Beelzebub’s Flight to the Planet Earth for the Fifth Time

“My friend, Hamolinadir, also had to report about some topic and therefore drew a lot; and it fell to him to speak fifth.

“The reporters who preceded him either reported upon new ‘theories’ they had invented or they criticized theories already existing and known to everybody.

“At last came the turn of this sympathetic Assyrian.

“He ascended what is called the ‘rostrum,’ and as he did so some attendants hung up a notice above it indicating on which subject the given reporter would speak.

“It was the custom at that time to do so.

“The notice announced that the reporter had taken as the theme of his report the ‘Instability-of-Human-Reason.’

“Thereupon, this terrestrial friend of mine first expatiated on the kind of structure which, in his opinion, the human ‘head-brain’ has, and in which cases and in what manner various impressions are perceived by the other brains of man, and how only after definite what is called ‘agreement’ between all the brains are the total results impressed on this head-brain.

“He spoke calmly at first, but the longer he spoke, the more agitated he became, until his voice rose to a shout, and shouting he began to criticize the Reason in man.

“And at the same time, he mercilessly criticized his own Reason.

“Still continuing to shout, he very logically and convincingly demonstrated the instability and fickleness of man’s Reason, and showed, in detail, how easy it is to prove and convince this Reason of anything you like.

“Although in the midst of the shouting of this terrestrial friend of mine, Hamolinadir, his sobbing could be heard, nevertheless, even while sobbing, he continued to shout. Further he said:

335