--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When they happen across an Adventurer…" description: "\"“When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth, where thousands of Mummies occupy the Str..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-fr_1538262.jpg" --- # When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the… ![“When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth, where thousands of Mummies occupy the Streets in attitudes of Living Business, embalm'd with Gold divided so finely it flows like Gum.” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-fr_1538262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-fr_1538262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-fr_1538262.jpg) > ““When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth, where thousands of Mummies occupy the Streets in attitudes of Living Business, embalm'd with Gold divided so finely it flows like Gum.”” [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fantastical underground city of mummies and gold reflects absurdity and hidden wealth beneath civilization. **In simple terms:** A hidden world of riches and decay lies beneath society. Key Takeaway Explore the unseen layers of culture. Themes fantasy decay wealth hidden worlds Mood mysterious critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - archaeology - urban exploration - cultural analysis Key Concepts surrealism social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does the gold represent in modern life? - How do hidden histories shape identity? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure real socioeconomic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Embalm Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embalm-gold-5723025/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Mexico Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mexico-ancient-4390636/) [Mummies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mummies/) [Mummies Occupy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mummies-occupy-5723026/) [Thousands Mummies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousands-mummies-5723024/) ## Related quotes > [“These paintings say Mexico is an ancient thing that will still go on forever telling its own story in slabs of color leaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/these-paintings-say-mexico-is-an-ancient-thing-that-will-still-go-on/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Fine, but if and when the zombies team up with the mummies to take over the world, you can't live in my underground bunker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-cale/fine-but-if-and-when-the-zombies-team-up-with-the-mummies-to-take/) [Emily Cale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-cale/) > [Don't stop there. I suppose there are also, what, vampires and werewolves and zombies?" "Of course there are. Although you mostly find zombies farther…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/don-t-stop-there-i-suppose-there-are-also-what-vampires-and/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The Egyptians had a particularly nasty way of getting rid of people they felt had no consequence. Instead of embalming them, they simply constructed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-brass/the-egyptians-had-a-particularly-nasty-way-of-getting-rid-of-people/) [Perry Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-brass/) > [You want to know how Egyptians pulled the brains out of mummies. or built the pyramids, or cursed King Tut's tomb? My dad's your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/you-want-to-know-how-egyptians-pulled-the-brains-out-of-mummies-or/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Haven't I heard of men more dried up than he is, being brought all the way from Egypt in cases covered with pictures?" "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/haven-t-i-heard-of-men-more-dried-up-than-he-is-being-brought-all-the/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [When I go into a museum and see the mummies wrapped in their linen bandages, I see that the lives of men began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-go-into-a-museum-and-see-the-mummies-wrapped-in-their-linen/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Two hundred and fifty mummies covered in gold. 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As if something trembled below its surface, waiting to burst through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/how-strange-tonight-this-city-as-if-something-trembled-below-its/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“It was one of those great iron afternoons in London: the yellow sun being teased apart by a thoasand chimneys breathing, fawning upward without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/it-was-one-of-those-great-iron-afternoons-in-london-the-yellow-sun/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Surely for as long as there have been nights as bad as this one---something to raise the possibility of another night that could actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/surely-for-as-long-as-there-have-been-nights-as-bad-as-this-one/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Death glided by, shadowless, among the empties on the grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/death-glided-by-shadowless-among-the-empties-on-the-grass/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Out of that night and day of unconditional wrath, folks would've expected to see any city, if it survived, all newly reborn, purified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/out-of-that-night-and-day-of-unconditional-wrath-folks-would-ve/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Oedipa wondered whether, at the end of this (if it were supposed to end), she too might not be left with only compiled memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-wondered-whether-at-the-end-of-this-if-it-were-supposed-to-end/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-they-can-get-you-asking-the-wrong-questions-they-don-t-have-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“remember didn't you sneak away from camp to have a moment alone with What you felt stirring across the land . . . it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-didn-t-you-sneak-away-from-camp-to-have-a-moment-alone-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. And herself in chair, old-fashioned, bonneted, looking west over the deck of Earth, inferno red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/through-rain-then-through-dreaming-glass-green-with-the-evening-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“She knew instinctively: he will be fine as the fraternity boy just out of an Ivy League school who knows he will never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/she-knew-instinctively-he-will-be-fine-as-the-fraternity-boy-just-out/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Lovely morning, World War Two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/lovely-morning-world-war-two/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Listen to anything and take it apart again. Spectrum analysis, in my head. I can break down chords, and timbres, and words too into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/listen-to-anything-and-take-it-apart-again-spectrum-analysis-in-my/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A screaming comes across the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) [Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More Gold quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [A great smile is a wonderful asset, but a good heart is pure gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/a-great-smile-is-a-wonderful-asset-but-a-good-heart-is-pure-gold/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Just as the setting sun turned the clouds to liquid gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/just-as-the-setting-sun-turned-the-clouds-to-liquid-gold/) [Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/) > [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/) [James C. 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So it is absolutely fine to mix gold and silver; you just want it to look like it has purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/all-metallics-are-neutrals-so-it-is-absolutely-fine-to-mix-gold-and/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) > [He gives only the worthless gold who gives from a sense of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/he-gives-only-the-worthless-gold-who-gives-from-a-sense-of-duty/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) [Browse all 3,806 Gold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth, where thousands of Mummies occupy the Streets in attitudes of Living Business, embalm'd with Gold divided so finely it flows like Gum.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Pynchon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-from-mexico-and-the-ancient/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-from-mexico-and-the-ancient/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-fr_1538262.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-fr_1538262.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-fr_1538262.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When they happen across an Adventurer from Mexico, and the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth…” — Thomas Pynchon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Pynchon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When they happen across an Adventurer...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-from-mexico-and-the-ancient/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/when-they-happen-across-an-adventurer-from-mexico-and-the-ancient/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```