THE HERMETIC
RECITAL
In ancient times,
before the deluge of Fire, there was a king named Hermanos son of Heraql. He
held the Byzantine Empire to the shore of the sea, including the country of Greece and the land of Egypt.
It was he who had caused the building of those immense theurgic constructions
called the pyramids, against which neither the elements nor the centuries in
their thousands have been able to prevail. This king possessed profound
knowledge and extensive power; he was versed in the influences of the stars,
knew natural properties, and practiced theurgic operations. Among his intimates
was a Sage, Aqliqulas the divine, by whom he had been initiated into all the
secret sciences. For a whole cycle this divine man had devoted himself to
spiritual practices in a cave called the Sarapeion; for nourishment he ate only
a few herbs every forty days, and his life reached the length of three cycles.
To this Sage the
king one day complained that he had no child. The reason was that Hermanos had
no inclination for women and could not prevail upon himself to approach them.
As he continued to refuse to do so, despite the Sage's advice, the Sage
realized that only one solution remained: to determine a suitable
"ascendant" by astrological observation, procure a mandragora, and put
a little of the king's semen in it, the Sage then undertaking to treat the mixture
in an environment suitable for the operation, until it should be ready to
receive a soul to govern it and become a complete human being. The proposal was
carried out; the child born of this alchemical operation was named Salaman.
A nurse had of
course to be provided for him. A young woman of great beauty, aged eighteen
years, was found; her name was Absal; she set about caring for the child.
Hermanos now asked the Sage what he could do to show his gratitude; the Sage
advised him to undertake the construction of a gigantic edifice that neither
Water nor Fire could destroy. For the Sage foresaw the revolt of the elements:
the edifice was to be of seven stories; it would have a secret door to be known
only to the Sages, for whom it would be a secure refuge; as for the rest of
mankind, they might as well perish in the cataclysm. To these precautionary
measures the king responded by proposing the construction of two edifices: one
for the Sage and another that would serve at once to shelter their treasures,
their sciences, and their bodies after death. Thus the two pyramids were built.
As for the child
Salaman, when he had grown the king wanted to take him from Absal, but the boy
was in despair, so great was his attachment to her. So the king left them
together until the boy should have grown older. Thus Salaman's affection for
Absal changed into love, and a love so passionate that he was entirely taken up
with her and frequently neglected the king's service. The king summoned his son
and addressed him in the terms usual in such cases. Their apparent brutality
is, however, at once offset by the prospect that opens before a Hermetic Sage,
and before him alone: the human being must seek to draw constantly to the world
of the higher Light, which outshines every other light and is his true abode,
whereas the abode of sensible things represents a condition lower than all
others. An intermediate degree is attained when man becomes the contemplator of
the "Lights of Victory," but the higher degree is to attain to
knowledge of the ideal realities (haqa'iq) of all beings. Hence Salaman
must abandon Absal: he has no need of her, she cannot help him toward this
sublime goal. Let him act as a man, strong in his isolation, until Hermanos
finds him a bride, a maiden of the celestial world who will be united to him
for the eternity of eternities, and let him thus make himself pleasing to the
Lord of the worlds.
It goes without
saying that Salaman was not convinced by these most sage exhortations. He
hastened to repeat the entire conversation to Absal, who advised him in her
turn: "Pay no heed to that man's words. He would deprive you of present
joys for the sake of promises of which the greater part are vain. I am a woman
who answers to all that delights your soul. If you are an intelligent and
determined man, go and reveal our secret to the king: you are not one who can
abandon me, nor I one to abandon you." It would no doubt be better not to announce
this decision in person. So Salaman confided it to the vizier, who undertook to
transmit it. The situation now seemed hopeless; the king gave way to violent
grief. His remonstrances remained as unconvincing as before, even when the idea
of a compromise was suggested: let Salaman divide histime into two equal parts,
one in which to profit from the teaching of the Sages, the other to be given to
Absal. And so it was decided. Unfortunately, when Salaman, after having devoted
all the stipulated time to the study of the exalted sciences necessary to his
education, found that he must still serve the king, he had only one idea—to
return to Absal and play with her. The king could not but admit that he was
again defeated. He consulted his Sages: would not the only way to get rid of
Absal be to have her killed? But the vizier protested firmly: let none make
bold to destroy what he cannot himself raise up. If the king put this project
into effect, it was to be feared that the very foundations of his dwelling
would be overthrown and that the elements brought together to constitute his
nature would dissolve. And this would not open the way for him to the choir of
the Kerubim (in other words, the therapy of the soul can have as its
goal not the destruction but only the sublimation of the sensible nature). The
"child" must little by little discover for himself what it was incumbent
upon him to do.
A kindly informer
reported this conversation to Salaman, who immediately conveyed the news to
Absal. Together they considered how best to frustrate the king's plans;
finally, they resolved to flee beyond the Western Ocean.
But the king received information of what they were doing; for he possessed two
golden reeds, decorated with thaumaturgic designs and pierced with seven holes corresponding
to the seven climes. By blowing on one of these holes, after placing on it a
pinch of ashes, which then broke into flame, one was informed of what was
taking place in the corresponding clime. Thus Hermanos learned where Salaman
and Absal had hidden; he learned too that they were suffering all the miseries
of exile (ghurba); he was touched, and ordered that they receive some
little help. But since Salaman persisted in his voluntary exile, Hermanos' wrath
presently turned upon the spiritual entities (ruhaniyat) of their
passion, and he resolved to destroy these. For the two lovers, this was the
most intolerable suffering and the most sinister torture: they gazed at each
other, felt ardent desire, but could not unite. Salaman understood that what
had befallen them was also caused by his father's anger; so he rose and went to
the king to obtain remission. In a last effort, the king tried to make his son
understand that he could not assume the throne and at the same time remain
Absal's companion, for either kingship or Absal would claim him entirely. While
he clung to the throne with one hand, Absal would be like a fetter fastened to
his feet, preventing him from attaining the throne of the celestial spheres.
And to confirm his words
by a convincing experience, he had the two lovers suspended in this awkward
position for a whole day. At nightfall they were set free.
THE AVICENNAN
RECITAL
Salaman and Absal
were half brothers on the mother's side. Absal was the younger; he had been
brought up in his brother's presence, and the more he grew, the more marked his
beauty and intelligence became. He was well instructed in letters and the sciences,
he was chaste and brave. So it came about that Salaman's wife fell passionately
in love with him. She said to Salaman: "Bid him frequent your family, so
that your children may learn from his example." And Salaman asked him to
do so, but Absal absolutely refused to associate with women. Then Salaman said:
"For you, my wife holds the rank of a mother." So Absal came to his
brother's house.
The young woman
showered him with attentions, and after a time privately told him of her
passion for him. Absal showed distress, and she realized that he would not
yield to her. Then she said to Salaman: "Marry your brother to my
sister." Salaman gave him her sister to wife. But meanwhile Salaman's wife
said to her sister: "I did not marry you to Absal in order that he should
belong to you alone, to my injury; I intend to share him with you."
Finally, she said to Absal: "My sister is a maiden of great modesty. Do
not go to her during the day, and do not speak to her until after she has
become accustomed to you." On the wedding night, Salaman's wife slipped
into her sister's bed, and Absal came in to her. Then she could no longer
contain herself, and hastened to press her breast against Absal's. Absal became
suspicious, and said to himself: "Modest maidens do not behave in this
fashion." At that moment the heavens became covered by dense clouds. A
flash of lightning shot through them, its brilliant light disclosing the
woman's face. Then Absal pushed her violently away, left the room, and resolved
to flee.
He said to
Salaman: "I wish to conquer all countries for you, for I have the strength
to do it." He took a troop with him, waged war on several peoples, and,
without incurring a reproach, conquered countries for his brother on land and
sea, in East and West. Long before Alexander, he was master of the earth's
entire surface. When he returned to his country, thinking that the woman had
forgotten him, she relapsed into her old passion and tried to embrace him; but
he refused and repulsed her.
An enemy having
appeared, Salaman sent Absal and his troops to meet him. Then Salaman's wife
distributed great sums to the leaders of the army so that they would abandon
Absal on the battlefield. And so they did. The enemies were victorious over
him; after wounding him, they left him lying in his blood, believing him dead.
But a wild beast that was nursing young came to him and gave him milk from her
teats. Thus he was fed until he was perfectly
recovered and healed. Thereupon he sought out Salaman, whose enemies were then besieging
and humiliating him, while he bewailed his brother's disappearance. Absal found
him, took the army with its stores, and once again attacked his enemies; he
routed them, took the greater part of them prisoners, and made his brother
king.
Then Salaman's
wife came to terms with a cook and a majordomo: she gave each of them a large
sum, so that they served Absal a poisoned drink, and he died. He was a faithful
friend, a being great in lineage and in desert, in knowledge and in act. His
brother was in great grief over his death. He renounced the kingship and
conferred it on one of his allies. Then he went into seclusion in secret
conversations with his Lord. The Lord revealed to him the truth of what had
taken place. Salaman made his wife, the cook, and the major-domo drink the
poison that they had given Absal to drink, and they all three died.
