The visitor then informed his hosts of his desire to leave the City at dawn on the third day. Everyone began to observe this man whose presence they had become accustomed to. The visitor’s word was that he would leave the city at dawn on the third day. No one would think of objecting.
WIVIWIC:
EN: time
FR: temps
ZH: 时间 (shíjiān)
JA: 時間 (jikan)
IT: tempo
DE: Zeit
ES: tiempo
RU: вре́мя (vrémya)
EO: tempo
BASICS
- date
- calendar
- day (2)
- hour
- minute
- second
- moment
- after
- before
- early
- delay
- late
- now
- punctual
- soon
- wait
- month
- present
- future
- past
- season
- autumn
- spring
- summer
- winter
- start
- change
- become
- finish
- when (3)
- year
DERIVATIVES
MORE
He was immediately shown to a magnificent jade palace raised on a mound of the rarest cedars, olives and almonds. He was invited to relax for as long as he wished, lulled by the refined scents and celestial sounds.
WIVIWIC:However, during a stopover, the “visitor”, as he was already known, was taken to task by a powerful, stern-looking figure. It was whispered that the God of war was irritated by this foreign presence, calling it heretical and scheming. “Tell me, stranger, the god began bluntly, what madness has brought you to these parts? How can you justify the risks you have incurred to gain access, and those you will have to face on your next return?”
WIVIWIC:“To learn, said the other, a little taken aback, but learning what?!” “I’ve come to learn how to learn” continued the visitor, his heart growing ever lighter. The God of war, with his powerful torso, ready for all kinds of combat, found this one to be of a very mediocre sort.
WIVIWIC:He therefore decided to let this guest continue his senseless quest, since he had come such a long way to conduct it. He did, however, point out that a predecessor of his had sinned yesterday by seizing a fire which had led to him being chained to the Caucasus mountains. If it was human destiny to repeat that mistake, then so be it.
WIVIWIC:The visitor seemed troubled by this warning. He seemed different after this interview, as if the veiled threat of his powerful interlocutor had sounded the early hour of a reminder. Leaving his promontory ever earlier, and the sweets that always flowed there in great numbers, the man devoted himself with scrupulous diligence to consulting all those who would welcome him into their activities.
WIVIWIC:The story goes that one evening, a visitor arrived at the City of the Gods. A thousand lights shone on his arrival, mother-of-pearl stars woven into the imposing walls. The journey was reputed to be so long and so perilous that the newcomer was feted with a display of friendliness and enthusiasm.
WIVIWIC:And so the weeks and months went by, though it was difficult to keep track of time here. The man gleaned a wealth of disparate information, insignificant details, scattered knowledge. Here, as everywhere else, great divisions reigned. Everyone was attached to their own knowledge, culture, power and language, and made it a point of honor to share them only in exceptional circumstances. Here, as elsewhere, for the frog at the bottom of the well, the sky was the limit.
WIVIWIC:Everyone was amused by the candor and naivety of such questioning, as well as by the nature of the useless correspondences this man was establishing between beings, words and things. From the manufacture of chamfers to that of the finest lace, from knowledge of the lunar calendar to the practice of the bouzkashi, from the use of the clepsydra to that of the koto, not one aspect of this abundance seemed to escape his collection.
WIVIWIC: