The Unicorn
By Nancy Hathaway
"Of all the legendary animals of art, folklore and literature, the
Unicorn is the one with the greatest hold on our imaginations. Other fabulous beasts are
clearly inventions, existing only in a mythical landscape of our own collective creation.
But the Unicorn strikes us as more than imaginary. It seems possible, even probable - a
creature so likely that it ought to exist."
The Once and Future King
T.H. White
"The unicorn was white, with hoofs of silver and
graceful horn of pearl. . . . The glorious thing about him was his eye. There
was a faint bluish furrow down each side of his nose, and this led to the eye sockets, and
surrounded them in a pensive shade. The eyes, circled by this sad and beautiful
darkness, were so sorrowful, lonely, gentle and nobly tragic, that they killed all other
emotions except love."
Possibility of Being
RANIER MARIA RILKE
This is the creature there has never been.
- They never knew it, and yet, none the
less,
- they loved the way it moved, its suppleness,
- its neck, its very gaze, mild and serene.
- Not there, because they loved it,
- it behaved as though it were.
- They always left some space.
- And in that clear unpeopled space they
saved
- it lightly reared its head,
- with scare a trace of not being there.
- They
fed it, not with corn, but only with
- the
possibility of being.
- And
that was able to confer such strength,
- its
brow put forth a horn. One horn.
- Whitely
it stole up to a maid -- to be within the
silver mirror and in her.
-
"The unicorn,she said,was a marvelous beast,shining
with honor,wisdom and strenth.Just to see him strengthened
the soul." -- from The Unicorn in the Maze by Megan
Lindholm
"Well, now
that we have seen each other,"
said the Unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll
believe in you. Is that a bargain ?" "Yes, if you
like," said Alice.
- Lewis
Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass)
God himself must needs be traduced, if there is no
unicorn in the world. -- Edward Topsell
"The question of historicity and actuality with
regard to gods and unicorns is a relatively trifling
matter which may be left to antiquarians and biologists,
for both the god and the unicorn had a business to
perform greater than any mere existence in the flesh
could explain or provide a basis for." -- Odell
Shepard, The Lore of the Unicorn
Now I will believe that there are unicorns... --
William Shakespeare, The Tempest
A wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn. --
Tibetan proverb
Some things you have to believe to see -- Anonymous
"Their bodies are white, their heads dark red,
and their eyes dark blue. They have a horn on the
forehead which is about a foot and a half in length."
--Ctesias; Indica, 416B.C.
"Like a lion, without fear of the howling pack;
Like a gust of wind, ne'er trapped in a snare; Like
a lotus blossom, ne'er sprinkled by water; Like me,
like a unicorn, in solitude roam." --Hymn of
Buddha
"Today it is said that the unicorn never existed.
However, it is marvelously clear that when the unicorn
was first described and centuries later when the tapestries
were woven, everyone believed in unicorns." -Marianna
Mayer, The Unicorn and the Lake
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- Copyright New Directions Publishing Corp.
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