hair-ruffle: "Was even this necessary, damn it?" I asked myself. "Did he really have to get up from his seat and ruffle my hair in front of everyone?" In the
Ethics
, definition seven says:
That thing is called free, which exists solely by the necessity of its own nature, and of which the action is determined by itself alone. On the other hand, that thing is necessary, or rather constrained, which is determined by something external to itself to a fixed and definite method of existence or action.
Which means? That that blockhead couldn't do anything other than ruffle my hair because he was already a hair-ruffler by nature, or does it mean that he did it because he had been driven by an external cause and he, poor sod, couldn't prevent himself because he was constrained to do it? I don't know, but in any event, Spinoza was on my side, and even if, according to his
Order Geometrically Demonstrated
, this wretched gesture had been necessary, this doesn't alter the fact that the student had a breathtaking impudence, like the rest of the class, who laughed brazenly as I stood there holding the book of printers' marks.
I began to feel twitchy and wanted to forget about the whole business. I put the book awayâI would read it with quiet concentration as soon as I had found the well. I got up, put my rucksack on my back, and carried on walking. I left the road after about a kilometer and turned onto a white, gravel track edged with thick grass. I felt a breath of wind between the leaves, the rustling of bushes, the fluttering of blackbirds, and the sense of time gradually disappearing as I climbed higher.
"It wouldn't be so simple to live hidden in a place like this," I said to myself, "you'd have to be pretty fast in getting down to the town for food and drink, or the occasional newspaper, then vanishing and quickly hiding yourself in the woods, like wild boar."
And as I walked and looked up absent-mindedly at the trees, I could hear a bicycle being pedaled with difficulty on the gravel, and animals scuttling off into the woods. I turned round and saw a man wearing a multi-colored tracksuit, conspicuous among the trees, with a striped helmet and sun glasses. He was moving forward, pedaling with his feet, pushing first with one leg and then the other. I stopped at the side of the track so that he wouldn't lose the rhythm of his pedaling. "Why so much effort?" I thought as he was about to reach me. "What's he doing pedaling uphill like that?" Then it occurred to me it would soon be evening and I needed to know where I was going, where I could sleep and get something to eat. So just as the cyclist was passing, I raised my hand.
"Excuse me," I said, "I wonder whether you'd mind stopping a moment? I need some information."
Without saying a word, the man took a deep breath and stopped beside me.
"Yes?"
"Do you know where this track goes?"
"Up to the top."
"Well, yes, I can see that, we're going up."
"It goes to the clearing and then down the other side, but if you want, you can climb up to the caves."
"The caves? What caves?"
"The caves," said the cyclist, indicating a point on the other side of the trees.
"And what's in the caves?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"That's right, nothing, just a few animals . . ."
"Such as?"
"They're all quite harmless, except the wild boar. But to get there you have to cut through the woods . . ."
"And can you sleep there?"
"Where, in the caves? You can sleep there as well, I suppose, if you're prepared to make do."
"I've got a sleeping bag."
"You're homeless?"
"No, no, I have a home, but today I wanted to sleep in the mountains. I've come here especially to sleep up here."
"I see. Well you can sleep up there if you want. Be careful, though, the evenings get cold in spring. Do you have a k-way?"
"A what?" I asked, and meanwhile I was wondering whether that striped helmet, which matched the rest of his track suit, was really there to protect him if he fell, or to cover
Ethics
, definition seven says:
That thing is called free, which exists solely by the necessity of its own nature, and of which the action is determined by itself alone. On the other hand, that thing is necessary, or rather constrained, which is determined by something external to itself to a fixed and definite method of existence or action.
Which means? That that blockhead couldn't do anything other than ruffle my hair because he was already a hair-ruffler by nature, or does it mean that he did it because he had been driven by an external cause and he, poor sod, couldn't prevent himself because he was constrained to do it? I don't know, but in any event, Spinoza was on my side, and even if, according to his
Order Geometrically Demonstrated
, this wretched gesture had been necessary, this doesn't alter the fact that the student had a breathtaking impudence, like the rest of the class, who laughed brazenly as I stood there holding the book of printers' marks.
I began to feel twitchy and wanted to forget about the whole business. I put the book awayâI would read it with quiet concentration as soon as I had found the well. I got up, put my rucksack on my back, and carried on walking. I left the road after about a kilometer and turned onto a white, gravel track edged with thick grass. I felt a breath of wind between the leaves, the rustling of bushes, the fluttering of blackbirds, and the sense of time gradually disappearing as I climbed higher.
"It wouldn't be so simple to live hidden in a place like this," I said to myself, "you'd have to be pretty fast in getting down to the town for food and drink, or the occasional newspaper, then vanishing and quickly hiding yourself in the woods, like wild boar."
And as I walked and looked up absent-mindedly at the trees, I could hear a bicycle being pedaled with difficulty on the gravel, and animals scuttling off into the woods. I turned round and saw a man wearing a multi-colored tracksuit, conspicuous among the trees, with a striped helmet and sun glasses. He was moving forward, pedaling with his feet, pushing first with one leg and then the other. I stopped at the side of the track so that he wouldn't lose the rhythm of his pedaling. "Why so much effort?" I thought as he was about to reach me. "What's he doing pedaling uphill like that?" Then it occurred to me it would soon be evening and I needed to know where I was going, where I could sleep and get something to eat. So just as the cyclist was passing, I raised my hand.
"Excuse me," I said, "I wonder whether you'd mind stopping a moment? I need some information."
Without saying a word, the man took a deep breath and stopped beside me.
"Yes?"
"Do you know where this track goes?"
"Up to the top."
"Well, yes, I can see that, we're going up."
"It goes to the clearing and then down the other side, but if you want, you can climb up to the caves."
"The caves? What caves?"
"The caves," said the cyclist, indicating a point on the other side of the trees.
"And what's in the caves?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"That's right, nothing, just a few animals . . ."
"Such as?"
"They're all quite harmless, except the wild boar. But to get there you have to cut through the woods . . ."
"And can you sleep there?"
"Where, in the caves? You can sleep there as well, I suppose, if you're prepared to make do."
"I've got a sleeping bag."
"You're homeless?"
"No, no, I have a home, but today I wanted to sleep in the mountains. I've come here especially to sleep up here."
"I see. Well you can sleep up there if you want. Be careful, though, the evenings get cold in spring. Do you have a k-way?"
"A what?" I asked, and meanwhile I was wondering whether that striped helmet, which matched the rest of his track suit, was really there to protect him if he fell, or to cover
Similar Books
