Leviathan's Lament

From the 2nd Aethyr of Liber 418, 1909. But if She will, oh, the things that shall never be said. "Despair! Despair! For thou mayest perceive the Virgin, & thou mayest control the Mother; but what wilt thou say unto the ancient Whore that is throned in Eternity? For if she will not, there is neither force nor cunning, nor any wit that may prevail upon her. Thou canst not woo her with love, for she is love. And she hath all, & hath no need of thee. And thou canst not woo her with gold, for all the Kings & captains of the earth, & all the gods of heaven, have showered their gold upon her. Thus hath she all, & hath no need of thee. & thou canst not woo her with knowledge, for knowledge is the thing that she hath spurned. She hath it all, & hath no need of thee. & thou canst not woo her with wit, for her Lord is Wit. sShe hath it all, & hath no need of thee. Despair! Despair! Nor canst thou cling to her knees & ask for pity, for she nor canst thou cling to her heart & ask for love; nor canst thou put thine arms about her neck, & ask for understanding, for thou hast had all these, & they avail thee not. Despair! Despair! ... Nor canst thou win her with the sword, for her eyes are fixed upon the eyes of him in whose hand is the hilt of the sword. Despair! Despair! Nor canst thou win her by the Serpent, for it was the Serpent that seduced her first. Despair! Despair! I am Leviathan, the great lost Serpent of the Sea. I writhe eternally in torment, & I lash the ocean with my tail into a whirlpool of foam that is venomous and bitter, & I have no purpose. I go nowhither. I can neither live nor die. I can but rave & rave in my death-agony. I am the Crocodile that eateth up the children of men. & through the malice of BABALON I hunger, hunger, hunger."