‘Does she!’ cried Ursula. ‘And tell it to the Horse Marines.’

‘To them also.’

‘It is just like Gerald Crich with his horse — a lust for bullying — a real Wille zur Macht — so base, so petty.’

‘I agree that the Wille zur Macht is a base and petty thing. But with the Mino, it is the desire to bring this female cat into a pure stable equilibrium, a transcendent and abiding RAPPORT with the single male. Whereas without him, as you see, she is a mere stray, a fluffy sporadic bit of chaos. It is a volonte de pouvoir, if you like, a will to ability, taking pouvoir as a verb.’

‘Ah — ! Sophistries! It’s the old Adam.’