The weird of the wanderer Being the papyrus records of some incidents in one of the previous lives of Mr. Nicholas Crabbe
Treasure of Hades, into sacred matrimony, in the presence of the gods
of Olympos.
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH PAPYRUS
When, at length, we were alone with Love, then, indeed, Golden Helen
kissed me.
I, in sooth, had kissed her in the house of blameless Hades, before the
combat of the heroes: but she had not returned the sweet embrace. And
now she told me the reason: saying that it is an immutable law that an
immortal goddess, who kisses a mortal man in honourable love, thereby
fulminates him. Wherefore, when (in Egypt) I was warring against the
five nations, more than a thousand years before, and when Telegonos
wounded me near the blooming groin with his dark arrow, then, sweet
Helen (mad with fear and love) kissed me, staying me in her arms in the
battle at the mouth of sacred Sihor. Of which arrow-wound, I should not
have died: but, of the kiss, her first, I died. So, lest I should again
be lost to her, she had not kissed me in the house of shady Hades. But,
now that I was immortal, as was she the divine one of goddesses, Golden
Helen kissed me.
And, anon, she said: “Lord king and husband of me, seeing that we
rejoice in happiness, being immortal and mingled in love, so that
we have no desire unsatisfied, let us be merciful to one who hateth
us and kind to him who has wronged us: for, indeed, it is not right
continually to be enraged in one’s mind.”
But this was a most strange saying, whereat I wondered gravely: for
such ways had not been taught to Golden Helen, nor were they known
at that time. And then I remembered the grace conveyed by that most
mighty magic, the sacred lavation and the _Spell of The Three Who are
One_, which, in a mystery, I had been moved to work upon her before our
nuptials. And then I was not affrighted by any more amazement.
But she was embracing my knees, continuing to speak, saying: “Go, now,
dear lord and husband, faring immortally to Khalkis in holy Eyboia; and
take also sweet white Death with thee. And, having entered to Anthemius
Cotta the Roman governour, let the pale god draw from his breast gently
the torch of his life, quenching its flickering flame, so that his body
may rest from its torments. For he is unfit to continue alive and in
health. But, though he would have despitefully used me, I am unwilling
that he should writhe much longer in anguish, being irremediably
mutilated.”
Thus she spoke: but I kissed the pitiful maid again, rejoicing at the
grace which was replenishing her. And, having summoned kindly Death,
together we went, faring invisibly from lofty Olympos with the speed
of a thought: for we immortals in nowise appear visibly to everybody.
But, when we came to Khalkis after the middle of the night, when night
is darkest, then I took the divine white child, silent, garlanded with
asphodel, by his frosty hand leading him; and, so, we entered the
chamber of the Roman governour, plain for all to see.
He lay upon a bed, mangled and shapeless, moaning in the throes of his
torments. But, when the slaves, physicians, watching beside him, saw
me radiant in silver armour with adornments of rock-crystals and blue
moonstones, and the pale young god purer and colder than glittering
frost, standing in presence manifest in an aureola of moonbeams, then
they fell on their faces and were much afraid.
But I addressed the moribund, saying: “Uneasy Anthemius, know that
Queen Helen, daughter of Great Zeys, whom thou didst use despitefully,
wills to release thee from these earthly pangs which are but a just
penance for thy crimes. Nevertheless, the divine one of goddesses
bids thee to enjoy the blessed rest of death, gaining remittance of
sufferings.”
Thus I spoke; and I uttered the _spell_ which unchains the soul from
the body. And white Thanatos stooped, with his tender young frigid
fingers drawing the torch of life from the Roman’s bloody breast; and,
blowing upon it, he extinguished its flickering flame. And Anthemius
sighed, and was comforted, retiring to the world of shades.
But we returned to the peak of Olympos, before he had reached the
netherworld.
* * * * *
Now, when we had dwelled in the palace of Herakles during the full
course of the moon, then, indeed, Great Zeys ordained to employ me in
a certain duty. For it is the custom on the threshold of the immortals
that, whoever shall be raised to the rank of a godly hero and endowed
with immortality, must visit in person the courts of strange gods,
announcing his own apotheosis and receiving recognition. Wherefore, the
cloud-compelling son of Khronos bade me to prepare for my progress: but
to astute Hermes was assigned the task of inscribing letters-patent for
exhibition to all barbarian theocracies.
For, as do earth-dwelling kings, each having power and dominion over
his own people, so also do the gods, each having power and dominion
over his own worshippers. And, upon occasions, disputes arise among the
various dynasties inhabiting the wide-rolling heavens, and wars and
fearful conflicts follow, when the high gods fight among themselves
for lordship over the hearts of men. In which quarrels, the divine
ones of the Argive race are ever to the fore and very ready at need:
seeing that the nations of the Argives are wont to stablish colonies,
daughter-cities, in barbarian lands, crossing the unvintaged sea,
whereto they carry a sacred fire from their mother-city; and they
pray not to the strange gods of the barbarians among whom they dwell,
but to the familiar gods of their dear motherland. Furthermore,
the strange gods of the barbarians sometimes send solemn embassages
of heroes to the king of gods and men, bearing complaints, because
their rites go unrecognized by the Argives inhabiting their domains.
Then, indeed, Great Zeys, having taken counsel with the olympian
immortals, returns a just decision in like manner. At other times, dire
complications unexpectedly arise, when the strange gods send plagues
(perchance of rats or dragons), or pestilences (perchance of bad blind
boils), or even famines, to punish the prepotence or the impiety of
their blameless barbarians; and, by chance, one of the Argive colonists
perishes by reason of the scourge. Then, indeed, loud-thundering Zeys
inflames himself with mighty wrath, when his dear Argive folk fall
victims to the clumsiness of the indiscriminating gods of the so-sinful
barbarians; and he exacts a compensation. But the immortal gods love
not to war overmuch among themselves, their battles being terrific and
the issues not unusually thankless.
And it chanced that, at the time when I reached my chair in the college
of the immortals and of my blissful nuptials, that there was a matter
of feud between us and the theocracy of Juppiter Stator. For the Latin
gods, very stolid, very bucolic, were claiming the worship of the whole
Argive race throughout the earth. And they, rash and overweening,
alleged that, as the fair Argive land had submitted to their bloody
Romans, so, also, Olympian Zeys ought to acknowledge as his blooming
suzerain their Capitoline Juppiter.
For which cause, long-enduring and tiresome and tedious conversations
of high diplomacy were striving to adjust the dispute without appeal to
the arbitrament of war. But a regrettable incident was likely to occur
at any moment: for Ares, bane of mortals, weary of the arts of peace,
paraded himself daily wearing shield and sword; and boldly-steadfast
Herakles, weary of the arts of husbandry, was carving a collection of
most mind-delighting clubs; and my own sweet cousin, Perseys of the
sea, the most renowned of heroes, weary of the arts of love, was all
agog to meet monsters more worthy than pterodactyls in deadly strife.
Wherefore, the Father and King of gods and men bade me to visit, first,
those strange gods who were known not to be unfriendly; and, then, to
proceed to Rome: so that, returning to Olympos directly from the court
of Juppiter Stator, I might bring back the very latest account of the
negociations.
And, having embraced me and Queen Helen, very mighty Zeys gave us our
charters fairly written out by cunning Hermes, my grandsire, who first
brought letters and the art of writing into the Argive land.
Thus, as an immortal, I began to go about the work of the immortals.
THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PAPYRUS
But we ascended the silver-shining chariot inlaid with crabs and moons
in mother-of-pearl, a wonder to be seen, Love being our charioteer; and
we flew afar to the remote regions of the skies, gazing (from time to
time, and with certain thoughts) on the grain-giving earth below.
Now there were certain dynasties of gods, such as those of Anahoyak and
Nippon and Serica,[61] with whom the Olympians dealt but rarely: for
they were of a secretive nature, nor did they exactly welcome guests
from afar, but rather did they slam the door of divine hospitality,
excepting when rare embassages brought news of very grave matters. And,
indeed, no such embassage had been sent from lofty Olympos across the
streams of ocean since Pantokrator Zeys sent pious Deykalion announcing
his accession to the throne of Khronos. For which cause, it was not
deemed necessary that I and Queen Helen should fare so far to visit
divine ones whose very names cannot be written in the Argive tongue.
And, first, we came to the court of the gods of Assyria. There, indeed,
we were mingled in friendship with the Seven Magnificencies, Anna who
rules the Assyrian sky, Ea who rules their earth, Mulge who rules their
abyss, the three rulers of their sun and their moon and their air,
and Belmarduk the god. Beside those, we were mingled in courtesy with
their fifty great gods, and their three hundred heavenly sprites, and
their six hundred earthly sprites. Also, I held converse with their
heroes, Gilgamish and Eabani, the same who came to me in Khem; and,
while I admired their most artificial beards, the mind in my lordly
breast grieved, because (though brave enough and strong) they seemed to
me to be but curly and oily bullocks or gladiators in comparison with
Herakles or Perseys or Kastor and Polydeykes, and the other well-bred
heroes of Olympos. But I held very wily conversation with Belmarduk the
god, gaining certain wisdom which need not be written down here.
But we journeyed on to the court of the gods of Iran, immortals who
bear the strangest of names, such as Ormuzd whom we Argives call ΦΩϹ
or Light, and Ashem or ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ meaning Truth, and Vohu Mano or ΕΥΝΟΙΑ
meaning Good Sense, and Khshathrem or ΕΥΝΟΜΙΑ meaning Power, and
Armaiti or ϹΟΦΙΑ meaning Obedience and Haurvatat or ΠΛΟΥΤΟϹ meaning
Perfection. But chiefly was the mind in my dear breast exalted with
pure joy when I came, radiant in my moonlike sheen, into the presence
of Great Mithra. For the unconquered god of the Iranian sun looked upon
me so earnestly, with wise young eyes of such transcendent candour,
that I was moved to know as much as possible from him. Wherefore, I
gave him the _Sign of the Father of Warriors_. Instantly he replied,
signing me with the _Sign of the Father of Bulls_. I gave him the _Sign
of the Father of Lions_; and he signed me with the _Sign of the Father
of Vultures_. I gave him the _Sign of the Father of Ostriches_; and
he signed me with the _Sign of the Father of Ravens_. I gave him the
_Sign of the Father of Gryphons_; and he signed me with the _Sign of
the Father of Perses_. I gave him the _Sign of the Father of Suns_;
and he signed me with the _Sign of Father of Eagles_. I gave him the
_Sign of Father of Falcons_; and he signed me with the _Sign of Father
of Fathers_ which is the summit of the twelve. But, because I was ware
that I had come upon my master, I made myself obedient, gaining such