The drop of truth by Gustav Meyrink
The drop of the truth of Gustav Meyrink - 1904 translation of Günther Mander
Dawn in his ghostly glow of the morning progressed already groping in the streets full of dust, taking with her troubled breath the fog along the glittering walls of houses. It was four o'clock in the morning! Hlavata Ohrringle was still awake and walking up and down in his room. It is depressing and painful for decades could not discover the secret of a vial containing a clear substance such as water, which we know without doubt that if taken for a time, with its mysterious qualities, is able to confer magical powers . But, suddenly, almost suddenly, the curtain opens and sleep it is shaken and destroyed. The evening Hlavata Ohrringle had taken the tube, the shock had a little ', he had held against the light and had smelt the contents, he had so often opened the ancient tomes that, according to the testamentary instructions of his great-grandfather, would have contained clarifications, but often went to bed angry for not having found anything. Only one thing was very strange, every time the following night had the same dream: a mountainous landscape of purple, a monastery in the middle of Asia with a roof of gold, on which there was a body, motionless as a corpse , who was holding a book. Gradually the cover opened out and became visible in letters Chaldean phrase: "Persist in your Way, and not falter." And finally that day, after many fruitless brain brainstorms, Hlavata Ohrringle had found something and the envelope that he had concealed the secret was disclosed, it was open before the eyes of the soul, like the shell of a walnut Heat breaks. A passage in one of the treaties, on which he had previously overlooked because at the very beginning of the prologue, gave precise directions: the liquid was a so-called alchemical preparation. Yes, just a preparation alchemy! But the peculiarities of the substance were curious and seemingly insignificant according to the modern point of view! A drop placed between two metal points assuming a spherical shape after a few minutes and mathematically perfect. Interesting, very interesting that there was any substance to which you could actually get a form so perfect. But what else? It was not possible that it was all over. It was not all: Hlavata Ohrringle which was, by the grace of God, a bookworm who soon found a second volume described his prodigious value.
If it has succeeded - it was written - to produce a perfectly round ball from the geometrical point of view, would be greatly amazed to see things from everyone. I could perceive, even if sometimes only in symbolic form, the astral universe, that universe is the spiritual foundation of our, as is the intention behind the action or decision is the basis of the fait accompli. A spherical eye could see on all sides imaginable even in the remotest depths of the universe, able to reorder each other and side by side all sorts of images according to the laws of surface tension unknown to us. Hlavata Ohrringle had prepared everything, had screwed into a metal support tools, we had put so much effort with the drop and now anxiously awaiting the dawn to begin the experiment in the morning light. Impatiently he paced up and down, throwing himself on the chair, looked at the time: "Only four and a quarter! Saints of Heaven! "He thumbed through a calendar to search for the hour of sunrise. That day was a day dedicated to Mary and feasts dedicated to Mary are very significant. At last it seemed that the light was sufficient, he took his glass and began to watch the glistening drops suspended between the two tips of silver. At first he saw only pictures of things that filled the room, the desk with table cloths decorated with stars and scattered books, the white ball of light and the handle of the window the old dressing gown and even a small patch of reddish sky shining through glasses. But soon a green glow darkened the surface of the drop all sorts of swallowing reflex. Appeared regions of basaltic rock, caves and caverns deep, oblong fantastic shrubs were like waiting in ambush to strike a blow. The whole landscape was lit up by its splendor - a scene of the deep sea. Appeared a white spot that stretched increasingly clear plastic: a corpse in the water, the body of a naked woman with her head turned back, and feet, tied to a mass that looked like a lattice of veins, hanging in ' green water. Suddenly a bunch of big colorless eyes connected by stalks and hideous mouth covered with wire emerged from the shadows of the rocks and rushed to the woman. Another lightning followed him. The first monster had pierced the body of the corpse, but then he was stabbed so fast, that Hlavata Ohrringle could not follow the scene with eyes. For the agitation he sighed and leaned even more on the lens. But the wind had tarnished the image of which soon disappeared altogether. Did not help anything, or get busy, or wait patiently watching not only reappeared, and the drop reflected the bright sun rising above the haze and smoky gables of the houses. Hlavata Ohrringle had returned from a neighboring country with brooding looks and was reviewing his thoughts. He had visited an old Rosicrucians, some Eckstein, for advice. Eckstein after listening for a long time, it was expressed in the following way: "It's a mystery of unprecedented depth. I was the first to find a summary of these perceptions in the writings of the Kabbalist Rabbi Gikatilla, of course, hidden in another form. As Basil Valentine says in the treatise The triumphal chariot Antimony, on page 172, is to be understood in a symbolic or anagogical, therefore, understandable only to him whose soul is immersed in the depths of the divinity. " If Hlavata Ohrringle was interested in visions of shiny objects, a crystal ball, Japanese was the proper thing. But all that reached Europe were owned by a sorcerer named Fahlendien who practiced black magic in Vienna. However, if he wished, could have more precise information on the image seen by a mad painter named Christophe who lived in Berlin. But that data did not satisfy Ohrringle, who day by day he experiments with new fluid. His research did not remain secret in town and were the subject of the day. He said it was ridiculous, just ridiculous, you can see everything in a glass sphere, given that most things are in space, one after another and makes invisible the other. This seemed obvious to everyone, so we surprised to read in a foreign newspaper opinion totally opposed to a British scientist, who wrote that it was theoretically possible to see even through walls and containers tightly closed, enough only to think of X-rays, in respect of which only lead plates guaranteed impenetrability. At the bottom of every object on earth was nothing but a thin sieve made of atoms whirling and if they were rays right, nothing would have stopped to look through. The article caused quite a stir, especially among the authorities. The public learned of 'decrees reserved "very strange. It was said that the diplomats had given orders to employees for time of enclosing all the acts in boxes of lead, there was talk of a radical reorganization of the police in the province also, they said that they had already been taken contacts with Russia to improve " secret police "and from there to import a number of purebred dogs in exchange for ordinary surplus dogs at home and so on. Of course Hlavata Ohrringle was strictly guarded and much more severely than what appeared happy during his walks, and when one day appeared on the Esplanade with an air even radiant, the authorities decided to intervene without any regard, especially as it was known that he He did nothing but laugh when you spoke of diplomats and asked once about his opinion on the art of diplomacy, said that no deception could not last long. And one day, was again a day dedicated to Mary, Hlavata Ohrringle was arrested just as he was sitting to watch her drop mysterious and imprisoned under the charge of matricide plural. The strange fluid was confiscated and handed over to the chemical laboratory office. There can only rejoice, because now no doubt be fully brought to light the truth about the diplomats. Ensure that the truth will come out!
