CHAPTER XXV.
1. Chine said: One man waiteth till he is rich, before helping the poor; another man waiteth for the angels to inspire him, and give him wonders, before he teacheth the unlearned; another waiteth for the multitude to join in first; and yet another waiteth for something else. Beware of such men; or put them in scales where straw is weighed.
2. The sons and daughters of Jehovih go right on. They say: It is the highest, best! I will go in! Though I do not accomplish it, yet I will not fail (my part).
3. Consider ye the foundation of things at all times. Jehovih saith: I created all the living to bring forth their own kind. Be ye perceiving as to whom ye marry, considering as to the All Highest inspiration common to your choice.
4. Neither judge ye the All Highest inspiration of any man or woman by their words, but by their works. For the raising up of the world shall be mostly accomplished by the fruit of judicious marriage.
5. Chine said: I declare a bondage unto men that they know not of, for it belongeth in the next world; which is the begetting of selfish offspring in this world. For whilst their heirs are in darkness they themselves cannot rise in heaven.
6. And like unto this, I also declare a glory in heaven to them that wed in self-abnegation, who do good unto others constantly and with delight; for they bring forth heirs to glorify Jehovih in good works also.
7. To this end was the mark of the circumcision given unto your forefathers, lest the Faithist women be led astray by idolaters. And yet, with all precautions, many fell, being tempted of the flesh. And their heirs descended lower and lower in darkness, until they lost sight of the All Person, and believed not in Him.
8. The hand hard with toil will insure a better heir than the dimpled hand of a proud woman. The latter hath a soul of passions and her offspring will have souls like a mixture of gall and sugar; though they be sweet, they will prove to be bitter in time to come.
9. Consider thy heir; show him a house with a head, orderly. That he may grow up understanding the discipline of earth and heaven.
10. The father shall be master in all things; and the mother shall be vice-master in all things, to rule in his absence.
11. For each family shall be a kingdom of itself; but no one shall be a tyrant, though he have precedence in all things.
12. Sit not down by the table to eat until all stand about; and when they are seated, thou shalt say: In Thy praise, O Jehovih, receive we this, Thy gift; be Thou with us unto Thine own glory, forever, amen!
13. For the chief virtue of the words lieth in the discipline of the young mind; holding him steadfast after the orderly manner of the angels in heaven. And because he repeateth it with thee, he learneth to honor thee with good rejoicing.
14. And when the sons and daughters are yet small, thou shalt teach them to work; inspiring them above all things not to fall into idleness, which lieth at the borders of hell.
15. But over-task them not, nor give them pain; remembering they are to be thy glory, which Jehovih bestowed unto thee to be in thy keeping, not for thy self-aggrandizement, but for their own delights and holy pleasures.
16. For they shall sing and play, and clap their hands and rejoice and dance, for these are their thanks unto the Creator; and the earth shall be glad because they came into the world.
17. Remember thou that labor shall be delight, and toil a great delight; to have it otherwise to thy children and to thyself is to prostitute man to be as a beast of the field. But thou shalt bring them into groups, and their labor shall be a frolic and full of instruction.
18. And even thy little ones shall learn that thou art but a brother, an elder brother, and one of the same Creator's children; teaching them that one who hordeth and keepeth things in his own possessions is as a cannibal that eateth his kindred, flesh and blood.
19. Above all things thou shalt teach them to keep holy and pure the body created withal; for herein lieth health and strength. To be foul is to be sick, to be sick is to be foul. Behold the heathen and idolater, the feeders on flesh and blood; in the time they boast of health they stink as a carcass; their flesh is congested and puffed up, their breath like a kennel of dogs. How can their souls be pure or their understanding clear? They have made themselves a festering stink-house for the spirit to dwell in.
20. And they say: Bah! I see no Jehovih! I know no All Person! I deny the soul of things! Where is the spirit? I can not see it. Or the sound of its voice? I can not hear it. And there be a Great Spirit, let Him come before me! I would see Him. Yea, in their filthy bodies they say this. Let them be pure and they will understand the vanity of such words.
CHAPTER XXVI.
1. Jehovih said unto Chine: Now will I stir up the nations. Through thee will I show them the glory and dominion of My kingdoms.
2. For thou shalt walk without feet; write without hands; hear without ears; see without eyes; and thou shalt rise in the air as a bird; by thine own will go withersoever thou wilt.
3. And thou shalt bring down the thunder cloud, and at the sound of thy voice the rains shall fall.
4. And thou shalt say: Go away, ye clouds; and the sun will shine in the place thereof.
5. And thou shalt come to some that are hungered, and thy voice shall rise up to Me, and I will send down from heaven the food of heaven; and thy people shall eat thereof and be appeased.
6. And thou shalt stretch up thy hand over the dead that are ready for the furnace, and they shall come to life again and be made whole.
7. For these are the testimonies that thou art My servant, and hast kept my commandments:
8. In which thou shalt say to them: Behold me; I am but a man! Why fall ye down before the Gods and worship them. For I charge you, O all you people, ye shall not worship me nor call me but a man striving to do the will of my Father, the Creator.
9. For whosoever becometh one with Him; to such a man are many miracles possible; howbeit, I declare unto you they are not miracles in fact; but possibilities granted by Jehovih unto the upright who serve Him in act and truth.
10. Jehovih said to Chine: And when thou hast shown these things unto many, know thou thy time on the earth is finished. For I will cast thee in a trance, and the people shall bewail, saying: Alas, he is dead! And they shall cover thee and cast thy body into the furnace in the way of the dead; and the fire shall blaze and consume thy body before them. But thou shalt have previously bid them watch by the furnace, for thou shalt gather together the elements of thy burnt body and restore them, and again inhabit it and go about, preaching before men.
11. Therefore get thee ready; declaring these prophecies beforehand, that they may be testified to by men, and so be recorded in the libraries of the kings and queens.
12. Chine related unto the congregations of Faithists, the true Zarathustrians, what Ormazd (Jehovih) had said, and many of them wept bitterly.
13. In years prior to this, when Chine had traveled and preached by the voice of Jehovih, he visited the kings and princes and rich men in many regions; and whilst he was thus speaking, rebuking them for their governments and for their possessions, they took no part against him. But afterward, when he was gone, the kings and queens and nobles said: Chine hath preached a dangerous doctrine; for he said: Thou shalt have no king but the Creator, Who is King over all. Will not this set our slaves against us? And if the people go into communities of their own, ignoring the king, where will the king find his revenue?
14. And there were priests of Dyaus and of other Gods, and speakers in temples (oracles) where the Gods wrote on sand tables. Besides these there were seers and prophets without number. And the kings, being on the alert, went into the matter, inquiring of the spirits, as to whether the doctrines of Chine were true.
15. And some of the spirits said: There is no All Person. Behold, we have visited the stars and the sun, and looked far and near, and we saw not any Creator, or All Person. There is no Great Spirit, save Te-in, who was a one-time mortal, but hath risen to all power in heaven and earth.
16. And other spirits said: There is nothing in heaven that we have not on earth. How shall we find Ormazd? Waste not your time with Chine and his doctrines; he will overthrow your kingdoms. Eat, drink and satiate your desires; for these are the sum and substance of all things in heaven and earth.
17. Tee-zee, king of A'shong, the capital city of the Province of Aen-Na-Po'e, who was withal a great philosopher, had previously heard Chine preach, and was greatly interested. Some time after this a magician, Loo Sin, visited Te-zee, who told the magician about the wonders of Chine. The magician listened to the king's story, and the king asked the magician whether he could himself, in addition to his sleight-of-hand, manifest wisdom in words, like Chine, and if so, how could it be attained?
18. Loo Sin, the magician, answered: Te-zee, O king, thou knowest not how thou hast embarrassed me, thy servant. For when we are young, and finding we have the natural powers for a magician, we go before an adept to be taught all the mysteries of the order; and here we take a most binding oath never to reveal by hint, or word, or mark, or written character, anything that will reveal any of our signs and mysteries, binding ourselves under great penalties, which I can not name to thee.
19. Know then, O king, I can answer all thy questions, and am desirous to serve thee, but what shall I do?
20. The king said: I, being king, absolve thee from thy oath. The magician said: Compared to my power, though I only beg from door to door, thy power, O king, is but as chaff before the wind. In my subtle realms are the keys of all dominions. Not only do I and my craft rule over mortals, but over the spirits of the dead. My oath, then, is too great for thee to absolve, for I can not even absolve it myself!
21. Te-zee, the king, said: Since, then, thou canst not do all things, and especially, absolve an oath, thou art not sufficient for me to deal with. Loo Sin, being desirous of earning something, said: As for that, O king, I tell thee I can not reveal all, for the virtue of my art dependeth much on its secrets and mystery. Nevertheless, as I am very poor, I might reveal an index to thee, to which, if thou wouldst apply thyself diligently, thou mightest attain the remainder.
22. The king thereupon commanded him to perform before him, agreeing to award him according to the decree of the fates (spirits). And Loo Sin at once fell to work, performing wonderful feats, such as causing the tables, and seats, and desks, to move about and to roll over; and to cause voices to speak in unseen places. He also changed rods into serpents, and caused birds to sit on the king's shoulder; and he changed water into wine, and also brought fish and laid them on the floor at the king's feet.
23. The king said unto him: All these things I have witnessed from my youth up. Show me now, whilst thou remainest here, how thou canst see into my neighbor's house?
24. The magician said: Yea, O king; but for that feat it is necessary to enter the state of the holy ghost (trance), and the price is expensive!
25. The king said: I will pay thee; therefore enter into the state of the holy ghost.
26. Loo Sin turned up his eyes and gave a shudder, as one dying, and having stretched himself on the floor, bade the king question him.
27. The king said: Here is chalk; mark thou on the floor the character which is on the top of my tablet, on the left of the throne! Thereupon the magician marked correctly. And now again the king tried him as to his power to see without his eyes, and in far-off places; and, having proved him in many ways, the king said: Canst thou also show the spirits of the dead?
28. Loo Sin said: Of a truth I can, O king. But that requires me to enter the sublime state of creation, and is even yet more expensive!
29. The king said: Have I not said I will pay thee? Go to, then, enter thou the sublime state of creation at once!
30. Loo Sin then went into a dark corner and laid himself down on the floor, and then swallowed his tongue, and was motionless and still, like one that is quite dead. Presently a light like a thin smoke rose up from the body and stood a little aside, and a voice spake out the light, saying:
31. Who art thou that callest up the spirits of the dead? Beware! He whose body lieth stiff and cold beside me, is one of the heirs of the immortal Gods! What wouldst thou, man of earth?
32. The king said: Who art thou? The voice answered: I am Joss, Te-in! Ruler of heaven and earth! The Great Spirit personified! Creator of all things!
33. The king in satire said: Thou art welcome, O Te-in! I am one of the most blest of mortals, because thou hast made my place a holy place.
34. The spirit then assumed mortal shape and stood before the king, even whilst the magician's body lay on the floor in sight also. The spirit said: What question is it troubleth thee, O king? Speak thou, and I will answer thee, for I am All Wisdom and Truth personified.
35. The king said: Why hast thou not appeared to me before this? Why have I been left in the dark as to thy real existence? Answer thou me this, for it is the foundation on which I desire to rest many questions.
36. The spirit said: My son, Te-zee, I have been with thee from thy youth up, watching over thee, for thou shalt become the greatest king in all the world. Yea, there are great works for thee to do. And if thou desire to extend thy kingdom, or to gain great battles, I will show thee the way. Or if thou desire another woman to wife I will find her for thee.
37. The king said: Though art a great heavenly ruler, I fully believe, but thou answered not my question. Moreover, thou questioned me about my kingdom and about another woman to wife, and these things are not what I desire of thee. And for the matter of women I have not yet one wife; consequently I desire not another.
38. The spirit said: Who sayest thou I am? The king replied: I am at a loss to know if thou art a fool or a devil; and I say that I have either seen one like thee, or else thee, through many a magician. But, alas, there all knowledge endeth.
39. The spirit said: Thou saidst thou would pay what the fates decreed. Hear me then, O king; thou shalt give to Loo Sin four pieces of gold. And after that I will explain all things to thee.
40. The king then cast the four pieces of gold to Loo Sin, and demanded the knowledge as promised. The spirit then said: And on thine oath, thou wilt not reveal?
41. The king said: I solemnly swear to reveal naught of what thou teachest me. The spirit said: Know then, O king, I am Loo Sin, the magician! By long training, the magician attaineth to go out of his own body in spirit, and to appear in any form or shape desired. Wilt thou try me? The king said: Show me the spirit of Ha Gow-tsee.
42. The spirit walked back to the body of Loo Sin, and presently returned before the king, looking like the spirit of Ha Gow-tsee. The king said: It is like the king! The spirit answered: Here then, O man, is the end of philosophy. Behold, I am Loo Sin, also. Some men are one spirit, some two, some three, and some four, to one corporeal body. And yet there is but one person in fact.
43. The king asked: What becometh of the spirit when the corporeal part is dead? The spirit answered: One of two things is possible to every man: his spirit will either dissolve into non-existence, and be scattered and void like the air of heaven, like the heat of a fire that is burnt out; or else it will reincarnate itself in the body of a child before it is born, and, so, live over again.
44. Thus came all people into the world. A child that is still-born is one in whose body no spirit re-incarnated itself. There are no new creations. The same people live now on earth that always lived on it; nor will there be any others. They go out of one body when it is old and worn out; and then enter a young one and live over again and again, forever. Nor is there more nor less unto any man, woman or child in all the world.
45. The king asked: What, then, is the highest, best thing for a mortal man to do during life.
46. The spirit said: To eat and drink, and sleep and rest, and enjoy begetting numerous offspring.
47. The king said: How long would a spirit live if it did not reincarnate itself? The spirit said: If the mortal body is burnt to ashes, then that is the time; if the body be buried, and rot, and return to earth, then that is the time; if the body be embalmed, and keepeth well, the spirit goeth back in the embalmed body and remaineth till that body is moldered into dust, or burnt to ashes, then is the spirit set free, and ready to either re-incarnate itself or to dissolve and disappear forever.
48. The king asked: As it is with thee, is it the same with all magicians? The spirit said: Thou hast only given four pieces of gold; if thou wouldst have more, the price is expensive. The king said: I have told thee I would pay whatever the fates decreed; therefore, proceed. The spirit said: It is even so with all magicians. The king asked: Show me now that thou canst preach like Chine.
49. The spirit said: Thou shalt ask me questions, and I will preach on them.
50. The king asked many questions, and the spirit spake thereon. Finally the king said: That is sufficient; I will pay thee; go thou thy way. As for thy preaching and thy doctrines, they are nothing. Now will I send and find another magician; for out of a counsel with many I shall arrive at the truth.
CHAPTER XXVII.
1. Te-zee, the king, sent for another magician, Wan-jho, who came and was commanded to exhibit his powers; but he also demanded a high price; which the king agreed to pay, and Wan-jho exhibited. First he caused a rose to come within a glass bottle whilst it was shut; then a small serpent he created out of a rod, and caused birds to come and sing to the king; then changed vinegar into water; then writing on a stone tablet without touching the tablet, and even whilst the tablet lay under the king's foot.
2. Now after he had exhibited many more feats of like character, he demanded his money, saying: The angels are gone; I can do no more. The king said: And hast thou not power to fetch them back?
3. Wan-jho said: How much wouldst thou give? The king answered: Three pieces of gold. And Wan-jho said: Ah, in that case, behold, they are come again! What wouldst thou? The king commanded him to show the spirits of the dead, so he might converse with them.
4. Wan-jho went into the same place where Loo Sin had exhibited, and, laying down, cast himself in the death trance. Presently an angel, robed in white, appeared, and came and stood before the king, saying: Most mighty king, what wouldst thou? Behold me, I am the Goddess, Oe-tu Hent, come from my throne in high heaven. And be thou desirous of conquest in war, or to attain great riches, or more wives, most beautiful, then will I by my most potent will give unto thee.
5. The king said: I am blest, O Goddess, because thou hast come to see me. But alas, none of the things thou hast mentioned suiteth me. I desire nothing as regardeth this world. Give me light as to the place in heaven where dwelleth king See Quan?
6. The spirit said: Were he thy friend or thine enemy? The king answered: He was my deadly enemy. The spirit said: Because I asked thee, is he thy friend or thine enemy? for I saw one See Quan in hell, writhing in great agony. And yet I saw another See Quan in paradise. So, then, I will go and fetch him that is in hell.
7. The spirit passed over to the corner, and presently returned, saying: O, O, O, O, O! Horrors! Demons! Hell! and such like, pretending to be in torments, as if it were See Quan in torments.
8. After this the king called for many different spirits, whether they had ever been, or whether fictitious, and they came all the same. Finally Te-zee, the king, said: Bring me now the wisest God in heaven, for I would question him. So, the spirit went again toward the corner, and then approached, saying: Man of earth! Because thou hast called me I have come. Know thou when I come, and I decree four gold pieces to Wan-jho my prophet.
9. The king said: Most just, God! I will pay him. Tell me now whence cometh man, and what is his destiny?
10. The spirit said: First, then, the air above the earth is full of elementary spirits; the largest are as large as a man's fist, and the smallest no larger than the smallest living insect on the earth. Their size denoteth their intelligence; the largest being designed for human beings. These fill all the air of the earth, and all the space in the firmament above the earth; they have existed from everlasting to everlasting, for they were without beginning.
11. Now whilst a child is yet within the womb, one of these elementaries entereth in the child, and straightway there is the beginning of the man. And in like manner are all things produced which live on the earth.
12. The king asked: Before such time when man beginneth, whilst these elementaries are floating about, do they know anything? The spirit said: Many of them have great wisdom and cunning, and are withal great liars and thieves and rascals. Knowest thou one Loo Sin, a magician? The king answered, Yea. And then the spirit said: Well, Loo Sin is obsessed by the elementaries, and they are all great liars, pretending to be spirits of the dead! As for myself, I am a most virtuous Goddess, from the highest heavenly spheres. I tell thee, O king, these elementaries are the curse of the world; they are anxious to be born into life, so they may have souls, and they inspire mortals to paternity and maternity that they may have an opportunity for incarnation.
13. The king said: Thou hast answered well, O Goddess. I will pay according to thy decree. And thereupon the spirit departed. King Te-zee sent for another magician, Hi Gowh, of the rank of priest, and having bargained with him as to his price for exhibiting, commanded him to proceed.
14. Hi Gowh then exhibited after the same fashion as the others, doing great wonders. And him also did the king command to show the spirits of the dead. Hi Gowh complained about the price; but being assured by the king that his demands would be paid, the magician went into the same corner and cast himself in the holy ghost (trance); and, presently, a spirit appeared, saying: Greeting to thee, O king! Whether thou desirest conquest, or riches, or more women, name thou to me, and I will give abundantly. Know thou I am the spirit of the great Zarathustra.
15. The king said: Great Zarathustra, thou art most welcome. But, alas, none of the things thou has named are what I desire. Tell me, O Zarathustra, what is the origin and destiny of man?
16. The spirit said: First, then, O king, in days long past, the sun turned round so swiftly it threw off its outer rim, and the rim broke into a million pieces, flying every way, and these pieces are the stars and the earth and the moon.
17. And for millions of years the earth was only a stone, melting hot; but it cooled off in time; and the outer stones on the earth were oxidized, and this made moss; then the moss died; but the spirit of the moss re-incarnated itself, and this made grass; and the grass died; but the spirit of the grass lived and re-incarnated itself, and thus made the trees.
18. Then the trees died, but the spirit lived, and it re-incarnated and became animals; and they died, but their spirits lived and re-incarnated and became man. After that the spirit no longer re-incarnateth itself, but floateth upward into peace, and resteth for a long time, when it finally mergeth back into the sun and is extinct, like a lamp burnt out.
19. The king asked: How, then, is it with thyself? The spirit replied: I was the original Sun God, that came away from the sun to take charge of this world. It is in my keeping. The king asked: Who, then, is the All First that still stayeth with the sun?
20. The spirit answered: Because thou asketh many questions, O king, thou shalt pay more money. The king assured the spirit that the money, to any amount, would be paid: whereupon the spirit said: Ahura-Ormazd was the original of all; but when the sun threw off its surface Ahura-Ormazd was thrown into pieces, one piece going to every star, save the earth, and I came here of my own accord, because it was larger and better than any other world.
21. The king dismissed the spirit and the priest, and sent for another, a magician also of the rank of priest, Gwan Le. And Gwan Le, being assured that his price would be paid, proceeded to exhibit also. And he performed feats even like the others. Then the king commanded Gwan Le to call the spirits of the dead.
22. The priest apologized about the expense of the death trance (holy ghost power), but being further assured that his demands would be paid, he went into the corner and cast himself into the swoon, stiff and cold.
23. Presently an angel appeared, saying: Behold me, O king, I am Brahma. And if thou desire conquest in war, or greater riches, or more women, I will grant unto thee. I can tell thee of hidden treasures, and of rich mines, and of women greatly to be desired. Also I can tell thee how thy armies can overcome thy enemies with great slaughter.
24. The king said: I am delighted, O Brahma. But I desire nothing of which thou hast mentioned. Tell me of the origin and destiny of man.
25. The spirit said: Know then, O king, all things alive have two parts, the corporeal and the spiritual; all dead things are but one, which is the spirit. Thou, O king, wert first a stone, a very large stone; then when it moldered into dust thy soul went into silver, a very large piece; but when the silver rusted away, thy soul went into gold; and when the gold was worn away, thy soul began to run into animal life, then into a low order of man, then into the high order of man, as thou now art. Thus came man up from the beginning, re-incarnating himself over and over, higher and higher and higher. And when he is perfected in spirit as thou art, he never more returneth to re-incarnate himself. The king asked: What doth the spirit after leaving this world? The spirit replied: Thou shalt then meet thy sexual partner, thy soul-wife; and shall do nothing ever after but have sexual indulgence, peopling the spirit realms with delightful spiritual offspring.
26. The king said: It is well; thou hast a wonderful doctrine. Thereupon the spirit departed, and the priest also. And the king sent for still another priest, Tseeing, A Brahman prophet. And the king asked him: What seest thou for thy king?
27. The priest said: By the rites of my order I cannot disclose any of the secrets of heaven or earth until thou hast paid the price of indulgence, which is two pieces of gold. So the king paid him. Tseeing said: And thou desire riches, or success in war, or new wives, speak thou and I will grant unto thee according to the price. The king said: Alas, Tseeing, I desire none of these indulgences; tell me the origin and destiny of man, for I would learn why I am, and the object and end.
28. Tseeing said: The first of all was Brahma, which was round like an egg. Then Brahma broke open, and the shell was in two halves, and one-half was the sky and the other half was the earth. Then Brahma incarnated himself in the earth, but he came not up as one only, as he expected, but he came up in ten millions and one million parts, and every part was a living thing, a tree, or a plant, or a fish, or a bird, or a beast, or a man. And this is all there is or was or ever shall be.
29. But Brahma looked over the world and he saw that some men were good and some evil. And he said: I will separate the good from the evil. And that justice might be done he called all the nations and tribes of men before him. And when they were come he said unto them:
30. Whoever delighteth in the earth, it shall be his forever. And though he die, his spirit shall have power to re-incarnate itself into another unborn child, and so live over again, and so on, forever. And he shall have great indulgence in the earth, in eating and drinking, and with women, and in all manner of delights, for they shall be his forever.
31. But whosoever delighteth in spirit shall be blest in spirit. He shall not, after death, reincarnate himself and live over again, but shall dwell forever in heaven and have heavenly delights. But since heavenly delights are not after the manner of earthly delights, then shall the spiritual chooser not live like earth-people.
32. But he shall live secluded, and shall torment his flesh with fastings and with castigations. Neither shall he marry or live with woman, nor beget children, nor have any indulgence on the earth whatever, save merely to live, for the earth is not his, nor is he of the earth. And the more he tortureth the flesh, the higher shall be his bliss in heaven.
33. Now, when Brahma had stated the two propositions unto the children of the earth, he further added: Choose ye now which ye will, for after ye have chosen, behold, there is the end. For ye that choose the earth shall be of the earth, even unto all succeeding generations. But whoso chooseth heaven, to him and his heirs it shall be final, and forever.
34. Thereupon mortals made choice, and lo and behold, nearly all of them chose the earth. But in thousands of years and millions of years afterward Brahma repented of his former decree, for he saw the earth become too full of people, and they were sinful beyond bounds. And Brahma sent a flood of waters and destroyed ten thousand million times ten millions of them. And he sent Zarathustra into the world to give new judgment.
35. Zarathustra opened the door of heaven anew, saying: Whoever after this chooseth Brahma, and will torture his flesh, and hate the earth, and live away from the world, him will I save from the earth and from hell also, for I am very efficient and influential with the Creator.
36. Such then, O king, is the origin and destiny of man. Some are born for the earth forever, and some are born for heaven. Nevertheless, the way is open unto all, to choose which they will, earth or heaven.
