CHAPTER XXII.
1. Chine said: I am a man only. I am the All Light. My voice is that that liveth forever. Worship not Me; worship not man; worship All Light. I am Jehovih (Ormazd) Ever Present. Because of My abundance in man, man openeth the mouth; maketh words.
2. To know Me is to know all things; he who striveth to Me is My chosen. He who knoweth not Me proveth not Me; he who knoweth Me can not prove Me. To every self am I THE SELF of that self. To perfect that self which is in all selfs; such a man is one with Me. To travel on such a road; that is the right road.
3. Hear Me, O man! I come every three thousand years; I newly light up the world. My voice cometh upon the souls of men; thy All Highest is Me; thy all lowest is sin. Two things only set I before thee, O man; the Self that is Myself, and the self that is thyself. Which wilt thou serve? For hereon hangeth either thy resurrection or thy hell.
4. In the time of the first of ancients I asked the same questions. Whoso said: I will serve Thee, Ormazd, Thou All Self, he was My chosen. Whoso answered: I will serve the self of myself, was satan's. The latter went on the wrong road. Their trail was blood and death; war, their glory.
5. They fell upon My chosen; like tigers have they pursued them. I called out in the ancient days: Why persecute ye My chosen and destroy them? And they answered: They will not war; they serve not our king; they serve the King of kings; they practice peace; they uphold not our God.
6. But I stretched forth My hand from the second heaven; I bowed down to My virgin daughter, the troubled earth, Ma-lah. And I took My chosen and put them in Brahma's hand; and they were shapely and fleet-footed, valiant in love and good works. And I sent great learning unto the sons of men, and wisdom and peace and great rejoicing.
7. And Ma-lah blossomed and was fragrant as new honey, and cleanly and full of virtue. Her daughters hid the thigh and ankle; their full breasts were concealed and their words were of modesty.
8. Her sons were early to rise; producing abundance, and with songs of rejoicing, and with dancing. For My beloved shaped the ways of man; their progeny were as the sweet blossoms of an orchard; as the fragrance of red clover. I said unto them: Fear not; thy sons and thy daughters are a great glory to thee. Count thou the days of thy wife; and rejoice when the birth draweth near; for it is fruit of Me and of thee.
9. And they taught the little ones to clap their hands and rejoice; I made them for this. Sing, O earth! Hold up thy head. I said to My beloved, for Mine is a place of glory and sweet love, sparkling with good delights. None could restrain them; like young colts, and young lambs at play; their capers were unceasing and most tender.
10. This was My good creation; the bliss of My chosen; this was My shapely earth in the days of peace; in the times of My chosen. Nor war, nor weeping was there; nor hunger nor thirst; nor famine; nor fields lying waste; nor sickness, nor evil diseases; nor cursing, nor swearing; nor lying; nor deceit; nor hardships and sore toil, nor any evil thing under the sun.
11. I, the All Light, Jehovih, have spoken. Will they hear My words? How will man judge Me, the Creator? Hath he gone amongst My beloved; and My upraised who obey My commandments? Hath he seen the beauty of the earth in the hands of My chosen?
12. O man! Thou fool! Thou goest into a dark corner and sayest: How dark! Thou goest before my enemies and sayest: What a vain creation! Or searchest amongst them that serve not Me, and sayest: Miserable world! Amongst them that hat Me, and sayest: How wickedly they kill one another. O that Jehovih had made a better creation!
13. Thou criest out: There is no happiness on the earth; all is misery and sorrow and pain and death! And this is thy standard, O man, to judge thy Creator! Thou sayest: There is no peace, nor delight, nor love, nor harmony on the earth!
14. Stubborn man! And contrary, and of narrow judgment! O that thou wouldst stand in a clean place and high, and then judge! Hast thou measured My chosen, who have faith in My Person! Why hast thou treasured thyself? And put thyself uppermost of all things? Who hast thou found that denied My Person, but dwelt in lust and self-conceit?
15. Where is thy standard, save the All High? What is thy dispute about the all low? If I call Myself the All High art thou better pleased? If satan calleth himself the all low, wilt thou be satisfied? Or shall a man not speak of the All High? nor of the all low? Are there not such things? And shall they not have names?
16. Thy wicked hand riseth up against My chosen, to lay them in death. And when thou hast trailed the earth over in blood; and thy hand is wearied with destruction, and thy little ones have not wherewith to eat, thou prayest: O Father, help Thy little ones!
17. I have spoken.
CHAPTER XXIII.
1. Chine spake Jehovih's words, saying: They have sought after pleasure, and after thee, O earth! They have bowed down to men, to the king and the rich man, and now, behold their misery! The king said: Come serve me. Take thy spear, and thy strong bow and arrow, and come with me. I will show thee great delights; thou shalt slaughter my enemies; and I will give thee wages.
2. And they ran to serve the king; yea, they washed their hands in the blood of My innocent ones. Because the king said: Brave! Good slaughterer! Then were they pleased, highly recompensed!
3. I have said: Ye are on the wrong road; serve only Me, for I am Good Delights. Because ye slay one another, the land will not be tilled; ye are hungered and ragged. And they queried: What will Jehovih give for wages? More than the king?
4. Herein is thy weakness, O man! Thou sayest: Wait a little while, I will serve the man first; and afterward Jehovih.
5. What profit hast thou in thy brother's death? With all his treasures of gold and silver, what hast thou?
6. Behold, even they that choose Me and My ways, thou wilt not suffer to live in peace. Because they say: My Creator is my King; Him will I serve. The king saith: Go for them; slaughter them! They put Jehovih higher than me!
7. And thou sayest: It is a good and wholesome thing to serve the king, and kill his enemies. To serve my country by killing men, this is great glory!
8. But the voice of My beloved rose up to Me; My lambs fleeing before the wolves, and driven away from My goodly pastures. Behold Me, I am come to them, to the lovers of peace and virtue and loving kindness. My hand is stretched over them in great power; My word is given unto them, and is not dead.
9. I will call them together; they shall again hold up their heads and rejoice because of My Presence.
10. After Jehovih's voice came to Chine he traveled far and near; and because of his wonderful wisdom, men of great learning and even kings sent for him. And wherever he went he preached after the same manner, for peace and love, and against war.
11. For three years Chine traveled, proclaiming the Creator above all else in heaven and earth. And then he rested one hundred and forty days, sleeping like a young child, saying naught more than a child would say.
12. Then came a change upon Chine; he was as a new man in the world, and not as a God. And he rose up, saying: My Father, Creator of men, calleth me. I hear His voice. It is like a burning fire in my soul, moving me. Not with pain, but with great power. He saith:
13. Chine, My Son! Chine, My Son! My house is on fire! My little ones are burning. Go thou, Chine, to them. They are in fear and trembling; they know not what way to turn. The kings of the earth have outlawed them; they are hunted down, and are famished. Go thou to them, O Chine! For that end created I thee alive in the world; thou shalt be My Voice unto them.
14. Chine said: Jehovih saith: Who can overcome the fire when he remaineth in the house? He goeth outside where there is water. Call thou My people out of the house of My enemies. Give them a well spring of clean water; they are parched up and athirst. Say to them: Jehovih liveth! His love aboundeth; come ye to My fountains that are not dried up. Come ye and hear the covenant of My Son, Chine.
15. I swear to Thee, O Jehovih, Thou my Almighty! I will have no other God but Thee, Thou Creator! All Light, Most Glorious! Thou art my King! Holy, Holy, Ever Present! O my Captain, my All Highest Captain! I salute Thee in the Rising Sun! In the High Noon, most Mighty! And in the sweet Setting Sun!
16. I know nothing but Thee; to Thee I swear this my most solemn oath, O Jehovih! Call Thou up Thy angels, holy and most wise; Thy recording angels! They shall hear my covenant unto Thee, My Creator! They shall write it in the books of heaven, O my Master! And whilst the sun standeth, and the moon and the earth and the stars, my oath unto Thee shall stand up against me:
17. Thou only shalt be my King; Thou only shalt be my God and Heavenly Ruler. All other kings I forswear, and all other Gods and captains and great rulers: None of them will I bow down to or worship, forever. I, Chine, have spoken.
18. I swear unto Thee, Thou Great Spirit, Thou art my bond to the end of the world. I will not war nor abet war; to peace forever am I sworn. And though they impress me and torture me, or slay me outright, they shall not force me; I will not draw one drop of blood in any man or woman or child whom Thou hast created alive on the earth.
19. I swear unto thee, Thou All Person, Who art so large that the earth and sun and stars would not fill the hollow of Thy hand; to be like unto Thee, O Jehovih. Fair dealing unto all men, as Thou wouldst; good, forgiving and without anger, forever. And equally in all possessions with Thy chosen, O Jehovih.
20. To raise them up that are cast down; to deliver the afflicted and helpless; to render not evil, nor the fruit of anger, unto any man, forever, O Jehovih. And good to them that abuse me; and in my actions steadfast in Thy course, my Creator.
21. In my blood do I covenant with thee; by the veins in my flesh make oath forever. To wed not out of Thy Order, the Hi-tspe.13 Blood of the blood of Thy chosen shall be my heirs and my heirs after me, forever.
22. Hear me, O Jehovih: I make a new covenant; it shall be written upon the firmament of heaven. I will do good with all my might; the tears of the suffering poor shall be as scalding blood in my veins; I will not sit down and rest, nor take my ease, nor hold possessions whilst they are in want.
23. Prick me, O my Father in heaven; sharpen my conscience keener than a sword; drive me to labor for the poor and afflicted, give me no rest, but whilst I am doing good unto them.
24. O that my covenant were set with swords, pointing every way; that I could find no peace but in serving Thee, my Creator, Ormazd. And I were pure and strong and wise and swifter than life and death, and as unfailing.
25. And that my oath reached unto thy chosen, and they heard me; that my voice was sweet unto them, and enticing like an early love.
26. That they would come forth from their hiding places, Thy faithful children, and be not afraid.
27. I would go to them as a lover, and bow my head down to them for their long suffering, and their faith unto Thee, Jehovih.
28. As a father that has lost his son and found him again, I would take them in my arms, Thy worshippers, Thou All One, Everlasting Spirit.
29. As a rose-bush trampled in the mire; how they have been scourged, O Jehovih. Poor unto death, and ragged and scattered. But I would wash them clean, and give them new soil; their voices in song and praise should gladden the whole earth.
13 One of the orders of Faithists in China. Equivalent to Hi-dang in some regions.
CHAPTER XXIV.
1. The great cities of the ancients in Jaffeth were destroyed by Joss (Te-in) and his evil spirits, who inspired mortals to war. And for the most part, it was a land of ruins, but thousands of cities, standing beside the broken walls, were spread over the entire breadth of the land.
2. Jehovih spake to Chine, saying: Now is a good time for My chosen. Behold My enemies, the idolaters; know thou them by their soldiers. They are weak now. They pant with the labor of their great battles. Let My people come out of their quarters and hold up their heads.
3. Say thou unto them, O Chine, there is no Joss, no Ho-Joss, no Te-in, no Po, no Po-Te-in, to make you afraid. And whilst the enemy resteth, bid My sons and daughters arise! They shall inhabit the land that is spoilt, and cause it to bloom and bring forth abundantly. Call up My outlawed race; the enemy is sick of his wounds; his heart is ashamed and disconsolate, he is cast down.
4. Chine went to A'shong and gathered up many converts, descendants of the Faithists, the pure Brahmins, the line of Zarathustra, the people of the Great All One, who accepted not Gods and Lords. And he established them, and invented plows and mattocks for digging the ground; for these implements had been lost and destroyed, hundreds of years, and no man knew how to make them.
5. Chine said unto them: This is a good philosophy; wait not till ye are well fed and clothed before ye bow down your heads at the altar of Jehovih. When ye have prayed and sung before Him, then go forth into the field to work. And He will bless you.
6. Remember the heathen, they say: First provide the natural body, and then the spirit. But I say unto you, Jehovih created them both together. And he who saith: First provide the natural body, never looketh to his spirit afterward.
7. In all things give ye precedence to the spirit; as the Creator is over all His works, so should the spirit of man be over man's works, and over his corporeal body also.
8. Herein laid the foundation of the wisdom of your forefathers, the Zarathustrians. For the heathen and idolater, who labor for self, what are they but servants unto the flesh?
9. Some people labor for the raising of the spirit, which is purity, and love, and goodness, and justice; such people are on the right road to become a great people. But when they strive, every man for himself, such people are beginning to fall.
10. Her boundaries may be large, and her people increasing, but she hah a canker worm within, that soon or late will let her down suddenly.
11. Two extremes meeting are always dangerous: great wealth, and extensive poverty. It not only devolveth on the rich to give their substance to the poor, but they shall go amongst them, teaching them and lifting them up.
12. He who doeth not this, consider how vain it is for him to pray to Jehovih. His prayer riseth not upward. Let him himself first answer the poor. This is the opening of his own soul, so Jehovih can reach him.
13. Remember thou that all men have judgment, and that they should be perfected to see things from their own standpoint, and not from thine. Consider, then, how unjust it is to foist thy opinions on any man, uncalled for.
14. Chine established families of the chosen, but limited them to two hundred; and to each family he gave one priest. But he gave privilege to four thousand people to dwell in one city.
15. Chine said: Ye have been afflicted with Gods; I was sent into the world by the Creator to deliver you unto liberty in the family. I am only a man. I have no authority in myself. Jehovih, the Creator, dwelleth freely in me. Ye can attain the same.
16. Because He is within me, this shall be called Chine-land. There is a time for this. My name is as a post to mark the time when the Creator began His temple of peace, which shall extend over all these people.
17. Jehovih saith: Why will man be vain of himself? Verily have I not created one man on the face of the earth that is himself. He is made up of all oddities, soul and body. Consider his flesh; whence he received it and sustaineth it. Not so much as one hair on his head is of his own making; neither is it made out of new material, but hath been used over and over forever.
18. Even so is his mind not his own; not even his simplest thought; but he is made up of borrowed things from beginning to end, for so I created him.
19. He imagineth I, Who created him, am nothing; but even his imagination he picked up from someone else. He gathereth a little here, and a little there, and then proclaimeth what he knoweth.
20. Chine said: One man saith: I am normal; neither angels or mortals rule over me! Yet he hath only boasted as a crazy man, who will say the same thing. Another saith: Behold my wisdom! the highest of angels course through me. Yet he knoweth not whether it be true or not. Neither do any of them know the fountain head. For if an angel say it, the angel himself is made up of borrowed knowledge.
21. Chine said: I saw a great mathematician one day, and he said: There are no Gods, nor Lords, nor angels, nor any All Person. Everything is void. He showed me a book he had, and I asked: Who made the book? He said: I made it; nay, I made not the cloth, nor the binding; I mean, I made the philosophy that is in the book; nay, I made not the philosophy, but found it; nay, it was not lost; I mean I led myself to find the philosophy; nay, a man cannot lead himself; I mean that I searched and found what was new to me. So, but little of that book was his, after all.
22. I saw three angels standing beside that man, and they were laughing at him. If I had asked the angels, they might have said: Nay, the thoughts were ours. And had I looked further I had seen angels back of them, claiming the same things. Yet, even such are not the highest.
23. Wherefore I say unto you: All things come from an All Highest, name ye Him what ye will. He who saith: Jehovih spake to me: He is the nearest the mark of all. For all good knowledge that cometh to man, is Jehovih's word to that man. Whether it come by an angel or by another man, or by the commonest corporeal thing, it is nevertheless from the All Highest.
24. For which reason bow ye not down in worship to man nor angels, but only to the Highest, Jehovih, for He is the Figure-head and Pinnacle of the All Highest conceived of. And in contradistinction, the all lowest; the foot of the ladder, call ye darkness and evil, and wickedness, and sin, and death and satan.
25. Attribute not to men or angels this or that, for they themselves are not first causes nor responsible but in part; but attribute all good, high, best and wise things unto Jehovih; and all evil, dark, wicked, low things to satan.
26. By these terms ye shall make plain to one another what ye mean; and it is an easy matter to look into your own souls and comprehend as to which of these two ye most incline.
27. The soul may be likened unto a vine, which can be trained either upward or downward. And if ye desire to know if a vine be up or down, look ye for the fruit, and not to the fragrance. Some men pray much, but as to good works they are like a vine without fruit, but with plenty of fragrance.
