70

BROOMSTICK-BABBLINGS

FRATER PERDURABO is of the Sanhedrim of the Sabbath, say men; He is the Old Goat himself, say women.

Therefore do all adore him; the more they detest him the more do they adore him.

Ay! let us offer the Obscene Kiss!

Let us seek the Mystery of the Gnarled Oak, and of the Glacier Torrent!

To Him let us offer up our babes! Around Him let us dance in the mad moonlight!

But FRATER PERDURABO is nothing but AN EYE; what eye none knoweth.

Skip, witches! Hop, toads! Take your pleasure! -- for the play of the Universe is the pleasure of FRATER PERDURABO.

COMMENTARY (Ο)

70 is the number of the letter Ain, the Devil in the Tarot.

The chapter refers to the Witches' Sabbath, the description of which in Payne Knight should be carefully read before studying this chapter. All the allusions will then be obvious, save those which we proceed to note.

Sanhedrim, a body of 70 men. An Eye. Eye in Hebrew is Oin, 70.

The "gnarled oak" and the "glacier torrent" refer to the confessions made by many witches.

Paragraph 6 states a fact unsuited to the grade of any reader of this book.

In paragraph 7 is seen the meaning of the chapter; the obscene and distorted character of much of the universe is a whim of the Creator.