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 simpler 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 simple 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 simpler 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.