"I believe, then, that this earth belongs to man, that he is master of it, and may appropriate all the forces, all the elements thereof. Man is not a creature proceeding directly from the hand of God, but the result of the principle diffused throughout the infinite Ether, wherein myriads of beings are produced; and these have no resemblance to each other between star and star, because the conditions of life are everywhere different. Ay, my Liege, the motion we call life has its source beyond all visible worlds; creation draws from it as the surrounding conditions may require, and the minutest beings share in it by taking all they are able, at their own risk and peril; it is their part to defend themselves from death. This is the sum total of alchemy. "If man, the most perfect animal on this globe, had within him a fraction of the Godhead, he could not perish--but he does perish. To escape from this dilemma, Socrates and his school invented the soul. I--the successor of the great unknown kings who have ruled this science--I am for the old theories against the new; I believe in the transmutation of matter which I can see, as against the eternity of a soul which I cannot see. I do not acknowledge the world of souls. If such a world existed, the substances, of which the beautiful combination produces your body--and which, in madame are so dazzling--would not separate and resolve themselves after your death to return each to its own place; the water to water, the fire to fire, the metal to metal, just as when my charcoal is burnt its elements are restored to their original molecules. "Though you say that something lives on, it is not we ourselves; all that constitutes our living self perishes. "Now, it is my living self that I desire to perpetuate beyond the common term of life; it is the present manifestation for which I want to secure longer duration. What! trees live for centuries, and men shall live but for years, while those are passive and we are active; while they are motionless and speechless, and we walk and talk! No creature on earth ought to be superior to us either in power or permanency. We have already expanded our senses; we can see into the stars. We ought to be able to extend our life. I place life above power. Of what use is power if life slips from us? "A rational man ought to have no occupation but that of seeking--not whether there is another life--but the secret on which our present life is based, so as to be able to prolong it at will!--This is the desire that has silvered my hair. But I walk on boldly in the darkness, leading to battle those intellects which share my faith. Life will some day be ours." "But how?" cried the King, starting to his feet. "The first condition of our faith is the belief that this world is for man; you must grant me that," said Lorenzo. "Well and good, so be it!" said Charles de Valois, impatient, but already fascinated.