Unless you practise that which you were taught;
Toil without knowledge is a fruitless tree,
Science unused is naught but theory.
Knowledge is power, but remember well
You must yourself destroy the magic spell;
And Lucifer, who came but to redeem,
Redeems you only if you conquer him.”
Thus the queen of the Lotus ended her song, and floated away with her companions. The last I saw of them was a roseate light shining from the mouth of the tunnel. I then fell asleep myself, and slept until I was awakened by the blowing of horns, the blast of trumpets, and beating of drums, calling the troops together for a renewal of the fight, and those who were so inclined got up and joined the ranks.
I went to the princess, and found her to be in a pensive mood, while her loquaciousness was less than usually active—a circumstance which I attributed to the visit of the fairies. I asked her whether she had experienced a pleasant dream.
“I do not believe in dreams,” she answered. “Scientists never attribute any importance to dreams or to subjective experiences; our attention is fully engaged by the objective realities of life.”