_Nectoris._ Your spirit springs from the triple crown. You alone can fill my soul, hungering for satisfaction in that wisdom which is beyond, hidden behind the veil. (_Gebuel sighs, feeling conscious of his own difficulties. He is genuine in his interest in Nectoris._) Will you not let me follow you one step beyond the threshold of the golden sanctuary? _Gebuel._ O child of the serpent wisdom, do you not know that no mortal may look upon the face of Heru and live? Only after the purifications of long silences, long fasts, and constant uplifting of the heart, may one born of the human race purge himself of the perishable substance of the life we know, and exchange it for the imperishable essence of the shining ones. Only after such rites have been performed may you hope to pass through the closed doors of the sanctuary. _Nectoris_ (_with passion_). Let me but look upon the door. _Gebuel._ The door is there—your first duty is to keep vigil. But beware of the brightness hidden in the heart of the shrine. To look upon it is to be blind; to be enfolded by its heat is to pass through fires too potent for any human soul. _Nectoris._ I will keep vigil. _Gebuel._ You are rash! being young, and do not know that there is a wisdom before which the sun pales and the stars are put out. _Nectoris._ Let me begin the vigil that it may be the sooner ended! _Gebuel._ To watch from this day until your span of earthly life is ended would not be long enough. Be warned, let the shut door remain closed. _Nectoris._ Father of Wisdom, put me to the test. I will endure all hardships. _Gebuel._ No hardship is before those who worship Heru. I ask nothing but obedience to my warning. Keep vigil before the door of the sanctuary; the bolts are easy, the secret of secrets is within, but remember the light of flame brings desolation. You are warned. _Nectoris_ (_as if in a dream_). “The light shines forth and leaves you desolate.” _Gebuel_ (_suddenly becoming suspicious_). The words that were spoken to me out of the stones! Desolate—one to be made desolate! Where have you heard those words? _Nectoris._ They passed through the air as you were speaking. _Gebuel._ The warning is given for the second time! To you the unseen spirits are not dumb. How have you this power? _Nectoris._ Great Master, I am but a little child in the presence of your wisdom. I come not to show that I have knowledge, but to gain it by your aid. I have heard the voices of the unseen ones since I was a child, and taken no thought of it. (_Gebuel claps his hands. The priests enter._) _Gebuel._ Set guards about the door, and see that none go in or out this day.