Think of the Unicorn, that curious symbol of retirement from the world… – Edward Carpenter, “Tradition, Convention, and the Gods,” c.1898

I believe that the Unicorn may come to represent… the realm of art…. Bereft of a complete fable, the Unicorn has earned a place in our imagination as an arcanum, an emblem of what we do not know. – Roger Shattuck (1923–2005), “The Sphinx and the Unicorn,” Forbidden Knowle

The Unicorn — the wild, white, fierce, chaste Moon, whose two horns, unlike those of mortal creatures, are indissolubly twisted into one, whose brilliant horn drives away the darkness and evil of the night. – Robert Brown, The Unicorn: A Mythological Investigation, 1881, wording slightly

[O]ur Unicorn sings ravishing melodies for those who possess the inner ear of mystics and poets. – James Huneker, Unicorns, 1906–1917 [The book is a collection of essays abo