35: Most of the Greek scientific works were known to our mediaeval forefathers in Latin translations from Arabic translations, instead of in versions taken directly from the [Greek. We know Ptolemy’s] great astronomical work not by its original name of [ ], but by its Arabic name of “Almagest”.
![THE GREY MOUSER
I
Soft sandaled feet press lightly on the stones
That cobble Lankhmar's mazy alleyways;
A greyish cloak melts in the river mist
That, like the ether of the alchemist,
Fumes round the corner from the nighted bays
To chill with sorcery men's blood and bones.
Only a bat whose sharp ears caught one sound
Knows that the Mouser is on business bound.
A jewel from Quarmall or a girl from Kled;
A caravel said to be docking soon;
A rune that Sheelba magicked from the dead;
Or a dread whisper from beyond the moon--
What man can name the thing that Mouser seeks
Or read the smile that links his swarthy cheeks?
II
The City thrusts black towers at the stars
And bars the forest back with morticed stones
And seals the scent of flowers in stone jars
And locks earth's secrets up in brass-clasped tomes.
No satyr may live there, no faun survive
The stench and clangor of each crowded street;
The white-fanged beasts of night cannot contrive
To gnaw an entrance through its black concrete.
Yet, 'mongst the gargoyles on its slated roofs,
One grey masked face leers down with living grin
THat mocks the scurry of the city's floor;
Two grey gloved hands pry ope[n] the library's door,
ANd break the ponderous tomes and scribble in
Footnotes that give the lie to all proud proofs.
-- Fritz Leiber, Jr.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:utdci2ewhpqzfl6uukt4kdkc/bafkreidzid6uj3gpxbvigyyprzvvbcmczry53rbnhjldqnbafk3ngy2gmy)
