Lupelius - The School for Gods

negative emotions burgeon and reproduce ceaselessly within our being while distilling theslow poison that kills us. We may not know where to start in order to live for ever, butfollowing Lupelius’ age‐old aphorism we can certainly “die less”. Many times I chanted theLupelian song of immortality:Eat less and Dream moreSleep less and Breathe moreDie less and Live forever.16 “You won’t make it!”I emerged as if from a journey underground. I recognised the room and the huge paintingon the far wall. This time, it was an hour later in the morning in the Dreamer’s world, and thelight was such that I could easily observe the architecture of that part of the house. I lookedup towards the high ceiling and followed its line to the point where it dropped sharplyforming an imposing archway of bare brick. It was in that moment that I sensed a presence. Igave a start. On each side of the arch, two naked people, a man and a woman, were observingme like motionless guardians. A shiver ran down my spine before I understood what wasbefore me. They were life size statues placed facing each other. They were so perfectly madethat I thought they were copies of Hellenic originals. The chest of the warrior, so high andsmooth and strong as armour, conveyed to me a message of irresistible pride. I stood up andstraightened my back as if responding to a military order.I instinctively ignored the steep peperino stairway that led to the Dreamer’s rooms and,without hesitation, took the opposite direction, towards a large door made of glass andwrought iron of an unusual shape. Beside it, a large painting covered the entire wall. Istopped to examine it. I recognised an opulent representation of the myth of Narcissus,depicting him as he admired his reflection in a pond, shortly before being swallowed into it.I gazed admiringly and at length at this work which would not have been out of place amongthe seventeenth century masterpieces of an important museum collection. Then I carefullypushed the glass door open and stopped spellbound on the threshold of a fairytale setting.Without taking my eyes off this scene, I bent down to untie my shoelaces and left my shoesthere, where I stood, as I had done on my first visit. I proceeded cautiously in bare feet acrossthe large terracotta tile floor and went into what seemed to be a large greenhouse. The richvariety of plants, for the most part tropical, and the walls consisting of long rows of glassarches, reinforced this impression. Outside, the deep green of the garden laid siege to it andpushed up against the wooden frame like a sea of plants against the sides of an ark. But theelegance of every detail, the works of art, the valuable paintings and the modern sculptures inwhite marble, left me pleasantly perplexed as to the true nature of this extraordinary place.The first light of the morning flooded in from two large skylights. I looked at the huge beamswhich supported the roof and my imagination was captivated by the thought of the titan who34