Women are here, priestesses with heaps of scrolls tucked in their mantles. What matters are the books.Įvery man who reads, who studies, who cares for learning, weeps as they gather armfuls of books, as many as each can carry. Fighting my way up one hundred and eight steps to the vast platform on which stands the Serapeum-a thing as wondrous as Pharos, beacon to the Savior Gods-my hair is tangled with salted wind, my tunic stained with ink. At the top of the hill, I leap from my chariot, leaving the lathered grays that have pulled it to stay or to go, it matters not. If on this day I had chosen instead to study in the Serapeum, I should be there now rather than tearing along the Canopic Way, my horses scattering guilty and innocent alike. This day I drove past the Roman camp on the road to Canopus.
This day I sailed the Irisi far out onto the dragon green back of the sea.
From the mouth of the serpent of chaos, tongues of flame lick through the Temple of Serapis seeking the last books of the once and still Great Library of Alexandria. Jaws sore with shouting, hearts as dark as smoke, hands bright with blood, Christians rage through my city-pushed by their bishop beyond tolerance, beyond reason, beyond even madness. Avenger of Wrongs, Sekhmet, warrior goddess, defend us! I, Hypatia of Alexandria, to whom the Library is as life’s blood, urge my horses faster. O Egypt, Egypt! Nothing will remain of your religion but fables, and later, your children will not even believe them!”-Hermes Trismegistus That holy earth, land of sanctuaries and temples, will be completely covered with coffins and corpses. The gods, on leaving the earth, will return to heaven they will abandon Egypt. “A time will come when it will seem that the Egyptians in the piety of their hearts have honored their gods in vain. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.ĭeath can scatter the trembling universesĪnd the worlds are still prostrate beneath her white feet!
Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted material. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Without limiting the right under copyright reserves above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Dataįlow Down Like Silver : Hypatia of Alexandria, a novel / Ki Longfellow.ġ. Though based on the known facts of the life of Hypatia of Alexandria, the events and characters inscribed herein spring from the author’s imagination. Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera (with Vivian Stanshall)
0 kommentar(er)
