Pagina 174 di 483

"Thus I relieve thee, my creator," he said, and placed his hated

hands before my eyes, which I flung from me with violence; "thus

I take from thee a sight which you abhor. Still thou canst listen

to me and grant me thy compassion. By the virtues that I once

possessed, I demand this from you. Hear my tale; it is long and

strange, and the temperature of this place is not fitting to your

fine sensations; come to the hut upon the mountain. The sun is

yet high in the heavens; before it descends to hide itself behind

your snowy precipices and illuminate another world, you will have

heard my story and can decide. On you it rests, whether I quit

for ever the neighbourhood of man and lead a harmless life, or

become the scourge of your fellow creatures and the author of

your own speedy ruin."