an excerpt from AMBITION'S PROGRESS PT 1 Read online

  Which by my pan, a conception of thine fiendish instinct to debase and to ultimately destroy mine soul at Mediocrity.

  Yea, reckon Arcite after Amazon Victor severed him from his obsession and sent him away to a mediocrity village that highte Thebes;

 

  ‘So much sorwe had never creature

  That is, or shall, whyl that the world may dure.

  His sleep, his mete, his drink is him biraft,

  That lene he wex, and drye as is a shaft

  His eyen holwe, and grisly to biholde;

  His hewe falwe, and pale as asshen colde,

  And solitarie he was, and ever allone,

  And wailling at the night, making his mone.’

  To hark unto thee O Unemployment,

  ‘Twill be to welcome the Promethean fate.

  Rather than being chained to a sable life of mediocrity,

  And having mine vitals torn and tormented by the grim vultures of unfulfilled cravings,

  I choose to die by the sword of disappointment,

  And receive the quietus.

  Tell me then O wise titan,

  Would it be better to be tormented day and night by the fiery burning fires of unrealized dreams than to face thy threats?

  Unemployment:O numskull!

  The virtue of thy senses hath lost its savor!

  Thy endings surely would harmonize with the saying:

  ‘Out of the frying pan into the fire!’

  The torments and certain destruction that lay await thee,

  Shall make thee declare the Procrustean torture of being only too gracious and merciful!

  O graceless! Amid that bed when thou shalt howl for help,

  No god or angel would ev’r come nigh thee!

  But alas, O argonaut; ‘twill be too late!

  O, foul not thy nest while Time smileth still.

  Ambition:Wonder is thy words, that could even light up lignaloes!

  Hath the seven springs ev’r failed the Thames? Nay!

  Behold the despotic Tree that sprouted up higher and higher for four score and three years.

  Tho’ fell he neath the dew of heavens for seven long years,

  Yet the Source restored him.

  Even so the Source will never, never fail nor forsake me!

  Under the Azure Vault,

  Doth not mercies of great providence bloom?

  Yea! Wherefore I fear no evil!

  For mine confidence reposeth upon the immutable laws of the wise old man.

  Unemployment:Lo, the Rugged Voice which once did herald His purpose and great will;

  In such valour and intrepid bellows vaulted he up,

  As to make even the welkin tremble and ring.

  Alas! what was his recompense?

  Upon the dark Fortress of Machaerus did grim Atropos sheared apart the thread!

  Where was his Source then!

  Harken now thou fool;

  No one, not even Him, the Almighty could turn the captivity set upon thee by the triad Sisters;

  ‘Tis irrevocably fixed, thy doom!

  Now! Take heed thou Sisera,

  Set not the dread river Kishon in spate by thine contumacy!

  I warn thee set not!

  Wilt thou not yield without further ado!

  Ambition:Now, allay thy tempest Mr. Titan!

  Is it not written, in the Septuagint;

  Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger rests in the bosom of fools.

  Thy astolpho-horn maketh not a taint upon mine buckler,

  For mine confidence resteth upon that mysterious man who alone could save me from thy power,

  Yea deliver me from all snares, even Fate!

  Unemployment:Truth say I unto thee;

  No one knoweth who the mysterious man, Other-Self is.

  Lord Poverty and I went to no end, In seeking him, by reason of soothing our curiosity and to destroy him;

  But thus far we were only confounded.

  Me-seems, he may never really exist

  Wherefore, dream to thy heart’s bent, thou dung-head!

  Thy Other-Self shall appear unto thee as like the dead sons by Usher’s Well!

  Now, harken unto mine heeds;

  The tempest regardeth not a portly Argosy

  Nor a gallant Galleon!

  Lo! The twilight is closing in fast!

  And before Black Death dickers over thy soul,

  Receive mine words and yield thyself unto Mediocrity and Hard Manual Labour Estate!

  Ambition:O threatful titan! Twirl not thine mustache!

  Perhaps I may never him find or know,

  But nevertheless have I confidence upon mine panoply to fence myself!

  Unemployment:Ha, ha, ha! Flaunt not thyself O numskull,

  In the fragile and worthless panoply!

  It is a mere Piccaninny’s play thing!

  Ambition:Tosh! Ash upon thy haughty laughter thou contemptible titan!

  Seemingly tho’, yet with this fragile panoply will I take thee by the sling and five stones!

  Unemployment:Hoist not mine dander…….

  Ambition:O foppish titan! How must I effectuate thy recognition of thine own foolishness!

  Wherefore……….

  Unemployment:I warn thee fuel not the fire…..

  Ambition:Tosh! Foolish titan! Wherefore persist thou sore frivolously in spinning the woeful yarn,

  When it falls short of the hermetic seal of mine citadel!

  Avaunt I warn thee!

  Try not mine patience I warn thee again!

  Unemployment:You XX11! Son of a lame donkey! Son of a XX11!

  Most worthy to be hewn and strewn upon that Euxine deep!

  Durst thou parade arrogance before thy master!

  By the time I am thro’ with thee, the hermetic seal would be found no more,

  And thou’ll go crawling and kissing the dust, to Canossa!

  Take heed you rascal! Son of an ass!

  Tamper not with the lid of the seething cauldron of mine infernal wrath!

  Ambition:You Gila Monster! Son of Gorgon!

  Most worthy and fit to fall by Beowulf’s sword!

  Refine your address before I tutor thy tongue!

  For I’m a knighted argonaut!

  And is to be called Sir, Ambition!

  Make from; I warn thee! The rumbling juggernaut of obsession!

  I hereby flout thy laws! Thee! And that fiendish beast Poverty!

  Unemployment:Roar! You blithering idiot!

  Godes yrre baer!

  Thou hast knocked open the Pandora’s Box!

  O the twisting vortex ariseth now!

  Ah! Cold Boreas and cozy air!

  Their tryst anon at the Gulf!

  Ambition:You abominable Yahoo! (draws out his sword)

  Mine indignation standeth upon zenith!

  Think’st thou I fear thee! My foot!

  My sword craveth for fray!

  Wherefore delayst thou in taking up the gauntlet you empty vessel!

  Come out of the coop you chicken!

  And face me with your trident rather than words!

  Unemployment:You waspish weakling! Whoreson! Son of a dog!

  Unworthy for mine feeble finger!

  Durst thou challenge me! You dog!

  Durst thou warn me! You loon!

  I swear now by the vengeful River!

  That Time shall anon wake to find thee tame!

  Behold! The guardian of this valley,

  Mine faithful servant, Suicide!

  Shalt now try thy mettle!

 

  Chapter 4

  Sir Ambition Battles hideous Giant Suicide

  With this, Unemployment bellowed out a mighty roar that resounded far and wide till the entire place tremored. Lo, out of a nether lair arises a hideous giant called, Suicide, whose striking horror could transfix even Hercules to a wall
of fear and hopelessness!

  Like a starving Harpy it now gazes ravenously upon its victim! My good Lord! This is terrible!

  The hope of recovering even a tiny fragment of his bone or hair burns away in the fiery heat of the giant’s grasping look, brandishing club and cyclopean strides as it made towards him. In an ominous precognition I beheld in my immortal dream of this Destitude’s Progress, Ambition’s wraith, and I wept much for my hero;

  “After venturing thus far from Penury should this be the end of the good man! O the Good Lord of heavens and earth, almighty creator of all that is good and pure, in whom there’s no shadow of turnings!”

  “Will not thy anointing fall upon the good man’s panoply as it did in the days of yore upon that shepherd boy’s sling and five stones!”

  In the brink of this approaching disaster I was to gape at another astounding sight (perhaps in answer to my cries): all of a sudden, Ambition’s panoply shone and radiated in iridescent glitters as if it has come to life! Then did the argonaut feel a strange wave of power surging thro’ his entire body from the top of his head to the sole of his feet; the reverberation of which sparked off an inner cataclysm thus rekindling every being and cell with fiery flaming passion which truculently cried out to greet the infernal challenge.

  Not being able to contain he hoisted his sword (called the sword of persistance) and erupted in a volcanic fury, screaming:

  “For I am the master of my Fate and the captain of my soul!”

  With this battle cry he ran forward like a charging mad bull, brandishing his passionate sword and like the explosive crashing of two irresistible rolling boulders from two high mountains they crashed against each other in such fearful impact.

  Like sparing gladiators locked up in a horrible duel of death they exchanged, biffed such terrifying, and deadly blows-such powerful blows that could have flatten ten sequoias or oaks with one strike!

  I stood baffled in retrospect to behold the wretched man who once dandled in inferiority complex and timidity at the streets of Penury metamorphosed into a paragon of valiant gladiator; vociferously battling with such jaunty leaps and indignant groans.

  Even the valley could not endure the weight of battle; for the sore combat flaring up horrendously to its apex not only had catastrophic repercussions, whereby the place tremored, oosening, shattering the mountains, but also obliterated the raging

  Hideous Giant, Suicide

  argonaut’s awareness of huge ravaging boulders that fell rumbling down the valley so precariously.

  The duel battle cauterized with such shocking fury and mind staggering violence obviously would have defied even the combined efforts of hell, earth and heaven to stop them!

  But even amidst the gruesome fight and in the devastating storm of his seemingly berserk wrath he remained the arbiter of his unconquerable soul and held a sense of humour.

  At one stage, standing aloft a rock (which was fragmented from an unlucky gargantuan rock that received Suicide’s missed aim), brandishing his bloodied sword he pounced savagely in a leonine ferocity upon the giant, thunderously yelling: “Yaarr!”

  The head on crash brought about a mighty stand-still by the gluing of their assailing weapons crossed, throwing them on to their mettle as they pulled up gnashing their teeth every jot of their being and strength to depress their respective weapons against the other, sideward.

  Ambition was first put in cart when Suicide by its brute strength swayed his sword down to the side blazoning the gain of an upper hand with a raucous laughter. Bereft of the hope of making a sally, Ambition being thrown on the rack earnestly persevered.

  Suddenly, by a strange hoisting of that potent rod, he began countervailing the giant’s might, swayed and depressed its club down the opposite side, at the same time bellowing out the victorious laughter, which made Suicide blush with shame.

  Notwithstanding the humiliation Suicide counter-whelmed and bringing their crossed weapons centre between their faces they leaned forward In the static impact, scowling viciously at each other; Suicide tickled by the thought of having the game in its hand, superciliously pressed forward its grisly face, and arrogantly laughed haughtily: “Har har har!

  But Ambition in emulation inclined his resolute face even closer, retorted sardonically: “Hee, hee, hee.” Bewildered and shocked, Suicide pulled its face away in disgust.

  But again leaned forward, this time threateningly roared thunderously to intimidate him. But Ambition defiantly pressed his face even closer and made an insolent grimace and thumbed his nose at the giant.

  This was enough; the giant exploded in rage, broke the standstill and they plunged right into seething combat.

  At another time when Ambition was in cart, he retreated upwards a mountain to strategically notch up against the giant’s advance, battling bloodily till they reached the summit.

  Biffing with all their might, the deadly clash of their weapons brought again a crossed standstill but giving a mighty round swing, their assailing weapons slipped, flew from their hands down the mountain.

  Suicide espying a nearby boulder lifted and hurled viciously at him, which Ambition shielding himself with his escutcheon (called self-confidence) fell on his back dazzled, as his shield slipped off fell down the mountain.

  But at once in an antaean might the hero flung himself forth, grappling the giant with his bare hands like a bear they barbarically wrestled, tumbling down the mountain. Picking their respective weapons down the valley they went berserk and battled indefatigably with such dumbfounding violence and bristling fury!

  Many atimes Suicide uprooted trees, huge boulders and even craggy rocks to missile him down. But Ambition’s escutcheon proved to be a worthy bulwark.

  This horrible non-stop battle lasted for six days six nights devastating almost the entire valley.

  No man could imagine or apprehend its horrendous extend unless he had personally witnessed like me.

 

  But the sombre climax smiled upon the odious giant Suicide, as the antaean argonaut yawed from mother earth, floundered, tattered and bleeding to hold back the mighty Behemoth’s brutish advance.

  Notwithstanding the giant’s hail storm bludgeoning, Ambition’s escutcheon and sword gave way and he fell dazzled and worn, unable to arise while Suicide whetted the final blow to finish off the good man.

  Then did the poor hero began despairing his life.

  Now, as the bellowing Suicide and grinning Unemployment stood before the fallen man:

  Ambition:O Suicide, wherefore linger thy hand

  Upon the accursed of God!

  Let fall the club of mercy!

  Rid the gabbage of this world.

  Remove this thorn from the Almighty’s heart!

  Grinning Unemployment

  In Part 2, see what happens to this grisly monster Unemployment, whom Mr. Other-Self confronts

  As Suicide hoisted its club, a strange man interjected the fateful moment, commanding it to hold back. His name was Mr. Failure who seemed to be a close aide to the governor.

  He then hinted the suggestion of serving the argonaut with ghastly examples of tortures so as to make him yield willfully.

  Unemployment pleased at the proposal stripped him of his armor, bound and dragged him along while Suicide flogged him from behind.

  He was hauled pass in the scourge the mysterious cave of Within, the sight of which reminded him of his beloved redeemer-the mysterious man, Mr. Other-Self who laid in a great slumber unknowing of his predicament.

  But shrilling thoughts of the confused mysteries enshrouding him turned it to a forlorn hope.

  He was taken into the garden’s castle called Despond and imprisoned. He was also
led into the castle’s torture chamber, to meet his former friend and neighbour Mr. Never-Give-Up who was then undergoing a gruesome torture by being bound to two wooden pillars and flogged by the castle’s guards ……..

  ………………..

  OTHER PAPERBACK PRINTED BOOKS

  BY

  B MATHEW

  I AM THE ALPHA & OMEGA

  Published in Malaysia thro’ The Inspiration Hub: paperback book for Malaysian Christian bookstores.

  Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:

  Mathew, B., 1957-I am the alpha & omega / B. Mathew. - 2nd Ed.

  ISBN 978-967-10340-0-2

  1. Christian life--Biblical teaching. 2. Christianity--Prayers and devotions

  This book is AVAILABLE at:

  1.Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia, KL & Malaysia’s National Book Collection Centres in Sg Besi, KL, Penang & Sabah

  2.PNB Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC)

  3.The Inspiration Hub- https://www.theinspirationhub.com/b-mathew/i-am-the-alpha-omega

  4.Amazon Digital Services- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DKY6RA

  5.Salvation Book Centre branches & Glad Sounds book store branches (Klang Valley Only)