re tingled; when the fit is over,
Ulysses is set free and he makes no attempt to return to them. Indeed
another problem is upon him; he sees "a great wave and mist," to which
is added a loud sound of rushing waters. Again he exhorts his
companions and tells them all that he dares about the approaching
dangers.

2. Now we are to witness a practical dealing with the Double
Alternative, which was theoretically set forth in the previous portion.
But the first Alternative, those bi-valvular rocks called Plangctae,
which clasped the sea-faring man between their valves and crushed him
to death, is wholly avoided, is not even mentioned in the present
passage, though it is possibly implied in one place. At any rate the
grand stress is laid upon the second Alternative, Scylla and Charybdis,
between which the ship is to pass.

Here again Ulysses shows his limitation. In spite of Circe's warning,
he puts on armor, takes two spears, and goes on deck, like a Homeric
hero, to fight Scylla. He tries to solve his problem externally, as he
did in the case of the Sirens. In vain; he could not see his foe
anywhere, and his eyes grew weary, peering about at the mist-like
rocks.

Not thus was Scylla to be met, a monster not of mortal mould, hardly
attainable by the senses. Still she was present somehow, and made
herself valid. The whirling waters roared and seethed, all were intent
upon the maelstrom, Charybdis, the other side; "we looked at her,
fearing destruction," and destruction came just from the direction in
which they were not looking. Scylla, watched, remains invisible;
unwatched, she appears and snaps up six companions; external weapons
can effect nothing against her. Still Ulysses gets through, scotched
somewhat; he has failed to see both sides at one and the same time;
mind, intelligence alone can rise out of the particular thing of the
senses, and grasp the two things in opposition. As we read the story
here, it suggests the man, the life-faring man, who is so drawn to one
part that he neglects the counterpart, which has equal validity and
soon makes itself felt by the penalty. Not the Alternative, then,
Scylla _or_ Charybdis, but the combined Scylla _and_ Charybdis is the
word of mastery. The two kept in separation destroy, the two held in
unity are conquerable. Under all difference of Nature lies the
Thought's oneness, which is the true synthesis of every Scylla and
Charybdis. Such is the experience of Ulysses now; the Sir