I read the book Behold the Man by Michael Moorcork possibly twice when I was approximately 21 years old. I recall suggesting it to various friends. They also read it, though most likely only once. One friend was Raun, and he told me that it was not to his taste. Those were not his exact words. He related that the style of the novel didn’t emulsify his gravy. The style is indeed choppy, but so is life, in my opinion. In any case, it works for me.
In specific, this morning and yesterday, I was thinking about Karl and his short time with the Essenes. Though their ways were meditative and peaceful, he considered them “clinically” insane. Their belief that God’s kingdom was soon to be again on earth is startlingly similar to that of sects that spring up again and again in the modern world. Those sects, of course, and especially after any act of extremism, are considered to be at least led by a madman.
How the actions of a small group of insane individuals led to an extreme result (the crucifixion) and furthermore to a mythos surrounding said crucifixion isn’t really what I was thinking about, however. At the point in history when the Essenes existed, there didn’t exist (ostensibly) organizations or institutions to contain those afflicted by such insanities. The unchecked spread of their actions, therefore, and extreme acts and subsequent mythos, were more widespread.
The cultures in which we live have created measures to make sure such things no longer happen, I suppose squelching the birth of further mythos. I’ve not been known to be a big fan of mythos in general, anyhow. So fuck um.
