Thus did they thirst, and drink again, and were crazed; being
inflamed with the desire to learn the secrets of nature, hesitating not
to dip their hands in blood, seeking in the living tissues of animals
for the hidden springs of life. For in their madness they hoped by
knowledge to gain absolute dominion over nature, thereby taking from the
Father of the world his prerogative.
"But their vain ambition lasted not, and the end of it was death. The
madness of their minds preyed on their bodies, and worms were bred in
their corrupted flesh: and these, after feeding on their tissues,
changed their forms; and becoming winged, flew out in the breath of
their nostrils, like clouds of winged ants that issue in the springtime
from their breeding-places; and, flying from body to body, filled the
race of men in all places with corruption and decay; and the Mother of
men was thus avenged of her children for their pride and folly, for they
perished miserably, devoured of worms.
"Of the human race only a small remnant survived, these being men of an
humble mind, who had lived apart and unknown to their fellows; and after
long centuries they went forth into the wilderness of earth and
repeopled it; but nowhere did they find any trace or record of those
that had passed away; for earth had covered all their ruined works with
her dark mold and green forests, even as a man hides unsightly scars on
his body with a new and beautiful garment.
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