PARTISAN REVIEW
105
passive porters with noisy barrels struck the right note of portent.
What concatenation of events would express exactly the terrors of
the dark night of the soul?
He closed his door, sat down, blew on
his
tea, lit a cigarette,
sipped and read Buckley'S proposal, a series of Mosaic command–
ments, which warned the instructor that thou shalt not dress un–
seemly,
thou shalt not be late for
class,
thou shalt not hunger after
popularity, thou shalt not serve Mammon, thou shalt not tum out
the lights in the office, thou shalt not covet students in conference.
Above all, thou shalt not commit Conference Ambience, a configura–
tion of conferences which create an atmosphere of provocative in–
timacy. Malcolm's spider script followed the injunction with the
minutes of further discussion about the aims and goals of the depart–
ment that must fulfill the needs and wants of students. Orientation
toward ethical attitudes is a primary aspect of the harmonious ad–
justment of the staff-student relationship. Undoubtedly, the educa–
tional values which are in reality the target-goal, should be fostered,
if not indeed enhanced, by a code of ethics which announces boldly
principles of belief in the inherent dignity of the experiential validity
of college life.
The committee voted unanimously to form a committee that
would investigate the procedural matters involved in the final word–
ing of a Code of Ethics for the Department of Civilization. Malcolm's
note at the bottom read: "See RM about conference ambience."
Rollie closed the folder, put out the light and turned
his
chair
toward the window. He watched the cars of the evening students
stream into the parking lot. Tonight he would deliver Montaigne
on friendship and love to the tired, blank, sullen faces. He would
administer the alchemist's potion and see the dull stirrings of their
thick blood spirit them into new being. They would pummel at the
door of his sensibility and shout to be let into the secret chambers
of consciousness. "Mr. Mergenthaler, I never knew I could feel,"
"Mr. Mergenthaler, I understand now," "Mr. Mergenthaler, you
have given me a new...." Falling to their knees, they would touch
the hem of his cloak, and he would console. In the Judaic-Christian
heritage man was conceived as tragic, suffering, alien, estranged
from the body of the world, estranged from the godhead within.
Embrace the stranger in you, make love to the enemy within. Find
in yourself your existence. Bind the dichotomy, make a knot of the
