Amida

“ It is here that Amida-ism falls short of the Highest Truth, and that in spite of the fact that, if it is true, as Christ said, that 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father' it is also true that he that has caught but the glimpse of Christ that Amida-ism gives, has also caught a glimpse of the Father. When it has been demonstrated, as I hope it will be, that Amida is none other than that Person Whom we Christians worship as our Saviour-God, and for Whose reality we claim to have historical evidence, then Amida-ism will rise to the perfect Truth, and will gain in courage, in strength ”

“ Floating in glory, Dai-Nichi-Nyorai, Kwannon-Sama, Amida Buddha. Far below them as hell from heaven surges a lake of blood, in which souls float. The shores of this lake are precipices studded with sword-blades thickly set as teeth in the jaws of a shark; and demons are driving naked ghosts up the frightful slopes. But out of the crimson lake something crystalline rises, like a beautiful, clear water-spout; the stem of a flower,—a miraculous lotus, bearing up a soul to the feet of a priest standing above the verge of the abyss. ”

“ How can we get the Great Peace, if we are relying upon these selves of ours, and upon this humanity? We must look for something above ourselves which we can rest in. The storm of sin is blowing great blasts against us. The rain of delusion is falling fiercely. The darkness of doubt is growing thicker. Where can we find a refuge such as we have seen we need?
7. And then, what happiness it is for us, at such times, to hear the Sacred Name of the Tathāgata, Namu Amida Butsu! It is the Name of the Hotoke which we have heard from our childhood, and yet we have perhaps never known its meaning. ”

“ At length, in a silent night, they ascended the most accessible tower, which was guarded only by some monks, oppressed, after the duties of a festival, with sleep and wine. Scaling-ladders were applied at the dawn of day; the presence of Cabades, his stern command, and his drawn sword, compelled the Persians to vanquish; and, before it was sheathed, fourscore thousand of the inhabitants had expiated the blood of their companions. After the siege of Amida, the war continued three years, and the unhappy frontier tasted the full measure of its calamities. ”

“ The two lovers were then brought together by the prince "in peace and joyous blis."—Spenser, Faëry Queen, iv. 7, 9 (1596) .
Ami'das, the younger brother of Brac'idas, sons of Mile'sio; the former in love with the dowerless Lucy, and the latter with the wealthy Philtra. The two brothers had each an island of equal size and value left them by their father, but the sea daily added to the island of the younger brother, and encroached on that belonging to Bracidas. When Philtra saw that the property of Amidas was daily increasing, she forsook the elder brother and married the wealthier ”

“ Your father, replied Amadis, hath a great heart, and though in secret he may feel otherwise, he appears well satisfied. You know he is to come hither with the Queen and your sister. Oriana answered, I cannot tell you the pleasure which my heart feels, and may it please God that all may be fulfilled as it has been agreed; for you may well believe, my Lord, that next to yourself there is no other person whom I love so well as him, notwithstanding his cruelty. But tell me, what think you of Esplandian? Esplandian, replied Amadis, in his manners and appearance is your son, and more cannot be said. ”

“ I can give you Amada in marriage and make that marriage easy, but only if Amada herself consents. The will of a Royal Princess of Egypt of full age cannot be forced, save by her father if he reigns as Pharaoh, and I am not her father, but only her guardian. Therefore it stands thus. Are you willing to fulfil your part of the bargain, save only as regards the pearls, if she does not marry you, and to take your chance of winning Amada as a man wins a woman, I on my part promising to do all in my power to help your suit? ”

“ Ask what you will, quoth Amadis.—Tell me your name, and promise me each a boon hereafter, when I shall demand it. They in their earnestness promised. When she heard the name of Amadis, she exclaimed, God be praised, for I was seeking you!—And wherefore?—You shall know when it is time; but tell me, have you forgot your promise to the daughter of the King of Sobradisa, who let loose the lions to save you? I am now going, replied Amadis, to perform the battle. ”

“ Yes—do not start; distinctions made in life are useless on a bed of sickness. I repeat, take it as a pledge of friendship, which I offer from my heart.'
Maida did not approach, and the hand dropped heavily upon the bed; emaciated as it was, it was too heavy for self-support. It rested a moment, and then again presented itself, accompanied by a look that overcame Maida's unwillingness to yield. Those who know Maida will not be surprised that, having once taken the proffered pledge, she clasped it with a fervency that satisfied Emmeline's most sanguine anticipation, but still she did not speak. ”

“ Norandel. Do you know any thing of this Knight, said Oriana, for he came with you, and you have asked him to be your companion in arms; for one of your prowess, this should not be done unless you knew something of his worth, for all who know you say there is no one equal to you, except only your brother Amadis. My Lady, replied Galaor, so equal is my prowess to that of Amadis as earth is to heaven; and fool would he be who thought to equal his! for God has gifted him above all others in the world in hardihood, and in all good customs that beseem a Knight. ”

“ Soon were they armed, and their horses embarked in the brigantines, and all things needful put aboard, and they themselves joyfully embarked. Amadis and Don Bruneo of Bonamar went in a boat among the fleet, and in one vessel they found Don Florestan and Brian of Monjaste, and Don Quadragante and Angriote of Estravaus, and they went aboard to them, and Amadis embraced them, as if it would be long before he should see them again, and the tears came into his eyes for the exceeding love he bare them, and for the solitude he should feel when they were gone. ”

“ When you have disposed of me go straightways and kiss the Infanta's hand, and give her this sleeve of my shirt, whereon I have written seven letters with my blood, for I had no strength to write more. I trust that that pity which she would not show me living she will feel for my death, considering that it befell me in her service, seeking through such perils the brother whom she loves so dearly. Dear friend Don Bruneo, quoth the Knight, I am Amadis for whom you have undergone such peril! fear not, I will help you with such a master as shall save you if the soul have not left the body. ”

“ But to Amadeo these things were as the beauty of sky and sea to a man that is blind. Love was a stranger to his heart; he spent the hours wherein the rest danced and courted in high and abstruse meditation, and the ladies of the Princess's train, although very handsome, amiable, and kind, yet could not lure him from his retreat, nor persuade him to exchange his gloomy musings for the brightness of their smiles. ”

“ Say what you will, quoth Amadis; I care nothing now for any thing that may be said or done, and wish to live no longer than till I can confess.—Then I pray you hear me, Sir: I have thought much upon that letter which Oriana sent you, and upon the words of the Knight with whom you fought; and seeing how light is the faith of many women, it may be that she hath changed her affections, and so has feigned anger against you, before you discover it. ”

“ The Spaniard’s tendency to repeat stock types in the same kind of action was visible here as elsewhere. The Amadis gave the pattern, and it was followed. A hero who is the son of a king, and is also a model of knightly prowess and virtues, with a brother in arms who, while no less valiant, is decidedly less virtuous, are the chief figures. Amadis, the Beltenebros—the lovely dark man—is the pink of loyalty to his peerless Oriana, who is the fairest and most loving of women. Galaor is gay and volatile, light of love, but loyal in friendship. ”

“ Let come what will, I will adventure. Amadis, whose only wish was that all might prove it before Oriana, that her glory might be the greater, replied, Lady, I can only attribute this resolution to the greatness of your heart, which wishes to atchieve that wherein so many have failed; and he took her by the hand, and said, this fair lady will attempt the adventure, and so should you also Olinda and Melicia; for with such beauty as God hath given you, ye ought without fear, on so great an occasion to adventure it ”

“ The judge and the professor disappeared, and soon word came that Madame le Claire would give him audience. Amidon's heart beat stiflingly as he came into her presence. For this man's conscience was a most insubordinate conscience, and held as wrong the things felt and thought, as well as things said and done; and his remorse was as that of an abandoned but repentant jilt. But when he saw how cheerfully she smiled, he grew easier in his mind. The women always have such a matter fully under control—I mean the other party's mind. ”

“ And a dream came to her, wherein she seemed to be in the outer room and no longer in the closet, but bound hand and foot and with a handkerchief tied across her mouth, so that she could utter no sound; while before her stood the crone with a hatchet in her hand and the young men each with a knife, and on the pallet in the corner lay the stranger; and in her dream the stranger had the face of Count Amadeo. ”

“ It brooded in the deep eyes and settled in a curious smile about the curves of the lips, a smile that was not altogether human, such a smile as one might wear who had looked on hidden things and heard voices that spoke beyond the limits of the world.
Somehow neither then nor at any other time during all my dream, could I imagine this Amada, this daughter of a hundred kings, whose blood might be traced back through dynasty on dynasty, as nothing but a woman who nurses children upon her breast. ”

“ When Galaor and Florestan had somewhat recovered from the effects of the blows they had received from invisible assailants, Amadis felt that for the honour of his lady, Oriana, he must attempt the great adventure of entering the forbidden chamber, into which no knight had yet penetrated. Summoning all his courage to his aid, he crossed the line of the spell between the pillars, and immediately felt himself assaulted by the unseen warriors who had defeated his comrades. ”

“ Amneris and Aida.
Amneris.
(To Aida, with counterfeited affection.)
'Neath the chances of battle succumb thy people,
O hapless Aida; the sorrows that afflict thee
Be sure I feel as keenly; my heart towards thee yearns fondly:
Ask what thou wilt of me, thy days shall be happy.
Aida.
Ah, how can I be happy
Far from my native country, where I can never
Know what fate has befallen father and brothers?
Amneris.
Deeply you move me, yet no human sorrow
Is lasting here below. Time will bring comfort—
And heal your present anguish—
Greater than time the healing power of love is. ”

“ Amadis [323] kissed her hands; my own true Lady many and great kindnesses have I received from you which have saved me from death, but for this I thank you above all, inasmuch as honour is above all delights. Thus past they that night mingling tears with their love, thinking of the long solitude that was to come, and towards day-break Amadis rose; that dear cousin Mabilia and the Damsel of Denmark went out with him, and he embraced them, and commended Oriana to their consolations, and so they parted weeping. ”

“ Perhaps no girl as lovely as Maida ever thought less of her own charm. She believed that the one interest which had held her to the world and given her strength to resist the Head Sister's persuasions was a false star. It came into her mind that the best way to forget would be to promise, as her friend the grey lady had begged her to do, that she would become a life member of the Sisterhood. ”

“ Amadis asked where Florestan was, and was told, that Sardamira had cried out to him to save her, and that she lay fallen at the feet of Oriana, beseeching her to save her from [334] death or dishonour. Amadis went into the cabin, and saw that the Queen was embracing Oriana, and that Florestan held her by the hand, he went before her courteously, and would have kissed her hand, but she withdrew it: fear nothing, Lady, said he, Don Florestan is at your service, and we shall all obey him, even though it were not our will to honour all womankind. ”

“ Amadis then turned to the assembled Knights and said, Sirs, I will take leave of the King and Queen if they chuse to see me, and will go to the Firm Island, where they who shall please to live with me shall be partakers with me in all the honour and pleasures that I can command. The land is rich and aboundeth with all things, there is store of forests and of fair women. I have treasure enough for our wants; they who know us will come thither to see us, and strangers to demand our help, and there we may return from our adventures to recover strength. ”

“ After the battle which King Lisuarte had with the seven Kings of the Islands, I returned into Spain to the King my father, and there was busied in his disputes with the Africans, till I heard that my cousin Amadis was gone into some foreign land no man knew whither. But then, because he was the flower and mirror of all my lineage, and the one whom I the most esteemed and loved, his loss so greatly grieved me, that I determined to go in his quest, and therefore came hither to this Island, thinking that here I might likeliest hear some tidings of him ”

“ Certes none. He is our countryman, brought up among us; we know his good disposition, and that we may ask privileges of him as our right, which a stranger belike would deny. Moreover, thus should we win the friendship of the famous Amadis, who, as when he was our enemy, he had such power to injure us, so being our friend, will he remedy the past with much honour and advantage. Now, then, Sirs, speak as you may think fit, having no regard to our captivity or tribulation, but only as reason and justice shall direct. ”