第10章 THE LOTUS(10)

Surely beauty is the most powerful force in the world, and were we so made that we could possess it always, we should care as little as may be for the demiurgos, the logos, the aeons, and all the other reveries of the philosophers.But I am surprised, my good Paphnutius, that you should have come from the depths of the Thebaid to talk about Thais."Having said this, he sighed gently.And Paphnutius gazed at him with horror, not conceiving it possible that a man should so calmly avow such a sin.He expected to see the earth open, and Nicias swallowed up in flames.But the earth remained solid, and the Alexandrian silent, his forehead resting on his hand, and he smiling sadly at the memories of his past youth.The monk rose, and continued in solemn tones--"Know then, O Nicias, that, with the aid of God, I will snatch this woman Thais from the unclean affections of the world, and give her as a spouse to Jesus Christ.If the Holy Spirit does not forsake me, Thais will leave this city and enter a nunnery.""Beware of offending Venus," replied Nicias."She is a powerful goddess, she will be angry with you if you take away her chief minister.""God will protect me," said Paphnutius."May He also illumine thy heart, O Nicias, and draw thee out of the abyss in which thou art plunged."And he stalked out of the room.But Nicias followed him, and overtook him on the threshold, and placing his hand on his shoulder whispered into his ear the same words--"Beware of offending Venus; her vengeance is terrible."Paphnutius, disdainful of these trivial words, left without turning his head.He felt only contempt for Nicias; but what he could not bear was the idea that his former friend had received the caresses of Thais.It seemed to him that to sin with that woman was more detestable than to sin with any other.To him this appeared the height of iniquity, and he henceforth looked upon Nicias as an object of execration.He had always hated impurity, but never before had this vice appeared so heinous to him; never before had it so seemed to merit the anger of Jesus Christ and the sorrow of the angels.

He felt only a more ardent desire to save Thais from the Gentiles, and that he must hasten to see the actress in order to save her.

Nevertheless, before he could enter her house, he must wait till the heat of the day was over, and now the morning had hardly finished.

Paphnutius wandered through the most frequented streets.He had resolved to take no food that day, in order to be the less unworthy of the favours he had asked of the Lord.To the great grief of his soul, he dared not enter any of the churches in the city, because he knew they were profaned by the Arians, who had overturned the Lord's table.

For, in fact, these heretics, supported by the Emperor of the East, had driven the patriarch Athanasius from his episcopate, and sown trouble and confusion among the Christians of Alexandria.

He therefore wandered about aimlessly, sometimes with his eyes fixed on the ground in humility, and sometimes raised to heaven in ecstasy.

After some time, he found himself on the quay.Before him lay the harbour, in which were sheltered innumerable ships and galleys, and beyond them, smiling in blue and silver, lay the perfidious sea.Agalley, which bore a Nereid at its prow, had just weighed anchor.The rowers sang as the oars struck the water; and already the white daughter of the waters, covered with humid pearls, showed no more than a flying profile to the monk.Steered by her pilot, she cleared the passage leading from the basin of the Eunostos, and gained the high seas, leaving a glittering trail behind her.

"I also," thought Paphnutius, "once desired to embark singing on the ocean of the world.But I soon saw my folly, and the Nereid did not carry me away."Lost in his thoughts, he sat down upon a coil of rope, and went to sleep.During his sleep, he had a vision.He seemed to hear the sound of a clanging trumpet, and the sky became blood red, and he knew that the day of judgment had come.Whilst he was fervently praying to God, he saw an enormous monster coming towards him, bearing on its forehead a cross of light, and he recognised the sphinx of Silsile.The monster seized him between its teeth, without hurting him, and carried him in its mouth, as a cat carries a kitten.Paphnutius was thus conveyed across many countries, crossing rivers and traversing mountains, and came at last to a desert place, covered with scowling rocks and hot cinders.The ground was rent in many places, and through these openings came a hot air.The monster gently put Paphnutius down on the ground, and said--"Look!"

And Paphnutius, leaning over the edge of the abyss, saw a river of fire which flowed in the interior of the earth, between two cliffs of black rocks.There, in a livid light, the demons tormented the souls of the damned.The souls preserved the appearance of the bodies which had held them, and even wore some rags of clothing.These souls seemed peaceful in the midst of their torments.One of them, tall and white, his eyes closed, a white fillet across his forehead, and a sceptre in his hand, sang; his voice filled the desert shores with harmony; he sang of gods and heroes.Little green devils pierced his lips and throat with red-hot irons.And the shade of Homer still sang.Near by, old Anaxagoras, bald and hoary, traced figures in the dust with a compass.A demon poured boiling oil into his ear, yet failed, however, to disturb the sage's meditations.And the monk saw many other persons, who, on the dark shore by the side of the burning river, read, or quietly meditated, or conversed with other spirits while walking,--like the sages and pupils under the shadow of the sycamore trees of Academe.Old Timocles alone had withdrawn from the others, and shook his head like a man who denies.One of the demons of the abyss shook a torch before his eyes, but Timocles would see neither the demon nor the torch.