventing at the Reunion Mr.o t e emetery.ther thmgs than the personal interests of these two builders who ave quae enough lawyers to defend them. * They wish to embroil the Sublato Adminis tration ui a quarrel which concerns only M r Ch. we beseech you. resst~g you only afew lines in answer to a long rif"utation of his admtntstratton which the Ch' b . Then followed the appeals to the citizens. Sublato. Mr. C . the sense of these four words. of integrity like Mr. Short of arguments against the Sublato Administration . Sublato can redress these calumnies uttered against him. and the forof roadways. ta ant ommatee is seeka c ~n~e b~ means of involved and incomprehensible articles on the ~rry. . let us h if o. uttered by an administrator [rightens . Let th . u/ a VI!!' street fountain. of the Square our mayor. if ese gent emeri argue a out in :::: l they h~ve a difference of opinion.. ebdomeros started off with slow steps alo. er.' ~u ge in h r. which dares to speak of liberty. Sublato. launched by those who wished to make for themselves a place in the sun: My dear citizens. of the Republican Committee of Entente and has decided to solicit * There followed the program with several .es . • ant an ts employ h e contractor Lanteri Baptistin. 1. is at a peak not only a sculptured benches. a spacious ornamented with metaphysical tulning shelter where women. (Au- Truth.:on a medical inspection for schoolchildren. ConstructlOn of a scholastic group in the Moneghetti wah a day nursery and the creation of supplementary classes. Tarring of the streets. from expressing his thoughts Fountains. Installation lire hours of darkness. Construction of a dispensary for the visit of newly born infants with a prophylactic service to fight veneral diseases. 1. dh. *Hebdomeros thor's note. the contests between the ~a~llt at. uart q er II. General repair of the town drainage system. Installation figures.his proper and healthy recreation can enjoy their pastime even during 6.~akmg place .~re d~splayed there in their own peculiar language Mister u ~ 0 ts a . C . di ui ant ommtttee has considered ui ispensabte to bring to your present notice. .S The 'Chiabani party.ab .h H . of 3.III:ldrencan find when the traffic circulation 5.d d trreproachable by all impartial people the Chi b . t I . installation of collective II/II/. with the financial lIid of the state. Enlarging of the public lighting Montroni Square. Repairs and cementing I/llsh disposal units and new lamps. and conand old folk.(100) Disgusted by all th HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (101) . utu] 2.. But. them.. Q: refuge but also rest on roomy and artistically of an artificially lighted bowling alley where lovers It//. the disabled * . improvement 4.) never succeeded i d ' n un erstandmg the retiring administration our votes for the renewal of its term.

'The Etruscans.ection. shot down by the gendarmes. but as they loved to hear him talk they begged foundly strange and mysterious . calcined quality. already hung from the parapets of half-ruined streams. Hebdomeros pulled out and wiped his dripping had something face. sat on a tree trunk lying on the ground and his did the same. wandered themselves brothers present everywhere. The undying ghosts and invisible. 'who where this proone can him to a little grove. Every- lif' sleeping in the afternoons). but only on a bolster understood flat surfaces.(102) HEBDOMEROS II tit 10 Giorgio de Chirico (103) Powerless to reply seriously to the arguments of Mr. on coming out into "p. his stomach with pleasure. he held the he stretched Hebdomeros as usual needed Iltid so greatly l'I""opoly.' littoral. Lell them one of those stories. asked his friends to follow in one against the other in a against some invisible he could never rest on those long cylinders seen in in white cotton that give the sleeper such terrible nightmares laid across the head of the bed which. he and his friends stopped from time to time to find solemnly confronting the corpses of bandits. formed an isosceles Throughout he said. III('. you have probably noticed as much as I that which is felt when. The gray veils of with his friends the last houses. Sublato. had flown far away toward the mists of the north. Long yellow-orange shawls of an infinite tenderness bridges. especially music rich with melodies. * The heat weighed his handkerchief scorched like a leaden pall. My father was an of life. he claimed sheathed . phrases like: We all carry stone in our sack. both real and supernatural. He was rather careful in his gay and suspicious. joiced at the sight. wide arches strode the dried-up or tripled. whom the adventures of the polar ghosts of the Great Cold r-onversation and detested certain ready-made (I. hlnlH ·If several times. feeling a little tired. He had already passed of grandeur. scratched of whose secret no prodding. d'lInk a few gulps from his drinking . had a horror of beds with spring mattresses. and all around them the countryside. or Life is never as good nor as bad as they say. the followers of Mr. whose low. Chiabani are left with no other resources than disorder and brawling. Hebdomeros' heart re~ unusual man. They left the road and soon found themselves the shade of some trees that were pressed compact danger. If the town is situated litis smell is even doubled when he mentioned hud made sensitive. always laid their statues on perfectly the Mediterranean people arose and disappeared. and he As His ideal bed was a wire a perfectly flat mattress. and began as follows: "My dear friends. the town where he grew up. who lay now with their clothes in tatters near their in magnificent poses of weariness and sleep. gourd of water mixed with red carefully lit his pipe. thing had about it a profoundly of the Great Heat. so perfectly logical in appearance metaphysical at heart. triangle. rnesh on very low wooden legs supporting for a pillow. the goddess Humidity. broken carbines horizon. and desolate. yawned. When the last ramparts of the town had disappeared over the Hebdomeros. "He loved music.'cial Stimmung (atmosphere) I"I~I (remember II" IIII' road at sunset at the end of a hot summer's day following an afternoon what I have already said many times on the subject one smells the scent of freshly watered beside the sea the suggestive power of It's what my father always said like the families of great migrating birds. ts. friends Hebdomeros group as though to defend themselves this matter of beds.

alas. the sky blue as the ca that one glimpsed shimmering at the end of long avenues. 1 even dare to say. .·111 ters of oleanders. presented I cerely and deeply leucophobic. Hidden behind thick line under construction. surely not. then enthrone them in the middle of a front-row box on opening night murmured softly. lost in a dream without end: 'I believe 1 can see it. profoundly convinced of affirming an irrefutable truth. watered with care and refreshed by the breeze. pilpil to gather to himself all the fruits of the lesson. That is why 1 affirm.(104) HEBDOMER05 III WIIH Giorgio de Chirico (105) still see the imprint they left on the earth. in the construction of a bed. take absolute precedence over one of those spring mattresses whose surface is convex in the middle. blue and he looked beyond the nbject of his memories. give to these men the appearance men with thick black eyebrows. it offered its marble quays to the little waves of the port that came silently to caress them. 'l'lie streets. unuetimes even with exaltation.) these establishments hut no exclamation no objection was ever heard. calm and co'Ill ttish in their cleanliness. after the evening meal on the flowered veranda of a modest villa which he rented in order to pass with his family the hot months of summer far from town. 'I believe 1 can see it. The engineers. imposing but harmonious in its contours. This wish. there where they lay down for the last time to rest for good in the arms of death. On green lawns the flowers in their flowerbeds opened II. The crowds leaving * All these complications and upsetting problems were resolved later on by the use of colored tablecloths. ir petals and perfumed the air. he would have liked to decolorize their hairs and tint of charming pages. for a short time. (Author's note.' Iii' said in a low and trembling voice. that a wire mesh (surface absolutely flat) should. and here excellent professors taught courses open 10 the public which were organized in small classes that permitted each created a certain encumbrance of impatience. or at least a very ephemeral virtue. while he talked. It was the hour when the academies of painting. his eyes. and the much vaunted softness of whose springs is only an illusion. "He felt an enormous pity for dark-complexioned them ash blond. so careless of the charm that derives from equilibrium and the harmony of lines as to imagine such a monstrosity. "The town where he had passed his childhood was the favorite he spoke of it with love and tenderness. The air was balmy. * This leucophobia haunted him more gay and animated scene to the eyes. These buildings were all to be found in the same quarter of the town. 1 believe that no man could be so phrenologically thirsty and.' 50 spoke my father on the subject of beds. shone with an ineffable brilliance. or fear of the color white. the town stretched gracefully along the foot of a mountain. urilway having finshed their work on the to their furnished rooms. The houses smiled. the dining-room tablecloth without lifting and shaking it like a sailor a flag but in carefully folding it on the table itself and carrying it away quickly like a filthy package. music and sculpture and the public library closed. "ry gentle. world and things. The trees that shaded them especially in the country when they cleared the table at twilight. But do you see the Etruscans lying down to their final rest on hog-backed mountains? No. The . He was sinHe had trained his servants to remove peculiarities rhe principal theater of a great Nordic capital. Another of his was leucophobia. he never able to realize. returned "overed with dust and harassed with fatigue. 1 seem to live again those late afternoons in summer uflc:r the day's heat. that town whi ·h has no equal.

and anxiety. by its location. it industrial and artistic pers liti f rh Woe region. the center of th h lmport~nt town square. in white bodices IlIlIpl and elegant. thought to the his watch. midday at two o'clock. by little. gilded by autumn. known such moments. that it was five o'clock and finally deciding to look at This is the hour. ~~m and satIsfaction. . he could not decide to get up. Then he understood that it would have been logical cycle at the end of this very day. The cafes eslfe taurant. Little as. Heb- ipes into crystal cups. 10 spite of their d ' w IC one surmIsed f he xi eltoids and biceps that stood d rom t e SIze of their out un er the sleeves of their tight jackets made a selection of th b were poor and could not afford those handsome English suits. The principal r. seeing that chance (or something else) had made him look at his watch just at that minute when the hands marked the hour that corresponded eptember. he chose db h irectly from the winegro dr an oug twines wers an ror the servi f hi took great care to choose only th 'b Ice 0 IS customers.. He knew that what he was waiting for was not happiness. II II t here on the hillsides with . a een awaken d i hi of those men condemned t d hem im at the sight o eat and then pardon d h b ' young and bearded faces sorn thi fh' e w 0 ear 10 their e 109 0 t err form 'h Th eir arms folded th h er anguis and grief. not to the point of dying with . evident muscular strength hi h ' q et. t was a real rna term Lo corner of the main boul d dh ~ erplece. and ozonized. ey nearly all possessed a rescale. air. so he remained Illl' several hours in his bed meditating. Once awake. in recalling the p t H bd eros after a pause. he "Th k e est years of the best vineyards ' us spo e my father.friend. e omeros th t si I even the most intelligent of hi fri d h . which are the joy of intelligent men of good taste). . that weakness. that in the twelve months of the year corresponds III " 'For gourmets the Cafe Zampani had in I nth of September. even to the first person encountered sort of abandon and incommensurable toms that we feel when a sudden the happening that excites us. He ('ur him to close his metaphysical loved logic and order even more than harmony.(106) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico lilli' (107) general effect was one of com lete ' were also all that one could d p . it had nothing that impossibility of remaining quietly seated in one's that desire to recount 'ay. ' ey were t oughtful and ui ' . elegant and disti ish d ppearance revealed a inguis e art The s ' fh profited from all the perfe t' ha h ervlCes 0 t e Cafe Zampani c IOns t at t e most i ' Sources could offer I th I " ngemous technical re.e aboratlOg Its menus e est gastronomIc spe ' It' d dish was served every d t h CIa res an an unusual ay a eac meal The II personal supervision of th ' . ygrometncally " .a slOgu ar man whom IS nen s ad neve d d' felt again the same feelings that h d b r SUCcee e 10 defining. Lodo with that cold feeling in the stomach. that need for loquacity and expansiveness. cated on the evar an t e most I was. was pam. that sensation of uneasiness chair. ts whole a sober. which he always kept on a chair beside his bed. ona rues 0 t e tow ' 10 its luxuriously decorat dIn met on Its terrace and e rooms. finally all those symphappy event surprises us in the like the rest of the world. he found in the afternoon. dlllneros went to bed and didn't awaken the following morning until vl'I'y late. The business." said Hebdom . to the month of he should profit by this good luck and not look for. as they as the general run of men understood it. Hebdomeros. renewe y filtered h ' humIdIfied. I' their sleeves rolled up. women. had monotonous round of life. were squeezing with a strong hand black Tired of all these terrestrial and metaphysical adventures. n e sa ons artIfiCIal v til ' mosphere constantly db en I atron assured an at. h . not violent ones. w ose Owner w " called the Cafe Zam 'I as my mumar. II bdomeros. ce ar was under the di e propnetor.

III. ' wor ld . his fears would have been absolutely . its sister. these are b only I I habits false movements which humanity from its infancy has een '''( . tifi d· he did not like to do useless broken the urns. summer is a malady. That corresponds. distracted." Hebdomeros.~ -~-----~~---~~--~------- - (108) joy like Ulysses' HEBDOMEROS dog. to the moment which precedes philosophers exhaust themselves in seeking the~retically an~ that the . risk of appearing it obliges me to argue with my fell~w men a madman and to feel afterward than of security. he felt that this time it was less it was a feeling of security himself to receive prepares to receive it in in.. room where he happened to be was excellent only that the air in the and that the air outside II objects that surround it on earth so that it fades ~nto ~he l~ndscape passes beside it and rubs agamst It_without !III I man. in this part of town the houses were irregularly placed though near enough to one another. as the believer in the form of the host or otherwise. In fact . on the contrary. neither purer nor fresher than the air in his room. but all the same important and his feelings seldom betrayed a question with dignity. Id of what he called the necessary inutility. helped behind my the God he believes prisoner opened the window of his room but he avoided taking in or an invalid he had no reason to do so.. III II. dressed like everyone it was a half holiday and into every man had descended Now they were half-gods sidewalks fifth hour of the afternoon between two seasons: the hope of a half-god. still the elements I 'lilt. (109) struck with madness at the same time. or going insane like the painter the day he learned and significant Frank Sbysko. him to avoid the~e such for a serious man like himself. "Yes. 1'0 'llIzing 1 . -:. ." in the metaphysical sense of the word. . it's all fever and delirium _ rxhausting perspiration. What could he in this case conclude. lottery. that was going to envelop him.no longer be a question of an inutility. and he prepared with composure. ith I hat if at other times he had feared happiness. this time resembled it perfectly. The outside air was. naturally.-10 e to the motionless quail without seeing it because the colo. that does not at all mean that the air was bad. this time and completely ~nmisplaced and waited at the street corners for the cars to pass.-~.". But he felt. and nature. the sum of his experiences. besides themselves. in fact. h'dd _ " "cI to making. And yet I am sure that it is not like that. of the outside air like a liberated etc. per- . If the is that which comes between and autumn.d whi . things unless it was a question JUs 1 e . 1'(lV that were compromising red it with fogs and vapor. IlIlI'k the mockery of the logical ones.h. the hunter . tarnished I he it. giving it the same color re- that with regard to attitudes he could only half boast of being "knowing. else who walked the evening and in the k new _ what he should abide and he thoug h t Wit reason by . but m this cas~ It wou .' _ - - - _ . Immense majo rity of men strive practically to discover. Hebdomeros deep breaths or better attitudes of happiness 10 him. an absolute calm. " 't passes his gun slung over hIS shoulder.\ to the causes and effects and the price list of everythmg m this who feels better. " .0 His theories of life vaned accordmg that inestimable secret that most the second half of the day. as. marks the end of the ma._ _. IIlId flpea k . after which begins life (winter).r o~ ItS lumage matches II Ieas. is that which comes convalescence. I"M.l~dy. as a gesture of exorcism. thought Hebdom"that seems strange. those who think they ~oss~ss t~e ~. and before ItS c~ns~ant menace h e had . an unending weariness. himself. the month of September summer case of a sick person.:£-_-::- ~~~ - -. or I en It.t It the ground where it rests. Autumn IS connee. as one drop of water resembles another. Not a breeze. " Giorgio de Chirico that he won a million in the enough.d"Il(' . 1. they have contorted the way of truth. if not that the secret of happiness. consists.

. in admiring nothing. the artists. 11(' said. not apparent at first glance. bogus chilas everyone knows the invention of poetry And in more or less unpleasant. \ . d..1/1111. and which Hebdomeros proved each time he had the occasion to do so. regrets)-there where one has only the choice between admiring nothing. preceding And then. had covered proud distances since the first attempts.('II which often is necessary m of the elite.. ". had nevertheless one has seen. tertaining lusions dren. on the other hand. there was something to please amAh. s.1. and in spite of that great desire for justice which had always predominated acts. he was obliged to I tlliOU IIIII(! that a creation of a special character obliged him to isolate himself I'olnpletely and place himself beyond good and evil. No. play an important manifestations uly called his Maroels. he Included his nearest friends and his most fervent admirers. astonished though they were by the tours de force achieved and by the innumerable difficulties overcome. all that he did. ond the good. and one's admirations? spite of this there were always those (and this was one of his greatest were always those people who reproached him for stepping out of the frame that seemed to have been assigned to him by his very nature. There was something to please children. This happened each lif. real i-hildren who are often formidable judges and also who often have the PI' ponderant III role in the organization voice in the council. in presenting what he 11111. For all these reasons he had acquired a privileged position from which his adversaries tried in ext~nuating c~rcumstances. above all. in loving nothing? But skepticism. as the prophet renounces his mother. can one coolly conceive of an existence or keeping jealously to oneself both one's il50 Hebdomeros no longer pleaded among whom even to his contemporaries. moments. even an indispensable one? And is it not better to boast than to be like the even at the risk of irritating one's contemporaries. those big. of belonging but which. proper. with the proper discretion. delicate or serious lit III ITk any other roundabout means of claiming the right to be praised. Rather would he have been tempted to say that Without them existence threatened to become monotonous. was of the easiest. whose usefulness was their proper place in the urs and collectors of pictures and. he thought that enemies of social life and in the fairly dull and exasperatingly I" . All that this ~ouble game. that same elite to which he boasted. In any case.· f~mous c~urtier.lll. he felt no envy whatsoever of those who succeeded enemies were necessary.(IlO) HEBDOMER05 then? if that! Giorgio de Chirico (Ill) haps. were disposed at particularly to believe in was only a half-truth. it would be really too eccentric to consider oneself superior to others in each of his in playing without first being superior to oneself. for that matter. even during 1101 That he was boasting there's no doubt. but isn't boasting often a necessary thing. plan of creation... nor did . for that which his adversaries. but especially I. but also the to far-reaching 1. The task. that those who followed him would not a language that on any other occasion not only the sarcasm of the minds.dd have brought upon his shoulders I illWd. After all. was said and done quite naturally to charm most diverse tastes. to his great regret. with every nee.him for using. indeed enno illusions. it's that the art of seeing and describing what of human life in the same way that certain animals. was that he was infinitely less rigid in the application of his rules of conduct when it was a question of his own self.o used in the exercise of his profession to thinking like the king that In the end he lost his own memory? That which was certain. periods of transition that had permitted him to open new doors 1111 III(" most unexpected sights. Ihu (. often rather repugnant. and this since a long time.

qualities. However.Iow . which is after all but an invention What say your eyes? Ever or never! Open wide the gates of your gardens.d dreams! Remembrances! households. mysterious joy. softened by the veil of years. "what is needed is to discover. were spread gov- black and solemn against the themselves.s since puberty. dignitaries bowed in a false. . while the rhythmic chords of ~uitars fall again and again one into the other as water falls into water. Hebdomeros . Recuerdos! 0 starry night! Juanita! Juan- I/I! The water sings and still sings below the flowered cottages of Polish Waves of the Rhone and waves of the Rhine! Melancholy IIiUPS.(112) 'rain to dislodge the vicissitudes "rIth a ngorous HEBDOMEROS him. by the way. but not original . preserved and the talent that he him without doubt from fast and respected Giorgio de Chirico . Fruitful Source of failure and deception to fi h hi . wet with el<iquence and something the rain.. from our weaknesses. memories. 0 poet.lldoH and the ivy climbs . for in discovering one renders ~Ifepossible in the sense that one reconciles it with its mother. high-ranking with obscene grins beneath appearances.onfession of the old violoncello. His particular to perfect. pass in a SIlent flutter of wings. Itl II uvesters! IlIltI'"I" (113) Treasures! I!ontinued unceasingly 0 flowers of tenderness! of fashion. friends with the heavy heart! We will help you in your work. eamng pensive y on this broken column where the lizard ernment officials and important greasy mustaches that would better was to save appearances. and hierarchical out triumphantly. cordial fashion all the propounderstood decisions this and to Hi ions that you wish to make to us. and even what in general is the I'IIII(:II[S! Infinite stanzas to the stars! Beating of wings! Morning songs Charming interludes! Offerings! Village festivals blessed the great blue sky! 0 pastorales! . Original. . knew the plul:i~ed u. protocol humility whose only aim very questionable have been dispensed with. From our natures. we will study with you in a brotherly." ~e said. whiteness in characters The generals of the paper.. had ten~ions where art. seated Wlth a thoughtful air between a scythe and a clepsydra. onto the rotten wood of our villa balconies! and addressing his friends he said: "Nothing can replace this ineffable e p llce resulting from twenty years of experience and constant effort als hi " . "You must never gallop too hard on the back of fantasy. u friendly. great sadness Fatal transformations reflected infinity the most foolish hopes. dried-up old man. follow the sage counsel of thy muse' she' th I' 'I.0 not mg can surpass m evocative power that divine serenade where mIlIgle our ignorance of ourselves.dif~cult." L it was time to go in. g t t me Ignorance. lamps! The leaves of autumn." th . 0 leaves that fall! Listen to the 0 heart that has never changed! the farewell of the roses! Listen symphony . Hebdomeros drowned printed his heart. tumbled.rnber Eunice's kiss! Remember t~th su~e and undeniable.sometimes gray and sometimes green but always blue there where iii .o~t . Then like a new romantic inspiration came to him Once again Hebdomeros felt himself moored at the crossroads their wings on acetylene turning. Hebdomeros distrusted "originality" as much as he distIusted fantasy. The system that he employed had advantages He worked particularly fidelity the character. lakes lie and the vast oceans open! The moths of the night have hurnt I ' e gent e swell of the waves lapping the blocks of the quay. from the measureless of man. the color of the original inspiration. the trembling or rather the throbbing of the heart at moonlight.' . IS ere. EternityIn discovering one pays tribute to that minotaur that men call Time' a~td which they portray in the form of a tall. ""111 lit Iii lite song of the nest on the flowered route! 0 unfinished these eternal voglio amartis! Songs without words softly chanted! S .

Hebdomeros turned over on his couch .. no IIIIlre massacres. heavy gazelle. .. but which promised joys and repose unexpected and unforgettable. Yes. profits. " salid He bd omeros. credit. 0 IlIlwhing and naked as a little packless donkey. cnsation of a joy completed. where had he flown. this gentle god. on which the flies with their thanatophoric-i.. a mouthful of tepid water soiled by the birds of the sky. . I have drunk my last drops of belladonna and henbane! What can I hope for now? In what still believe? The gods migrated. __ _~-= __ ".. and then in the evening harassed and tired... graygreens. stabilization. . . where is our reward? A handful of rotten dates. But the great reward this evening. hands clenched at the end of arms stretched out of windows whose tritely patterned white curtains blew slightly from the intermittent breath of a warm breeze that came from the fields. down the length of thy lovely cheeks. fleas devour me and talk to himself out loud. 0 Corwith the legs twined in ribbons and the hands nelia! Thou. 111('11 faster. he waited. business. "How much time still? . " commerce. which you are careful not to do for you . He knew them well. thrown pell-mell in the hot dust. . on the stage of the for nothing: given.nteritis twists my bowels. the minuscule e. thy son fainting but alive. 1 . all alike except for slight variations of color that counted for little in the monotone symphony of grays.= . At the horizon the sky was alight with the last gleams of twilight. drunk from a dish that smells of wet wood . business is business. But he had to wait for it was still just a dream. this younger brother of sleep? Nostalgias. very costly. at the gates of oriental cities under the crushing dome of a burning sky the dysenteric marketers gesticulate around their goods.nce rose the stench of fermenting ordure were now far away. trade. i' The mother of the Gracchi had evolved. thy son bleeding but safe. as But one gained nothing Hebdomeros mono- 1I11111iac crowd. will rise and with it the wind and the stars . where was the repose? Yes.. . to fall on thy hands " pure. "What time is it?" and he continued to Soon the moon . iridescent. And then why should one suddenly stop? And renounce the possibilities of an enterprise. etc.. luu-k HI room (garden side). u-turned to their homes with that vague melancholy that follows the of life. Hebdomeros press oneself thus . nostalgias without end. thou. shepherdess upened wide his window on the spectacle world. speculation. before which everything retreats. (ll4) HEBDOMEROS afternoons in the map Giorgio de Chirico (llS) rest..4_ • _ _ __ • =-=-=-- ~~==". he will bring thy son in his arms. implacably hot since the first hours of the day. But once there. the playful joys which hide behind the bushes and from I here of a mother! Thou. confidence. if one dare holding their children by the hand. those interminable II ill dark and sordid streets the furious rabble stoned thy son. he who perceived the IIIhi of thy glance will throw himself alone into the delirious. moreover. The sordid impasses wll ." The setting changed again. given. head high. Mournful pedestrians. . smiling ironically. . of complete repose. ocher-grays. death-bearing-proboscises persist in humming of their little. these fields that stretched out elbowing one another. after lunch one retired there to rest. 'tis thou. for it was hot. like a navigator standing on the prow . us finally to see the miracle of thy tears. 0 Cornelia.I' his ship before the apparition of a strange land. Smoke rose and rose continuously in straight columns . or even a dream within a Ilrearn.. palms dirtied by vile money. a happiness achieved. so to speak. Arms folded.. "Yes. . green-ochers. " __. pearls sliding at first slowly. Dusk had fallen.. fast-beating wings. even though it was not an enterprise himself said.. little mother of the Gracchi! beckon you to approach. exchange.

Waves whose yellow-green depths were wholly embroidered on the surface with foam broke inside out and great masses of wild mares. y h ht of my death? Have 1 d li Have you ever t oug 1IIIOIIhe verbs. he claspe t e an 1 His thoughts. in an avalanche of rumps rubbing together. the cowardice. And thou whom 1 glimpse before my afternoon sleep. f .. ready to parry the blow. II". ... . Suddenly Hebdomeros saw that this unum had the eyes of his father. e omeros. all sound was stilled. If I~I I II and. yielded slowly and him altogether. Rockets rose in the sky. alone in the empty manor during a winter's night.. in the middle of this new Ocean. between t e s y . hoofs hard as steel.. a great wave. f' rt.. a as. the hate. silently. heavy and irresistible. hi h d pondered no onger. doubt.T~ey ~oated in the warmth of the setting HI ange and unknown sores. flew y smgIng. . r . the anger. 0 brkother . or rather their sex. marvelous islands.. of an immaculate whiteness. while a long sacred procession of tI squa ron l' b . but seemed to have disappeared of an infinite tenderness. s e sal . discontent. visible to myself alone. Then suddenly. h d entl on his shoulder. slowly. the fatigues.ll I"pl in immobility and silence.ver thought of the death of my eat. All that is hard in the world: stones of bones of men and animals.reen Idslandbse'rore the vice admiral. disappeared in an unbridled gallop. moved from outside by a mysterious hand. . all disappeared in a great tornado. At first he was frightened. the weakness. "I am Immortality. ItS esc h k and the vast stretch of the seas. a new and strange confidence began to be reborn in his soul. thou. pushing toward infinity .if gender.(1l6) HEBDOMEROS Giorgio de Chirico (1l7) will not have taken two paces toward them but they already will have flown far away. They surrendered to the cdaressin~ d n these waves they floate towar waves of unforgettable hwords. The assassins far from the cities. dent toward the cerulean skies . . as ou once said with much finesse. alas! . anguish. in . October 1929 . fear. Once again a. there behind the little half-ruined brick walls round which the brambles and nettles were clinging like a tenacious malady. and With the ot er I'olumn. the despairs. in a puzzling manner.. all. . and he understood. the disgust.. one hand in his trousers pocket and the other free. all sails still. as always. But then. passed slowly.'~er Seated on the trunk of a broken But she spo e no u . HUll. when he sees the handle of the door turn slowly. colliding. and taciturn in their looks. smiling m. She spoke of uunortality in the great star~~sshnig~dt. too far. thou whose glance speaks to me of immortality!" .. the alarms. as pass the ships 0 I-. everything forever. . ' heaven 1y bi d S. he approached carefully. . ec me. . he even trembled as the sickly old man in his armchair trembles. Meanwhile.! One day. IIlId his chin In ISth~n v~ice that he had heard. nostalgia. ave yo /(/. had submerged Hebdomeros' And once more it was the desert and the night. d h? H u thought of my IIlI . . Distrustful. peace and justice prevailing everywhere. . she placed a han g y H bd his elbow on the ruin d h h d of the hero. swept by an irresistible blast. ship floated immobile. Squads of heavily armed soldiers passed beside him with something obstinate the earth.. the mistrust. ~:du~: ~~::~o:~ng Paris. the incertitudes. Nouns have "0 Hebdomeros.