THE EQUINOX
4. Therefore thou writest that which is of mother of
emerald, and of lapis-lazuli, and of turquoise, and of alex-
andrite.
5. Another writeth the words of topaz, and of deep
amethyst, and of gray sapphire, and of deep sapphire with
a tinge as of blood.
6. Therefore do ye fret yourselves because of this.
7. Be not contented with the image.
8. I who am the Image of an Image say this.
9. Debate not of the image, saying Beyond! Beyond!
One mounteth unto the Crown by the moon and by the
Sun, and by the arrow, and by the Foundation, and by the
dark home of the stars from the black earth.
10. Not otherwise may ye reach unto the Smooth Point.
11. Nor is it fitting for the cobbler to prate of the Royal
matter. O cobbler! mend me this shoe, that I may walk.
O king! if I be thy son, let us speak of the Embassy to the
King thy Brother.
12. Then was there silence. Speech had done with us
awhile.
There is a light so strenuous that it is not perceived as
light.
13. Wolf’s bane is not so sharp as steel; yet it pierceth
the body more subtly.
14. Even as evil kisses corrupt the blood, so do my
words devour the spirit of man.
15. I breathe, and there is infinite dis-ease in the spirit.
16. As an acid eats into steel, as a cancer that utterly
corrupts the body; so am I unto the spirit of man.
17. Ishall not rest until I have dissolved it all.
18. So also the light that is absorbed. One absorbs lit-
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