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It was at [indecipherable place name north coast of Iberia?] that Admiral Su-ri-mo and I first had
word. We had been at sea five months, and I was eager to return to villa and concubine. My villa: none
quite like it on all [Thera], though never was I a wealthy man. Situated high on the side of the holy
mountain, provided with fiercely hot water by duct from the sacred spring: few in all our empire possess
rights to such overflow, but I, as royal antiquarian/appraiser was favored by the priesthood. I do not
mean to exalt my own importance, which is not great; I seek only to explain in part the kindly favoritism
extended to me by a monarch who values cultural studies. All about my residence perched the artifacts
of my life's collection: ancient identification seals of baked clay from [Anatolia Turkey]; faience from
the orient, distinct from ours; a fine flint dagger from a burial mound in [Arabia]; and of course many
varieties of decorative pottery, each representative of a vanished culture. For years my concubine,
otherwise a very fine woman if a trifle tight about the waist-ring, was jealous of the attentions I paid
these objects, not understanding how a man could see as much value in a discolored shard as in a living
woman. In truth, I was at times grateful for that jealousy, for it prompted her to ever-greater imagination
in her calling.
Don could not restrain a smile at this point. Splendid, after due consideration, decided to smile too. How
little some things changed!
This amount of translation had taken two days. But it was time well spent, and the remainder promised
to move more rapidly as the last difficult symbols yielded their meanings.
It seems I cannot hew precisely to my theme; my mind insists upon revisiting those things that were dear
to me. Must I then ramble, however pointlessly, and hope to cover the essence in whatever fashion I can
manage.
The omens were ill. The sky turned drab, and the sunset was like a stifled inferno. A hideous odor
suffused the air. Yet there was no storm. We put into a local port and made inquiries, and received a
story brought by runners, of a disaster unlike any known.
Neither Admiral Su-ri-mo nor I believed it at first. We supposed Greek enemies had spread the foul
story in an effort to dismay us and force us to divulge our technical secrets. But within a few days one of
our own ships hailed us and confirmed the disaster in all its awfulness.
Terrible fire and storm had ravaged all Crete. Our cities had been destroyed by waves taller than the
mast of this ship, our crops buried under a thick mass of choking hot dust. Of our mighty fleet, the finest
ever to rule the [Mediterranean] sea, only that fraction at sea and far from home escaped. The land itself,
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buried in noxious mud, was unlivable.
Now those far-flung ships were summoned home. Our people needed them for migration to unspoiled
lands, lest our power be dissipated entirely. Vain hope! The strength of our civilization lies not in our
ships, but in the extreme fertility of our land, the density of our great timber forests, and the unexcelled
craftsmanship of our artisans. We must rebuild our palaces, as we have in the past, if we are to maintain
any portion of our national well-being.
"But what of our own fair city?" I cried. "Our isle is not Crete, our homeland is not Knossos. Surely we,
at least escaped the holocaust?"
"Your city is no more," our informant said. "We sailed by it, checking all our cities. The fire consumed
[Thera] utterly. Not even the island remains, merely a burnt shell."
Still we could not believe. But if we went home to verify this horror directly, and it were true, we would
become subject to this makeshift government and have to give over our fine ships to the transport of
women and cattle, and our treasures to usurping tyrants. No way to salvage our culture, this! Yet if we
did not go back, and this report were false, what then of our loyalty?
The Admiral and I discussed the matter at length, the crushing hand of calamity gripping us both. We
professed not to believe, we reassured each other repeatedly, but at the root we withered. At length we
decided to detach two ships, who would return to ascertain the truth, while the remainder stayed clear.
One ship at least would come back to us to make report. This was a cumbersome procedure, but it
seemed the best strategy, given our divided belief.
I remained aboard one of the three. I would have gone home, but Su-ri-mo chose to keep me with the
bulk of the merchandise, for only I knew its precise value and the details of its inventory.
For a time we continued to travel the coast of the [Atlantic] ocean as if seeking more trade, though we
had little remaining for barter. At night we found safe anchorage and sent the men ashore to gather
driftwood and make a fire to cook the main meal. The crewmen would grind grain and bake the
morrow's bread over the embers, and the wine would circulate. They slept on the sand, the smoke from
banked fires driving off the nocturnal pests. The Admiral and I had to remain aboard our respective
ships, guarding the cargo, for not all the impressed hands were trustworthy. I made do with the ship's
galley, learning by scorching my fingers on the inadequate hearth. How I envied the landed crew, and
how I cursed my isolation here! Yet it would seem that the Great Earth Mother destined this, for now I
have need of this hearth.
Time hung heavy as we awaited confirmation of the fate of our land. The men shaved each other with
the few precious iron blades available, with much cursing and scraping of skin. Perhaps not all of the
cuts were accidental. They wagered interminably. I completed the inventory of cargo of all three ships,
and started it over, for want of other diversion.
Winter came, harsh in these hinterlands, and it was impossible to continue at sea in the treacherous
weather and waters. We docked at [another Megalithic city?], paying an exorbitant harbor tax. Now at
last I could depart ship, for our wares were secure. But it was scant improvement. This was no Knossos.
Knossos! I had visited there often, in my official capacities, and though I would not have cared to reside
in that crush, it was a splendor. Four and five stories high, with the magnificent reception hall on the
second girt by the massive, artful pillars would you believe it, I have seen pillars elsewhere that
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actually contract toward the apex, making the entire structure appear inverted. Any refined eye must
readily perceive that a decorative column must expand toward the apex which shows little aesthetic
hope, for example, for the [Mycenaeans Greeks].
But this Megalithic port: the houses were all separate, none possessing even a second story, and all [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl freetocraft.keep.pl
It was at [indecipherable place name north coast of Iberia?] that Admiral Su-ri-mo and I first had
word. We had been at sea five months, and I was eager to return to villa and concubine. My villa: none
quite like it on all [Thera], though never was I a wealthy man. Situated high on the side of the holy
mountain, provided with fiercely hot water by duct from the sacred spring: few in all our empire possess
rights to such overflow, but I, as royal antiquarian/appraiser was favored by the priesthood. I do not
mean to exalt my own importance, which is not great; I seek only to explain in part the kindly favoritism
extended to me by a monarch who values cultural studies. All about my residence perched the artifacts
of my life's collection: ancient identification seals of baked clay from [Anatolia Turkey]; faience from
the orient, distinct from ours; a fine flint dagger from a burial mound in [Arabia]; and of course many
varieties of decorative pottery, each representative of a vanished culture. For years my concubine,
otherwise a very fine woman if a trifle tight about the waist-ring, was jealous of the attentions I paid
these objects, not understanding how a man could see as much value in a discolored shard as in a living
woman. In truth, I was at times grateful for that jealousy, for it prompted her to ever-greater imagination
in her calling.
Don could not restrain a smile at this point. Splendid, after due consideration, decided to smile too. How
little some things changed!
This amount of translation had taken two days. But it was time well spent, and the remainder promised
to move more rapidly as the last difficult symbols yielded their meanings.
It seems I cannot hew precisely to my theme; my mind insists upon revisiting those things that were dear
to me. Must I then ramble, however pointlessly, and hope to cover the essence in whatever fashion I can
manage.
The omens were ill. The sky turned drab, and the sunset was like a stifled inferno. A hideous odor
suffused the air. Yet there was no storm. We put into a local port and made inquiries, and received a
story brought by runners, of a disaster unlike any known.
Neither Admiral Su-ri-mo nor I believed it at first. We supposed Greek enemies had spread the foul
story in an effort to dismay us and force us to divulge our technical secrets. But within a few days one of
our own ships hailed us and confirmed the disaster in all its awfulness.
Terrible fire and storm had ravaged all Crete. Our cities had been destroyed by waves taller than the
mast of this ship, our crops buried under a thick mass of choking hot dust. Of our mighty fleet, the finest
ever to rule the [Mediterranean] sea, only that fraction at sea and far from home escaped. The land itself,
a
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T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
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r
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P
m
m
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Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
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c
.
.
.
.
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r r
buried in noxious mud, was unlivable.
Now those far-flung ships were summoned home. Our people needed them for migration to unspoiled
lands, lest our power be dissipated entirely. Vain hope! The strength of our civilization lies not in our
ships, but in the extreme fertility of our land, the density of our great timber forests, and the unexcelled
craftsmanship of our artisans. We must rebuild our palaces, as we have in the past, if we are to maintain
any portion of our national well-being.
"But what of our own fair city?" I cried. "Our isle is not Crete, our homeland is not Knossos. Surely we,
at least escaped the holocaust?"
"Your city is no more," our informant said. "We sailed by it, checking all our cities. The fire consumed
[Thera] utterly. Not even the island remains, merely a burnt shell."
Still we could not believe. But if we went home to verify this horror directly, and it were true, we would
become subject to this makeshift government and have to give over our fine ships to the transport of
women and cattle, and our treasures to usurping tyrants. No way to salvage our culture, this! Yet if we
did not go back, and this report were false, what then of our loyalty?
The Admiral and I discussed the matter at length, the crushing hand of calamity gripping us both. We
professed not to believe, we reassured each other repeatedly, but at the root we withered. At length we
decided to detach two ships, who would return to ascertain the truth, while the remainder stayed clear.
One ship at least would come back to us to make report. This was a cumbersome procedure, but it
seemed the best strategy, given our divided belief.
I remained aboard one of the three. I would have gone home, but Su-ri-mo chose to keep me with the
bulk of the merchandise, for only I knew its precise value and the details of its inventory.
For a time we continued to travel the coast of the [Atlantic] ocean as if seeking more trade, though we
had little remaining for barter. At night we found safe anchorage and sent the men ashore to gather
driftwood and make a fire to cook the main meal. The crewmen would grind grain and bake the
morrow's bread over the embers, and the wine would circulate. They slept on the sand, the smoke from
banked fires driving off the nocturnal pests. The Admiral and I had to remain aboard our respective
ships, guarding the cargo, for not all the impressed hands were trustworthy. I made do with the ship's
galley, learning by scorching my fingers on the inadequate hearth. How I envied the landed crew, and
how I cursed my isolation here! Yet it would seem that the Great Earth Mother destined this, for now I
have need of this hearth.
Time hung heavy as we awaited confirmation of the fate of our land. The men shaved each other with
the few precious iron blades available, with much cursing and scraping of skin. Perhaps not all of the
cuts were accidental. They wagered interminably. I completed the inventory of cargo of all three ships,
and started it over, for want of other diversion.
Winter came, harsh in these hinterlands, and it was impossible to continue at sea in the treacherous
weather and waters. We docked at [another Megalithic city?], paying an exorbitant harbor tax. Now at
last I could depart ship, for our wares were secure. But it was scant improvement. This was no Knossos.
Knossos! I had visited there often, in my official capacities, and though I would not have cared to reside
in that crush, it was a splendor. Four and five stories high, with the magnificent reception hall on the
second girt by the massive, artful pillars would you believe it, I have seen pillars elsewhere that
a
a
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T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
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r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
actually contract toward the apex, making the entire structure appear inverted. Any refined eye must
readily perceive that a decorative column must expand toward the apex which shows little aesthetic
hope, for example, for the [Mycenaeans Greeks].
But this Megalithic port: the houses were all separate, none possessing even a second story, and all [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]