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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, p. 531 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, p. 532 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 stiff, 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 of 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 the kingdom, or to gain great battles, will show thee the way. Or if thou desire another woman to wife, I will find her for thee.

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 re-incarnate p. 533 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.


Next: Chapter XXVII