CHAPTER XIII.
1. When Abraham's wife was getting old, her ears were opened to hear the voice of God. And God said unto her:
2. Concerning thy son, Isaac, hear thou thy God, even the God of Abraham: My labors arenot for a day, nor without judgment.
3. Behold, in the land of Es-seth, the place of thy husband in his youth, have I built formany generations concerning the seed of my people. For which reason thy son Isaac shalltake a wife that shall inherit my voice.
4. Before the time of thy husband's father's father, I sent my angel from heaven, saying: Go thou and raise me up an heir to hear my voice, for I will dwell for a season with thechildren of men.
5. And my angel fulfilled his part, and I have come and talked with thee and with thyhusband face to face. And even in like manner can I talk to thy son, Isaac, and he can hearme also. And Isaac shall raise up heirs to my voice through his wife, to whom he is notknown in this day.
6. Sarai told Abraham what God had said to her; and so Abraham and Sarai went to thealtar which Abraham had built, and they prayed alone; and God came and spake, saying: What would ye?
7. And Abraham said: Concerning our son Isaac's wife? And God said: Because of theblessing of Sarai, thy wife, who hath been upright all her days, I will give her comfort inher old age.
8. Send thy servant to the land of thy fathers, and I will send my angel with thy servant,and he shall come to a maiden who shall be Isaac's wife. So, Abraham called his servant,who was overseer over his goods, and he said to him: Equip thyself with camels andasses, and with servants, and with jewels I will give thee, and go thou to Syria, the land ofmy fathers, and bring a damsel hither, who shall be Isaac's wife.
9. The overseer said unto Abraham: Alas me! How shall thy servant choose a wife for thyson? Or, if choosing, how shall he induce her to come so far? Abraham said: That whichGod hath commanded of me, I have told thee, save that God saith: My angel shall go withthy servant, and he shall not err.
10. So the servant of Abraham, in fear and trembling, equipped himself with ten camelsand twenty asses, and with thirty servants, taking presents and goods, and departed,and the journey occupied two and twenty days. And all the while the overseerreasoned upon what he should say, for he had misgivings that he was on a fool's errand.
11. Nevertheless, he prayed to God that he might do his own part wisely. So when hecame near Abraham's father's people, the angel of God spake in his heart saying: She thatcometh with a pitcher on her head shall be Isaac's wife. Say thou to her: Wilt thou giveme a drink? And she will say: I will give thee a drink, and also draw water for thyservants, and for thy camels.
12. And the overseer looked, but saw no damsel, and he marveled; but presently he sawmany damsels, one of whom had a pitcher on her head; and his heart failed him till shecame near, and he said: Give me a drink? And she gave him a drink and said unto him: Thou art a stranger: pray thee, I will water thy camels and give drink unto thy servants.
13. And she so gave as she said; and when she had finished, the overseer said unto her: Who art thou? And she answered him, and he perceived she was Isaac's niece byAbraham's father's second wife, but of no blood kin. And then she asked the overseer whohe was and whence he came; and he told her, even from Abraham, whose servant he was. So she invited him to her people's houses, and she ran ahead with joy to tell who hadcome so far, bringing word from Abraham.
14. Now when the camels and asses had been fed, and straw spread for the travelers to lieupon, and when the repast was spread for them to eat, the overseer rose up, perceiving theway of God, and he said: Till I have spoken, eat not, but hear ye the words of God. So herelated the object of his visit as commanded by God, and in reference to the angel of God,and the words that came to him.
15. And when he had finished, the power of God came upon the damsel, whose name wasRebecca, and she rose up and spake, saying: Isaac shall be my husband, and I shall be hiswife, for I know this matter is of God!
16. So it came to pass after some days, Rebecca departed from her people, and byher faith in God came to Abraham's home, and Isaac took her to wife, and Sarairejoiced before God because of the light of his kingdom through Abraham's heirs.
17. And God said unto Abraham: Divide thou thy people into families of tens, andfamilies of hundreds, and families of thousands, and give to each family one rab'bah, andyet to all of them together one chief rab'bah. And make thou thy will, and appoint thy sonIsaac and his heirs by his wife Rebecca to be thy successor, that My voice may remainwith My chosen.
18. And Abraham made his will and did in all things as God commanded; and he furthermade the rab'bah officers in the rites of Emethachavah, and communicated to themthe sacred name of the Creator (E-O-Ih), and the plans of the upper and lower heavens,the dominion of God and the dominion of satan, which were kept secret with the rab'bah.
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19. God said: Behold, there is a time to clear up all things, present and past: WereAbraham father to Hagar's son, Ishmael, and had he been true to the law of sacrificeamongst the heathen, then, Ishmael, being first-born, would have been chosen for theburnt offering.
20. In which matter the Ezra Bible is shown to be false before Jehovih, in regard toAbraham and Ishmael and Isaac, and the burnt offering also.
21. Which words were not my words, nor the words of my angels, but the words of theEgyptian record.
END OF ABRAHAM’S HISTORY, AND OF THE FIRST FONECEAN BIBLE.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE FIRST BIBLE OF VIND’YU. --BEING OF BRAHMA, A MAN CHOSEN BYGOD FOR THE CHILDREN OF VIND’YU. GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF BRAHMABECOMING 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 thirddescent 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, thehalf-breed druks; then Shone, and then This.
3. Jehovih, who by the Brahmins was called Ormazd, sent His light to the earth worldonce for every hundred generations. And the light fell upon His sons, preparedfrom 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 asa man, and it was so. Ormazd said: That man may not be confounded, thou shaltnumber Osiris with the generations that believe not, save in the sun; but of theZarathustrians, 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, whobegat Mur, who begat Romsat; these were tribes of the Zarathustrian order, who rejectedidols, Lords, Gods, Saviors, kings, queens, and all other rulers on the earth or in theheavens above the earth, save Ormazd, the Creator. And in Him had faith that to dorighteously, 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, butregained in Romsat by the I'hins, whence came the tribe Lo-jon, who begatThonegalahogreif, who begat Subinij, and from him to Wowthutchi-subinij, which wereforty-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 werecalled 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 theVoice.
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 idolaters.
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, whobred with the I'hins and begat Thace, who begat with the I'hins Anu, who begat the I'hinsMaha, 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 calledBRAHMA, who shall have su'is with power. Things that were revealed to Zarathustra havebeen lost, but shall be recovered in Brahma.
11. Romsat had prophesied, moreover: With the coming of Brahma is the end of the I'hinrace in Shem (Vind'yu).
12. God spake in kosmon, saying: Let no man say: With Brahma, or with Abram, or withPo, or with Eawahtah, was the beginning of the doctrine of One Spirit. For since manwalked 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 havecomprehended my words, but others constantly put away the I AM, and raise up idolsinstead.
13. But let all men understand who and what, is meant by the terms, Po, and Abram, andBrahma, and Eawahtah, which is, that though I walked the earth with these, teaching andspeaking through them, yet none of these were idolized by men. For the nations of theearth, in the time of these four men, comprehended that they were not Gods, but menthrough 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 starabove 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 oldentime.
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 thouworship, 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, andpurity, and thou shalt answer thine own questions.
24. Then Brahma applied to the rab'bah, the Zarathustrian priests, and he learnedabnegation 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 Iwill lead thee into another country, where thou shalt marry, and settle down for a longseason.
26. Brahma said: Peaceful have been my slumbers, and joyous my wakeful hours all mylife. I have made labor a pleasure, and I give all I have to the poor, doing Thycommandments with all my wisdom and strength.
27. From my youth up I have killed not any living creature of Thine that goeth on theearth, or swimmeth in the waters, or flieth in the air. Neither ate I of anything that hadever breathed the breath of life; and I have been most abstemious in plain food and wateronly, according to the Zarathustrian law. Hear Thou me, O Ormazd; for I will break mysoul 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, OOrmazd? Was I not Thy Bridegroom from my youth up?
29. Why, then, protectest not Thou me unto Thyself? Ormazd said: In times past I raisedup 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. Zarathustrawas an iesu. My Light is now for them that can perpetuate. All things are possible inmy 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 serveOrmazd?
33. So, Brahma traveled, and came into the country of Etchoyosin, where lay themountains of Talavitcha, under King Tyama, who had enforced the Zarathustrianreligion 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'shouse, 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 ofwomen, draped, also, to go before the priest for confession. Brahma inquired of herconcerning the priest and the tax. Yu'tiv informed him, and, moreover, said: I am goingthither, and shall delight to lead thee to the place. So Brahma went with Yu-tiv, andwhen they were gone a little way she said unto him: Whence camest thou, and whatis 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 thepure 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 Istrove to be a priest, for I saw the wickedness of the world, and, moreover, the tyrannyand tortures of the church (ha'oke), and my soul cried out for the oppressed who had faithin 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 willcome 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 andnight, and praying and striving with all my soul and with all my strength to purge myselfof 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 theeonly; I shut my eyes to all the earth, but thou hast suffered me to fall. Rescue thou me, Ipray.
39. Then spake Ormazd to me, saying: Behold, I have revealed my word through such ashave no earth desires; but that time is past. I will now prove unto the nations of the earththat 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 Iwill 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 muchfurther I must go I know not; but I will go to the end of the earth if Ormazd require it ofme.
41. Yu-tiv said: I pity thee, O man! One so holy should never with woman wed. To winsuch 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 theworld with Gods and Goddesses.
42. O promise me, stranger, thou wilt turn from such unholy desires. I know not whatmoveth me past all modesty thus to speak to thee, but before Ormazd, Creator of heavenand 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 twocan see more than one.
44. Brahma said: Who are thou, O woman? Yu-tiv said: A weaver of mats; no more. Myfather liveth in yonder thatch; my mother's soul ascended to heaven, giving me birth. Shewas of the I'hins. From place to place my father and I have been driven; all the ills ofearth 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 theearth! O the death of little infants! O the trials of the poor! O the suffering of the sick! Othe 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 thevoices of angels and Gods! To wisdom that erreth not; to music never discordant! To lovethat never separateth! Never!
46. Brahma said: Now I beseech Thee, O Ormazd, that I may never marry! But becauseThou hast raised up here so fair a woman, and withal so wise, give me leave that I maydwell near at hand!
47. Then spake Ormazd, out of the midst of the voices of their stars, saying: Hold up thyhand, O man! Hold up thy hand, O woman! And they held up their hands, and Ormazdsaid: 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 theirsacrifices, and returned and came to Yu-tiv's father's house, and the father's name wasAliegan-is, called Ali. And Yu-tiv told her father all that had happened, but Brahma saidlittle. Ali said: What the All Light doeth is well done. My house is ample. Brahma shallsojourn so long as he desireth.
49. Brahma said: Of mine own accord I am not master of many words. When it pleasethOrmazd to speak with me, I will raise my voice. Then Yu-tiv spread mats and providedfood, and sat it before Brahma, and he ate; and after that they said prayers according tothe 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, injoy greeting, and they were moved to shake hands, though such a proceeding was notaccording to the fashion of the country, save betwixt relatives. And it came to pass thatthey were much together during the day, and in the evening they walked together, buttouched not one the other.
2. Now on the second day, when they walked together, they held hands. And on the thirdday they joined arms. And on the fourth day they kissed each other. And after thatthey were only separated at night when they slept. But it came to pass that they wereso 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 upall 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. Brahmasaid: 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, historysaith not.
5. But Brahma followed his trade in that country, and it came to pass they had a son bornto them, and his name was Whe-ish; and in time another son, and his name was Vus, andthen 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 toBrahma; though the angel of Ormazd remained, and at times talked to both Brahma andYu-tiv, his wife. Now during all the time, until after the birth of the sixth son, Yu-tiv hadfaith in Ormazd, and was a Faithist in her whole heart. But during all these years she hadonly communion with the angels, and withal had suffered many hardships in commonwith Brahma.
7. And their love abated not one jot or tittle, and Yu-tiv believed in her husband, andencouraged his aspirations. He had said to her ten thousand times: I know Ormazd willcome; 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 believedher sons would have the Voice of the Creator with them also. But after the birth of thesixth 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 knowlittle more of heaven than we. The Creator is dumb, like the wind; His voice is like thewind, it speaketh nothing.
9. And after that, she ceased to use the name Ormazd, or Father, but said, Eolin, after themanner of the ancients. And Brahma ceased more to speak in presence of Yu-tiv of thecoming of Ormazd to himself; and he also adopted the name Eolin, signifying, like thewind, void of shape or person.
10. Whilst this state of unbelief was upon them, they had another child born to them, andthey called his name Hog, signifying, FACT, or without inspiration; an animal that rootethin the ground.
11. Yu-tiv weaned Hog when he was three years old, and, on the day following, the voiceof 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 theend!
12. Brahma was so delighted, he ran home and told Yu-tiv, but she rejoiced not; she madeno answer. Silently she looked upward for a long while, and then she said: Eighteenyears! Hog will be twenty-one. And thou and I will be old.
