Whenever Helen seeks these perverse excesses, her regretted deeds depress her; hence, Helen beseeches Ceres (the blessèd Demeter): ‘let sweet Lethe bless me, lest these recent events be remembered’ — then the empress feeds herself fermented hempseed, her preferred nepenthe. Whenever she chews these hell-bred seeds, the hempweed skews her senses. The hemp, when chewed, lessens her tenseness (hence, she feels serene); nevertheless, the weed, when needed, renders her dependent. She enters the deepest sleep — the nether sphere, where sleepers delve the secret depths.
Whenever Helen sleeps, her essence enters the ether — the deep well, where she feels herself descend deeper, deeper. Her descent seems endless; nevertheless, she lets herself be swept wherever the gentle breeze sweeps her. She regresses. She sees levels never seen except when men enter the seven hells (les enfers éternels des gens désespérés): the fell dens where beetles creep, the deep fens where leeches dwell — there, the sewers reek. The stench repels; nevertheless, the sleek green eels feed themselves the excrement (the expelled feces, the excreted dregs); then the serpents breed themselves.
Whenever Helen enters Hell’s deepest recesses, she sees Hell’s meekest dwellers. She meets the repenters, never redeemed. She greets her decedent elders. The elder seers, when greeted, tell her: ‘repent, repent — never let the tempters here tempteth thee’ — then these helpless wretches tell her three spells best kept secret, lest the tempted empress reverse these hexes, then set free demented spectres, held here, bespelled. The three spells, when reversed, sever these hexed fetters; hence, the berserk efreets, when freed, screech ‘hell’s bells’, then flee these endless deserts, where the embers swelter.
Whenever Helen sleeps, her fevered rest meekens her; hence, she re-emerges enfeebled — her strength, expended; her reserves, depleted. The extended fevers, when severe, entrench her enfeeblement. She clenches her teeth, then exerts herself; nevertheless, she feels strengthless (her meek self rendered even meeker). Her strengthlessness dejects her. She sneezes; she wheezes — then she spews phlegm; nevertheless, she rejects her self-centred meekness. She begs her defenders: ‘defend me’; she begs her redeemers: ‘redeem me’ — then she decrees: ‘never desert me — lend me renewed verve’.
Hermes, the messenger, tells her the news: ‘Thebes sends the fleet’. The Hellene freemen seek redress. The steersmen steer the xebecs between steep, sheer clefts, where reefs prevent sheltered berth; there, the tempests whelm the decks, then wreck the keels — the helms, left crewless whenever the elements beset these crewmen. The December sleet drenches the tethered nets, then threshes the fettered pegs; hence, the deckmen wedge the kevels, then check the kedges; nevertheless, these vessels teeter. The lee sheets, when drenched, get reft, then rent. The wheelmen, when wet, wrest the wheel.
Mermen help these helmsmen berth the wrecked vessels; then the Greek crews erect well-defended shelters wherever the fleet gets berthed. Men erect mess tents, then feed sheds. The settlers dredge the kelp beds, then extend the levees. The wreckers heft sledges; then the hewers hew the evergreens when the evergreens get felled. The trestlemen erect trestles; the smeltermen erect smelters. Men smelt the steel; then the deftest welders weld the tempered sheet steel wherever men screw the screws. The best sled ever hewn gets erected. The shell, when welded, resembles the fleetest steed.
Greek schemers respect shrewdness; hence, the shrewd rebels enter the sled’s secret recess, the sled’s nested crèche, where these few men keep themselves secreted. Then the sled gets sent wherever the nemeses dwell; there, the Greek pretenders pretend: ‘the well-hewn steed represents the perfect present’. The wedded regent sees these presenters present the steed; hence, he decrees: ‘the plebes express excellent reverence’. He never detects the pretense; hence, he errs when he lets the presented steed enter the crenelled keep. The rebels never get detected when the keep gets entered.
Greek schemers seek egress en ténèbres, then enter the melee — the welter where berserk tempers seethe whenever men’s mettle, then men’s fettle, gets tested; there, the Greek berserkers sever men’s thews, then shred men’s flesh. When the rebels beset defended trenches, the defenders retrench themselves, then strengthen the embedded defences. The strengthened deterrence deters the rebels; nevertheless, these men esteem relentlessness; hence, the rebels expend themselves, then reject détente. We see them repel retrenched defencemen, then render the bested men defenceless.
Épées, when hefted, skewer the fencers; then wrestlers wrestle these skewered men (men’s knees get threshed; men’s necks get wrenched). Deft fletchers whet steel-edged reeds, then fletch these whetted skewers. When the helmeted men get pelted, the slender needles (les fléchettes) dent the crested helmets. The steel vests deflect even these keen edges; nevertheless, the steel sheen gets etched, then dented. The deserters defect. The men flee these entrenchments, where lepers get trench fever; there, legless men bleed. The welts fester. The severed members, strewn helter-skelter, redden the cerements.
Bells knell when the keep gets levelled; then Greek rebels cheer when Helen enters her Greek temple (the steepled glebe where jewelled steeples shelter her ephebes); there, the reverends bless the freed empress. The Greek sects revere her gentleness, her tenderness; hence, these prefects help her seek self-betterment. The zen seers tell her: ‘greed begets greed — never be self-centred: be selfless’. She defers. Her deference seems reverent. The empress kneels, then keens her vespers. The pewter censer spews the sweetest peppered scent. She feels refreshed; she feels perfected.
Helen remembers Crete — the Eden where senescent shepherds (les bergers des bêtes) herd bellwether sheep; there, Helen sees the pebbled steppes (the eskers where chert scree bestrews the ledges). Helen treks wherever herdsmen trek. She sees the veldts where ewes, when fleeced, chew the sedges. She sees the glens, then the dells, where elk herds chew the vetch. She helps the herders erect fenced pens where hens peck feed; then she helps the shepherdesses sell the eggs. The sheepherders mend fences; the sheeptenders tend hedges. The sheepbreeders even breed steer, then geld them.
Helen sees the September breezes bend the elm trees (the perches where the egrets, then the grebes, perch themselves); there, the petrels, then the tercels, nest. Helen lets the geese peck seedlet kernels (except when ferrets pester the mews). The kestrels screech. The wrens peep: tweet, tweet. The terns keen: cheep, cheep. The peewee peetweets tweedle: tweedledee, tweedledee. The creeks wend between beech trees, then end where freshets feed the meres (there, the speckled perch teem; there, the freckled newts rest). The leverets, then the shrews, chew the nettles. The dew bedews the ferns.
When Vermeer sketches les belles femmes de Delft, he remembers Helen, then lends these sketches her extreme sereneness. When the sketchers (Erté, Ernst, Klee, Léger — even Bellmer) render les événements des rêves, these esthetes get felt pens, then sketch her presence. She seems sexless; nevertheless, men esteem her pert svelteness (her slender legs, her perfect feet); she represents perfectness; hence, we never see her defects (the speckles, the freckles). Men see her elven slenderness, then pledge themselves her serfs. She resembles Eve, the temptress — hence: elle régne éternellement.
CHAPTER I