Arthur Machen

“ And the guide said again, "Follow me, but look not to the right or to the left where is the Abyss, but only beyond and above." And Beroalde, looking beyond, saw only the stairs, and above he saw how the heaven was divided, and half of it was night with the moon and stars, and half of it was light with the sun shining. "This is the mystery of the heaven above the earth called celestial, we seek the mystery of the heaven below the earth called subterranean," said the guide; and forthwith he began to descend the stairs, Beroalde following closely behind him. ”

“ There are stored in golden vessels those juices which alone avail to the completion of the Spagyrick Quest, which are called in good lingo the Sum of the Stars. Wait! let us come to our purpose. The Canon got up from his chair and gazed at the appearance like dogs gaze at the full moon, and then he saw a hand pointing to a wheel of fire at one side of the circle, and then another hand beside it, and strange to say he saw two arms which appeared to pertain to the two hands. "Good," said he to himself, "now we are getting at it; they will bring you strong wine if you drink all day." ”

“ Once there was a true world, a holy, spiritual city; but long ago, before the secrets of hot sauces were discovered, the Arch Concocter of Bad Productions dreamt an ill dream which we now call the world." "Well answered. How came you?" "By the Seven Stairs, and through the Four-square Garden, to the presence of the Master and to the Oracular Well. Hence I came through the Labyrinth, fortified with the word of Algarum, a paraphrase which turns water into wine," "Then behold, son of regeneration, the Tree of the Second Juice, and the fruit thereof." ”

“ In shape it is a spire of light, continually ascending, pointed like a spear, and having its base in the floods and waters. With a drop of this liquid of Luna a philosopher once anointed his flagon, and ever after it was full of wine.
The Third is the fountain of the Spiritual Venus, in shape a sphere, abounding and glowing with ruddy light. In the liquid of this sphere the Great Master beheld his Voyages and discovered the Way to Attain, for it contains all philosophies: in it may be seen the flights of all the Stars and the most precious secret of the Generation of Fools; a mystic matter ”

“ So Beroalde drank and became full of boldness, and said with great courage, "I come here in search of Algarum; otherwise what is contained in the fruit of the tree of the Second Juice." "Where do you come from?" "The World." "What is the World?" ”

“ The devil take those who endeavour to lead us the wrong way and make us meddle with metals, or medals; persons whose throats are dry with smoke so that they cannot taste good wine! Let us leave such men and their devices and search for the delectable quintessence of the true Alchemy and the first matter of the world, which cannot thus be obtained, since it is mystagorical and resides in the mountains of the Moon. Be silent! This is the true path, and it was opened to the Canon Beroaldus that very night in which he cursed his furnace ”

“ He made Beroalde look down, since the Canon had never met such a gaze before, and he asked, "Who is this, Liripipiastor? Is he dogmatised sufficiently to come here?" "He is the alchemist Beroalde, whom I led down the stairs to-night as he desires to attain the spagyrick quest." "Ha! ha! he comes from Tours, I swear, his father sold onions in the Rue Chaude; well, son, do you know in what good wine should be contained, or, in other words, what is the temple of good wine?" ”

“ It is a garden of games and pastimes and joyous diversions, where they play and extract fifth essence, and toss balls, and drink all day; in fine, it is a garden whence all good books proceed. What books are good? Why those which teach us in a thousand ways to laugh, and therefore contain all wisdom ”

“ And on the inmost circle was written the four letters R T N T. There! you who have been working at the bellows and calling on Baal, you who have ridden post through wet and dry, up hill and down dale in Valentine's Triumphal Chariot, and have never reached the Mons Magorum Invisibilis, you who have taken Our Sulphur, Our Salt, Our Earth, and Our Mercury, you who live on Cabalistic Sauces and drink the juices of the Green Dragon, you know now how to philosophise to some purpose, and by philosophise I mean the obtaining of the Philosophical Stone ”