登陆注册
22903500000103

第103章 BOOK Ⅶ(12)

The said owner,meanwhile,bending over a vast manu adorned with bizarre paintings,appeared to be tormented by some idea which incessantly interrupted his meditations.So at least Jehan surmised as he listened to his musing aloud,with the intermittent pauses of a person talking in his dreams.

'Yes,'he exclaimed,'Manou said it,and Zoroaster taught the same!the sun is born of fire,the moon of the sun.Fire is the soul of the Great All,its elementary atoms are diffused and constantly flowing by an infinity of currents throughout the universe.At the points where these currents cross each other in the heavens,they produce light;at their points of intersection in the earth,they produce gold.Light—gold;it is the same thing—fire in its concrete state;merely the difference between the visible and the palpable,the fluid and the solid in the same substance,between vapour and ice—nothing more.This is no dream;it is the universal law of Nature.But how to extract from science the secret of this universal law?What!this light that bathes my hand is gold!All that is necessary is to condense by a certain law these same atoms dilated by certain other laws!Yes;but how?Some have thought of burying a ray of sunshine.Averr —yes,it was Averr —buried one under the first pillar to the left of the sanctuary of the Koran,in the great Mosque of Cordova;but the vault was not to be opened to see if the operation was successful under eight thousand years.'

'Diable!'said Jehan to himself,'rather a long time to wait for a florin!'

'Others have thought,'continued the Archdeacon musingly,'that it were better to experiment upon a ray from Sirius.But it is difficult to obtain this ray pure,on account of the simultaneous presence of other stars whose rays mingle with it.Flamel considers it ******r to operate with terrestrial fire.Flamel!there's predestination in the very name!Flamma!yes,fire—that is all.The diamond exists already in the charcoal,gold in fire—But how to extract it?Magistri affirms that there are certain female names which possess so sweet and mysterious a charm,that it suffices merely to pronounce them during the operation.Let us see what Manou says on the subject:'Where women are held in honour,the gods are well pleased:where they are despised,it is useless to pray to God.The mouth of a woman is constantly pure;it is as a running stream,as a ray of sunshine.The name of a woman should be pleasing,melodious,and give food to the imagination—should end in long vowels,and sound like a benediction.'Yes,yes,the sage is right;for example,Maria—Sophia—Esmeral—Damnation!Ever that thought!'

And he closed the book with a violent slam.

He passed his hand over his brow as if to chase away the thought that haunted him.Then taking from the table a nail and a small hammer,the handle of which bore strange,painted,cabalistic figures—

'For some time,'said he with a bitter smile,'I have failed in all my experiments.A fixed idea possesses me,and tortures my brain like the presence of a fiery stigma.I have not even succeeded in discovering the secret of Cassiodorus,whose lamp burned without wick or oil.Surely a ****** matter enough!'

'The devil it is!'muttered Jehan between his teeth.

'One miserable thought,then,'continued the priest,'suffices to sap a man's will and render him feeble-minded.Oh,how Claude Pernelle would mock at me—she who could not for one moment divert Nicholas Flamel from the pursuit of his great work!What!I hold in my hand the magic hammer of Zechieles!At every blow which,from the depths of his cell,the redoubtable rabbi struck with this hammer upon this nail that one among his enemies whom he had condemned would,even were he two thousand leagues away,sink an arm's length into the earth which swallowed him up.The King of France himself,for having one night inadvertently struck against the door of the magician,sank up to his knees in his own pavement of Paris.This happened not three centuries ago.Well,I have the hammer and the nail,and yet these implements are no more formidable in my hands than a hammer in the hand of a smith.And yet all that is wanting is the magic word which Zechieles pronounced as he struck upon the nail.'

'A mere trifle!'thought Jehan.

'Come let us try,'resumed the Archdeacon eagerly.'If I succeed,I shall see the blue spark fly from the head of the nail.Emen-Héten!That ns not it—Sigeani!Sigeani!May this nail open the grave for whomsoever bears the name of P us!A curse upon it again!Forever that same thought!'

He threw away the hammer angrily.He then sank so low in his arm-chair and over the table that Jehan lost sight of him.For some minutes he could see nothing but a hand clenched convulsively on a book.Suddenly Dom Claude arose,took a pair of compasses,and in silence engraved upon the wall in capitals the Greek word:

'ANáGKH.

'My brother's a fool,'said Jehan to himself;'it would have been much ******r to write Fatum.Everybody is not obliged to know Greek.'

The Archdeacon reseated himself in his chair and clasped his forehead between his two hands,like a sick person whose head is heavy and burning.

同类推荐
  • 史纠

    史纠

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 上清明堂玄丹真经

    上清明堂玄丹真经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 诸司职掌

    诸司职掌

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 谈辂

    谈辂

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 谷风之什

    谷风之什

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 绝品王妃不好惹

    绝品王妃不好惹

    “少将军,本公主要嫁与你”“不娶”“芯儿,可愿嫁与我”“不嫁”一起看看少将军与三公主的归宿
  • 噬天丹帝

    噬天丹帝

    人族领袖之一的言晅惨遭擎友弥逝龙皇与魔族之主魔罗联手暗算,含恨坠入轮回……万载过后,在人族已经沦为历史的时代……昔日帝王,强势归来!何以振人族?以我炉中丹,心中法,持之碑足矣!我有一碑,可噬日月!我炼一丹,可化苍天!PS:从第二章开始为正常更新。
  • 医甲

    医甲

    当人类文明高度发达到太空时代后,疾病暂时成了历史上的名词,与此相关的医生这个职业亦随之失去了存在的意义而湮灭在历史的长河之中。可疾病真的会消失吗,当外星文明幽蓝联邦入侵银河联邦成功之后。两大不同文明在接触与碰撞中,本已经近乎根除的疾病变成了死神的镰刀无情的收割起人类的生命。在所有人都在忧心疾病的时候,一位被玄冰封冻住的修真界的医生被人救醒了过来......
  • 日娱之恋上你

    日娱之恋上你

    爱情无关,只因为你叫西野七濑,等我,我来娶你了。
  • 瀛洲遥

    瀛洲遥

    一首江湖曲,十载风烟倦。昔日宗师齐齐退隐,而今却又接连回归,十五年前南北皆知的江湖曲似乎从未消逝,晏和城内童声一遍遍吟唱着稚嫩的歌谣。一翁一妪华发生,南襄北伶负盛名。世有鬼医行踪匿,瀛洲缥缈仙子居。江湖之上风起云涌,隐居多年的瀛洲仙子再度出山;朝堂之间波澜诡谲,避世许久的落韶长公主重现世人面前。华发翁妪,南襄北伶,鬼医圣手,瀛洲仙子,时隔十五年再度相聚,揭开的是朝堂间的惊天秘闻。“你喜九重宫阙,我恋红尘十里,你我并非是一路人。”“如今我身在红尘,总算与你不是同道殊途。”琼姿玉冠长公主元惜&名动天下矜傲才子叶衾
  • 天行

    天行

    号称“北辰骑神”的天才玩家以自创的“牧马冲锋流”战术击败了国服第一弓手北冥雪,被誉为天纵战榜第一骑士的他,却受到小人排挤,最终离开了效力已久的银狐俱乐部。是沉沦,还是再次崛起?恰逢其时,月恒集团第四款游戏“天行”正式上线,虚拟世界再起风云!
  • 萌宝快递:总裁爹地请签收

    萌宝快递:总裁爹地请签收

    成人礼那晚,她被她的继妹和未婚夫陷害,与他缠绵了一夜,黑暗的房间里除了喘息声,什么也听不见和看不见。五年后她高调回国,还附带了一只萌宝。成为了世界上人人皆知的漫画家,小说家。成立了自己的工作室。可是不料一个男人突然闯进了她的生活。“女人,解释一下,你什么时候偷了我种。”“什么和什么啊?”“我帮你回忆回忆。”从今以后她的世界里,出现了一个大霸道鬼和小霸道鬼。欢迎大家入坑哦。。
  • 野蛮起源

    野蛮起源

    慢热,简介修修改改……但我想说,这也许不是一部牛B的小说,但若硬要让我描述一下。我想说,这是一部走心的科幻,花您几分钟耐心地多看几章,让作者带您进入一段走心的科幻历程,激情,感动,更是成长。一段初开的爱情,一些无奈的抉择,一世残酷的生存,一点执著的追求。励志打造一部不那么空洞,有一些逻辑,能让人哭笑,伴随您成长的科幻末世文,我是作者泳沁!
  • 千年开封绘良缘

    千年开封绘良缘

    她是千氏家族的继承人,责任便是降妖除魔,卫道三界,却姻差缘错穿越到了北宋开封。正直不阿的包拯,计谋无双的公孙策,侠义大道的展昭,通通不过都是历史的烟尘。
  • 你从我的这辈子路过

    你从我的这辈子路过

    这是一本青春爱情励志小说。方童大学毕业后选择了去乡村支教,被分配在了无溪河村的小学,在那里她遇见了和她一起前来支教的另外两个女孩夏淼淼和楼筱,还有一心为了学校发展的郭放老师。在漫长的支教时光里,方童和郭放彼此倾心,可是在错误的时间相遇,爱恋终究注定苦涩。郭放无法抛弃父母之命媒妁之言的未婚妻,方童为了忘记他选择了郭放的堂弟郭沐。本以为渐行渐远的两个人,却因为郭沐的背叛把方童更加的推向了郭放。他们在世俗的眼光和道德的底线徘徊,小心翼翼的保护着这段不被认可的爱情。郭放父母逼着他办婚事,责任和真爱的选择让郭放快要崩溃的时候方童出了意外,找寻外出学生的方童彻夜未归,郭放发疯似的去寻找,这才明白方童才是自己心底所要。他决定带着方童离开,离开这个地方或者这个城市。可是命运总是爱开玩笑,郭放未婚妻在工厂出了事故,终身残疾,他的良心和背负的责任让他无法离开。支教服务期满了,方童终究一个人离开,她选择去了墨脱继续支教。五年后回来参加楼筱的婚礼,再遇郭放,两个人是错过还是不忘初心呢?