I was watching all these things very closely when I noticed that the land started tilting and slowly heading down to the sea again. But I got over my astonishment at this change of movement when I saw a thin cloud170 come between the sun and the piece of land. It took the force of attraction away from the rays, but was not thick enough to prevent them seeping through, which obviously kept the body afloat and prevented it from plummeting.
But the cloud causing the drop dissipated and the land gradually rose again. When it reached a certain height it moved faster and looked like it was losing mass, becoming visibly smaller and smaller. I kept it in sight until it disappeared completely.
The event cast me into deep meditation. From this body’s attraction I concluded many, very important things about physical facts that I had struggled with until then. I realized that the great bodies of the universe, like the Moon, Earth, planets, etc., got their movements from the sun’s motive force and that their movements were greater or lesser according to their distance from it and the strength of its rays, whether moving or not. This problem led me to another that proved to me even more strongly that the vapors sucked up from the Earth by the sun had to be carried up and coagulated, so to speak, by the degrees of heat and when they became bodies and were no longer supported by the oily juices forming it they lost their floating balance and dropped onto whatever was under them, which causes terrible catastrophes that are so startling because we don’t know why. I also found that the rays were not caught in the coagulated mass of pores where they could be spread out to one another, but they slipped through and gave a false light to these pores.
The fruit of my observations and the subsequent flowering of thought in me spawned a desire, more fervent than ever, of supporting theory by practice. It had been a long time since I craved to have commerce with the higher Intelligences that inhabited the Ether. Although the learned writings of our ancient philosophers did not confirm that they really existed, I had never doubted that since there was life in the universe,171 one of its largest parts, the sky, had to produce creatures that shared in its lightness and density. I reasoned very clearly that since material bodies and fluids housed animals, the air and matter had to generate and contain volatile substances higher than all known animals. My father had been given the precious manuscript of an immortal philosopher that proved to me that many sages were set above all others by their privilege of having real commerce with these Intelligences, which was such an incomparable advantage that they were led to the highest degree of metaphysical knowledge.
Although I had no sure indications, I was convinced of what until then I had only suspected because of the constant contradictions in men’s thoughts and their fickle will, sometimes for and sometimes against, born and nurtured by an unknown inspiration, which the common crowd calls contemplation or reflection—when there is a choice between two things, at one time they lean toward one and at another time toward the other and sometimes they are so indecisive that it seems that there are two, totally separate wills in them that yield only to a higher being, which makes the final decision and moves the body or mind battling with itself. The names common people give to these changes in the soul seemed vague to me and did not at all reflect what I thought about the subject. I found it much easier and more natural to believe that the spirits created within the sphere of the universe were the causes of the contradictions that we so often fall prey to and that it was their good or bad nature that made us more or less unfortunate. I figured too that the soul, as ruling judge and absolute master, gave itself up to the good or bad Intelligences and then, being completely obsessed, followed its guide blindly.
I spent years contemplating these things and rarely did a day pass that I did not try to prove to myself these solid theories. I often went back to the place that first inspired me with the positive notions of the elevation of bodies into the sky. There I worked hard to figure out how to reward myself with traveling in the air. I would have worked for nothing because the mind is too obsessed by the body for these operations to be clear and distinct, but chance ended up accomplishing what so much study could not.
One night as I was climbing up one of the highest mountains in Phoenicia, my brain was so overheated grinding away at this project that I got a burning thirst that I could not ignore. In spite of my great contempt for the body, I started searching for a source of water to quench my thirst and wandered over the mountains for two or three hours. The harder I searched the worse I felt. On the brink of exhaustion I had to resort to drinking the dew that came from the night’s humidity on the blades of grass where I lay down. I cupped as much as possible with my hands, but my burning head would not cool down so I laid out a handkerchief on the fresh grass. As soon as it was soaked with dew, I tied it around my head and felt so much better that in no time at all I fell into a sweet, peaceful sleep.
A strange, pleasant dream hovered over my tired senses: I felt like I was lifted off the ground and was carried into an atmosphere that was brighter than the sun. A wonderful palace made of clear stones rose up before me. A strange race of people like I had never seen before milled around, walking on the clouds, while other winged people flew through the skies. I walked slowly but confidently toward the massive men. When I got close enough I tried to talk to them, but as soon as I raised my voice they ran away screaming.
Dreams can be so odd that they change your way of thinking. A coward, while asleep, can overcome a danger that would scare him stiff just remembering it when he wakes up. And those who are afraid of nothing, when they close their eyes, their knees shake at something they would laugh at when awake. Well, that’s where I was, I who had dreamed for so long to be blessed with knowledge of the Intelligences: I was afraid of the mere vision of them. I was barely close enough to see them, but my cowardice got a good look and at the sight I tried to run away in fear. One of the monsters (as I considered them) grabbed hold of me and threw me from on high to the Earth. My fall was so painful and seemed so real that I woke up screaming.
The Sun was beaming straight down on the mountain and everything was lost in its blinding light. Barely half-awake I did not understand right away the strange thing happening in the sky, which I had caused unknowingly. My troubled dream was obviously the reason why the dew-soaked handkerchief had come undone, fallen to the ground and was all of a sudden flying around in the air. I thought that it was being carried on the wind and I quickly got up to catch it, but it was already out of reach and rising higher and higher. But what really surprised me was that there was not even a breath of wind. Therefore, I concluded that the sunbeams were attracting it. It flew out of sight so fast that I knew I was right.
Convinced by this second proof that heat had this power of attraction and the air, its principle, could also attract earthly bodies, I wanted to try a more conclusive experiment right away. When I got back, I filled up a bunch of bladders with enough dew to carry out my project. Nine days before attempting my novel, reckless enterprise I started eating less and less, drank a lot and only answered the call of nature when it was absolutely necessary, convinced (as I was) that the dew water permeating all the porous parts of my body would lead to success. And to overlook nothing, I had a robe made of light cotton that I soaked in the wonderful dew during my entire fast. I was sure that the success of my project relied principally on this liquid.
Finally, one day when the sun was at its hottest, I went with all my preparations to the high mountain where I had had the mysterious dream and where my plan had been drawn up. I wore a harness with 200 bladders tied in a circle around it and two wings skillfully made, attached to my back like a shield, which I could move with my arms and I thought might help keep me afloat in case a cloud came between me and the sun. In a word, my precautions were so thorough and clever that it was impossible for my project to fail.
I waited very impatiently to be lifted from the Earth. My accurate compass, made with my own hands, showed that the Sun was entering its equinox and the thick steam fro
m the humidity of my bladders warned me that I was about to see my plan go in action. Four of my bladders suddenly left the ground and little by little the others followed. My body was rattled by the movement, but was still too heavy to give in to the force of attraction. In my excitement and desire to leave the Earth I stood on my tiptoes and like a veteran high jumper trying to get off the ground, I jerked and pumped myself up and down. At last my efforts succeeded and my feet left the ground, but my body stayed still, unmoved. I was sorry then not to have got more bladders since it seemed that a few were still lacking to carry my weight. But I was wrong. The Sun was still not strong enough to suck me up. I was sure of it. Second after second the pull became so strong that six of my bladders broke their cords and shot up into the sky like arrows. My clothes, which had soaked in the dew for a long time, were fuming and created a thick cloud around me, obscuring my view and keeping me from seeing that I was rising up incredibly fast. My body seemed to open up and all of its pores felt pricked by sunbeams like by sharp, hot irons. The force of pressure was so great that I had to close my eyes and mouth—I felt like every part of my body wanted to escape through these openings. In short, the whole thing was so violent and so upsetting to all my organs that I got sick, intoxicated and I passed out.
I must have floated through the sky for the entire day because when I came to I did not see the sun anymore. It’s true that I could see a countless multitude of stars just like it wherever I turned my head, but some were a little less bright and others looked brighter and the rays coming from these stars had a much weaker force than the one I saw as chief, which was also bigger than the others. I was not surprised at staying in the air without the initial force of attraction when I saw that the number of rays emanating from all the planets moving around me looked like so many swords whose blades crossed each other to form a kind of vault, which, despite their individual weakness, was able all together to support a heavy body. I also noticed the astounding fact that the bladders that had carried me into the air were all dried up from the heat of the sun and instead of lifting and supporting me as before, they were dragging me down by their extra weight. There was no doubt about it when I examined things more closely: without the crisscrossed rays supporting me, I would have plummeted from the sky into the unknown abyss.
After I had enough time to figure that there was really no danger in this and my body weight was of minor importance at this elevation (like a small boat floating on an endless sea), I needed to experiment to see if I could force it to move forward. To do this I thought it necessary to let go of the bulky bladders that were dragging me down, so I used the knife I had brought and started cutting the cords that tied them to me. As soon as I severed one it shot off like an arrow and was pushed by little, invisible globes farther and farther away, spinning around like a top, until it was out of sight. It was really pretty fun for me to watch the different ways the bladders took off into the air and the different paths they took when they were released, but I paid dearly for my fun, as you will see.
I was barely done with two thirds of the job when I felt myself spinning and unable to stop. I was going up toward a big, square body that emitted a pale light. I clearly saw then that the weight of the bladders and cords had served as a kind of counterweight against the force of these little bodies that were creating a whirlwind. I had been like a ship whose anchor held it back from being carried away by the current. Convinced of my reasoning, I stopped my task, but could not resist the whirlwind that kept spinning me around and pushing me toward the square body. Then I thought that I could use my wings to counteract it if they were not too awkward. As soon as I stretched out my arms the spinning stopped, but all the little globes ran against the flat figure at the same time and I felt myself hurled up toward the square body. The closer I got the bigger it got and I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop, but it looked like ground to me and I was hoping to be able to land there until I started veering off to the right and gradually moving away from it. I’ll say in passing that the body was not lit everywhere, it was huge and only the highest parts of it, jutting up, caught the light, which made me think that it was the Moon and that the deep, dark areas were the spots we see from the Earth.
I was wrapped up in this observation when I was suddenly pushed into a liquid cloud that soaked me like I was passing through a river. Luckily the crossing was short, otherwise I might not have made it. It was like fresh snow, except for the color, which was purple, and the taste of sulfur, which proved that it was not from Earth.
After getting through this pesky snag, I found myself in a calm, clear sky. A cloud, whiter than snow, seemed to separate the other climes. I breathed freer and felt happier there. A delicious, healthy odor revived my dulled, tired spirits and I had an inner feeling that I had finally reached the goal I had sought for so long.
The shaking of the little globes, which had carried me up to this point in the sky, stopped all of a sudden and I saw a wonderfully built palace in the distance, which I felt eager to reach. But no matter how hard I beat my wings, I could not move a step forward. It was like a powerful hand was holding me back against all my efforts. In this unexpected difficulty, I remembered the weight I was carrying and I cut the rest of the cords and bladders that I thought were hindering me, but I got no farther out of my rut. I thought that the weight of my wings was also a detriment to my forward progress, so I unhooked my belt and let them go. This, too, was useless. I only had my clothes left and I ripped them off in anger and frustration. After all my vain efforts I was still not moving and now I was naked and hanging in the sky like a planet pinned down and only good as an ornament.
I started to get worried (what more could I do) in this extraordinary situation. I kept waving my arms and legs in the vain hope of being able to get out of the sluggish state, but I was unsuccessful. I racked my brain trying to figure out the obstruction, but it was all a mystery to me. Finally I resigned myself to the will of the Heavens and since I was not in pain, it was not hard for me to surrender to fate.
So, hanging in the sky like that and able to do nothing with my body, I figured I should make the best of the situation by examining everything I could see. I first looked at the cloudy body beneath me, which appeared oval and the strange rays striking it helped me make out some movements on the surface of the mass, which looked terrestrial to me. For the most part this new world looked very much like our Earth: I could spot mountains, seas, rivers and streams and using the spyglass I had brought with me (and was the only thing I had kept) I saw cities and towns and even some men, no bigger than flies from that distance, moving so slowly that I could barely see them.
To the right of this new world I saw a star that was brighter than the others and seemed to be lighting the land—I took it for the sun. From my vantage point I looked over the universe. Everywhere I looked I saw similar worlds, each one surrounded by a myriad of stars that made for its particular sky. Thus I supposed that every planet was a world like the one I had left, with its own sun, moon and orbits and despite the immensity of the universe, everything was built in perfect and exact uniformity.
I was admiring these things when the sky was suddenly crowded with a legion of living bodies cawing like crows and flying around all helter skelter over my head. Their number was as astonishing as their form. None of my books had prepared me for how they would look, which made me believe that I was the first one to get close enough to observe them. My pride convinced me that I had been singled out to witness this marvel. Among such spirits I felt so free that I dared to ask the closest Intelligence why I was nailed down, so to speak, in the sky. I asked the question in Chaldean, which I thought would be the most suitable language to converse with the spirits.
“Tremble, curious and profaning mortal,” it answered in a hard, hoarse voice, “and fear the attack you are making. Are you not aware that the divine Scealgalis is the Sovereign here and he allows nothing impure? May the great King live forever and may they all die who aspire to
know without being purified in the Ceolbhaume and by the dreadful skinning of materiality.”
The Sylph had barely spoken these words when a chorus of similar spirits repeated them melodiously. The harmony was so powerful that I felt like the matter around me started moving. It was also so touching that I myself was shaken out of the inaction that had been troubling me. A dark night quickly followed, during which a male voice, whose beauty was inexpressible, sang a hymn to the glory of Scealgalis. I won’t tell you about it, Lamekis, because you’re not allowed to learn it until after the universal skinning.
(I took the liberty of interrupting the young philosopher here. “Is it allowed to ask you if the wisdom of the island’s ruler had predestined you? I mean, your carnal ears heard the marvelous hymn without being purified, which privilege I cannot enjoy until after the final trial.”
“That’s a very good question,” Dehahal responded, “but I can only tell you that the gods are the masters and they can favor someone for no reason but their own supreme will.”
His observation was too sound to say anything more. I kept silent and Dehahal continued.)
When the hymn finished four Sylphs grabbed me and sliced through the air very fast. I don’t know what divine, hidden force got hold of me, but I was not scared at all. On the contrary, I very coolly asked the Spirits what they planned to do with me.
“Cast you into the eternal fire,” said the one who had already spoken. “Don’t you deserve this punishment for your arrogant attempt to get to the Island of the Sylphs?”
“The Island of the Sylphs?” I broke in, carried away by joy and unaffected by the threats of punishment. “What? I have arrived at my longed-for destination? Ah! The cost would never be too high for the incredible pleasure of being here.”
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