This gate will be more fully described in Chapter 2-5, in a manner that equates
ancient kings and modern progress as conquering forces.
That notion of ceaseless hostility lends deeper meaning to the image of a "jungle"
here. It's also significant that the Goulds are "nearing" it, prefiguring
that the material interests, here in the flush of supposedly benevolent triumph,
will soon turn to more brutal methods.