_Lucifer._ Both of the Old and of the New! The school of Hermes Trismegistus, Who uttered his oracles sublime Before the Olympiads, in the dew Of the early dawn and dusk of Time, The reign of dateless old Hephaestus! As northward, from its Nubian springs, The Nile, forever new and old, Among the living and the dead, Its mighty, mystic stream has rolled; So, starting from its fountain-head Under the lotus-leaves of Isis, From the dead demigods of eld, Through long, unbroken lines of kings Its course the sacred art has held, Unchecked, unchanged by man's devices. This art the Arabian Geber taught, And in alembics, finely wrought, Distilling herbs and flowers, discovered The secret that so long had hovered Upon the misty verge of Truth, The Elixir of Perpetual Youth, Called Alcohol, in the Arab speech! Like him, this wondrous lore I teach! _Prince Henry._ What! an adept? _Lucifer._ Nor less, nor more! _Prince Henry._ I am a reader of such books, A lover of that mystic lore! With such a piercing glance it looks Into great Nature's open eye, And sees within it trembling lie The portrait of the Deity! And yet, alas! with all my pains, The secret and the mystery Have baffled and eluded me, Unseen the grand result remains! _Lucifer (showing a flask)._ Behold it here! this little flask Contains the wonderful quintessence, The perfect flower and efflorescence, Of all the knowledge man can ask! Hold it up thus against the light! _Prince Henry._ How limpid, pure, and crystalline, How quick, and tremulous, and bright The little wavelets dance and shine, As were it the Water of Life in sooth! _Lucifer._ It is! It assuages every pain, Cures all disease, and gives again To age the swift delights of youth. Inhale its fragrance. _Prince Henry._ It is sweet. A thousand different odors meet And mingle in its rare perfume, Such as the winds of summer waft At open windows through a room! _Lucifer._ Will you not taste it? _Prince Henry._ Will one draught Suffice? _Lucifer._ If not, you can drink more. _Prince Henry._ Into this crystal goblet pour So much as safely I may drink. _Lucifer (pouring)._ Let not the quantity alarm you: You may drink all; it will not harm you. _Prince Henry._ I am as one who on the brink Of a dark river stands and sees The waters flow, the landscape dim Around him waver, wheel, and swim, And, ere he plunges, stops to think Into what whirlpools he may sink; One moment pauses, and no more, Then madly plunges from the shore! Headlong into the dark mysteries Of life and death I boldly leap, Nor fear the fateful current's sweep, Nor what in ambush lurks below! For death is better than disease! (_An_ ANGEL _with an aeolian harp hovers in the air_.) _Angel._ Woe! woe! eternal woe! Not only the whispered prayer Of love, But the imprecations of hate, Reverberate Forever and ever through the air Above! This fearful curse Shakes the great universe!