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The Lost Continent-Part42_C.J.Cutcliffe Hyne(1865-1944)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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either side were blotted out beneath tumultuous waters, the harbour



walls were drowned out of sight, and the flood was creeping up into

the lower wards of the great city itself.



"You have seen?" asked Zaemon.

"I have seen."



"You understand?"

"ln part."



"Then let me tell you all. This is the beginning, and the end

will follow swiftly. The most High Gods, that sit behind the



stars, have a limit to even Their sublimepatience; and that has

been passed. The city of Atlantis, the great continent that is



beyond, and all that are in them are doomed to unutterable

destruction. Of old it was foreseen that this great wiping-out



would happen through the sins of men, and to this end the Ark of

the Mysteries was built under the direction of the Gods. No mortal



implements can so much as scratch its surface, no waves or rocks

wreck it. Inside is stored on sheets of the ancient writing all



that is known in the world of learning that is not shared by the

common people, also there is grain in a store, and sweet water in



tanks sufficient for two persons for the space of four years,

together with seeds, weapons, and all such other matters as were



deemed fit.

"Out of all this vast country it has been decreed by the High



Gods that two shall not perish. Two shall be chosen, a man and a

woman, who are fit and proper persons to carry away with them the



ancient learning to dispose of it as they see best, and afterwards

to rear up a race who shall in time build another kingdom and do



honour to our Lord the Sun and the other Gods in another place.

The woman is within the Ark already, and seated in the place



appointed for her, and though she is a daughter of mine, the burden

of her choosing is with you. For the man, the choice has fallen



upon yourself."

I was half numb with the shock of what was befalling. "I do



not know that I care to be a survivor."

"You are not asked for your wishes," said the old man. "You



are given an order from the High Gods, who know you to be Their

faithful servant."



Habit rode strong upon me. I made salutation in the required

form, and said that I heard and would obey.



"Then it remains to raise you to the sublime degree of the

Three, and if your learning is so small that you will not



understand the keys to many of the Powers, and the highest of the

Mysteries, when they are handed to you, that fault cannot be



remedied now."

Certainly the time remaining was short enough. The fight



still raged down at the gate in the pass, though it was a wonder

how the handful of Priests had held their ground so long. But the



ocean rolled in upon the land in an ever-increasing flood, and the

mountains smoked and belched forth more volleys of rock as the



weight increased on their lower parts, and presently those that

besieged the Mountain could not fail to see the fate that



threatened them. Then there would be no withholding their rush.

In their mad fury and panic they would sweep all obstruction



resistlessly before them, and those who stood in their path might

look to themselves.



But there was no hurrying Zaemon and his fellow sage. They

were without temple for the ceremony, without sacrifice or incense



to decorate it. They had but the sky for a roof to make their

echoes, and the Gods themselves for witnesses. But they went



through the work of raising me to their own degree, with all the

grand and majestic form which has gathered dignity from the ages,



and by no one sentence did they curtail it. A burning mountain

burst with a bellowing roar as the incoming waters met its fires,



but gravely they went on, in turn reciting their sentences.

Phorenice's troops broke down the last resistance, and poured in a



frenzied streamamongst the groves and temples, but still they

quavered never in the ritual.



It had been said that this ceremony is the grandest and the

most impressive of all those connected with our holy religion; and



certainly I found it so; and I speak as one intimate with all the




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