Of resurrection. In the words of God.
1. Whether on earth or in heaven, the same rules apply unto both:
2. He that serveth himself one-half, and serveth others one-half, shall stand grade fifty.
3. He that serveth himself three-quarters, and others one quarter, shall stand grade twenty-five.
4. He that serveth himself one-quarter, and others three-quarters, shall stand grade seventy-five.
5. He that serveth himself only, shall stand grade one.
6. He that serveth others wholly, shall stand grade ninety-nine.
7. And whoso serveth accordingly, himself or others, shall stand in grade even as his works manifest.
8. To serve one's self is to work for one's self; to strive for one's self, to think of one's own self, as to what will profit one's own self only.
9. To serve others, is to do good unto others; to help them; to teach them; to give them joy and comfort. This is the service of Jehovih.
10. But there are some who are below the grades; who seek to do evil; who seek to make others unhappy; who delight in crime and pollution. These, if mortal, shall be called druks, and if spirits, shall be called drujas.
11. After such manner, in general, are the grades of my heavens of the earth, atmospherea.
12. Grade one is on the earth; grade fifty, midway betwixt the earth and the emancipated heavens, etherea.
13. Grade twenty-five is one-quarter way up from the earth, toward etherea; but grade seventy-five is three-quarters way upward, toward etherea. And so on, relatively, grade and place of ascent intermediately.
14. But grade ninety-nine is the highest atmospherean grade, preparatory to entrance into the company of the all pure in spirit.
15. But good works alone are not sufficient to attain the highest grades, for they require knowledge and capacity to unfold others.
16. To accomplish which, those of the higher grades shall oft return to the lower, and learn to lift them up. For this is that which calleth the ethereans in the times of resurrections.
17. Wherein the righteous, who are yet mortal, begin at once lifting up their fellows.
18. Which labor is to the spirit as exercise is to the mortal body, that which giveth strength.
19. Judge, then, thyself, O man of the earth, as to the place thy spirit will rise in the time of thy death.
Chapter VII
1. A man may be wise as to books and philosophy and mathematics and poetry and great learning, and yet be low in grade as to spirit.
2. A man may know little of all such knowledge, and may be poor withal, but by hardship and experience, developed in sympathy and good works done unto others, and be high in grade as to spirit.
3. So also may it be with spirits that manifest through you as great orators, who stand even in the lowest grade in heaven.
4. Let not thyself deceive thyself, O man, as to thy knowledge, or thy speech or professions.
5. Thou hast the scales in thine own hands, and shall, soon or late, weigh thyself justly, and take thy place, even as thou hast prepared thyself.
6. Nor flatter thyself that thou canst cheat heaven, or change the ways thereof.
7. Nor hide thyself behind doctrines, or behind the promises of Gods or Saviors.
8. Old things are done away, and none of these things shall avail thee on earth or in heaven.
9. Be thou king or queen or judge or servant, the same judgment shall stand upon all.
10. When the garment is gone, and the diadem and riches and the flesh withal, consider thou the grade of thy spirit and the bondage upon thee.
11. Thou shalt take that for which thou hast fitted thyself, according to what thou hast done.
Chapter VIII
1. Hear my words, O man, and be considerate of the justice of thy Creator.
2. These are my exhibits which I place before thee, that thou shalt not err:
3. And thou be a rich man, and adorn a city by donating unto it a park, with statuary and pleasure-walks, hoping to glorify thyself thereby, and be praised by men; therein thyself burieth thyself in the first resurrection. And the act lowereth thy grade instead of raising it.
4. For in whatsoever thou givest, thou shalt consider, first, the lowest of the low, whether they have bread to eat, and a place to sleep: And the sick, whether they have attendance and good provision.
5. And thou be a rich man and contribute a house for the orphans or for the helpless and aged who cannot help themselves, it raiseth thee in grade.
6. But so far as thou doeth this for the applause of men, thou detracteth from the rate of thy beneficence.
7. Neither doth such a good work help thee more than the poor man helpeth his own grade by assisting one poor orphan.
8. For thy resurrection dependeth not on the quantity thou givest, but as to whether thou givest according to what thou hast. Of which matter thou shalt judge thyself.
9. For he who giveth a penny may be raised up more by so doing, than he that giveth ten times ten thousand.
10. A certain rich man, being converted from the desires of earth, went about casting his money freely in the streets, and in giving to whosoever asked him therefor.
11. And some gathered it up, and fed and clothed themselves; others took of it, and went and got drunk, and became worse than before.
12. The measure of righteousness of that man's behavior was not in giving what he had to the poor, but in the good and evil that came of it, being weighed, as to which outbalanced the other.
13. And where he lowered the grade of them that received this money, or where he lowered a greater number than he raised, there his act of casting the money away was a judgment against him.
14. He who giveth, saying: Here, thou beggar! doeth a good corporeal act, but an evil spiritual act. He lifteth up with one hand, but knocketh down wih the other. Such an act detracteth from the grade of that man.
15. A certain rich man, being converted to do good works, went and built a score of soup-houses to feed the poor gratuitously.
16. And all the poor people of that town went therein and were fed. But the next year, behold, there were twice as many poor. And the rich man built another score of soup-houses, and they were all fed.
17. But the next year, there were still twice as many poor people to feed; but the rich man had exhausted his means, and could feed none at all.
18. Judgment is therefore rendered against that man for his supposed beneficence.
19. For, whilst he did a little corporeal good, he did a great spiritual wrong, because he lowered the grade of manhood and womanhood in those that he fed. His benevolence promoted dependence.
20. A rich man founded a place of labor for the poor, who had nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep. And he said unto them:
21. The Creator hath given you hands to work with; come ye, be men and women.
22. And they went and worked and earned their living.
23. Judgment is rendered in favor of that man, for he raised the spiritual grade of the poor. This is a beneficence that extendeth into heaven.
24. Let thy charity be to the sick and helpless, but be thou wise in directing the able-bodied to help themselves.
25. For all charity tendeth to lower the self-respect of the receiver, and casteth him lower in the grades in heaven.
26. Certain ones depend on alms, not having either sickness nor yet strong bodies. Nevertheless, were they aroused, they could support themselves.
27. When thou givest them regularly, they depend on thee. These become beggars in the lowest grades in heaven.
28. That which thou givest them accounteth against thine own grade. Better is it for thee and for them, that thou arouse them from their degradation.
29. To do this tenderly and mercifully, is a great virtue; to do it cruelly, is a great crime.
30. Consider not so much what thou shalt do to raise thine own grade, but what thou canst do to raise the grade of those within thy reach.
31. Remember, all men and women are thy brothers and sisters, and thou shalt labor to make them make themselves a glory unto the Creator.
Chapter IX
1. Remember thy Creator and the magnitude of his creations. Before Him thou art but an atom, and as only one small creature.
2. Nevertheless, a multitude of people make a nation, with cities and hamlets.
3. These are also graded by thy God, according to the ascendancy or the declension of the whole.
4. If a city, then the grades of all the people shall be summed together in a scale of one hundred.
5. And if a nation, then the grades of the cities and hamlets, and of people of isolation, shall be summed together in a scale of a hundred.
6. And if half the people are above grade fifty, and half below fifty, the grade of that people shall be fifty.
7. If one quarter only, then the grade of that people shall be twenty-five.
8. On the basis of individual grades, shall be the grades of a city and of a nation.
9. And the behavior of a city or a nation shall be graded in the same way, after the manner of an individual.
10. A certain nation built alms-houses and asylums sufficient for the needy, and, by its tyranny, made an equal number of needy ones. That nation raised not its grade for the good it had done.
11. Another nation built no alms-houses, but, by its wholesome laws, there were none needed. That nation raised its grade many-fold.
12. And yet another nation maintained a standing army, in order to maintain itself. That nation stood in grade one only.
13. The place of this last nation, in entrance into the es world, shall be grade one, which is the animal region, which is on the earth.
14. Whoso dwelleth in such a land, though he have a good individual grade, shall suffer deduction in the ratio of the grades of different nations of the earth.
15. But whoso dwelleth in a nation, high in grade, shall be ascended in his own individual grade.
16. As these grades are on earth, so have I made them in the heavens thereof. In all cases depending on what one doeth for the resurrection of others.
17. If a city, or nation, or a kingdom in heaven do unto others in resurrection, then shall that nation be graded accordingly.
18. But, if there be no gain in the good than any of these do, they shall receive no grade.
19. But, if they increase in raising individual grade, then are such cities and nations rising in grade.
20. Consider thy nation, O man, one generation with another; and as the relative proportion of individual grades rise or fall, so shalt thou determine whether thy nation is ascending or falling in grade. Number its paupers and criminals as to increase or decrease.
21. Consider not its wealth, nor its ships, nor its armies, nor its great buildings. These all together are only one grade, and are of no value as to the spiritual grade of its people.
22. For the strength and life of thy nation depend on its spiritual grade. Pursue this, and thou shalt prophesy truly as to the growth or the downfall of a nation.
23. Pursue this also with regard to the nations of the earth, and thou shalt determine the relative place of thine own nation in the es world.
Chapter X
1. Thou art remembered, O man, by thy God, and admonished and instructed for thy soul's sake that thou mayest become a glory to thy Creator and to thyself.
2. Hear then, thy responsibility and the extent thereof, and consider the magnitude of thine own grade on earth and in heaven.
3. Which is in proportion to the power and the distance of thy reach. Which I have also graded unto all men on earth and in heaven.
4. If thy Creator give thee strength to carry four men on thy back, and thou wilt carry but one, thou shalt be one-quarter grade. But, if thou carriest the whole four, thou shalt be full grade.
5. One man hath wherewithal to feed one man; another hath sufficient for a thousand; and another for a hundred thousand. These are the distances of the reach and power of these men, which is the extent beyond which nothing more can be exacted of them, on earth or in heaven.
6. Yet, when they have all fulfilled these to the utmost, they shall be therein only equal in grade.
7. But, if they fail in their parts, the responsibility of one shall be a hundred thousand; and another shall be ten thousand, and the least shall be only one. These are the debts men owe the people of the nation, the city and the hamlet.
8. Consider, therefore, the darkness of the people of thy nation; the poverty and the crime; and judge thyself as to thine own responsibility.
9. And this rule shall apply both, on earth and in heaven. And thy grade of responsibility in heaven shall begin even in the same place thou established it on the earth. Wherein thou wert short, thou shalt labor; wherein thou didst fulfill, thou shalt rejoice, and be without compunctions.
10. Also shall this rule be with the king and queen and emperor, and all rulers who have means and power; and the responsibility shall extend to all the people of the kingdom or empire.
11. Nor shall this responsibility be escaped by death; but the bondage in heaven shall be according to the avoidance of the trust imposed.
12. Consider, then, what thou shalt be encumbered with in the es world.
13. Pursue this philosophy, and thou shalt determine what shall be the labor of the king and the queen and the great ruler, after they have died, and entered the es world.
14. Find the grade of their respective dominions, and thou shalt determine, by the ascension thereof, the duration of their bondage in the first resurrection, whether it be fifty years or five hundred years.
15. But if such emperor's dominions be in declension instead of resurrection, then, on his entrance into heaven, he shall be at the mercy of the spirits of his kingdom, who shall be in wait for him, and he shall not escape them.
16. Some other heavenly kingdom shall deliver them; otherwise, they fall into anarcy and madness (hell).
Chapter XI
1. Remember thy Creator and the comprehension of His kingdoms; and be considerate of the words of thy God:
2. All men profess to desire resurrection; they hope to ascend to exalted heavenly spheres.
3. Yet, many will not even try to exalt themselves.
4. He saith in one breath: To not eat the flesh of anything created alive, is the highest.
5. But, straightway, he filleth his belly with flesh.
6. He saith: To return good for evil is the highest.
7. But he doeth evil even before the sound of his voice is hushed.
8. And yet, he will find fault with his Creator, if holy angels promise him not a high seat in heaven.
9. And there are others who constantly profess to have the higher light; but they go about tattling, and making evil remarks of their neighbors.
10. Yet, many of these do good unto others, giving to the helpless; verily are they both rising and falling, in regard to the resurrection.
11. The measure of the grade of such shall be by weighing the whole behavior as to its result in the community where he abideth. And this rule shall apply, both on earth and in heaven, to all such people.
12. There are men who do great good unto others, and are talented withal, but who are great liars; and much prone to exaggeration. So, that their good works are outbalanced by the shame of their tongues.
13. The grade of resurrection of such shall not be modified or benefited but little by their good works. But they shall be weighed as to such evil habit, whether it be increasing or decreasing; and the grade of such man shall be accordingly, and shall come under the rank of spiritual disease. Because it will be entailed upon them into the es world, and shut them out from the grade which they manifested.
14. When thou searchest for the grade of a city, therefore, all such persons shall stand as grade one.
15. There be some who say: I care not for the spiritual man nor the es worlds. One world at a time is sufficient for me.
16. And they may be good as to the way of the city, contributing alms to the helpless, and visiting the sick. Nevertheless, they utter truthfully their own resurrection, which shall stand grade one.
17. There is no crime in them, but a misfortunate embecility of spirit. When such persons die, their knowledge, for the most part, dieth with them. And the enter the es world even as if they had died in infancy.
18. They shall stand grade one, because owing to their weakness of spirit, they must need be inhabited on the earth for many years.
19. There be others, who are forever talking of heaven, and consulting the spirits of the dead, who are, nevertheless, low as to good works, and low in holiness of heart. These shall be graded the same as liars and hypocrites.
20. For in prophecy, thou shalt estimate the sum of all the virtues and vices of thyself, and of thy neighbor, and of the whole city, or state, or even the world; and accredit the grade in ascension or declension, and thou shalt compare one generation with another, as to the increase or decrease of its spirituality.
21. And thou shalt know of a truth the standing of the whole world.
22. And from this, thou shalt also determine the time, when man came on the earth; how long the race will survive and bring forh; and the time he shall become extinct as to the earth.
Chapter XII
1. O man, remember thy Creator and praise Him. In this, thou art graded by thy God.
2. Who see not Him, are weak in spirit; who see Him in all things, and hear His voice in the leaves, and in every herb, are strong in spirit.
3. These are the grades of the resurrection of the souls of men.
4. For what is the earth but a foaling nest, and the possessions of the earth but chains of bondage.
5. My heavens rest upon the earth; the place of the es'yan is in my keeping. And the places of the grades of my heavens have I adjusted, according to the inhabitants thereof.
6. I people the heavens of the earth with the spirits of the dead; according to their grade in their corporeal lives, so do I arrange them.
7. To provide them unto everlasting resurrection, and make them to rejoice in their being. These are the labors of thy God.
8. For the beasts of the field and the birds and fowls of the air, and for many animals that are companions to man, made I a place in heaven, where their spirits should survive for a season.
9. And this animal heaven I graded, one, in the order of my heavens.
10. For I saw that man on the earth had delight in them; and I provided unto him for his es'yan period, that he might rejoice in remembrance of finding his loves.
11. And I made the animal heaven to rest on the face of the lands of the earth even the same as the place of the es'yan in grade one.
12. Remember, O man, thy Creator gave to every animal a season on the earth; but He limited them to a time to become extinct. Even so, and of like duration made I a heavenly period for the spirits of animals companionable to man.
13. But for man I provided heavens above, where he should rise as to place, even as he riseth, as to goodness and knowledge.
14. Magnify thy perception, O man, that thou mayst comprehend the kingdoms of thy God. Behold the example thy Creator sat before thee in the fashion of the earth.
15. In large bodies, He placed the lands; in large bodies, He placed the oceans. Not in little hillocks of land and little puddles of water.
16.Even larger than these are the divisions (plateaux) of the heavens of thy God; the heavens of the earth are separated by atmospherean oceans.
17. I fill not the air of the firmament with angels scattered about; but I give unto them regions habitable and home-like. And I grade them suitable to the resurrection of the spirits of the dead.
18. Consider the work of thy Creator, and the knowledge and symbols He placeth before thee. Thou holdest up a lump of salt, and it is solid and of dimensions; but cast it into water, and it is seen not, but dissolved and lost as to thy perception.
19. And thou beholdest the earth, which hath dimensions also; but the ethe, thou seest not. As water is to salt the solvent, so is ethe to corporeal things the solvent. By slow velocity holdeth the solid earth its form; yet, in ethe, external to the body of the earth, the swift velocity of corpor is magnified into dissolution. By vortices in ethe are these things accomplished.
20. In the atmosphere of the earth, there is sufficient corpor to make many worlds like this habitable earth. And this corpor, which is in solution (as to a mortal's eyes), floateth in the firmament of the earth, in continents wide as the earth, and deep as the earth; and there are thousands of them.
21. And yet, O man, these are but the atmospherean heavens. These are the dominions given into the keeping of thy God. These are my kingdoms and my heavens for a season.
22. As thou, O man of the earth, sailest thy ships abroad over the ocean, and coming to a new land, going ashore, dost settle thy people thereon, and it becometh a new kingdom, even so doth thy God in the heavens of the earth, in the plateaux of this vortex.
23. Remember the magnitude of thy Creator's works and the symbols He sat before thee: Where the clouds float high, it raineth not; where they drag on the face of the earth, it raineth daily.
24. Consider the habitations of the resurrections of the dead which are in the keeping of thy God.
25. Even as to the square of the distance away from the earth, so are the grades of my resurrections.
26. According to the exaltation of man's soul, so shall he inhabit the places I have made.
27. According to his own soul's growth and development, so shall he ascend in my kingdoms, outward away from the earth; grade unto grade adapted I them.
Chapter XIII
1. O man, to know the creations of thy Creator, and the things He hath placed in thy reach!
2. To apply thy knowledge and understand with reverence the work of His hand!
3. How considerate of thy little wisdom, and thy love of liberty, which He gave unto thee.
4. Even before He had perfected thee, He called out unto thee to behold His creations. And thou tarriedst not to learn, but ran away, half completed, to vent the exhuberance of thy soul, which He gave unto thee.
5. Behold me, thy God; I am thy elder brother which He sent after thee. Come thou, and learn wisdom of thy God.
6. Thou tarriest in the grade; thou art not aroused to know thy Creator. Thou turnest thy back to me, and sayest: Behold, there is no God!
7. I beseech thee, turn about, and hear the wisdom of my words: I will teach thee to know thy Creator; to hear His voice, and to see His hand.
8. And thou shalt rejoice in thy life, and teach thy brethren to rejoice also.
9. Thou hast a corporeal body and a spiritual body: Hear me, and I will open thy understanding.
10. Thy spirit hath eyes and ears and judgment. Nevertheless, the beginning of thy two parts was, at the same time, quickened into a one person, because of the presence of thy Creator.
11. O man of the earth, would that thy spirit and thy corpor stood even in wisdom and power all the days of thy life!
12. But thou art so delighted in the earth, thou hast left thy spirit unfed. And it standeth within thee, as a spear of grass covered with a stone.
13. And thou seest not spiritual things; nor hearest the Unseen. For a stone lieth upon thy soul.
14. Yet, thou hast great learning as to corporeal knowledge; and great vigor as to corporeal judgment.
15. And thou ratest thy neighbor a fool, because, forsooth, in contradistinction to thee, he heareth and seeth spiritually.
16. And thy God weepeth for thee; because, in the time of thy death, thou shalt stand in heaven in grade one, even as the spirits of the beasts of the field.
17. Thy present knowledge shall be void, and thy vigor, only as a newborn child. And my angels who are wise and strong shall take thee about, in hada, the heavenly plateaux that rest on the earth, and divert thee with things proximating betwixt the two worlds, that thou mayest be made to comprehend thyself and thy Creator's work.
18. As thy corpor was fed on corporeal substances, so, then, shall thy young spirit be fed on atmospherean substances, which thy guardians shall provide unto thee.
19. Consider the wisdom of thy Creator, Who sent me to fetch thee into places of delight.
20. O that I could take thee to the highest heavenly places! That thou couldst stand before me, and talk face to face!
21. But even as a newborn child is unsuited to feed on corn and nuts, thy spirit is as a starveling in high heaven. And I take thee to the nurseries where I have provided for thee according to thy weakness.
22. Thy mother was provided unto thee before thou wert born; and my heavens arranged before thy spirit entered therein. Thou shapedst not thyself in thy mother's womb; and, behold the perfection of thine every part.
23. Trust thou in thy Creator, but seek thou also to go with Him, and thou shalt attain easily to the highest mountains He created for thy glory.
24. O that thou hadst not contaminated thy corporeal part by the flesh of the beast and the meat of His living creatures! This is as one of the stones that covereth up thy soul, and blockadeth thy way to the upper grades.
25. Thy young spirit must remain within the atmosphere of the animal creation for a long season; like unto like, hast thou fashioned thy spirit to the flesh of thy body.
26. According to the atmosphere of things, as to the purity and sweetness, behold, thy Creator hath fashioned them in relative ascent above the earth. That which stinketh, resteth on the earth; that which is pure, is upward and high.
27. Consider the place of the hells of the spirits of the dead, and the weapons of warfare in their hands. As the corporean is to corpor, so is the spirit as to the atmosphere of the earth.
28. O man of the earth, consider what thou puttest into thy mouth, for the atmosphere thereof is the food of thy spirit. And the habit thereof will be entailed on thy spirit for a long season after thy mortal death.
29. If thou hast been a gross feeder on flesh, thy spirit will seek to linger in the atmosphere of gross feeders still dwelling on the earth. The slaughter-house and the cook-house and the eating-house shall be the places of thy spirit's resort.
30. And thy spirit shall feed therein and thereon; and thy companions shall be millions and millions of drujas; like vultures that flock to a dead carcass, and thou can not away; like a loadstone, are these haunts to the spirits of darkness.
31. O man, I have heard thee, in thy fullness, say: I must have my flesh-food; I must have my wine and beer and tobacco and opium.
32. I say unto thee, if thou hast not strength in this day, neither shalt thou have strength tomorrow. What strength shall thou gain by the loss of thy corporeal body?
33. Consider thy corporeal body as a ship, in which thy spirit is sailing across a wide sea of water. Better that thy spirit learn to acquire strength whilst it hath a corporeal body to ride in. After death, it floateth in the direction thou hast shaped it. Neither hast thou power to go against the current.
34. Remember, O man, these are the lessons of thy Creator, which he gave unto thee, to learn to master the elements of thy surrounding.
35. Stretch forth thy hand unto thy Creator, and swear thou unto Him, thou wilt conquer every passion that is unclean, and every habit not conducive to the purity of the growth of thy spirit.
36. This is the beginning of thy resurrection; and thou shalt be thine own judge and master.
37. Neither shalt thou call out: God, God, exalt my soul! or, O Lord, save me and raise me up!--until thou hast first begun to do something for thyself.
38. O, that thou knew where the virtue of prayer beginneth! And that he that practiceth the All Highest he knoweth, hath the ear and the hand of his God! Wherein the prayers of the righteous accomplish, whilst the prayer of the ungodlike is void as the wind.
39. Certain men were down in a deep well, and they laid flat down on their bellies, and prayed to be taken up, yet, they would not even raise their eyes to look upward. And others, at the top of the well, let down ropes, and they called down to them beneath to look up, and catch the ropes, but they would not. And, in course of time, they at the bottom said: Alas! our prayers are not answered!
40. O man, that thou wouldst put thyself in the way of thy God! To put away the uncleanness of the body first, and the uncleanness of thy spirit afterward.
41. To seek for things that are pure and good, instead of criticisms and philosophies, that rise up out of thy contaminated flesh-house.
42. Whoso desireth resurrection, let him begin to resurrect himself.
43. Make not thy confessions, which are betwixt thee and thy Creator, before men; but covenant thou with Him, within thine own soul, saying nothing of this for the laudation of men.
44. Thy spirit is as a seed of a beautiful tree, which thy Creator planted; give thou it good light and a clean soil, that the blossoms and the fruit thereon may glorify thy Creator and thee.
45. Such is the resurrection of the spirit of men. Wait not for a Savior to save thee; nor depend thou on words or prayers; nor on hearkening to good sermons, flattering thyself, thou hast done well; but begin to save thyself.
46. By purifying thy flesh, by purifying thy thoughts, and by the practice of good works done unto others, with all thy wisdom, love and strength.
47. For through these only is there any resurrection for thee, either in this world or the next.
Chapter XIV
1. Of the foundations of the resurrections of thy God, there are two kinds; one, which dealeth with those already born, and the other, with such as are not yet born.
2. For, after thou hast purified thyself as to flesh and spirit, two conditions are open to thee, celibacy and marriage.
3. To such as are by nature inclined to celibacy, let them rejoice; for, in not having offspring, they shall have less bondage after death to remain in the lower heavens, and to return to the earth, to their kindred.
4. It is a great glory for them to make themselves Brides and Bridegrooms to the Great Spirit, to be His for righteousness sake.
5. But, as to thee, who desireth marriage, pursue thou the same course as to purity and holiness of person, as to thine own resurrection.
6. For, in this, thou shalt be graded also, according to what thou dost.
7. The delight of thy God, who hath dominion over both, the earth and her heavens, is to witness the birth as such as come from the pure in flesh and pure in spirit.
8. In likeness of the father and mother are all children born into the world; and every child is a new creation, quickened into life by the presence of the Creator, Who is the All Life.
9. If thou art pure in flesh, thy child shall be pure; and, if thou art pure in spirit, thy child shall be pure in spirit.
10. If thou art a flesh-eater, a drinker of strong drink, and a user of narcotics, thy child shall come forth with thy contaminations upon it.
11. Consider, then, what thy grade shall be, which shall be according to thy heirs, as to their grade in the place where they are born. As to whether thou encumberest the world with progeny lower in grade, or liftest up the world by progeny of an exalted grade.
12. Be wise as to the selection of thy partner, as to purity and righteousness. But be not deceived by such as eat not flesh merely, for the purification of the corporeal body is but half the matter. Look for one who is pure in spirit.
13. Whoso is pure in flesh and in spirit shall bring forth heirs unto resurrection, which shall be little or no bondage to the spirit, after death.
14. But, whoso marrieth for the earth only, shall bring forth heirs of bondage. And profligacy and debauchery and sin shall come upon the heirs of that marriage.
15. The spirits of such fathers and mothers shall fall in the grades in heaven; and long will be their bondage in hada.
16. Flesh-eaters seek their partners according to the impulse of the flesh, as to the temptation thereof, or according to riches, or caste, all of which are earthly considerations and for themselves only, and in no regard as to what their heirs will be.
17. And their offspring come forth in darkness; they are void of su'is, void of heavenly aspiration, and dumb as to the voice of the Creator.
18. They go about, saying: I see no All Person! I hear not the Unseen! Nay, I believe not that any man hath seen or heard Him!
19. Herein was it revealed to thee of old: Some are born of the beast, and some are born of the spirit. Which I declare unto thee, O man, is the interpretation of all the poverty and crime and war and licentiousness there is in the world.
20. This is the fountain-head, which thy God would bring to the understanding of all people. But there are many, even hundreds of millions, that can not be made to appreciate this.
21. Nevertheless, the kingdom of peace and righteousness shall not cover the earth over until this is understood by all men and women.
22. Whoso understandeth this, let him wed accordingly; and let such people be as societies to themselves. In this day, no mark of circumcision is required; but men and women shall converse on the ways of the Creator understandingly.
23. And, when thou hast children born unto thee, thou shalt more consider the place of thy habitation, as to temptation, than thy dominion over them.
24. To dwell in a city, which is full of iniquity, thou shalt be a tyrant over thy heirs, restraining them from liberty, in order to keep them from vice.
25. And in this, thou wilt be a sinner also.
26. But dwell thou in a place of purity, and give unto them liberty and nobleness. They shall not be thy slaves.
27. In this matter, thou takest upon thyself a new grade, according to thy heirs and thy God-ship over them.
28. Be cautious in thy proceedings. He, who created thee alive, gave thee no sinful desires.
29. Because thou art not yet a completed man, these things are.
30. Thou shalt find joy in thy talents, and profit in the wisdom of thy God.
31. To perfect thyself is a great glory; to raise up sons and daughters who are also perfect, is a ten-fold greater glory.
32. For, it is the fullness of the life thy Creator gave into thy keeping; which is the glory of heaven and earth.
Chapter XV
1. Of the abundance of thy Creator's creations be thou apalled, O man!
2. Consider the inhabitants of the whole earth, and the number of a thousand millions brought into life every thirty-three years.
3. Compute thou the number for a thousand years, and for ten thousand years.
4. And, yet, the earth is not full.
5. And the heavens of the earth are yet even as if scarcely habited. Thousands of plateaux there are, with no angels to dwell thereon.
6. But to induce the spirits of the dead to rise up from the earth, this is the work and the glory of thy God.
7. To make them put away earthly desires, to become pure and wise and strong and adapted to the sublimated spheres, what an endless labor for thy God and his exalted angels.
8. As thou, O man of the earth, holdest to the desire for earthly things, thou entailest thyself in heaven, and canst not rise upward. Even so is it with the great harvest, the thousands of millions of angels born of the earth.
9. If thou stand a pyramid before thee, wide at the base, equal to the height, such is the manner of the proportions of the spirits of the dead on their entrance into the es world.
10. Consider, then, O man, how sparse are the settlements in the upper kingdoms of the earth's heavens, compared to the numbers in the lowest grade. And remember thou, the percentage of inspiration that cometh to thee, from this grade, which is doubly degraded in the cities and great capitals.
11. Know thou, O man, that all cities built by men, soon or late, fall into destruction. Search into the generations, as to the grade of mortals, and thou hast a type of the spirits of that city, chiefly as to the lowest grades. But, remember, the highest grades of angels go away, whilst the lowest remain. As the spirits of one generation are to the form of a pyramid, so, not so will be the spirits of that city in the next generation.
12. But, in proportion to the increase of the mortal city, and in proportion to the raising up of the second, third, fourth and fifth grades, so will be the relative increase in the proportion of drujas that dwell in that city.
13. And, in time, all holiness passeth away therefrom; and, when thy God abandoneth that city for a day, taking hence his holy angels, the people fall into anarchy, or run with brands of fire, and burn down the city.
14. And the hundreds of millions of drujas lose their anchorage on the earth, and thy God and his exalted ones march them away.
15. Find thou the grade and the rate of declension of the mortals of a city, and, when the whole number, with the spirits therein, hath fallen to one per cent, thou shalt prophecy the time of the fall of that city.
16. Be thou fearful of the abundance of drujas about thee; and search out thine own imperfections and uncleaness and thy passions, lest drujas fasten upon thee in a way thou knowest not of.
17. Call not upon the spirits of the dead to come to thee; but call thou on thy Creator for wisdom and light and truth and purity; and, if it will be well for thee, He will send unto thee such spirits as are best adapted to thee for thy resurrection.
18. Whoso consulteth the spirits as to earthly things, or profit, or great undertakings, or marriage, or war, or riches, is already in the hands of drujas. Woe be unto him in the hour of death.
19. When thou sittest in communion with angels, do so reverently to thy Creator; and the members of thy circle shall pray unto Him, or sing songs of praise and glory unto Him and His works. Nor shalt thou habit thyself to sit with such as do not this reverence to Jehovih. And, when the angels appear and converse with thee, remember thou that even the least of them hath passed the bars of death.
20. Be not long-faced or melancholy with doleful songs; but rather cheerful, like the birds that sing unto the Creator. And let thy speech be respectful, and relating to spiritual things. Learn thou from them of the places they inhabit in heaven, and the manner of their occupations.
21. And if thou inquire of them as to earthly things, let it be as to how thou mayst help the poor and distressed.
22. For, if the angel that talketh with thee be a druj only, thy discourse shall, in this way, awake him to see his own shortness.
23. And if they be high-raised angels, they shall understand the working of thy soul, and they will provide unto thee for thy everlasting exaltation.
24. Be upright before thy Creator and thy God, who know thy weakness. Emulate them in all thy doings, for this is the way of resurrection, worlds without end.
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