It was when I was no older than thou, and had gone as a guest to The Tisroc’s court in Tashbaan. “But that time it was carved in stone and overlaid with gold and had solid diamonds for eyes. “I have seen it once before,” said Tirian. “What was it?” said Eustace in a whisper. They had all been still as statues while it was in sight. Everyone started breathing properly again and moved. Then the sun came out again, and the birds once more began to sing. The others watched it for perhaps a minute, until it streamed away into the thicker trees on their right and disappeared. It floated on the grass instead of walking, and the grass seemed to wither beneath it. . It had four arms which it held high above its head, stretching them out Northward as if it wanted to snatch all Narnia in its grip and its fingers-all twenty of them-were curved like its beak and had long, pointed, bird-like claws instead of nails. It was roughly the shape of a man but it had the head of a bird some bird of prey with a cruel, curved beak. Also, this thing kept its shape instead of billowing and curling as smoke would have done. But the deathly smell was not the smell of smoke. At a first glance you might have mistaken it for smoke, for it was grey and you could see things through it. In the shadow of the trees on the far side of the clearing something was moving. In The Last Battle, we see that in Narnia, the reality behind the lifeless image can be most terribly revealed. Lewis painted a graphic image of one animal-headed deity.
Still, as an unrepentant dog person, and “papa” to a rescued border collie, the words above brought a smile to me.Ĭ.S. I don’t intend to offend any cat lovers by repeating this observation-my son has an affectionate tabby he rescued as a kitten while a senior in high school, that’s welcome in our home anytime. If you’re going to worship an animal, why not the Border Collie, frantically eager to please, or the loving, soulful-eyed Lab? Or the alert and protective German Shepherd? Or the indomitable Saint Bernard? Or the classic loyal and even-tempered mutt? I mean, would you want to worship a murderous narcissistic psychopath? This is not an image of God to make anyone happy. Of course, our understanding of the genuine religious impulses of ancient religions has increased, but still, one of the gifts the Jewish people have brought the world is that no one who knows about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the least bit tempted to worship cats. Wandering around the American Kennel Club’s big “Meet the Breeds” event with my two youngest children recently, I saw a big banner in the cat section proclaiming that a particular breed had been considered a god by an ancient civilization. I thought of her today when I read the following in the December issue of First Things, in the executive editor’s column. She passed on long decades ago, but her haughty, regal bearing is etched in my memory. And that came as no surprise, since she was an Egyptian Mau, one of the most ancient of breeds. The cat maintained that imperial posture and attitude that is common in virtually all felines. When my wife and I dated, I praised her beautiful cat when I visited her home.
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