THE PYRAMID TEXTS
4
O |
= |
6 |
6 |
OSIRIS |
89 |
35 |
8 |
T |
= |
2 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
G |
= |
7 |
3 |
GOD |
26 |
17 |
8 |
W |
= |
5 |
5 |
WHOSE |
70 |
25 |
7 |
F |
= |
6 |
4 |
FACE |
15 |
15 |
6 |
I |
= |
9 |
2 |
IS |
28 |
19 |
1 |
B |
= |
2 |
6 |
BEHIND |
42 |
33 |
6 |
H |
= |
8 |
3 |
HIM |
30 |
21 |
3 |
- |
- |
45 |
|
- |
|
|
45 |
- |
- |
4+5 |
|
- |
3+3+3 |
1+8+0 |
4+5 |
- |
- |
9 |
|
- |
|
|
9 |
10 |
OSIRIS UNAS |
|
|
|
|
O+S |
34 |
16 |
|
|
I |
9 |
9 |
|
|
R |
18 |
9 |
|
|
I |
9 |
9 |
|
|
S |
19 |
10 |
|
|
A |
1 |
1 |
|
|
SUN |
54 |
18 |
|
10 |
OSIRIS A SUN |
144 |
72 |
45 |
1+0 |
- |
1+4+4 |
7+2 |
4+5 |
1 |
OSIRIS A SUN |
9 |
9 |
9 |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
RE |
23 |
14 |
5 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
SOPD |
54 |
18 |
9 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
I |
= |
9 |
1 |
I |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
H |
= |
8 |
4 |
HAVE |
36 |
18 |
9 |
9 |
C |
= |
3 |
4 |
COME |
36 |
18 |
9 |
9 |
T |
= |
2 |
2 |
TO |
35 |
8 |
8 |
- |
Y |
= |
7 |
3 |
YOU |
61 |
16 |
7 |
- |
M |
= |
4 |
2 |
MY |
38 |
11 |
2 |
- |
F |
= |
6 |
6 |
FATHER |
58 |
31 |
4 |
- |
I |
= |
9 |
1 |
I |
9 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
H |
= |
8 |
4 |
HAVE |
36 |
18 |
9 |
9 |
C |
= |
3 |
4 |
COME |
36 |
18 |
9 |
9 |
T |
= |
2 |
2 |
TO |
35 |
8 |
8 |
- |
Y |
= |
7 |
3 |
YOU |
61 |
16 |
7 |
- |
O |
= |
6 |
1 |
O |
15 |
6 |
6 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
|
|
96 |
|
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
4+6+5 |
1+8+6 |
9+6 |
5+4 |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
|
|
15 |
|
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
1+5 |
1+5 |
1+5 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
|
|
6 |
|
8 |
ASCENDED |
189 |
28 |
1 |
9 |
DESCENDED |
63 |
36 |
9 |
6 |
ASCEND |
46 |
19 |
1 |
3 |
AND |
19 |
10 |
1 |
7 |
DESCEND |
54 |
27 |
9 |
7 |
DESCEND |
54 |
27 |
9 |
4 |
WITH |
60 |
24 |
6 |
16 |
ASCEND AND DESCEND |
119 |
56 |
2 |
16 |
DESCEND AND ASCEND |
119 |
56 |
2 |
26 |
ASCEND AND DESCEND ASCEND WITH |
225 |
99 |
9 |
27 |
ACEND AND DESCEND DESCEND WITH |
233 |
134 |
8 |
6 |
OSIRIS |
89 |
35 |
8 |
6 |
OSIRIS |
89 |
53 |
8 |
5 |
HORUS |
81 |
36 |
9 |
4 |
ISIS |
56 |
38 |
2 |
15 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2+2+6 |
1+2+7 |
1+9 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1+0 |
1+0 |
1+0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
GEB |
14 |
14 |
5 |
3 |
BEG |
14 |
14 |
5 |
2 |
IN |
23 |
14 |
5 |
- |
4 |
YOUR |
79 |
25 |
7 |
- |
4 |
NAME |
33 |
15 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
OF |
21 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
DWELLER |
79 |
34 |
7 |
- |
2 |
IN |
23 |
14 |
5 |
- |
21 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
2+5+8 |
1+1+4 |
3+3 |
- |
3 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
1+5 |
- |
|
- |
3 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
- |
- |
- |
|
O GREAT ENNEAD |
|
|
|
O |
= |
6 |
|
O |
15 |
6 |
|
G |
= |
7 |
|
GREAT |
51 |
24 |
|
E |
= |
5 |
|
ENNEAD |
43 |
25 |
|
- |
- |
18 |
12 |
O GREAT ENNEAD |
109 |
55 |
19 |
- |
- |
1+8 |
1+2 |
- |
1+0+9 |
5+5 |
1+9 |
- |
- |
9 |
3 |
O GREAT ENNEAD |
10 |
10 |
10 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1+0 |
1+0 |
1+0 |
- |
- |
9 |
3 |
O GREAT ENNEAD |
1 |
1 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
|
O LESSER ENNEAD |
|
|
|
O |
= |
6 |
|
O |
15 |
6 |
|
L |
= |
3 |
|
LESSER |
78 |
24 |
|
E |
= |
5 |
|
ENNEAD |
43 |
25 |
|
- |
- |
14 |
13 |
O LESSER ENNEAD |
136 |
55 |
19 |
- |
- |
1+4 |
1+3 |
- |
1+3+6 |
5+5 |
1+9 |
- |
- |
5 |
4 |
O LESSER ENNEAD |
10 |
10 |
10 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1+0 |
1+0 |
1+0 |
- |
- |
5 |
4 |
O LESSER ENNEAD |
1 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
O LESSER ENNEAD |
136 |
55 |
1 |
12 |
O GREAT ENNEAD |
109 |
55 |
1 |
7 |
SAKHMET |
77 |
23 |
5 |
9 |
SHEZMETET |
121 |
40 |
4 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1+9+8 |
6+3 |
- |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1+8 |
- |
- |
7 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
65 |
4 |
THAT |
49 |
13 |
4 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
8+2 |
2+8 |
1+0 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1+0 |
1+0 |
- |
7 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
65 |
4 |
TIME |
47 |
20 |
2 |
2 |
OF |
21 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1+3+4 |
6+2 |
1+7 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
6 |
SOTHIS |
|
|
|
|
SO |
34 |
16 |
|
|
THIS |
56 |
29 |
|
6 |
SOTHIS |
90 |
45 |
9 |
- |
- |
9+0 |
4+5 |
- |
6 |
SOTHIS |
9 |
9 |
9 |
1 |
I |
9 |
9 |
9 |
2 |
AM |
14 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
8 |
FERRYMAN |
100 |
46 |
1 |
14 |
First Total |
|
|
|
|
Add to Reduce |
1+5+6 |
7+5 |
2+1 |
5 |
Second Total |
|
|
|
|
Reduce to Deduce |
1+2 |
1+2 |
- |
5 |
Essence of Number |
|
|
|
5 |
HORUS |
81 |
27 |
9 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
6 |
ENTERS |
81 |
27 |
9 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
8 |
FERRYMAN |
100 |
46 |
1 |
17 |
First Total |
|
|
|
|
Add to Reduce |
2+1+4 |
8+8 |
1+6 |
8 |
Second Total |
|
|
|
|
Reduce to Deduce |
- |
1+6 |
- |
8 |
Essence of Number |
|
|
|
1 |
R |
18 |
9 |
9 |
2 |
RA |
19 |
10 |
1 |
3 |
ARE |
24 |
15 |
6 |
3 |
RAH |
27 |
18 |
9 |
6 |
HURRAH |
74 |
38 |
2 |
1 |
R |
18 |
9 |
9 |
2 |
RE |
23 |
14 |
5 |
3 |
RED |
27 |
18 |
9 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
5 |
GREAT |
78 |
24 |
6 |
4 |
ADZE |
36 |
18 |
9 |
5 |
EMMER |
|
|
|
|
E+M |
18 |
9 |
|
|
M+E |
18 |
9 |
|
|
R |
18 |
9 |
|
5 |
EMMER |
54 |
27 |
27 |
- |
- |
5+4 |
2+7 |
2+7 |
5 |
EMMER |
9 |
9 |
9 |
6 |
SAVOUR |
96 |
33 |
6 |
7 |
SAVIOUR |
|
|
|
|
S+A+V |
42 |
15 |
|
|
I |
9 |
9 |
|
|
O+U+R |
54 |
18 |
|
7 |
SAVIOUR |
105 |
42 |
24 |
- |
- |
1+0+5 |
4+2 |
2+4 |
7 |
SAVIOUR |
6 |
6 |
6 |
|
CONTENT IS |
|
|
|
|
CONTENT |
91 |
28 |
|
|
IS |
28 |
19 |
|
9 |
CONTENT IS |
119 |
47 |
2 |
- |
- |
1+1+9 |
4+7 |
- |
9 |
CONTENT IS |
11 |
11 |
2 |
- |
- |
1+1 |
1+1 |
- |
9 |
CONTENT IS |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
CONTENT IS |
|
|
|
|
CONTENT |
91 |
28 |
|
|
ARE |
24 |
15 |
|
10 |
CONTENT ARE |
115 |
43 |
7 |
1+0 |
- |
1+1+5 |
4+3 |
- |
1 |
CONTENT ARE |
7 |
7 |
7 |
9 |
PESESHKEF |
|
|
|
|
P+E+S+E |
45 |
18 |
|
|
S+H |
27 |
9 |
|
|
K+E+F |
22 |
13 |
|
9 |
PESESHKEF |
94 |
40 |
4 |
- |
- |
9+4 |
4+0 |
- |
9 |
PESESHKEF |
13 |
4 |
4 |
- |
- |
1+3 |
- |
- |
9 |
PESESHKEF |
|
|
4 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
8 |
ULTIMATE |
101 |
29 |
2 |
9 |
SACRIFICE |
73 |
37 |
1 |
20 |
First Total |
|
|
|
|
Add to Reduce |
2+0+7 |
8+1 |
- |
2 |
Essence of Number |
|
|
|
1 |
I |
9 |
9 |
9 |
2 |
AM |
14 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
6 |
BRIGHT |
64 |
37 |
1 |
3 |
AND |
19 |
10 |
1 |
7 |
MORNING |
90 |
45 |
9 |
4 |
STAR |
58 |
13 |
4 |
26 |
First Total |
|
|
|
|
Add to Reduce |
2+8+7 |
1+3+4 |
3+5 |
8 |
Second Total |
|
|
|
|
Reduce to Deduce |
1+7 |
- |
- |
8 |
Essence of Number |
|
|
|
4 |
RITE |
52 |
25 |
7 |
5 |
RITES |
71 |
26 |
8 |
6 |
RITUAL |
81 |
27 |
9 |
7 |
RITUALS |
100 |
37 |
1 |
7 |
DESCENT |
70 |
34 |
7 |
4 |
INTO |
58 |
22 |
4 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
5 |
ABYSS |
66 |
12 |
3 |
7 |
DESCENT |
70 |
34 |
7 |
4 |
INTO |
58 |
22 |
4 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
5 |
ABYSS |
66 |
12 |
3 |
2 |
OF |
21 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
5 |
4 |
MIND |
40 |
22 |
4 |
28 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
|
3+2+1 |
1+3+2 |
3+3 |
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
7 |
THE MIND |
73 |
37 |
1 |
8 |
THE ABYSS |
99 |
27 |
9 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
7 |
DESCENT |
70 |
25 |
7 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
6 |
ASCENT |
62 |
17 |
8 |
7 |
DESCENT |
70 |
25 |
7 |
6 |
ASCENT |
62 |
17 |
8 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
7 |
RITUALS |
100 |
37 |
1 |
2 |
OF |
21 |
12 |
3 |
3 |
GOD |
26 |
17 |
8 |
15 |
First Total |
|
|
|
|
Add to Reduce |
1+8+0 |
8+1 |
1+8 |
6 |
Essence of Number |
|
|
|
4 |
GODS |
45 |
18 |
9 |
6 |
RITUAL |
81 |
27 |
9 |
3 |
SKY |
55 |
10 |
1 |
5 |
EARTH |
52 |
25 |
7 |
10 |
UNDERWORLD |
134 |
53 |
8 |
18 |
First Total |
|
|
|
|
Add to Reduce |
2+4+1 |
8+8 |
1+6 |
9 |
Second Total |
|
|
|
|
Reduce to Deduce |
- |
1+6 |
- |
9 |
Essence of Number |
|
|
|
6 |
OSIRIS |
89 |
35 |
8 |
9 |
CELESTIAL |
86 |
32 |
5 |
8 |
FERRYMAN |
100 |
46 |
1 |
23 |
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
1+8+5 |
1+1+3 |
1+4 |
5 |
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
1+4 |
- |
- |
5 |
- |
|
|
|
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
8 |
FERRYMAN |
100 |
46 |
1 |
5 |
WHOSE |
70 |
25 |
7 |
4 |
FACE |
15 |
15 |
6 |
2 |
IS |
28 |
19 |
1 |
6 |
BEHIND |
42 |
33 |
6 |
3 |
HIM |
30 |
21 |
3 |
31 |
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
3+1+8 |
1+7+4 |
3+0 |
4 |
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
1+2 |
1+2 |
- |
4 |
- |
|
|
|
8 |
SENENMUT |
|
|
|
|
S |
19 |
10 |
|
|
E |
5 |
5 |
|
|
N |
14 |
5 |
|
|
E |
5 |
5 |
|
|
N |
14 |
5 |
|
|
M+U+T |
54 |
9 |
|
8 |
SENENMUT |
111 |
39 |
30 |
- |
- |
1+1+1 |
3+9 |
3+0 |
8 |
SENENMUT |
3 |
12 |
3 |
- |
- |
- |
1+2 |
- |
8 |
SENENMUT |
3 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
WAKING |
65 |
29 |
2 |
3 |
THE |
33 |
15 |
6 |
8 |
FERRYMAN |
100 |
46 |
1 |
17 |
First Total |
|
|
|
|
Add to Reduce |
1+9+8 |
9+0 |
- |
8 |
Second Total |
|
|
|
|
Reduce to Deduce |
1+8 |
- |
- |
8 |
Essence of Number |
|
|
|
|
D |
I |
S |
M |
E |
M |
B |
E |
R |
E |
D |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
- |
|
|
- |
9 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
= |
|
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
9 |
19 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
= |
|
|
|
|
|
|
D |
I |
S |
M |
E |
M |
B |
E |
R |
E |
D |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
- |
|
|
4 |
- |
- |
4 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
= |
|
- |
|
|
|
|
4 |
- |
- |
13 |
5 |
13 |
2 |
5 |
18 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
= |
|
|
|
|
|
|
D |
I |
S |
M |
E |
M |
B |
E |
R |
E |
D |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
- |
|
|
4 |
9 |
19 |
13 |
5 |
13 |
2 |
5 |
18 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
= |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
9 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
= |
|
- |
|
|
|
|
D |
I |
S |
M |
E |
M |
B |
E |
R |
E |
D |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
occurs |
x |
|
= |
1 |
= |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
occurs |
x |
|
= |
2 |
= |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
|
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
4 |
- |
- |
4 |
- |
4 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
4 |
|
|
|
occurs |
x |
|
= |
16 |
1+6 |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
5 |
- |
- |
5 |
- |
5 |
- |
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|
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THE PROPHET
Kahil Gibran
HEN Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death.
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the
heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto
the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you woul4 indeed behold the spirit of death,
open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the
sea are one.
In th~ depth of your hopes and desires lies your
silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your
heart dreams of spring'r
Trust the dreams, for in tllem is hidden the gate to
eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the
~ 72 tit'
sht;pherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling,
that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind
and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
. Only, when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when'you have reached the mountain top,
then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then
shall you truly dance.
in the fields, shall rise and gather into a cloud and then fall down in rain.
And not unlike the mist have I been.
In the stillness of the night I have walked in your
streets, and my spirit has entered your houses,
And your heart-beats were in my heart, and your
breath was upon my face, and I knew you all.
Ay, I knew your joy and your pain, and in your
sleep your dreams were my dreams.
And oftentimes I was among you a lake among
the mountains.
I mirrored the summits in you and the bendi}1g slopes, and even the passing flocks of your thoughts and your desires.
And to my silence came the laughter of your children in streams, and the longing of your youths In nvers.
And when they reached my depth the streams and
the rivers ceased not yet to sing. .
But sweeter still than laughter and greater than
longing came to me.
lt was the boundless in you;
The vast man in whom you are all but cells and
smews;
~ 76 fIE
He in whose chant all your singing is but a sound
less throbbing.
It is in the vast man that you are vast,
, And in beholding him that I beheld you and loved you.
For what distances can love reach that are not in
that vast sphere?
What visions, what expectations and what pre
sumptions can outsoar that flight?
Like a giant oak tree covered with apple blossoms
is the vast man in you.
His might binds you to the earth, his fragrance lifts you into space, and in his durability you are deathless.
You have been told that, even like a chain, you are
as weak as your weakest link.
This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as
your strongest link.
To measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon
the power of ocean by the frailty of its foam.
To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon
the seasons for their inconstancy.
Ay, you are like an ocean,
And though heavy-grounded ships await the tide
~ 77 tIf
upon your shores, yet, even like an ocean, you cannot hasten your tides. .
And like the seasons you are also,
And though in your winter you deny your spring, Yet spring, reposing within you,- smiles in her I
drowsiness- and is not offended.
Think not I say these things in order that yo.u may say the one to the other, 'He praised us well. He saw
but the good in us.' -
I only speak to you in words of that which you
yourselves know in thought. - .
And what is word knowledge-but ~a shadow~ of
wordless knowledge?
Your thoughts and- my words are waves from a sealed memory that keeps records of your ye-ster&~,
And of the ancient days when the earth knew not us nor herself,
- And of nights when ~arth was up wrought with
confusion. -
Wise men have come to you to give -you of their
wisdom. I came to take of your wisdom:
And behold I have found that which is greater than
wisdom. -
~ 78 fit'
It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of
i tseIf,
While you, heedless of its expansion, bewail the
witherinKof your days. ~ It is life in quest oflife in bodies that fear the grave.
There are no graves here.
Th~se mountains and plains are a cradle and a
stepping-stone.
Whenever you pass by the field where you have laid 'your ancestors look well thereupon, and you shalf see yourselves and your children dancing hand in hand.
Verily you often make merry without knowing.
Others have come to you to whom for golden promises made unto your faith you have given but riches and power and glory.
Less than a promise have I given, and yet more
generous have you been to me.
You have given me my deeper thirsting after life.
Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that
which turns all his aims into parching lips and all life into a fountain.
And in this lies my honour and my reward,
~ 79 fit"
That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I
fmd the living water itself thirsty;
And it drinks me while I drink it.
Some of you have deemed me proud and over
shy to receive gifts.
Too proud indeed am I to receive wages, but not
gifts.
And though I have eaten berries among the hills
when you would have had me sit at your board,
And slept in the portico of the temple when you
would gladly have sheltered me,
Yet was it not your loving mindfulness of my days and my nights that made food sweet to my mouth and girdled my sleep with visions?
For this I bless you most:
You give much and know not that you give at
all.
Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a
mirror turns to stone,
And a good deed that calls itself by tender names
becomes the parent to a curse.
And some of you have called me aloof, and drunk
with my own aloneness, .
~ 8.0 if
And you have said, 'He holds council with the trees
of the forest, but not with men.
'He sits alone on hill-tops and looks down upon
our city.'
True it is that I have climbed the hills and walked
in remote places.
How could I have seen you save from a great
height or a great distance? .
How can one be indeed near unless he be far?
And others among you called unto me, not in
words, and they said:
'Stranger, stranger, lover of unreachable heights, why dwell you among the summits where eagles
build their nests?
'Why seek you the unattainable?
'What storms would you trap in your net,
'And what vaporous birds do you hunt in the sky? 'Come and be one of us.
'Descend and appease your hunger with our bread
and quench your thirst with our wine.'
In the solitude of their souls they said these things; But were their solitude deeper they would have
known that I sought but the secret of your joy and your pam,
And I hunted only your larger selves that walk the
sky.
But the hunter was also the hunted;
For many of my arrows left my bow only to seek
my own breast.
And the flier was also the creeper;
For when my wings were spread in the sun their
- shadow upon the earth was a turtle.
And I the believer was also the doubter;
For often have I put my fmger in my own wound
that I might have the greater belief in you and the greater knowledge of you.
And it is with this belief and this knowledge tbat I
say,
You are not enclosed within your bodies, nor
confmed to houses or fields.
That which is you dwells above the mountain and
roves with the wind.
It is not a thing that crawls into the sun for warmth
or digs holes into darkness for safety,
But a thing free, a spirit that envelops the earth and
moves in the ether.
-::
If these be vague words, then seek not to dear them.
~ 82 fIE
) d.
Vague and nebulous is the -beginning of all things,
but not their end,
And I fain would have you remember me as a
beginning.
Life, and all that lives, is conceived in the mist and
not in th~ crystal.
And who knows but a crystal is mist in decay?
This would I have you remember in remembering
-me:
That which seems most feeble and bewildered in
you is the strongest and most determined.
Is it not your breath that has erected and hardened
the structure of your bones?
And is it not a dream which none of you remember having dreamt, that builded your city and fashioned all there is in it?
Could you but see the tides of that breath you
would cease to see all else,
And if you could hear the whispering of the dream
you would hear no other sound.
..
But you do not see, nor do you hear, ana it is well. The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the
hands that wove it,
~ 83 ;lE
And the clay that fills your ears shall be pierced
by those fingers that kneaded it.
And you shall see
And you shall hear.
Yet you shall not deplore having known blindness,
nor regret having been deaf.
For in that day you shall know the hidden pur
poses in all things,
And you shall bless darkness as you would bless
light.
After saying these things he looked about him, and he saw the pilot of his ship standing by the helm and gazing now at the full sails and now at the
distance.
And he said:
Patient, over patient, is the captain of my ship. The wind blows, and restless are the sails;
Even the rudder begs direction;
Yet quietly my captain awaits my silence.
And these my mariners, who have heard the
choir of the greater sea, they too have heard me
patiently.
Now they shall wait no longer.
I am ready.
~ 84 f!"
The stream has reached the sea, and once more the great mother holds her son against her breast.
Fare you well, people of Orphalese.
This day has ended.
It is closing upon us even as the water-lily upon its
own tomorrow.
What was given us here we shall keep,
And if it suffices not, then again must we come to
gether and together stretch our hands unto the giver. Forget not that I shall come back to you.
A little while, and my longing shall gather dust
and foam for another body.
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind,
and another woman shall bear me.
Farewell to you and the youth I have spent with
you.
It was but yesterday we met in a dream.
You have sung to me in my aloneness, and I of
your longings have built a tower in the sky.
But now our sleep has fled and our dream is over,
and it is no longer dawn.
The noontide is upon us and our half waking has
turned to fuller day, and we must part.
If in the twilight of memory we should meet once
~85~
more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.
And if our hands should meet in another dream we shall build another tower in the sky.
So saying he made a signal to the seamen, and straightaway they weighed anchor and cast the ship loose from its moorings, and they moved eastward.
And a cry came from the people as from a single heart, and it rose into the dusk and was carried out over the sea like a great trumpeting.
Only Almitra was silent, gazing after the ship until
it had vanished into the mist.
And when all the people were dispersed she still stood alone upon the sea-wall, remembering in her heart his saying:
'A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.'