CHAPTER VI
OF THE INITIATION OF HARMACHIS; OF HIS VISIONS; OF HIS PASSING TO THECITY THAT IS IN THE PLACE OF DEATH; AND OF THE DECLARATIONS OF ISIS, THEMESSENGER
In silence we passed into the Shrine of Isis. It was dark and bare--onlythe feeble light from the lamp gleamed faintly upon the sculpturedwalls, where, in a hundred effigies, the Holy Mother suckled the HolyChild.
The priest closed the doors and bolted them. "Once again," he said, "artthou ready, Harmachis?"
"Once again," I answered, "I am ready."
He spoke no more; but, having lifted up his hands in prayer, led me tothe centre of the Holy, and with a swift motion put out the lamp.
"Look before thee, Harmachis!" he cried; and his voice sounded hollow inthe solemn place.
I gazed and saw nothing. But from the niche that is high in the wall,where is hid that sacred symbol of the Goddess on which few may look,there came a sound as of the rattling rods of the sistrum.[*] And as Ilistened, awestruck, behold! I saw the outline of the symbol drawn aswith fire upon the blackness of the air. It hung above my head, andrattled while it hung. And, as it turned, I clearly saw the face ofthe Mother Isis that is graven on the one side, and signifies unendingBirth, and the face of her holy sister, Nephthys, that is graven on theother, and signifies the ending of all birth in Death.
[*] A musical instrument peculiarly sacred to Isis of which the shape and rods had a mystic significance.--Editor.
Slowly it turned and swung as though some mystic dancer trod the airabove me, and shook it in her hand. But at length the light went out,and the rattling ceased.
Then of a sudden the end of the chamber became luminous, and in thatwhite light I beheld picture after picture. I saw the ancient Nilerolling through deserts to the sea. There were no men upon its banks,nor any signs of man, nor any temples to the Gods. Only wild birds movedon Sihor's lonely face, and monstrous brutes plunged and wallowed in hiswaters. The sun sank in majesty behind the Libyan Desert and stainedthe waters red; the mountains towered up towards the silent sky; but inmountain, desert, and river there was no sign of human life. Then I knewthat I saw the world as it had been before man was, and a terror of itsloneliness entered my soul.
The picture passed and another rose up in its place. Once again I sawthe banks of Sihor, and on them crowded wild-faced creatures, partakingof the nature of the ape more than of the nature of mankind. They foughtand slew each other. The wild birds sprang up in affright as the fireleapt from reed huts given by foemen's hands to flame and pillage. Theystole and rent and murdered, dashing out the brains of children withaxes of stone. And, though no voice told me, I knew that I saw man ashe was tens of thousands of years ago, when first he marched across theearth.
Yet another picture. Again I beheld the banks of Sihor; but on them faircities bloomed like flowers. In and out their gates went men and women,passing to and fro from wide, well-tilled lands. But I saw no guards orarmies, and no weapons of war. All was wisdom, prosperity, and peace.And while I wondered, a glorious Figure, clad in raiment that shoneas flame, came from the gates of a shrine, and the sound of music wentbefore and followed after him. He mounted an ivory throne which was setin a market-place facing the water: and as the sun sank called inall the multitudes to prayer. With one voice they prayed, bending inadoration. And I understood that herein was shown the reign of the Godson earth, which was long before the days of Menes.
A change came over the dream. Still the same fair city, but othermen--men with greed and evil on their faces--who hated the bonds ofrighteous doing, and set their hearts on sin. The evening came; theglorious Figure mounted the throne and called to prayer, but none bowedthemselves in adoration.
"We are aweary of thee!" they cried. "Make Evil King! Slay him! slayhim! and loose the bonds of Evil! Make Evil King!"
The glorious Shape rose up, gazing with mild eyes upon those wicked men.
"Ye know not what ye ask," he cried; "but as ye will, so be it! For ifI die, by me, after much travail, shall ye once again find a path to theKingdom of Good!"
Even as he spoke, a Form, foul and hideous to behold, leapt upon him,cursing, slew him, tore him limb from limb, and amidst the clamour ofthe people sat himself upon the throne and ruled. But a Shape whoseface was veiled passed down from heaven on shadowy wings, and withlamentations gathered up the rent fragments of the Being. A moment shebent herself upon them, then lifted up her hands and wept. And as shewept, behold! from her side there sprang a warrior armed and with aface like the face of Ra at noon. He, the Avenger, hurled himself witha shout upon the Monster who had usurped the throne, and they closed inbattle, and, struggling ever in a strait embrace, passed upward to theskies.
Then came picture after picture. I saw Powers and Peoples clad invarious robes and speaking many tongues. I saw them pass and pass inmillions--loving, hating, struggling, dying. Some few were happy andsome had woe stamped upon their faces; but most bore not the seal ofhappiness nor of woe, but rather that of patience. And ever as theypassed from age to age, high above in the heavens the Avenger foughton with the Evil Thing, while the scale of victory swung now here nowthere. But neither conquered, nor was it given to me to know how thebattle ended.
And I understood that what I had beheld was the holy vision of thestruggle between the Good and the Evil Powers. I saw that man wascreated vile, but Those who are above took pity on him, and came downto him to make him good and happy, for the two things are one thing. Butman returned to his wicked way, and then the bright Spirit of Good, whois of us called Osiris, but who has many names, offered himself up forthe evil-doing of the race that had dethroned him. And from him and theDivine Mother, of whom all nature is, sprang another spirit who is theProtector of us on earth, as Osiris is our justifier in Amenti.
For this is the mystery of the Osiris.
Of a sudden, as I saw the visions, these things became clear to me. Themummy cloths of symbol and of ceremony that wrap Osiris round fell fromhim, and I understood the secret of religion, which is Sacrifice.
The pictures passed, and again the priest, my guide, spoke to me.
"Hast thou understood, Harmachis, those things which it has been grantedthee to see?"
"I have," I said. "Are the rites ended?"
"Nay, they are but begun. That which follows thou must endure alone!Behold I leave thee, to return at the morning light. Once more I warnthee. That which thou shalt see, few may look upon and live. In all mydays I have known but three who dared to face this dread hour, and ofthose three at dawn but one was found alive. Myself, I have not trodthis path. It is too high for me."
"Depart," I said; "my soul is athirst for knowledge. I will dare it."
He laid his hand upon my shoulder and blessed me. He went. I heard thedoor shut to behind him, the echoes of his footsteps slowly died away.
Then I felt that I was alone, alone in the Holy Place with Thingswhich are not of the earth. Silence fell--silence deep and black as thedarkness which was around me. The silence fell, it gathered as the cloudgathered on the face of the moon that night when, a lad, I prayed uponthe pylon towers. It gathered denser and yet more dense till it seemedto creep into my heart and call aloud therein; for utter silence hasa voice that is more terrible than any cry. I spoke; the echoes of mywords came back upon me from the walls and seemed to beat me down. Thestillness was lighter to endure than an echo such as this. What was Iabout to see? Should I die, even now, in the fulness of my youth andstrength? Terrible were the warnings that had been given to me. I wasfear-stricken, and bethought me that I would fly. Fly!--fly whither? Thetemple door was barred; I could not fly. I was alone with the Godhead,alone with the Power that I had invoked. Nay, my heart was pure--myheart was pure. I would face the terror that was to come, ay, eventhough I died.
"Isis, Holy Mother," I prayed. "Isis, Spouse of Heaven, come unto me, bewith me now; I faint! be with me now."
And then I knew that things were not as things had been. The air aroundme began to stir, it rustled as
the wings of eagles rustle, it tooklife. Bright eyes gazed upon me, strange whispers shook my soul. Uponthe darkness were bars of light. They changed and interchanged, theymoved to and fro and wove mystic symbols which I could not read.Swifter and swifter flew that shuttle of the light: the symbols grouped,gathered, faded, gathered yet again, faster and still more fast, till myeyes could count them no more. Now I was afloat upon a sea of glory; itsurged and rolled, as the ocean rolls; it tossed me high, it brought melow. Glory was piled on glory, splendour heaped on splendour's head, andI rode above it all!
Soon the lights began to pale in the rolling sea of air. Great shadowsshot across it, lines of darkness pierced it and rushed together on itsbreast, till, at length, I was only a Shape of Flame set like a star onthe bosom of immeasurable night. Bursts of awful music gathered from faraway. Miles and miles away I heard them, thrilling faintly through thegloom. On they came, nearer and more near, louder and more loud, tillthey swept past, above, below, around me, swept on rushing pinions,terrifying and enchanting me. They floated by, ever growing fainter,till they died in space. Then others came, and no two were akin. Somerattled as ten thousand sistra shaken all to tune. Some rank from thebrazen throats of unnumbered clarions. Some pealed with a loud, sweetchant of voices that were more than human; and some rolled along in theslow thunder of a million drums. They passed; their notes were lost indying echoes; and the silence once more pressed in upon me and overcameme.
The strength within me began to fail. I felt my life ebbing at itssprings. Death drew near to me and his shape was _Silence_. He enteredat my heart, entered with a sense of numbing cold, but my brain wasstill alive, I could yet think. I knew that I was drawing near theconfines of the Dead. Nay, I was dying fast, and oh, the horror of it!I strove to pray and could not; there was no more time for prayer. Onestruggle and the stillness crept into my brain. The terror passed; anunfathomable weight of sleep pressed me down. I was dying, I was dying,and then--nothingness!
_I was dead!_
A change--life came back to me, but between the new life and the lifethat had been was a gulf and difference. Once again I stood in thedarkness of the shrine, but it blinded me no more. It was clear as thelight of day, although it still was black. I stood; and yet it was notI who stood, but rather my spiritual part, for at my feet lay my deadSelf. There it lay, rigid and still, a stamp of awful calm sealed uponits face, while I gazed on it.
And as I gazed, filled with wonder, I was caught up on the Wings ofFlame and whirled away! away! faster than the lightnings flash. Down Ifell, through depths of empty space set here and there with glitteringcrowns of stars. Down for ten million miles and ten times ten million,till at length I hovered over a place of soft, unchanging light, whereinwere Temples, Palaces, and Abodes, such as no man ever saw in thevisions of his sleep. They were built of Flame, and they were built ofBlackness. Their spires pierced up and up; their great courts stretchedaround. Even as I hovered they changed continually to the eye; what wasFlame became Blackness, what was Blackness became Flame. Here was theflash of crystal, and there the blaze of gems shone even through theglory that rolls around the city which is in the Place of Death. Therewere trees, and their voice as they rustled was the voice of music;there was air, and, as it blew, its breath was the sobbing notes ofsong.
Shapes, changing, mysterious, wonderful, rushed up to meet me, and boreme down till I seemed to stand upon another earth.
"Who comes?" cried a great Voice.
"Harmachis," answered the Shapes, that changed continually. "Harmachiswho hath been summoned from the earth to look upon the face of Her thatWas and Is and Shall Be. Harmachis, Child of Earth!"
"Throw back the Gates and open wide the Doors!" pealed the awful Voice."Throw back the Gates and open wide the Doors; seal up his lips insilence, lest his voice jar upon the harmonies of Heaven, take away hissight lest he see that which may not be seen, and let Harmachis, whohath been summoned, pass down the path that leads to the place of theUnchanging. Pass on, Child of Earth; but before thou goest, look up thatthou mayest learn how far thou art removed from Earth."
I looked up. Beyond the glory that shone about the city was black night,and high on its bosom twinkled one tiny star.
"Behold the world that thou hast left," said the Voice, "behold andtremble."
Then my lips and eyes were sealed with silence and with darkness, sothat I was dumb and blind. The Gates rolled back, the Doors swung wide,and I was swept into the city that is in the Place of Death. I was sweptswiftly I know not whither, till at length I stood upon my feet. Againthe great Voice pealed:
"Draw the veil of blackness from his eyes, unseal the silence on hislips, that Harmachis, Child of Earth, may see, hear, and understand, andmake adoration at the Shrine of Her that Was and Is and Shall Be."
And my lips and eyes were touched once more, so that my sight and speechcame back.
Behold! I stood within a hall of blackest marble, so lofty that evenin the rosy light scarce could my vision reach the great groins of theroof. Music wailed about its spaces, and all adown its length stoodwinged Spirits fashioned in living fire, and such was the brightness oftheir forms that I could not look on them. In its centre was an altar,small and square, and I stood before the empty altar. Then again theVoice cried:
"O Thou that hast been, art, and shalt be; Thou who, having many names,art yet without a name; Measurer of Time; Messenger of God; Guardian ofthe Worlds and the Races that dwell thereon; Universal Mother born ofNothingness; Creatix uncreated; Living Splendour without Form, LivingForm without Substance; Servant of the Invisible; Child of Law; Holderof the Scales and Sword of Fate; Vessel of Life, through whom all Lifeflows, to whom it again is gathered; Recorder of Things Done; Executrixof Decrees--_Hear!_
"Harmachis the Egyptian, who by Thy will hath been summoned fromthe earth, waits before Thine Altar, with ears unstopped, witheyes unsealed, and with an open heart. Hear and descend! Descend, OMany-shaped! Descend in Flame! Descend in Sound! Descend in Spirit! Hearand descend!"