IbisOui, j’irai dans l’ombre terreuse. |
IbisJa, ik zal het grondige duister betreden. |
|
IbisYes, I will go into the earthly dark. Ibis = Bird (Threskiornis aethiopicus;
or Sacred African Ibis), a link to Toth, the
ibis-headed god of writing and wisdom, who also records the
judgement of the dead. This god is already mentioned by
Apollinaire in the Orpheus
note, where he is identified with 'Hermes Trismegistus'.
In Latin the last line reads in two ways: "Ibis,
bird of the Nile" and as "You will go, bird of the Nile".
There might also be an echo of the schoolbook oracle: "Ibis
redibis nunquam per bella peribis". Ibis (=
you will go, and never return), lethal Latin. |
