Bible Of East Indies

Chapter XIV

The first Bible of Vind'yu.--being of Brahma, a man chosen by God for the children of Vind'yu. Giving an account of Brahma becoming an iesu; of his labors and his resurrection after death.

1. These are the races of Brahma: Gons, Shone, Gamma, This, Ram, Zerl, Mex, Shriv, Vat, Eun and Delta, each a thousand years. Of Gamma and Delta, in the upper country (Wa-wa-o-gan), were born Gu-sem and Hagu by Gamma, and by Delta, Yots, Rammus, Borgl, Otesiv and Riv. Gamma was of the fourth descent of Git-ow; and Delta the third descent of E'wangga.

2. The ascending caste of light in the lower country (Ho-jon-da-tivi) was by Ram, first; then Zerl, migrants from the land of Ham; then Shriv, then Vat, then Gons and Eun, the half-breed druks; then Shone, and then This.

3. Jehovih, who by the Brahmins was called Ormazd, sent His light to the earth world once for every hundred generations. And the light fell upon His sons, prepared from before their births by the angels of Ormazd. Of the times before the submersion of Pan, each cycle was called one man, and the length of his life three thousand years.

4. But of the times after, Ormazd commanded the nations of the earth to be rated as a man, and it was so. Ormazd said: That man may not be confounded, thou shalt number Osiris with the generations that believe not, save in the sun; but of the Zarathustrians, their number shall be as those who survived in the darkness of his cycle.

5. Which were: Zarathustra from the races of Shone and This; and of Zarathustra, Haman; of Haman, Wonchakaka, who begat Zoar, who begat Theo, who begat Andassah, who begat Mur, who begat Romsat; these were tribes of the Zarathustrian order, who rejected idols, Lords, Gods, Saviors, kings, queens, and all other rulers on the earth or in the heavens above the earth, save Ormazd, the Creator. And in Him had faith that to do righteously, and practice good works, made the best, nearest perfect man.

6. The Light by the Voice was lost in the sixth hundredth year after Zarathustra, but regained in Romsat by the I'hins, whence came the tribe Lo-jon, who begat Thonegalahogreif, who begat Subinij, and from him to Wowthutchi-subinij, which were forty-four generations, the Voice always came to the chief rab'bah.

7. In Chusa-king the Voice was lost, but again restored by the I'hins, whose heirs were called Wah-sin-chung, who begat Avar, who begat Irigavagna, who begat Ben-haoma, from whom was descended thirty generations, the chief rab'bah of whom could hear the Voice.

8. Ben-haoma numbered the Faithists of his day, and there were of them four thousand, men, women and children, and all other nations and tribes in Vind'yu were idolators.

9. Through the descendants of Romsat the Voice was again regained by the I'hins, through a tribe called Shriviyata, who begat Them-saga, who begat Friavamargalum, who bred with the I'hins and begat Thace, who begat with the I'hins Anu, who begat the I'hins Maha, who begat with the I'hins Brah, who had both voice and power from the Father. And he was called Brahma because of his great wisdom.

10. The angels of Ormazd had prophesied, saying: Out of thy seed shall come one called Brahma, who shall have su'is with power. Things that were revealed to Zarathustra have been lost, but shall be recovered in Brahma.

11. Romsat had prophesied, moreover: With the coming of Brahma is the end of the I'hin race in Shem (Vind'yu).

12. God spake in kosmon, saying: Let no man say: With Brahma, or with Abram, or with Po, or with Eawahtah, was the beginning of the doctrine of One Spirit. For since man walked upright on the earth, behold, I have said unto him: Thou shalt have but one God, even the Creator. And in the cycles of my times I have raised up many who have comprehended my words, but others constantly put away the I am, and raise up idols instead.

13. But let all men understand who and what, is meant by the terms, Po, and Abram, and Brahma, and Eawahtah, which is, that though I walked the earth with these, teaching and speaking through them, yet none of these were idolized by men. For the nations of the earth, in the time of these four men, comprehended that they were not Gods, but men through whom, and to whom, I, even God, had spoken.

14. Brahma said: Have all men stars? Behold, since my childhood up, I have had a star above my forehead.

15. No man could answer Brahma. They said: Brahma is foolish, with all his wisdom.

16. Brahma asked the star: Who art thou?

17. God said: I am thy star; I am the light of the second heavens.

18. Brahma asked: What is thy name, O star, thou mysterious light?

19. God said: Call me Ormazd; I am the same light that spoke to Zarathustra in the olden time.

20. Brahma asked: Who art thou, O Ormazd, thou voice of light?

21. God said: With one only shalt thou commune, thy Creator; one only shalt thou worship, He who made thee alive.

22. Brahma said: Why hast thou taken up thy abode above my head?

23. God said: Attain thou to be one with thy Creator, in wisdom, and goodness, and purity, and thou shalt answer thine own questions.

24. Then Brahma applied to the rab'bah, the Zarathustrian priests, and he learned abnegation of self, and the rites and ceremonies of the ancients.

25. When Brahma was grown up, God said to him: Arise on the morrow, my son, and I will lead thee into another country, where thou shalt marry, and settle down for a long season.

26. Brahma said: Peaceful have been my slumbers, and joyous my wakeful hours all my life. I have made labor a pleasure, and I give all I have to the poor, doing Thy commandments with all my wisdom and strength.

27. From my youth up I have killed not any living creature of Thine that goeth on the earth, or swimmeth in the waters, or flieth in the air. Neither ate I of anything that had ever breathed the breath of life; and I have been most abstemious in plain food and water only, according to the Zarathustrian law. Hear Thou me, O Ormazd; for I will break my soul unto Thee, and hold nothing back.
Ormazd said: It is well.

28. Brahma said: Woe is me, if my soul turneth toward woman! Was I not wed to Thee, O Ormazd? Was I not Thy Bridegroom from my youth up?

29. Why, then, protectest not Thou me unto Thyself? Ormazd said: In times past I raised up many an iesu, and they were without flesh desires all their days.

30. Such men could not perpetuate the earth; they were good for their day. Zarathustra was an iesu. My Light is now for them that can perpetuate. All things are possible in my hands. Grieve not, nor smother out any talent I created unto the pure in flesh.

31. Brahma said: If I love a woman, O Ormazd, may I not lose my love for Thee? Ormazd said: By faith in Me thou shalt triumph by the road I marked out for thee, since before thou wert born. Arise, then, O Brahma, and follow thy star. I will lead thee.

32. Brahma said: Can there be another way than by celibacy? Can a married man serve Ormazd?

33. So, Brahma traveled, and came into the country of Etchoyosin, where lay the mountains of Talavitcha, under King Tyama, who had enforced the Zarathustrian religion with sword and spear, and with chains and death, being himself sole interpreter.

34. When Brahma came to Au'watcha, he halted to inquire the way to the high priest's house, that he might be absolved for twenty days in Tyama's kingdom, according to law, paying the price as apportioned for strangers.

35. In answer to his summons, there came to the gate, the damsel Yu-tiv, fairest of women, draped, also, to go before the priest for confession. Brahma inquired of her concerning the priest and the tax. Yu'tiv informed him, and, moreover, said: I am going thither, and shall delight to lead thee to the place. So Brahma went with Yu-tiv, and when they were gone a little way she said unto him: Whence camest thou, and what is thy mission? Peradventure, I may serve thee. Behold, I see a star above thy head!

36. Brahma said: Seest thou a star? Now I say unto thee, there is an old legend that the pure in heart, looking upward, oft see their own paroda, and think it belongeth to another. Yu-tiv reassured Brahma that she saw the star, whereupon Brahma took heart and said:

37. Yea, I have a star, and the Voice of Ormazd cometh to me at times. For some years I strove to be a priest, for I saw the wickedness of the world, and, moreover, the tyranny and tortures of the church (ha'oke), and my soul cried out for the oppressed who had faith in the Great Spirit more than in the priests. And Ormazd came to me and said: Brahma, my son, forsake thy studies, and take thy broad-axe, and go and hew logs. Behold, I will come to thee some time, and thou shalt bless the earth.

38. So I gave up my studies and became a hewer of wood, living abstemiously day and night, and praying and striving with all my soul and with all my strength to purge myself of all earthly thoughts. So I grew, as thou beholdest, to be a large man of great strength. But, alas, evil overtook me; my soul desired a woman. And I cried out unto Ormazd, saying: Why hast Thou put this matter upon thy son? Lo, I strove to be wedded to thee only; I shut my eyes to all the earth, but thou hast suffered me to fall. Rescue thou me, I pray.

39. Then spake Ormazd to me, saying: Behold, I have revealed my word through such as have no earth desires; but that time is past. I will now prove unto the nations of the earth that I have power in directing the flesh, that heirs may be born unto me. Arise, therefore, and go whither I will lead thee, for thou shalt take a wife and raise up seven sons, and I will deliver my edifice (church), unto liberty.

40. So I rose up and walked after the light of my star; thus far have I come, but how much further I must go I know not; but I will go to the end of the earth if Ormazd require it of me.

41. Yu-tiv said: I pity thee, O man! One so holy should never with woman wed. To win such a man's love, the best of women would forget her God! To bear thee one child, instead of seven, a woman would cleave the earth in twain. It would be like peopling the world with Gods and Goddesses.

42. O promise me, stranger, thou wilt turn from such unholy desires. I know not what moveth me past all modesty thus to speak to thee, but before Ormazd, Creator of heaven and earth, erst thou camest to my father's gate a voice spake in mine ear, saying: Quickly, thou, put on thy robes for confession, and hasten to the priest.

43. I tell thee, O man, to save thee, the angels of Ormazd came to me. It is true that two can see more than one.

44. Brahma said: Who are thou, O woman? Yu-tiv said: A weaver of mats; no more. My father liveth in yonder thatch; my mother's soul ascended to heaven, giving me birth. She was of the I'hins. From place to place my father and I have been driven; all the ills of earth are written on my soul. And the rudeness of men; the light-heartedness of women! By day and by night my soul crieth out for the miseries of the earth. O the sins of the earth! O the death of little infants! O the trials of the poor! O the suffering of the sick! O the anguish of the imprisoned! O stranger, stranger, stranger! People not this world more!

45. Let us turn our souls upward; to Nirvana; to the regions of endless paradise! To the voices of angels and Gods! To wisdom that erreth not; to music never discordant! To love that never separateth! Never!

46. Brahma said: Now I beseech Thee, O Ormazd, that I may never marry! But because Thou hast raised up here so fair a woman, and withal so wise, give me leave that I may dwell near at hand!

47. Then spake Ormazd, out of the midsts of the voices of their stars, saying: Hold up thy hand, O man! Hold up thy hand, O woman! And they held up their hands, and Ormazd said: I am the Father, and ye are My children. That I may have joy, dwell ye near together.

48. Now after this, Brahma and she proceeded to the priest's house and made their sacrifices, and returned and came to Yu-tiv's father's house, and the father's name was Aliegan-is, called Ali. And Yu-tiv told her father all that had happened, but Brahma said little. Ali said: What the All Light doeth is well done. My house is ample. Brahma shall sojourn so long as he desireth.

49. Brahma said: Of mine own accord I am not master of many words. When it pleaseth Ormazd to speak with me, I will raise my voice. Then Yu-tiv spread mats and provided food, and sat it before Brahma, and he ate; and after that they said prayers according to the laws of the king, and then retired to sleep.

Chapter XV

1. When morning came, Brahma and Yu-tiv rose early, and came and spake together, in joy greeting, and they were moved to shake hands, though such a proceeding was not according to the fashion of the country, save betwixt relatives. And it came to pass that they were much together during the day, and in the evening they walked together, but touched not one the other.

2. Now on the second day, when they walked together, they held hands. And on the third day they joined arms. And on the fourth day they kissed each other. And after that they were only separated at night when they slept. But it came to pass that they were so delighted with each other that they sat up nearly all night, so as not to be separate.

3. And all the while they neglected not their devotion to Ormazd; but finally they sat up all night, sleeping not, save in each other's arms.

4. Yu-tiv said: Since we sit up all night, it is wiser to sit on mats than on stools. Brahma said: It is wiser. So they provided mats, half raised and half spread down, for a season, and finally laid the mats full length, and they laid down together. More than that, history saith not.

5. But Brahma followed his trade in that country, and it came to pass they had a son born to them, and his name was Whe-ish; and in time another son, and his name was Vus, and then Git-un, and Vede, and Oos, and Sa-it.

6. Now after they lived together as man and wife, the voice of Ormazd came not to Brahma; though the angel of Ormazd remained, and at times talked to both Brahma and Yu-tiv, his wife. Now during all the time, until after the birth of the sixth son, Yu-tiv had faith in Ormazd, and was a Faithist in her whole heart. But during all these years she had only communion with the angels, and withal had suffered many hardships in common with Brahma.

7. And their love abated not one jot or tittle, and Yu-tiv believed in her husband, and encouraged his aspirations. He had said to her ten thousand times: I know Ormazd will come; through me will He deliver the Faithists out of bondage.

8. And she believed in him; and believed these things would come to pass, and believed her sons would have the Voice of the Creator with them also. But after the birth of the sixth child, Yu-tiv lost faith in the Father! She said: All my life I have been in error. There is no All Person. There is no Voice, save the spirits of the dead. And they know little more of heaven than we. The Creator is dumb, like the wind; His voice is like the wind, it speaketh nothing.

9. And after that, she ceased to use the name Ormazd, or Father, but said, Eolin, after the manner of the ancients. And Brahma ceased more to speak in presence of Yu-tiv of the coming of Ormazd to himself; and he also adopted the name Eolin, signifying, like the wind, void of shape or person.

10. Whilst this state of unbelief was upon them, they had another child born to them, and they called his name Hog, signifying, Fact, or without inspiration; an animal that rooteth in the ground.

11. Yu-tiv weaned Hog when he was three years old, and, on the day following, the voice of God came to Brahma, saying: Brahma! Brahma! And Brahma said: Here am I, O Eolin. And the Father said: Be thou faithful another eighteen years! I shall be with thee to the end!

12. Brahma was so delighted, he ran home and told Yu-tiv, but she rejoiced not; she made no answer. Silently she looked upward for a long while, and then she said: Eighteen years! Hog will be twenty-one. And thou and I will be old.

Chapter XVI

1. For eighteen years more God spake not to Brahma, but Brahma remained faithful, and Yu-tiv was full of hope. But when the time was fulfilled in Ormazd's own way, He came with renewed light, which was on the twenty-first birthday of Hog.

2. Whilst Brahma and his family were seated on mats, eating breakfast at sunrise, lo, a light, as of a sun, came within the hut, and passed over Brahma's head, and then disappeared. And out of the void, in the space above their heads, came these words, to wit: From this time forth the twenty-first birthday shall be the time of maturity for man. Be ye watchful for the voice of Ormazd; He is Ever Present!

3. And all of them saw the light and heard the words, save Hog, and Hog, having been begotten in unbelief, neither saw the light nor heard the voice. And when they all had exclaimed: Behold the light! Hear that voice!--Hog thus spake before them:

4. For many a year ye have prophesied this should come to pass when I should reach my twenty-first birthday. For the love ye all bear me, I know ye would not put a joke upon me; but I am seriously grieved that ye say: Behold the light, and hear the voice! For I say unto you, these things are not in reason, and cannot be so. But in much hope and faith and belief, all of which ye have cultivated for years, ye suffer your imaginings to stand for realities.

5. Now whilst Hog thus spake, the light came again and stood over Brahma's head whilst one might count twenty; and the Voice said: Blessed art thou, O Brahma; blessed thou, O Yu-tiv! These things had to be fulfilled. I preach not by reason alone, but provide living examples! (In his old age Brahma had atained iesu!)

6. Again all of them saw and heard the manifestation of Ormazd, save Hog, and he saw not, and heard not what came of the Spirit. Hog said: Have I not eyes good as the best? Show me a hair that I cannot see; let fall a mite that I cannot hear. Then Whe-ish, the first-born, answered him, saying:

7. First, my brother, I greet thee with my love, for thou art the fairest and best of all the great born sons of this God and Goddess, our father and mother. And I appeal to thee in thy great wisdom, how have we all imagined the same light at the same time and place? And greater yet, how have we imagined the same spoken words? Hog replied:

8. How can my answers cope with one who hath wisdom like unto thee, O my brother? Thou hast confounded me; but yet I understand not wherein thou, and ye, my most loving brothers, can see and hear things that I cannot. Have we not all the same parts, so like unto one another that our neighbors scarce distinguish us? And above all, we are all the same fruit from a father and mother, the holiest and wisest of created beings.

9. Now spake Yu-tiv saying: I am before Thy judgment, O Ormazd! That which I have done, I have done! Deal Thou with me for my great unbelief; I have sinned against heaven and earth. Even whilst Thou quickenedst into life within my womb this star of everlasting light, lo, I put out his eyes and stopped up his ears against Thee. The unbelief of my soul penetrated the walls of my womb and shaped the fruit of my holy husband into a man of darkness. O Ormazd, why was Thy daughter born!

10. Hog said: O thou Goddess, mother! Weep not, but rejoice for the glory of my birth. That thou and my holy father, a very God amongst men, brought me into life, my soul is boundless in rejoicing. I declare unto thee, O mother, I am not in darkness, nor am I blind and deaf. If there be another world, what mattereth it to me? The glories of this one are boundless. And if there be a Great Light and a Voice, what are they to me! Thou hast so filled my every vein of blood with thy warm love, and with the sweet love of these, my holy brothers, and with the wisdom of my father, God of men, that I know nothing but to rejoice and to invent praises and thanks to you all, with all my wisdom and strength.

11. And now the Light gathered within the soul of Brahma, and he was as one with the Father. Ormazd, the Creator, then spake through Brahma, saying:

12. I created the earth not to be despised, as do the Zarathustrians through the hearts of monarchs and priests, but that it should be the glory of man. This was the Zarathustrian law, but, for sake of profit, and bondage, and evil, they have perverted My doctrines and bound up My peoples. They profess Me, even Ormazd; but they have turned My commandments and My doctrines upside down.

13. I came through Zarathustra and delivered them that called on Me in faith; and they became My chosen for a season; but they suffered evil to usurp their hearts; they squandered My substance in building temples and providing a superabundance of priests and priestesses. They raised up the sword and spear for me; by blood and death they established kingdoms and called them by My name, Ormazd!

14. The spirit of My Voice they put aside; but the words they retained, and added earthly meaning thereto. Whereby they proclaim darkness for light, and light for darkness. And the poor and distressed that worship Me in truth and spirit have learned to hate the words established. For which reason they are persecuted, and bound, and taxed, and despitefully used.

15. Yea, they that would kill not because of their natural love to Me and My created sons and daughters, they impress into service of war, taking them from their kindred, saying to them: Come away from peace and kill! Be thou a slayer of men; be a soldier of death for the glory of the king.

16. I commanded them, in the olden time, to kill not at all. My words were plain. But the kings commanded the priests to interpret My words round about, whereby war might be justified.

17. I commanded them against taking that which was another's. My words were plain. But the kings commanded the priests to interpret the meaning, so the kings could exact tribute for their own glory. And so they levy wheresoever and whensoever they will, saying: For the defense of the king and the country!

18. Thus have they perverted My commandments from beginning to end. But I declare unto you, that in My sight, to kill one man, I will hold him accountable who doeth it; and ten times accountable if he kill ten men, and a hundred times for a hundred. They shall not hide death and murder from My sight by the word war.

19. Neither shall they excuse stealing by levying tax for the king or the country's protection. For by their own evil, hath it come to pass that they talk about protection. Have I made a law that one king or one country shall protect itself against another? Seest not any man that these doctrines come of the flesh and not of the spirit?

20. They profess to be Faithists in Me. But straight away they go and build fortifications of earth, and stone, and wood. And they that know Me in spirit and truth, perceiving I am wrongly interpreted for evil's sake, being such as rebel in their souls against these iniquities, they seize and impress for their lifetime as slaves, or, if refusing, they kill them.

21. And they that work such wickedness say: Behold, we have the Zarathustrian law, the I'hua'Mazdian law, the Ormazdian law; ours is the holy, the revealed word. Let no man raise up his voice against these truths, or he shall surely be put to death!

22. But I looked down from My holy heavens and saw, and Mine ears heard; and I cried out in My soul for the evils of the earth. I said: Behold, I will go and deliver them that have faith in Me in spirit and truth. And I went over the lands of the earth, but I found no man in whom My light could shine. And I called My holy masters of generations, My angels high raised in heaven, and I said unto them: Come ye and dwell on the earth many generations, and by inspiration raise ye up one in whom My light shall shine, for I will surely deliver My people.

23. Now I declare unto you who are assembled, the time is at hand, and ye are all so many parts in My work. Even through My angels named ye these sons; according to their names, so will I establish My kingdom.

24. Suffer, therefore, Vede to write down the words I have spoken, for lo, he hath learning and memory provided to that end. Be ye watchful, when I come again!

25. Jehovih (Ormazd) ceased, and Brahma woke as from a trance, though he had heard all that was said. So Vede remembered the spoken words, every one, and he wrote them down on cloth prepared for that purpose. And this was the beginning of a new name of a people on the earth, though they were Faithists in fact, and nothing but Faithists; but they were called by their neighbors sometimes Vedans and sometimes Brahmins.

Chapter XVII

1. The next morning, at sunrise, Jehovih came again, speaking through Brahma, saying:

2. As I prepared a way for My voice, be ye wise in laboring to show this light unto all peoples. Neither take ye sorrow to your souls for the latest born, even Hog; for he is also in My keeping, and his wisdom shall be the glory of the earth.

3. For is not all fact interpreted by each and every man from the light of his own standing place? Wherein error cometh into the world by the darkness of men, in not perceiving rightly the things I have created. Behold, one man seeth the forest with reference to its value in logs; another for splints for mats; another for shade to lie in; another for its solitude; and they all alike see by what dwelleth in them, but they see through their own several windows.

4. Consider, then, the injustice of man that saith: Ye shall see as I see; hear as I hear; or who saith: This I have proven for a truth, and that for an untruth; or who saith: Behold, we are many witnesses, and we attest.

5. Whilst Jehovih was thus speaking, His angel appeared and stood in the doorway of the hut, and all save Hog looked and saw the angel, and witnessed the color of the angel's hair and eyes, and the clothes he wore. And they pointed, saying in a whisper: Behold, an angel of heaven!

6. Then spake Jehovih, illustrating, saying: Whilst yet no one hath spoken, let one at a time privily describe to Hog the appearance of My angel in the doorway.

7. Accordingly, they all, save Brahma, told Hog all that pertained to the angel, and they accorded one with another. And Jehovih said: Speak thou, My Son, Hog. Hog said:

8. To whom shall I speak? For, be Thou my very father, or, of a truth, the Creator, I know not. God said: Who sayest thou the Creator is? Hog said: Even as the wind; the great void; without person, or shape, or sense.

9. God said unto him: For which reason I say unto thee, because of the unbelief of thy father and thy mother, whilst thou wert in thy mother's womb, thou art as thou art. This have they attested unto thee thousands of times since thou wert weaned. And they have also attested to thee as often, that during the bringing forth of thy brothers, they were in the fullness of faith in Jehovih (Ormazd).

10. Thou wert born of the earth, and can only see with earthly eyes, and hear with earthly ears, and can reason only with earthly reason. Hog said: Then of a truth I shall go down to earth and there shall be no more of me; but these, my sweet brothers, and this Goddess and this God, my very father and mother, shall inherit everlasting life?

11. God said: I would place two eggs before thee, with the birds within them nearly hatched; now with one thou shalt open the shell a little, and the young bird seeth out, but the other thou leavest closed. Sayest thou one bird will have much advantage over the other when they are hatched? Or that one shall not live, because, forsooth, it saw not through the shell? Such, then, is thy way to everlasting life. Of thy darkness will I make light that will reach unto millions. Thy sacrifice is the sacrifice of a very God amongst Gods.

12. Hog said: Because of Thy great wisdom, I fear to speak in thy presence. But thy words come out of his mouth who is the sweetest and holiest of created beings. Therefore I take courage in mine argument.

13. Now, behold, they have all described the angel in the door; alike and like have they described it in all particulars. And the wisdom of thy words goeth to the bottom of things, not like the words of man, but faultlessly. Thou hast made me to behold I am bound as with iron hoops, and must go my way all my days. Against this I complain not; for I perceive it is not within my judgment to know even myself, as to what is good for me or not good for me. This, however, thou hast shown me. I was molded as I am; I am as I am. If I have faults, they are not my faults. Neither are they of my father or my mother; for the cause of their unbelief at that time lay not with themselves, but with thee.

14. God said: Thy words shall Vede also write down; the glory and the wisdom of the earth shall come out of thy mouth. The manner of my edifice shall be shown unto the inhabitants of the earth. Thou hast seen the king's temple and how he buildeth it. For the fine posts he sendeth his best hewers into the forest, and they choose the straightest and strongest trees, and fall them and hew them, and polish and engrave them, and the posts are set up in the front as strength and ornament. But as to the walls of the temple, the king calleth not the best hewers, but the choppers, and they also go into the forest to fetch logs, not the straightest and handsomest, but whatsoever their axes come upon. And their timbers are put in the walls with mortar and withes. And the temple is completed to the king's will.

15. Jehovih said: Of such like is My heavenly edifice; I send not winter to please one man, nor summer; nor the rain. I consider in what way I shall induce men to raise up one another and to be considerate. Through Me, thy father and thy mother and thy brethren, and all Faithists that come after these, My doctrines, learn to consider the unbelief of mortals, and the impossibility of one man seeing through another man's eyes.

16. For as I have raised you up a house in love, one to another, so will I show the wisdom of disbelief, and its necessity on the earth.

17. The foremost of all lessons is that all men shall have liberty; and no man's judgment be binding on another's; for all do not see alike, nor can they understand alike.

18. That ye shall be alike considerate to them that see not My light, or My Person, even as to them who are born in su'is; for they are of the same flesh and blood, and their spirits have they even from the same Creator.

19. For in the evidence of the past and of the present it is before you, that men endeavor to enforce their doctrines by saying: Behold the Word of Ormazd! Thus hath He spoken! and I am His priest! Bow down your heads!

20. Whereas, man shall not bow down, but hold up his head and rejoice. They that seek to enforce Me are My enemies.

21. Nor have I said of this man or that: Hear ye him, for he is Truth. Shall the Creator make one greater than Himself, and thus cut Himself off? And yet the kings and the priests of this day assume this in Ihua's name. And the mothers and fathers of many have become discouraged because of their great hardships; and they bring forth heirs that have eyes but see not, ears but hear not.

22. God said: In the days of Zarathustra, I came to deliver them that had faith but were in bondage; to-day I am come to prove three worlds unto men, and to teach them how they shall bring forth heirs with eyes to see, and with ears to hear spiritual things, with liberty unto all men.

23. First, of the earth and its fullness; second, the intermediate world of spirits, where all shall sojourn for a season; and, third, the Nirvanian worlds beyond Chinvat, where lieth unending paradise for the pure and wise.