Explore "The Rejected Sorcerer" by Jorge Luis Borges on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
In Santiago there once was a dean who had a consuming desire to learn the art of magic. He heard that Don Illan of Toledo was more versed in it than anyone else, so he set out for Toledo to find him.
The day that he arrived he went directly to Don Illan's house and found him reading a book in a room set apart from his home. The latter received him with good will and bade him put aside the motive of his visit until after eating. He showed him to pleasant quarters and told him that he was very pleased by his arrival. After the meal, the dean disclosed to him the reason for his visit and requested that he instruct him in the science of magic. Don Illan told him he had divined that he was a dean, a man of good position and good fortune, but that he feared that afterward he would be forgotten by him. The dean gave his promise and his assurance that he would never forget the favor, and that he would be always at his service.