THE BOOK OF GLEANINGS
Being writings from Various Old Culdee books

which were partially destroyed in Ancient Times

Chapter 1 - MAYA AND LILA
Chapter 2 - ELOMA
Chapter 3 - THE FLOOD OF ATUMA
Chapter 4 - THE DELUGE
Chapter 5 - THE BIRTH OF HURMANETAR
Chapter 6 - THE COMPANIONSHIP OF YADOL
Chapter 7 - THE DEATH OF YADOL
Chapter 8 - HURMANETAR JOURNEYS TO THE NETHERWORLD
Chapter 9 - ASARUA
Chapter 10 - THE DEATH OF HURMANETAR
Chapter 11 - THE TEACHINGS OF YOSIRA
Chapter 12 - THE RULE OF YOSIRA
Chapter 13 - THE WAY OF YOSIRA
Chapter 14 - THE TRIBULATIONS OF YOSIRA
Chapter 15 - THE VOICE OF God
Chapter 16 - THE SPIRIT OF God
Chapter 17 - THE SONG OF THE SOUL

CHAPTER ONE
MAYA AND LILA

This was formerly called The Book of Conception and said to be The First Book of the Bronzebook. It concerns man's conception of The True God in olden days, during the struggle back towards the light.

Once all men were dark and hairy and in those days woman was tempted by the strength and wildness of the beast which dwelt in the forest, and the race of man was defiled again.

Therefore, the Spirit of God was wrathful against woman, for hers was the responsibility to reject the beast within and without, that she might bring forth children of the light to walk in the light; for in man there is beast and God, and the God walks in light and the beast walks in darkness.

Now, because of the wickedness that was done, there are among men those who are the Children of the Beast, and they are a different people. The race of man alone was punished, for the beast acted according to its nature. In man the beast and God strive to decide whether he shall take his place among the Gods that live or the beasts that die, and woman, in her weakness, betrayed him to the beast.

Men struggle daily with the beast and wrest their living from the soil, their day being encompassed with strife and toil. So women bring forth children with suffering, and because they are frail their husbands rule over them. Man is conceived in the womb of woman and she brings him forth to life. Therefore, when God raised man up from among the beasts, choosing him as His heir and endowing him with an immortal spirit, He placed a veil over the portals of life. This, that woman should not forget she is unlike all other living creatures and the trustee of a divine mission. For a woman not only gives life to a mortal being, she also bears a spark of divinity to Earth, and there can be no greater responsibility.

The eye that sees earthly things is deceitful, but the eye that sees spiritual things is true. Then, because of the things that happened, the Great Eye that saw Truth was closed and henceforth man walked in falsity. Unable to perceive Truth he saw only that which deceived him, and so it shall be until his awakening.

Not knowing God, man worshipped Earth who mothered him and supplied his needs. God was not displeased, for such is the nature of children; but when no longer children they must put aside childish things. Nor, having blinded them, was He wrathful that they could not see, for God is, above all else understanding. The face of a good father is stern and his ways are hard, for fatherly duty is no light burden, but his heart is ruled by compassion. His children walk in Truth and uprightness, their feet do not wander, nor are they willful and wayward.

Man is born of mud, sun and Spirit. In the days of conception the Spirit of God impregnated the receptive Earth, and she brought forth her children. Then came man who walked like a little child, but God took him in hand and taught him to walk in the uprightness of God.

A race of men came out of the cold northlands. They were under a wise father and above them was The Grand Company which later withdrew in disgust. This race was The Children of God; they knew Truth and lived in the midst of peace and plenty. The Children of Men about them were wild and savage; clothed in the skins of beasts they lived like beasts. Even more wild were the Men of Zumat who lived beyond them. Among the Children of God woman had equality with man, for her counsels were known to be wise. She heard with understanding and her speech was considered; in those days her words were weighed, for then her tongue did not rattle in her head like seed in a dried pod.

Woman knew that though man could subdue her with his strength, he was weak in his desire for her. In his weakness lay her power and in those days it was used wisely, it was the foundation of people. The race was good, but because of its goodness it was destined to be smitten, for only the good vessel is worthy of the fire. It is burnt, that its shape may be set and its design endure. This path of peace is not the path of progress.

The people were not governed by princes or by statutes, but wise men sat in council. They had only a code of conduct and moral tradition binding each one to the others in symmetrical web of life. Those who transgressed the code and tradition were deemed to be unworthy of life among the people and were banished into exile.

Among The Children of Men woman was a chattel. She was subject to man, an object for the satisfaction of his lust and the servant to supply his needs. He subdued her and kept her in servitude, for her betrayal of man was known even among them, and it was never forgotten, nor could it be forgiven.

The Children of God valued woman highly and protected her from crudeness and cruelty, and her standing was such that she was awarded only to the most worthy of men. They held her in respect, for to them she was the fountain of life within their race, the designer of its future. Yet even so they had to restrict her, for she was inclined to be willful and unheeding of her responsibility.

The people flourished and, from generation to generation, grew in stature and comeliness. They were the rising tidewaters of mankind surging towards its destiny. The right of a man to mate was decided according to his standard of thought, his uprightness, the manner in which he upheld the code and tradition and his dealings with man and woman. The fittest men could choose a mate among all woman, but lesser men could seek only among the less desirable, according to a known standard. To some, having only the outward appearance of men, no mate was given, while the noblest men could take additional ones from among the ranks of lesser women. Thus, the race ever tended to improve, to accord with its design.

The council of the people knew well the strength of man's desire for woman. The force of the urge was not wasted, for their forbears had harnessed it to the vehicle which carried their race to greatness above others. The race which could properly channel the forces contained within itself was ready to control the forces beyond itself. The greatest forces man can harness to his benefit are those lying within himself, but the underlying strength of the people lay in the morality of its women, for this was the strength that governed, because it was the safe guard for something of value. Men strive for gold, and value it because it is something not easily attained. If gold would be gathered by the handful, men would scorn it, its power is in its scarcity.

Then it happened that one man became arrogant in the strength of his manhood and pride of place, his thoughts inclined towards himself rather than towards the welfare of the people. He scorned the old ways, declaring the code and tradition an unnecessary burden laid on the backs of men. He said,

"Why should we carry the burden of things which have come down to us from our fathers? How do we know they walked with wisdom? How can we say that what was good for them is good for us?"

Because of his unruly speech and wayward ways, the council banished him for a time and had he remained apart, his heart would have been humbled in wisdom. But among The Children of God there was a woman, one of the most desirable and fair, who interceded for him so he might return to dwell among them, it being in their code that the wayward could always regain their place.

The woman sought him out in the wilderness and, coming upon him, said,

"Though, because of my heart, you appear to me as the finest of men, in the eyes of the elders you are unworthy to claim me. Therefore, I have spoken for you; now come, go before them yourself and say the wilderness has changed your ways. By so doing you will find favour with the council and, perchance, I may become your mate. The strength and courage I admire place you high in the regard of men and in favour with the elders, but your wayward and inconsiderate spirit is unworthy of your body. Though you find favour in the eyes of the young and foolish women who see only the outwardness of your body and thereby become more foolish, the eyes of the wise women see your naked spirit and are not deceived. Therefore, disregard the glances of foolish maidens and carry yourself well. Act in such manner that you find favour in the sight of the wise women".

And, said she,

"Am I not Maya, the most desirable of women, one whom all men seek? Yet will I remain reserved only for you, therefore be not unworthy of me".

The man came out of the wilderness and wastelands. He went before the council of wise women and said,

"What must I do that I may have this woman for a mate? For I desire her above all things, even above my own life. For her I will become the most worthy of men among the people, her standard being high I may not possess her otherwise".

The wise women answered him, saying, "For so long shall you conduct yourself in this manner", and they set him a time and a task. That it should be well, the task was to be done with heart as well as deed, but the man accepted it gladly, his heart not in that day but in the days to come. The council and the elders said, "what the wise women have done is good, it will be well and to the people's benefit".

The man rose manfully to the task and was magnificent in his manhood, his new ways gladdening the hearts of all the maidens, many of whom were disturbed by strange stirrings within their breasts. Among these was one less comely and desirable whose heart burned hotly for him, her thoughts resting upon him continually; but she knew that in his sights she was of little account. Here name was Lila.

It happened that, arising early one day, she saw the man depart into the forest by the swampland, going about his task, and she took counsel with herself and followed him. She came upon the man while he rested in a place of solitude and approaching spoke softly, saying

"It is your servant Lila. O my Lord, are you not weary with the task burdening your days, also that you lack companionable gladness to lighten it? Where is she who set the load upon your strong back? Where is my kinswoman who, without doubt, is more comely and very much more desirable than I and therefore a very fitting reward for your heavy labours? Does she rest in the shade or is she gathering fruit back in the gardens?

 

Without doubt her thoughts are with you, but is she not unduly hardhearted in that she fails to comfort you, for is it not in the nature of woman to come to man and lighten his burden with her softness? Is it not in the nature of woman to be yielding and submissive, that man may rejoice in his strength? Is it, perhaps, that despite her loveliness the heart of this woman of your desire is not the heart of a woman? Is it like the mock orange, sweet to look at but bitter to bite?

 

"Or is her heart in the keeping of the elders, that she prefers the ways of the old to the ways of the young? What has she done to you, has she not humiliated your manliness by harnessing it like an ox to the customs of the people? Can it be right that the decrees of old men long dead should come between living man and woman? Is it not more fitting that the customs of men submit to the law of Her who gave us our natures? This desirable woman is yours, providing you toil and wait. She is yours, but not without conditions. She does not come without reservations as a woman should, but like a man who comes to an ass bridle in hand.

 

Alas, that I lack the loveliness which places the yoke upon you, but beneath I lack nothing and am as much a woman as any. My heart burns for you with a flame that comes nigh to consuming my body. Take me, accept my humble offering. I give all freely, I will be yours without any conditions. O my Lord, which of us women truly offers the most? She who concedes nothing, or I who will even be accursed by God and men for your sake? I who am nothing in your sight require no sacrifice from you on my behalf. I ask nothing and I offer all a woman can".

Then Lila knelt at the feet of the man and placed her head on his knee.

The man was sorely troubled in his body and he wrestled with it, but his spirit brought before his eyes the vision of the more desirable maiden, and he was strengthened. He arose and said, "Begone and tempt me no more!"

Then Lila departed and went her way, but within herself she brooded and in the course of days her thoughts hatched a dark scheme. She mixed a forbidden potion from herbs and, putting it into a pitcher of water with honey, took it to the man as he toiled in the heat of the declining day. Seeing her, the man said, "Wherefore have you come again?" And she answered him, saying "My Lord, your servant brings a much lesser offering, one you need not fear as you did the greater one, a humble gift of refreshment". The day being hot and the toil arduous, the gift was not unwelcome. The man drank heavily from the pitcher and because of the potion his spirit slept while the beast entered his body in strength.

When the fire of his passion was quenched by the waters of lust, his spirit returned and he reviled the woman, saying, "What have you wrought? Would you destroy me in this manner?" The woman replied, "The deed is yours, my Lord, for you are a man and I am a woman". Then the man became afraid, for he knew the code and custom. He became angry after the manner of frightened men and shouted, "Begone from my sight, you viper, lest I crush you!"

Lila answered quietly,

"My Lord, why be wrathful or afraid without cause? For this thing shall be a secret between us, none will ever know of it. Behold, my Lord, are you not free again and the yoke removed from your neck? Now you may know the joys a woman can give, without submitting to the task; therefore, take your ease, for life is good to you".

The words of the woman were not sweet to the ears of the man, for he was filled with remorse for what had been done. He said,

"You are not the maiden of my tender desires, in whom my heart delighted and for whom I gladly undertook the task. What now of her whose beauty compares with the glory of the sun, whose gentleness caresses as the sunbeam, beside whose brightness you are no more than a gloomy shadow?"

Lila replied,

"She is indeed as the sun, you may worship from afar but never touch lest you be burnt and destroyed".

"I am the woman of your body whom your flesh has chosen. What has this other woman done for you? Did she not sharpen the sword on which you cut yourself? If one lights a fire among reeds, knowing a man sleeps there, who is to blame for his burning? The fire, he who lit it or the reeds? It is beneath your manliness to turn on me thus, am I not shamed for your sake? And who among women would invite the wrath of Gods and men as I have done? Be content with the wrong your lust has already wrought. This is an evil deed you have committed, but because we are now united in the flesh no harm shall befall you through me".

Thenceforth, among the people they went their separate ways, but flesh called to flesh, bringing them furtively together in secret places. Each dwelt with the reproachful whispers of their spirit, and each walked in the shadow of fear because of the code and tradition.

Now, the elders were not without shrewdness and they saw that the man was no longer diligent in the task and had returned to his former ways. Also he avoided the eyes of Maya and was no longer reserved with women, having sampled forbidden fruit he now sought other varieties. He was not a man with an end in view towards which he strove, his bearing was not that of a free man. The glances between the man and the woman, and their uneasiness, were not difficult to interpret.

The elders and wise women said among themselves,

"Such is the manner of those carrying a burden in their hearts, whose shadowy love is a feeble furtive thing blooming shamefully in dark and hidden places".

Therefore, they set a watch on the pair. The watch came upon them as they lay together in nakedness upon their skins and mocked them with ribaldry, for their passion was profane and a thing for jest. It was a fungus upon the tree of love.

They were brought before the high council, which was the council of elders, and the council of wise women, which questioned them, saying, "Wherefore have you done evil unto us?" The man answered, "The woman put my spirit to sleep with an evil brew, and my body became weak because of my manhood". They replied, "Truly you have little manhood now and are a lesser man because of this woman".

The woman stood up before the high council and answered them boldly,

"Am I then the stronger of the two? Can I lift the biggest stone or run the fastest race? Do not the strong always prevail against the weak, and is not this man the strongest among men? Is this even a matter for your concern? For in what way have we caused harm to any but ourselves? Shall we be punished for that which concerns us two alone and wrongs no other?"

The high council replied,

"The deeds of any person affecting the lives of others are the concern of others. Though it were done in secret between yourselves, were not the effects displayed in your eyes for all to see? Does the man serve the people better because of this thing, or does he serve them less well? Has something been added to the people, or has something been taken away? Have not the people lost?"

 

"Therefore, is not that which you did the concern of the people and not of yourselves alone? The deed of itself was not wrong, except in the manner of its accomplishment. A woman who places no value on herself steals something from all women, for they are then less valued in the eyes of men. Would men value gold were it gathered by the wayside? Above all this, what of God-given love? Have you elevated or degraded its means of expression among men and women? Among people who value gold above all else, he who debases or adulterates it commits a wrong against them. Here, where love is valued above all else and woman honoured as its custodian, those who debase it are regarded likewise".

"We dwell in a pleasant place, amid peace and plenty, an inheritance from our fathers. The Children of Men have inherited the wastelands. Are our fathers less wise than theirs, that the customs of our fathers should be spurned? What you have done relates to your two selves and by your two selves shall your punishment be carried out. This is not a punishment for any wrong done to us, for we are old and it affects us little. We punish because we have a duty to the young, to the unborn of our race. We have an even greater duty to the hallowed things which inspire mankind and enthrone man above the beasts".

"Your wrongdoing affects no one man or woman, yet it affects all men and women, and if left unheeded would not be without effect on children yet unborn. The code and tradition is the pillar of our people, and the pillar may not be struck with impunity. Though it be strong and one blow will not damage it, many blows will bring down even the stoutest pillar. A blow left unheeded encourages another. A deed disregarded is a deed encouraged".

"A people can be judged by the things it punishes and the things it permits. The swine revels in filth and therefore attacks anyone who enters his pen. Were we wholly of the Earth, we need only protect earthly things".

"Thus we banish you for ever from among us, unless in your old age you are permitted, in mercy, to return".

In this manner were the man and woman banished from the tilled land to wander the wilderness beyond. They dwelt in a cavern in the wasteland, against the outer border of the tilled land, and they ate weeds and wild creatures. There they were in a place defended from hostile men and made safe from ambushes. In the first days of their banishment the man was wrathful against the woman and spoke to her spitefully, saying,

"Like a lamp that gives no light you are a woman without womanly virtue, no longer deserving of the honoured treatment accorded women of our race. You spoke truly when you said that I am strong and you are weak. So be it, henceforth your weakness shall be my strength; no longer will the weakness of man be the strength of woman and the backbone of a people clinging to things without substance. Henceforth, I am obligated to no one and owe a duty to none but myself. Man is weak only in his desire for woman, but the weakness of woman shall henceforth assure satisfaction of the desire".

So the man subdued the woman after the fashion of The Children of Men; she was the wife who ministered unto him, saying "My Lord, I am but a woman and your handmaiden".

The beast of the wastelands were the keepers of the woman and she was in bondage to the barrenland, for the wilderness was beyond reach of the waters, a place of desolation yielding only weeds and thorns. The man hunted afield for wild creatures while the woman delved for roots, seeking sustenance among the weeds.

Thus it happened that one day, being overcome with hunger, the woman went among the reeds growing on the edge of the tilled land, for flowering plants grew there, the roots of which could be eaten. While engaged in gathering she was seen by a husbandman tilling the fields, who, coming upon her stealthily, said, "Woman I see you, are you not the one who was banished? If so the custom decrees you will have to die, for it is forbidden to re-enter the fertile land, having been cast out".

Then the woman, being still in the water, loosened her girdle and, letting down her hair, said,

"honoured I may no longer be, perhaps die I must, but am I not still a woman while I live? If you see me otherwise than as a woman who can please a man by the ways of women, then I say you cannot be a man. Yes, I am the woman your brother seduced, the frail victim of his lust. Perhaps it is better that I die quickly by your hand than starve slowly in the wasteland. Death can hurt me no more than life which has revealed me to the evil of men. Let me die now for the wrongdoing of your brother".

So saying she came out of the water.

The husbandman did not slay, but instead he dallied with her until the evening. The woman said, ere he departed,

"This shall be a secret between us, for there is none other nearby to see us here. Give me food, that my flesh may be firm and my heart gladdened, that I may come often to this place".

Thus, in the days that followed the woman went many times to the waters and in other places where there were other men. Therefore, she no longer had to delve for roots, nor did she toil in the wilderness.

Then The Children of God banished other men into the wastelands because of the woman, and the man, seeing how this came about, said, "Is my affliction because of you never to end?" The woman answered,

"My Lord, this thing I did for your sake; see these others, are they not outcasts in the wilderness, men without a chief to rule over them or a hand to guide? Gather them together, that they may hunt for you and serve you, rule over them and become powerful. What I have done I have done for you alone. To your strength will be added their strength, and the loss of the people in fertile lands will thus become your gain. What is there that strength cannon obtain? If your desire is for other women, will not strength obtain them? Therefore, revile me not, because I have now placed in your hands the means to that which you desire".

"Now I say to you, and speak truly of things only a woman can know, that you are a better man than those who live bound to the tilled lands, whose women secretly despise them for their servility to the code and tradition".

The man was stirred up by these words and went out and about to the others, approaching them, saying,

"Behold, we have been cast out because we have followed the ways of men according to the nature of men. Our manhood is good within us, let it therefore assert itself so our strength may be greater".

So it came about that the men who were outcasts entered the fertile tilled land stealthily at night time, burning the houses and overthrowing the water towers, saying, "Let this land rejoin the wilderness".

They slew menfolk and carried the women and children away. They stole sheep, goats and cattle. Then they withdrew to the fastnesses of the wastelands. There they built an encampment and fortified it about with walls and ditches, and they made war upon The Children of Men and prevailed against them. They ruled their women sternly and made them chattels, buying and selling them like cattle. When man said "Come", the woman came, and when he said "Go", she went. On her yielding back and on her submissive head he dissipated his wrath, on her servile body he satisfied his lust.

Lila was a true daughter of the woman who betrayed the first race of men. It is written of her that when her sons grew to manhood, she caused then to kill and eat their father, so they might gain lifelong strength and wisdom.

Man kept woman in bondage, for he knew from his own knowledge of her ways that she was not to be trusted. Henceforth, she could not walk freely among men, for they knew that though woman was weak and man strong, by womanly guile she could exploit his weakness. Among the outcast people and The Children of Men woman was subject to man, and he imposed his will upon her and dominated her.

In this manner woman wrought her own downfall and the destruction of those who held her in high regard. Her charms she cast at the feet of those who trampled them underfoot. Woman was not yet fitted to be the free guardian of the portals of life. She was never wise enough to choose the fathers of the race, for she was ruled by womanly waywardness, not by wisdom.

CHAPTER TWO
ELOMA

It came about that the sons of The Children of God mated with the daughters of The Children Men, who knew well the ways of men and were not reserved. The covenant had been broken and strange women were taken into the households, some even as wives, but though the daughters were lesser women, the sons were wonderfully big and mighty fighting men.

These new people came out of the wastelands and crossed to Kithermis, which they divided in three parts between them, and there were rivers on the boundaries. This was when the years of man's life were lessened because he became fully Earth-sustained, but he remained full of vigour though filled with hostility, particularly towards those who loved.

To the East was the land of Ubal which was mountainous and the Ubalites were herdsmen. Westward was the land of Chaisen and it joined Ubak on the North. Southward were the land of Utoh and the land of Kayman, whose peoples dwelt on the plains and tilled the soil. Some from the households of The Children of God went into the land of Chaisen and gave the people laws and taught them to build with brick. Netar and Baletsheramam, the sons of Enanari, taught them writing and set their letters on a pillar in Herak. Enkilgal, son of Nenduka, built Keridor which stands between two rivers.

Then came the lengthening of the years, when the time of sowing was confused and seed died in the ground. In those days, Enos came up out of Chaisen and spoke for the God of The Children of Men. In those days, there were many having the blood of The Children of God who inclined their ears towards his words, for they thought the Great God of their fathers had abandoned them. Therefore, the enlightening word of God came to Eloma.

Eloma, daughter of Kahema, heard the voice of God and was carried into the wilderness unto a place where there was a cave and clear running waters, and she dwelt there for seven years. Eloma had three sons and they all heard the voice of God and walked with Him. Her firstborn son was Haryanah and he carried the word of God to the Children of God who dwelt in the Northlands, for they had forgotten His Ways. He married Didi, daughter of a great king and became an even greater king; he had many sons who all became kings among men of renown. Yahama, her secondborn son, carried the word of God to those who dwelt towards the sunrising, and Manum, her thirdborn son, carried it to those towards sunsetting.

When the ear of the Spirit was opened in Eloma, she returned to her people and became The Interpreter of God. In the days when some men left to dwell among The Children of Men, others came to Eloma and said,

"Behold, men leave and we become weak, while The Children of Men become strong. Can this be the will of our Father?"

Then Eloma called upon God and He heard her cry and said unto her,

"Let your spirit be at peace, for things happen as they will; it is the grain being winnowed from the chaff. It is always easier for men to follow the ways of the flesh than the ways of the spirit, yet the deeper man descends into the vale of earthly things, the harder the climb out to the heights of glory. A generation to go down, ten generations to rise again. Man must struggle or degenerate, but the path of pleasure is pleasant, while the path of progress is beset with pain and strife".

God said to Eloma, His servant,

"Behold, I have been good to My children, they have been given everything that is pleasant, everything has come easily to their hand. The lot of The Children of Men is more harsh and yet they prosper. Childish things are expected from a child, but when it grows up more is anticipated, yet still My children come to me as children".

God then said, "Go, return to the place from whence you came and remain there for seven years" and she did so. The seven years passed and Eloma returned to the people and, behold, the fertile fields were unsown, the water channels were dry and there was desolation in the midst of the waters. Eloma sought among the fields and when she came upon the habitations her heart was rent apart. For she saw the daughters of The Children of God consorted with the sons of The Children of Men and were become unlike true women.

Then Eloma said to them, "Wherefore has this thing come about?" And they answered, "Behold, men came from out of the wilderness and our men were like sheep before wolves; see, even now they labour within a pen of servitude". Eloma then went unto the men and said, "Wherefore has this thing come about?" and they answered her, "Behold, the God of The Children of Men is, unlike ours, a God of battles and we were delivered into their hands".

Then Eloma was heavy of heart and called upon God, saying, "Behold the plight of Your children" and God heard her and answered,

"I am not indifferent, for their sufferings are My sufferings. They are not under the whips of men but under the flail of God, the grain is being separated from the chaff. They toil not under the blows of men but under the hammer of God, they are not imprisoned but are upon an anvil. I am not the God of battles, not the God of nations, not even the God of men. I am the God of Souls, The Keeper of the Treasures of Eternity. I have not turned away from My children, My children have turned away from Me, disobeying my laws. This cry will echo down through the generations of man: "My God, why have You deserted me?" And it will come from those who have deserted their God".

"Arise, go seek among the people and you will find a maiden who is pure at heart, but she is mocked and degraded by being made a swine attendant. Take her with you and go to Shinara, guard her well, for she is the daughter of a new dawning".

Eloma sought among the people and found Nanua, Maid of the Morning, and they went into Shinara.

The Voice of God came to Eloma in Shinara, saying,

"This is the way things shall be with those who aspire to Godhood. They must follow only the paths which I have shown through the words of My interpreters. The unfolding spirit residing in those who have the blood of The Children of God and the greatness that dwells in men shall be magnified in the blood of their children. Their wisdom shall be greatly multiplied, if the tie of blood be strong. As good wine become bad if diluted overmuch, so is greatness in the blood of man. There is a virtue in the blood of those whose forbears were The Children of God, and if two people having this blood marry, then this virtue is increased in their children, so it is greater than either parent. There is a law of inheritance from which no man is exempt, for man is governed by the laws of earthly creatures as well as by greater laws. Is not the best ram chosen to sire the new flock? So let women choose the best among men that they can and let men choose the best among women, and they who heed My words will know which is the best. Let the truly great ones rule".

God said,

"The creative words remain on this side of the veil, but their echoes resound on your side. The real remains here, but its reflection is there; creation is My mirror, though it is not without distortions. I have created in spirit and in matter, My thoughts have ranged from the unseeable smallest to the incomprehensible largest. My greatest thoughts formed substance for the spirits of the sons and daughters of Earth".

"Truth and justice, perfection of beauty and goodness remain with Me, and these you can know on Earth only by their reflection. In the universe of Truth all things are free from illusion and are seen in reality, but on Earth even the reflection is distorted. I have crated light and called it substance; it is illuminated within by the light of an ever present love potential".

"Men call on many Gods, though above all there is but One; yet whatever they call Me I will hear them, for I am The God Above Names, The God Embracing All Names. Whatever men believe, if it serves Good it serves God. But gold necklaces are not for sheep and outward forms of worship must suffice for the spiritually undeveloped. The rituals of men may often be empty ceremonials, but they may also guard the Great Mysteries behind them".

"If a man seeks to enter My presence by prayer and says, "God grant me this or give me that", the thing will be neither granted no given, unless it be for his spiritual good or benefit another. I am no huxter bargaining blessings in exchange for worship, nothing man can give can add to what I have. Also me do Me little honour when they fail to recognize that I am above concern for mere bodies which decay and fall apart when the enlivening spirit leaves them. Yet man is but man, know that I am a God of understanding and compassion. If man cries out to Me, in genuine stress and suffering, he will not go unrelieved and uncomforted. Yet understand that suffering and sorrow are the lot of man, that he may become ManGod. There is also the Great Law to which man must conform; there are intricacies of enidvadew to be unwoven and the challenging paths of destiny and fate to be followed. Too often the price to paid for things done or not done is pain and suffering, sorrow and distress, but where would be the benefit to the debtor were I to wipe out such debts? Yet will I see that never, be even a single grain, will they exceed that which is absolutely necessary and just. On earth, joy and gladness will always outweigh pain and sorrow".

"Earth is Earth, take it as you find it, do not expect to find heavenly things there. It is a place of tuition and the purpose of life is learning. All things of Earth are limited and mortal, immortality will not be found there. When the things of Earth have fulfilled their hidden purposes, each passes away, returning to the dust from whence it came".

"Behold, in the days to come Truth shall be unfolded to all peoples, revealed in a degree and manner which will accord with their needs and capabilities. It will be passed on from generation to generation and from man to man. The purity of its flame will accord with the quality of the oil of spirituality with which it is fed and replenished; hence there will be many differing degrees of purity and revelation. The food which one man enjoys may sit heavily on the stomach of another, yet it would be foolish to say that the food enjoyed by one should become the food of all. So it is with the spiritual things which men believe".

"I will not send prophets, nor will I appoint spokesmen, but such will arise through their own efforts and enter into conscious union with Me. They will point the way, which will be followed by the spiritually sturdy, but others less strong in spirit must take a slower path, and many will advance only by faith and service, by justice and kindliness towards others".

"The spark of divinity in man generates inspiring dreams which will ever lure him onward and upward, yet the road is long, the journey wearing and often unpleasant. Man has unnecessarily encumbered himself, he has enshrouded his spirit under a winding sheet of earthly passions. With his Great Eye blinded by indulgence in vice and his spirit corroded by corruption, his fallible senses only are left to him, and these deceive him into believing the mortal vehicle is his total being. Affliction and decay are now the lot of man and he has passed into a long, dark night of ignorance. Now only by journeying the long and painful road of earthly experience can his soul be cleansed and awakened to the realization of the glory within him".

"Man may conceive Me as he will and it will be well. I am not a God of pettishness. As I brought forth the creation, so shall he bring forth the revelation of his God. Unto you, Eloma My child, I grant the keys of Communion and Union".

Then Eloma went out among the people and taught them about their Creator in this manner,

"I bring you the soul-whispered words of God, The Eternal Tower of Strength, The Fathomless Ocean of Compassion. He has hung the Earth in the void, surrounding it with nothingness, yet by His power it remains in its appointed place. He veils His glory behind the shield of illusion, lest it overpower the spirits of men. He is obscured by the dark cloud of mortal ignorance. He is the inspirational spirit ever entering the hearts of man, striving to arouse them to reach out towards greatness and achievement".

"He has moulded the sky above us and bedecked it with splendour and awesome beauty. He taught the stars their song of joy and the winds their wondrous music. All the widespread Earth proclaim His creativity, while the high vaults reveal His skill and handiwork. His messages go out to men, not in the speech of men but in wordless whispers to their hearts. His finger prescribes a course for the fertilizing waters which nourish the desolate sands, making tender buds burst forth from the dead soil. The soft waters caress the ground and pastures arise to become the habitations of great flocks and herds".

"The rose unfolds its beauty to honour Him and the woodbine delights Him with perfume delivered upon the wind. The cornfields bow in humility, then the wheatstalks raise upwards in praise. The trees spread wide their worshipping branches and the barleyheads whisper together of His sungiven bounty. He is the Fountainhead of All Life, the Overseer of the Fertilising Waters and the Captain of the Stars".

"Men stand beneath the great dome of the nightskies and are overawed by the work of their architect and by the bright mysteries displayed in such a pattern of beauty. They become dismayed at their own smallness, but are reassured by His words which have come down to them from ancient times".

"God has crowned man with life and set the scepter of intellect in his hand. He has given him the flail of mastery over all other living creatures and set him on the throne of creation. He disciplines us when young and stretches out a welcoming hand when we near the end of life's journey. He accompanies men on their pilgrimage along the road of life, mitigating their misfortunes and rejoicing with them in its pleasant surprises. He balances the lives of all men, so they continually encounter conditions and situations meet for them".

"The widespread, mysterious Heavens are His throne and bountiful Earth His footstool; no structure man could build would contain Him. Did He need a residence, no place built by the hands of man could compare with that which His hands could erect. There is nothing on Earth that man can give God which could add to God's glory or increase what He has. The only acceptable sacrifice man can offer is service to the will of God, and God's will is that man should spiritualise himself and improve the Earth. To offer goods or money as a sacrifice is an insult to God, it is shirking the needful effort, evading the necessary duty and obligation; it is the easy way and not acceptable".

"God is the refuge of the poor and the comforter of the needy. His compassion encompasses men when troubles weigh heavily upon them. Yet tribulation and adversity, sorrow and suffering are not to be thought of as needless burdens imposed upon the difficulties inseparable from earthly life. They are things of value which open the eyes to Truth, tempering the spirit, as iron is tempered in the flame".

Eloma taught many things and she forbade any man to fornicate with unwedded matrons whose silver tongue beguiled and whose winsome ways led men astray. She also decreed that men should not fornicate with any maid or another's wife , for none so doing could call himself an honourable man, and such deeds canker the spirit.

It was Eloma who taught men the wisdom of the stars which journeyed according to their destinies. She taught them to interpret the pattern of each man's life, which is woven from the threads of fate and destiny and interwoven with the many coloured strands of enidvadew. These things were learned and written down by Ishkiga.

CHAPTER THREE
THE FLOOD OF ATUMA

Behold, was this not written in the days of our fathers' fathers and of their fathers before them, and given unto us that we should pass it in to you, the children of days yet unborn? That if the ability of the scribe remains with you it could be read in your generation.

Read, O children of the unborn years, and absorb the wisdom of the past which is your heritage. The enlightening words from a past which is to you, in days so far away and yet in Truth so near.

We are taught that we live forever, and this is true, but it is equally true that no moment of life must be wasted; for each hour and day on Earth is a shaping for the future. We are the inheritors of a portion of time, we can dissipate it on futile things or utilize it to our everlasting benefit. In the days of our fathers, before barren teachings clogged the thoughts of men, and vain, formal ritual built a wall which obscured understanding, men walked in the light of Truth. Then they knew there was One God alone, but because they allowed their higher abilities to fall to disuse, they saw less clearly. Because He appeared in different aspects, they thought He was many.

Now, in our days, God has many varied forms in the eyes of men and each declares he alone knows the true name and likeness of God. Here all men fall into error, though all have spoken truly according to their understanding. But Truth can never bow to the limited understanding of man, the comprehension of man must expand to grasp it.

In olden times there were spawned great monsters and beasts in fearful form, with frightful gnashing teeth and long ripping claws; an elephant was but a cat in comparison with them. Then, because of heavenly rebellion and turmoil, and the terror overwhelming the hearts of men, The Great One hardened the face of the land, which had become unstable, and the beasts were changed to stone. This was beforetimes, when The Destroyer still slumbered in the upper vaults of Heaven.

Thus, it is written in the record of Beltshera; In those days the people were wicked and though the wise men among them gave many warnings of the wrath to come, they would not listen, such is the way of the wicked. So it came about that the Chastening Spirit became stirred up against them because of the odour of wickedness arising from the Earth, for her nostrils abhor the smell of evil. This is a smell no man can know, for as the hounds know the smell of fear, which no man can detect, so can other beings know the smell of wickedness.

The great floodgates which are above Earth were all opened. Thus, the floodwaters rose up to cover the land and great rainstorms lashed down. The winds could no longer discover their destinations.

The people left the plain of Shinara and fled up into a great mountain rising above the flatlands below, and here, near the summit, they camped. Feeling themselves secured, the wicked mocked, saying, "No water can ever reach up here, for there is not enough of it in Heaven or Earth". Still the waters rose ever higher and the mouths of the wicked were silenced. The priests of the people danced and chanted in vain, and many rituals were performed to appease the wrath above.

There came a period of quietness, then the people built a gateway to Heaven wherein the Chief of Interpreters might commune with the Other Realm. He entered into the silence and cast his spirit, and when he had done so it contacted the Chastening Spirit which men call by other names. Her voice was heard within his heart and it said,

"I am that which has been called forth by the odour of wickedness arising from the bodies of men, which no incense can disguise. For as the smell of putrefaction assails the nostrils of men, so does wickedness give forth something which assails us in this realm.

 

Wickedness is, therefore, an offence against us. If a man threw filth over the wall into your courtyard, would you not consider this an act of hostility? Could any among you live in harmony with those who were insensitive to your own sensitivity? Thus, I am awakened to happenings in the world of men and am now clothed in a performing substance".

The Spiritbeing said,

"I have no desire to unduly punish men. Go out to the people and tell them that if they will but mend their ways and walk no more in the path of wickedness, I shall depart".

But when the Chief of Interpreters returned to the people he found them fearful and distraught, clay in the hands of false priests, devotees of the baleful Gods. The false priests were crying out for a sacrifice to their Gods and had seized Anis, a young man more handsome than any other, a messenger and runner between cities. Then, though they whispered fearfully among themselves concerning the deed, the people had seized Nanua, handmaiden of Eloma, the Enlightened One, whose life was dedicated to Illana, for she had cried out curses upon their heads when the young man was taken.

Nanua and Anis were held by the false priests and about them surged the great mass of the people, and though the Chief of Interpreters raised his voice it went unheeded. Then the mass of the people moved down to the water's edge and there they stopped while the priests shouted prayers to the Gods raging above. All the Heavens were darkened with great rolling clouds and there were high winds and lightning about the mountain top. The people rent their garments, the women wailed and men struck their forearms. Anis was beaten with a club and delivered to the waters.

Then, as he who wielded the club turned towards Nanua, she said to those about her, "Let be, I will deliver myself to the waters, for if I must be sacrificed I would be a better sacrifice so given". Then she went down to the waters, but as her feet entered she drew back from the cold dark watery depths before her. But as the one who wielded the club moved forward, a young man, Sheluat the Scribe, a man of quiet ways, neither handsome nor strong in body, pushed forward and, taking her by the hand, went down into the waters with her.

The waters had risen high and men shared the place where they stood with wild beasts and with sheep and cattle, but now the tumult quietened and the waters drew back. Seeing this, the people shouted praises to the baleful Gods and cried out, "Great are the mighty Gods, and great their holy priests!"

The Chief of Interpreters went sorrowfully apart, hiding himself, for now he was fearful for his life. When the waters had subsided, he cast his spirit and entered into communion with the Chastening Spirit, and he said, "Shall I also enter the falling waters as a sacrifice? For life is now futile, as I am without God or honour".

The Great One answered,

"Men see in events the things they wish to see, they can interpret only according to their understanding. The waters rose to their limitations and did not fall because of the needless sacrifices. The Powers above may ordain events to chasten men, but more often such events are challenges and tests. However, divine intervention is rare indeed".

"These priests follow another, a longer path, but they too condemn wickedness and they too point the way to Truth, though that way may be indirect and beset with hazards. So whether they or you reached the ears of the people the odour of wickedness will be diminished. Divine ends are achieved by diverse means, and the eyes of few men are opened to see either the means or the end".

"Life is never futile, but your sacrifice would be. No man can lose his God, for He is always there; but the prestige of a man because of that God such prestige is a worldly thing of little real value. How do you know whether you have lost or gained? Events of the moment cannot be weighed in the moment, but can be assessed only by the judgement of the years. Only eternity knows whether this or that was good or bad, a gain or loss".

Then the Great One opened the eyes of the Chief of Interpreters, so he saw beyond the earthly border into the realm beyond. Behold, he saw Anis who had been strong and handsome on Earth, and now he was something not pleasant to gaze upon. He saw also the true beauty of Nanua who was now a being of dazzling loveliness, and beside her was Sheluat who had always loved her secretly, and he was now glowing with youth and handsome as Helith. The Chief of the Interpreters then understood that evil could be transmuted into good, and that men had little knowledge of the true nature of things.

Upon the mountain there is now a grove of trees and a temple built in the form of a circle of white stones, where the people remember the day of their deliverance. But what they recall and what happened are not the same, nor is the cause in their minds the true cause. They say, "We are the children of Atuma who saved us". Many who have gone often to the Temple of Deliverance say they have seen two shades, one radiantly beautiful and one gloriously handsome, wandering hand in hand through the trees or sitting in the sunlit glades. All about is now a place of peace.

Men walk under the shadow of dread and fear of unknown powers fills their hearts. They have fashioned images in the likeness of the things which frighten them in the gloom of their ignorance, and they spurn the real for the unreal. Did they see more clearly they would know that the things they fear are but gentle and sturdy hands which can lead them to fields of contentment.

CHAPTER FOUR
THE DELUGE

It is written, in The Great Book of the Firehawks, that Earth was destroyed twice, once altogether by fire and once partially by water. The destruction by water was the lesser destruction and came about in this manner.

The people of those times spurned all spiritual things and men lived only for pleasure, caring little for the good of mankind or the future of the people. Lewdness and lies were upon the tongues of all men and brother could not deal justly with brother. The princes and governors were corrupt and proper tribute was not paid, the statues were held up to scorn. The lives of men were ruled by their desires and they spent their days in gluttony, drunkedness, fornication, dancing and singing to instruments of music.

The land was unattended, for men dissipated their strength in unproductive lusts and pleasures. Women lacked shame, for many would cast their glances after one man. Men fought among themselves and even slew one another because of their lusts for worthless women, while the chaste women were not sought. They were even rejected, for men declined the effort of being worthy of them in the eyes of their fathers.

Wives were unhonoured and only the women of pleasure commanded the attentions of men. Women were unclean and immodest and men lay with them shamelessly in the presence of one another. Old women were more lustful than the young ones, while virgins were seduced and corrupted in their childhood. Fathers fornicated before their sons and were admired for their prowess. They made no distinction between their sons and other men, or between their wives and other women. Deceit and violence were seen on every hand.

To the East and North were high mountains upon which dwelt a tribe called The Sons of Nezirah, The Men of the Mountains, who were hardy men and mighty hunters, skillful in the chase and valiant in battle. The men were upright, their wives were faithful and their sons noble. In their hearts were no unworthy thoughts, no envy or hate, no malice or deceitfulness. They did not smile before a man's face, uttering smooth words, then when he turned his back reach out to stab him. In their wives and daughters there was no impure longing, and neither cursing nor lying was heard among them. The womenfolk respected their men and maintained decency and decorum.

Yet they were men with men's ways, abhorring all forms of unmanliness and degeneracy. Therefore, the treasures in the cities of the plains and the weakness of the people to whom these belonged did not go unnoticed by The Sons of Nezirah. So they said among themselves,

"Let us go down and do a good deed among these people, let us show them the ways of men who are strong, making them slaves and possessing ourselves of their goods".

This talk continued among the men in the marketplaces and gatherings, until they were stirred up to deeds, and they gathered together a warband of fighting men. The Mountain Men chose leaders from among themselves, after their custom, and prepared to fall upon the soft-living people of the plains and become their masters.

When the chiefs of The Mountain Men saw what was happening, they became wroth and ordered their men to return to their flocks and pastures. The chief of chiefs stood up before the gathered warband and said,

"It is our decree that this thing shall not be done, you must not go down from these mountains bringing the sword to these people. Leave them alone, as rotted fruit is left on the tree to whither and die. Leave them to follow their own ways a little longer and in the fullness of time they will destroy themselves.

 

Make no widows among your own people. If you go down there carrying fire and sword, you may find a trap laid for you among the fleshpots. The attraction of their pleasure and the temptations of their luxury is, to strong men such as you, like the lure the flame has for the moth. Do not lay yourselves open to destruction, even though the manner of its accomplishment be pleasant. If you must destroy this people, then destroy utterly so nothing remains. They are many while we are few, and though by the keen hardhitting sword we may prevail in battle, yet might we not be lost under a deluge of soft feathers? Will you be wise enough to sup on milk and honey without being drowned in it?"

For a time the fighting men heeded the words of their chiefs, for they were neither willful nor reckless, but there were some among them who went down to the plains in peace. They returned with tales of treasures and pleasures awaiting below, reporting that the time was ripe for an attack, the warmen hired by the lowlanders having departed. For in those days the Gods of Sharapik strove against the Gods of Elishdur and Ladek. Then the fighting men disregarded the commands of their chiefs and, choosing war captains from among themselves, went down and fell upon the people of the plain.

The people of the plain bowed before the strength of the men of the mountains. They did not fight, for among all their possessions they regarded their lives as the most valuable thing, precious above all else. They said, "Take whatever we have, our riches and harvests, the treasured things from our dwellings, even our daughters for your amusement, but leave us enough that we may live under your shadow". The sturdy men of the mountains were sickened by these half men who had lived for three generations without fighting, and they despised them.

The battlehardened men who had come down from the highlands took whatsoever they desired. The plainsmen demurred, but because their stomachs turned to water before the virility of their conquerors, their protestations were words of wind. The victors clothed themselves in plundered finery and indulged themselves in the wines and delicacies of the food tables. They slept in beds of luxury and dissipation, every want being attended to by the vanquished. They learned the ways of sensuality which goes with soft-living, and when sated with natural pleasures some lightened their boredom with unnatural ones.

The Mountain Men saw that the women of the cities were beautiful but they were not modest, casting their charms before the masters, unashamed; so it followed they were taken when required and treated as chattels. The women did not complain, though hitherto they had stood equal with their menfolk, but woman's equality with half men is not something of value.
With women like this the men placed no restraint on their lust and went from excess to excess. The women, rejoicing in the strength and vigour of the men, said among themselves, "Here are men indeed such as we have not known before".

Then, in the manner of women, they turned away from their own men and from the households of their husbands and fathers, for now they despised them. They threw off all womanly restraint and grappled with the victors like ravening beasts, and the strong were vanquished by weakness. Always do women behave thus when their menfolk are defeated in battle, it is for this men fight.

None came to do battle with the victors, for they who had fought for the Gods had destroyed themselves and in the fullness of time the victors, too, were destroyed by the fleshpots, by fornication and drunkenness, by ease and luxury. Their fighting strength and valour departed with the passing years, they grew fat and slothful. They who had come down in manly array to fight and win, who could not be challenged in battle by the lesser men of the plains, were eaten up in the mansions of pleasure, in the drinking booths, with music, wine and fine linen.

Upon the mountain and in the mountain homes there was weeping and sadness among the women. Fields were untilled and cattle strayed away, sheep went unplucked. The best craftsmen were gone and few remained willing to learn their skill, the teachers of learning taught no more. The gnarled hand that had wielded the sword and terrorized the foe now plucked the strings of psaltery and lyre. The rough jerkins and corselets were cast off and now garments were of fine linen dyed purple and crimson. Men arrayed their softening bodies in gaudy attire and bathed in scented waters. They rejected their own women for those of the cities whose hands and feet were stained with bright colours and whose faces were marked with blue.

One day, from afar off came three men of Ardis, their country having been stricken by a mountain burst. They were worshippers of The One God whose light shines within men, and when they had lived in the two cities for a number of days they were stirred up in their hearts because of the things they saw. So they called upon their God to see these evil things. Their God sent down a curse upon the men of the cities, and there came a strange light and a smoky mist which caught at the throats of men. All things became still and apprehensive, there were strange clouds in the skies and the nights were hung with heaviness. Many days passed before a northwind came and the skies cleared; but then, when women conceived they bore devils. Monstrosities came forth from their wombs, whose faces were terrible and whose limbs were unproportioned.

In those days men knew the art of working clay and making linen in bright colours, and also the use of eye paint. They had knowledge of herbs and magic, of enchantment, and the wisdom of The Book of Heaven; the knowledge of signs and omens, the secrets of the seasons, of the moon and the coming of the waters.

The remnants of the Sons of Nezirah remained upon the mountains which are against Ardis, by the land about the encampment of Lamak. In Ardis there were wise men filled with the inner wisdom, who read The Book of Heaven with understanding and knew the signs. They saw that the deeds of men in all the lands about the mountains had brought them to their hour. Then the day came when The Lady of the Night changed her garment for one of a different hue, and her form swept more swiftly across the skies. Her tresses streamed out behind in gold and copper, and she rode in a chariot of fire. The people in those days were a great multitude and a loud cry ascended into Heaven.

Then the wise men went to Sharepik, now called Sarapesh, and said to Sisuda, the King, "Behold, the years are shortened and the hour of trial draws nigh. The shadow of doom approaches this land because of its wickedness; Yet, because you have not mingled with the wicked, you are set apart and shall not perish, this so your seeds may be preserved". Then the king sent for Hanok, son of Hogaretur, and he came out of Ardis, for there he had heard a voice among the reeds saying,

"Abandon your abode and possessions, for the hour of doom is at hand; neither gold nor treasure can buy a reprieve".

Then Hanok came into the cities and said to the governors,

"Behold, I would go down to the sea and would therefore build a great ship, that I may take my people upon it. With me will go those who trouble you and they will take the things which cause you concern; therefore, you will be left in peace to your own enjoyment".

The governors said, "Go down to the sea and build your ship there, and it will be well, for you go with our blessing".

But Hanok answered, "It has been told to me in a dream that the ship should be built against the mountains, and the sea will come up to me". When he had gone away they declared him mad. The people mocked him, calling him Commander of the Sea, but they did not hinder him, seeing gain in his undertaking. Therefore a great ship was laid down under the leadership of Hanok, son of Hogaretur, for Sisuda, king of Sarapesh, from whose treasury came payment for the building of the vessel.

It was built on the Lake of Namos, close by the river of gold, where it divides. All the household of Hanok was there and the household of his brother who directed the men at the task. Dwyvan, captain of ships, from the land beyond Ardis, was overseer of the craftsmen. The women and children carried and the men built. The length of the great ship was three hundred cubits, and its breadth was fifty cubits, and it was finished off above by one cubit. It had three storeys which were built without a break.

The lowermost was for the beasts and cattle and their provender, and it was laid over with sand from the river. The middle one was for birds and fowls, for plants of every kind that are good for man and beast, and the uppermost one was for the people. Each storey was divided in twain, so that there were six floors below and one above, and they were divided across with seven partitions. In it were cisterns for water and storehouses for food, and it was built with askara wood, which water cannot rot or worms enter. It was pitched within and without and the cisterns were lined. The planks were edged and the joints made fast with hair and oil. Great stones were hung from ropes of plaited leather, and the ship was without mast or oars. There were no poles and no openings, except for a hatch beneath the eaves above whereby all things entered. The hatch was secured by great beams.

Into the great ship they carried the seed of all living things; grain was laid up in baskets and many cattle and sheep were slain for meat which was smoked by fire. They also took all kinds of beasts of the field and wild beasts, birds and fowls, all things that crawl. Also gold and silver, metals and stones.

The people of the plains came up and camped about to see this wonder, even the Sons of Nezirah were among them, and they daily mocked the builders of the great ship; but these were not dismayed and toiled harder at the task. They said to the mockers, "Have your hour, for ours will surely come".

On the appointed day, they who were to go with the great ship departed from their homes and the encampment. They kissed the stones and embraced the trees, and they gathered up handfuls of the Earth, for all this they would see no more. They loaded the great ship with their possessions and all their provender went with them. They set a ram's head over the hatch, pouring out blood, milk, honey and beer. Beating upon their breasts, weeping and lamenting, the people entered the great shop and closed the hatch, making it secure within.

The king had entered and with him those of his blood, in all fourteen, for it was forbidden that his household go into the ship. Of all the people who entered with him, two understood the ways of the sun and moon and the ways of the year and the seasons. One the quarrying of stones, one the making of bricks and one the making of axes and weapons. One the playing of musical instruments, one bread, one the making of pottery, one the care of gardens and one the carving of wood and stone. One the making of roofs, one the working of timbers, one the making of cheese and butter.

One the growing of trees and plants, one the making of ploughs, one the weaving of cloth and making of dyes, and one the brewing of beer. One the felling and cutting of trees, one the making of chariots, one dancing, one the mysteries of the scribe, one the building of houses and the working of leather. There was one skilled in the working of cedar and willow wood, and he was a hunter; one who knew the cunning of games and circus, and he was a watchman. There was an inspector of of water and walls, a magistrate and a captain of men. There were three servants of God. There was Hanok and his brother and their households, and Dwyvan and six men who were strangers.

Then, with the dawning, men saw an awesome sight. There, riding on a great black rolling cloud came The Destroyer, newly released from the confines of the sky vaults, and she raged about the Heavens, for it was her day of judgment. The beast with her opened its mouth and belched forth fire and hot stones and a vile smoke. It covered the whole sky above and the meeting place of Earth and Heaven could no longer be seen. In the evening the places of the stars were changed, they rolled across the sky to new stations, then the floodwaters came.

The floodgates of Heaven were opened and the foundations of Earth were broken apart. The surrounding waters poured over the land and broke upon the mountains. The storehouses of the winds burst their bolts asunder, so storms and whirlwinds were loosed, to hurl themselves upon the Earth. In the seething waters and howling gales all buildings were destroyed, trees were uprooted and mountains cast down. There was a time of great heat, then came a time of bitter cold. The waves over the waters did not rise and fall but seethed and swirled, there was an awful sound above.

The pillars of Heaven were broken and fell down to Earth. The skyvault was rent and broken, the whole of creation was in chaos. The stars in the Heavens were loosened from their places, so they dashed about in confusion. There was a revolt on high, a new ruler appeared there and swept across the sky in majesty.

Those who had not laboured at the building of the great ship and those who had mocked the builders came quickly to the place where it was lying. They climbed upon the ship and beat upon it with their hands; they raged and pleaded, but could not enter inside, nor could they break the wood. As the great ship was borne up by the waters it rolled and they were swept off, for there was no foothold for them. The ship was lifted by the mighty surge of waters and hurled among the debris, but it was not dashed upon the mountainside because of the place where it was built. All the people not saved within the ship were swallowed up in the midst of raging confusion, and their wickedness and corruption was purged away from the face of the Earth.

The swelling waters swept up to the mountain top and filled the valleys. They did not rise like water poured into a bowl, but came in great surging torrents; but when the tumult quietened and the waters became still, they stood no more than three cubits above the Earth. The Destroyer passed away into the fastness of Heaven and the great flood remained seven days, diminishing day by day as the waters drained away to their places. Then the waters spread out calmly and the great ship drifted amid a brown scum and debris of all kinds.

After many days the great ship came to rest upon Kardo, in the mountains of Ashtar, against Nishim in The Land of God.

CHAPTER FIVE
THE BIRTH OF HURMANETAR

Hanok had three brothers by his mother and one by Sadara, two were with him on the great ship and one was saved in Megin. Hanok ruled all the land of Bokah, and his sons, Labeth and Hatana, were born at Nasira, after the great ship became fast.

His brothers divided the water-washed land between them. One went to Tirdana and built a city there, and he ruled the western waters. One ruled the eastern waters and the swamps down to the waters of the sea. The other raised up Eraka in the midst of them, and he was the greatest.

The city of Eraka stood for a thousand years, but in the days of King Naderasa the people made great images with faces of gold and bodies of brass. Children were offered to these demons conceived in wickedness. Then God in His wrath unleashed the winds and they were swept through the city as a whirlwind. The gold-faced images were thrown one against another and were broken, they fell and were buried under their temples. Eraka was then removed from the eyes of men.

All the cities were rebuilt and the kings were dead; the people had multiplied greatly when Lugadur, he who taught the working of metals, was born. He was the mightiest of kings and his deeds are known to all men and written in his books.
Wisdom came to the land by the hand of our father Hurmanetar who was called Hankadah, born at Egelmek in the land of Khalib under Eraka, of Nintursu, Maiden of the Temple, by Gelamishoar, Builder of Walls, son of Lugadur the Metalworker, son of Dumath the Shepherd, son of Gigitan the Tiller of the Soil.

In the days when the mother of Hurmanetar carried him under her heart with pain, the king, his father, had a dream. He saw a woman and knew he had just lain with her but could not see her face clearly, for whenever he almost recognized it the likeness changed to that of another. The woman was purifying herself over a bowl of incense, and while so doing she made water. Then a great cloud of smoke arose up from out of the bowl and filled all the room, and it went out through the doors and filled all the city and all the temples of the city.

The following night the king was disturbed by the same dream. Therefore, knowing he had received an omen, upon his arising he hastened to send a messenger to the Temple of the Stargazers. Two wise men came and he told them concerning his dream, requesting that they read its meaning. Having heard the words of the king they, thereupon, left, going away to consult The Book of Heaven to discover what was written in the future concerning such a matter.

In two days they returned, coming in unto the king as he sat within the hall of judgement, and they bowed before him saying,

"Woe unto us your servants for what we have to say, for thus it is written. One is to be born of a woman whom you have ravished and he will be a slayer of kings, a destroyer of temples and a contender with the Gods. He is one born to be great among men and his hand will be against you".

Hearing this the king bethought himself of the women he had taken by force, but they were many and scattered. So he sent again for the wise men, requesting their aid, and the wise men received his words.

Now, the wise men knew these things were written of a son to be born to Nintursu, but they were perplexed not knowing what to do, for she was a Maiden of the Temple of the Seven Enlightened Ones, which had been built in the days of Sisuda. If the blood of one thus born were shed or its breath stopped within the boundaries of the land, the corn would perish within the furrow and the blossom would fall from the trees, so that they yielded no fruit. Yet the wise men were not loath to bring down the wrath of the king upon this temple, for it was one whose God had but small estate yet it paid no tribute to the God of the land. Nor did they desire to deceive the king in this matter, for if by perchance the deceit were uncovered they lost their protection.

The wise men, therefore, went before the king and spoke thus,

"O king, light of our lives, we your servants have discovered this child, though it is yet unborn. It is to be born of a maiden bound to the Temple of the Seven Enlightened Ones; therefore, its blood may not be shed on land worked by the hand of man, nor may its breath be stopped. So now we say unto you, send those who are your most trusted servants and let them take this maiden and carry her away to a place afar off. If it be beyond the boundaries of this land, the child when born, can be slain there and no evil will befall the lands of our God."

Hearing these words, the king remembered the Maiden he had taken for his pleasure, for while hunting he had come upon her as she bathed. Neither the temple nor its God were known to him and he had no fear of its priests.

The king called his chamberlain to his side, a man most trusted, and charged him, saying,

"Go take this Nintursu, this temple maiden, and carry her into the land of Kithis, entering by stealth. She is with child and when it is born slay it letting its blood fall upon the soil in the land of Kithis".

The chamberlain prepared and departed, taking with him men of blood and their captain. They traveled so they came upon the temple at first light in the morning. Nintursu was taken and they left ornaments of gold and silver.

Now, Nintursu was not delivered of the child when they came to the boundary of the land, so they camped there and in the days that followed men went out to spy. The captain was a man skilled in war and courageous, a man of many battles, and Nintursu spoke often with him. But between her and the chamberlain few words were spoken.

It happened that when Nintursu's time was upon her and the child to be delivered, it was the days of full moon; therefore, the child could not be slain, so they bided until the dark of the moon. Then, when the order of things was right, the chamberlain called the captain and said,

"This is a task for a man of blood and I am not such a one, therefore you take the child and slay it over the border. Seven men will go with you, that all these may bear witness to the deed and swear to it".

Now, the men of blood were grim men of battles, strangers to soft beds and gentle ways of women, but some among them were the companions of Nintursu during the first days of her motherhood. Also there was one whose father had been a worshipper at the Temple of the Seven Enlightened Ones before it was abandoned by all who followed the king. There were those who murmured, saying,

"This is a task for those in high places who speak with honeyed tongues and carry concealed knives that stab in the back, this is not for fighting men".

It was true. This was no task for men of clashing metal, it was a deed more suited to squeamish-stomached courtiers; but, lacking backbone, these have ever needed others to do their dirty work spawned through intrigue and conspiracy. Lord, hasten the day when real men are no longer manipulated by half men!

The captain put the child into a basket prepared by Nintursu. It was placed upon an ass. Then he and his men went over the boundary to a place where neither tree nor grass grew; but about ten bowshots distant a stream ran through it to water fields and pastures in the valley below.

When they stopped, the captain took down the basket and opened it, but when he gazed upon the face of the child his heart held his hand. He was a man of battles who slew in war, a slayer of men in combat, not a weak-kneed man of intrigue and slayer of children. He closed the basket and said to those who had come with him,

"We will bide our time here until nightfall. If we loose the blood of the child here it will be absorbed into dead soil and do no harm, but if we carry it further, down into the valley, it will fall on living soil".

None with him answered, for they were but simple fighting men knowing not that the blood could have been let into the waters. Or maybe they understood the heart of their captain. The captain said, "It is hot, we have time enough before those who dwell below are asleep; therefore, let us drink wine and rest awhile". So they drank wine which had been brought and rested; becoming drowsy they eventually fell asleep. Darkness fell.

Now, the ass had not eaten since the morning, nor had it drunk at the stream and the captain of men bided his time, for he had a plan and this was a place known to him. In the gathering darkness he put the basket, with the child inside, back on the ass. It was a good place of concealment, under an overhanging rock, with thickets of thorn all around while below the ground fell away steeply, being covered with rocks and loose stones.

Only the captain knew how, in the darkness, a large stone was loosed from above, bringing down many others with it, so that stones fell all about the place where the men lay under the overhang. They were heavy with wine, they shouted, they stumbled and fell; one was struck by a dart, another by a spear; there was a clash in the darkness though none was killed. The ass, loosed from its halter, fled and none could stop it.

Wrathfully the captain shouted,

"What kind of men have I been given, why have you not brought trumpets to announce our coming? Who can see the ass among the bushes or hear it among the stones?"

Then, as lights appeared below and the voices of men were heard in the night, they withdrew.

Coming to a place of safety the men took counsel among themselves, for the captain of the men said,

"If you would go unpunished for this night, then you must slay me now; even then, can you return without me? Also, who knows where the blood will flow? Therefore, shall we not all say, with mine own eyes I beheld the blood of this child and know it is dead? Are we men of wisdom who live, or are we foolish ones who die?"

Thus, borne on the back of an ass Hurmanetar came to the land of Kithis.

CHAPTER SIX
THE COMPANIONSHIP OF YADOL

Concerning our father Hurmanetar, these things were written in the scroll of Pakhamin, scribe of the Firehawks. Generation had grown out of generation and the Lord of Light and Life had hidden Himself, for He knew the Nature of man and none could find Him. Time passed and they sought Him no more.

Then high riding, ass borne, came one who was to reveal the Light to men, praises to the Lord of Light and Life for Hurmanetar the Lightbringer! He wandered the hillsides among shepherds who tended their flocks with care, and he learned their ways. This was the wisest of men and his body was filled to overflowing with manly powers; wide striding he measured the mountains broad pastures. In anger his face burned like the sun at noontide, while in benevolence it shed the calm glow of the moon in the night quietness. In courage and skill none could match him.

He was a child like no other, before others crawled he stood upright; he learned his letters at three years, he could read and write at five, he taught those who attended the temple with him when he was seven. He was ten when his foster-father joined his fathers and the estate was divided through the women. At twelve he changed the course of the river falling down from the mountains to lead it through new pastures, and thus his mother became rich. At thirteen he was sent to the Shepherd of the City and trained with spear and shield. At seventeen he slew the king's right hand man and fled to the mountains of Akimah.

Like a beast of prey he wandered at will, he was the mountain dweller, firm of limb and swift-footed, taking according to his whim from those who passed his way. Mighty was his bow of anshan wood, sinew-strung it sped swiftly his straight-shot arrows.

High on the mountains wandered another, Yadol his name, one who lived on herbs and wild honey, tall and long-haired, for no knife had ever touched it. His hand tamed a wild wolf cub and it was his companion, wherever he went it followed. The wild beasts did not molest him and he walked freely among them.

Hurmanetar was a trapper of wild breasts and he dug a pit at the place where they came down to water, and other traps were set. Yadol passed that way and the pit was filled in and the traps broken, the ensnared deer was set free. When Hurmanetar returned and found the pit filled in and the traps broken, his heart was seized by a whirlwind, he raged against the skies, he swore against the trees. He sought, for days he sought but could not come upon Yadol the evasive one, the cunning one.

His traps were useless, his pits a vain labour. He hungered and because he hungered became less cautious. When he lay in wait among the bushes to waylay men who passed, he was not held back by thought of their number but loosed his arrows and leapt among them. Hurmanetar attacked stormy-hearted; like a whirlwind he attacked, but when they saw he was one alone they stood fast. Hurmanetar turned back into the bushes, but arrows sent after him found their mark.

For three days he lay in his place upon the mountain and his leg swelled up and he thirsted, for he could not get water. He lay in a body of pain and his spirit prepared to depart from him. A wolf came and his hand sought a stone, but weakness held his arm, so it could not be cast. Then lo, the wolf licked his hand and departed. Then Yadol came, in his hand was a skin filled with fresh water and he knelt beside. Hurmanetar and gave him a drink. Yadol dressed the wounds and brought herbs to eat, and so it came to pass that Hurmanetar grew strong again.

Thereafter, Hurmanetar and Yadol dwelt together within a cave among the mountains, but Yadol would neither slay for meat nor eat of it. Yet they roamed the wide mountains together in joyous companionship, and their days sped swiftly by. But Hurmanetar longed for other things and therefore was tempted to attack men who passed, for he desired fine meats and garments and ornaments for his body.

These things were brought to the ears of the king and those about the king said,

"Let us take men and go up into the mountain and slay this wild hill wanderer, this manslayer and robber".

But the king bade them hold their hands, for he desired to see the man for himself, he wanted him taken alive and he said, "Should any man slay him, that man is mine".

The king, therefore, took counsel of the wisemen, saying,

"How shall we take this man, if man he be and not a spirit of the mountains. I would look upon him with my own eyes, for I know of none such as he. One such there once was, but he is no more".

Then one among the wise men said,

"This man of the mountains, if man he be, will follow the ways of men, therefore let us procure a harlot from the temple, a woman of pleasure, and let her go and take him; ensnare the hunter in the well baited trap".

The king said,

"This is no new thing, and perchance it can bring the wild man of the mountains down to me in chains of silk, even into the city; therefore, go and put your words into deeds".

Then a man was sent to the temple and he brought back Hesurta, a woman of pleasure, in exchange for gold, and she was taken to the hunters who knew the ways of the mountains.

They set off, journeying for some days, the hunters and the harlot and those with her, until they came to a place where there was a waterhole, close by the way of Elamki. They passed beyond the waterhole to the spring above, sending men into the surrounding forest. The day came when one returned saying, "The wild man comes". Then the chief of the hunters said to the woman.

"O woman, bare your breasts and sit beside the waters, use the wiles of your calling, have no shame but welcome him boldly. When he comes up close reveal your secrets, drawing him to you; teach him the art of the harlot that ensnares men".

The woman was not loath to take him, responding well to the task, sitting by the waters, singing. However, Hurmanetar circled warily about the place, but discovered nothing and no harm came to him. He drew closer and when he did the harlot revealed her secret charms and was well pleased by the eagerness he displayed. She instructed him in the harlot's art and they dallied there for several days; but the hunters did not come to take him, for they found no way to come upon him furtively. Then, after seven days Hurmanetar departed, passing up the incline of the mountainside without looking back. The harlot was afraid because the hunters murmured against her, but it was not her fault and the chief of hunters said, "Wait and see, let us bide a while yet".

Hurmanetar returned to the place where the wild deer grazed, but Yadol was not there and when he crossed the wind of the deer they fled away. He went to the cave where they shared their rest, but Yadol was not there. The wolf alone lay close by and Hurmanetar called out to it, but the wolf stayed afar off, it would not come near because Hurmanetar was not purified from contact with the harlot.

For a day and a night Hurmanetar stalked the mountainside wide striding along its paths, but he did not find Yadol; therefore, he returned to the place where he had left the woman. She greeted him warmly, making him welcome with cooked meats, rejoicing in her heart. They remained there for three days and she tamed him to the need for a woman. Then the day came when she said,

"You are wise, you are strong even as a bull, why run wild upon the mountainsides with one who deserts you at will? Come with me unto the king, for he has heard tales of your might and would close his eyes to your deeds. He will give you a house and gold, and I, Hesurta, will become your servant. The temple of love will be opened for you and I will show you the delights within. Come and dwell under the shadow of the king, for he is mighty, he is the wild bull which roars over men".

Hurmanetar thought and said,

"No, I will not go before the king, for he does no good in my sight. Do not the people murmur against him, saying, "Woe for these days, the hand of the king rests heavily upon us, his pride knows no bounds and no maiden is left virgin for her husband. Neither the daughter of a man of blood nor the wife of a prince walks freely in the city. Are not all its doors shut like the doors of prisons?"

The woman thought awhile, then said,

"Who tells these things of the king, are their words established? He is the great king, a mountain licked by ten thousand tongues, the king whose whisper fills the judgement hall, whose voice echoes a thousand leagues away. He is the glorious king, a man perfect in strength and proportion, his body is one to delight the eyes of any woman. None other has his wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, men talk against him, for it is the nature of men to be jealous of those who so much excel them".

"Let us go, let the king see you face to face and rejoice, for you are alike. O come with me to where each day brings new delights, where the young women are gaily robed and the young men wonderful to look upon. Come to where breezes are filled with sweet smells, where beds are soft and rooms perfumed. Come to the place where life is enjoyed. Come, serve the king, as you are now so was he in his youth, but youth departs, albeit slowly. He is the never resting one, the son of The Lady of Battles. Come and do not fear, all will be made ready for you; even now the wise men tell of your coming, and men wait to escort you in peace".

Hurmanetar was swayed by her words and said, "So let it be, where you go there go I". Then Hesurta gave him a necklace she had brought and led him to the tents of the hunters. But when they saw him face to face they were afraid, such was the light held in the eyes of the stalwart, wide striding one. Yet they recognized him as a man like themselves and their fear passed. So it was that Hurmanetar went with them and with the woman, and came to the city and went before the king, and the king looked upon him with favour. He gave Hurmanetar wine and he was drunk; and oil for his body and he was anointed. He was arrayed in three robes, he became a man of rank; he was given a house and servants, he was given a watchman. He became captain of the guards and none was like him.

To the woman of pleasure, the harlot, the king gave bracelets of gold and sent her away, saying,

"Go to your proper place, for you have completed the thing required of you. There you will be great among women, while here you will be degraded among them".

Hesurta departed in sorrow, for even a harlot can feel faint stirrings of affection through the oft soiled winding cloth which enwraps her sordid spirit.

Hurmanetar learned the ways of the palace and walked as he willed, but soon he became restless, for his thoughts turned towards Hesurta. He missed her ways. Yet many women cast their glances towards him, but behind these was the threat of the sword. He was not a man of smooth and subtle ways, being unskilled in the deceit which flourishes under the shadow of kings. Though favoured by the king and safe under his mantle, he was a man alone in the palace and courtyards. He set out to find Hesurta, seeking her at the temple of pleasure within the temple gate where she had served as a harlot, but the priest said, "The woman is no longer here, for a harlot, given gold, thinks herself a queen, and the women have driven her out".

Hurmanetar sought her throughout the city, but she was nowhere to be found. Persisting, he eventually found her at a harlot's post beside the river, among wineskins and men of the waters. There was one who sat with her and he was a man of blood, therefore armed. So when Hurmanetar came up to them seeking to talk with the woman, he drew his sword. When the man of blood saw that Hurmanetar was undismayed by this and prepared to settle the issue he mocked him, saying, "Why should men fight when women are plentiful and we have half a measure of corn?"

Hurmanetar bought the woman from those who grow rich on the defiled bodies of women and established her in his house. The men about the king murmured against him, speaking poisoned words in the ear of the king. The women of the palace also turned from him. Meeting Hesurta on the street they caught her and tore her veil off her face, while men of subtle ways who served the king mocked behind their hands. The men of blood serving the king set their faces against Hurmanetar, while in the city men said, as he passed, "There goes the great one who bathes in dirty water". Therefore, Hurmanetar departed from the city, going to dwell without its walls among men who tilled the soil.

It was not long before the day came when the woman saw that Hurmanetar was downcast and so she said to him,

"O man of might, when my eyes rest upon you I am raised above all women and now my heart is cleansed of all that polluted it, my body rejoices in freedom and my life is a song of gladness. Yet I am saddened because my heart tells me you are sorrowful and not at ease within yourself, that half your heart remains in the mountains. Therefore, hear what I say, go there once more while I remain here to await your return, perhaps this time you will find Yadol".

Her words made Hurmanetar sad and he said,

"How can I go away and leave you here, who will protect you? What man can I place over you who will not know you? Yet go to the mountain I must, therefore you shall come with me".

They departed, crossing by way of Hamrama, and came to the mountains high standing and steep-sided. They searched many days, but Yadol could not be found, neither would any bird or beast approach them. They wandered the mountains, they searched the valleys and they grew weary in the search. They returned to the foot of the mountains, below the place where shepherds dwelt and into the tillage where there was a city. It was the time of Akitoa, and Sharah, chief of the city dwellers, was to be married.

Being invited to remain in the city as guest, they stayed there. When the days of feasting commenced men came in from the mountains and tillage, and there was much dancing and singing. Hurmanetar and Hesurta were made welcome, taking their places among the guests and storytellers, eating and drinking their fill. There was strong drink brewed from corn and wine from the palm, and Hurmanetar became overfilled with these and, drunk, he fell asleep.

While he slept a man came upon Hesurta and seized her, saying,

"Come, let us be together, so I man have pleasure and you may have silver. I know you are a woman of many pleasures, a servant to the vices of men".

When she denied him his desire he sought to take her by force, but she drew a knife and slew him, for a woman cannot be taken by man except she surrender herself to his needs.

Hearing the clamour, men came and seeing what had happened they seized the woman. Others took Hurmanetar and both were brought before the headman who delivered them to a place of confinement. When the feasting was over they were brought before Pitosi, one who sat in judgement. Pitosi said to Hurmanetar,

"You have come among us as a guest and a man of good standing, therefore we know not whether you have been wronged or whether a man of this city has been slain unjustly. If you have been wronged, then also establish the standing of this woman. It is said that she is a harlot without standing; this being so, then you shall pay the price of he who is slain to his kindred and no more will be required of you".

Hurmanetar answered Pitosi thus,

"You are one filled with the essence of wisdom, who justly occupies the seat of judgement. I ask with due humility that you give ear to my plea for this woman who may not speak for herself. Denounce her I cannot, instead I will claim her as wife under the of Hudashum, for she has dwelt with me for twenty months and in that time has not known another man, nor have I cause for complaint".

Hearing this, and because Hurmanetar made claim to the law of Hudashum, Pitosi sent for Enilerich, priest of the Great Temple, that he should say whether or not Hesurta stood before him as the wife of Hurmanetar. When the priest came he enquired of the woman whether she were a virgin when Hurmanetar took her. Had she say "yes", then the passage of three months would have given her the standing of a wife; but she answered "no".

The priest asked her if she were a widow when Hurmanetar took her. Had she answered "yes", then the passage of twenty months would have given her the standing of a wife; but she answered "no". Then the priest asked if she were a harlot when Hurmanetar took her and she answered "yes". Therefore, as seven years had not yet passed since Hurmanetar first took her, she could not have the standing of a wife. Nor could she claim to be a harlot of the temple, for she had left its protection.

Now the mark of a harlot was upon her and Hurmanetar had forfeited his standing in the place of judgement. So Pitosi gave judgement upon them and it was decreed that when Gaila came they would be led to the enclosure of death and there tied back to back. The woman would be strangled with cords, after the manner of harlots, while Hurmanetar would be left to carry her as a burden within the enclosure for seven days. Then, if the Gods willed; all he might take with him being three handfuls of corn and a gourd of water. The judgment was fulfilled, Hurmanetar lived. He departed and went his way and the kindred of the slain men failed to catch him.

Hurmanetar passed across the land, coming at last to the temple of the Seven Illuminated Ones, and his mother was there. She dwelt alone with only an old serving woman, for now the temple was desolate and without walls. For two years Hurmanetar dwelt with his mother, but then his heart went out again to the companion he had left upon the mountainside. He said to his mother, "I must depart, for my heart cries out for one who saved my life and whose ways are mine. Great is the love of man for woman, but greater the love of man for man".

So Hurmanetar came again to the mountains and lo, he had entered the forest but half a day when he came upon Yadol. How warm was the greeting, how strong the embrace! Hurmanetar said, "Long have I sought you and found you not, yet I come again and you are here". Yadol answered, "It was because of the harlot, I was here but you saw me not, nor could I make myself known to you".

Hurmanetar returned with Yadol to the place where his mother dwelt and they remained there, none knowing what they were, for they were garbed as priests. They tilled the ground about the place, enjoying its fruitfulness, and both were nourished by the wisdom of Hurmanetar's mother.

Nintursu was the last of the line of Sisuda. Ten thousand generations had passed since the beginning and a thousand generations since the recreation. The Children of God and The Children of Men had passed into dust and only men remained. One hundred generations had passed since the overwhelming deluge and ten generations since The Destroyer last appeared. Once man lived for less than two score years, now his years were three score and ten.

Once God had walked with men and men knew only God. Now He was hidden behind many veils and few saw Him, and then but dimly and with great distortion. Where once there was one God now Gods were as numbered as the stars. Yet the Great Key remained in the midst of men and it was here, at the Temple of the Seven Illuminated Ones, the Key of Life, the Key which was given into the keeping of our father Hurmanetar. It is a secret thing, something exceedingly great. It is not lost but has come down to us and is known in our times.

Now, one day, as Hurmanetar sat beneath a tree, enjoying its shade at the height of noon, he saw a stranger approaching. The man was weary and staggered, so Hurmanetar sent his servant to bring him into the shade. The servant hastened out and brought him in. He was given refreshment and his feet washed, and when this had been done Hurmanetar asked him where he was bound and the stranger replied,

"I go to Tagel, for in that place there is a mighty man and a just one who will give ear to my plea, for untoward things are happening in the great city, things which should not be, The people cry out in the place of assembly, but they cry to the wind. Gilnamnur has seized the heart of the king and now rules. In twelve days I am pledged to marry, but there is no lightness of a bridegroom in my heart, for the king elects to be first with the bride. This is the custom come down to us from the Gods of old, but my heart is wrung like a grape. I cannot find it within me to give her into his keeping on the wedding night. Therefore, I go to find one who can challenge him at the door of the bridal chamber, as the custom permits, for this is no low born woman. But this is a thing none has heard of as having been done before in our times, for men fear the Gods. I know of none other who may stand before the king as one sanctified".

Hurmanetar heard him and replied, "Be of good heart and go no further, for I am that man". Hearing this the stranger, filled with gratitude, fell upon his knees before Hurmanetar and said, "How can I thank you, how can I repay you, what can I give?" But hurmanetar answered, "When a man does what has to be done, then payment and reward sully the deed". Then he called Yadol and said, "Prepare, for we go into the city of the king, and because he was sanctified Hurmanetar claimed the protection of Erakir." Then they offered prayers in the antechamber between Heaven and Earth.

They dwelt with the brother of the bridegroom until the day of the wedding feast came, for the bridegroom was not of this city. When the feast was over, and before the guests departed, the bridal chamber was made ready with the bride within, and the young messenger of the temple went about making his call. Then the king came to the antechamber, passing by the husband who was to wait without. But there, standing before the door, was Hurmanetar, his right hand on the pillar, for none might otherwise challenge the king, and in his left hand were the reeds.

Those who were gathered there, the men and the women, drew back and men of the king's guard came forward, each claiming the right to enter the combat on behalf of the king; for one man could precede the king but no more. Such was the custom. The choice of whom to fight from among those who came forward lay with Hurmanetar, and because he chose the captain of the guard, a man skilled in war, the people were amazed. But Hurmanetar knew the man's weakness. No more than five blows were struck when Hurmanetar, leaping to the left hand side of the captain of the guard, drove up under his armpit, so that he fell to the ground and died.

Then Hurmanetar and the king girded themselves and fought in the high courtyard, and it was a fight such as men had not seen before. The young and the old, agility against experience, stamina against cunning, they were both equal in the fight. They slashed at each other until their weapons broke and their shields split. They grappled, they stamped, they rolled in the dust, they lashed out at each other, and the combat went on until the water ran out, and still they both stood. Then they could not fight with weapons but stood disarmed, and this time neither might cause the death of the other.

They circled each other warily, keeping away from the balustrade. Then Hurmanetar jumped aside and with a swift movement caught the king to him, twisting him so they both fell down into the courtyard below the ground, and the king fell over his shoulder, so that his breastbone broke and he remained on the ground. Then the king's guard gathered about him and a man skilled with medicines came forward; though grievously hurt the king would not die.

Hurmanetar gave his seal and right to the husband and with Yadol parted the men who stood about in silence, for they could not harm them. So Hurmanetar and Yadol departed from the land, for it became closed to them and, mounted on mountain asses, they set out on the way of Anhu.

Hurmanetar crossed the wide plains with Yadol until they came safely to the stream of bitter waters, brought there by Mamanatum, and so they came up to Machur close by the forest of cedars and dwelt there. This is the place where there was a temple to Humbanwara the Guardian.

CHAPTER SEVEN
THE DEATH OF YADOL

Hurmanetar married Astmeth, daughter of Anukis, governor of all the Western parts of Hamanas, and the mother of Astmeth was Neforobtama, daughter of Hahuda, prince of Kerami. In those days, Daydee, daughter of Samshu, king of all the lands to the North, even to the land of everlasting night, ruled all the Eastern parts of Hamanas, and of all women she was the most beautiful.

Now, as time passed Hurmanetar grew rich and he built himself a great house of cedar wood and had many servants and concubines. In these, the days of his greatness, he forgot the teachings of Nintursu, and the Great Key lay hidden, for the hours of his days were filled with worldly matters.

The overseer of Hurmanetar's cornfields was Noaman, a man of Loza, a man whose word was not worth an obal of sand, for he falsified the measure. Therefore, fingers were removed from him and he was driven forth out of the lands of Hurmanetar, and he became the servant of one Sabitur. This Sabitur dwelt on the road to Milikum, outside the city of Kithim where Daydee ruled, and Daydee was a great queen.

In the days when men came to Kithim and Lodar to buy and sell, before the feast when new-milled corn was offered to the Bull of Yahana, Hurmanetar went up into the city of Kithim to pay his tribute.

Now, Gilamishoar, the king, had died because of the thing hidden in an earthenware box, and the new king, wishing to know where he stood with the Gods, sent for wise men who threw bundles of cedar wood before him. They saw he was destined to reign in greatness and prosperity, providing that he never quarreled with a queen or killed a child. Therefore, the king deemed it wise to strengthen his peace with Daydee and sent his son to her with many gifts.

The prince journeyed some days then stopped at an inn a day's journey from Kithim, and supped there; and while he ate word was brought to him that someone wished to speak with him. It was Noaman, and he spoke poisoned words regarding Hurmanetar, so these should be brought to the ear of the queen. Thus, when Hurmanetar entered the city of Kithim he was seized and brought before the queen. But when she saw him and spoke with him, Daydee found no fault with him and looked upon him with favour. Therefore, though the prince departed, Hurmanetar dallied at the court of queen Daydee.

Time passed and Hurmanetar came frequently to the court and he was well favoured, but it came about that strife arose in the lands about, for the Mother of the Gods strove with the Father of the Gods. It was a time of turmoil, when the hand of brother was against brother, and all the while Hurmanetar rose in the esteem of the queen. So it came about that a son was born to Hurmanetar and Daydee.

While the lands about had been ravaged by war there was peace in Kithim, but when the son of Hurmanetar and Daydee was scarce one year old, men came bearing tidings of war; the hosts of the king had gathered and voices were crying in the market place.

"Prepare to die, for those who are mightier than the Humbala are upon us. None shall be spared from the fire of the pit, neither old men nor women and children".

For those who came were The Children of Githesad the Serpent, the Cunning One, whose mother was one of those who brought defilement into the race of men. These people knew neither justice nor mercy.

The priests and the people went up into the mountain to gather before the cave of Yahana. They cried out to be delivered, they were overpowered with weakness and their teeth shook, their knees became weak. But Daydee remained in the city and she appointed Hurmanetar captain of her war hosts, and he gave the orders. The armsmakers bent to the task, making spears of willow wood and casting axes. Hurmanetar freed Turten who, because he had renounced his father, had become a slave, and gave him command of the bowmen. For Turten was a man of might and a bowman of renown.

In the days when men feared because of the bull of Heaven, the war hosts of The Children of Githesad gathered on the plain and the fires of their encampment were, at night, numbered like stars. The men of Hurmanetar encamped against them, and when he led the war hosts of queen Daydee out in the morning light the men of blood faced one another. Turten, the bowman, had been made a war captain and he went out before the host of Daydee to see how those who stood against them were arrayed. When he returned he spoke thus to Hurmanetar,

"Behold my Lord, great is the host of The Children of Githesad and well set in their order of battle. Behold the long-limbed spearman, Kami the Mighty, far famed among men, leads them. See the powerful bowmen whose wide ranging arrows speed from behind tall shields which stand before them. What has Hoames failed to teach these people? Behold the hosts of the Husigen who are with them, led by Aknim of the firm standard. See to their left the spearmen of ever mighty Marduka, they stand firm in line; they are like the point of a nail, ready to thrust inward. See, already the horns of the bull spread out for the encircling clash. Slingers already harass our foreguard, while bowmen sting us on either side".

 

"Still let us take heart. Have we not ourselves many mighty men ready to give their life's blood for you? Are they not all armed with every kind of weapon and masters of war? There are far throwing slingers and keen-eyed bowmen, there is tall Lugal with the flashing weapons of fire. Yet we can number our host, while the number of those who stand against us seem countless as the sands".

Then Hurmanetar raised his voice, calling upon his men to stand firm-footed in line to await the clash and bear up before it. He said,

"Think of your duty and do not waver before the thrusts. To step back in battle is to step back from manhood. To take flight would cause men to tell of your dishonour now and in the days to come, and to an honourable man the disgrace of dishonour is worse than death itself. If any of you run, the staunch ones who stood firm will say you have fled the battle through fear, and your comrades who expected your support will treat your name with scorn. Those who stand against us on the field of blood will speak of you with contempt and derision. They will mock your courage, and for a true man there can be no more shameful fate".

Then, to encourage those who were faint-hearted, Humanetar sounded the loud thunderous war cry. It resounded like the roar of ten bulls. Then he caused his companion of the shield to blow the far sounding war horn. After this came a rolling boom of war drums, the ringing sound of clashing cymbals, the loud shrilling of trumpets and even louder trumpets filled the sky above with thunder.

Turten, of the powerful bow, and Lugal, of the bright weapons, prepared their men to meet the clash. The war hosts drew closer and the flight of arrows and slingstones began, followed by the hurling of flight spears. Heaven and Earth trembled under the fearful sound of war cries and the clamour of war horns; even the hearts of stout fighting men shook before they commanded themselves. Yet those with Hurmanetar stood firm, eager for the clash and saying, "Let us smite those who come full of fight and fury to do the evil will of their dark king".

Now I, Ancheti, stood behind the slingers' wall and my limbs trembled and my mouth was dry, my tongue craved for water. My scalp moved in fear and my hands loosened their grip through moisture. My heart thumped in confusion and I saw a mist of redness before my eyes, for this was my first battle and I was but a youth. Beside me stood Yadol, the wild tender man, and he said,

"I see no gladness in victory, if victory be granted. I crave no kingdom that I may rule over other men. What would be its pleasures to one such as I? For what do men slay one another? Which man seeks spoil and its pleasure and which man the joys of life? Against us stand men of living flesh and blood, men who have mothers and wives, men who have children, men who are good, even if those who lead them are evil. These good men I have no wish to slay, better would it be were I to be slain myself. Not a man will I slay with these hands, not even for the kingdom of the three spheres would I do it, much less an earthly kingdom. Were those who stand against us all men of evil, it would perhaps be a good deed to slay them; but in the clash of war the good slay the good and the evil ones live safely behind the shields".

"Can we slay men made in our own likeness, brother beings? What peace shall we henceforth enjoy in our hearts? Will not the memory make our hearts heavy, so that life becomes an unbearable burden? Even if there are others among these great war hosts who are so overcome with greed for spoil that they see no evil in the slaying of men, shall we not withhold our blows from this awful deed of blood?"

"O doom of darkness, O day of sorrows, what evil has moved the hearts of rulers that men be slain in thousands for the gain of treasure and the rule of an earthly kingdom? What do we here on this field of blood, we who are men of peace and goodwill? Better by far that I stood unarmed, my breast bared, unresisting, and let them slay me, that I might lay in my own innocent blood".

Thus spoke Yadol as the clash drew nigh, but only I, Ancheti, heard him.

Then the lunge and thrust was upon us and I heard another voice beside me, that of my uncle, Hurmanetar, who was there, red sword in hand. The press of the foe drew back and in the lull Hurmanetar stood beside Yadol, the companion of his wanderings, and placed a hand on his shoulder in compassion, for Yadol was a man without fear, a man of more courage than Ancheti. On the field of blood the craven-hearted are truly separated from the men of peace and goodwill.

The foe swept upon the thinning ranks again, they came like waves breaking upon a beach. They swept in, then sullenly, tardily, they rolled back, only to reform and crash again. As they cam I heard Hurmanetar open his mouth and cry out,

"They come yet again, they are upon us, arise and greet them; arise above this field of blood like men, for this is the day of heroes. This is the final test, this is the last trial of strength, the last effort to cast back. Why this lifeless rejection of all that is manly? Strong men cannot despair in their hearts when facing conflict and death, this gains neither victory on Earth nor peace in Heaven. Stand as you have done, firm-footed, rising to the battle clash like the whirlwind that carries all before it. We are but men who know nothing of the causes of Gods and their ways. I fight for the cause of loyalty and honour, I know not whether their victory or ours be best for the true cause of God, but I fight. Come, rise to the clash".

Then the remnants of the war hosts came together in the clash of arms. The cruel weapons struck on against the other, blow and counter blow. There were dull cries of death, the shrieks of pain and the shrill shout of victory, the last efforts of weary bodies, the last cries of dry-throated voices. The men of Hurmanetar stood firm in the line and the war hosts of those who sought to overwhelm them broke like a wave upon the seashore, they came no more.

Hurmanetar stood blooded and proud in the exultation of victory, but it passed in a moment when he saw Yadol lying among the dead and dying, wounded to death but not yet dead. He had taken upon himself the spear thrust meant for Ancheti.

Hurmanetar lifted him up, his knee under his head, and Yadol opened his mouth and said,

"The Great One has given you the victory, and for you, behind and beyond the victory, I see a great destiny, and therefore a difficult one. Be not heavy-hearted, nor let your spirit grieve, heavy-laden with sorrow because of me. Weep not, for this I know, he who thinks he can slay another or be slain by him is devoid of enlightening truth. The spirit of man cannot perish by the sword or be overwhelmed by death".

"The sharp weapon of war cannot harm the spirit, nor can fire burn it. Waters cannot drown it and soil cannot bury it. My spirit departs to its abode beyond the power of sharp sword, beyond the reach of thrusting spear, beyond the range of swift arrow. Now, face to face with what must be and cannot be altered, face to face with the ultimatum of destiny, cease from sorrow".

"What is this passing thing called life? This fragile flower so tenderly cherished, seen in its true frailty here on the field of blood. Does it have any real meaning? Here on the field of blood the dead sleep to awake to glory. To the victorious ones remaining alive there is glory on Earth. So do not dally here with the dying. Arise, go to your proper reward and lay me down to mine. Fear not for me, already I see the welcoming light beyond the veil. We shall meet again".

Thus Yadol departed from Earth and he was laid to rest in glory. He sleeps among the hills and trees, among the wild birds and beasts which were his friends. These words are cut on his tomb, 'He was a man of peace and died because other men were not as he'.

CHAPTER EIGHT
THE HURMANETAR JOURNEYS TO THE NETHERWORLD

Perhaps no man of his day properly honoured Yadol, for he was beyond their understanding, but Hurmanetar loved him and Ancheti never forgot him. Long days the thoughts of Hurmanetar rested upon Yadol, his friend, the companion in the joyous hunting on the mountains. Long he thought,

"What manner of sleep is this, if sleep it be, that fell upon Yadol? Has he decayed into dust to become nothing, as my eyes declare? Or does he live in some strange way? Did not the worm fasten onto his body before it was laid to rest, yet he knew it not".

Long hours had Hurmanetar sat at the feet of Nintursu the wise, yet faced with the blank stare and deaf ears of his companion he had begun to fear the certainty of death. Like many before him he sought to penetrate the veil.

Therefore, having claimed audience, Hurmanetar came before the queen to state his intention. Daydee, having been victorious, was exalted in her own eyes and cared little that the battle had been won for her by Hurmanetar and others. Now the danger was past she dallied with new favourites, not knowing the day of retribution would come, as come it surely did, for she was carried off captive in chains, to become the plaything of a cruel king.

Having come before the queen Hurmanetar spoke thus,

"O great queen, exalted above all others, great lady of battles, though dwelling here under your great shadow I am as a cat among pigeons, as a wild boar among a docile herd. Therefore, I would spread my wings, going to a distant place to communicate with my God. I would seek entry into the Place of the Dead. My heart is consumed with sorrow because of the uncertainty that grasps my heart, my spirit is restless. I shall seek to discover if my friend and companion yet lives in the Land of Shadows, or whether he is no more than mere dust, the plaything of the winds".

Queen Daydee answered,

"Wherefore must you go to some distant place to communicate with your God? Is He some little God to be found only in one place?"

Hurmanetar replied,

"O great queen, no little God is this but the Greatest God of All. It is not because of His littleness that I seek Him out but because of His Greatness. The handmaiden goes to the dressmaker but the dressmaker comes to the queen".

Then Daydee enquired from Hurmanetar as to the nature of this God, for she was curious, he not having previously discussed such things with her. She asked him for which God he fought, but Hurmanetar said he had fought only for her.

Hurmanetar said, :

"We have a God you and I, and you have a God and I have a God. The people have their Gods and the strangers within your gates have their Gods; but bidden behind all these is another God. These lesser Gods are no more than His members. It is this God whom I seek. How can I, a mere mortal, describe Him? Only this do I know, as I learned it in a remote temple. This God came into existence before all else. He ever was, so none could know Him in the beginning and none knows His mysterious nature. No God came into existence before Him. How can I even name One who had no mother after whom His name might have been made? He had no father who could have named Him and said, "This is I, your father". None can display His likeness in writing, nor can it be cut with knife in wood or stone. He is too great that men should even enquire about Him. With what words could He be described to their understanding? No other God knows how to call Him by name, even the greatest of them being less than a servant before Him. Yet this I have been told, that the spirit of man can know this Great God and can even know His nature, therefore perchance the spirit of man is greater than any of the Gods".

At this those who stood about queen Daydee murmured against Hurmanetar, but she gave no heed to them, gazing long upon him. Then she spoke,

"Perchance, too, this Great God does not exist. Who besides you knows of Him? If He be so great, is it not more likely that He would be worshipped by Gods rather than by men? Is it not more likely that lesser Gods stand intermediate between Him and men? If a shepherd or husbandman comes to the palace seeking justice or grace, does he see me or an official under me? You say your God is approachable by anyone, does this enhance His stature? Which is greater, the ruler who judges disputes between swineherds and listens to their complaints, or the ruler who appoints effective officials to deal with swineherds? Surely the former rules amid chaos while the latter rules with efficiency. Do not both of us believe, as all men believe, that there is One Great God above all Gods, but we believe that being so great this Being is beyond approach by mere mortals. Only in this do we differ you and I".

Hurmanetar answered her, saying,

"I know Him not as He is, all I know is that He exists. Look about you, you who are enthroned so mightily high that your eyes are bedazzled by your surroundings, so you cannot see the Truth lesser beings discover for themselves. Why, even the lowly worm crawling beneath your palace proclaims that nothing less than an almighty God could have created it!"

"Wise were our fathers in olden times, and wiser our fathers' fathers. Whence came their wisdom? Did it not come from the Great God who holds the key to the meeting place of the two kingdoms which now stand apart? Who lifted the lofty vaults of Heaven and spread Earth out in wide expanse?"

Daydee said, "Does it matter whether it was this God or that? Your God or mine? Suffice it was some God named or unnamed. These are labyrinthic arguments unsuited to those to whom time is precious".

Then those who stood about the queen set a snare for Hurmanetar, asking him whether the Great Being of whom he spoke was The Mother of All or The Father of All. But Hurmanetar answered, "Let he who has examined the Great Being answer, for I am but a mere mortal man, one not even claiming to be wise. Let the wise among you answer for me".

Then Hurmanetar departed from the presence of queen Daydee. In a few days he left her land, driven by the God-given restlessness that marks the true seeker after light. With him went the youth Ancheti. Tame goats guided them to the border of the land and from thence they followed the Way of the Chariot until they came to the land of Mekan where they rested. In this place dwelt Formana, the strong-limbed, who gave them shelter.

Formana asked Hurmanetar whither he went and Hurmanetar replied,

"I go to seek the abode of Hamerit, which is set atop a mountain in the midst of this great forest, just beyond the river. There is a door therein which I would open, to which I hold a key".

Formana said,

"This is an enterprise doomed for failure, for none may pass that way and return. I who have dwelt here for many long years know the truth of this; nor do I understand this talk of a key, this is a thing new to my ears".

So Hurmanetar drew forth the Great Key shaped like a sword but like no other sword, for it could not be gazed upon for more than a moment without blindness striking the beholder. Yet within its strange scabbard it harmed none.

Formana said,

"This many-hued weapon is a strange thing indeed and I have no knowledge of its like or its power. But this I do know, it is an unequal struggle when men alone, however weaponed, have to face dread Akamen the Terrible One. This is not all, for first they must pass the fearsome watchman at the gate, and he never sleeps".

Hurmanetar said,

"I have set my heart on this enterprise because of my friend, also if there is an evil thing lurking within the forest it must be destroyed. I am one whose destiny is already written, I must die that men might live. What a man cannot escape he must face manfully".

Then Hurmanetar left Formana to go apart into a place of solitude where he prayed,

"O Father of the Gods, hear me. Hear me O Father of the Gods, for there is evil abroad in the land and men die of despair. Even the tallest of men cannot reach the Heights of Heaven, or the swiftest of them encompass the Earth. Yet men must struggle against things beyond their reach and overcome evils which overshadow the whole land contained within the bitter waters. My destiny is decreed, I alone will enter the gate at the abode of Akamen. O Father of the Gods, when I return I will set up Your Name where now the name of other Gods are written, little Gods of no standing before you. I will raise a great straight monument to your sacred Name, if I could but know it".

"Why did You move me, Father of the Gods, to embark on this enterprise unless I were destined to accomplish it? Why fill me with the restless desire to perform it? How can I, a mere mortal, succeed without aid? I sought no more than to know the lot of my friend, yet a greater burden has been allotted to me. If I die it may be without fear, but if I return may that return be glorified by the knowledge of Truth. O Father of the Gods, stand by my side, help me overcome the lurking thing and show it the strength of a son of Sisuda".

When Hurmanetar returned he felt strengthened, but Formana tried to turn him away from his intention, saying,

"Desist from this thing, put this enterprise from your thoughts. You have courage and it carries you far, but does it not also sweep you along as one caught in the swift river current is swept to destruction? You cannot know what this means, the Guardian at the Gate alone is like nothing on Earth, his weapons are like no others, for they are invisible and strike down from afar. Why strive to do this thing? It is no equal struggle".

Hurmanetar replied,

"My heart is set on this matter. Though I must journey along an unknown road, perhaps a road of no return, and fight a strange battle, go I will. I fear not the Terror at the Gate, nor that which dwells within the abode of Akamen".

Formana said,

"If go you must, then I who have seen many pass this way will go with you to the gate. Even through the forest I will accompany you, for am I not one who has been purified before the Sacred Flame? But is it wise that any other should go with such as we? Surely this youth, your attendant, this young man of few years, inexperienced in things such as we must face, should not accompany us. Is it not more fitting that he remain here to protect my daughters? Is it not better to exchange his inexperience for my experience, his youthful strength for my wisdom and cunning, his endurance for my steadfastness?"

Though Ancheti protested it was agreed that he should remain behind at the dwelling place of Formana.

So, making things ready, Hurmanetar and Formana departed in the morning light, while Ancheti remained behind, a guardian of young women, and his heart was sore. He raised his voice to Heaven, saying,

"O Father of the Gods whom Hurmanetar knows, why did You give him this restless heart? Why did you bestow it upon him? You have stirred his spirit so now he goes into unimaginable danger. O Father of the Gods, of whom I am ignorant, overlook my shortcomings and hear my voice; from this day until he overcomes the Evil Thing and returns, let him ever rest in Your thoughts. Stand by him when he faces the Watchman at the Gate. Strengthen his arm when he strikes at the things that lurk to devour. What these might be or their nature is beyond my imagination. I know them only from the talk of men, each of whom sees them from a different stance. Yet, have any truly seen and lived to return? I know not, but I pray sincerely for him whom I serve".

When Hurmanetar and Formana came to the edge of the forest they were attacked by lions, but they slew the beasts. Then they entered the forest and saw great trees such as they had not seen before. They went sleepless, for dread things lurked in the murky light of the forest. They pressed on, coming to the foot of the mountain where they camped and slept, for it was an open place.

Then, as the sun rose next day they climbed the mountain until they came to a cleared place before the cave known as the Portal of the Dead. Here Hurmanetar took leave of Formana who remained in a hut just beyond the cleared place.

Now, Hurmanetar looked about, seeking the Guardian, for he knew what had to be done before he could enter the cave. Then he saw, to his right and beside the cave, a stone hut and seated before it was a very old woman. Going up to the woman he greeted her and said,

"I am one who would enter the dread place, the Abode of Death, the Threshold of the Otherworld, the Door Replacing the Misty Veil. I am one sanctified, one knowing the Lesser Mysteries, I am an Enlightened One".

The woman replied by asking the three questions which all who would span the spheres must answer, and when this was done correctly she invited Hurmanetar into the hut. Inside she indicated a stool, and when he was seated she spread a cord around him in a circle. Then she placed a firepot before him, onto which she poured the contents of a small leather bag. She also gave him a pot of green water which he drank.

Some time later, after he had slept awhile, Hurmanetar was conducted to the cave and left there at a spot known as the Devil's Mouth, for there an evil breath came from an opening in the ground. He remained there for awhile and again he slept. Awaking he moved forward into a dark passage, but bis movement was strange and he saw as through a narrow tunnel, while his body appeared light and airy.

He came to the place where the Watchman kept guard at the gate and beside him the Terror squatted. Hurmanetar drew his sword and faced the awful pair, he advanced cautiously towards them. Then, when they met the air was filled with a loud clamour, great hissing noises beat at the ears, shouts and screams tore overhead. There was a howling such as no mortal has heard outside of that awful place. Hurmanetar drew back a pace then advanced again and, behold, both the Watchman and the Terror suddenly vanished and the hideous clamour was stilled.

Hurmanetar passed through the portal and came to a wider, more open place wherein there was a pool of water. It was deep, dark and still. He gazed into the water, and surely no mortal has ever seen such sights as he saw pictured in its stillness. He passed it by. Terrifying shadows leaped and quivered over the walls as he entered a narrowing passage, cast by some bidden ruddy light which seemed to dance as though alive. Then he saw daylight ahead.

He came out into the daylight; on one hand the mountainside reared up, on the other was a vast chasm, between the two ran a narrow path and up this he went. Great birds attacked him, eagles and birds with strange heads. He fought them off and continued upward until he came within sight of the abode of Akamen. He came to it after the long journey upward and stood before the great brazen doors, the seven-bolted doors.

Hurmanetar saw no Guardian before the doors, but he heard its voice as it asked the seven questions. He who had sat at the feet of Nintursu remembered well the replies to make, and as each was answered a bolt slid back. Seven questions were asked and seven answers rightly given. The great doors swung apart and Hurmanetar passed through, entering the courtyard of Akamen.

Within the courtyard Hurmanetar fought and overcame the four great beast Beings which feast on the bodies of men, but the sword of Hurmanetar laid them low. He passed through the Hall of Contest where good and evil spirits fight an eternal battle for the souls of men, coming into the Chamber of Death. Now weary he sat himself down on the stone called the Seat of Makilam, for it was then in this place, and he waited.

Then Akamen the Terrible came and Hurmanetar strove with him for half a day and prevailed, and so he entered into the place where stood the Door of the Spheres. This, Hurmanetar opened with the Great Key, he passed through and entered the Abode of the Dead. He held fast to the Great Key, for without it there was no return, nor could it be held by his own powers alone, but only through the additional powers of those who might come to his aid.

A mist gathered before him, gradually thickening, and as it thickened it gave off an ever increasing brilliant light, at the same time shaping itself into a glorious form of brightness. When the shaping was complete a Being stood there, radiant as the sunlight and lovely as the moonbeam.

Hurmanetar heard a voice coming out from the Glorious Being which said,

"Who are you that comes hither, wan of cheek and with lowered countenance, heavy-hearted and dejected in spirit, weary from a strange fray? There is lamentation in your heart and surely none such as you has entered here beforetimes. Brave indeed is the one who seeks entry by force of arms".

Hurmanetar answered,

"O beautiful vision, indeed my heart is not light, for I have fought an inhuman contest. I have been assailed by hideous things unknown on Earth, things which haunt the night dreams of men and are spoken of only in whispers. I have come seeking a friend, a companion of the hunt, the loyal one of my wanderings. His death lies heavily upon my heart, therefore I have dared to come even unto this place".

The Form of Beauty said,

"He whom you seek lies beyond the Waters of Death, but you who have passed the Guardians are permitted to go thence. One thing, however, you must not do. In the midst of the waters grows the plant of eternity, the forbidden tree of which you and all men may not eat, a fruit of which was stolen by the serpent of ancient times. Partake of it now and you will suffer everlasting changelessness, the most dreadful of all fates. Go, tarry awhile, then return this way".

Hurmanetar passed over the still sullen waters to the Land of Waiting where all spirits shine redly. He passed through the Great Doorway and came to the Place of Glory, the Land of Eternal Living. He saw his friend, his companion of the hunt, the loyal one during his wanderings. Behold, there before his eyes was Yadol. Hurmanetar knew him though he stood forth in a form more glorious than can be described to the understanding of men. He was here, life was in him, he was here in a bright and flowering place, a place of trees and waters, a place such as no man can describe.

Yadol spoke with Hurmanetar and he spoke of things long forgotten by men and revealed truths unknown since the days when men walked with their Father. They spoke one with the other, they rested in pleasant places, they embraced and they parted. Before Hurmanetar left, Yadol said,

"As you have passed through the Portal of Death while yet uncalled from the embrace of the flesh, for no purpose other than gaining assurance that the dead do not pass into dust, it is decreed by the ordinance of this place that your life shall be shortened. Time enough you will have, therefore record the things of which we have spoken, that they may be guiding lights to men. Set them down in two books, one recording the Sacred Secrets, more precious than life itself and for the elect alone. The other recording the Sacred Mysteries for those who sit at the feet of the elect. One will be the Book of Truth Unveiled and the other the Book of Veiled Truth, the Book of Hidden Things".

Yadol continued,

"Once men could pass easily from one sphere to another, then came the misty veil. Now men must pass a grim portal to span the spheres and, as the generations pass, this, too, will be closed to men. The secret of the substances which, compounded together, become the horse which can bear men here, will remain with those who know the mysteries, but these will become even harder to reach. As the ages roll by there will be many false mysteries and perhaps the path will become closed or the way lost".

These things Yadol said and they talked of other things.

Hurmanetar returned. He passed over the Waters of Death, he was upheld by the Guardians of Form, by those who safeguarded the powers of the Great Key. He saluted the Glorious Being, he passed through the manifold chambers, through the courtyard and the many-bolted doors, down the winding path lit by strange torches, through the cavern and out through the cave.

At the entrance Formana still waited; he arose from his watch and greeted Hurmanetar warmly, saying,

"I saw you as one dead, lying stiff between the twin flames, and I feared for you. Now, behold, you come forth with shining countenance as one in whom life has been renewed. My heart rejoices for you, but let us not delay, let us depart from this dread place, for I have spent the whole long vigil in fear-enshrouded watchfulness".

They departed the mountain, they passed through the forest. They fought with things that lurked in the gloom beneath the tall overhanging trees. They came through the Gate of Many Cubits and back to the pleasant pastures of Formana.

CHAPTER NINE
ASARUA

Ancheti had been left with the daughters of Formana who, having just reached maidenhood, were wilful and vexed him sorely, so that he sought places of solitude, being an unbearded youth unlearned in such matters. Beyond the place where they dwelt there was a river, and from the hillside, away from the forest, a small stream flowed down to join it. Upward of the stream was a valley in which lay a small lake fed by an unfailing stream of sweet water. Here, in a house of wattle, dwelt a maiden whose name was Asarua, and she lived with her mother, Mamuah, who was a wise woman and blind.

The young woman had barely reached maidenhood and neither hunted for food nor dug in the ground. She dwelt in a garden of trees, her implements of toil being pruning hook and knife. Her days were spent in joyful tasks and a song was ever on her lips. She worked happily among the trees, loosening the soil about their roots, cutting away the overgrowth and pulling up the weeds. She knew the art of fostering twigs so that fruits grew on trees strange to them. She grew vines, the fruits of which were not used for wine, and these she twined around bowers and over the branches of trees.

The women dwelt under the protection of Asarua's father, but the mother of Asarua was not of his household, for he was a strange king though a mighty one. The place wherein they dwelt was fenced about and guarded by seven fierce hounds, tawny-coated and long of body. The maiden was supple and firm-breasted, she was tall and graceful, red of cheek and light of skin.

Her sole garment was plainly woven and unadorned, for she lacked all the things with which women bedeck themselves. Upon her head she wore a garland of leaves and her only ornaments were flowers. She was shy and restrained of glance; nevertheless, she was not unobserved, for the eyes of men had fallen upon her from outside the place wherein she dwelt. They did not enter the place, for to them it was sacred ground upon which men feared to trespass.

One day, a hunter passed by and became smitten by her beauty and modesty. He thought also of what she had to offer, fine fruits and green growing herbs, a garden of plenty where, in her embrace, he could find rest from the rigours of the hunt. He came to pay his court, garbed as for the chase with bow on back and spear in hand. He brought with him two wild geese and a young piglet to lay at her feet, but when his steps brought him within the fence the hounds were loosed upon him. The hunter, seeing that he was unwelcome, took counsel with himself and thought,

"Perhaps if I am uncouth in her sight, my brother the shepherd, will seem better in her eyes".

Therefore, the shepherd came and sat on the grass outside the fence, paying his court with music from the pipes, but she paid no heed to him. Still he remained, until wearying of his piping she called out,

"Go, for what want I with one who sits blowing wind all day? Go learn music from the flowing waters".

In the days that followed others came, among them a merchant, a rich man, a lord of grainfields and vineyards. Word of her beauty had been brought to him and he was challenged by her inaccessibility. So he thought,

"If indeed it is as men say, then I will have this woman for my own. Have I not riches enough to provide all that gladdens the heart of a woman? So he came wearing a mantle of scarlet with brooches of bronze. He wore buckles of silver and ornaments of cornelian and gold. He was a man possessed of a smooth, well oiled tongue, the owner of a storehouse of fine words. He came with attendants who drove off another who sat outside the fence.

 

The merchant came boldly through the gate of the fence, but Asarua met him. When he paid court with bejewelled words she said, "What have you to offer but gold and treasure? Think you that such unfeeling things can capture my heart? Am I to be bought as a woman bound within her father's household? Am I to be another counted among the many women you have known? An occupant of a cornerplace within your heart, O man of many lovers".

Then he was wrath with her, but she took no heed and the hounds drove him off, even the lordly one, for the ground here was sacred.

One day, not much later, the young Ancheti came that way and in passing he saw the maiden Asarua, but because of bis unfamiliarity with women he hesitated to speak, though he, too, was smitten by her beauty and maidenly bearing.

Passing that way again Ancheti stopped by the place and seeing an old woman seated beneath the tree he said to her, "Mother, may I have some water, for I am thirsty from journeying". The woman replied,

"My son, there is water in plenty below on the other side of this place, which young ears should hear, but I am blind and cannot see. I, too, thirst and therefore I beg that you enter and bring me cool water from the pool below the waterfall".

So Ancheti entered and drank, and he gave water to the woman. Though Asarua espied him from afar she did not come near, but neither were the hounds allowed near him.

Hurmanetar had returned from his strange journey, but was puzzled when he saw Ancheti was silent and spoke little, that his thoughts were not inside him. So Hurmanetar questioned him, "Wherefore are you sick? What ails you? "

Then, when Ancheti spoke to him of the maiden he had seen, Hurmanetar said,

"This is a delicate matter and one not for the heavy tactics of men. Does not the fawn take flight at the sight of the hunting hound? While the moonflower that closes its petals at the touch of a man opens them at the touch of a woman. Your heart has guided you rightly when counselling caution, for you are ill equipped to catch this rare bird of beauty when unaided by wisdom. For a woman's errand let us send a woman, the nightingale sings in the presence of the owl but hides in silence when the hawk roosts nearby".

Then Hurmanetar spoke with the maidservant of she who had mothered the daughters of Formana, and the maidservant agreed to do the things he told her. Thus, on the morrow she went forth unaccompanied, and coming to the place where Asarua dwelt sat down outside the gate. When the eyes of the maiden eventually fell upon her Asarua saw the bent old woman, weary and travel-stained from the journey; and out of kindness, for she was gentle and compassionate by nature, brought the old woman in, that she might sit under the shade of a tree to rest herself and eat some fruit.

After the maidservant had rested in the shade and refreshed herself, she spoke to Asarua and said,

"How lovely is your garden, how well watered, how bright and refreshing its many fruits. I have heard much of this place but more of you and your beauty; but no words of men have done justice to what I see with my own eyes".

Asarua said,

"The words of men often differ from the thoughts of their hearts, while flattering words are bait above a well set trap. Let us not talk of men and their wiles but of more pleasant things. Come, let us walk around the garden".

They walked and came to a place where grew a tamarisk tree, and about the tamarisk entwined a vine holding many bunches of grapes. The old maidservant said,

"Behold this tree, of what value would it be were it not for the vine? Would it have any value except as firewood? And what of the tree to which it clings, would it not straggle along the ground, laying in the dust to be crushed underfoot by any passer-by? It would be a helpless thing unable to raise itself up, a barren creeper bearing no fruit. So see what benefit comes from their union and learn wisdom. Is not the tree named as a man is named and the vine as a woman is named? We who are old see lessons in such things and in learning from them gain wisdom. The young are ever loath to even read to their benefit from the book which is always open before their eyes".

Asarua listened but said little and as they walked the maidservant spoke of the young daughters of Fonnana whom she had nursed, and of the ways of man and woman. She spoke as such women speak, her tongue following a winding road. The speech of men comes out like an arrow, but the speech of women comes out like a puff of smoke. Men talk with the naked tongue, but words from the mouth of a woman are veiled and devious. The tongue of a woman is a sword sheathed in silk. Not for nought are women called the twin-tongued. Perchance these words were added in the days of Thalos, for not all men think thus of women.

The maidservant had an inexhaustible supply of words and Asarua was so taken aback to hear the things of which she spoke that she could find no words to answer. Thus speaking, they came to the small dwelling place where the mother of Asarua was preparing a meal. She invited the maidservant to eat with them and to sleep there that night, and this the maidservant gladly accepted.

After they had eaten, the maidservant spoke with Mamuah, the mother of Asarua, and the talk was of unfortunate women whose daughters were fair yet refused to be married, daughters who closed their ears even to good advice on marriage; whether such women were true women or unnatural women, The words which mattered were few while the words in which they were buried were many, but the former were not lost on Mamuah whose ears were not closed to such talk and they entered her heart. She gave attentive ears when the other spoke of Ancheti who, though but a youth, was wise. Though he had not yet drunk deeply from the waters of wisdom, nevertheless the well from which he drew them was a never failing one.

"Be wise", said the maidservant, "choose this young man, for surely none better will come this way. He does not wander from his place of duty; he is not slothful in manner, nor does he spend his days in futile pleasures. He does not go from woman to woman, and while it is true that this could be because of his age, yet he speaks of women only with respect, which is not the way with budding fornicators. He is manly, he is of the blood of kings and above all he is wise, because he has a wise instructor. He is a youth of good promise and one who would not bestow his love lightly".

The mother of Asarua heard the words of the maidservant with both ears and when the maidservant was departing said, "Come again when the moon is new, that we may speak more of these matters". Ancheti visited the place again and when the maidservant returned at the new moon Mamuah said,

"It is well, my daughter will marry the youth Ancheti. But first he must bide in the place where he now serves for one year, then he must labour in this place for one year; after this he may marry Asarua with my blessing".

This seemed good in the eyes of Ancheti and so it was that he laboured two years in order to marry Asarua.

CHAPTER TEN
THE DEATH OF HURMANETAR

In the days when the Elshumban were gathered in war hosts, Hurmanetar departed with his household and the household of Ancheti to dwell in the land between the Great River of Sweet Waters and the Bitter Waters of the West, and they built an encampment there. They were in a land where some men spoke as Hurmanetar spoke and though there were men of blood with them the people of the land let Hurmanetar and those with him dwell in peace among them, because in those days men were inflicted with Inahana.

When the task set upon him was nigh finished, Hurmanetar knew that his days in the land of the living were not to be many more, therefore he betook himself into a place of solitude. There he fasted for many days casting his spirit that it might commune with the Father of the Gods, but the voice of God remained silent. Then he left that place, going into a cave where he dwelt in the half light for many days; but again there was no response from the Father of the Gods. So Hurmanetar departed from the cave and returned to his people where he was heard to say,

"Woe, for truly my God has forsaken me and remains dumb against my pleadings. Yet I have done all the things told me beforetimes and written in the great Book, wherefore have I failed?"

Then he went apart from the people and slept alone, for his heart was heavy. But behold, in the night he had a dream. In it he saw the Sacred Symbols spread out upon a cloth of white linen and each was displayed according to its form. As he gazed upon them and numbered them, each by its own number, an ass came and ate up the Sacred Symbols, and lo, the ass became a falcon. Then as he looked the falcon became a cow and between its horns was a crown of silver and a crown of gold, and the cow spoke to Hurmanetar, saying,

"Drink of my milk and anoint your eyes with it, thus they will be opened and you will see".

Hurmanetar drank the milk and anointed his eyes, and then he awoke. Remembering the dream and being wise he needed no other to interpret it for him. So then he straightway did the things which had to be done, about which those with understanding will know, and departed from the people.

Hurmanetar went out towards a place of solitude, about one day's journey distant. Having gone about half the way he became weary under the noonday sun and so sat down beneath a tree to rest in its shade. Then, as he drowsed, behold, a great flash of light came down from out of Heaven and it smote the ground before him. He heard a great noise like a mighty whip crack, and he was blinded.

Then he heard a voice saying,

"Behold I am here, the God of Gods and the God of Men in the beginning".

Hearing this, Hurmanetar fell upon his face and cried, "O Great One, I am Your servant".

Then God said,

"Wherefore would you open a door unto me? Because the race of man has been defiled and men are no longer with Me, am I not the withdrawn One, the Hidden One?"

Hurmanetar, still on the ground, answered,

"O Father of the Gods, I Your servant would know Your will. I have a task nigh finished and seek to know whether it is well in your sight, or whether it is a thing done without your blessing".

God answered Hurmanetar, saying,

"Is this not a Sacred Thing, a heritage saved and handed down from the days when men walked with Me? Therefore, it is a good thing, though care must be taken to ensure it is not disclosed to the eyes of profane men. The concoctions which, when properly compounded, will enable men to span the spheres can also, used otherwise, give men near unlimited potency and extreme pleasure with womankind. Therefore, such things must be carefully safeguarded, for in the hands of lesser men they will certainly be abused. But let it all be as it is written, do with it as you have been instructed".

 

"You call upon Me as the Father of the Gods, nor do you err in this. Yet I am the Hidden God, the God of Secret Manifestation, the Wronged God, the Betrayed God, the Disappointed God. I am the God who sought to give love Divine to men by making them My heirs, making them partakers of divinity, co-creators with Me. But men spurn their birthright, not through wickedness alone but through their weakness and love of pleasure.

 

Therefore, the love once offered cannot now be displayed in all its glory; it cannot be revealed in its beauty, it must now be leavened with severity and chastisement. This, so that those who are the inheritors of divinity may return to it with undiminshed powers, but purged of their weaknesses and love of unprofitable pleasure. This you should know, that men may know: Divinity of itself is not a created thing and cannot be bestowed as a gift. It comes as the crown of achievement. I, the Almighty God who, by taking thought can create ten thousand worlds, say this".

 

"Men have said, as they will say throughout the ages, "Why, if God be almighty, can He not create perfection immediately? Why does He not create beings having the knowledge of divine love forthwith? Why have Earth with all its trials and tribulations?" Know this, what appears to you as ages in time is, to me, but a flash of thought in a moment of eternity. I breathed in, the hosts of earths and the spheres were not. I breathed out and the hosts of earths and spheres were. I breathe in and they are no more. All things exist within the Eternal One and that which men know as the span of time is the act of creation".

"Mark the flight of an arrow from the hands of a bowman. It flies from the bent bow, time passes, then it finds its mark. But to Me the arrow leaves the bow, and strikes the mark together. Distance, time and change are not with Me. Once I, your God, was not apart from man, My offspring. Now I am veiled from his sight, not because I have willed it so but because man has chosen to bring this about. The barrier between us grows ever more dense, as man wantonly spurns his birthright; henceforth, it may be penetrated only by long and arduous preparations, and even then those who would do so must know the key. I come to you, not because of your preparations but because your God is ever ready to incline towards men.

 

Though there is this barrier between us, it is not impervious to the sincere prayers of a pure heart. This, men should know. As for you your days are numbered, you are now no more than the basket holding the seeds which will be strewn and sown by another hand. Many things of which I have spoken are not for the ears of men, for such knowledge, freely bestowed, would not benefit them. Other things are beyond their present understanding, let these, therefore, be recorded unto the generations of men yet unborn. Men are now as children and must learn again as children, being taught childish tales".

"Therefore, go hence, go to Ancheti and tell him of these things. Say also that his God, I Who Am, chooses him as the sower of seeds. Let him know that I Who Am will guide his steps and will open a door in the barrier, that he may hear my voice. Let your eyes now see again and, behold, I Am Who I Am".

Then Hurmanetar left the place where he had seen the face of the Father of Gods, returning to the encampment of his people which had been set up in the midst of pastureland. When he drew nigh he saw cattle lying beside the running waters and men were moving among them. The cattle were dead and their bellies swollen.

Men came up to Hurmanetar and cried,

"Behold, the sustenance of our children is taken from their mouths. The cattle have eaten a herb that burns as fire in their bellies so they crave water, drinking until they become overfilled and their bellies burst from within, therefore they die. Who is this whom you call Father of the Gods? Perchance the Gods do have a father, but where is the God who protects men? Where is the God who is the Father of Men? While you leave us to pay homage to the Exalted One, who may concern Himself with the affairs of the Gods but has no concern for the welfare of men, our cattle die. Because of your words we have neglected to build an altar to Shemakin or to pay homage to Yahana; truly we are men who have been deceived and led astray. We are men who have walked with their eyes turned upward and fallen into a quicksand. Tell us then, O wise one, who are the Gods of men and of cattle?"

This filled the heart of Hurmanetar with ire and he cried out to the wrathful people,

"Wherefore do you cry out to me and seek some God to come to your aid? There is but one God and these that you call Gods are but manifestations of His members. Why do you seek to cast blame on God for your own neglect? Has He not relinquished His hold on all creatures that serve man and given them into your hands? Behold the beasts of the forest and wilderness, do they eat of the herb that poisons? Are they not able to know the herb that is harmful and the herb that nourishes? The herb that heals in sickness and the herb that brings death? Who taught them this wisdom? There are creatures under the care of God which know not the slothful care of man, therefore they are safe from the deadly herb and pass it by. But you, having taken these poor beasts to benefit from them, are solely responsible for their wellbeing. They are your responsibility".

"The Father of the Gods made cattle as He made all creatures, and while He ruled their ways they were protected from the deadly herbs. Then men took them unto themselves so they might serve them. They yielded milk and cheese to nourish them and firm meat to sustain them, their hides covered them warmly as they slept. These things the cattle gave, not unto God but unto man. Therefore, who should protect and care for them, he who benefits or He who does not? Do you expect God to herd your cattle? To keep them from the deadly herb while you slumber in the shade? Is this not a just reward for your slothfulness? You know that the herb is deadly, but these cattle, the dumb servants of man, know it not, for they are delivered into your care. Would you take all they give while denying them the diligence of your protection? What kind of men are you who cry, "Woe unto us whom God has forsaken".

 

Who wring their hands, saying, "What God shall we seek to aid us in our self-wrought calamity? Arise like men, to shoulder the burden of your own slothfulness and lack of diligence. Never fear that God will fail man, for if man does the duties of man God will do the duties of God, for it is man who falls short. It is man who seeks to take more than he gives. Surely whatever man takes for his benefit, also becomes his responsibility. God decrees that man may take whatever he will for his own use, but in so doing he must also assume responsibility for its care and rightful use. Is this unjust?" The men said no more.

Hurmanetar then made the men draw the cattle up out of the water and some which had eaten of the deadly herb were saved. He then divided the pastures and sent men to seek out the places of the deadly herb and cut it from the soil.

One day, Hurmanetar was going about the encampment and he came upon a man burying his newly born daughter, and Hurmanetar was wrathful at the man for such a deed. It was an abomination performed by the sand wanderers and the wild men who dwelt in the wilderness. Taking the child, Hurmanetar brought it to the wife of Ancheti who saved it so it lived. It was named Mahat, meaning pure of heart, but because of the sand which had filled her eyes she was blind.

The strangers about the encampment became enraged against Hurmanetar because of what he had done. Also, because he had struck the father of the child so he bled they demanded that the blood be requited. They said,

"This is an unjust deed, for he who buries a daughter because he lacks sustenance for her does no wrong in our eyes. Is it not better that she be buried in the ground out of sight than kept with disgrace? Is it not for the father to decide whether a daughter should live? Has a woman a soul of her own? Is she not no more than the maker of the body, while the soul is given into her keeping by man?"

The strangers about the encampment were not so many, while those with Hurmanetar were many and strong, but he dealt justly with those claiming payment for the blood. They were given a piece of silver and a calf that was ready for the slaughter. Thus Mahat came into the household of Ancheti.

Hurmanetar was sitting with Ancheti and said to him,

"I have spoken to you of the happening while I sat beneath a tree in a place of solitude, and of matters which you should know in order to be wise. Into your keeping have been given the treasures I have wrought by my own hands, and you are well instructed in the Sacred Things and the Mysteries. You have a destiny upon you which may not be fulfilled in this place, while the sustenance obtainable here declines day by day. Therefore, let us depart and go along journey by way of the bitter waters, for should we go by way of the forest or through the great wilderness, we may not live. Our flocks and herds can be driven before us, for the road is wide and well watered. Let us not delay in this place, for already there is a restlessness among the people here".

So they departed from that place, journeying towards the bitter waters and when they came there they turned southward, continuing until they came to Basor. There they encamped, for the death sickness had come upon Hurmanetar. As he lay upon a couch of sheepskins he called for Ancheti, but he did not come, for he had gone before them to spy out the land. However, Ancheti did come before Hurmanetar passed from Earth, and Hurmanetar knew he was there and called him to his side. Then Hurmanetar said,

"My hour is at hand, but I am without fear, knowing I go not to a place where men eat dust, where all is darkness and gloom. The fears of my youth are but shadows having no substance, they flee before the pure light of Truth."

"Upon you there is a great destiny, may you reach out and grasp that which your heart desires, and having attained it use it to deliver all men from the darkness of ignorance. Go forth like the sun who throws his rays down like a net over the land to enlighten it. Go to a land where the honest man will be made rich and the dishonest man impoverished, for the balances must be adjusted so that riches cease to be the reward of dishonesty and deceit. Go to a land where those holding places of power and position will stand forth as examples of goodness and honesty; where none but the worthy occupy high positions; where those who have possessions and estate use these to succour the needy and resist the strength of those who oppress the weak and unprotected".

Ancheti said, "But where is this land and how shall I find it? " Hurmanetar answered,

"Were there such a place, what good purpose would you serve by going there? What you will have to do would have been done already by another".

Hurmanetar died and was buried deep within the ground and none knows his tomb. May he live forever and dwell with the Father of the Gods whom he served!

These things concerning Hurmanetar have been rewritten many times, but the copies have always been true. That which follows has been added on, but when made and by whom it is impossible to discover.

Hurmanetar is buried in the land of Philistia. Is this Okichia?

The father of Hurmanetar was Nimrod of the Twin Bows. This, I doubt, and it is not stated.

The stone of Makilim is at Bethgal even now. The words on the tomb of Yadol are: 'He died because he was not as other men'. I, Frastonis, have seen it.

Could this be when eighty generations have passed?

Men of this race are unsound witnesses. The Samarites say Yadol was not mortal man.

This we know in truth: the deeds of Hurmanetar and Yadol are more fully told in The Tales of the Hithites.

The shield of Ancheti was called the Big Shaker, and painted upon it was a likeness of the mudhopping bird. It was this bird that taught men writing, for it left mud marks which men first read as omens, later forming them into signs which could be read. They are not as ours, though men among us can read them.

Ancheti taught the mystery of metals in Okichia, a land of beer, bread and milk. He was renowned in the Twinlands of light.
Mahat, the blind one who remained virgin, guided Ancheti to this land while yet a child. She was filled with the inner light of wisdom and saw with the spirit. When he knew not which way to go her father sat her on the ground and held a breast feather before her, upon which she blew. He went whichever way it inclined and was never led astray. Later she used this method when settling disputes and giving judgements. She was greatly honoured, for in the whole land there was no wiser woman.

We who make these writings indestructible have abandoned the Book of Ancheti, for it has nought of value to those who follow us, and this is a work of much labour. It contains laws for a people living in a land called Okichia who must have been less than barbarians, for he forbade such things as the eating of children newly born, the mixing and drying of their blood for eating in uniting brothers and the hanging up of women in travail. Also the cutting of a woman's private parts and the deballing of men.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE TEACHINGS OF YOSIRA

These are the words for the Sons of the True Doctrine, written in the temple of Sacred Mysteries at Yankeb in the Days of Darkness, by the Unnamed Lord of the Secret Belief, who then lived. The true knowledge of the teachings and mysteries of Yosira concerning the spirit within the body, taken from his books and rewritten truly after the custom of writing.

Yosira spoke to his sons in this manner,

"I am the Viceregent of the God of Gods. I am the custodian of the Books of Power. I am the Voice of Heaven. I am one sent into Tamerua as a lightbearer, that a call may go thence throughout all lands. Let every man be watchful of his deeds and ways. Whosoever be watchful of himself is a man of wisdom, for he shall be saved from the terror of everlasting darkness".

"I am the torchbearer running before the chairlitter of Truth. I come to reveal the greatness of men, to tell them of their immortal selves, of their spirits which have to be ransomed from the doom of devouring darkness".

'The God of Gods spoke unto me, saying, "Long have you dwelt under my shadow and listened to my words. Now arise and go hence to a land where these things of which we have spoken can be established. To a place whither I shall lead you, for it is not proper that those who dwell there should remain uninstructed. Behold, I have given you the secret of immortality, but know that though all men are born into a heritage of immortality, not all enjoy it. The God of Gods, in His infinite mercy, plunges many into the waters of forgetfulness. Yet even from there they may return to be renewed, not of themselves but through the supplications of others".

When Yosira came into Tamerua he gathered his sons together on the stones beneath the place called Homtree and spoke to them in this manner,

"I am the Dawnlighter and a torchbearer for the God of Gods. These are my words which you will do well to absorb, as the dry sands soaks up water. Though they are words of wisdom, they are useless unless accepted by men who have control over themselves. They have no value to men who are unable to feel compassion for others or who close their ears to Truth".

"You are the few chosen ones, my sons, light of my light, who shall hand the light on down through the generations. To you I give the true conception of God. To you I give this standard, that it may be a rallying point for those who will accompany us; for we stand on the borders of a land which has found favour in the eyes of our God".

"With us are fighting men, but they are few while those who stand ready to repel us are many. Therefore, we will not set ourselves against them in battle array, but go among them with guile, to gather many who will fight with us. You shall be the light of the fighting men, even as I am your hght and the God of Gods my light".

"The light that is with me was kindled at The Supreme Source, which is the God of Gods. Therefore, my hght shines with such brilliance that it must be veiled in part, lest it blind you. It is even as the sun be seen through a veil of cloud, it may be gazed upon for as long as desired. Seen thus it is a thing of beauty and mystery, not something which bums and consumes the eyes of the beholder".

"Therefore, even as I veil my light from you, so shall you veil your lights from the eyes of the uninstructed. Yet in all matters not pertaining to the light you shall instruct them in the fullness of Truth. In all matters concerning their bodies you shall instruct them in Truth. But in all matters concerning the Lord of the Body you shall instruct them with a light that is veiled".

"Behold the nature of man. Within him is a spark from the Divine Source and this is the Lord of the Body. This alone is everlasting, this alone of man is his true self. This spark is enwrapped within a heavy mantle of matter, it is enclosed in a covering of earthly clay. This spark alone is the seat of life, it alone has understanding and thought. Such things are not with the clay of the flesh, neither are they kin to the stones from which the bones come. The life within man radiates out from the enclosed spark, and through the blood endows the body with life and heat. life gives forth heat and the greater the life the greater the heat".

"As the sun gives light and fire spreads heat, as the flower radiates perfume, so does the Central Light give forth a vaporous unseeable glow, and this our fathers called the Breath of God. This Breath comes forth in two manifestations: there is a heavy form and a hght form, and from these all things are compounded. From The One comes the Sacred Glow in its two aspects, which men call the Breath of God, and from this are made all things which are in Heaven and Earth".

"Above is the God of Gods and below Him are Heaven and Earth. Heaven is divided in twain, there is a Place of Light and a Place of Darkness. Within the Place of Light dwell the spirits of Good and within the Place of Darkness dwell the spirits of evil. Between them the boundary is not fixed but flows back and forth according to their fluctuating strengths. But they who abide in the hght shall always prevail, for light will ever dispel darkness. Therefore, those who dwell in darkness withdraw before the brilliance of those who dwell in the light. This light and darkness are not such as men can understand, for it is not the light and darkness known on Earth".

"Before the Gates of Heaven is the Land of the Horizon, whence go all who depart from their earthly body. From here there are two great gates, one leads to the Place of Light and the other to the Place of Darkness, and the Lord of the Body is admitted into its appointed place according to its likeness. He who is filled with the light and is a Brilliant One cannot go to the Place of Darkness, for it would draw back before him. Neither can he who is a Dark One go into the Place of Light, for there he would shrivel before the light, as the white worm coming forth from the damp darkness of its hole shrivels in the light of the sun".

"Between Heaven and Earth there is a great gulf across which the dwellers in Heaven may not return, but Earth is not wholly beyond their reach. Man receives, from the Place of Light, that which influences him for good, and from the Place of Darkness that which affects him for evil. These things may be written, but the secret things concerning them may not be recorded in such manner that they come to the knowledge of the unenlightened men".

"That which comes from Heaven, whether influencing for good or evil, comes forth as shades in the likeness of men, which is rare; or much more often as lukim, which are like unto motes. It may also come as waves of air, but not air such as we breathe and feel. It is something altogether different in nature. Things come forth which are not stable, and these are the formless Ones. All things are held in form by the Breath of God, which changes formlessness, but the formless Ones can alter form into instability".

"There are three great spheres and that containing the Earth is held together by the Great Glow outflowing from the God of Gods. That part of the Great Glow which is light and contains life is called Manah, while that which is heavy and contains the flesh of things of the Earth is called Manyu".

"The One Who is the God of Gods is so great that He cannot be defined in the speech of men. Neither can they conceive Him in their thoughts, for He is beyond then-understanding. Mortal man has limitations, therefore let men conceive Him as they will. It is of no importance, providing their conception serves both His purpose and the glorification of man".

"Man is not yet great and until he becomes so it is well that he worship the many Godf orms conceived within his thoughts, providing they be such as tend to raise him above himself. Nor do ritual and worship do harm of themselves, unless they, too, thickly overlay the truth so it is buried from sight. Ritual and outward forms of worship can be aids to purification of thought and provide a kind of sustenance for the Lord of the Body. What are the Lesser Gods beloved by unawakened men but thought-conceived friends and guides? Yet this is a dangerous path men tread, balanced between light and darkness. Therefore, when man wanders towards the abyss of darkness, reveal a little more light, that he may see and so return to the path. Beware, too, lest he follow Gods that are false guides and would lure him into the quicksand of carnality, or into the wilderness of ignorance".

Before crossing into Tamuera Yosira chose captains to be over the fighting men, and they sent forth men to spy out the land. He also sent some from among his sons into the land of Tewar, that they might talk with the people there, and these came back bringing hostages from the governors of the land of Tewar. Then Yosira spoke with the sons of the governors and they gave ear to his words, they were receptive to his speech.

Yosira spoke to the people,

"These are the words of the God of the Gods. Henceforth, no child shall be sold into bondage by its father or by any man who has ward over it. Such may not yet be the custom of all the people in this land, but if they become mighty, this they may do, for such is the nature of men".

"If a man have a woman in bondage he shall not cause her to become a harlot unto men, for this is a great wickedness and he shall not go unpunished. If she become with child unto her master, then neither she nor the child shall be given in bondage to another. But if she be given to a freeman who takes her in marriage, then it will be well".

'The greatest wickedness m the eyes of the God of Gods is all incest of the first degree, which is that between mother and son or father and daughter; or between the mother's mother and the son of the mother, or between the mother's father and the daughter of the mother; or between the father's father and the father's daughter, or between the father's mother and the father's son. This is a wickedness unto the God of Gods, for it calls forth the strongest of the Formless Ones, causing it to enter into an earthly body to become an abomination before the eyes of God and man. Therefore, they who commit such an act shall perish by fire. If it be committed with a child, then the child shall not perish, but it shall be branded with the mark of incest".

"Adultery is a foul and evil thing which you shall abhor, for it permits the lukim to pollute the fountain of life. In a far off land there lived a queen more beautiful than the Dawnflower, who, because she was powerful, disregarded her heritage of womanhood. As powerful kings had many wives she thought she could do likewise with men. The God of Gods and Creator of Life created men and women intending that each should play a different role. They are in no wise alike, for as men have their function so do women have theirs. What is meet for one is not meet for the other, and because the Creator made them as they are, each should follow their own path, never seeking to journey along the other's. Now, while the seed of one man was yet with her this queen took the seed of another, and the seed of one man strove with that of the other so that both perished and became a corrupt pasture. Thus, the way was cleared for lukim to enter into the antechamber of life and the sacred shrine of life was polluted, becoming the breeding place of foulness. So it was that when other men came unto her, the flesh of their bodies was seized upon by the lukim and corrupted, for foul lukim had made their abode within the woman. So the wellspring of life became a fountain of polluting evil. Adultery is an abomination to the Bestower of life, therefore let it not go unpunished".

"None shall sleep in the bed of another, unless the spell of his presence be first removed. For he who goes into any place or takes up any thing while it is under the spell of another's presence, shall surely suffer. They who are of the same kin living under the one roof, will not suffer unless sickness already be there".

"None shall eat from the platter of another or drink from his drinking vessel until the spell of his presence has been removed. None among those who know the God of Gods shall walk in anything poured out for a libation unto strange Gods, neither shall he touch any part of the Libation. If it come upon him he shall go forthwith to the Master of Mysteries and be cleansed".

Yosira said unto the people,

"These are the words of the God of Gods. None among you shall wash himself in water used by another and contained within anything made by the hand of man. None among those who know God shall touch a woman while the days of her heritage are upon her. No man shall go unto a woman with unwashed hands, and when man and woman have lain together both shall purify themselves before going about their tasks".

"Among the lukim none is more subtle than the nableh which seek sustenance among the food of men. Therefore, if you have bread within your dwelling, then it shall not be hung up; but if there be meat or fish, then it shall be suspended within the dwelling. If you have bran or meal which has been pounded, then it shall be kept in a capped container with nowrata flowers, thus the lukim will not come upon it. Neither crushed corn nor the crumbs of any repast shall be left within the sight of man or within the boundaries of the dwelling, lest the nableh seize upon them for sustenance. All things that have held life but have not been used for food shall be buried within the ground. All vessels which have held food but hold it no longer shall be made clean with sun and sand".

"When the flesh of any beast or of fish or fowl becomes dark in your keeping or has the smell of rottenness upon it, then it is a sign that the nableh have come upon it and it shall be taken out and buried where no beast can come upon it. Thus, the nableh are left without sustenance and will be forced back into their dark abode. But if you permit them to sustain themselves, then they will come in their hosts and, being fattened and strengthened, will afflict you with many terrors during night watches".

"If the pouring place or the spout of any pitcher or pot have a blackness upon it, then that pitcher or pot shall be broken, for it has been entered by the fiery lukim. If any who know God eat with strangers, they shall purify themselves at the rising of the sun on the following day. If any among you eat with a hand uncleansed by water or sand, then be prepared for attack by the lukim of the night. He who draws the blood of any beast must cleanse himself of all blood, lest he be attacked by the dark lukim. Neither food nor drink of any kind shall be kept under a bed or against a sleeping place, lest the lukim of the night come and take up their abode therein".

These are words of the God of Gods spoken through the mouth of Yosira.

Yosira said this also,

"All things which may sustain the lukim are to be buried or burnt. Anything coming forth from the nostrils or mouth of any man or woman is rejected from within and becomes sustenance for the lukim. Still waters that lie upon the ground are their drinking places and forbidden to men. Water shall not be used as drink unless it be drawn from within the ground, or be in a place where it is shaded by trees".

"Eat only food known to be wholesome and which gives contentment to the stomach. In taste it should be soothing and refreshing, never bringing pain and discomfort. Eat not of anything that is too dry or oversalted, or which brings sickness upon you. Any food of which men eat and has become rotten or mouldy has been seized by the lukim for sustenance; this you can see, for the rottenness and mould upon it is the excreta of lukim".

"Anything that has blood in it and is dead, having died of itself, shall not be eaten, for the lukim have made their abode in it. No man shall eat uncooked meat, even that which the sandfarers carry shall not be eaten".

"The slaying of any man or any woman is forbidden, but it is not unlawful to slay in war or in self-defence, or to uphold the purity of the household and home. To kill deceitfully or to strike from behind is murder and shall not go unpunished. If blood be shed it shall not cry out from the ground in vain, and unto the kinsmen of each one slain shall be the order of revenge"

"If you swear an oath one with another, saying, "Great God bear witness" or before any strange God, to deceive another man, then consider, for only the most foolhardy turn their back on such an oath. For it is sworn on the life of the Lord of the Body, and if it be broken the Lord of your Body will be everlastingly disfigured with an unremovable scar. Man has many trials to overcome in his life and not the least of these, tests is oathkeeping. Though an oath may diminish and become nothing with the passing years according to the memories of men, it is everlastingly impressed on the Lord of the Body. Wiser far is he who never makes an oath".

"If any man say, 'The whirlwind and the sandstorm, the floodwaters and the burning fire, these do I fear because these I see, but the lukim which I see not neither do I fear, that man is a fool, for he knows not the deficiencies of his own eyes. The lukim, he will learn to know by their manifestations, for they will seize upon his body and torment it, sometimes even unto death. It is likewise with the God of Gods, none may see Him, but by His manifestations is He made known unto men".

Yosira spoke to the captains of the fighting men and to those who were with them and said,

"When we come into this new land all things that the people who dwell therein hold sacred you will neither defile nor mock. Neither shall you stir up strife with any man, for we come to them as friends not foes".

Therefore, when Yosira and all those with him came up into the land of Tewar and dwelt there, peace was in the land.
Then Yosira taught the people of Tewar the weaving of cloth and the working of metals, and showed them how to make tools and weapons of metal cast in a mysterious manner.

But the secret of the sharp-edged weapons he revealed only to his own.

The people of Tewar built a habitation for Yosira and a temple of brick bound with reeds. There were skins upon the walls and on the floor, and the door were of wood.

Then Yosira spoke to his sons in this manner,

"These are the things in which the people of this place shall be instructed: The dove is the most sacred of birds and shall not be eaten, but if people say,

 

"Forbid it not to us for sacrifice to our Gods", then it shall not be forbidden them".

"The milk of all beasts which do not have horns and part the hoof is not for the sustenance of man, but if the people say, "Forbid it not, for it is our custom", then it shall not be forbidden them".

'The sacrifice of breast children at the burial of the dead shall be forbidden, for the blood of the young cannot provide life for the old, each man being the fashioner of his own destiny. He that has life shall bear it with him, and none can possess the body and life of a breast child except the God who gave it life. He who buries a living breast child with the dead shall himself die".

"All things buried with the departed one, whether they be weapons or dishes, instruments or ornaments, shall have the form released from them before they are placed within the ground".

'This shall be the law unto all those who work with metal, whether it be gold, silver or copper: One day in seven shall be a day of rest for the fires herewith the metals are wrought. On this day no fire will be lit and no metal touched or moved from its place. On the even of this day all things of metal that have been made since the last day of rest shall be placed in a trough of sanctified oil, remaining there until their appointed time. Nothing shall go out from the workplace of a craftsman in metal until it has passed through the oil".

CHAPTER TWELVE
THE RULE OF YOSIRA

Yosira gathered his sons about him and spoke to them thus,

"These are the days of the dawnlight and I am the Dawnlighter from beyond Bashiru. I am the Torchbearer for the God of Gods. These are the laws which I made for my people in the land of Tewar, the laws of one speaking with the mouth of the God above all Gods".

 

"He who places a spear or arrow within a dead body shall be accursed and his hand and arm will become things of evil. They will swell up and become consumed by fire. Likewise shall be accursed who looses these weapons against another, but if it be a man of Tamuera who looses the weapons, then he shall die by them himself, for he is beyond the reach of the curse".

"A tree that reaches up above twice the height of a man shall not be stricken for burning or to take away its land. But if it be dedicated to the adze and is then used by a craftsman in wood, then it may be stricken and cut. Trees are not things to be lightly dealt with, for they move the winds which cross the face of the Earth and generate these in great forests of the North and South. The slaughter of a tree is no less wrong than the slaughter of an ox or a sheep, for the same breath of life is in each. Therefore, never bring them low wantonly. Are not trees held sacred by the people of this land? Is it not more reasonable to dedicate a mighty tree or a grove of trees to a God than a mute stone or object cut from wood?"

Therefore, when Yosira moved among the people he did not forbid them their grave groves, nor did he silence the words of the women who tended them. But Yosira said, "These things are for women and not for men, let the women bide, but men should follow the callings of men and their place is not among the grave groves".

Now, when Yosira came among the people they dwelt away from the river, fearing the God of moving waters who molested them at night. But Yosira bound the God of moving waters, so he no longer troubled the people. Then Yosira bade them build their dwelling places beside the moving waters, decreeing that none should dwell beside still waters unless the still waters be filled with the life of fishes.

In those days men sought to appease the Formless Ones and the Spirits of the Night with offerings and worship. But Yosira forbade them this and he surrounded the whole land with a protective wall which no Dark Spirit could penetrate, while all those within were dissolved. Every Dark Spirit being neither male nor female and every Dark Spirit which clothed itself in the shape of a beast or bird was bound and cast back into the Place of Darkness.

All men who were blood kindred with the beasts of the forest or with fowl or with serpent, dwelt together according to their kinship, and were divided thereby. Yosira forbade them not their kinship but did forbid the rule of blood. He spoke to the people in this manner:

"Great are the ties of that thing which binds men together and joins them with their forefathers, but greater still is each man in himself, his destiny lying within himself alone and not within his kindred. Man is not a drop of water in the stream of life, but a fish that swims within the stream. Yet insofar as these things have ever been, the twenty-four great kinships shall remain secured in their establishment".

Before the coming of Yosira a man could not take to wife a woman of his own blood, but Yosira redeemed the land with blood, safeguarding it against barrenness. So henceforth men could take wives from among their own blood kindred, and the land remained fruitful. This, the Spirit of Life, became strong among men, for it was not spread out to become diluted and weakened.

Until Yosira came none in this land knew of hokew, and it filled men with fear and awe, but Yosira revealed all its secrets to his sons, and the secrets are known even in these days. Hokew is that which sustains the Dawndwellers. It is but thinly spread throughout the Earth and before the days of Yosira men could gather it, storing it in stones and in sacred objects. It may be drawn upon by the spirits of men, as women draw water from a well. It is hokew which bestows fertility, causing flocks to multiply and crops to increase. Its secrets are known by the Twice Born.

Though in the days of his distress Yosira called upon his Father in Kanogmahu, he forbade his sons to call upon Him likewise, for Yosira was their father on Earth and their advocate in the Hall of Admission. Therefore, none can call upon Him with impunity, for if He dealt with them He would neglect His task among the Dawndwellers. Nor is any man justified in calling upon the spirit of a Departed One, for they are beyond concern for the everyday affairs of men.

When the sons of Yosira had established their rule over the people, the leaders of the people came to Yosira desiring to make him their king, so he would rule over them. But when they came before him, Yosira replied to their wish in this manner,

"I am the mouth of the God of Gods and the light of my people. I will be the father of your king and the director of his footsteps, but your king I cannot be, for I am dedicated in service to the God of Gods".

Saying this Yosira then took his son, who was grown to manhood, and led him forth by the hand, giving him to the people to be their king.

Later, while the leaders and governors of the people still remained gathered after the anointing of their king, Yosira spoke to them as the mouth of God. He said,

"To judge justly between man and man is one of the greatest obligations of a king and those who stand in his place. So from this day hence judgement shall not be given by those who sit under the trees, listening to the words whispered among the leaves. However, if three men sit far apart and each gives a like judgement, the words from their mouths being the same, then the judgement shall be good. However, if it is a matter where a life can be forfeit or property taken away, a family divided or a man or woman enslaved, then judgement shall be given only by the king or by one who wears his mantle and bears his burden".

"Sacred waters are living waters filled with the power of hokew and shall no longer be used for any purpose other than sanctification and purification. No longer shall they be used to decide whether a wife be guilty of adultery; henceforth she shall be tested by the bitter draught alone".

"He who eats the flesh of swine shall be accursed, for to eat the flesh of swine is to eat something dedicated to the fathers of men and an abomination. Flesh of the ass shall not be eaten, for it diminishes the vigour of men".

"Henceforth, the bodies of the dead shall not be broken or burnt, for the hokew within them departs with the Lord of the Body. Therefore, nothing can be added unto a Victorious One by rendering up the essence of his earthly mantle through the flames of the fire".

"The people shall not be denied their feasts, nor shall they be forbidden the rituals of fruitfulness. Their offerings to any God shall not be taken away. As the Gods of the people are today, so shall they remain, for they serve their end. They may depict their Gods after their own fashion, for the likeness of such Gods is of small consequence. But the likeness of the God of Gods shall not be fashioned by any man, for He is beyond the understanding of men. No man shall seek to find His likeness in water".

"The festival to the God who draws up the land is not to be denied the people, but no longer shall they eat the flesh of asses, for now this is forbidden. The days for the feast of the forefathers shall not be diminished, lest the gift of long life be thereby curtailed. With them alone is the distribution of the life forces and in their keeping are the powers granting fertility and good fortune. Unto those who control the sprouting of com, the increase of herds and the harvests of fishes, the potency of men and the fertility of women, success in hunting and victory in war shall be given all due honour and worship".

"He who causes injury or death, sickness or suffering by drawing the likeness of another in sand and piercing it with a fire-hardened stick, or who makes the likeness of another in wax to burn in the fire, or in clay to be pierced by stake or thorn, is henceforth accursed. He will be delivered to the lukim of disease or death".

"He shall be accursed who mixes living grain with fat to enslave the earthshade of another man or woman. He shall be accursed who calls up the nightshade of another or the nightfrightener. All who are so accursed will be delivered to the lukim of sickness or shall become the prey of Formless Ones".

"It is not wrong to make an image of a breast child, that a woman may conceive, but to make the hkeness of a man's private organ so that a woman may conceive, is wrong and any woman making or lying with such a likeness shall be accursed. She who is so accursed will be delivered to the lukim of sickness and pain".

When Yosira came up into Harfanti he found there people with strange customs which displeased him, but he forbade them none except those which were evil in the sight of the God of Gods. While there he laid a great curse upon any who transgressed his laws.

These were words spoken through the mouth of Yosira, which he caused to be recorded:

"Henceforth, no maiden shall be enclosed in bark and kept in darkness for seven days before marriage, but she may be kept in seclusion among women. If she has to be purified, it must be done with water and not with fire. A woman shall never be mutilated to purge her wickedness".

"Henceforth, the private parts of young women shall not be sewn up to preserve their maidenhood. This shall remain in their own keeping and in the keeping of the young women's kindred in good faith and trust. To sew or cut the private parts of any woman is a great wickedness, for this is the portal of life and woman is not an unworthy guardian. It is best that women remain maidens, until their marriage day, of their own free will and choice; but if, because of the maiden's weakness, this seems doubtful, then the obligation shall be on her kindred".

"The custom of the Habshasti whereby the legs of young women are bound together, after which young men may enter their chamber to lie with them, is a thing of wickedness and no longer permitted. Now, if any man discover the nakedness of a maiden, he shall not go unpunished".

"Man shall not see the nakedness of woman in childbirth, even though the woman be bis wife. The hut of childbirth and all within its circle is a place forbidden unto men. Henceforth, no woman shall be suspended at childbirth".

"If the wife of a hunter he with another man while her husband is absent so that he be slain or wounded during the hunt, then no wrong is done if her husband or the kindred of her husband slay her. Neither shall it be cause for bloodslaying if the kindred or husband slay he who lay with her".

"The foreskin of a man is cut to defy the lukim of impotency. This is not forbidden to the people, but they shall not preserve the foreskin in fat and use it to endow stones with hokew. The binding of foreskins is forbidden".

Yosira laid the greatest of all curses upon those who captured and enslaved the Lord of the Body belonging to another. Since that day none has done so and lived. He also laid a curse upon women who baked their new born children and ate them because of the barrenness of the land. He also cursed the chief of the women's kindred.

Beforetimes, that which grew to fullness within the wombs of cattle and sheep was sustenance for men alone, but when the beast cast it forth before its day it became sustenance appointed for women. Yosira forbade this and cursed all that came forth from the womb of beast before its time.

Yosira had these things recorded in Yapu:

"No child shall be slain wilfully, saying, "Our God has denied it proper sustenance". Above all Gods is the God of Gods who is the God of Life and they who proclaim these things proclaim a falsehood against Him. Yet they shall not be accursed until after the day when they have heard the laws of the God of Gods spoken unto them. Before then they have been led astray by those who should guide them, and on the leaders shall be the curse".

"Henceforth, the empty body shall not be bound tight against itself, but stretched out, for the earthly body cannot be reborn when once its Lord has departed. The people shall not be forbidden the carrying of it, nor shall they be stopped from elevating it, but it shall not be hung over the living waters, lest it call forth a Formless One in the darkness of the night".

"If the kindred of a man come up to molest him at night, the nightshade shall be bound by the power of hokew transmitted into a hollow log filled with fire-retaining substances. The log will then be burnt in purifying fire and the ashes buried after the fashion of your fathers, but the hokew shall not be given back. That hokew which comes from a man whose crops and trees yield abundantly is best".

"The spirit of the life of men does not dwell in the moving waters and therefore it cannot enter into a woman from the waters, neither does her own water bear it up from the ground. Even as a tree springs out from a single seed and the barley from a single grain, so is it with the seed of men. That which forms within the womb of woman is not built up from many outpourings of man, once will suffice. If the blood of a woman be not stopped, then she carry no child, for the life within is blood of her blood".

"No man shall fashion the likeness of any beast to lay with it so that his flocks and herds be increased, for henceforth he who does so, and all his beasts, shall be accursed so they sicken and perish. Nor shall any man spill his seed into an object of wood or stone and bury it. If he does so, then be he accursed, so that he is forever molested by the nightshades of terror".

"It is foolishness to resort to the charmers who make likenesses of beast so their kind may be brought to the arrow and spear. Unless he who seeks the wild beasts be empowered with the hokew gathered by the kindred of his habitation, nought can guide his steps or strengthen his arm, neither will his eye see keenly. The success of the hunter is not to be found with the charmers, but lies in the goodness and uprightness of the kindred within his habitation".

"If a woman take seed from a young man and deliver it to the charmers so that barrenness be removed from her, then she and the youth, and if she bear any children they also, shall be accursed. The young man will be seized by the lukim which feasts on the hearts of men, and the woman by those which tear open the bowels".

"It is an abomination in the sight of the God of Gods for men to deball themselves, and all who do shall be accursed. Those who would deball themselves for the sake of their God may instead make an offering of their foreskin, and this will be acceptable by any God. The prayer of thankfulness that they are not born women shall be made at the time of sacrifice upon the altar".

"The excreta of man and woman shall never be left exposed to the eyes of anyone, nor in a place where its smell can come to the nostrils. Nor shall anyone pass water where another can smell it, for they whose nostrils the smell enters thereby gain power over the other. The smell from human waste draws up the formless lambata which afflict men and women at night and turn their bowels to water".

"No offering of meat shall be eaten raw. It shall be roasted before a fire and the bones pounded into flour and eaten with meal. If the offering be consumed within a dwelling place, then the blood which has been spared must be smeared upon the door posts, so that the dark shades of the night haunters and the death bringers be repulsed by the power of life".

"It is the duty of a son to provide sustenance for a Departed One who was his mother or his father, and he shall not neglect his brother or his sister or any of his kinsfolk who lack children. If he be neglectful of his duty he shall not escape molestation by the earthshades of the Departed Ones, which will wander relentlessly until satisfied. If Formless Ones be called forth by neglect so that they reach stability on Earth, they will haunt the dark watches of the night and suck life-filled blood to sustain their awful forms. No man may keep them from his dwelling, for they will slide in stealthily even as snakes".

"It is wrong for charmers to call forth Dark Spirits. Any charmer so doing within the borders of the enlightened land shall be accursed, so he be seized by the nightfiend. If such be done, and the Dark Spirits wander out of control, then one of the Twice Born shall be called upon to return them to their dark abode".

"It is not sufficient for men to shun the ways of wickedness, for unless the Lord of the Body be clothed in brightness they who watch for him in the Land of the Dawning will wait in vain. Those who lack that which would bring them into the Place of Light will fall prey to the Lords of the Dark Places and be forever lost to those who love them".

"All those who are Awakeners of the Dead shall be accursed and delivered to the lukim of madness. If any of my people deal with them, then they too shall be accursed so that they become prey to the terrors of the night. It is futile to consult the Departed Ones, for what can they do but advise on matters of little import? If they have anything of importance to impart they will come unbidden to men of understanding and made it known".

When Yosira came with his sons and those with them into the true land of Tamuera, he strove with the people of Kantiyamtu who followed the ways of wickedness and ignorance. He remained among the people of Tamerua during the days of Gabu, dwelling at the place where now stands the Temple of the Skyseer, in an abode of reeds, by the moving waters.

In those days the people of Earth united themselves with those who were in the land of Morning Light by the powers within the body of a womanchild, seeking in this manner to preserve the hokew of their kindred. When Yosira saw the wickedness of the custom he placed a great curse upon all the land and upon those who split the body of a womanchild, so that her flesh cried out from within them. Therefore, the land became stricken with a great plague. Since then never has anyone in the enlightened lands eaten the flesh of man or woman, and no womanchild is violated in the great wickedness of ignorance. The people of Tamuera greatly feared the curse of Yosira.

Yosira taught the people that the power of hokew resided not in the flesh of the body but in the bones, and that each bone contained the essence of all the being, man and woman. Then the people began to seek union with the Departed Ones in the land of the Morning Light, by the power of the bones, and Yosira forbade this not, though he knew it was futile. But where there was healing in the bones and they were able to draw it forth, Yosira was not displeased, for all things pertaining to the good of the people were well in his sight. Nevertheless, he forbade to women the burden of the bones of their husbands, and since then no shades has risen to molest them. This was because of the protecting power which he drew forth to fill all the land, it relieved the women of their burden, raising it from their backs.

All the charmers who brought forth shades from the Land of Dawning and all the Questioners of the Dead and the Awakeners of the Dead were cursed, and this curse hovers over the land even to this day. Yet there are still some who seek to call forth a shade from the swathed body made eternal, but all they raise up is an ill-omened messenger from the Place of Darkness.

Yosira did not forbid to the people the rites of homage due to their departed kinsfolk, for in the Place of Morning Light these were the powers most interested in the welfare of any mortal man. Yosira never forbade anything that was to the benefit of men, taking away nought but the things which were futile or harmful. In those days there were no rites of written record, but Yosira caused them to be given to the people. Not so that these should renew life in the Departed Ones upon Earth, but so that the Lord of the Body should be sustained and strengthened in the Place of the Morning Light by the link of hokew, sacrificed by those remaining on Earth.

Yosira spoke to the people, giving them laws which were recorded in this manner:

"These are words of the God of Gods Who created man and beast upon the sacred island. No beast shall be mated with another not of its kind, and if this happen, then both shall be slain and their bodies burnt. If this be done with the permission of a man, that man will be accursed. Neither shall any beast be yoked together with another not of its own kind. During the first year of its life no beast shall be made to take up the burden of man".

When Yosira came to Kambusis he found there a man of the Hestabwis bound and prepared for sacrifice, and he cried out against the deed but none gave ear to his word. So, standing off, Yosira placed a staff of power upright into the ground and danced around it, singing the song for drawing forth the spirit. When they saw this, the people were wroth against him and called upon their charmers to curse him so he departed from the Earth.

Their curses were ineffective and when one charmer approached the dance ring of Yosira, Yosira called forth a tongue of flame which consumed the charmer. Then the people became afraid and fled. So Yosira released the man who was bound upon the place of sacrifice, but he was not yet whole. Yosira also cursed all those who offered the Hestabwis as a sacrifice to their Gods; since that day no man of the Hestabwis was ever slain upon the altars.

Yosira did not curse the charmers of that place, instead he called them to him and gave them dominion over the Dark Spirits which left their abode to wander Earth, molesting men in their habitation. Thus the charmers became greater in the eyes of the people, and from that day onward they have cleansed the land of all Dark Spirits. However, Yosira forbade them the calling forth of the Lord of the Body from any man so that he became the servant of another, and he placed a great curse upon any charmer who disobeyed this law. Yet this is done even now, but those who transgress the laws of Yosira do not escape the awful fate due to them, for his power is yet potent in the lands of his people. When the transgressors stand before him in awful judgement, their deeds will witness against them.

Yosira forbade those who sat in judgement the right to judge men by the fat of crocodiles or by the horn or skin. Instead he revealed to them the manner of making judgement through corn and by the burning sword. He also taught them how to brew drink which loosened the bonds from the tongues of men, so that Truth was no longer restrained.

The people dwelling among the trees, along the banks of the moving waters, lived in fear of tree apes. They held these sacred and would never harm them. They believed that these tree apes snatched the departing Lord of the Body and ate it, that they lurked in wait to catch it in a mighty unseen net. So Yosira went about cursing the food reserve for the tree apes so that it became fire in their bellies, causing the life within them to come up as foam out of their mouths. Thus the land was freed from fear of the tree apes, and henceforth the Departed Ones have gone in peace, no longer being molested by the tree apes.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE WAY OF YOSIRA

Yosira taught that within each man resides a little man who is the Lord of the Body, and this is the life of men. While man sleeps the little man wanders abroad to journey as it will, at death departing from him forever.

The Lord of the Body cannot be seen by mortal eyes, but it is not hidden from all seeing eyes of the Twice Born. When departing at death it comes out from the mortal mouth, waiting awhile until it grows celestial wings. Then it flies away to the Western Kingdom where the wings are shed.

In the place whither it journeys the Lord of the Body needs no earth-made abode, therefore burning the earthly habitations of a Departed One is futile. However, if the habitation remains and it is not purified, it becomes the gathering place for shades arising from the Place of Darkness, for the habitation need not be destroyed, it must be purified by incense and water and refilled with protective hokew.

If a man come upon another asleep, the sleeper must be awakened quietly and with gentleness, so the Lord of the Body may re-enter peacefully. For if the sleeper be awakened before it has re-entered, or if it jump back in fright, then the man will become sick. Therefore, when awakening a sleeper it is well to call gently to the being without.

When the mortal body becomes sickened without the heat of the lukim being present, or if the man or woman be seized and tormented by the Dark Spirits of madness, this may be caused by the daysleeping of the Lord of the Body. Thus, if the Lord of the Body be awakened from its daysleeping, or restored from its restlessness, then the man or woman may be cured. These things Yosira permitted to be done after the fashion of charmers.

Yosira taught the curing of many kinds of ills within the mortal body and the use of draughts containing the life of herbs and growing things. He used fire to stop life leaving the mortal body. The manner of effecting these things is written in the Book of Medications.

When Yosira came with his sons into the land of Tamuera, the people there dwelt in darkness and they were ignorant of all knowledge. They were divided among themselves into many kindreds, and strife was frequent. They had no kings and only the old men ruled. There were many charmers who ruled the people by delusions and also those called the Keepers of Customs and the Teller of Tales.

One people dwelt among great trees and thick forests in the midst of swamplands. Their habitations were made of reeds and stood upon high platforms. These people were called the Children of Panheta, for he was their God in the days following those during which men were first created in the midst of the waters.

Another people dwelt beyond reach of the waters and away from the trees, and they were nameless. They dug holes for their habitations or sought abodes in caves within the hillsides. This people had no Gods but worshipped the Dark Spirits and the Kamawam of the forest which seized men at night. When the men who had been seized returned to their kindred, they were without words, being dumb. They died in the midst of madness, tearing at their bodies. But there was no Kamawam in the forest, this madness being the work of charmers wishing to instill fear into the hearts of men.

This is the manner in which it was brought about: When the charmers seized men at night they took them to a secret place where their tongues were pierced well back with thin thorns. Thus the tongue swelled up, so they whose tongues were so pierced lost the power of speech. The charmers also pierced the victims about the waist with slivers of wood, so none could discover where they were inserted. They drove other splinters into them at the bridge between the private parts and the rear channel, and none could discover them there and know the victim was pierced with thorns and splinters.

Yosira cursed all the charmers who practiced this evil with a great curse, so they were driven to madness by a demon which ate away their bellies. Since then the Kamawam has been known no more in the land.

Yosira taught men to beat metal out of stones and to burn stones, so that they gave up their heart. He taught men to work with clay and he taught them the weaving of cloth and the making of beer.

When Yosira came into the land, the people knew nought about the cutting of water channels and the sowing of com, but Yosira taught them these things. It was he who brought fertility to the land; it was he who died in the midst of the waters to give them life, and his life is in them still. Therefore, it was through the Spirit of the Great One who died in the days of old that the soil became fruitful.

Beyond the reach of the living waters which rise and fall like the chest of a breathing man, the land is dead. It remains barren like a woman who has not known a man. It was known even to the men of old that if the land was not refreshed with the living waters but with other waters, then its increase would diminish from year to year until it became waste. The increase within the soil comes not from water alone but from the life within the water. Life comes forth from life, and that which has not life cannot beget life.

Therefore, the good land is that which is married to the threefold God, and land not so married remains barren. The married land is covered with the rising waters, but the land not married is ignored by them.

These things were written concerning The Children of Panheta: Yosira spoke with Panheta as man speaks to man, therefore the laws of the Inta were not changed, remaining to bind alike those of them who dwelt on the soil or dwelt on the sand. If any man went among the Inta their laws became his laws and if any woman left the people to dwell among the Inta she became even as they and might not return.

Even as the Sunspirit journeys on a road set between the stars, so does the spirit of man journey with the movement of the waters. Therefore, when a man dies his body shall be buried lengthwise with the great river.

Even as the land upon which things grow belongs to the kindred whose blood is within it, so shall no man own to himself alone anything growing up from it, whether it be grass or herb or tree. But each man and woman may take of every herb and fruit as much as can be gathered in the hands and eaten before sunsetting.

Of all things which are a seed and can be eaten, each one may gather for themselves as much as can be stored within a jar or suspended from the foodpole. All things which are a seed and can be eaten but which are not stored in a jar or suspended from a foodpole, shall be stored in the pit of the kindred. Nothing shall be placed within the pit unless it has been heated by fire and cooled.
Even as the Spirit of Life resides in the things which men eat, so does it reside in the living things from whence they came. Therefore, any tree or bush bearing the food of men shall not be cut or broken.

The blood of beasts cries from the soil even as does the blood of men; therefore, if shed it must be appeased. Slay no beast unless it be needed for food, and bury the head and whatever comes out of its belly. Every other part which is taken shall be eaten or burned, except for the bones and the skin which are to be used.

Fire serves man, but it can also become his master. Consider its nature. Does it spring out of the wood unbidden or of its own volition, or does it require the agency of man? Does it reside in the wood or is there a firespirit? Only the fools among men start something which they cannot control. Never let a fire grow into a thing of much smoke, keep it bright, using no more wood than is needful for the purpose. Let it not stray from its proper place, which is the place where it serves without menace.

When they become of an age to do so every man and woman should take themselves a mate. Those who fail to do so are not held in the highest esteem.

By the things whereby a man commits a wrong, so shall he be punished. Likewise, he shall be dealt with according to the nature of the wrong. The customs from times past are not unhelpful guides.

When Yosira came to the place where the Inta dwelt they made him welcome in this manner, "When we saw you our hearts were gladdened. The life was renewed in us and though content as we were you brought refreshment and joy". Yosira called these people his unweaned children.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE TRIBULATIONS OF YOSIRA

These things were written in the Book of the Two Roads: Yosira, whois therein called Yoshira, came from beyond the Realm of Athor and was the first king of Tehamut. He established the festivals of the new moon, the festival of wool drawing and the days of devotion. When first he brightened this land by his presence, the welfare of its people was in the hands of false priests who taught that man was a double-spirited being in whom the Spirit of Good struggled with the Spirit of Evil for possession of his soul. Each deed and thought was said to strengthen one or other of the opponents.

The people were not completely deceived in accepting this, it is perhaps an earthly distortion of reflected Truth, but neither is it wholly true. In the days of old, men saw Truth but dimly, for it could be only partially revealed in accordance with their ability to understand it. Truth is a light growing even brighter in the darkness of man's ignorance, and as the generations pass and go down into dust, men see more clearly. Each lightbearer dispels a little more darkness, and Yosira was a lightbearer, the greatest of them all.

Before Yosira came, bearing the lamp of brilliant light, Truth was but dimly perceived in this land. The false priests of those days taught that when the Great God created man He held back immortality as a special gift for those whom he favoured. This is not the attitude of One Who is Great, and therefore such doctrine cannot be accepted. That these priests were misled themselves was not so great an evil as their misleading of others who trusted them.

A true priest should approach as close as possible to the shrine of Truth and interpret whatever he sees there as clearly as his ability and the understanding of his followers permit. In those olden days no man had yet been reborn to wisdom and enlightenment. Therefore, nothing was known about the Gardens of light, and men believed in the Dark Abode alone. This Dark Abode was a place where sand and dust were the sustenance of the dead whose bodies were clothed in long hair and feathers. Men, in those olden days, knew little more than that.

They also believed that souls risen to glory really consumed the food and wore the garments and ornaments provided for their use. They did not know, as we do, that as the soul is subtle itself so can it use nought but the subtle elements of earthly things. Even now incense is burned before the statues of those risen to glory, so that they may receive their portion. There are those who believe that the sustenance of the soul, and its continued life, depends upon the monthly communion sacrifice of its kinsmen on Earth.

As a man who walks with a lamp at night is attacked by those who lurk in the darkness, so are enlighteners who seek to bring light into the gloom of ignorance attacked by those whom it would reveal in their true likeness. Thus, when Yosira cried out against those who, while not permitting the slaying of men and women in their daily lives, nevertheless allowed a child to be slain as sacrifice, or buried beneath the pillars they raised up, he was condemned as an enemy of the Gods.

When Yosira was in the land far up the River of life, one named Azulah who stood close to the right hand of Yosira slew a man who was kindred to the Leopard. This enraged the God of these people, for the slain man's blood cried out to him. Therefore, men of the Leopard came into the land of the East seeking to slay Azulah for his offence against their God, but he had withdrawn to a place of hiding. So when they found their search to be in vain the men of the Leopard returned to their place, informing their priests of their failure. The priests then held the rituals for calling down the war power, drawing it down in strength. Then, because Yosira was the overlord of Azulah, the men of the Leopard went forth against him, claiming the right of war.

But in the night, when the hostile host waited before the camp of Yosira, the war priest defiled himself and so the war power failed to make faint the hearts of those with Yosira, the war priest having lost control over it. Thus, the war power came into the hands of Yosira and he cast it back so it fell upon the Men of the Leopard, and their knees were loosened and their bowels went to water, and they fled from that place.

The Men of the Leopard dwelt within the forests, towards the sunsetting side of the moving waters, and Yosira pursued them there. He did not enter the thick forest, but, coming to an island in the midst of the waters, he made camp there. He had a prisoner whom he released, sending him to the priests with this message,

"Come in peace, that I may hear your complaint and judge whether it be just".

But the priests of the Men of the Leopard came down only to the edge of the waters and would go no further, and they called out across the waters, "What was just heretofore is just no longer, for this is now a matter to be settled between our kindred and those who are with you, for blood still cries out for blood".

Hearing this Yosira answered, "Let us be wise, there are judges above us, so let the God of the Moving Waters decide the matter". To diis the priests said, "It is well". Then Yosira took Azulah into a boat, rowing him through the waters against the South wind. Stopping the boat Yosira commanded Azulah to leap into the waters so he might be tested by swimming, and this Azulah did. He swam powerfully and the God of the Moving Waters did not take him, for Yosira had covered the waters with his power, so the waters bore up the swimmer, carrying him in safety to the shore.

Then Yosira sat down with the chiefs of the Men of the Leopard and made a covenant with them and with other peoples likewise. This was that when a man slays another among his own kindred, none among them shall protect him, and he shall be either slain or cut off from those of his own blood. However, if the slain man be of a kindred different to that of the slayer, then the slayer may be slain by men of either kindred. If the kindred of the slayer would avoid the toll of blood, then they must send a token to the kindred of the slain man, together with an account of the deed. They must also agree that the blood be upon their own heads and revenge in their hands, and account of such revenge shall be sent to the kindred of the slain man together with their forfeiture.

Then all the kindred bound themselves with a great oath, declaring that if blood cried out from the ground in vain, then the night terrors and blood shades would be called upon to fall upon the kindred of the slayer and not upon the kindred of the slain.

It was at the time when this covenant was made that Yosira spoke in this manner to his sons,

"These are the meats which are accursed and shall not be eaten. All the meat of any beast which dies of itself. All the meat of any beast which has been slain as a sacrifice to the small Gods. All the meat of any beast which has been slain by wild beasts and all meat which has been offered up on the door stones. These are unclean meats".

When Yosira had gone throughout the land and purified it, and bound up its wickedness with curses, he taught those who dwelt there the making of waterways. He also instructed them in the meanings of the heavenly signs. He built Piseti in the midst of the reedlands and drained the swamps. Then he raised up the first temple of brick and stone. At this time he established those who were recorders of the days and seasons.

While Yosira was at Piseti, the priests stirred up the people against him, and so he fled to the Land of God with his sons and blood kindred. But his wife and youngest son did not go with him, for they were with her father in the land from whence the great river flowed. This was the land of Kantoyamtu, where priests taught that death is not the normal lot of man. These priests said that though their forefathers of old were just as mortal as men, their forefather's fathers were heirs to immortality on Earth. This is an erroneous teaching, one belonging to the childhood of man, but later men were taught that death is just the departure of life which takes flight with the soul.

While Yosira was at Piseti, his true son, Manindu, commanded the Mesiti who were a host of men and workers in brass. They subdued the whole land, returning it to Yosira. Later it was delivered into the hands of Manindu whose seal is on it even yet.

After the time of Manindu the people forgot the God of Gods, for He appeared distant from them, and they worshipped other Gods whom the priests devised. The light was dimmed and only poorly reflected in small hidden shrines.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE VOICE OF God
(This is a modernized, revised version of a difficult to understand original and it probably contains some interpolated material).

The Voice of God came out of the Heavens unto His servants even before the days of Wunis, but in these days it has come to certain of His Devoted Ones who heard it within the cavern of visions. Afterwards, each wrote it down according to his own hearing, and lo, when they came together it was seen that each had recorded the same words. Thus, the things which were heard by the three and set down by them in writing, all being agreed alike are things recorded forever.

"I am the Voice of God Who is the God of All Men and Ruler of their Hearts. I have many aspects and come differently to all men, I am the God of Many Faces. To you, My servants, I give these words, that they may be carried to all men. Obey My commands and I will be Your God. I will enlighten and instruct you, guiding you along the way. I desire your love and loyalty, and your adherence to My plans, but I do not desire your servility. I am not only your God but your Commander as well, and so I expect obedience and discipline, as befits those who prepare for harsh and grim battles such as those which lie ahead".

"My desire is for love rather than futile sacrifices of burnt offerings, but it should not be a passive love but one expressing service in My Cause. A certain knowledge of right and wrong, with free choice of the former, is of greater value in My sight than pointless ritualistic worship. I derive no pleasure from the wasteful shedding of blood from bulls and lambs. I gain nothing from the fat of sheep and the flesh of goats. I am the Creator of All, so what can men give that would increase My greatness? Men are misled if they believe that their sins can be purged by vain rituals. Only active goodness can obliterate the stain of sin".

"Men approach Me in fear, they come to me with servility. They beg forgiveness for their sins and request My help in worldly matters. To sing My praises is their excuse for coming into places made sacred unto Me, but they come wanting something, be it only reassurance. With this attitude towards Me, do you wonder that I remain mute before their pleas? Bring Me no more vain offerings of flesh and blood, for such wastefulness of life is an offence to the God of Life. What benefit do I derive from all your feasts or festivals? Give me dedication and effort, that is all I ask. Above all be true to yourselves, for I abhor the face of hypocrisy, the face now all too familiar when men approach Me".

"Men bring Me meat and wine, fine flour and wheaten cakes, thinking I can consume these, or that I have need of such sustenance. I would be far better served were these to be given to the widow and orphan, to the multitudinous poor whom you suffer to exist in your midst. Poverty is man-made and it is not sufficient for the wealthy to give alms to the poor; those with power and position, with wealth and plenty must strike at the roots of poverty. If they fail to do this, then the alms they give have no merit in My sight".

"Your solemn assemblies, your tedious processions, your long faces and melancholy expressions bring no gladness to My heart. Your burdensome ceremonials and futile offerings of life and food benefit Me in no way at all. Men themselves may derive benefit from these, but their hypocrisy when they proclaim they do this in My name is not hidden from Me".

"The reek of your incense smoke rises and disappears into the air, but it comes not unto Me, nor do I have need of it. Yet I will not deny you the pleasure of its fragrance which can bring inner harmony and peace by soothing the spirits of men. Nor will I deny you your feasts, if the fetters of wickedness be thereby loosened from your souls, but do not say they are undertaken for My benefit or glorification. Fasting and the denial of bodily appetites may serve useful ends for men, but though you may deceive yourselves regarding their intent, do not try to deceive Me by mis-stating their purpose. I have no desire to repress the joy and exuberance welling up in the hearts of men, far rather would I prefer that such humanizing emotions be cultivated.

 

Therefore, pray if prayer serves its true purpose, which is to harmonize your spirit with Mine so communication becomes possible. Keep your festivals and feasts if they serve their purpose, which is to inspire and refine your spirit. Do all that elevates your spirit and develops your souls, that is the true purpose of life. Do all that is good for you, nothing wholly beneficial is denied you, but do not declare that in so doing you confer benefit upon Me. I am the God Above and Beyond All".

"I do not deny you your rituals and ceremonials, worship Me if you will as you will, but bear in mind that this cannot substitute for your obligations. Ritual and worship cannot be an adjustment or payment for the things you have failed to do, or be an apology for your own shortcomings. Neither do they compensate for iniquities against your fellowmen. If you attach importance to ritual and ceremonial let it be in a proper proportion, and never let them dull your conscience against deeds of wickedness, of usury and injustice. Never let your duty and obligations be neglected because you worship Me diligently, following a formalized ritual and ceremonial.

 

Let this not become an excuse for failing to share your bread with the hungry or for neglecting the needs of the destitute or weak. I am not deceived. A life dedicated to Me is not one preoccupied with worship, that is more the life of a coward trembling before the unknown. He who dedicates his life to Me gives shelter to the homeless and succours those in distress, but even these are not the ultimate in goodness, for they are passively accepted. The ultimate in goodness is to actively combat all the root causes of evil. Those who are my true followers live a life of service and goodness. They live in harmony with their neighbours, harm none and do not shirk the burdens and obligations of earthly existence".

"I am better served by obedience to My laws and conformity with My plans than by ritual and offerings. To listen to the words of the Sacred Writings while striving to understand them is better in My sight than offerings of flesh and treasure which benefit the priests more than they do Me. Among the things which I abhor few are more detestable than the hypocritical offerings of the evildoer. The offerings and worship of a hypocrite are an abomination to Me. Evil enters the realm beyond Earth as a foul smell, and the worse one of all is the smell of hypocrisy. Those who pander to hypocrites or do not actively oppose them are also creatures of evil".

"I know too well the deceit to which men are prone. The adulterer and fornicator preach chastity for others, while the liar declares the virtues of Truth. The thief preaches honesty and the lewd-minded professes modesty. Men say one thing and mean another, while all too often the half or slanted truth replaces the real thing. Men may deceive themselves and other men, but I am not deceived. Now I say, let men first cleanse their own souls and eradicate hypocrisy before presuming to approach Me. Men may well cry out, "Why does God remain mute, why has He deserted Me? " Do they think their deeds are hidden or that I cannot read the secrets of their hearts?"

"Worship by men of iniquity is mere mockery. How rare the sincere and genuine heart! Were men indeed deserted by their God, they would have none to blame but themselves. Do men think their lack of kindness and consideration for others, their insincerity and inconsistency are truly hidden from Me? I am the All Knowing One. I see too little love of goodness in the hearts of men and too much fear for the consequences of their deeds".

"Real and sincere worship is to obey My laws and to shoulder the responsibilities of men, to steadfastly conform to My plan and to live in neighbourly harmony. He who devotes his life to Me also devotes it t his own welfare. He who serves Me well likewise serves himself. This is the Law of Laws. For the whole purpose of life is not the service of God but the development of the soul of man. He who worships Me with empty ritual and vain ceremonial but neglects the wellbeing of his own soul, does not serve Me well, for he thwarts My purpose. I have endowed the creature made in My likeness with a religious instinct, for this springs from its everlasting spirit, as fire generates heat; therefore, to worship is not unnatural. But blind worship lacks the vitalizing element, it defeats its own end, for in true worship man should reach out beyond himself to discover his own soul. Then, having done so, he should develop it until the soul aspires to Godhood itself".

"Therefore, dedicate all your labours and the skill of your hands unto Me, and let your heart ever dwell on the borders of the spiritual. Let the life which you cherish be the spiritlife. Free yourself from all vain hopes and selfish thoughts; from all worthless encumbrances; from ungainful avarice and unbeneficial lusts; from the domination of the flesh. life is not easy, nor is it wholly pleasant; it is not meant to be, but bear your burdens with cheerfulness and fortitude. Entrench yourself within an inner fortress of peace".

"Whatever you do or give, do or give in My name, and whatsoever sufferings descend upon you, suffer them for Me. Thus, you will avoid the stigma of false pride and all given and suffered will be without any taint of self-interest".

"The path of Godliness is not an easy one to follow, for it is beset with the pitfalls of perplexity and doubt. Then, too, there is not one path but several, and few among men know which is the best. There are many false paths leading nowhere, there are paths that lead to a wilderness of disillusion and some which lead to destruction. Yet among the many beliefs springing up from time to rime in various lands, there are always those which lead to the same Truth, to the one Fountainhead of Light, though some may be devious and some wander through dangerous territory. They are like many roads leading pilgrims to the one shrine. Though all true paths are lit by the guiding light of Truth, not all see it alike; but the fault lies not so much in the light as in the beholder. It is this which leads to misunderstandings concerning each other's teachings and to disputes between those who prefer one road and those preferring another. Each considers his own way, his own interpretation of the light to be the best, if not the only, way".

"There are few, even among truly enlightened men, who are able to conceive My true nature, and these know that I am even above unchangeability in manifestation. I can think of Myself as some other and forthwith that other comes into being. There are those among men who declare all life, all My creation to be an illusion of the senses, a dream without sustenance. They are in error, for all that is real and all that exists was ever latent, awaiting the awakening kiss. Because men cannot know reality as it actually is but only as they can conceive it to be with their deceptive sense, does not make it any less real. If all men were blind, the stars would still exist".

"Neither reality nor Truth, nor the God Who is beyond and above both will be inconceivable to the minds of the ultimate man. Only man in his present undeveloped state and in his ignorance cannot conceive such things and therefore, because in his blindness they are beyond his sight, he says they do not exist".

"In the beginning I established the Law, without which the souls of men could not develop and progress. As each soul is itself a divine fragment, with all the powers of divinity latent within itself, it can modify all but the Great Law. Man thinks but his thoughts alone do not create, for, as yet, he lacks knowledge of the power which creates in substance. First I created the firmament, which is the matrix of all; then when I took thought the creative power flowed outward and, operating upon the medium, brought into being things of substance".

"My creation arose before Me as light does before a flame or heat before a fire. It came and still comes into being because I exist, it is because I Am. Creation in no way affects Me any more than a man is affected by his shadow, or light by its reflection. As raindrops, waves, rivers, dew and mist are all forms of water, so is everything existing and knowable by man but various forms of the one substance. This substance has its origin in Me, but it is not Me".

"I am the source of all things, supporting but not being supported by them. Even as the mighty winds which sweep across the Earth find their rest in the tranquil vastness above, so all beings and all things have their rest in Me. It is a power out-flowing from Me which holds all things in stability and form".

"They who devote their lives to My service must do more than love and worship Me, for such service entails the elevation of mankind, the spreading of good and the combating of evil. They must not only fight against the ungodly, but also overcome the wickedness welling up in their own thoughts. They who love Me desire the well-being of all men, and their souls are filled with harmony and peace. Dearer to Me than their love for Me is the labour and tribulations of those who serve Me. I am their end. I am never the God of Inertia but the God of Effort; if you offer no more than deeds done in My service or in conformity with My design, then you serve Me adequately".

"However, too rarely do the ways of men conform to My plan and the ranks of those who serve are too thin. Therefore, I shall call forth leaders from among men and send out the clarion cry to service. I shall seek out men who will serve Me diligently and loyally. They will be men of goodwill who are of a friendly nature. They will be kind and compassionate, men who can love deeply and truly, whose steadfastness is the same in pleasure and affliction; whose resolve remains equally unbroken in the sweet embrace of good fortune as under the harsh blows of misfortune. I will send men who are fair and just, proud and resolute, but these qualities mean nothing unless they also have courage and resolution, fortitude and tenacity".

"I shall seek the man who is himself ever seeking, who seeks to unravel the riddle of life. One whose determination is strong, who detests wickedness and delights in the good; whose heart and inner vision reach out for enlightenment. His tranquility will remain unshaken under stress and within his heart will be a haven of peace beyond the reach of excitement and anger. He will be a lover of wisdom and seeker of truth. He who is wise, he who knows what to do, who remains calm when others lose their self-control; he who is clearheaded under stress, who enjoys the challenge of the task, that man is Mine, He who labours uncomplainingly, who disdains to satisfy deforming lusts, whose spirit remains the same under the temptations of honours or the pressure of disgrace; he who is free from the shackles of unworthy earthly attachments, who retains his balance under praise or blame, who can shoulder his own burdens, whose spirit is calm, silent and strong under all circumstances; he who can bear the responsibilities of life and the obligations of love, that man is Mine. I am the God of Inspiration, I am the God of Love".

"I am the Knower and you are the known. I am the Source of Life. In the vastness of My nature I place the seed of things to be, from which come forth all things that are now or ever will exist".

"Men must nourish their spirit and sustain it with spiritual fare. They must also learn that the spirit is not something separate from man, or something within him. Man is spirit, man is soul. There is no need to engage in long-winded empty discussions about far away things lying beyond the reach and understanding of men. To know the reality of the spirit and to establish the existence of the soul, man has only to delve within his nature, to seek within himself. The spiritual part of man is not a mysterious something outside his being, or a thing difficult to understand. To discover it requires no more than the effort of seeking".

"Men with sincere hearts, seeking a path ask for a starting point. However, for most the key is self-discipline, and this is the reason for many laws and restrictions. But these must never be unnecessarily restrictive, each must have a definite purpose and beneficial end, obscure though these may be. The means for overcoming unwholesome desires and for harmonizing with the divine chord he within the reach of all, but effort must be expended in their cultivation. If the end is great beyond man's conception, it is no less true that the task before man is arduous and difficult in the extreme. To master himself and gain complete self-control is no more than the first step along the path".

"Though men may despair because I am veiled from them, though they may seek without finding, I am not indifferent to their needs and desires. Doubt and uncertainty are essential earthly conditions serving a definite end. I have not surrounded men with perplexities and obscurities unnecessarily. The climate of unbelief and materialism, strange though it may seem to men, is best for their spiritual health. I know better than men themselves what is best for them, for I alone can see the broad design spread over the ages, I alone see the end and objective. Though unenlightened men expect it, it is not meet for Me to interfere unduly in the affairs of Earth".

"All things are Mine and under My dominion, but man may deal with them as he will. I do not interfere, but finally man is accountable. Though I have all and nothing can add to My grandeur, with all this I still labour. Therefore, man should never disdain to labour, for this is an attribute of the Highest. I do not require of any man that he do something I would not do, or be something I would not be, I am the God of Righteousness. If ever I ceased to labour, the universe would be without order, chaos would prevail and precede its destruction".

"I am the God of Many Aspects, for men may conceive Me in any form they wish, or even as something without form. I am the God of Men's Hearts. In whichever way and by whatever name men serve Me, abiding by My laws and conforming with the Great Design, is right in My eyes. Any path which will bring man to his goal is the right road. Truly the paths chosen by men are many and varied, some are even devious, but if they be true paths of enlightenment and development, they are acceptable in My sight. However, those who lust for earthly power, offering sacrifice and worship to earthly Gods conceived to accord with their desires, are not acceptable to Me. It is true that earthly success and power may come to those who strive for them, but do they achieve anything more than fleeting satisfaction? What manner of being would now dominate Earth, had all men been without divine enlightenment from the beginning, if earthly ends alone had dominated men's minds? Consider what earthly life would have been like, had it been left to develop predominated by materialism, if it had not been mitigated by injections of the divine".

"There are four main types of men who are good and serve Me well. They are those who suffer courageously the afflictions and sorrows which develop the soul. Those who labour, that Earth and man may benefit. Those who seek after Truth and those with vision and creativity. Yet how rare are those among these who do not besmirch their record with deeds of evil and thoughts of wickedness. All too many may have, by their carnal desires and acts of wickedness, countered their goodness to the detriment of their immortal souls".

"If a man follow a false God with goodwill and honesty, serving men well and living in accordance with My laws, I will not repudiate him and he will not be denied enlightenment on the way. There are many roads along which the soul may travel to bring about its development and awakening to self-consciousness, but is it not advantageous to choose the best one? Only the foolish travel blindly, without seeking guidance and directions. Those who have little wisdom or who are easily misled follow roads which go nowhere. They who follow a barren faith reach a barren destination, they find only an empty place devoid of hope, incapable of fulfilling their dreams and aspirations".

"Those who worship Gods of their imagination, Gods in strange likenesses, which have been brought into being by man's creative conceptions, will go to these Gods who have an existence in a dim shadow realm. Those who worship lower spirits will go to them and those who worship the demons of darkness will join them, for what a man desires he deserves. There is a link between that which men desire and what becomes established in existence. Provision is made for man to receive the fruits of his own creations".

"Whatsoever you do, whatsoever you plan or create, whatsoever you suffer, let it be an offering unto Me, not for My sake but for yours. I am the God of Compassion, the God of Understanding. From those who in their devotion offer Me but a single leaf, a flower or fruit, or even a little water, this I will gladly accept, thus lightening their loving spirit, for it is offered in sincerity of heart. He who comes before any God, whatsoever its image, with pureness of heart and good motives, comes unto Me, for I gaze upon him with compassion and understanding. I am not concerned with the deeds alone of men, but with their motives. Empty gestures are ignored, but that which is done with good intent and a loving heart never goes unheeded".

"I am the Hidden God, hidden to serve an end. Veiled in mystery, I am further obscured by the mists of mortal delusion. Unable to see me, men declare I do not exist, yet I declare to you that man, with his mortal limitations, sees only a minute part of the whole. Man is the slave of illusion and deception. Though man is born to delusion, for it is a needful state, he is further inflicted by deceptions wrought by men. Though man cannot perceive the greatness above him, because of its greatness, neither can he see the smallness beneath him, because of its smallness. From the greatest came the smallest and from the smallest came creation, and within the smallest is greatness and power. For the smallest is far less than the mote, yet it is the upholder of the universe and it shines like the sun beyond the darkness. It lies out towards the edge of the reach of man's thought.

In the beginning all things arose from the invisible and into the invisible all things will disappear in the end, but the end is not the end of the spirit. Out beyond this material creation born of the invisible, there is a higher eternal invisible of greater substance. When all material things have passed away, this will remain. Above all is timelessness, which is eternity, and there is My abode, the supreme goal of man, and those who attain it dwell in eternity. I am the Eternal God".

"Few are they who can conceive of Me as I really am, the Unborn and Uncreated, Beginningless and Without End, Lord of All the Spheres. Those few who can conceive Me as I am are awakened spirits freed from mortal delusions. As thick clouds of smoke rise up and spread out from a fire burning in damp wood, so did the material universe come forth from Me. As a lump of salt dropped into a pool of water dissolves and cannot be removed afterwards, yet from whatever part of the water you draw there is salt, so it is with My pervading Spirit. I am the Great Luminary, the everlasting source of light sparks, which, imprisoned in matter, become the slumbering souls of men. These, unconsciously guided, spread out the five senses under the control of unconscious thought. That which the senses harvest departs with the spirit. It is borne away by the spirit, even as perfume is carried by the wind. I am the Boundless One, The One Beyond Limitations. I remain free and unencumbered by the effort of creation. I Am and I watch life unfold. I set the course which nature follows to bring forth all that lives".

"The fools on Earth, who shut their eyes and complain because they stumble, the ignorant who choose to walk in darkness and the apathetic who choose paths of ease and comfort, have no knowledge of Me. Their hopes are sterile. Theirs the choice of darkness, theirs the choice of ignorance, theirs the choice of apathetic inertia. Their learning is futile, their thoughts fruitless and their deeds without purpose. Though man is born in ignorance and darkness, he is also heir to the guiding light which dispels them. The light is his for the taking. Then there are the awakened souls among men, their sustenance is My own nature. They know My Spirit is among men as an everlasting source of strength and refreshment to the weary and disheartened. They are in harmony with My Spirit and therefore know Me".

"Men call Me the God of Battles, which I am not, for good men fight each other when kings declare war. Men call Me many things, but this does not make Me become what they think I am. I am the hidden power which ultimately rights all wrongs, which will eventually redress all injustices. I come to all who are worthy, but it is the lonely, the unwanted, the undesirable whom I seek. To Me, the dispirited, the perplexed, the sorrowful and humiliated soul is an irresistible magnet. I am the welcoming light at the end of the road, the companion who watches in compassionate silence, the understanding friend, the ever ready arm. I am He Who presides over the haven of peace within your heart".

"To those who unite their spirit with Mine and to those who are in harmony but not united, I increase that which they have and provide what they lack. I turn a like countenance to all men. My love for them remains constant, but those who join Me in devotion to My cause are truly in Me and I am in them. This is My everlasting and unchanging promise unto me: He who walks with Me, serving My cause, shall not perish. So join your spirit with Mine, giving me your confidence and trust, and thus united in a harmonious relationship you will come to know the supreme goal. Men say they cannot know Me through their senses, and this is true, for I am above and beyond the reach of their finite senses. The senses of man are not meant to be the means for experiencing Me, they are for experiencing the material spheres. They are also limiting, shutting out far more man they reveal. Yet men have within men a greater sense which can know Me, but it lies dormant in the mass of men. I am the Light Within the Heart, the Consciousness of All Living Things. I am the God of Consciousness, the Listener in the Silences".

"I do not manifest to man through his mortal senses, for these are bounded by earthly limitations. I manifest through the great sense which is of the spirit, the sense of the soul. As pure light hides many colours, so am I hidden in the hearts of men. As sparks fly from a bellows-blown fire, so from the Eternal Fire the life sparks fly out to glow for an instant in matter and then fall back. As the sun radiates heat, a flower perfume and a lamp light, so does the heart of man create his own spiritual state. The eye of man sees a pebble, a star, a sheep or a tree and these do not appear to him in anyway alike. Yet all are differing forms manifesting in the one outflowing force originating with Me. This outflowing force generated mat which gave birth to substance and endowed it with the matrix for form.

 

The fragments of Divine Spirit interpret that which the Divine Spirit created, but they cannot know it in its reality, for, enshrouded in matter, they sleep. Because the material sphere is a separate part of the greater whole, the mortal part of man can never hope to know in full its boundless beauty, or experience its limitless bliss. Out beyond the limits of man's thought and conception, beyond reach of even the most vivid imagination, the wonder and glory of it all stretch out into absolute perfection. Even at the outer reaches where eternity begins the wonder of the inner glory remains veiled. No words of man can ever hope to describe the true nature of divine things, to the divine alone can the divine be known. The radiant living heart pulsating with love can never be known to man as man, but when man becomes more than man he may take his first glimpse behind the veil. I am the Inspiration and Goal of Man".

"Before creation I was the One Alone. I thought and the thought became a command of power, and into the void of the invisible came that which was the potential of substance, though itself then part of the invisible. light was born of the power and My Spirit was in the midst of the light, but it was not that light which lightens the day. A firmament became the foundation of all things, matter gradually forming there, becoming ever denser as it thrust outward from the invisible. It moved from a subtle state to something more solid, from intangibility to substance, from incoherent substance into a state of density and form. I commanded the subtle substance, with light but without form, to mate with the subtle substance of darkness and become dense. It did so and became water. Then I spread water over the darkness below the light, placing a fountain of light about the waters. This brought forth the light of mortal vision, which is not the light of the spirit, nor the light of power. At that time the universe was made and then Earth received her form. It slept warmly in the midst of the waters, which were not the waters of Earth, and this was before the beginning of life in earthly substance. I am the God of Creation".

"At the foundations of My creations are Truth and Reality, these are with Me and of Me, but they are not My substance, neither are they things comprehensible on Earth. These are truly great things indescribable in the inadequate words of men, which can do no more than form an imperfect, incomplete and distorted picture of them; simple things can be described clearly in a few words to the understanding of man, but greater things become increasingly difficult to deal with through mere words. What words of man can be used to describe the indescribable? How can tilings beyond the comprehension of mortal men be brought within the limits of their understanding? Before the shadow there was the reflecting light, a light so bright that were it not veiled in the darkness it would consume the shadow. Seeking to explain and describe transcendental things in the limited language of man only leads to obscurity and confusion, the words form incomprehensible sentences and unthinking men will declare them to be incoherence. Therefore, look behind the sentences strung together with mere words. I am the Unknown God veiled from man by man's mortal limitations".

"The universe came into being and exist because I AM. It is My reflection in matter. As a man remains unaffected by the manifestations of his shadow, so do I remain unaffected by the material creation. As heat comes forth from fire and contains its essence and nature, though it is not fire, neither has it the substance of fire, so does My creation relate to Me. I am as an object reflected in water. The water may not know the reflection or find it within itself, but this inability has no effect on the reality of the object, nor on the fact of its reflection. It is as a man looking into clear water on a calm day sees his reflection therein, but if the wind blows the image becomes distorted, and if the sun hides its face the image disappears. Yet none of these effects touches upon the image itself, nor upon that which casts the image. When the wind drops, the cloud vanishes and the sun reappears, both distortion and deception end, and the reality is again reflected. Within My creation is My Spirit, which supports it, and this Spirit is the bond between My creation and Myself. No man acknowledges the air because it is still, but when this same air becomes a whirlwind men give it their whole attention. With Me all is real, while with man all is illusion; but man may abandon his illusions in seeking Me, and he will thereby discover reality. I am the Realty Behind the Reflection, I am the Uncaused Cause".

"Those who turn away from the glorious jewel within to seek an outside God, a separate, unresponsive being, are looking for a mere trinket, while disregarding the priceless treasure already in their keeping. Men of light worship the vision of light, men of darkness and ignorance worship ghosts and dark spirits, demons of the night. There are men who, moved by dark beliefs or their carnal lusts and perverted passions, perform awful austerities and self-mutilations never ordained by Me. They delight in tormenting the life and spirit within their bodies. They are truly deluded victims of the darkest form of ignorance. Yet some derive pleasure from their pains and torments, and so continue them, but these may be truly described as mutilated souls. Some men follow Gods who punish wickedness and reward good, and therefore tend towards goodness, but is it not folly to follow non-existent Gods? All men choose their own spiritual destiny, whether it be done knowingly or not, for under the Law their future state must rest in their own hands. I am the God Who ordained the Law, and nothing man can do will change it. My love alone mitigates the consequences of man's unredeemed wickedness. I am the Changeless One. Could a God of Love become a God of Vengeance? Revenge is something alien to Me. Therefore, is it reasonable that men should believe I could be one thing today and then because they fall into error become something else tomorrow? My nature is not as that of man. I AM as I AM.

"I am not influenced by the mere formal actions of men, or by empty sacrifice. Lighted lamps and candles, days of fasting and self-mortification by man cannot sway Me in his favour. I am not to be bribed, for I am God. He who handles fire carelessly and gets burnt cannot blame the fire, neither can he who goes into swift waters and drowns blame the waters. There are laws, the violation of which brings retribution in its train. They who by their own deeds bring pain and suffering upon themselves cannot blame Me for what ensues. These are the effects of the lesser laws which are easily understood, but above these is the Great Law which is not so incomprehensible. Under this the link between the deed and its effect is not so apparent; men bring down calamity and suffering upon their own heads and blame Me, when the fault lies with them and the cause is their own misconduct or misconception. Men reap as they sow and I am the Fertile Field which takes no part in the sowing or the reaping. Man is his own master and the lord of his own destiny. He cannot expect help from any great power, unless he himself expend effort to contact such power or be deserving of help. Everything a man is or becomes is the result of his own striving and efforts, or his lack of them. I made man to be a man, not a mere puppet or nursling. I am the God of the Law. I am the God of the Stalwart".

"Man is the heir to divinity, and the road to divinity is spirituality. Man cannot become spiritual except through his own efforts and striving. He cannot achieve it by being led by the hand or through fear of punishment, nor by greed through anticipation of a reward. He who enters into his heritage of divinity will be no weakling, he will have trodden a hard and stony path".

"Man has two ways of knowing Me. He can know Me through his own spiritual awakening or through the continued revelation of moral law and divine purpose by My inspired servants. To know Me through a spiritually awakened self is the way of certainty, but few can suffer its austerities and disciplines".

"When the spirit of man is unawakened he cannot know the great self within him, of which he is a part. Not knowing his true nature and unable to see clearly, he is blinded by material delusions. Would not the creatures of the night, which never see the sun, deem the moon to be the most brilliant light in the sky above? So it is with the man walking in the darkness of spiritual unconsciousness, He says, "I am the body and the body is my whole being", and in the delusion of that belief he becomes ensnared in an existence bound to matter. Like the creatures bound to an existence in the night, which cannot know the glories of things flourishing in the brilliance of daylight, so it is with men bound to the darkness of spiritual ignorance".

"As a shadow in the night is mistaken for an intruder, or a mirage is mistaken for a pool of clear water, so does the spiritually immature man mistake the material body for the whole living being. As the shimmering heat haze appears like solid water, so does the outer body appear as the whole being to the spiritually unawakened. As, to a man in a moving boat, another boat lying still on the water will often appear to be moving while he himself seems to remain still, so the unawakened spirit is deluded by appearances, seeing the mortal body as a whole being.

 

When in fact the clouds are flying overhead, it appears as though the moon itself is speeding across the Heavens, it is only the knowledge and experience we have of the skies above, which tell us this cannot be the truth. Thus it is with the spiritually unawakened man who, in his ignorance, thinks the mortal body is the whole being, and, having no knowledge or experience of the spiritual region, is deceived. In fact all the beliefs of man which hold that the mortal body is the whole being are generated in the darkness of ignorance. A man may be wise in the ways of men, but completely ignorant and unaware of the higher, more glorious things which are revealed in the light of the spirit".

"The man held in bondage to delusion says, "If mere be another body, a part of me of which I am unaware, it cannot be real, neither can I know it. My eyes are infallible guides, seeing things just as they are, and any feelings I may experience have their origin within my mortal being. I am the child of my body". This man is deluded, like the creatures of the night, or as the man who sees a mirage. Are the eyes which see mirages totally reliable? Motes swimming in the sunbeam are unsubstantial things, yet things such as these are the bricks of man's body, the eyes making them appear solid and substantial, the unreal for the real, his mortal body for his whole self.

 

The deluded man ignores the spiritual part of his being and its needs. He cherishes the mortal body, gratifying its desires with earthly pleasures. Like the silkworm, he becomes captive in a cocoon of his own making. The man who lavishes undue care on the mortal body displays his own spiritual ignorance and inadequacy. To be free from existence in the darkness of ignorance, to know the glory of life in the light of spiritual consciousness, a man must first awaken his spirit, in this way alone can he become aware of his true nature".

"Ask yourselves, "What am I? What is real within myself? What comprises the whole man? Can it be that I am truly no more than this fleshy thing, the petty, immature, unstable being balanced between futile unearthly ideals and carnal cruelty and lust? Or am I something greater which is undiscoverable by mortal senses? Am I really akin to something divine and glorious from which source alone could have come the ideals and virtues which transcend the mundane needs of earthly existence? " Ask yourselves, in the solitudes, and perchance you will not go unanswered. I am the God of Silences".

"The words of men are inadequate to express just what man really is, the knowledge of his true nature is beyond the understanding of the unawakened spirit. The inheritance within the grasp of man is without limitation, for it is the totality of all things. Man has not been misled in the hope and belief that the seemingly mortal is in fact immortal. The spirit does not mislead men. They are deceived by their own eyes, they are misled, so they are unable to see things as they are in reality. All that men see and experience throughout earthly existence is veiled in illusion.

 

Man may think his eyes reveal things as they are, but no mortal eye has ever beheld a thing as it actually is. It appears to man through the coloured distorting glass of his own mortality. Spiritually, men as a whole are little different from the madman who builds himself a kingdom from the fabric of his imagination. The flowing life existence about him is seen as a distorted image, a distortion which his own defects have imparted to it. Yet it was meant to be thus, for man is surrounded by the conditions meet for him. It is for man to discover why this is so, and in discovering he will find himself. I am the Truth, I am the Reality".

"This earthly life, which I have given you, should not be viewed in its minute aspect but in the light of infinitude. All the suffering and disillusionment, the futility, the forlorn hopes and wasted efforts, the oppressions and injustices are not without a purpose. That purpose is beyond anything man can understand and infinitely greater than his conception can grasp. The truly awakened man, alone among men, can have any insight into life's end and goal".

"These are divine things, yet they can be set down only in the mere words of men and will thus be reduced to things of mortal frailty. Mere words will be read and the pattern formed by them will be far short of Truth and Reality. The taste of a fruit or the fragrance of a flower cannot be known by reading about them. The fruit must be eaten and the flower smelt. Only in union with Me, spirit communicating with Spirit, can proof of My reality be found. Yet, because things are as they are, Truth must ever be veiled from man as man. But who would labour, if labourers were paid whether they worked or not?

 

Were they revealed to him, the ignorant man would not comprehend great things, therefore the light is not for him. The insincere and shallow seeker after diversion and pleasure will find little entertainment in these words. The really illuminated man will already know something of the Truth and will therefore seek it more diligently along a higher path. So these words are given just for those sincere seekers who are aware of their own shortcomings and ignorance. These will be people whose thoughts are not smothered by prejudice, who are not set in their opinions. For who among men is the most confirmed in his opinions? Who states things in the most assertive manner and talks with the loudest voice? Is it not the most ignorant? I will not let the sincere seeker go unguided. I am the Light on the Path".

"Well do I know the hearts of men, they ever seek to deceive themselves. They clearly see the errors and follies of others but are blind to their own. There are those whose idea of righteousness is mumbled words and repetitious prayers. Their souls are warped with selfish desires and their Heaven is the fulfillment of these. Their prayers are pleas for pleasure or power, for freedom from the things which develop the spirit. The lovers of pleasure and power delight in following the path of their own inclinations, they build a creed of their own desires. They have neither courage nor the will to follow a sterner and true path. Avoid the companionship of such as these, setting your heart upon the task in hand rather than the reward. I am the Knower, I am the Rewarder".

"If a man fixes his attention wholly upon one goal or one thing for his own selfish purpose, as if it were an independent, all unrelated to others, thing, then he moves in darkness of ignorance. If he undertakes a task with a confused mind, not considering the outcome or where it will lead him, or the harm it may do to others or himself, then it is an undertaking of evil. There is a wisdom which knows when to go and when to stay, when to speak and when to remain silent, what is to be done and what is to be left undone. It knows, too, the limitations set by fear and by courage, what constitutes bondage and what freedom. This is the wisdom I have placed at the disposal of man, if he would but seek it, the true wisdom of the spirit. Opposed to this clear-sighted wisdom is the false, man-made wisdom obscured by the darkness arising from delusion. Here wrong is thought to be right and error passes as Truth, things are thought to be what they are not.

 

The unenlightened men dwelling in comfortable darkness, unperturbed by the challenge of reality as revealed by the light of Truth, lack any understanding of true values. That which appears to them to be no more than a cup of sorrow is in fact a chalice filled with the wine of immortality. The vain pleasures that come from pandering to the carnal cravings of the senses appear at first to be a cup of sweetness, but in the end it is found to hold the brew of bitterness. He who does right does it not for Me but for himself; he is the one who benefits, not his God. He who does wrong inflicts himself for it, and he is the sufferer. He who does right does it to his own good and he who works wickedness does it to his own hurt. It could not be possible, in a just creation, that those whose ways are evil should be dealt with as are those who live goodly lives and perform good deeds. The fate of the selfish and that of the unselfish could not be alike. I am the God of Justice, the Maker of the Law".

'The spirit of man has the. potential for doing all things, it can even rise above earthly limitations. The awakened soul can do whatsoever it wills. Man makes the environment for his own development; as it is now, so countless wills from the past have fashioned it. When the body awakens in the morning, it is like a man entering his habitation, it becomes a place of awareness. The soul becomes active in matter, that with which you hear, taste, smell and feel is the soul. Physically, the ear of a dead man is still in perfect condition for hearing, but the hearer, the interpreter, has gone. The eyes of a corpse are not blinded, but that which operated them is no longer there".

"So long as the soul looks outward only, into the deceptive environment of matter and is satisfied with the material pleasures it finds there, and which its baser body finds compatible, it remains cut off from the greater realm of the spirit. It binds itself to matter, failing to find the greater pleasures always there in the silent depths of its being. Confirmed in his attitude by experiences in a deceptive environment, mortal man becomes convinced that all desirable things lie outside himself. He concludes that satisfaction comes from gaining the things which promote material welfare. This is the folly of the unbalanced man. However, balance is the keyword, for it is equally foolish to turn away from material things altogether. Man is made of earthly things, because it is intended that he should live and express himself on Earth. It is also intended that he should discover his nature through earthly conditions and experiences".

"However, the Divine Spark must kindle the spirit. It must not be smothered. Balance is the ideal, the whole becoming neither wholly inwardly nor outwardly orientated. Man needs his body and must not repudiate it, and if it requires man's labour to sustain it, then is not man entitled to enjoy its pleasures? Here also it is simply a matter of proper balance. Man lives in a sea of material manifestation where I am only indirectly reflected, as the soul of man is indirectly reflected in his body. If a man sees with nothing but the eyes of the body, then he cannot perceive Me, for I am beyond his vision. I am the God veiled Behind Matter, I am the God of the Spirit".

"Yet there is a vision possible to man, which pierces the universal veil, a vision free from all obscurity, a vision uncontaminated by the dark shadows of base desires or fear, by unstable emotions or unworthy motives. It is the vision seen when man develops a new faculty, a new sense. It is an inward vision of splendour. A wave of spiritual light will engulf him, a mysterious power indescribable in mere words sweeps like a shooting star over the expanse of his spirit, giving a sudden illuminating flash which floods his whole inner being, his soul, with a glorious light. In its brilliance he is granted, for a brief moment in time, a glimpse of the vision splendid. He is then united with the living heart of the universe by a bond reaching out to infinity. Nothing known to man, no symbols of his conception can express the joyousness which floods his whole being. It can be experienced in quiet tranquility of spirit. It can burst all the bounds of restraint, expressing itself in an all embracing, overwhelming feeling of love.

 

Lost in an unfathomable sea of silent contemplation, the body will shine with radiance from the inner light, and all about will be bathed in a luminous spiritual glow. Having once been in divine communication, these awakened spirits know a joy supreme, and never again do they walk through the veil of mortal sorrows. The truly awakened soul is beyond carnal lust and mortal grief, his love is alike for all My creation and thus he shows supreme love for Me. By this love alone he knows Me in Truth, Who and What I am, and knowing Me in Truth he participates in My Whole Being. Those who seek union with Me must first prepare a dwelling place for Me in their hearts; but those who are not pure, those who do not fight for Me, those who have not suffered under the discipline of love and those without wisdom cannot attain union, no matter how much they strive. I am the God of Illumination, I am the God of Enlightenment".

"Would you know the ultimate state of man when he has finally reached his goal, when he has entered into his inheritance of divinity? It is a state of glory transcending anything conceivable by him during an earthbound existence. His consciousness expands to embrace everything, all that ever was or will be. He sees all. He knows all. He is in all and he contains all. These things come to him through infinite powers of perception, yet he is above all such powers. He is beyond all yet within all. He is beyond the realm of matter, freed from all restrictions, yet he is not denied its joys and may, if he so desires, manifest again in matter. His thoughts have the power of creation. He is one with the Light of Lights, the Light transcending vision. He is the partaker of My Substance, My son in eternity, the inheritor of everlasting life. I am your God, the Father of Man".

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE SPIRIT OF God

"I am the immortality latent in all things mortal. The light filling all things with radiance, the power holding all things to their form. I am the pure, invulnerable stream untouchable by evil, the supreme fountain-head of thoughts, the unfailing well of consciousness, the light of eternity. I am that to which the soul of man is related. I am its power, its life, its strength. I am that to which it responds".

"I am the sweet coolness in refreshing waters and the comforting warmth in the sun. I am the calmness of peace in the radiance of the moon and the delicacy in the moonbeam. I am the sound heard in the stillness, the companionship felt in the solitude and the stirring in the hearts of men. I am the cheerfulness in the laugh of a youth and the gentleness in the sigh of a maiden. I am the joy in the life of all living things and the content in the hearts of awakened souls. I am the beauty in the beautiful and the fragrance in the fragrant. I am the sweetness in honey and the scent in perfume. I am the power in the strong arm and the wistfulness in a smile. I am the urge in good and moderate desires. I am the gaiety in gladness, the restlessness in life, the refreshment in sleep. Yet though I am in all these, I am not contained in them and they are in me rather than I am in them. How pitiful are the words of men to depict sublime things! With the souls of men asleep, enwrapped in clouds of delusion, how can I be known to them?"

"I am of the Supreme, the Eternal, of God and from God, yet not God. As heat to fire, as fragrance to flowers, as light to a lamp, so am I to God. I am the power of God operating in matter. I am the first created of creation, I am the eternal thread upon which all creation is strung. I am the effective thought of God. I am that brought forth by His creating command, wherein all things share life. I am the Lord of forms holding all things together".

"I am the power giving form, I am the comforting companion of the way. I am that which gives substance to the hopes and desires of men. Think of me therefore in any way you will. I am the companionable one, the comforter. I am the waters of inspiration springing from the Eternal Fount. I am the glory of love shining forth from the Central Sun. I am in all things".

"I am the root of the tree of life, the words written in the Book of God. I am the guardian of knowledge, the wisdom of the soul. I am the harmonizer of sound, the controller of power, the keeper of matter and the sustainer of shapes. I unroll the scroll of time and record its changes. I am the reader of past and present, the scribe of change, the chooser of chance".

"I am victory and the struggle for victory, but I am more, I am that which defeats defeat, for I am the victory in defeat. I am the goodness of those who are good, but I am more, for I am the success that arises out of failure. I am the achievement remaining when all else has gone".

"I am the sublime veiling secret mysteries. I am the guardian who jealously discloses hidden things. I am the knowledge of the knower. I am the seed within the seed from which all things spring. I am the bricks of which all things are built. I am more, I am the clay and water within the bricks. I am the motion in all things that move, without me there is no movement. I am the stability in all things stable, without me no thing holds to its shape".

"I am the craftsman with innumerable shapes, the artist with countless colours. My labours are outside the knowledge of men, my works beyond their sight. My masterpieces will never be seen by mortal eyes".

"That which abides in breath and yet is other than breath, which breath itself cannot know or influence, which controls it from within itself, that am I. That which is behind the voice, which voice itself cannot know or influence, which controls it from behind itself, that am I. That which is in the eye yet is other than the eye, which the eye itself cannot know or influence, which controls it from within, that am I. That which is behind the touch and yet is other than touch, which touch itself cannot know or influence, which manipulates it from behind itself, that am I. Yet this you must know: I am not you, nor are you me, though I abide in you as you abide in me. Let wisdom disentangle these feeble words set down through the hands of mortal men".

"The glory that shines from the Lord of the Day, the gentle gleam radiating from the Mistress of the Night, the comforting glow from the hearth fire, all these are of my substance. I penetrate Earth with love. I raise up the seed. I am the breath within the breath of all living things. 1 am the sweet scent of flowers and the bitter tang of vinegar. I am the differentiating essence in all things".

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE SONG OF THE SOUL

"I am the sleeper awakened from slumber. I am the seed of life eternal. I am the everlasting hope of man. I am a shoot of the Spirit Divine. I am the soul".

"I have been since the beginning of time and shall be forever. I am the design interwoven in the warp and weft of creation. I am the indestructible essence of life. I am the treasure chest of man's hopes and aspirations, the storehouse of lost loves and fulfilled dreams".

"Before time I was an unconscious spirit potential united with the Supreme All. Ever since time began I was in the slumbering sea of spirit, waiting to be drawn forth into separate mortal incarnation. Now, though the mortal body enwrapping me fall apart and decay, I remain everlasting and immortal. Through all the ebb and flow of life, whatever destiny decrees, I remain the everlasting jewel of ages, invisible to mortal eyes and untouchable by mortal hands"

"I am the eternal bride of mortal men, ever awaiting the awakening kiss, the whisper of recognition. O being of flesh, deny me not; let me not dwell in forgotten solitude, left alone, unwanted and unheeded. Hold me to you as a lover holds the beloved, reach out beyond earthly things and kiss the lips that are yours eternally. Look out beyond the sphere of earthly opposites, out beyond the pettiness of gains and possessions. Grasp and possess me, your own everlasting and responsive soul".

"You will not find me where emotional tempests rage, or while sensual storms bring turmoil and disquiet. First subdue these, for I await beyond, in the quietness of calm waters. I must be sought as a lover seeks the loved one, in solitude, amid quietness and tranquility, only there will I respond to the awakening kiss of recognition".

"Do not neglect me, O my beloved, or tarnish me; for I come to you as an inestimable treasure. I bring beauty and innocence, gaiety and wholesomeness, decency and consideration, a jewel of potential perfection. Do not drag me down with you into the demon-haunted regions of darkness and terror. I am yours, closer to you than any loved one of Earth. If you spurn me, I go down to a terrible doom in darkness, there to be purged and purified from the corruption of your touch. The best I can then hope for is to be bestowed upon another".

"I am the sublime vehicle awaiting the command to bear your true-self to its destiny of glory. Could anyone be so foolhardy as not to cherish me? Without moving I am swifter than thought, on celestial wings I far outstrip the range of mortal senses. I drink at the fountain of life and feed on the fruits of eternal energy".

"What are you, my beloved, but a passing thing fashioned of clay? A handful of dust given life by a spark from the everlasting flame. I, myself, am no more than potential. Yet together we are so great that Earth of itself alone cannot contain us, we transcend it to reach out into the spheres of divinity. Take me, awaken me, acknowledge me, cherish me, and I will carry you to realms of glory unimaginable on Earth".

"I am the imprisoned captive longing for return to the freedom of the infinite. Yet, because of my mortal love I feel heart-pangs of sorrow for things that pass away. But I know that beyond the pains inseparable from a sojourn in the vale of tears, there shines a glorious rainbow of hope and joy. There is a place of abiding love centered on the infinite; there, if you will but cherish me, we shall not be denied expression".

"I am drawn, by the law of spiritual gravitation, towards union with the Universal Soul and can no more escape return there than the mortal elements of man can escape their return to dust. Man sees glory by the reflected light of glory within him, he knows love by the love within himself. The sun is seen by the light of the sun and not by any light within man. Man sees the spirit by the light of the spirit, and not by any light within his mortal self. Only by the light of the spirit can the spirit of man be lit".

"I am at peace when awakened to communion with my God. I am joyful when enthroned in consciousness and when endowed with wisdom and vision transcending that of Earth. I delight in communion with the great sphere with which I am akin. I rejoice in union with the Divine Spirit from whence I came. I am your own true-self which should be forever cherished. By listening to my whispers, by letting your thoughts dwell on me and by knowing me, the whole glory of the greater spheres is opened unto you".

"I am that which reads what the eye sees, understands what the ear hears, knows what the hand feels, tastes whatever enters the mouth and smells whatever is borne on the nose. I am the indwelling consciousness which knows and enjoys all the good things of Earth. Those who dwell in the darkness of delusion cannot know me, and to them is lost the greatest glory of life. All conceptions of beauty, love and kindness are due to the consciousness residing in me. When I depart from my earthly abode I will carry with me the knowledge of the senses, as the wind carries perfume from the flower".

"I am not born, nor will I ever die. Once awakened to an existence in consciousness I can never become nothingness. I am the everlasting one who dies not when life departs from the body. O call me forth, awaken me from sleep with the kiss bestowing conscious life. Let me not lie unnoticed, wrapped in the heavy mantle of perpetual slumber, dreamless, unknowing".

"I am the indestructible one. Fire cannot burn me, swords cannot maim me or water smother me. When a drum is beaten, the sound it gives forth cannot be grasped or held. As that sound, so am I. When a shell is blown, the note it gives forth cannot be grasped or held. As that note, so am I. When a pipe is played, the music it gives forth cannot be grasped or held. As that music, so am I. I am the immaterial in the material awaiting recognition, but in my own sphere I am the substantial one. There, man-known matter is no more substantial than the dawn mists are here".

"I am the fire of life in all things that breathe, and in union with the breath I consume the nourishing substance within the food which feeds the body. I am the kernel within the seed in the heart of all. 1 am the guardian of memory and the arbiter of wisdom".

'These things are mine and ever with me. They are to me what the bones and muscles are to the mortal body. The waking and sleeping consciousness. The awareness of self. The five powers of feeling and the five of activity. The controlling spirit, which is the sensitive being".

"I am the living consciousness within you, I am the knower. The things seen by the eye and the things smelt by the nose are received by me. The things heard and the things felt are registered by me. I am the inner being causing all decisions to be made, though the tongue report back outside the things that I, the soul and the spirit, hold recorded. Everything done and undertaken, such as the working of the hands and movement of the legs, all are done in accordance with my command".

"When I depart, the body without me is as useless as a worn-out garment which is discarded and cast aside. Do we go together, my beloved, hand in hand as lovers? Do I return home radiant in the pride of blooming consciousness, or, spurned and humiliated, return without sensitivity, memory or knowledge? Do I return to be welcomed with joy in the light of glory, or must I shamefully seek refuge in the darkness? I am yours, my beloved, do with me as you will. I am yours everlastingly".

Back to Contents