THE PILGRIM'S REGRESS (Philosophical & Psychological Novel). C. S. Lewis

not,’ said Mr. Mammon, ‘it would be contrary to all economic laws. It would pauperize you.’ Then, when John lingered, he added, ‘Move on. I don’t want any loiterers about here.’

      John limped on for about ten minutes. Suddenly he heard Mr. Mammon calling out to him. He stopped and turned round.

      ‘What do you want?’ shouted John.

      ‘Come back,’ said Mr. Mammon.

      John was so tired and hungry that he humbled himself to walk back (and the way seemed long) in the hope that Mammon had relented. When he came again to the place where they had talked before, the man finished his work without speaking and then said:

      ‘Where did you get your clothes torn?’

      ‘I had a quarrel with the Clevers in Eschropolis.’

      ‘Clevers?’

      ‘Don’t you know them?’

      ‘Never heard of them.’

      ‘You know Eschropolis?’

      ‘Know it? I own Eschropolis.’

      ‘How do you mean?’

      ‘What do you suppose they live on?’

      ‘I never thought of that.’

      ‘Every man of them earns his living by writing for me or having shares in my land. I suppose the “Clevers” is some nonsense they do in their spare time—when they’re not beating up tramps,’ and he glanced at John. Then he resumed his work.

      ‘You needn’t wait,’ he said presently.

      Chapter Five

      Under Arrest

       Table of Contents

       He is hindered from pursuing his quest by the intellectual climate of the Age

      Then I turned round and immediately began to dream again and I saw John plodding westward in the dark and the rain, in great distress, because he was too tired to go on and too cold to stop. And after a time there came a north wind that drove the rain away and skinned the puddles with ice and set the bare boughs clashing in the trees. And the moon came out. Now John looked up with his teeth chattering and saw that he was entering into a long valley of rocks with high cliffs on the right and the left. And the far end of the valley was barred with a high cliff all across except for one narrow pass in the middle. The moonlight lay white on this cliff and right amidst it was a huge shadow like a man’s head. John glanced over his shoulder and saw that the shadow was thrown by a mountain behind him, which he had passed in the darkness.

      It was far too cold for a man to stay still in the wind, and I dreamed of John going stumblingly forward up the valley till now he had come to the rock-wall and was about to enter the pass. But just as he rounded a great boulder and came full in sight of the pass he saw some armed men sitting in it by a brazier; and immediately they sprang up and barred his way.

      ‘You can’t pass here,’ said their leader.

      ‘Where can I pass?’ said John.

      ‘Where are you going to?’

      ‘I am going to find the sea in order to set sail for an Island that I have seen in the West.’

      ‘Then you cannot pass.’

      ‘By whose orders?’

      ‘Do you not know that all this country belongs to the Spirit of the Age?’

      ‘I am sorry,’ said John, ‘I didn’t know. I have no wish to trespass. I will go round some other way. I will not go through his country at all.’

       Specially Freudianism

      ‘You fool,’ said the captain, ‘you are in his country now. This pass is the way out of it, not the way into it. He welcomes strangers. His quarrel is with runaways.’ Then he called to one of his men and said, ‘Here, Enlightenment, take this fugitive to our Master.’

      A young man stepped out and clapped fetters upon John’s hands: then putting the length of chain over his own shoulder and giving it a jerk he began to walk down the valley dragging John after him.