The Incantation of Circe

THE INCANTATION OF CIRCE. 6

...or only four, who have fled trembling to safety, remain. All the others—some of whom take themselves into nearby caves, others fly up into the branches of trees, others hurl themselves headlong into the nearby sea, and others, more domestic, hurry toward our doors—I see them transformed into living creatures of various kinds.

CIRCE: On the contrary, they have unfolded their own true forms original: "proprias explicauere formas." In Bruno’s philosophy, the physical body is merely a garment; by "unfolding" their forms, Circe believes she is simply making their internal, animalistic character visible to the eye.. It shall happen that I am blamed, Moeris. Unwise men will call the benevolent Circe "malevolent." Those who still stand firm are true men; our spell neither wished nor was able to reach them This implies that a person of true intellectual and moral integrity is immune to "bestialization" because they lack an inner beast to be revealed..

MOERIS: I am shaken with terror, my goddess and queen, because beasts terrible to behold are threatening us.

CIRCE: Were you afraid a little while ago?

MOERIS: Not at all.

CIRCE: Now, therefore, you are given less cause for fear.

MOERIS: Why is that?

CIRCE: For these brutes and beasts you now see do not differ (as you yourself know) from those you saw as men just a moment ago—except that they now have out in the open the claws, teeth, stings, and horns that were previously hidden. Indeed, I also want you to be aware of this: since they now lack that organ which is most effective for wounding the very depths of souls, they have been made far less harmful and fearsome.

MOERIS: Which organ is that?

CIRCE: The tongue. Circe argues that the human capacity for deceitful speech and verbal cruelty is more dangerous than any physical claw or fang.

MOERIS: God help me original: "Dij me ament," literally "May the gods love me," a common Latin idiom similar to "Heaven help me.", I fear what they might do more than what they might say.

CIRCE: You are less wise for that reason. But I shall also show you why, even now, you ought to be less anxious regarding the kind of dread in which you are currently entangled.