SECTION I

CHAPTER 1

1 AUGUSTUS Caesar reigned and Herod Antipas was ruler of Jerusalem.

2 Three provinces comprised the land of Palistine: Judea, and Samaria, and Galilee.

3 Joachim was a master of the Jewish law, a man of wealth; he lived in Nazareth of Galilee; and Anna, of the tribe of Judah, was his wife.

4 To them was born a child, a goodly female child, and they were glad; and Mary was the name they gave the child.

5 Joachim made a feast in honour of the child; but he invited not the rich, the honoured and the great; he called the poor the halt and the lame, the blind, and to each one he gave a gift of raiment,food or other needful thing.

6 He said, The Lord has given me this wealth; I am his steward by his grace, and if I give not to his children when in need, then he will make this wealth a curse.

7 Now, when the child was three years old her parents took her to Jerusalem, and in the temple she received the blessings of the priests.

8 The high priest was a prophet and a seer, and when he saw the child he said,

9 Behold, this child will be the mother of an honoured prophet and a master of the law; she shall abide within this holy temple of the Lord.

10 And Mary did abide within the temple of the Lord; and Hillel, chief of the Sanhedrim, taught her all the precepts of Jews, and she delighted in the law of God.

11 When Mary reached the age of womanhood she was betrothed to Joseph, son of Jacob, and a carpenter of Nazareth.

12 And Joseph was an upright man, and a devoted Essenes.

SECTION II

CHAPTER 2

1 NEAR Hebron in the hills of Judah, Zacharias and Elizabeth abode.

2 They were devote and just, and every day they read the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms which told of one to come, strong to redeem; and they were waiting for the king.

3 Now, Zacharias was a priest, and in his turn he led the temple service in Jerusalem.

4 It came to pass as Zacharias stood before the Lord and burned the incense in the Holy Place, that Gabriel came and stood before his face.

5 And Zacharias was afraid; he thought that some great evil was about to come upon the Jews.

6 But Gabriel said, O man of God, fear not; I bring to you and all the world, a message of good will, and peace on earth.

7 Behold, the Prince of Peace, the king you seek, will quickly come.

8 Your wife will bear to you a son, a holy son, of whom the prophet wrote,

9 Behold, I send Elijah unto you again before the coming of the Lord; and he will level down the hills and fill the valleys up, and pave the way for him who shall redeem.

10 From the beginning of the age your son has borne the name of John, the mercy of the Lord; his name is John.

11 He will be honoured in the sight of God, and he will drink no wine, and from his birth he will be filled with Holy Breath.

12 And Gabriel stood before Elizabeth as she was in the silence of her home, and told her all the words that he had said to Zacharias in Jerusalem.

13 When he had done the service of his course, the priest went home, and with Elizabeth rejoiced.

14 Five months passed by and Gabriel came to Mary in her home in Nazareth and said,

15 Hail Mary, hail! Once blessed in the name of God; twice blessed in the name of Holy Breath; thrice blessed in the name of Christ; for you are worthy, and will bear a son who shall be called Immanuel.

16 His name is Jesus, for he saves his people from their sins.

17 When Joseph's daily task was done he came, and Mary told him all the words that Gabriel spoke to her, and they rejoiced; for they believed that he, the man of God, had spoken words of truth.

18 And Mary went with haste to tell Elizabeth about the promises of Gabriel; together they rejoiced.

19 And in the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth did Mary tarry ninety days; then she returned to Nazareth.

20 To Zacharias and Elizabeth a son was born, and Zacharias said,

21 Most blessed be the name of God, for he has opened up the fount of blessings for his people, Israel.

22 His promises are verified; for he has brought to pass the words which holy prophets spoke in olden times.

23 And Zacharias looked upon infant John, and said,

24 You shall be called the prophet of the Holy One; and you will go before his face, and will prepare his way.

25 And you will give a knowledge of salvation unto Israel; and you will preach the gospel of repentance and the blotting out of sins.

26 Behold, for soon the Day Star from on high will visit us, to light the way for those who sit within the darkness of the shadow- land, and guide our ways to the feet of peace.

CHAPTER 3

1 THE time was nearly due for Jesus to be born, and Mary longed to see Elizabeth, and she and Joseph turned their faces toward the Judean hills.

2 And when upon their way they came to Bethlehem the day was done, and they must tarry for the night.

3 But Bethlehem was thronged with people going to Jerusalem; the inns and homes were filled with guests, and Joseph and his wife could find no place to rest but in a cave where animals were kept; and there they slept.

4 At midnight came a cry, a child is born in yonder cave among the beasts. And lo, the promised son of man was born.

5 And strangers took the little one and wrapped him in the dainty robes that Mary had prepared and laid him in a trough from which the beasts of burden fed.

6 Three persons clad in snowwhite robes came in and stood before the child and said,

7 All strength, all wisdom and all love be your, Immanuel.

8 Now, on the hills of Bethehem were many flocks of sheep with shepherds guarding them.

9 The shepherds were devout, were men of prayer, and they were waiting for a strong deliverer to come.

10 And when the child of promise came, a man in snow-white robe appeared to them, and they fell back in fear. The man stood forth and said,

11 Fear not! behold I bring you joyful news. At midnight in a cave in Bethehem was born the prophet and the king that you have long been waiting for.

12 And then the shepherds all were glad; they felt that all the hills were filled with messengers of light, who said,

13 All glory be to God on high; peace, peace on earth, good will to men.

14 And then the shepherds came with haste to Bethlehem and to the cave, that they might see and honour him whom men had called Immanuel.

15 Now, when the morning came, a shepherdess whose home was near, prepared a room for Mary, Joseph and the child; and here they tarried many days.

16 And Joseph sent a messenger in haste to Zacharias and Elizabeth to say, The child is born in Bethlehem.

17 And Zacharias and Elizabeth took John and came to Bethlehem with words of cheer.

18 And Mary and Elizabeth recounted all the wonderous things that had transpired. The people joined with them in praising God.

19 According to the custom of the Jews, the child was circumcised; and when they asked, What will you call the child? the mother said, His name is Jesus, as the man of God declared.

CHAPTER 4

1 NOW, Mary took her son, when he was forty days of age, up to the temple in Jerusalem, and he was consecrated by the priest.

2 And then she offered purifying sacrifices for herself, according to the custom of the Jews; a lamb and two young turtle doves.

3 A pious Jew named Simeon was in the temple serving God.

4 From early youth he had been looking for Immanuel to come, and he had prayed to God that he might not depart until his eyes had seen Messiah in the flesh.

5 And when he saw the infant Jesus he rejoiced and said, I now am ready to depart in peace, for I have seen the king.

6 And then he took the enfant in his arms and said, Behold, this child will bring a sword upon my people, Israel, and all the world; but he will break the sword and then the nations will learn war no more.

7 The master's cross I see upon the forehead of this child, and he will conquer by this sign.

8 And in the temple was a widow, four and eighty years of age, and she departed not, but night and day she worshipped God.

9 And when she saw the infant Jesus she exclaimed, Behold Immanuel! Behold the signet cross of the Messiah on his brow!

10 And then the woman knelt to worship him, as God with us, Immanuel; but one, a master, clothed in white, appeared and said,

11 Good woman, stay; take heed to what you do; you may not worship man; this is idolatry.

12 This child is man, the son of man, and worthy of all praise. You shall adore and worship God; him only shall you serve.

13 The woman rose and bowed her head in thankfulness and worshipped God.

14 And Mary took the infant Jesus and returned to Bethlehem.

CHAPTER 5

1 BEYOND the river Euphrates the magians lived; and they were wise, could read the language of the stars, and they divined that one, a master soul, was born; they saw his star above Jerusalem.

2 And there were three among the magian priests who longed to see the master of the coming age; and they took costly gifts and hastened to the West in search of him, the new-born king, that they might honour him.

3 And one took gold, the symbol of nobility; another myrrh, the symbol of dominion and of power; gum-thus the other took, the symbol of the wisdom of the sage.

4 Now when the magians reached Jerusalem the people were amazed, and wondered who they were and why they came.

5 And when they asked, Where is the child that has been born a king? the very throne of Herod seemed to shake.

6 And Herod sent a courtier forth to bring the magians to his court.

7 And when they came they asked again, Where is the new born king? And then they said, While yet beyond the Euphates we saw his star arise, and we have come to honour him.

8 And Herod blanched with fear. He thought, perhaps, the priests were plotting to restore the kingdom of the Jews, and so he said within himself, I will know more about this child that has been born a king.

9 And so he told the magian priests to tarry in the city for a while and he would tell them all about the king.

10 He called in council all the Jewish masters of the law and asked, What have the Jewish prophets said concerning such a one?

11 The Jewish masters answered him and said, The prophets long ago foretold that one would come to rule the tribes of Israel; that this Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

12 They said, The prophet Micah wrote, O Bethlehem Judea, a little place among the Judean hills, yet out of you will one come forth to rule my people, Israel; yea, one who lived in olden times, in very ancient days.

13 Then Herod called the magian priests again and told them what the masters of the Jewish law had said; and then he sent them on the way to Bethlehem.

14 He said, Go search, and if you find the child that has been born a king, return and tell me all, that I may go and honour him.

15 The magians went their way and found the child with Mary in the shepherd's home.

16 They honoured him; bestowed upon him precious gifts and gave him gold, gum- thus and myrrh.

17 These magian priests could read the hearts of men; they read the wickedness of Herod's heart, and knew that he had sworn to kill the new born king.

18 And so they told the secret to the parents of the child, and bid them flee beyond the reach of harm.

19 And then the priests went on their homeward way; they went not through Jerusalem.

20 And Joseph took the infant Jesus and his mother in the night and fled to Egypt land, and with Elihu and Salome in ancient Zoan they abode.

CHAPTER 6

1 NOW, when the magian priests did not return to tell him of the child that had been born a king, King Herod was enraged.

2 And then his courtiers told him of another child in Bethlehem, one born to go before and to prepare the people to receive the king.

3 This angered more and more the king; he called his guards and bid them go to Bethlehem and slay the infant John, as well as Jesus who was born to be a king.

4 He said, Let no mistake be made, and that you may be sure to slay these claimants to my throne, slay all the male children in the town not yet two years of age.

5 The guards went forth and did as Herod bade them do.

6 Elizabeth knew not that Herod sought to slay her son, and she and John were yet in Bethlehem; but when she knew, she took the infant John and hastened to the hills.

7 The murderous guards were near; they pressed upon her hard; but then she knew the secret caves in all the hills, and into one she ran and hid herself and John until the guards were gone.

8 Their cruel task was done; the guards returned and told the story to the king.

9 They said, We know that we have slain the infant king; but John his harbinger, we could not find.

10 The king was angry with his guards because they failed to slay the infant John; He sent them to the tower in chains.

11 And other guards were sent to Zacharias, father of the harbinger, while he was serving in the Holy Place, to say, The King demands that you shall tell where is your son.

12 But Zacharias did not know, and he replied, I am a minister of God, a servant in the Holy Place; how could I know where they have taken him?

13 And when the guards returned and told the King what Zacharias said, he was enraged and said,

14 My guards, go back and tell that wily priest that he is in my hands; that if he does not tell the truth, does not reveal the hiding place of John, his son, then he shall die.

15 The guards went back and told the priest just what the king had said.

16 And Zacharias said, I can but give my life for truth; and if the king does shed my blood the Lord will save my soul.

17 The guards again returned and told the king what Zacharias said.

18 Now, Zacharias stood before the alter in the Holy Place engaged in prayer.

19 A guard approached and with a dagger thrust him through; he fell and died before the curtain of the sanctuary of the Lord.

20 And when the hour of salutation came, for Zacharias daily blessed the priests, he did not come.

21 And after waiting long the priests went to the Holy Place and found the body of the dead.

22 And there was grief, deep grief, in all the land.

23 Now Herod sat upon his throne; he did not seem to move; his courtiers came; the king was dead. HIs sons reigned in his stead.

SECTION III

CHAPTER 7

1 THE son of Herod, Archelaus, reigned in Jerusalem. He was a selfish, cruel king; he put to death all those who did not honour him.

2 He called in council all the wisest men and asked about the infant claimant to his throne.

3 The council said that John and Jesus both were dead; then he was satisfied.

4 Now Joseph, Mary and their sons were down in Egypt in Zoan, and John was with his mother in the Judean Hills.

5 Elihu and Salome sent messengers in haste to find Elizabeth and John. They found them and they brought them to Zoan.

6 Now, Mary and Elizabeth were marvelling much because of their deliverance.

7 Elihu said, It is not strange; there are no happenings; law governs all events.

8 From olden times it was ordained that you should be with us, and in this sacred school be taught.

9 Elihu and Salome took Mary and Elizabeth out to the sacred grove near by where they were wont to teach.

10 Elihu said to Mary and Elizabeth, You may esteem yourself thrice blest, for you are chosen mothers of long promised sons,

11 Who are ordained to lay in solid rock a sure foundation stone on which the temple of the perfect man shall rest--a temple that shall never be destroyed.

12 We measure time by cycle ages, and the gate to every age we deem a mile stone in the journey of the race.

13 An age has passed; the gate unto another age flies open at the touch of time. This is the preparation age of soul, the kingdom of Immanuel, of God in man;

14 And these, your sons, will be the first to tell the news, and preach the gospel of good will to men, and peace on earth.

15 A mighty work is theirs; for carnal men want not the light, they love the dark, and when the light shines in the dark they comprehend it not.

16 We call these sons, Revealers of the Light; but they must have the light before they can reveal the light.

17 And you must teach your sons, and set their souls on fire with love and holy zeal, and make them concious of their missions to the sons of men.

18 Teach them that God and man are one; but that through carnal thoughts and words and deeds, man tore himself away from God; debased himself.

19 Teach that the Holy Breath would make them one again, restoring harmony and peace;

20 That naught can make them one but Love; that God so loved the world that he has clothed his son in flesh that man may comprehend.

21 The only Saviour of the world is love, and Jesus, son of Mary, comes to manifest that love to men.

22 Now, love cannot manifest until its way has been prepared, and naught can rend the rocks and bring down lofty hills and fill the valleys up, amd thus prepare the way, but purity.

23 But purity in life men do not comprehend; and so, it, too, come in flesh.

24 And you, Elizabeth, are blest because your son is purity made flesh, and he shall pave the way for love.

25 This age will comprehend but little of the works of Purity and Love; but not a word is lost, for in the Book of God's Remembrance a registry is made of every thought, and word, and deed;

26 And when the world is ready to receive, lo, God will sent a messenger to open up the book and copy from its sacred pages all the messages of Purity and Love.

27 Then every man of earth will read the words of life in language of his native land, and men will see the light, walk in the light and be the light.

28 And man again will be at one with God.

CHAPTER 8

1 AGAIN Elihu met his pupils in the sacred grove and said,

2 No man lives unto himself; for every living thing is bound by cords to every other living thing.

3 Blest are the pure in heart; for they will love and not demand love in return.

4 They will not do to other men what they would not have other men do unto them.

5 There are two selfs; the higher and the lower self.

6 The higher self is human spirit clothed with soul, made in the form of God.

7 The lower self, the carnal self, the body of desires,is a reflection of the higher self, distorted by the murky ethers of the flesh.

8 The lower self is an illusion, and will pass away; the higher self is God in man, and will not pass away.

9 The higher self is the embodiment of truth reversed, and so is falsehood manifest.

10 The higher self is justice, mercy, love and right; the lower self is what the higher self is not.

11 The lower self breeds hatred, slander, lewdness, murders, theft, and everthing that harms; the higher self is mother of the virtues and the harmonies of life.

12 The lower self is rich in promises, but poor in blessedness and peace; it offers pleasure, joy and satisfying gains; but gives unrest and misery and death.

13 It gives men apples that are lovely to the eye and pleasant to the smell; their cores are full of bitterness and gall.

14 If you would ask me what to study I would say, yourselves; and when you will have studied them, and then would ask me what to study next, I would reply, yourselves.

15 He who knows well his lower self, knows the illusions of the world, knows of the things that pass away; and he who knows his higher self, know God; knows well the things that cannot pass away.

16 Thrice blessed is the man who has made purity and love his very own; he has been ransomed from the perils of the lower self and is himself his higher self.

17 Men seek salvation from an evil that they deem a living monster of the nether world; and they have gods that are but demons in disguise; all powerful, yet full of jealousy and hate and lust;

18 Whose favours must be bought with costly sacrifice of fruits, and of the lives of birds, and animals, and human kind.

19 And yet these gods possess no ears to hear, no eyes to see, no heart to sympathise, no power to save.

20 This evil is myth; these gods are made of air, clothed with shadows of a thought.

21 The only devil from which men must be redeemed is self, the lower self. If man would find his devil he must look within; his name is self.

22 If man would find his saviour he must look within; and when the demon self has been dethroned the saviour, Love, will be exulted to the throne of power.

23 The David of the light is Purity, who slays the strong Goliath of the dark, and seats the saviour, Love, upon the throne.

CHAPTER 9

1 SALOME taught the lesson of the day. She said, All times are not alike. Today the words of man may have the greatest power; to-morrow women teaches best.

2 In all the ways of life the man and woman should walk hand in hand; the one without the other is but half; each has a work to do.

3 But all things teach; each has a time and a season for its own. The sun, the moon have lessons of their own for men; but each one teaches at the appointed time.

4 The lessons of the sun fall down on human hearts like withered leaves upon a stream, if given in the season of the moon and all the stars.

5 To-day one walks in gloom, downhearted and oppressed; tomorrow that same one is filled with joy.

6 To-day the heavens seem full of blessedness and hope; tomorrow hope has fled, and every plan and purpose comes to naught.

7 To-day one wants to curse the very ground on which he treads; tomorrow he is full of love and praise.

8 To-day one hates and scorns and envies and is jealous of the child he loves; tomorrow he has risen above his carnal self, and breathes forth gladness and good-will.

9 A thousand times men wonder why these heights and depths, these light hearts and these sad, are found in every life.

10 They do not know that there are teachers everywhere, each busy with a God- appointed task, and driving home to human hearts the truth.

11 But this is true, and every one receives the lessons that he needs.

12 And Mary said, To-day I am in exultation great; my thoughts and all my life seem lifted up; why am I thus inspired?

13 Salome replied, This is a day of exultation; day of worship and of praise; a day when, in a measure, we may comprehend our Father-God.

14 Then let us study God, the One, the Three, the Seven.

15 Before the worlds were formed all things were One; just Spirit, Universal Breath.

16 And Spirit breathed, and that which was not manifest became the Fire and Thought of Heaven, the Father-God, the Mother-God.

17 And when the Fire and Thought of heaven in union breathed, their son, their only son, was born. This son is Love whom men have called the Christ.

18 Men call the Thought of heaven the Holy Breath.

19 And when the Triune God breathed forth, lo, seven Spirits stood before the throne. These are Elohim, creative spirits of the universe.

20 And these are they who said, Let us make man; and in their image man was made.

21 In early ages of the world the dwellers in the farther East said, Tao is the name of Universal Breath; and in the ancient books we read,

22 No manifesting form has Tao Great, and yet he made and keeps the heavens and earth.

23 No passion has our Tao Great, and yet he causes sun and moon and all the stars to rise and set.

24 No name has Tao Great, and yet he makes all things to grow; he brings in season both the seed time and the harvest time.

25 And Tao Great was One; the One became the Two; the Two became the Three, the Three evolved the Seven, which filled the universe with manifests.

26 And Tao Great gives unto all, the evil and the good, the rain, the dew, the sunshine and the flowers; from his rich stores he feeds them all.

27 And in the same old book we read of man: He has a spirit knit to Tao Great; a soul which lives within the seven Breaths of Tao Great; a body of desires that springs up from the soil of flesh.

28 Now spirit loves the pure, the good, the true; the body of desires extols the selfish self; the soul becomes the battle ground between the two.

29 And blessed is the man whose spirit is triumphant and whose lower self is purified; whose soul is cleansed, becoming fit to be the council chamber of the manifests of Tao Great.

30 Thus closed the lesson of Salome.

CHAPTER 10

1 ELIHU taught; he said, In ancient times a people in the East were worshippers of God, the One, whom they called Brahm.

2 Their laws were just; they lived in peace; they saw the light within; they walked in wisdom's ways.

3 But priests with carnal aims arose, who changed the laws to suit the carnal mind; bound heavy burdens on the poor, and scorned the rules of right; and so the Brahms became corrupt.

4 But in the darkness of the age a few great masters stood unmoved; they loved the name of Brahm; they were great beacon lights before the world.

5 And they perserved inviolate the wisdom of their holy Brahm, and you may read this wisdom in their sacred books.

6 And in Chaldea, Brahm was known. A pious Brahm named Terah lived in Ur; his son was so devoted to the Brahmic faith that he was called A-Brahm; and he was set apart to be the father of the Hebrew race.

7 Now, Terah took his wife and sons and all his flocks and herds to Haran in the West; here Terah died.

8 And Abram took the flocks and herds, and with his kindred journeyed farther west;

9 And when he reached the Oaks of Morah in the land of Canaan, he pitched his tents and there abode.

10 A famine swept the land and Abram took his kindred and his flocks and herds and came to Egypt, and in these fertile plains of Zoan pitched his tent, and here abode.

11 And men still mark the place where Abrahm lived-across the plain.

12 You ask why Abram came to Egypt land? This is the cradle-land of the initiate; all secret things belong to Egypt land; and this is why the masters come.

13 In Zoan Abram taught his science of the stars, and in that sacred temple over there he learned the wisdom of the wise.

14 And when his lessons all were learned, he took his kindred and his flocks and herds and journeyed back to Canaan, and in the plains of Mamre pitched his tent, and there he lived, and there he died.

15 And records of his life and works and of his sons, and of the tribes of Israel, are well preserved in Jewish sacred books.

16 In Persia Brahm was known, and feared. Men saw him as the One, the causeless Cause of all that is, and he was sacred unto them, as Tao to the dwellers of the farther East.

17 The people lived in peace, and justice ruled.

18 But, as in other lands, in Persia priests arose imbued with self and self desires, who outraged Force, Intelligence and Love;

19 Religion grew corrupt, and birds and beasts and creeping things were set apart as gods.

20 In course of time a lofty soul, whom men called Zarathustra, came in flesh.

21 He saw the causeless Spirit, high and lifted up; he saw the weakness of all man appointed gods.

22 He spoke and all of Persia heard; and when he said, One God, one people and one shrine, the altars of the idols fell, and Persia was redeemed.

23 But men must see their Gods with human eyes, and Zarathustra said,

24 The greatest of the Spirits standing near the throne is the Ahura Mazda, who manifests in brightness of the sun.

25 And all the people saw Ahura Mazda in the sun, and they fell down and worshipped him in temples of the sun.

26 And Persia is the magian land where live the priests who saw the star arise to mark the place where Mary's son was born, and were the first to greet him as the Prince of Peace.

27 The precepts and the laws of Zarathustra are preserved in the Avesta which you can read and make your own.

28 But you must know that words are naught till they are made alive; until the lessons they contain become a part of head and heart.

29 Now truth is one; but no one knows the truth until he is the truth. It is recorded in an ancient book.

30 Truth is the leavening power of God; it can transmute the all of life into itself; and when the all of life is truth, then man is truth.

CHAPTER 11

1 AGAIN Elihu taught; he said, The Indian priests became corrupt; Brahm was forgotten in the streets; the rights of men were trampled in the dust.

2 And the a mighty master came, a Buddha of enlightenment, who turned away from wealth and all the honours of the world, and found the Silence in the quiet groves and caves; and he was blest.

3 He preached a gospel of the higher life, and taught man how to honour man.

4 He had no doctrine of the gods to teach; he just knew man, and so his creed was justice, love and righteousness.

5 I quote for you a few of many of the helpful words which Buddha spoke:

6 Hate is a cruel word. If men hate you regard it not; and you can turn the hate of men to love and mercy and goodwill, and mercy is as large as all the heavens.

7 And there is good enough for all. With good destroy the bad; with generous deeds make avarice ashamed; with truth make straight the crooked lines that error draws, for error is but truth distorted, gone astray.

8 And pain will follow him who speaks or acts with evil thoughts, as does the wheel the foot of him who draws the cart.

9 He is a greater man who conquers self than he who kills a thousand men in war.

10 He is the noble man who is himself what he believes what other men should be.

11 Return to him who does you wrong your purest love, and he will cease from doing wrong; for love will purify the heart of him who is beloved as truly as it purifies the heart of him who loves.

12 The words of Buddha are recorded in the Indian sacred books; attend to them, for they are part of the instructions of the Holy Breath.

13 The land of Egypt is the land of secret things.

14 The mysteries of the ages lie lock-bound in our temples and our shines.

15 The masters of all times and climes come here to learn; and when your sons have grown to manhood they will finish all their studies in Egyptian schools.

16 But I have said enough. To-morrow at the rising of the sun we meet again.

CHAPTER 12

1 NOW, when the morning sun arose the masters and their pupils all were in the sacred grove.

2 Salome was the first to speak; she said, Behold the sun! It manifests the power of God who speaks to us through sun and moon and stars;

3 Through mountain, hill and vale; through flower, and plant and tree.

4 God sings for us through bird, and harpsichord, and human voice; he speaks to us through wind and rain and thunder roll; why should we not bow down and worship at his feet?

5 God speaks to hearts apart; and hearts apart must speak to him; and this is prayer.

6 It is not prayer to shout at God, to stand, or sit, or kneel and tell him all about the sins of men.

7 It is not prayer to tell the Holy One how great he is, how good he is, how strong and how compassionate.

8 God is not man to be bought up by praise of man.

9 Prayer is the ardent wish that every way of life be light; that every act be crowned with good; that every living thing be prospered by our ministry.

10 A noble deed, a helpful word is prayer; a fervent, an effectual prayer.

11 The fount of prayer is in the heart; by thought, not words, the heart is carried up to God, where it is blest, Then let us pray.

12 They prayed, but not a word was said; but in that holy Silence every heart was blest.

13 And then Elihu spoke. He said to Mary and Elizabeth, Our words are said; you need not tarry longer here; the call has come; the way is clear, you may return unto your native land.

14 A mighty work is given you to do; you shall direct the minds that will direct the world.

15 Your sons are set apart to lead men up to righteous thoughts, and words, and deeds;

16 To make men know the sinfulness of sin; to lead them from the adoration of the lower self, and all illusive things, and make them conscious of the self that lives with Christ in God.

17 In preparation for their work your sons must walk in many thorny paths.

18 Fierce trials and temptations they will meet, like other men; their loads will not be light, and they will weary be, and faint.

19 And they will know the pangs of hunger and of thirst; and without cause they will be mocked, imprisoned, scourged.

20 To many countries they will go, and at the feet of many masters they will sit, for they must learn like other men.

21 But we have said enough. The blessings of the Three and of the Seven, who stand before the throne, will surely rest upon you evermore.

22 Thus closed the lessons of Elihu and Salome. Three years they taught their pupils in the sacred grove, and if their lessons all were written in a book, lo, it would be a mighty book; of what they said we have the sum.

23 Now, Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth with Jesus and his harbinger, set forth upon their homeward way. They went not by Jerusalem, for Archelaus reigned.

24 They journeyed by the Bitter Sea, and when they reached Engedi hills they rested in the home of Joshua, a near of kin; and here Elizabeth and John abode.

25 But Joseph, Mary and their son went by the Jordan way, and after certain days they reached their home in Nazareth.

SECTION IV

CHAPTER 13

1 ELIZABETH was blest; she spent her time with John, and gave to him the lessons that Elihu and Salome had given her.

2 And John delighted in the wilderness of his home and in the lessons that he learned.

3 Now in the hills were many caves. The cave of David was a-near in which the Hermit of Engedi lived.

4 This hermit was Matheno, priest of Egypt, master from the temple of Sakara.

5 When John was seven years of age Matheno took him to the wilderness and in the cave of David they abode.

6 Matheno taught, and John was thrilled with what the master said, and day by day Matheno opened up to him the mysteries of life.

7 John loved the wilderness; he loved his master and his simple fare. Their food was fruits, and nuts, wild honey and the carob bread.

8 Matheno was an Isrealite, and he attended all the Jewish feasts.

9 When John was nine years old Matheno took him to a great feast in Jerusalem.

10 The wicked Archelaus had been deposed and exiled to a distant land because of selfishness and cruelty, and John was not afraid.

11 John was delighted with his visit to Jerusalem. Matheno told him all about the service of the Jews; the meaning of their rites.

12 John could not understand how sin could be forgiven by killing animals and birds and burning them before the Lord.

13 Matheno said, The God of heaven and earth does not require sacrifice. This custom with its cruel rites was borrowed from the idol worshippers of other lands.

14 No sin was ever blotted out by sacrifice of animal, of bird, or man.

15 Sin is the rushing forth of man into fens of wickedness. If one would get away from sin he must retrace his steps, and find his way out of the fens of wickedness.

16 Return and purify your hearts by love and righteousness and you shall be forgiven.

17 This is the burden of the message that the harbinger shall bring to men.

18 What is forgiveness? John inquired.

19 Matheno said, It is the paying up of debts. A man who wrongs another man can never be forgiven until he rights the wrong.

20 The Vedas says that none can right the wrong but him who does the wrong.

21 John said, If this be true where is the power to forgive except the power that rests in man himself? Can man forgive himself?

22 Matheno said, The door is wide ajar; you see the way of man's return to right, and the forgiveness of his sins.

CHAPTER 14

1 MATHENO and his pupil, John, were talking of the sacred books of olden times, and of the golden precepts they contained, and John exclaimed,

2 These golden precepts are sublime; what need have we of other sacred books?

3 Matheno said, The Spirit of the Holy One cause every thing to come and go in proper time.

4 The sun has his own time to set, the moon to rise, to wax and wane, the stars to come and go, the rain to fall, the winds to blow;

5 The seed times and the harvest times to come; man to be born and man to die.

6 These mighty Spirits cause the nations to be born; they rock them in their cradles, nurtures them to greatest power, and when their tasks are done they wrap them in their winding sheets and lay them in their tombs.

7 Events are many in a nation's life, and in the life of man, that are not pleasant for the time; but in the end the truth appears: whatever comes is for the best.

8 Man was created for a noble part; but he could not be made a free man filled with wisdom, truth and might.

9 If he were hedged about, confined in straits from which he could not pass, then he would be a toy, a mere machine.

10 Creative spirits gave to man a will; and so he has the power to choose.

11 He may attain the greatest heights, or sink to deepest depths; for what he wills to gain he has the power to gain.

12 If he desires strength he has the power to gain that strength; but he must overcome resistances to reach the goal; no strength is ever gained in idleness.

13 So, in the whirl of many-sided conflicts man is placed where he must strive to extricate himself.

14 In every conflict man gains strength; with every conquest he attains to greater heights. With every day he finds new duties and new cares.

15 Man is not carried over dangerous pits, nor helped to overcome his foes. He is himself his army, and his sword and shield; and he is captain of his hosts.

16 The Holy Ones just light his way. Man never has been left without a beacon light to guide.

17 And he has ever had a lighted lamp in hand that he may see the dangerous rocks, the turbid streams amd treacherous pits.

18 And so the Holy Ones have judged; when men have needed added light a master soul has come to earth to give the light.

19 Before the Vedic days the world had many sacred books to light the way; and when man needed greater light the Vedas, the Avesta and the books of Tao Great appeared to show the way to greater heights.

20 And in the proper place the Hebrew Bible, with its Law, its Prophets and its Psalms, appeared for man's enlightenment.

21 But years have passed and men have need of greater light.

22 And now the Day Star from on high begins to shine; and Jesus is the flesh-made messenger to show that light to men.

23 And you, my pupil, you have been ordained to harbinger the coming day.

24 But you must keep that purity of heart you now possess; and you must light your lamp directly from the coals that burn upon the altar of the Holy Ones.

25 And then your lamp will be transmuted to a boundless flame, and you will be a living torch whose light will shine wherever man abides.

26 But in the ages yet to come, man will attain to greater heights, and lights still more intense will come.

27 And then, at last, a mighty master soul will come to earth to light the way up to the throne of perfect man.

CHAPTER 15

1 WHEN John was twelve years old his mother died, and neighbours laid her body in a tomb among her kindred in the Hebron burying ground, and near to Zacharias' tomb.

2 And John was deeply grieved; he wept. Matheno said, It is not well to weep because of death.

3 Death is no enemy of man; it is a friend who, when the work of life is done, just cuts the cord that binds the human boat to earth, that it may sail on smoother seas.

4 No language can describe a mother's worth, and yours was tried and true. But she was not called hence until her tasks were done.

5 The calls of death are always for the best, for we are solving problems there as well as here; and one is sure to find himself where he can solve his problems best.

6 It is but selfishness that makes one wish to call again to earth departed souls.

7 Then let your mother rest in peace. Just let her noble life be strength and inspiration unto you.

8 A crisis in your life has come, and you must have a clear conception of the work that you are called to do.

9 The sages of the ages call you harbinger. The prophets look to you and say, He is Elijah come again.

10 Your mission here is that of harbinger; for you will go before Messiah's face to pave his way, and make the people ready to receive their king.

11 This readiness is purity of heart; none but the purity in heart can recognise the king.

12 To teach men to be pure in heart, you must yourself be pure in heart, and word, and deed.

13 In infancy the vow for you was made and you became a Nazarite. The razor shall not touch your face nor head, and you shall taste not wine nor fiery drinks.

14 Men need a pattern for their lives; they love to follow, not to lead.

15 The man who stands upon the corners of the paths and points the way, but does not go, is just a pointer; and a block of wood can do the same.

16 The teacher treads the way; on every span of ground he leaves his footprints clearly cut, which all can see and be assured that he, their master went that way.

17 Men comprehend the inner life by what they see and do. They come to God through ceremonies and forms.

18 And so when you would make men know that sins are washed away by purity in life, a rite symbolic may be introduced.

19 In water wash the bodies of the people who would turn away from sin and strive for purity in life.

20 This rite of cleansing is a preparation rite and they who thus are cleansed comprise the Church of Purity.

21 And you shall say, You men of Israel, hear; Reform and wash; become the sons of purity, and you shall be forgiven.

22 This rite of cleansing and this church are but symbolic of the cleansing of the soul by purity in life, and of the kingdom of the soul, which does not come from outward show, but is the church within.

23 Now, you may never point the way and tell the multitudes to do what you have never done; but you must go before and show the way.

24 You are to teach that men must wash; so you must lead the way, your body must be washed, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul.

25 John said, Why need I wait? May I not go at once and wash?

26 Matheno said, 'Tis well, and then they went down to the Jordan ford, and east fo Jericho, just where the hosts of Israel crossed when first they entered Canaan, they tarried for a time.

27 Matheno taught the harbinger, and he explained to him the inner meaning of the cleansing rite and how to wash himself and how to wash the multitude.

28 And in the river Jordan John was washed; then they returned unto the wilderness.

29 Now in Engedi's hills Matheno's work was done and he and John went down to Egypt. They rested not until they reached the temple of Sakara in the valley of the Nile.

30 For many years Matheno was a master in this temple of the Brotherhood, and when he told about the life of John and of his mission to the sons of men, the hierophant with joy received the harbinger and he was called the Brother Nazarite.

31 For eighteen years John lived and wrought within these temple gates; and here he conquered self, became a master mind and learned the duties of the harbinger.

SECTION V

CHAPTER 16

1 THE home of Joseph was on Marmion Way in Nazareth; here Mary taught her son the lessons of Elihu and Salome.

2 And Jesus greatly loved the Vedic and the Avesta; but more than all he loved to read the Psalms of David and the pungent words of Solomon.

3 The Jewish books of prophecy were his delight; and when he reached his seventh year he needed not the books to read, for he had fixed in memory every word.

4 Joachim and his wife, grandparents of child Jesus, made a feast in honour of the child, and all their near of kin were guests.

5 And Jesus stood before the guests and said, I had a dream, and in my dream I stood before a sea, upon a sandy beach.

6 The waves upon the sea were high; a storm was raging on the deep.

7 Some one gave me a wand. I took the wand and touched the sand, and every grain of sand became a living thing; the beach was all a mass of beauty and of song.

8 I touched the waters at my feet, and they were changed to trees, and flowers, and singing birds, and every thing was praising God.

9 And some one spoke, I did not see the one who spoke, I heard the voice, which said, There is no death.

10 Grandmother Anna loved the child; she laid her hand on Jesus' head and said, I saw you stand beside the sea; I saw you touch the sand and waves; I saw them turn to living things and then I knew the meaning of the dream.

11 The sea of life rolls high; the storms are great. The multitude of men are idle, listless, waiting, like dead sand upon the beach.

12 Your wand is truth. With this you touch the multitudes, and every man becomes a messenger of holy light and life.

13 You touch the waves upon the sea of life; their turmoils cease; the very winds become a song of praise.

14 There is no death, because the wand of truth can change the dryest bones to living things, and bring the loveliest flowers from stagnant ponds, and turn the most discordant notes to harmony and praise.

15 Joachim said, My son, today you pass the seventh milestone fo your way of life, for you are seven years of age, and we will give to you, as a remembrance of this day, whatever you desire; choose that which will afford you most delight.

16 And Jesus said, I do not want a gift, for I am satisfied. If I could make a multitude of children glad upon this day I would be greeatly pleased.

17 Now, there are many hungry boys and girls in Nazareth who would be pleased to eat with us this feast and share with us the pleasures of this day.

18 The richest gift that you can give to me is your permission to go out and find these needy ones and bring them here that they may feast with us.

19 Joachim said, 'Tis well; go out and find the needy boys and girls and bring them here; we will prepare enough for all.

20 And Jesus did not wait; he ran; he entered every dingy hut and cabin of the town; he did not waste his words; he told his mission everywhere.

21 And in a little time one hundred and three-score of happy, ragged boys and girls were following him up Marmion Way.

22 The guests made way; the banquet hall was filled with Jesus' guests, and Jesus and his mother helped to serve.

23 And there was food enough for all, and all were glad; and so the birthday gift of Jesus was a crown of righteousness.

CHAPTER 17

1 NOW, Rabbi Barachia of the synagogue of Nazareth, was aid to Mary in the teaching of her son.

2 One morning after service in the synagogue the rabbi said to Jesus as he sat in silent thought, Which is the greatest of the Ten Commands?

3 And Jesus said, I do not see a greatest of the Ten Commands. I see a golden cord that runs through all the Ten Commands that binds them fast and makes them one.

4 This cord is love, and it belongs to every word of all the Ten Commands.

5 If one is full of love he can do nothing else than worship God; for God is love.

6 If one is full of love, he cannot kill; he cannot falsely testify; he cannot covet; can do naught but honour God and man.

7 If one is full of love he does not need commands of any kind.

8 And Rabbi Barachia said, Your words are seasoned with the salt of wisdom that is from above. Who is the teacher who has opened up this truth to you.

9 And Jesus said, I do not know that any teacher opens up this truth for me. It seems to me that truth was never shut; that it was always opened up, for truth is one and it is everywhere.

10 And if we open up the windows of our minds the truth will enter in and make herself at home; for truth can find her way through any crevice, any window, any open door.

11 The rabbi said, What hand is strong enough to open up the windows and the doors of mind so truth can enter in?

12 And Jesus said, It seems to me that love, the golden cord that binds the Ten Commands in one, is strong enough to open any human door so that the truth can enter in and cause the heart to understand.

13 Now, in the evening Jesus and his mother sat alone, and Jesus said,

14 The rabbi seems to think that God is partial in his treatment of the sons of men; that Jews are favoured and are blest above all other men.

15 I do not see how God can have his favourites and be just.

16 Are not Samaritans and Greeks and Romans just as much the children of the Holy One as are the Jews?

17 I think the Jews have built a wall about themselves, and they see nothing on the other side of it.

18 They do not know that flowers are blooming over there; that sowing times and reaping times belong to anybody but the Jews.

19 It surely would be well if we could break down these barriers down so that the Jews might see that God has other children that are just as greatly blest.

20 I want to go from Jewry land and meet my kin in other countries of my Fatherland.

CHAPTER 18

1 THE great feast of the Jews was on, and Joseph, Mary and their son, and many of their kin, went to Jerusalem. The child was ten years old.

2 And Jesus watched the butchers kill the lambs and birds and burn them on the altar in the name of God.

3 HIs tender heart was shocked at this display of cruelty; he asked the serving priest, What is the purpose of this slaughter of the beasts and birds? Why do you burn their flesh before the Lord?

4 The priest replied, This is our sacrifice for sin. God has commanded us to do these things, and said that in these sacrifices all our sins are blotted out.

5 And Jesus said, Will you be kind enough to tell when God proclaimed that sins are blotted out by sacrifice of any kind?

6 Did not David say that God requires a sacrifice for sin? that it is a sin itself to bring before his face burnt offerings, as offerings for sin? Did not Isaiah say the same?

7 The priest replied, My child you are beside yourself. Do you know more about the laws of God than all the priests of Israel? This is no place for boys to show their wit.

8 But Jesus heeded not his taunts; he went to Hillel, chief of the Sanhedrim, and he said to him,

9 Rabboni, I would like to talk with you; I am disturbed about this service of the pascal feast. I thought the temple was the house of God where love and kindness dwell.

10 Do you not hear the bleating of those lambs, the pleading of those doves that men are killing over there? Do you not smell that awful stench that comes from burning flesh?

11 Can man be kind and just, and still be filled with cruelty?

12 A God that takes delight in sacrifice, in blood and burning flesh, is not my Father- God.

13 I want to find a God of love, and you, my master, you are wise, and surely you can tell me where to find the God of love.

14 But Hillel could not give an answer to the child. His heart was stirred with sympathy. He called the child to him; he laid his hand upon his head and wept.

15 He said, There is a God of love, and you shall come with me; and hand in hand we will go forth and find the God of love.

16 And Jesus said, Why need we go? I thought that God was everywhere. Can we not purify our hearts and drive out cruelty, and every wicked thought, and make within, a temple where the God of love can dwell?

17 The master of the great Sanhedrim felt as though he was himself the child, and that before him stood Rabboni, master of the higher law.

18 He said within himself, This child is surely prophet sent from God.

19 Then Hillel sought the parents of the child, and asked that Jesus might abide with them, and learn the precepts of the law, and all the lessons of the temple priests.

20 His parents gave consent, and Jesus did abide within the holy temple in Jerusalem, and Hillel taught him every day.

21 And every day the master learned from Jesus many lessons of the higher life.

22 The child remained with Hillel in the temple for a year, and then returned unto his home in Nazareth; and there he wrought with Joseph as a carpenter.

CHAPTER 19

1 AGAIN the great feast in Jerusalem was on, and Joseph, Mary and their son were there. THe child was twelve years old.

2 And there were Jews and proselytes from many countries in Jerusalem.

3 And Jesus sat among the priests and doctors in the temple hall.

4 And Jesus opened up a book of prophecy and read:

5 Woe, woe to Ariel, the town where David dwelt! I will dismantle Ariel, and she shall groan and weep:

6 And I will camp against her round about with hostile posts;

7 And I will bring her low and she shall speak out of the earth; with muffled voice like a familiar spirit shall she speak; yea she shall only whisper forth her speech;

8 And foes unnumbered, like the grains of dust, shall come upon her suddenly.

9 The Lord of Hosts will visit her with thunder and with tempest, and with storm; with earthquake, and with devouring flames.

10 Lo, all these people have deserted me. They draw to me with speech, and with their lips they honour me; their hearts are far removed from me; their fear for me is that inspired by man.

11 And I will breath upon my people, Isreal; the wisdom of their wise men shall be lost; the understanding of their prudent men shall not be found.

12 My people seek to hide their counsel from the Lord, so that their works may not be seen. They fain would cover up their works with darkness of the night, and say, Who sees us now? Who knows us now?

13 Poor, foolish men! shall that which has been made say of its maker, He is naught, I made myself?

14 Or shall the pot speak out and say to him, who made the pot, You have no skill; you do not know?

15 But this will not for ever be; the time will come when Lebanon will be a fruitful field, and fruitful fields will be transformed to groves.

16 And on that day the deaf will hear the words of God; the blind will read the Book of God's Remembrance.

17 And suffering ones will be relieved, and they will have abundant joy; and every one that needs will be supplied; and it will come to pass that all the foolish will be wise.

18 The people will return and sanctify the Holy One, and in their heart of hearts, lo, they will reverence him.

19 When Jesus had thus read he put aside the book and said, You masters of the law, will you make plain for us the prophet's words?

20 Now, Hillel sat among the masters of the law, and he stood forth and said, Perhaps our young rabboni who has read the word will be interpreter.

21 And Jesus said, The Ariel of the prophet is our own Jerusalem.

22 By selfishness and cruelty this people has become a stench unto the Elohim.

23 The prophet saw these days from far, and of these times he wrote.

24 Our doctors, lawyers, priests and scribes oppress the poor, while they themselves in luxury live.

25 The sacrifices and the offerings of Israel are but abomination unto God. They only sacrifice that God requires is self.

26 Because of this injustice and this cruelty of man to man, the Holy One has spoken of this commonwealth:

27 Lo, I will overturn, yes, I will overturn, it shall be overturned, and it shall be no more until he comes whose right it is and I will give it unto him.

28 In all the world there is one law of right, and he who breaks that law will suffer grief; for God is just.

29 And Israel has gone far astray; has not regarded justice, nor the rights of man, and God demands that Israel shall reform, and turn again to ways of holiness.

30 And if our people will not hear the voice of God, lo, nations from afar will come and sack Jerusalem, and tear our temple down, and take our people captive into foreign lands.

31 But this will not for ever be; though they be scattered far and wide, and wander here and there among the nations of the earth, like sheep that have no shepherd guide.

32 The time will come when God will bring again the captive hosts; for Israel shall return and dwell in peace.

33 And after many years our temple our temple shall be built again, and one whom God will honour, one in whom the pure in heart delights will come and glorify the house of God, and reign in righteousness.

34 When Jesus had thus said, he stepped aside, and all the people were amazed and said, This surely is the Christ.

CHAPTER 20

1 THE great feast of the pasch was ended and the Nazarenes were journeying towards their homes.

2 And they were in Samaria, and Mary said, Where is my son? No one had seen the boy.

3 And Joseph sought among their kindred who were on their way to Galilee; but they had seen him not.

4 Then Joseph, Mary, and a son of Zebedee, returned and sought through all Jerusalem, but they could find him not.

5 And then they went up to the temple courts and asked the guards, Have you seen Jesus, a fair-haired boy, with deep blue eyes, twelve years of age, about these courts?

6 The guards replied, Yes, he is in the temple now disputing with the doctors of the law.

7 And they went in, and found him as the guards had said.

8 And Mary said, Why Jesus, why do you treat your parents thus? Lo, we have sought two days for you. We feared that some great harm had overtaken you.

9 And Jesus said, Do you not know that I must be about my Father's work?

10 But he went round and pressed the hand of every doctor of the law and said, I trust that we may meet again.

11 And then he went forth with his parents on their way to Nazareth; and when they reached their home he wrought with Joseph as a carpenter.

12 One day as he was bringing forth the tools for work he said,

13 These tools remind me of the ones we handle in the workshop of the mind where things were made of thought and where we build up character.

14 We use the square to measure all our lines, to straighten out the crooked places of the way, and make the corners of our conduct square.

15 We use the compass to draw circles round our passions and desires to keep them in the bounds of righteousness.

16 We use the axe to cut away the knotty, useless and ungainly parts and make the character symmetrical.

17 We use the hammer to drive home the truth, and pound it in until it is a part of every part.

18 We use the plane to smooth the rough, uneven surfaces of joint, and block, and board that go to build the temple for the truth.

19 The chisel, line, the plummet and the saw all have their uses in the workshop of the mind.

20 And then this ladder with its trinity of steps, faith, hope and love; on it we climb up to the dome of purity in life.

21 And on the twelve-step ladder we ascend until we reach the pinnacle of that which life is spent to build--the Temple of Perfected Man.

SECTION VI

CHAPTER 21

1 A ROYAL prince of India, Ravanna of Orissa in the south, was at the Jewish feast.

2 Ravanna was a man of wealth; and he was just, and with a band of Brahmic priests sought wisdom in the West.

3 When Jesus stood among the Jewish priests and read and spoke, Ravanna heard and was amazed.

4 And when he asked who Jesus was, from whence he came and what he was, chief Hillel said,

5 We call this child the Day Star from on high, for he has come to bring to men a light, the light of life; to lighten up the way of men and to redeem his people, Israel.

6 And Hillel told Ravanna all about the child; about the prophecies concerning him; about the wonders of the night when he was born; about the visit of the magian priests;

7 About the way in which he was protected from the wrath of evil men; about his flight to Egypt-land, and how he then was serving with his father as a carpenter in Nazareth.

8 Ravanna was entranced, and asked to know the way to Nazareth, that he might go and honour such a one as son of God.

9 And with his gorgeous train he journeyed on the way and came to Nazareth of Galilee.

10 He found the object of his search engaged in building dwellings for the sons of men.

11 And when he first saw Jesus he was climbing up a twelve step ladder, and he carried in his hands a compass, square and axe.

12 Ravanna said, All hail, most favoured son of heaven!

13 And at the inn Ravanna made a feast for all the people of the town; and Jesus and his parents were honoured guests.

14 For certain days Ravanna was a guest in Joseph's home on Marmion Way; he sought to learn the secret of the wisdom of the son; but it was all to great for him.

15 And then he asked that he might be the patron of the child; might take him to the East where he could learn the wisdom of the Brahms.

16 And Jesus longed to go that he might learn; and after many days his parents gave consent.

17 Then, with proud heart, Ravanna with his train, began the journey towards the rising sun; and after many days they crossed the Sind, and reached the province of Orissa, and the palace of the prince.

18 The Brahmic priests were glad to welcome home the prince; with favour they received the Jewish boy.

19 And Jesus was accepted as a pupil in the temple Jagannath; and here learned the Vedas and the Manic laws.

20 The Brahmic masters wondered at the clear conceptions of the child, and often were amazed when he explained to them the meaning of the laws.

CHAPTER 22

1 AMONG the priests of Jagannath was one who loved the Jewish boy. Lamaas Bramas was the name by which the priest was known.

2 One day as Jesus and Lamaas walked alone in plaza Jagannath, Lamaas said, My Jewish master, what is truth?

3 And Jesus said, Truth is the only thing that changes not.

4 In all the world there are two things; the one is truth; the other falsehood is; and truth is that which is, and falsehood that which seems to be.

5 Now truth is aught, and has no cause, and yet it is the cause of everything.

6 Falsehood is naught, and yet it is the manifest of aught.

7 Whatever has been made will be unmade; that which begins must end.

8 All things that can be seen by human eyes are manifests of aught, are naught, and so must pass away.

9 The things we see are but reflexes just appearing, while the ethers vibrate so and so, and when conditions change they disappear.

10 The Holy Breath is truth; is that which was, and is, and evermore shall be; it cannot change nor pass away.

11 Lamaas said, You answer well; now, what is man?

12 And Jesus said, Man is the truth and falsehood strangely mixed.

13 Man is the Breath made flesh; so truth and falsehood are conjoined in him; and they strive, and naught goes down and man as truth abides.

14 Again Lamaas asked, What do you say of power?

15 And Jesus said, It is a manifest; is the result of force; it is but naught; it is illusion, nothing more. Force changes not, but power changes as the ethers change.

16 Force is the will of God and is omnipotent, and power is that will in manifest, directed by the Breath.

17 There is power in the winds, a power in the waves, a power in the lightning's stroke, a power in the human arm, a power in the eye.

18 The ethers cause there powers to be, and thought of Elohim, of angel, man, or other thinking thing, directs the force; when it has done its work the power is no more.

19 Again Lamaas asked, Of understanding what have you to say?

20 And Jesus said, It is the rock on which man builds himself; it is the gnosis of the aught and of the naught, of falsehood and of truth.

21 It is the knowledge of the lower self; the sensing of the powers of man himself.

22 Again Lamaas asked, Of wisdom what have you to say?

23 And Jesus said, It is the consciousness that man is aught; that God and man are one;

24 That naught is naught; that power is but illusion; that heaven and earth and hell are not above, around, below, but in; which in the light of aught becomes the naught, and God is all.

25 Lamaas asked, Pray, what is faith?

26 And Jesus said, Faith is the surety of the omnipotence of God and man; the certainty that man will reach the deific life.

27 Salvation is a ladder reaching from the heart of man to heart of God.

28 It has three steps; Belief is first, and this is what man thinks, perhaps, is truth.

29 And faith is next, and this is what man knows is truth.

30 Fruition is the last, and this is man himself, the truth.

31 Belief is lost in faith; and in fruition is lost; and man is saved when he has reached deific life; when he and God are one.

CHAPTER 23

1 NOW, Jesus with his friend Lamaas went through all the regions of Orissa, and the valley of the Ganges, seeking wisdom from the sudras and the visyas and the masters.

2 Benares of the Ganges was a city rich in culture and in learning; here the two rabbonis tarried many days.

3 And Jesus sought to learn the Hindu art of healing, and became the pupil of Udraka, greatest of the Hindu healers.

4 Udraka taught the uses of the waters, plants and earths; of heat and cold; sunshine and shade; of light and dark.

5 He said, The laws of nature are the laws of health, and he who lives according to these laws is never sick.

6 Transgression of these laws is sin, and he who sins is sick.

7 He who obeys the laws, maintains an equilibrium in all his parts, and thus insures true harmony; and harmony is health, while discord is disease.

8 That which produces harmony in all the parts of man is medicine, insuring health.

9 The body is a harpsichord, and when its strings are too relaxed, or are too tense, the instrument is out of tune, the man is sick.

10 Now, everything in nature has been made to meet the wants of man; so everything is found in medical arcanes.

11 And when the harpsichord of man is out of tune the vast expanse of nature may be searched for remedy; there is a cure for every ailment of the flesh.

12 Of course the will of man is remedy supreme; and by the vigorous exercise of will, man way make tense a chord that is relaxed, or may relax one that is too tense, and thus may heal himself.

13 When man has reached the place where he has faith in God, in nature and himself, he knows the Word of power; his word is balm for every wound, is cure for all the ills of life.

14 The healer is the man who can inspire faith. The tongue may speak to human ears, but souls are reached by souls that speak to souls.

15 He is the forceful man whose soul is large, and who can enter into souls, inspiring hope in those who have no hope, and faith in those who have no faith in God, in nature, nor in man.

16 There is no universal balm for those who tread the common walks of life.

17 A thousand things produce inharmony and make men sick; a thousand things may tune the harpsichord, and make men well.

18 That which is medicine for one is poison for another one; so one is healed by what would kill another one.

19 An herb may heal the one; a drink of water may restore another one; a mountain breeze may bring to life one seeming past all help;

20 A coal of fire, or bit of earth, may cure another one; and one may wash in certain streams, or pools, and be made whole.

21 The virtue from the hand or breath may heal a thousand more; but love is queen. Thought, reinforced by love, is God's great sovereign balm.

22 But many of the broken chords in life, and discords that so vex the soul, are caused by evil spirits of the air that men see not; that lead men on through ignorance to break the laws of nature and of God.

23 These powers act like demons, and they speak; they rend the man; they drive him to despair.

24 But he who is a healer, true, is master of the soul, and can, by force of will, control these evil ones.

25 Some spirits of the air are master spirits and are strong, too strong for human power alone; but man has helpers in the higher realms that may be importuned, and they will help to drive the demons out.

26 Of what this great physician said, this is the sum. And Jesus bowed his head in recognition of the wisdom of this master soul, and went his way.

CHAPTER 24

1 FOUR years the Jewish boy abode in temple Jagannath.

2 One day he sat among the priests and said to them, Pray, tell me all about your views of castes; why do you say that all men are not equal in the sight of God?

3 A master of their laws stood forth and said, The Holy One whom we call Brahm, made men to suit himself, and men should not complain.

4 In the beginning days of human life Brahm spoke, and four men stood before his face.

5 Now, from the mouth of Parabrahm the first man came; and he was white, was like the Brahm himself; a brahman he was called.

6 And he was high and lifted up; above all want he stood; he had no need of toil.

7 And he was called the priest of Brahm, the holy one to act for Brahm in all affairs of earth.

8 The second man was red, and from the hand of Parabrahm he came; and he was called shatriya.

9 And he was made to be the king, the ruler and the warrior, whose highest ordained duty was protection of the priest.

10 And from the inner parts of Parabrahm the third man came; and he was called a visya.

11 He was a yellow man, and his it was to till the soil, and keep the flocks and herds.

12 And from the feet of Parabrahm the fourth man came; and he was black; and he was called the sudras, one of low estate.

13 The sudras is the servant of the race of men; he has no rights that others need respect; he may not hear the Vedas read, and it means death to him to look into the face of priest, or king, and naught but death can free him from his state of servitude.

14 And Jesus said, Then Parabrahm is not a God of justice and of right; for with his own strong hand he has exulted one and brought another low.

15 And Jesus said no more to them, but looking up to heaven he said,

16 My Father-God, who was, and is, and evermore shall be; who holds within thy hands the scales of justice and of right;

17 Who in the boundlessness of love has made all men to equal be. The white, the black, the yellow, and the red can look up in thy face and say, Our Father-God.

18 Thou Father of the human race, I praise thy name.

19 And all the priests were angered by the words which Jesus spoke; they rushed upon him, seized him, and would have done him harm.

20 But then Lamaas raised his hand and said, You priests of Brahm, beware! you know not what you do; wait till you know the God this youth adores.

21 I have beheld this boy at prayer when light above the light of the sun surrounded him. Beware! his God may be more powerful than Brahm.

22 If Jesus speaks the truth, if he is right, you cannot force him to desist; if he is wrong and you are right, his words come to naught, for right is might, and in the end it will prevail.

23 And then the priests refrained from doing Jesus harm; but one spoke out and said,

24 Within this holy place has not this reckless youth done violence to Parabrahm? The law is plain; it says, He who reviles the name of Brahm shall die.

25 Lamaas pled for Jesus' life; and then the preists just seized a scourge of cords and drove him from the place.

26 And Jesus went his way and found shelter with the black and yellow men, the servants and the tiller of the soil.

27 To them he first made known the gospel of equality; he told them of the Brotherhood of Man, the Fatherhood of God.

28 The common people heard him with delight, and learned to pray, Our Father-God who art in heaven.

CHAPTER 25

1 WHEN Jesus saw the sudras and the farmers in such multitudes draw near to hear his words, he spoke a parable to them; he said:

2 A nobleman possessed a great estate; he had four sons, and he would have them all grow strong by standing forth and making use of all the talents they possessed.

3 And so he gave to each a share of his great wealth, and bade them go their way.

4 The eldest son was full of self; he was ambitious, shrewd and quick of thought.

5 He said within himself, I am the oldest son, and these, my brothers, must be servants at my feet.

6 And then he called his brothers forth; and one he made a puppet king; gave him a sword and charged him to defend the whole estate.

7 To one he gave the use of lands and flowing wells, and flocks and herds, and bade him till the soil, and tend the flocks and herds and bring to him the choicest of his gains.

8 And to the other one he said, You are the youngest son; the broad estate has been assigned; you have no part nor lot in anything that is.

9 And he took a chain and bound his brother to a naked rock upon a desert plain, and said to him,

10 You have been born a slave; you have no rights, and you must be contented with your lot, for there is no release for you until you die and go from hence.

11 Now, after certain years the day of reckoning came; the nobleman called up his sons to render their accounts.

12 And when he knew that one, his eldest son, had seized the whole estate and made his brothers slaves,

13 He seized him, tore his priestly robes away and put him in a prison cell, where he was forced to stay until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.

14 And then, as though they were but toys, he threw in air the throne and armour of the puppet king; he broke his sword, and put him in a prison cell.

15 And then he called his farmer son and asked him why he had not rescued from his galling chains his brother on the desert plains.

16 And when the son made answer not, the father took unto himself the flocks and herds, the fields and flowing wells,

17 And sent his farmer son to live out on the desert sands, until he had atoned for all the wrongs that he had done.

18 And then the father went and found his youngest son in cruel chains; with his own hands he broke the chains and bade his son to go in peace.

19 Now, when the sons had all paid up their debts they came again and stood before the bar of right.

20 They all had learned their lessons, learned them well; and then the father once again divided the estate.

21 He gave to each a share, and bade them recognise the law of equity and right, and live in peace.

22 And one, a sudras, spoke and said, May we who are but slaves, who are cut down like beasts to satisfy the whims of priests--may we have hope that one will come to break our chains and set us free?

23 And Jesus said, The Holy One has said, that all his children shall be free; and every soul is child of God.

24 The sudras shall be free as priest; the farmer shall walk hand in hand with king; for all the world will own the brotherhood of man.

25 O men, arise! be conscious of your powers, for he who wills need not remain a slave.

26 Just live as you would have your brother live; unfold each day as does the flower; for earth is yours, and heaven is yours, and God will bring you to your own.

27 And all the people cried, Show us the way that like the flower we may unfold and come unto our own.

CHAPTER 26

1 IN all the cities of Orissa Jesus taught. At Katak, by the river side, he taught, and thousands of the people followed him.

2 One day a car of Jagannath was hauled along by scores of frenzied men, and Jesus said,

3 Behold, a form without a spirit passes by; a body with no soul; a temple with no altar fires.

4 This car of Krishna is an empty thing, for Krishna is not there.

5 This car is but an idol of a people drunk on wine of carnal things.

6 God lives not in the noise of tongues; there is no way to him from any idol shrine.

7 God's meeting place with man is in the heart, and in a still small voice he speaks; and he who hears is still.

8 And all the people said, Teach us to know the Holy One who speaks within the heart, God of the still small voice.

9 And Jesus said, The Holy Breath cannot be seen with mortal eyes; nor can men see the Spirits of the Holy;

10 But in their image man was made, and he who looks into the face of man, looks at the image of the God who speaks within.

11 And when man honours man he honours God, and what man does for man, he does for God.

12 And you must bear in mind that when man harms in thought, or word or deed another man, he does a wrong to God.

13 If you would serve the God who speaks within the heart, just serve your near of kin, and those that are no kin, the stranger at your gates, the foe who seeks to do you harm;

14 Assist the poor, and help the weak; do harm to none, and covet not what is not yours;

15 Then, with your tongue the Holy One will speak; and he will smile behind your tears, will light your countenance with joy, and fill your hearts with peace.

16 And then the people asked. To whom shall we bring gifts? Where shall we offer sacrifice?

17 And Jesus said, Our Father-God asks not for needless waste of plant,of grain, of dove, of lamb.

18 That which you burn on any shrine you throw away. No blessings can attend the one who takes the food from hungry mouths to be destroyed by fire.

19 When you would offer sacrifice unto our God, just take your gift of grain, or meat and lay it on the table of the poor.

20 From it an incense will arise to heaven, which will return to you with blessedness.

21 Tear down your idols; they can hear you not; turn all your sacrificial altars into fuel for the flames.

22 Make human hearts your altars, and burn your sacrifices with the fire of love.

23 And all the people were entranced, and would have worshiped Jesus as a God; but Jesus said,

24 I am your brother man just come to show to way to God; you shall not worship man; praise God, the Holy One.

CHAPTER 27

1 THE fame of Jesus as a teacher spread through all the land, and people came from near and far to hear his words of truth.

2 At Behar, on the sacred river of the Brahms, he taught for many days.

3 And Ach, a wealthy man of Behar, made a feast in honour of his guest, and he invited every one to come.

4 And many came; among them thieves, extortioners, and courtesans. And Jesus sat with them and taught; but they who followed him were much aggrieved because he sat with thieves and courtesans.

5 And they upbraided him; they said, Rabboni, master of the wise, this day will be an evil day for you.

6 The news will spread that you consort with courtesans and thieves, and men will shun you as they shun an asp.

7 And Jesus answered them and said, A master never screens himself for sake of reputation or of fame.

8 These are but worthless baubles of the day; they rise and sink, like empty bottles on a stream; they are illusions and will pass away;

9 They are the indices to what the thoughtless think; they are the noise that people make; and shallow men judge merit by noise.

10 God and all master men judge men by what they are and not by what they seem to be; not by their reputation and their fame.

11 These courtesans and theives are children of my Father-God; their soul are just as precious in his sight as yours, or of the Brahmic priests.

12 And they are working out the same life sums that you, who pride yourselves on your respectability and moral worth, are working out.

13 And some of them have solved much harder sums than you have solved, you men who look at them with scorn.

14 Yes, they are sinners, and confess their guilt, while you are guilty, but are shrewd enough to have polished coat to cover up your guilt.

15 Suppose you men who scorn these courtesans, these drunkards and these thieves, who know that you are pure in heart and life, that you are better far than they, stand forth that men may know just who you are.

16 The sin lies in the wish, in the desire, not in the act.

17 You covet other people's wealth; you look at charming forms, and deep within your hearts you lust for them.

18 Deceit you practice every day, and wish for gold, for honour and for fame, just for your selfish selves.

19 The man who covets is a thief, and she who lusts is courtesan. You who are none of these speak out.

20 Nobody spoke; the accusers held their peace.

21 And Jesus said, The proof this day is all against those who have accused.

22 The pure in heart do not accuse. The vile in heart who want to cover up their guilt with holy smoke of piety are ever loathing drunkard, thief and courtesan.

23 This loathing and this scorn is mockery, for if the tinselled coat of reputation could be torn away, the loud professor would be found to revel in his lust, deceit and many forms of secret sin.

24 The man who spends his time in pulling other people's weeds can have no time to pull his own, and all the choicest flowers of life will soon be choked and die, and nothing will remain but darnel, thistles, burs.

25 And Jesus spoke a parable: he said, Behold, a farmer had great fields of ripened grain, and when he looked he saw that blades of many stalks of wheat were bent and broken down.

26 And when he sent his reapers forth he said, We will not save the stalks of wheat that have the broken blades.

27 Go forth and cut and burn the stalks with broken blades.

28 And after many days he went to measure up his grain, but not a kernel could be find.

29 And then he called the harvesters and said to them, Where is my grain?

30 They answered him and said, We did according to your word; we gathered up and burned the stalks with broken blades, and not a stalk was left to carry to the barn.

31 And Jesus said, If God saves only those who have no broken blades, who have been perfect in his sight, who will be saved?

32 And the accusers hung their heads in shame; and Jesus went his way.

CHAPTER 28

1 BENARES is the sacred city of the Brahms, and in Benares Jesus taught; Udraka was his host.

2 Udraka made a feast in honour of his guest, and many high born Hindu priests and scribes were there.

3 And Jesus said to them, With much delight I speak to you concerning life--the brotherhood of life.

4 The universal God is one, yet he is more than one; all things are God; all things are one.

5 By the sweet breaths of God all life is bound in one; so if you touch a fibre of a living thing you send a thrill from the centre to the outer bounds of life.

6 And when you crush beneath your foot the meanest worm, you shake the throne of God, and cause the sword of right to tremble in its sheath.

7 The bird sings out its song for men, and men vibrate in unison to help it sing.

8 The ant constructs her home, the bee its sheltering comb, the spider weaves her web, and flowers breath to them a spirit in their sweet perfumes that gives them strength to toil.

9 Now, men and birds and beasts and creeping things are deities, made flesh; and how dare men kill anything?

10 'Tis cruelty that makes the world awry. When men have learned that when they harm a living thing they harm themselves, they surely will not kill, nor cause a thing that God has made to suffer pain.

11 A lawyer said,I pray you, Jesus, tell who is this God you speak about; where are his priests, his temples and his shrines?

12 And Jesus said, The God I speak about is everywhere; he cannot be compassed with walls, nor hedged about with bounds of any kind.

13 All people worship God, the One; but all the people see him not alike.

14 This universal God is wisdom, will and love.

15 All men see not the Triune God. One sees him as the God of might; another as the God of thought; another as the God of love.

16 A man's ideal is his God, and so, as man unfolds. Man's God to-day, to-morrow is not God.

17 The nations of the earth see God from different points of view, and so he does not seem the same to every one.

18 Man names the part of God he sees, and this to him is all of God; and every nation sees a part of God, and every nation has a name for God.

19 You Brahmans call him Parabrahm; in Egypt he is Thoth; and Zeus is his name in Greece; Jehovah is his Hebrew name; but everywhere he is the causeless Cause, the rootless Root from which all things have grown.

20 When men become afraid of God, and take him for a foe, they dress up other men in fancy garbs and call them priests.

21 And charge them to restrain the wrath of God by prayers; and when they fail to win his favour by their prayers, to buy him off with sacrifice of animal, or bird.

22 When man sees God as one with him, as Father-God, he needs no middle man, no priest to intercede;

23 He goes straight up to him and says, My Father- God! and then he lays his hand in God's own hand, and all is well.

24 And this is God. You are, each one, a priest, just for yourself; and sacrifice of blood God does not want.

25 Just give your life in sacrificial service to all of life, and God is pleased.

26 When Jesus had thus said he stood aside; the people were amazed, but strove among themselves.

27 Some said, He is inspired by Holy Brahm; and others said, He is insane; and others said, He is obsessed; he speaks as devils speak.

28 But Jesus tarried not. Among the guests was one, a tiller of the soil, a generous soul, a seeker after truth, who loved the words that Jesus spoke, and Jesus went with him, and in his home abode.

CHAPTER 29

1 AMONG Benares' temple priests was one, a guest, Ajainan, from Lahore.

2 By merchantmen Ajainin heard about the Jewish boy, about his words of wisdom, and he girt himself and journeyed from Lahore that he might see the boy, and hear him speak.

3 The Brahmic priests did not accept the truth that Jesus brought, and they were angered much by what he said at the Udraka feast.

4 But they had never seen the boy, and they desired much to hear him speak, and they invited him to be a temple guest.

5 But Jesus said to them, The light is most abundant, and it shines for all; if you would see the light come to the light.

6 If you would hear the message that the Holy One has given me to give to men, come unto me.

7 Now, when the priests were told what Jesus said they were enraged.

8 Ajainin did not share their wrath, and he sent forth another messenger with costly gifts to Jesus at the farmer's home; he sent this message with the gifts:

9 I pray you master, listen to my words; The Brahmic law forbids that any priest shall go into the home of any one of low estate; but you can come to us;

10 And I am sure these priests will gladly hear you speak. I pray that you will come and dine with us this day.

11 And Jesus said, The Holy One regards all men alike; the dwelling of my host is good enough for any council of the sons of men.

12 If pride of cast keeps you away, you are not worthy of the light. My Father-God does not regard the laws of man.

13 Your presents I return; you cannot buy the knowledge of the Lord with gold, or precious gifts.

14 These words of Jesus angered more and more the priests, and they began to plot and plan how they might drive him from the land.

15 Ajainin did not join with them in plot and plan; he left the temple in the night, and sought the home where Jesus dwelt.

16 And Jesus said, There is no night where shines the sun; I have no secret messages to give; in light all secrets are revealed.

17 Ajainin said, I came from far-away Lahore, that I might learn about this ancient wisdom, and this kingdom of the Holy One of which you speak.

18 Where is the kingdom? where the king? Who are the subjects? what its laws?

19 And Jesus said, This kingdom is not far away, but man with mortal eyes can see it not; it is within the heart.

20 You need not seek the king in earth, or sea, or sky; he is not there, and yet is everywhere. He is the Christ of God; is universal love.

21 The gate of this dominion is not high, and he who enters it must fall down on his knees. It is not wide, and none can carry carnal bundles through.

22 The lower self must be transmuted into spirit-self; the body must be washed in living streams of purity.

23 Ajainin asked, Can I become a suject of this king?

24 And Jesus said, You are yourself a king, and you may enter through the gate and be a subject of the King of kings.

25 But you must lay aside your priestly robes; must cease to serve the Holy One for gold; must give your life, and all you have, in willing service to the sons of men.

26 And Jesus said no more; Ajainin went his way; and while he could not comprehend the truth that Jesus spoke, he saw what he had never seen before.

27 The realm of faith he never had explored; but in his heart the seeds of faith and universal brotherhood had found good soil.

28 And as he journeyed to his home he seemed to sleep, to pass through darkest night, and when he woke the Sun of Righteousness had arisen; he had found the king.

29 Now, in Benares Jesus tarried many days and taught.

CHAPTER 30

1 ONE day as Jesus stood beside the Ganges busy with his work, a caravan, returning from the West, drew near.

2 And one, approaching Jesus, said, We come to you from your native land and bring unwelcome news.

3 Your father is no more on earth; your mother grieves; and none can comfort her. She wonders whether you are still alive or not; she longs to see you once again.

4 And Jesus bowed his head in silent thought; and then he wrote. Of what he wrote this is the sum:

5 My mother, noblest of the womankind; A man just from my native land has brought me word that father is no more in flesh, and that you grieve, and are disconsolate.

6 My mother, all is well; is well for father and is well for you.

7 His work in this earth-round is done, and it is nobly done.

8 In all the walks of life men cannot charge him with deceit, dishonesty, nor wrong intent.

9 Here in this round he finished many heavy tasks, and he has gone from hence prepared to solve the problems of the round of soul.

10 Our Father-God is with him there, as he was with him here; and there his angel guards his footssteps lest he goes astray.

11 Why should you weep? Tears cannot conquer grief. There is no power in grief to mend a broken heart.

12 The plane of grief is idleness; the busy soul can never grieve; it has no time for grief.

13 When grief come trooping through the heart, just lose yourself; plunge deep into the ministry of love, and grief is not.

14 Yours is a ministry of love, and all the world is calling out for love.

15 Then let the past go with the past; rise from the cares fo carnal things and give your life for those who live.

16 And if you lose your life in serving life you will sure to find in it the morning sun, the evening dews, in song of bird, in flowers, and in the stars of night.

17 In just a little while your problems of this earth-round will be solved; and when your sums are all worked out it will be pleasure unalloyed for you to enter wider fields of usefulness, to solve the greater problems of the soul.

18 Strive, then, to be content, and I will come to you some day and bring you richer gifts than gold or precious stones.

19 I'm sure that John will care for you, supplying all your needs; and I am with you all the way, Jehoshua.

20 And by the hand of one, a merchant, going to Jerusalem, he sent this letter on its way.

CHAPTER 31

1 THE words and works of Jesus caused unrest through all the land.

2 The common people were his friends, believed in him and followed him in thongs.

3 The priests and rulers were afraid of him, his very name sent terror to their hearts.

4 He preached the brotherhood of life, the righteousness of equal rights, and taught the uselessness of priests, and sacrificial rites.

5 He shook the very sand on which the Brahmic system stood; he made the Brahmic idols seem so small, and sacrifice so fraught with sin, that shrines and wheels of prayer were all forgot.

6 The priests declared that if this Jewish boy should tarry longer in the land a revolution would occur; the common people would arise and kill the priests, and tear the temples down.

7 And so they sent a call abroad, and priests from every province came. Benares was on fire with Brahmic zeal.

8 Lamaas from the temple Jagannath, who knew the inner life of Jesus well, was in their midst, and heard the rantings of the priests,

9 And he stood forth and said, My brother priests, take heed, be careful what you do; this is a record-making day.

10 The world is looking on; the very life of Brahmic thought is now on trial.

11 If we are reason-blind; if prejudice be king to-day; if we resort to beastly force, and dye our hands in blood that may, in sight of Brahm, be innocent and pure,

12 His vengeance may fall down on us; the very rock on which we stand may burst beneath our feet; and our beloved priesthood, and our laws and shrines will go into decay.

13 But they would let him speak no more. The wrathful priests rushed up and beat him, spit upon him, called him traitor, threw him, bleeding, to the street.

14 And then confusion reigned; the priests became a mob; the sight of human blood led on to fiendish acts and called for more.

15 The rulers, fearing war, sought Jesus, and they found him calmly teaching in the market place.

16 They urged him to depart, that he might save his life; but he refused to go.

17 And then the priests sought cause for his arrest; but he had done no crime.

18 And then false charges were preferred; but when the soldiers went to bring him to the judgement hall they were afraid, because the people stood in his defence.

19 The priests were baffled, and they resolved to take his life by stealth.

20 They found a man who was a murderer by trade, and sent him out by night to slay the object of their wrath.

21 Lamaas heard about their plotting and their plans, and sent a messenger to warn his friend; and Jesus hastened to depart.

22 By night he left Benares, and with haste he journeyed to the north; and everywhere, the farmers, merchants and sudras helped him on his way.

23 And after many days he reached the mighty Himalayas, and in the city of Kapivastu he abode.

24 The priests of Buddha opened wide their temple doors for him.

CHAPTER 32

1 AMONG the Buddhist priests was one who saw a lofty wisdom in the words that Jesus spoke. It was Barata Arabo.

2 Together Jesus and Barata read the Jewish Psalms and Prophets; read the Vedas, the Avesta and the wisdom of Gautama.

3 And as they read and talked about the possibilities of man, Barata said,

4 Man is the marvel of the universe. He is part of everything for he has been a living thing on every plane of life.

5 Time was when man was not; and he was bit of formless substance in the moulds of time; and then a protoplast.

6 By universal law all things tend upward to a state of perfectness. The protoplast evolved, becoming worm, then reptile, bird and beast, and then at last it reached the form of man.

7 Now, man himself is mind, and mind is here to gain perfection by experience; and mind is often manifest in fleshy form, and in the form best suited to its growth. So mind may manifest as worm, or bird, or beast, or man.

8 The time will come when everthing of life will be evolved unto the state of perfect man.

9 And after man is man in perfectness, he will evolve to higher forms of life.

10 And Jesus said, Barata Arabo, who taught you this, that mind, which is the man, may manifest in flesh of beast, or bird, or creeping thing?

11 Barata said, From times which man remembers not our priests have told us so, and so we know.

12 And Jesus said, Enlightened Arabo, are you a master mind and do not know that man knows naught by being told?

13 Man may believe what others say; but thus he never knows. If man would know, he must himself be what he knows.

14 Do you remember, Arabo, when you were ape, or bird, or worm?

15 Now, if you have no better proving of your plea than that the priests have told you so, you do not know; you simply guess.

16 Regard not, then, what any man has said; let us forget the flesh, and go with mind into the land of fleshless things; mind never does forget.

17 And backward through the ages master minds can trace themselves; and thus they know.

18 Time never was when man was not.

19 That which begins will have an end. If man was not, the time will come when he will not exist.

20 From God's own Record Book we read: The Triune God breathed forth, and seven Spirits stood before his face. (The Hebrews call these seven Spirits, Elohim.)

21 And these are they who, in their boundless power, created everything that is, or was.

22 These Spirits of the Triune God moved on the face of boundless space and seven ethers were, and every ether had its form of life.

23 These forms of life were but the thoughts of God, clothed in the substance of their ether planes.

24 (Men call these ether planes the planes of protoplast, of earth, of plant, of beast, of man, of angel and of cherubim.)

25 These planes with all their teeming thoughts of God, are never seen by eyes of man in flesh; they are composed of substance far too fine for fleshy eyes to see, and still they constitute the soul of things;

26 And with the eyes of soul all creatures see these ether planes, and all forms of life.

27 Because all forms of life on every plane are thoughts of God, all creatures think, and every creature is possessed of will, and, in its measure, has the power to choose,

28 And in their native planes all creatures are supplied with nourishment from the ethers of their planes.

29 And so it was with every living thing until the will became a sluggish will, and then the ethers of the protoplast, the earth, the plant, the beast, the man, began to vibrate very slow.

30 The ethers all became more dense, and all the creatures of these planes were clothed with coarser garbs, the garbs of flesh, which men can see; and thus this coarser manifest, which men call physical, appeared.

31 And this is what is called the fall of man; but man fell not alone for protoplast, and earth, and plant and beast were all included in the fall.

32 The angels and the cherubim fell not; their wills were ever strong, and so they held the ethers of their planes in harmony with God.

33 Now, when the ethers reached the rate of atmosphere, and all the creatures of these planes must get their food from atmosphere, the conflict came; and that which the finite man ahs called, survival of the best, became the law,

34 The stronger ate the bodies of the weaker manifests; and here is where the carnal law of evolution had its rise.

35 And now man, in his utter shamelessness, strikes down and eats the beasts, the beast consumes the plant, the plant thrives on the earth, the earth absorbs the protoplast.

36 In yonder kingdom of the soul this carnal evolution is not known, and the great work of master minds is to restore the heritage of man, to bring him back to his estate that he has lost, when he again will live upon the ethers of his native plane.

37 The thoughts of God change not; the manifests of life on every plane unfold into perfection of their kind; and as the thoughts of God can never die, there is no death to any being of the seven ethers of the seven Spirits of the Triune God.

38 And so an earth is never plant; a beast, or bird, or creeping thing is never man, and man is not, and cannot be, a beast, or bird, or creeping thing.

39 The time will come when all these seven manifests will be absorbed, and man, and beast, and plant, and earth and protoplast will be redeemed.

40 Barata was amazed; the wisdom of the Jewish sage was a revelation unto him.

41 Now, Vidyapati, wisest of the Indian sages, chief of temple Kapavistu, heard Barata speak to Jesus of the origin of man, and heard the answer of the Hebrew prophet, and he said,

42 You priests of Kapavistu, hear me speak: We stand to-day upon a crest of time. Six times ago a master soul was born who gave a glory light to man, and now a master sage stands here in temple Kapavistu.

43 This Hebrew prophet is the rising star of wisdom, diefied. He brings to us a knowledge of the secrets things of God; and all the world will hear his words, will heed his words, and glorify his name.

44 You priests of temple Kapavistu, stay! be still and listen when he speaks; he is the Living Oracle of God.

45 And all the priests gave thanks, and praised the Buddha of enlightenment.

CHAPTER 33

1 IN silent meditation Jesus sat beside a flowing spring. It was a holy day, and many people of the servant caste were near the place.

2 And Jesus saw the hard drawn lines of toil on every brow, in every hand. There was no look of joy in any face. Not one of all the group could think of anything but toil.

3 And Jesus spoke to one and said, Why are you all so sad? Have you no happiness in life?

4 The man replied, We scarely know the meaning of that word. We toil to live, and hope for nothing else but toil, and bless the day when we can cease our toil and lay us down to rest in Buddha's city of the dead.

5 And Jesus' heart was stirred with pity and with love for these poor toilers, and he said,

6 Toil should not make a person sad; men should be happiest when they toil. When hope and love are back of toil, then all of life is filled with joy and peace, and this is heaven. Do you not know that such a heaven is for you?

7 The man replied, Of heaven we have heard; but then it is so far away, and we must live so many lives before we can reach that place!

8 And Jesus said, My brother, man, your thoughts are wrong; your heaven is not far away; and it is not a place of metes and bounds, is not a country to be reached; it is a state of mind.

9 God never made a heaven for man; he never made a hell; we are creators and we make our own.

10 Now, cease to seek for heaven in the sky; just open up the windows of the hearts, and, like a flood of light, a heaven will come and bring a boundless joy; then toil will be no cruel task.

11 The people were amazed, and gathered close to hear this strange young master speak,

12 Imploring him to tell them more about the Father-God; about the heaven that men can make on earth; about the boundless joy.

13 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, A certain man possessed a field; the soil was hard and poor.

14 By constant toil he scarcely could provide enough of food to keep his family from want.

15 One day a miner who could see beneath the soil, in passing on his way, saw this poor man and his unfruitful field.

16 He called the weary toiler and he said, My brother, know you not that just below the surface of your barren field rich treasures lie concealed?

17 You plough and sow and reap in scanty way, and day by day you tread upon a mine of gold and precious stones.

18 This wealth lies not upon the surface of the ground; but if you will dig away the rocky soil, and delve down deep into the earth, you need no longer till the soil for naught.

19 The man beleived. The miner surely knows; he said, and I will find the treasures hidden in my field.

20 And then he dug away the rocky soil, and deep down in the earth he found a mine of gold.

21 And Jesus said, The sons of men are toiling hard on desert plains, and burning sands and rocky soils; are doing what there fathers did, not dreaming they can do aught else.

22 Behold, a master comes, and tells them of a hidden wealth; that underneath the rocky soil of carnal things are treasures that no man can count;

23 That in the heart the richest gems abound; that he who wills may open the door and find them all.

24 And then the people said, Make known to us the way that we may find the wealth that lies within the heart.

25 And Jesus opened up the way; the toilers saw another side of life, and toil became a joy.

CHAPTER 34

1 IT was a gala day in sacred Kapavista; a throng of Buddhist worshippers had met to celebrate a Jubilee.

2 And priests and masters from all parts of India were there; they taught; but they embellished little truth with many words.

3 And Jesus went into an ancient plaza and taught; he spoke of Father-Mother-God; he told about the brotherhood of life.

4 The priests and all the people were astounded at his words and said, Is this not Buddha come again in flesh? No other one could speak with such simplicity and power.

5 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, There was a vineyard all unkept; the vines were high, the growth of leaves and branches great.

6 The leaves were broad and shut the sunlight from the vines; the grapes were sour, and few, and small.

7 The pruner came; with his sharp knife he cut off every branch, and not a leaf remained; just root and stalk, and nothing more.

8 The busy neighbours came with one accord and were amazed, and said to him who pruned, You foolish man! the vineyard is despoiled.

9 Such desolation! There is no beauty left, and when the harvest time shall come the gathers will find no fruit.

10 The pruner said, Content yourselves with what you think, and come again at harvest time and see.

11 And when the harvest time came on the busy neighbours came again; they were surprised.

12 The naked stalks had put forth branch and leaf, and heavy clusters of delicious grapes weighed every branch to earth.

13 The gatherers rejoiced as, day by day, they carried the rich fruitage to the press.

14 Behold the vineyard of the Lord! the earth is spread with human vines.

15 The gorgeous forms and rites of men are branches, and their words are leaves; and these have grown so great that sunlight can no longer reach the heart; there is no fruit.

16 Behold, the pruner comes, and with a two-edged knife he cuts away the branches and the leaves of words,

17 And naught is left but unclothed stalks of human life.

18 The priests and they of pompous show, rebuke the pruner, and would stay him in his work.

19 They see no beauty in the stalks of human life; no promises of fruit.

20 The harvest time will come and they who scorned the pruner will look on again and be amazed, for they will see the human stalks that seemed so lifeless, bending low with precious fruit.

21 And they will hear the harvesters rejoice, because the harvest is so great.

22 The priests were not well pleased with Jesus' words; but they rebuked him not; they feared the multitude.

CHAPTER 35

1 THE Indian sage and Jesus often met and talked about the needs of nations and of men; about the sacred doctrines, forms and rites best suited to the coming age.

2 One day they sat together in a mountain pass, and Jesus said, The coming age will surely not require priests, and shrines, and sacrifice of life.

3 There is no power in sacrifice of beast, or bird, to help a man to holy life.

4 And Vidyapati said, All forms and rites are symbols of the things that men must do within the temple of the soul.

5 The Holy One requires man to give his life in willing sacrifice for men, and all the so-called offerings on altars and on shrines that have been made since time began, were made to teach man how to give himself to save his brother man; for man can never save himself except he lose his life in saving other men.

6 The perfect age will not require forms and rites and carnal sacrifice. The coming age is not the perfect age, and men will call for object lessons and symbolic rites.

7 And in the great religion you shall introduce to men, some simple rites of washings and remembrances will be required; but cruel sacrifice of animals, and birds the gods require not.

8 And Jesus said, Our God must loathe the tinselled show of priests and priestly things.

9 When men array themselves in showy garbs to indicate that they are servants of the gods, and strut about like gaudy birds to be admired by men, because of piety or any other thing, the Holy One must surely turn away in sheer disgust.

10 All people are alike the servants of our Father-God, are kings and priests.

11 Will not the coming age demand complete destruction of the priestly caste, as well as every other caste, and inequality among the sons of men?

12 And Vidyapati said, The coming age is not the age of spirit life and men will pride themselves in wearing priestly robes, and chanting pious chants to advertise themselves as saints.

13 The simple rites that you will introduce will be extolled by those who follow you, until the sacred service of the age will far outshine in gorgeousness the priestly service of the Brahmic age.

14 This is a problem men must solve.

15 The perfect age will come when every man will be a priest and men will not array themselves in special garb to advertise their piety.

SECTION VII

CHAPTER 36

1 IN Lassa of Tibet there was a master's temple, rich in manuscripts of ancient lore.

2 The Indian sage had read these manuscripts, and he revealed to Jesus many of the secret lessons they contained; but Jesus wished to read them for himself.

3 Now, Meng-ste, greatest sage of all the farther East, was in this temple of Tibet.

4 The path across Emodus heights was difficult; but Jesus started on his way, and Vidyapati sent with him a trusted guide.

5 And Vidyapati sent a message to Meng-ste, in which he told about the Hebrew sage, and spoke for him a welcome by the temple priests.

6 Now, after many days, and perils great, the guide and Jesus reached the Lassa temple in Tibet.

7 And Meng-ste opened wide the temple doors, and all the priests and masters gave a welcome to the Hebrew sage.

8 And Jesus had access to all the sacred manuscripts, and, with the help of Meng- ste, read them all.

9 And Meng-ste often talked with Jesus of the coming age, and of the sacred service best adapted to the people of the age.

10 In Lassa Jesus did not teach. When he finished all his studies in the temple schools he journeyed toward the West. In many villages he tarried for a time and taught.

11 At last he reached the pass, and in the Ladak city, Leh, he was received with favour by the monks, the merchants, and the men of low estate.

12 And in the monastery he abode, and taught; and then he sought the common people in the marts of trade; and there he taught.

13 Not far away a woman lived, whose infant son was sick nigh unto death. The doctors had declared, There is no hope; the child must die.

14 The woman heard that Jesus was a teacher sent from God, and she believed that he had power to heal her son.

15 And so she clasped the dying infant in her arms and ran with haste and asked to see the man of God.

16 When Jesus saw her faith he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,

17 My Father-God, let power divine o'ershadow me, and let the Holy Breath fill full this child that it may live.

18 And in the presence of the multitude he laid his hand upon the child and said,

19 Good woman you are blest; your faith has saved your son. And then the child was well.

20 The people were astonished and they said, This surely is the Holy One made flesh, for man alone cannot a fever thus and save a child from death.

21 Then many of the people brought their sick, and Jesus spoke the Word, and they were healed.

22 Among the Ladaks Jesus tarried many days; he taught them how to heal; how sins are blotted out, and how to make on earth a heaven of joy.

23 The people loved him for his words and works, and when he must depart they grieved as children grieve when mother goes away.

24 And on the morning when he started on his way the multitudes were there to press his hand.

25 To them he spoke a parable; he said, A certain king so loved the people of his land that he sent forth his only son with precious gifts for all.

26 The son went everywhere and scattered forth the gifts with lavish hand.

27 But there were priests who ministered at shrines of foreign gods, who were not pleased because the king did not through them bestow the gifts.

28 And so they sought to cause the people all to hate the son. They said, These gifts are not of any worth; they are but counterfeits.

29 And so the people threw the precious gems, and gold and silver in the streets. They caught the son and beat him, spit upon him, drove him from their midst.

30 The son resented not their insults and their cruelties; but thus he prayed, My Father-God, forgive these creatures of thy hand; they are but slaves; they know not what they do.

31 And while they yet were beating him he gave them food, and blest them with a boundless love.

32 In certain cities was the son received with joy, and he would gladly have remained to bless the homes; but he could tarry not, for he must carry gifts to every one in all the king's domain.

33 And Jesus said, My Father-God is king of all mankind, and he has sent me forth with all the bounties of his matchless love and boundless wealth.

34 To all the people of all lands, lo, I must bear these gifts--this water and this bread of life.

35 I go my way, but we will meet again; for in my Fatherland is room for all; I will prepare a place for you.

36 And Jesus raised his hand in silent benediction; then he went his way.

CHAPTER 37

1 A CARAVAN of merchantmen were journeying through the Kashmar vale as Jesus passed that way, and they are going to Lahore, a city of the Hand, the five-stream land.

2 The merchantmen had heard the prophet speak, had seen his mighty works in Leh, and they were glad to see him once again.

3 And when they knew that he was going to Lahore and then across the Sind, through Persia and the farther West, and that he had no beast on which to ride,

4 They freely gave to him a noble bactrian beast, well saddled and equipped, and Jesus journeyed with the caravan.

5 And when he reached Lahore, Ajainin and some other Brahmic priests, received him with delight.

6 Ajainin was the priest who came to Jesus in the night time in Benares many months before, and heard he words of truth.

7 And Jesus was Ajainin's guest; he taught Ajainin many things; revealed to him the secrets of the healing art.

8 He taught him how he could control the spirits of the air, the fire, the water and the earth; and he explained to him the secret doctrine of forgiveness, and the blotting out of sins.

9 One day Ajainin sat with Jesus in the temple porch; a band of wandering singers and musicians paused before the court to sing and play.

10 Their music was most rich and delicate, and Jesus said, Among the high-breed people of the land we hear no sweeter music than that these uncouth children of the wilderness bring here to us.

11 From whence this talent and this power? In one short life they could not gain such grace of voice, such knowledge of the laws of harmony and tone.

12 Men call them prodigies. There are no prodigies. All things result from natural law.

13 These people are not young. A thousand years would not suffice to give them such divine expressiveness, and such purity of voice and touch.

14 Ten thousand years ago these people mastered harmony. In days of old they trod the busy thoroughfares of life, and caught the melody of birds, and played on harps of perfect form.

15 And they have come again to learn still other lessons from the varied notes of manifests.

16 These wandering people form a part of heaven's orchestra, and in the land of perfect things the very angels will delight to hear them play and sing.

17 And Jesus taught the common people of Lahore; he healed their sick, and showed to them the way to rise to better things by helpfulness.

18 He said, We are not rich by what we get and hold; the only things we keep are those we give away.

19 If you would live the perfect life, give forth your life in service for your kind, and for the forms of life that men esteem the lower forms of life.

20 But Jesus could not tarry longer in Lahore; he bade the priests and other friends farewell; and then he took his camel and he went his way toward the Sind.

SECTION VIII

CHAPTER 38

1 FOUR-AND-TWENTY years of age was Jesus when he entered Persia on his homeward way.

2 In many a hamlet, town and neighbourhood he paused a while and taught and healed.

3 The priests and ruling classes did not welcome him, because he censured them for cruelty to those of low estate.

4 The common people followed him in throngs

5 At times the chiefs made bold to try to hinder him, forbidding him to teach or heal the sick. But he regarded not their angry threats; he taught, and healed the sick.

6 In time he reached Persepolis, the city where the kings of Persia were entombed; the city of the learned magi, Hor, and Lun, and Mer, the three wise men.

7 Who, four-and-twenty years before, had seen the star of promise rise above Jerusalem, and who had journeyed to the West to find the new-born king;

8 And were the first to honour Jesus as the master of the age, and gave him gifts of gold, gum-thus and myrrh.

9 These magi knew, by ways that masters always know, when Jesus neared Persepolis; and then they girt themselves, and went to meet him on the way.

10 And when they met, a light much brighter than the light of day, surrounded them, and men who saw the four stand in the way declared they were transfigured; seeming more like gods than men.

11 Now, Hor and Lun were aged men, and Jesus placed them on his beast to ride into Persepolis; whilst he and Mer led on the way.

12 And when they reached the magi's home they all rejoiced. And Jesus told the thrilling story of his life, and Hor and Lun and Mer spoke not; they only looked to heaven, and in their hearts praised God.

13 Three wise men from the North were Persepolis; and they were Kaspar, Zara and Melzone; and Kaspar was the wisest master of the Magian land. These three were at the home of Hor and Lun and Mer when Jesus came.

14 For seven days these seven men spoke not; they sat in silence in the council hall in close communion with the Silent Brotherhood.

15 They sought for light, for revelation and for power. The laws and precepts of the coming age required all the wisdom of the masters of the world.

CHAPTER 39

1 A FEAST in honour of the magian God was being held, and many men were gathered in Persepolis.

2 And on the great day of the feast the ruling magian master said, Within these sacred walls is liberty; whoever wills to speak may speak.

3 And Jesus standing in the midst of all the people, said, My brothers, sisters, children of our Father-God:

4 Most blest are you among the sons of men today, because you have such just conceptions of the Holy One and man.

5 Your purity in worship and in life is pleasing unto God; and to your master, Zarathustra, praise is due.

6 Well say you all, There is one God from whose great being there came forth the seven Spirits that created heaven and earth; and manifest unto the sons of men are these great Spirits in the sun, and moon, and stars.

7 But in your sacred books we read that two among these seven are of superior strength; that one of these created all the good; the other one created all that evil is.

8 I pray you, honoured masters, tell me how that evil can be born of that which is all good?

9 A magus rose and said, If you will answer me, your problem will be solved.

10 We all do recognize the fact that evil is. Whatever is, must have a cause, If God, the One, made not this evil, then, where is the God who did?

11 And Jesus said, Whatever God, the One, has made is good, and like the great first Cause, the seven Spirits all are good, and everthing that comes from their creative hands is good.

12 Now, all created things have colours, tones and forms their own; but certain tones, though good and pure themselves, when mixed, produce inharmonies, discordant tones.

13 And certain things, though good and pure, when mixed, produce discordant things, yea, poisonous things, that men call evil things.

14 So evil is the inharmonious blending of the colours, tones, or forms of good.

15 Now, man is not all-wise, and yet has will his own. He has the power, and he uses it, to mix God's good things in a multitude of ways, and every day he makes discordant sounds, and evil things.

16 And every tone and form, be it of good, or ill, becomes a living thing, a demon, sprite, or spirit of a good or vicious kind.

17 Man makes his evil thus; and then becomes afraid of him and flees; his devil is emboldened, follows him away and casts him into torturing fires.

18 The devil and the burning fires are both the works of man, and none can put the fires out and dissipate the evil one, but man who made them both.

19 Then Jesus stood aside, and not a magus answered him.

20 And he departed from the throng and went into a secret place to pray.

CHAPTER 40

1 NOW, in the early morning Jesus came again to teach and heal. A light not comprehended shown about, as though some mighty spirit overshadowed him.

2 A magus noted this and asked him privately to tell from whence his wisdom came, and what the meaning of the light.

3 And Jesus said, There is a Silence where the soul may meet its God, and there the fount of wisdom is, and all who enter are immersed in light, and filled with wisdom, love and power.

4 The magus said, Tell me about this Silence and this light, that I may go and there abide.

5 And Jesus said, The Silence is not circumscribed; is not a place closed in with wall, or rocky steeps, nor guarded by the sword of man.

6 Men carry with them all the time the secret place where they might meet their God.

7 It matters not where men abide, on mountain top, in deepest vale, in marts of trade, or in the quiet home; they may at once, at any time, fling wide the door, and find the Silence, find the house of God; it is within the soul.

8 One may not be so much disturbed by noise of business, and the words and thoughts of men if he goes all alone into the valley or the mountain pass.

9 And when life's heavy load is pressing hard, it is far better to go out and seek a quiet place to pray and meditate.

10 The Silence is the kingdom of the soul which is not seen by human eyes.

11 When in the Silence, phantom forms mat flit before the mind; but they are all subsevient to the will; the master soul may speak and they are gone.

12 If you would find this Silence of the soul you must yourself prepare the way. None but the pure in heart may enter here.

13 And you must lay aside all tenseness of the mind, all business cares, all fears, all doubts and troubled thoughts.

14 Your human will must be absorbed by the divine; then you will come into a consciousness of holiness.

15 You are in the Holy Place, and you will see upon a living shrine the candle of the Lord aflame.

16 And when you see it burning there, look deep into the temple of your brain, and you will see it all aglow.

17 In every part, from head to foot. are candles all in place, just waiting to be lighted by the flaming torch of love.

18 And when you see the candles all aflame, just look, and you will see, with eyes of soul, the waters of the fount of wisdom rushing on; and you may drink, and there abide.

19 And then the curtains part, and you are in the Holiest of All, where rests the Arc of God, whose covering is the Mercy Seat.

20 Fear not to lift the sacred board; the Tables of the Law are in the Ark concealed.

21 Take them and read them well; for they contain all precepts and commands that men will ever need.

22 And in the Ark, the magic wand of prophecy lies waiting for your hand; it is the key to all the hidden meanings of the present, future,past.

23 And then, behold, the manna there, the hidden bread of life; and he who eats shall never die.

24 The cherubim have guarded well for every soul this treasure box, and whosoever will enter in and find his own.

25 Now Kaspar heard the Hebrew master speak and he exclaimed, Behold, the wisdom of the gods has come to men!

26 And Jesus went his way, and in the sacred groves of Cyrus, where the multitudes were met, he taught and healed the sick.

CHAPTER 41

1 A FLOWING spring that people called the Healing Fount, was near Persepolis.

2 And all the people thought that at a certain time of the year their deity came down and gave a virtue to the waters of the fount, and that the sick who then would plunge into the fount and wash would be made whole.

3 About the fount a multitude of people were in waiting for the Holy One to come and potentise the waters of the fount.

4 The blind, the lame, the deaf, the dumb, and those obsessed were there.

5 And Jesus, standing in the midst of them, exclaimed, Behold the spring of life! These waters that will fail are honoured as the special blessing of your God.

6 From whence do healing virtues come? Why is your God so partial with his gifts? Why does he bless this spring to-day, and then to-morrow take his blessings all away?

7 A deity of power could fill these waters full of healing virtue every day.

8 Hear me, you sick, disconsolate: The virtue of this fount is not a special gift of God.

9 Faith is the healing power of every drop of all the waters of this spring.

10 He who believes with all his heart that he will be made whole by washing in this fount will be made whole when he has washed; and he may wash at any time.

11 Let every one who has this faith in God and in himself plunge in these waters now and wash.

12 And many of the people plunged into the crystal fount; and they were healed.

13 And then there was a rush, for all the people were inspired with faith, and each one strove to be among the first to wash, lest all the virtue be absorbed.

14 And Jesus saw a little child, weak, faint and helpless, sitting all alone beyond the surging crowd; and there was none to help her to the fount.

15 And Jesus said, My little one, why do you sit and wait? Why not arise and hasten to the fount and wash, and be made well?

16 The child replied, I need not haste; the blessings of my Father in the sky are measured not in tiny cups; they never fail; their virtues are the same for evermore.

17 When these whose faith is weak must haste to wash for fear their faith will fail, have all been cured, these waters will be just as powerful for me.

18 Then I can go and stay a long, long time within the blessed waters of the spring.

19 And Jesus said, Behold a master soul! She came to earth to teach to men the power of faith.

20 And then he lifted up the child and said, Why wait for anything? The very air we breathe is filled with balm of life. Breathe in this balm of life in faith and be made whole.

21 The child breathed in the balm of life in faith, and she was well.

22 The people marvelled much at what they heard and saw; they said, This man must surely be the god of health made flesh.

23 And Jesus said, The fount of life is not a little pool; it is as wide as are the spaces of the heavens.

24 The waters of the fount are love; the potency is faith, and he who plunges deep into the living springs, in living faith, may wash away his guilt and be made whole, and freed from sin.

SECTION IX

CHAPTER 42

1 IN Persia Jesus' work was done and he resumed his journey towards his native land.

2 The Persian sage went with him to the Euphrates; then with a pledge that they would meet again in Egypt land the masters said, Farewell.

3 And Kaspar went his way unto his home beside the Caspian Sea; and Jesus soon was in Chaldea, cradle land of Israel.

4 In Ur, where Abraham was born, he tarried for a time; and when he told the people who he was, and why he came, they came from near and far to speak to him.

5 He said to them, We all are kin. Two thousand years and more ago, our Father Abraham lived here in Ur, and then he worshipped God the One, and taught the people in these sacred groves.

6 And he was greatly blessed; becoming father of the mighty hosts of Israel.

7 Although so many years have passed since Abraham and Sarah walked these ways, a remnant of their kindred still abide in Ur.

8 And in there hearts the God of Abraham is still adored, and faith and justice are the rocks on which they build.

9 Behold this land! It is no more the fruitful land that Abraham loved so well; the rains come not as in the former times; the vine is not productive now, and withered are the figs.

10 But this shall not for ever be; the time will come when all your deserts will rejoice; when flowers will bloom; when all your vines will bend their heads with luscious fruit; shepherds will again be glad.

11 And Jesus preached to them the gospel of goodwill, and peace on earth. He told them of the brotherhood of life, and of the inborn powers of man, and of the kingdom of the soul.

12 And as he spoke, Ashbina, greatest sage of all Assyria, stood before his face.

13 The people knew the sage, for he had often taught them in their sacred halls and groves, and they rejoiced to see his face.

14 Ashbina said, My children of Chaldea, hear! Behold, for you are greatly blest to- day, because a prophet of the living God has come to you.

15 Take heed to what this master says, for he gives forth the words that God has given him.

16 And Jesus and the sage went through the towns and cities of Chaldea and of the lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates;

17 And Jesus healed a multitude of people who were sick.

CHAPTER 43

1 THE ruined Babylon was near, and Jesus and the sage went through her gates and walked among her fallen palaces.

2 They trod the streets where Israel once was held in base captivity.

3 They saw where Judah's sons and daughters hung their harps upon the willows, and refused to sing.

4 They saw where Daniel and the Hebrew children stood as living witnesses of faith.

5 And Jesus lifted up his hand and said, Behold the grandeur of the works of man!

6 The king of Babylon destroyed the temple of the Lord in old Jerusalem; he burned the holy city, bound in chains my people and my kin, and brought them here as slaves.

7 But retribution comes; for whatsoever men shall do to other men the righteous Judge will do to them.

8 The sun of Babylon has gone down; the songs of pleasure will be heard no more within her walls.

9 And every kind of creeping thing and unclean bird will, in these ruins, find their homes.

10 And in the temple Belus, Jesus and Ashbina stood in silent thought.

11 Then Jesus spoke and said, Behold this monument of folly and of shame.

12 Man tried to shake the very throne of God, and he assayed to build a tower to reach to heaven, when, lo, his very speech was snatched away, because in lofty words he boasted of his power.

13 And on these heights the heathen Baal stood--the god wrought out by hands of man.

14 Upon yon altar, birds, and beasts, and men, yea children have been burned in awful sacrifice to Baal.

15 But now the gory priests are dead; the very rocks have shuddered and have fallen down; the place is desolate.

16 Now, in the plains of Shinar Jesus tarried yet for seven days, and, with Ashbina, meditated long upon the needs of men, and how the sages could best serve the coming age.

17 Then Jesus went his way, and after many days he crossed the Jordan to his native land. At once he sought his home in Nazareth.

18 His mother's heart was filled with joy; she made a feast for him, inviting all her kindred and her friends.

19 But Jesus' brothers were not pleased that such attention should be paid to one they deemed a sheer adventurer, and they went not in to the feast.

20 They laughed their brother's claims to scorn; they called him indolent, ambitious, vain; a worthless fortune hunter; searcher of the world for fame, who, after many years returns to mother's home with neither gold, nor any other wealth.

21 And Jesus called aside his mother and her sister, Miriam, and told them of his journey to the East.

22 He told them of the lessons he had learned, and of the works that he had done. To others he told not the story of his life.

SECTION X

CHAPTER 44

1 THE Greek philosophy was full of pungent truth, and Jesus longed to study with the masters in the schools of Greece.

2 And so he left his home in Nazareth and crossed the Carmel hills, and at the port took ship, and soon was in the Grecian capital.

3 Now, the Athenians had heard of him as teacher and philosopher, and they were glad to have him come to them that they might hear his words of truth.

4 Among the masters of the Greeks was one, Apollo, who was called, Defender of the Oracle, and recognised in many lands as Grecian sage.

5 Apollo opened up for Jesus all the doors of Grecian lore, and in the Areopagus he heard the wisest masters speak.

6 But Jesus brought to them a wisdom greater far than theirs; and so he taught.

7 Once in the Amphitheatre he spood, and when Apollo bade him speak he said,

8 Athenian masters, hear! In ages long ago, men, wise in nature's laws, sought out and found the place on which your city stands.

9 Full well you know that there are parts of earth where its great beating heart throws heavenward etheric waves that meet the ethers from above:

10 Where spirit-light and understanding, like the stars of night, shine forth.

11 Of all the parts of earth there is no place more sensitised, more truly spirit-blest, than that where Athens stands.

12 Yea, all of Greece is blest. No other land has been the homeland of such mighty men of thought as grace your scrolls of fame.

13 A host of sturdy giants of philosophy, of poetry, of science, and of art, were born upon the soil of Greece, and rocked to manhood in your cradle of pure thought.

14 I come not here to speak of science, of philosophy, or art; of these you are the world's best masters now.

15 But all your high accomplishments are but stepping stones to worlds beyond the realm of sense; are but illusive shadows flitting on the walls of time.

16 But I would tell you of a life beyond, within; a real life that cannot pass away.

17 In science and philosophy there is no power strong enough to fit a soul to recognise itself, or to commune with God.

18 I would not stay the flow of your great streams of thought; but I would turn them to the channels of the soul.

19 Unaided by the Spirit-breath, the work of intellection tends to solve the problems of the things we see, and nothing more.

20 The senses were ordained to bring into the mind mere pictures of the things that pass away; they do not deal with real things; they do not comprehend eternal law.

21 But man has something in his soul, a something that will tear the veil apart that he may see the world of real things.

22 We call this something, spirit consciousness; it sleeps in every soul, and cannot be awakened till the Holy Breath becomes a welcome guest.

23 This Holy Breath knocks at the door of every soul, but cannot enter in until the will of man throws wide the door.

24 There is no power in intellect to turn the key; philosophy and science both have toiled to get a glimpse behind the veil; but they have failed.

25 The secret spring that throws ajar the door of soul is touched by nothing else than purity in life, by prayer and holy thought.

26 Return, O mystic stream of Grecian thought, and mingle your clear waters with the flood of Spirit-life; and then the spirit consciousness will sleep no more, and man will know, and God will bless.

27 When Jesus had thus said he stepped aside. The Grecian masters were astonished at the wisdom of his words; they answered not.

CHAPTER 45

1 FOR many days the Grecian masters listened to the clear incisive words that Jesus spoke, and while they could not fully comprehend the things he said, they were delighted and accepted his philosophy.

2 One day as Jesus and Apollo walked beside the sea, a Delphic courier came in haste and said, Apollo, master, come; the Oracle would speak to you.

3 Apollo said to Jesus, Sir, if you would see the Delphic Oracle, and hear it speak, you may accompany me. And Jesus did accompany him.

4 The masters went in haste; and when they came to Delphi, great excitement reigned.

5 And when Apollo stood before the Oracle it spoke and said:

6 Apollo, sage of Greece, the bell stikes twelve; the midnight of the ages now has come.

7 Within the womb of nature ages are conceived; they gestate and are born in glory with the rising sun, and when the agic sun goes down the age disintegrates and dies.

8 The Delphic age has been an age of glory and renown; the gods have spoken to the sons of men through oracles of wood, and gold, and precious stone.

9 The Delphic sun has set; the Oracle will go into decline; the time is near when men will hear its voice no more.

10 The gods will speak to man by man. The living Oracle now stands within these sacred groves; the Logos from on high has come.

11 From henceforth will decrease my wisdom and my power; from henceforth will increase the wisdom and the power of him, Immanuel.

12 Let all the masters stay; let every creature hear and honour him, Immanuel.

13 And then the Oracle spoke not again for forty days, and priests and people were amazed. They came from near and far to hear the Living Oracle speak forth the wisdom of the gods.

14 And Jesus and the Grecian sage returned, and in Apollo's home the Living Oracle spoke forth for forty days.

15 One day Apollo said to Jesus as they sat alone, This sacred Delphic Oracle has spoken many a helpful word for Greece.

16 Pray tell me what it is that speaks. Is it an angel, man, or living god?

17 And Jesus said, It is not angel, man, nor god that speaks. It is the matchless wisdom of the master minds of Greece, united in a master mind.

18 This giant mind has taken to itself the substances of soul, and thinks, and hears, and speaks.

19 It will remain a living soul while master minds feed it with thought, with wisdom and with faith and hope.

20 But when the master minds of Greece shall perish from the land, this giant master mind will cease to be, and then the Delphic Oracle will speak no more.

CHAPTER 46

1 IT was a holy day and Jesus walked upon the Athens beach.

2 A storm was on and ships were being tossed about like toys upon the bosom ofthe sea.

3 The sailors and the fishermen were going down to watery graves; the shores were strewn with bodies of the dead.

4 And Jesus halted not, but with a mighty power he rescued many a helpless one, oft bringing back to life the seeming dead.

5 Now, on these shores were altars sacred to the gods supposed to rule the seas.

6 And men and women, heedless of the cries of drowning men were crowding all about these altars calling on their gods for help.

7 At length the storm was done, and all the sea was calm, and men could think again; and Jesus said,

8 You worshippers of wooden gods, how has the fury of this storm been lessened by your frantic prayers?

9 Where is the strength of these poor, weather-beaten gods with painted swords and crowns?

10 A god that could abide in such a little house could hardly hold a frantic fly, and who could hope that he could hold at bay the Lords of winds and waves?

11 The mighty powers of worlds unseen do not give forth their help till men have done their best; they only help when men can do no more.

12 And you have agonised and prayed around these shrines, and let men sink to death who might have been, by your assistance, saved.

13 The God that saves dwells in your souls, and manifests by making use of your own feet, and legs, and arms, and hands.

14 Strength never comes through idleness; nor through a waiting for another one to bear your loads, or do the work that you are called to do.

15 But when you do your best to bear your loads, and do your work, you offer unto God a sacrifice well-pleasing in his sight.

16 And then the Holy One breathes deep upon your glowing sacrificial coals, and makes them blaze aloft to fill your souls with light, and strength and helpfulness.

17 The most efficient prayer that men can offer to a god of any kind is helpfulness to those in need of help; for what you do for other men the Holy One will do for you.

18 And thus God helps.

19 His work in Greece was done, and Jesus must go on his way to Egypt in the South. Apollo, with the highest masters of the land and many people from the varied walks of life, stood on the shore to see the Hebrew sage depart; and Jesus said,

20 The son of man has been in many lands; has stood in temples of a multitude of foreign gods; has preached the gospel of good will and peace on earth to many people, tribes and tongues;

21 Has been received with favour in a multitude of homes; but Greece is, of them all, the royal host.

22 The breadth of Grecian thought; the depth of her philosophy; the height of her unselfish aspirations have well fitted her to be the champion of the cause of human liberty and right.

23 The fates of war have subjugated Greece, because she trusted in the strength of flesh, and bone and intellect, forgetful of the spirit-life that binds a nation to its source of power.

24 But Greece will not for ever sit within the darkness of the shadow land as vassal of a foreign king.

25 Lift up your heads, you men of Greece; the time will come when Greece will breathe the ethers of the Holy Breath, and be a mainspring of the spirit power of earth.

26 But God must be your shield, your buckler, and your tower of strength.

27 And then he said, Farewell. Apollo raised his hand in silent benediction, and the people wept.

28 Upon the Cretan vessel, Mars, the Hebrew sage sailed from the Grecian port.

SECTION XI

CHAPTER 47

1 AND Jesus came to Egypt land and all was well. He tarried not upon the coast; he went at once to Zoan, home of Elihu and Salome, who five and twenty years before had taught his mother in their sacred school.

2 And there was joy when met these three. When last the son of Mary saw these sacred groves he was a babe;

3 And now a man grown strong by buffeting of every kind; a teacher who had stirred the multitudes in many lands.

4 And Jesus told the aged teachers all about his life; about his journeyings in foreign lands; about the meetings with the masters and about his kind receptions by the multitudes.

5 Elihu and Salome heard his story with delight; they lifted up their eyes to heaven and said,

6 Our Father-God, let now thy servants go in peace, for we have seen the glory of the Lord;

7 And we have talked with him, the messenger of love, and of the covenant of peace on earth, good will to men.

8 Through him shall all the nations of the earth be blest; through him, Immanuel.

9 And Jesus stayed in Zoan many days; and then went forth unto the city of the sun, that men call Heliopolis, and sought admission to the temple of the sacred brotherhood.

10 The council of the brotherhood convened, and Jesus stood before the hierophant; he answered all the questions that were asked with clearness and with power.

11 The hierophant exclaimed, Rabboni of the rabbinate, why come you here? Your wisdom is the wisdom of the gods; why seek for wisdom in the halls of men?

12 And Jesus said, In every way of earth-life I would walk; in every hall of learning I would sit; the heights that any man has gained, these I would gain;

13 What any man has suffered I would meet, that I may know the griefs, the disappointments and the sore temptations of my brother man; that I may know just how to succour those in need.

14 I pray you, brothers, let me go into your dismal crypts; and I would pass the hardest of your tests.

15 The master said, Take then the vow of secret brotherhood. And Jesus took the vow of secret brotherhood.

16 Again the master spoke; he said, The greatest heights are gained by those who reach the greatest depths; and you shall reach the greatest depths.

17 The guide then led the way and in the fountain Jesus bathed; and when he had been clothed in proper garb he stood again before the hierophant.

CHAPTER 48

1 THE master took down from the wall a scroll on which was written down the number and the name of every attribute and character. He said,

2 The circle is the symbol of the perfect man, and seven is the number of the perfect man;

3 The Logos is the perfect word; that which creates; that which destroys, and that which saves.

4 This Hebrew master is the Logos of the Holy One, the Circle of the human race, the Seven of time.

5 And in the record book the scribe wrote down, The Logos-Circle-Seven; and thus was Jesus known.

6 The master said, The Logos will give heed to what I say: No man can enter into light till he has found himself. Go forth and search till you have found your soul and then return.

7 The guide led Jesus to a room in which the light was faint and mellow, like the light of early dawn.

8 The chamber walls were marked with mystic signs, with hieroglyphs and sacred texts; and in this chamber Jesus found himself alone where he remained for many days.

9 He read the sacred texts; thought out the meaning of the hieroglyphs and sought the import of the master's charge to find himself.

10 A revelation came; he got acquaited with his soul; he found himself; then he was not alone.

11 One night he slept and at the midnight hour, a door that he had not observed, was opened, and a priest in sombre garb came in and said,

12 My brother, pardon me for coming in at this unseemly hour; but I have come to save your life.

13 You are the victim of a cruel plot. The priests of Heliopolis are jealous of your fame, and they have said that you shall never leave these gloomy crypts alive.

14 The higher priests do not go forth to teach the world, and you are doomed to temple servitude.

15 Now, if you would be free, you must deceive these priests; must tell them you are here to stay for life;

16 And then, when you have gained all that you wish to gain, I will return, and by a secret way will lead you forth that you may go in peace.

17 And Jesus said, My brother man, would you come here to teach deceit? Am I within these holy walls to learn the wiles of vile hypocrisy?

18 Nay, man, my Father scorns deceit, and I am here to do his will.

19 Deceive these priests! Not while the sun shall shine. What I have said, that I have said; I will be true to them, to God, and to myself.

20 And then the tempter left, and Jesus was again alone; but in a little time a white- robed priest appeared and said,

21 Well done! The Logos has prevailed. This is the trial chamber of hypocrisy. And then he led the way, and Jesus stood before the judgement seat.

22 And all the brothers stood; the hierophant came forth and laid his hand on Jesus' head, and placed within his hands a scroll, on which was written just one word, SINCERITY; and not a word was said.

CHAPTER 49

1 THE Logos did not care to rest; he said, Why wait in this luxurious room? I need not rest; my Father's work upon me presses hard.

2 I would go on and learn my lessons all. If there are trials, let them come, for every victory over self gives added strength.

3 And then the guide led on, and in a chamber, dark as night, was Jesus placed and left alone; and days were spent in this deep solitude.

4 And Jesus slept, and in the dead of night a secret door was opened, and, in priest's attire, two men came in; each carried in his hand a little flickering lamp.

5 Approaching jesus, one spoke out and said, Young man, our hearts are grieved because of what you suffer in these fearful dens, and we have come as friends to bring you light, and show the way to liberty.

6 We once, like you, were in these dens confined, and thought that through these weird, uncanny ways we could attain to blessedness and power;

7 But in a luckful moment we were undeceived, and, making use of all our strength, we broke our chains, and then we learned that all this service is corruption in disguise. These priests are criminals just hid away.

8 They boast in sacrificial rites; they offer to their gods, and burn them while alive poor birds, and beasts; yea, children, women, men.

9 And now they keep you here, and, at a certain time, may offer you in sacrifice.

10 We pray you, brother, break your chains; come, go with us; accept of freedom while you may.

11 And Jesus said, Your little tapers show the light you bring. Pray, who are you? The words of man are worth no more than is the man himself.

12 These temple walls are strong and high; how gained you entrance to this place?

13 The men replied, Beneath these walls are many hidden ways, and we who have been priests, spent months and years within these dens, know all of them.

14 Then you are traitors, Jsesus said. A traitor is a fiend; he who betrays another man is never man to trust.

15 If one has only reached the plane of treachery, he is a lover of deceit, and will betray a friend to serve his selfish self.

16 Behold, you men, or whatsoe'er you be, your words fall lightly on my ears,

17 Could I prejudge these hundred priests, turn traitor to myself and them, because of what you say when you confess your treachery?

18 No man can judge for me; and if I judge till testimony all is in I might not judge aright.

19 Nay, men; by whatsoever way you came, return. My soul prefers the darkness of the grave to little flickering lights like these you bring.

20 My conscience rules; what these, my brothers, have to say I'll hear, and when the testimony all is in I will decide. You cannot judge for me, nor I for you,

21 Begone, you men, begone, and leave me to this charming light; for while the sun shines not, within my soul there is a light surpassing that of sun or moon.

22 Then, with an angry threat that they would do him harm, the wily tempters left, and Jesus was again alone.

23 Again the white-robed priest appeared, and led the way, and Jesus stood again before the hierophant;

24 And not a word was said, but in his hands the master placed a scroll on which the word suggestive, JUSTICE, was inscribed.

25 And Jesus was the master of the phanton forms of prejudice and of treachery.

CHAPTER 50

1 THE Logos waited seven days, and then was taken to the Hall of Fame, a chamber rich in furnishings, and lighted up with gold and silver lamps.

2 The colours of its ceilings, decorations, furnishings and walls were blue and gold.

3 Its shelves were filled with books of master minds; the paintings and the statues were the works of highest art.

4 And Jesus was entranced with all this elegance and these manifests of thought. He read the sacred books, and sought the meanings of the symbols and the hieroglyphs.

5 And when he was absorbed in deepest thought, a priest approached and said,

6 Behold the glory of this place: my brother, you are highly blest. Few men of earth, so young, have reached such heights of fame.

7 Now, if you do not waste your life in search for hidden things that men can never comprehend, you may be founder of a school of thought that will insure you endless fame;

8 For your philosophy is deeper far than that of Plato, and your teachings please the common people more than those of Socrates.

9 Why seek for mystic light within these antiquated dens? Go forth and walk with men, and think with men, and they will honour you.

10 And, after all, these weird initiations may be myths, and your Messiah hopes but base illusions of the hour.

11 I would advise you to renounce uncertain things and choose the course that leads to certain fame.

12 And thus the priest, a demon in disguise, sung syren songs of unbelief; and Jesus meditated long and well on what he said.

13 The conflict was a bitter one, for king Ambition is a sturdy foe to fight.

14 For forty days the higher wrestled with the lower self, and then the fight was won.

15 Faith rose triumphant; unbelief was not. Ambition covered up his face and fled away, and Jesus said,

16 The wealth, the honour, and the fame of earth are but the baubles of an hour.

17 When this short span of earthly life has all been measured out, man's bursting baubles will be buried with his bones,

18 Yea, what a man does for his selfish self will make no markings on the credit side of life.

19 The good that men for other men shall do becomes a ladder strong on which the soul may climb to wealth, and power and fame of God's own kind, that cannot pass away.

20 Give me the poverty of men, the consciousness of duty done in love, the approbation of my God, and I will be content.

21 And then he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,

22 My Father-God, I thank thee for this hour. I ask not for the glory of thyself; I fain would be a keeper of thy temple gates, and serve my brother man.

23 Again was Jesus called to stand before the hierophant; again no word was said, but in his hands the master placed a scroll on which was written, FAITH.

24 And Jesus bowed his head in humble thanks; then went his way.

CHAPTER 51

1 WHEN other certain days had passed, the guide led Jesus to the Hall of Mirth, a hall most richly furnished, and replete with everything a carnal heart could wish.

2 The choicest viands and the most delicious wines were on the boards; and maids, in gay attire, served all with grace and cheerfulness.

3 And men and women, richly clad, were there; and they were wild with joy; they sipped from every cup of mirth.

4 And Jesus watched the happy throng in silence for a time, and then a man in garb of sage came up and said, Most happy is the man who, like the bee, can gather sweets from every flower.

5 The wise man is the one who seeks for pleasure, and can find it everywhere.

6 At best man's span of life on earth is short, and then he dies and goes, he knows not where.

7 Then let us eat, and drink, and dance, and sing, and get the joys of life, for death comes on apace.

8 It is but foolishness to spend a life for other men. Behold, all die and lie together in the grave, where none can know and none can show forth gratitude.

9 But Jesus answered not; upon the tinselled guests in all their rounds of mirth he gazed in silent thought.

10 And then among the guests he saw a man whose clothes were coarse; who showed in face and hands the lines of toil and want.

11 The giddy throng found pleasure in abusing him; they jostled him against the wall, and laughed at his discomfiture.

12 And then a poor, frail woman came, who carried in her face and form the marks of sin and shame; and without mercy she was spit upon, and jeered, and driven from the hall.

13 And then a little child, with timid ways and hungry mien, came in and asked for just a morsel of their food.

14 But she was driven out uncared for and unloved; and still the merry dance went on.

15 And when the pleasure seekers urged that Jesus join them in their mirth, he said,

16 How could I seek for pleasure for myself while others are in want? How can you think that while the children cry for bread, while those in haunts of sin call out for sympathy and love that I can fill myself to full with the good things of life?

17 I tell you, nay; we all are kin, each one a part of the great human heart.

18 I cannot see myself apart from that poor man that you so scorned, and crowded to the wall;

19 Nor from the one in female garb who came up from the haunts of vice to ask for sympathy and love, who was by you so ruthlessly pushed back into her den of sin;

20 Nor from that little child that you drove from your midst to suffer in the cold, bleak winds of night.

21 I tell you, men, what you have done to these, my kindred, you have done to me.

22 You have insulted me in your own home; I cannot stay. I will go forth and find that child, that woman and that man, and give them help until my life's blood all has ebbed away.

23 I call it pleasure when I help the helpless, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and speak good words of cheer to those unloved, discouraged and depressed.

24 And this that you call mirth is but a phantom of the night; but flashes of the fire of passion, painting pictures on the walls of time.

25 And while the Logos spoke the white-robed priest came in and said to him, The council waits for you.

26 Then Jesus stood again before the bar; again no word was said; the hierophant placed in his hands a scroll, on which was writ, PHILANTHROPY.

27 And Jesus was a victor over selfish self.

CHAPTER 52

1 THE sacred temple groves were rich in statues, monuments and shrines; here Jesus loved to walk and meditate.

2 And after he had conquered self he talked with nature in these groves for forty days.

3 And then the guide took chains and bound him hand and foot; and then cast him into a den of hungry beasts, of unclean birds, and creeping things.

4 The den was dark as night; the wild beasts howled; the birds in fury screamed; the reptiles hissed.

5 And Jesus said, Who was it that did bind me thus? Why did I meekly sit to be bound down with chains?

6 I tell you, none has power to bind a human soul. Of what are fetters made?

7 And in his might he rose, and what he thought were chains were only worthless cords that parted at his touch.

8 And then he laughed and said, The chains that bind men to the carcasses of earth are forged in fancy's shop; are made of air, and welded in illusion's fires.

9 If man will stand erect, and use the power of will, his chains will fall, like worthless rags; for will and faith are stronger than the stoutest chains that men have ever made.

10 And Jesus stood erect among the hungry beasts, and birds, and said, What is this darkness that envelops me?

11 "Tis but the absence of the light. And what is light? 'Tis but the breath of God vibrating in the rhythm of rapid thought.

12 And then he said, Let there be light; and with a mighty will he stirred the ethers up, and their vibrations reached the plane of light; and there was light.

13 The darkness of that den of night became the brightness of a newborn day.

14 And then he looked to see the beasts, and birds, and creeping things; lo, they were not.

15 And Jesus said, Of what are souls afraid? Fear is the chariot in which man rides to death;

16 And when he finds himself within the chamber of the dead, he learns that he has been deceived; his chariot was a myth, and death a fancy child.

17 But some day all man's lessons will be learned, and from the den of unclean beasts, and birds, and creeping things he will arise to walk in light.

18 And Jesus saw a ladder made of gold, on which he climbed, and at the top the white-robed priest awaited him.

19 Again he stood before the council bar; again no word was said; again the hierophant reached forth his hand to bless.

20 He placed in Jesus' hand another scroll, and on this one was written, HEROISM.

21 The Logos had encountered fear and all his phantom host, and in the conflict he achieved the victory.

CHAPTER 53

1 IN all the land there is no place more grandly furnished than the Beauty Parlours of the temple of the sun.

2 Few students ever entered these rich rooms; the priests regarded them with awe, and called them Halls of Mysteries.

3 When Jesus had attained the victory over fear, he gained the right to enter here.

4 The guide led on the way, and after passing many richly furnished rooms they reached the Hall of Harmony; and here was Jesus left alone.

5 Among the instruments of music was a harpsichord, and Jesus sat in thoughtful mood inspecting it, when, quietly, a maiden of entrancing beauty came into the hall.

6 She did not seem to notice Jesus as he sat and mused, so busy with his thoughts.

7 She found her place beside the harpsichord; she touched the chords most gently, and she sung the songs of Israel.

8 And Jesus was entranced; such beauty he had never seen; such music he had never heard.

9 The maiden sung her songs; she did not seem to know that any one was near; she went her way.

10 And Jesus, talking with himself, said out, What is the meaning of this incident? I did not know that such entrancing beauty and such queen-like loveliness were ever found among the sons of men.

11 I did not know that voice of angel ever graced a human form, or that seraphic music ever came from human lips.

12 For days he sat entranced; the current of his thoughts was changed; he thought of nothing but the singer and her songs.

13 He longed to see her once again; and after certain days she came; she spoke and laid her hand upon his head.

14 Her touch thrilled all his soul, and for the time, forgotten was the work that he was sent to do.

15 Few were the words the maiden said; she went her way; but then the heart of Jesus had been touched.

16 A love-flame had been kindled in his soul, and he was brought to face the sorest trial of his life.

17 He could not sleep nor eat. Thoughts of the maiden came; they would not go. His carnal nature called aloud for her companionship.

18 And then he said, Lo, I have conquered every foe that I have met, and shall I now be conquered by this carnal love?

19 My Father sent me here to show the power of love divine, that love that reaches every living thing.

20 Shall this pure, universal love be all absorbed by carnal love? Shall I forget all creatures else, and lose my life in this fair maiden, though she is the highest type of beauty, purity and love?

21 Into its very depths his soul was stirred, and long he wrestled with this angel-idol of his heart.

22 But when the day was almost lost, his higher ego rose in might; he found himself again, and then he said,

23 Although my heart shall break I will not fail in this my hardest task; I will be victor over carnal love.

24 And when again the maiden came, and offered him her hand and heart, he said,

25 Fair one, your very presence thrills me with delight; your voice is benediction to my soul; my human self would fly with you, and be contented in your love;

26 But all the world is craving for a love that I have come to manifest.

27 I must, then, bid you go; but we will meet again; our ways on earth will not be cast apart.

28 I see you in the hurrying throngs of earth as minister of love; I hear your voice in song, that wins the hearts of men to better things.

29 And then in sorrow and in tears the maiden went away, and Jesus was again alone.

30 And instantly the great bells of the temple rang; the singers sung a new, new song; the grotto blazed with light.

31 The hierophant himself appeared, and said, All hail! triumphant Logos, hail! The conqueror of carnal love stands on the heights.

32 And then he placed in Jesus' hands a scroll on which was written, LOVE DIVINE.

33 Together they passed through the grotto of the beautiful, and in the banquet hall a feast was served, and Jesus was the honoured guest.

CHAPTER 54

1 THE senior course of study now was opened up and Jesus entered and became a pupil of the hierophant.

2 He learned the secrets of the mystic lore of Egypt land; the mysteries of life and death and of the worlds beyond the circle of the sun.

3 When he had finished all the studies of the senior course, he went into the Chamber of the Dead, that he might learn the ancient methods of perserving from decay the bodies of the dead; and here he wrought.

4 And carriers brought the body of a widow's only son to be embalmed; the weepng mother followed close; her grief was great.

5 And Jesus said, Good woman, dry your tears; you follow but an empty house; your son is in it not.

6 You weep because your son is dead. Death is a cruel word; your son can never die.

7 He had a task assigned to do in garb of flesh; he came; he did his work, and then he laid the flesh aside; he did not it more.

8 Beyond your human sight he has another work to do, and he will do it well, and then pass on to other tasks, and, by and by, he will attain the crown of perfect life.

9 And what your son has done, and what he yet must do, we all must do.

10 Now, if you harbour grief, and give your sorrows vent they will grow greater every day. They will absorb your very life until at last you will be naught but grief, wet down with bitter tears.

11 Instead of helping him you gieve your son by your deep grief. He seeks your solace now as he has ever done; is glad when you are glad; is saddened when you grieve.

12 Go bury deep your woes, and smile at grief, and lose yourself in helping others dry their tears.

13 With duty done comes happiness and joy; and gladness cheers the hearts of those who have passed on.

14 The weeping woman turned, and went her way to find a happiness in helpfulness; to bury deep her sorrows in a ministry of joy.

15 Then other carriers came and brought the body of a mother to the Chamber of the Dead; and just one mourner followed; she a girl of tender years.

16 And as the cortege neared the door, the child observed a wounded bird in sore distress, a cruel hunter's dart had pierced its breast.

17 And she left following the dead, and went to help the living bird.

18 With tenderness and love she folded to her breast the wounded bird, then hurried to her place.

19 And Jesus said to her, Why did you leave your dead to save a wounded bird?

20 The maiden said, This lifeless body needs no help from me; but I can help while yet life is; my mother taught me this.

21 My mother taught that grief and selfish love, and hopes and fears are but reflexes from the lower self;

22 That what we sense are but small waves upon the rolloing billows of a life.

23 These all will pass away; they are unreal.

24 Tears flow from hearts of flesh; the spirit never weeps; and I am longing for the day when I will walk in light, where tears are wiped away.

25 My mother taught that all emotions are the sprays that rise from human loves, and hopes, and fears; that perfect bliss cannot be ours till we have conquered these.

26 And in the presence of that child did Jesus bow his head in reverence. He said,

27 For days and months and years I've sought to learn this highest truth that man can learn on earth, and here a child, fresh brought to earth, has told it all in one short breath.

28 No wonder David said, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

29 Out of the mouths of babes and suckings hast thou ordained strength.

30 And then he laid his hand upon the maiden's head, and said, I'm sure the blessings of my Father-God will rest upon you, child, for evermore.

CHAPTER 55

1 THE work of Jesus in the Chamber of the Dead was done, and in the temple purple room he stood before the hierophant,

2 And he was clothed in purple robes; and all the brothers stood. The hierophant arose and said,

3 This is a royal day for all the hosts of Israel. In honour of their chosen son we celebrate the great Passover Feast.

4 And then he said to Jesus, Brother, man, most excellent of men, in all the temple tests you have won out.

5 Six times before the bar of right you have been judged; six times you have received the highest honours man can give; and now you stand prepared to take the last degree.

6 Upon your brow I place this diadem, and in the Great Lodge of the heavens and earth you are THE CHRIST.

7 This is your Passover rite. You are a neophyte no more; but now a master mind.

8 Now, man can do no more; but God himself will speak, and will confirm your title and degree.

9 Go on your way, for you must preach the gospel of good will to men and peace on earth; must open up the prison doors and set the captives free.

10 And while the hierophant yet spoke the temple bells rang out; a pure white dove descended from above and sat on Jesus' head.

11 And then a voice that shook the very temple said, THIS IS THE CHRIST; and every living creature said, AMEN.

12 The great doors of the temple swung ajar; the Logos journeyed on his way a conqueror.

SECTION XII

CHAPTER 56

1 IN every age since time began have seven sages lived.

2 At first of every age these sages meet to note the course of nations, peoples, tribes and tongues;

3 To note how far toward justice, love and righteousness the race has gone;

4 To formulate the code of laws, religious postulates and plans of rule best suited to the coming age.

5 An age had passed, and lo, another age had come; the sages must convene.

6 Now, Alexandria was the centre of the world's best thought, and here in Philo's home the sages met.

7 From China came Meng-ste; from India Viyapati came; from Persia Kaspar came; and from Assyria Ashbina came; from Greece Apollo; Matheno was the Egyptian sage, and Philo was the chief of Hebrew thought.

8 The time was due; the council met and sat in silence seven days.

9 And then Meng-ste arose and said, The wheel of time has turned once more; the race is on a higher plane of thought.

10 The garments that or fathers wove have given out; the cherubim have woven a celestial cloth; have placed it in our hands and we must make for men new garbs.

11 The sons of men are looking up for greater light. No longer do they care for gods hewn out of wood, or made of clay. They seek a Gob not made with hands.

12 They see the beams of coming day, and yet they comprehend them not.

13 The time is ripe, and we must fashion well these garments for the race.

14 And let us make for men new garbs of justice, mercy, righteousness and love, that they may hide their nakedness when shines the light of coming day.

15 And Vidyapati said, Our priests have all gone mad; they saw a demon in the wilds and at him cast their lamps and they are broken up, and not a gleam of light has any priest for men.

16 The night is dark; the heart of India calls for light.

17 The priesthood cannot be reformed; it is already dead; its greatest needs are graves and funeral chants.

18 The new age calls for liberty; the kind that makes each man a priest, enables him to go alone, and lay his offerings on the shrine of God.

19 And Kaspar said, In Persia people walk in fear; they do the good for fear to do the wrong.

20 The devil is the greatest power in our land, and though a myth, he dandles on his knee both youth and age.

21 Our land is dark, and evil prospers in the dark.

22 Fear rides on every passing breeze, and lurks in every form of life.

23 The fear of evil is a myth, is an illusion and a snare; but it will live until some mighty power shall come to raise the ethers to the plane of light.

24 When this shall come to pass the magian land will glory in the light. The soul of Persia calls for light.

CHAPTER 57

1 ASHBINA said, Assyria is the land of doubt; the chariot of my people, that in which they mostly ride, is labelled Doubt.

2 Once Faith walked forth in Babylon; and she was bright and fair; but she clothed in such white robes that men became afraid of her.

3 And every wheel began to turn, and Doubt made war on her, and drove her from the land; and she came back no more.

4 In form men worship God, the One; in heart they are not sure that God exists.

5 Faith worships at the shrine of one not seen; but Doubt must see her God.

6 The greatest need of all Assyria is faith--a faith that seasons every thing that is, with certainty.

7 And then Apollo said, The greatest needs of Greece are true concepts of God.

8 Theogony in Greece is rudderless, for every thought may be a god, and worshipped as a god.

9 The plane of thought is broad, and full of sharp antagonists; and so the circle of the gods is filled with enmity, with wars and base intrigues.

10 Greece needs a master mind to stand above the gods; to raise the thoughts of men away from many gods to God the One.

11 We know that light is coming o'er the hills. God speed the light.

12 Matheno said, Behold this land of mystery! this Egypt of the dead!

13 Our temples long have been the tombs of all the hidden things of time; our temples, crypts and caves are dark.

14 In light there are no secret things. The sun reveals all hidden truth. There are no mysteries in God.

15 Behold the rising sun! His beams are entering every door; yea, every crevice of the mystic crypt of Mizraim.

16 We hail the light! All Egypt craves the light.

17 And Philo said, The need of Hebrew thought and life is liberty.

18 The Hebrew prophets, seers, and givers of the law, were men of power, men of holy thought, and they bequeathed to us a system of philosophy that is ideal; one strong enough and good enough to lead our people to the goal of perfectness.

19 But carnal minds repudiated holiness; a priesthood filled with selfishness arose, and purity in heart became a myth; the people were enslaved.

20 The priesthood is the curse of Israel; but when he comes, who is to come, he will proclaim emancipation for the slaves; my people will be free.

21 Behold, for God has made incarnate wisdom, love and light, which he has called Immanuel.

22 To him is given the keys to open up the dawn; and here, as man, he walks with us.

23 And then the council chamber door was opened and the Logos stood among the sages of the world.

24 Again the sages sat in silence seven days.

CHAPTER 58

1 NOW, when the sages were refreshed they opened up the Book of Life and read.

2 They read the story of the life of man; of all his struggles, losses, gains; and in the light of past events and needs, they saw what would be best for him in coming years.

3 They knew the kind of laws and precepts suited best to his estate; they saw the highest God-ideal that the race could comprehend.

4 Upon the seven postulates these sages were to formulate, the great philosophy of life and worship of the coming age must rest.

5 Now Meng-ste was the oldest sage; he took the chair of chief, and said,

6 Man is not far enough advanced to live by faith; he cannot comprehend the things his eyes see not.

7 He yet is child, and during all the coming age he must be taught by pictures, symbols, rites and forms.

8 His God must be a human God; he cannot see a God by faith.

9 And then he cannot rule himself; the king must rule; the man must serve.

10 The age that follows this will be the age of man, the age of faith.

11 In that blest age the human race will see without the aid of carnal eyes; will hear the soundless sound; will know the Spirit-God.

12 The age we enter is the Preparation age, and all the schools and governments and worship rites must be designed in simple way that men may comprehend.

13 And man cannot originate; he builds by patterns that he sees; so in this council we must carve out pattern for the coming age.

14 And we must formulate the gnosis of the Empire of the soul, which rests on seven postulates.

15 Each sage in turn shall form a postulate; and these shall be the basis of the creeds of men until the perfect age shall come.

16 Then Meng-ste wrote the first:

17 All things are thought; all life is thought activity. The multitude of beings are but phases of the one great thought made manifest. Lo, God is Thought, and Thought is God.

18 Then Vidyapati wrote the second postulate:

19 Eternal Thought is one; in essence it is two--Intelligence and Force; and when they breathe a child is born; this child is Love.

20 And thus the Triune God stands forth,whom men call Father-Mother-Child.

21 This Triune God is one; but like the one of light, in essence he is seven.

22 And when the Triune God breathes forth, lo, seven Spirits stand before his face; these are creative attributes.

23 Men call them lesser gods, and in their image they made man.

24 And Kaspar wrote the third:

25 Man was a thought of God, formed in the image of the Septonate, clothed in the substances of soul.

26 And his desires were strong; he sought to manifest on every plane of life, and for himself he made a body of the ethers of the earthly forms, and so descended to the plane of earth.

27 In this descent he lost his birthright; lost his harmony with God, and made discordant all the notes of life.

28 Inharmony and evil are the same; so evil is the handiwork of man.

29 Ashbina wrote the fourth:

30 Seeds do not germinate in light; they do not grow until they find the soil, and hide themselves away from light.

31 Man was evolved a seed of everlasting life; but in the ethers of the Triune God the light was far too great for seeds to grow;

32 And so man sought the soil of carnal life, and in the darksomeness of earth he found a place where he could germinate and grow.

33 The seed has taken root and grown full well.

34 The tree of human life is rising from the soil of earthy things, and, under natural law, is reaching up to perfect form.

35 There are no supernatural acts of God to lift a man from carnal life to spirit blessedness; he grows as grows the plant, and in due time is perfected.

36 The quality of soul that makes it possible for man to rise to spirit life is purity.

CHAPTER 59

1 APOLLO wrote the fifth:

2 The soul is drawn to perfect light by four white steeds, and these are Will, and Faith, and Helpfulness and Love.

3 That which one wills to do, he has the power to do.

4 A knowledge of that power is faith; and when faith moves, the soul begins its flight.

5 A selfish faith leads not to light. There is no lonely pilgrim on the way to light. Men only gain the heights by helping others gain the heights.

6 The steed that leads the way to spirit life is Love; is pure unselfish Love.

7 Matheno wrote the sixth:

8 The universal Love of which Apollo speaks is child of Wisdom and of Will divine, and God has sent if forth to earth in flesh that man may know.

9 The universal Love of which the sages speak, is Christ.

10 The greatest mystery of all times lies in the way that Christ lives in the heart.

11 Christ cannot live in clammy dens of carnal things. The seven battles must be fought, the seven victories won before the carnal things, like fear, and self, emotions and desire, are put away.

12 When this is done the Christ will take possession of the soul; the work is done, and man and God are one.

13 And Philo wrote the seventh:

14 A perfect man! To bring before the Triune God a being such as this was nature made.

15 This consummation is the highest revelation of the mystery of life.

16 When all the essences of carnal things have been transmuted into soul, and all the essences of soul have been returned to Holy Breath, and man is made a perfect God, the drama of Creation will conclude. And this is all.

17 And all the sages said, Amen.

18 Then Meng-ste said, The Holy One has sent to us a man illumined by the efforts of unnumbered years, to lead the thoughts of men.

19 This man, approved by all the master minds of heaven and earth, this man from Galilee, this Jesus, chief of all the sages of the world, we gladly recognise.

20 In recognition of this wisdom that he brings to men, we crown him with the Lotus wreath.

21 We send him forth with all the blessing of the seven sages of the world.

22 Then all the sages laid their hands on Jesus' head, and said with one accord, Praise God!

23 For wisdom, honour, glory, power, riches, blessing, strength, are yours, O Christ, for evermore.

24 And every living creature said, Amen.

25 And then the sages sat in silence seven days.

CHAPTER 60

1 THE seven days of silence passed and Jesus, sitting with the sages said:

2 The history of life is well condensed in these immortal postulates. These are the seven hills on which the holy city shall be built.

3 These are the seven sure foundation stones on which the Universal Church shall stand.

4 In taking up the work assigned for me to do I am full conscious of the perils of the way; the cup will be a bitter one to drink and human nature well might shrink.

5 But I have lost my will in that of Holy Breath, and so I go my way to speak and act by Holy Breath.

6 The words I speak are not my own; they are the words of him whose will i do.

7 Man is not far enough advanced in sacred thought to comprehend the Universal Church, and so the work that God has given me to do is not the building of that Church.

8 I am a model maker, sent to make a pattern of the Church that is to be-- a pattern that the age may comprehend.

9 My task as model builder lies within my native land, and there, upon the postulate that Love is son of God, that I am come to manifest that Love, the Model Church will stand.

10 And from the men of low estate I will select twelve men, who represent the twelve immortal thoughts; and these will be the Model Church.

11 The house of Judah, my own kindred in the flesh, will comprehend but little of my mission to the world.

12 And they will spurn me, scorn my work, accuse me falsely, bind me, take me to the judgement seat of carnel men who will convict and slay me on the cross.

13 But men can never slay the truth; though banished it will come again in greater power; for truth will subjugate the world.

14 The Model Church will live. Though carnal man will prostitute its sacred laws, symbolic rites and forms, for selfish ends, and make it but an outward show, the few will find through it the kingdom of the soul.

15 And when the better age shall come the Universal Church will stand upon the seven postulates, and will be built according to the pattern given.

16 The time has come; I go my way unto Jerusalem, and by the power of living faith, and by the strength that you have given.

17 And in the name of God, our Father-God, the kingdom of the soul shall be established on the seven hills.

18 And all the peoples, tribes and tongues of earth shall enter in.

19 The Prince of Peace will take his seat upon the throne of power; the Triune God will then be All in All.

20 And all the sages said, Amen.

21 And Jesus went his way, and after many days, he reached Jerusalem; and then he sought his home in Galilee.

SECTION XIII

CHAPTER 61

1 IT came to pass when John, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, had finished all his studies in the Egyptian schools that he returned to Hebron, where he abode for certain days.

2 And then he sought the wilderness and made his home in David's cave where many years before, he was instructed by the Egyptian sage.

3 Some people called him Hermit of Engedi; and others said, He is the Wild Man of the Hills.

4 He clothed himself with skins of beasts; his food was carobs, honey, nuts and fruits.

5 When John was thirty years of age he went into Jerusalem, and in the market place he sat in silence seven days.

6 The common people and the priests, the scribes and Pharisees came out in multitudes to see the silent hermit of the hills; but none were bold enough to ask him who he was.

7 But when his silent fast was done he stood forth in the midst of all and said:

8 Behold the king has come; the prophets told of him; the wise men long have looked for him.

9 Prepare, O Israel, prepare to meet your king.

10 And that was all he said, and then he disappeared, and no one knew where he had gone.

11 And there was great unrest through all Jerusalem. The rulers heard the story of the hermit of the hills.

12 And they sent couriers forth to talk with him that they might know about the coming king; but they could find him not.

13 And after certain days he came again into the market place, and all the city came to hear him speak; he said:

14 Be not disturbed, you rulers of the state; the coming king is no antagonist; he seeks no place on any earthly throne.

15 He comes the Prince of Peace, the king of righteousness and love; his kingdom is within the soul.

16 The eyes of men shall see it not and none can enter but the pure in heart.

17 Prepare, O Israel, prepare to meet your king.

18 Again the hermit disappeared; the people strove to follow him, but he had drawn a veil about his form and men could see him not.

19 A Jewish feast day came; Jerusalem was filled with Jews and proselytes from every part of Palestine, and John stood in the temple court and said,

20 Prepare, O Israel, prepare to meet your king.

21 Lo, you have lived in sin; the poor cry in your streets, and you regard them not.

22 Your neighbours, who are they? You have defrauded friend and foe alike.

23 You worship God with voice and lip; your hearts are far away, and set on gold.

24 Your priests have bound upon the people burdens far to great to bear; they live in ease upon the hard earned wages of the poor.

25 Your lawyers, doctors, scribes are useless cumberers of the ground; they are but tumours on the body of the state;

26 They toil not neither do they spin, yet they consume the profits of your marts of trade.

27 Your rulers are adulterers, extortioners and thieves, regarding not the rights of any man;

28 And robbers ply their calling in the sacred halls; the holy temple you have sold to thieves; their dens are in the sacred places set apart for prayer.

29 Hear! hear! you people of Jerusalem! Reform; turn from your evil ways or God will turn from you and heathen from afar will come, and what is left of all your honour and your fame will pass in one short hour.

30 Prepare, Jerusalem, prepare to meet your king.

31 He said no more; he left the court and no one saw him go.

32 The priests, the doctors and the scribes were all in rage. They sought for John intent to do him harm. They found him not.

33 The common people stood in his defence; they said, The hermit speaks the truth.

34 And then the priests, the doctors and the scribes were sore afraid; they said no more; they hid themselves away.

CHAPTER 62

1 NEXT day John went again into the temple courts and said,

2 Prepare, O Israel, prepare to meet your king.

3 The chief priests and the scribes would know the meaning of his words; they said.

4 Bold man, what is the purport of this message that you bring to Israel? If you be seer and prophet tell us plainly who has sent you here?

5 And John replied, I am the voice of one who cries out in the wilderness, Prepare the way, make straight the paths, for, lo, the Prince of Peace will come to rule in love.

6 Your prophet Malachi wrote down the words of God:

7 And I will send Elijah unto you before the retribution day shall come, to turn again the hearts of men to God, and if they will not turn, lo, I will smite them with a curse.

8 You men of Israel; you know your sins. As I passed by I saw a wounded bird prone in your streets, and men of every class were beating it with clubs; and then I saw that Justice was its name.

9 I looked again and saw that its companion had been killed; the pure white wings of Righteousness were trampled in the dust.

10 I tell you men, your awfulness of guilt has made a cesspool of iniquity that sends a fearful stench to heaven.

11 Reform, O Israel, reform; prepare to meet your king.

12 And then John turned away and as he went he said,

13 In seven days, lo, I will stand at Gilgal, by the Jordan ford, where Israel first crossed into the promised land.

14 And then he left the temple court to enter it no more; but many people followed him as far as Bethany, and there he tarried at the home of Lazarus, his kin.

15 The anxious people gathered all about the home and would not go; then John came forth and said,

16 Reform, O Israel, reform; prepare to meet your king.

17 The sins of Israel do not all lie at the door of priest and scribe. O think you not that all the sinners of Judea are found among the rulers and the men of wealth.

18 It is no sign that man is good and pure because he lives in want.

19 The listless, shiftless vagabonds of earth are mostly poor and have to beg for bread.

20 I saw the very men that cheered because I told the priests and scribes of their injustice unto man, throw stones and beat poor Justice in the streets.

21 I saw them trample on the poor dead bird of Righteousness;

22 And you who follow after me,you commoners, are not one whit behind the scribes and priests in crime.

23 Reform, you men of Israel; the king has come; prepare to meet your king.

24 With Lazarus and his sisters, John remained for certain days.

25 In honour of the Nazarite a feast was spread, and all the people stood about the board.

26 And when the chief men of the town poured out the sparkling wine and offered John a cup, he took it, held it high in air, and said,

27 Wine makes glad the carnal heart, and it makes sad the human soul; it plunges deep in bitterness and gall the deathless spirit of the man.

28 I took the vow of Nazar when a child, and not a drop has ever passed my lips.

29 And if you would make glad the coming king, then shun the cup as you would shun a deadly thing.

30 And then he threw the sparking wine out in the street.

CHAPTER 63

1 AND John went down to Jericho; there he abode with Alpheus.

2 And when the people heard that he was there they came in throngs to hear him speak.

3 He spoke to none; but when the time was due he went down to the Jordan ford, and to the multitudes he said.

4 Reform and in the fount of purity wash all your sins away; the kingdom is at hand.

5 Come unto me and in the waters of this streambe washed, symbolic of the inner cleansing of the soul.

6 And, lo, the multitudes came down, and in the Jordan they were washed, and every man confessed his sins.

7 For many months, in all the regoins round about, John pled for purity and righteousness, and after many days he went again to Bethany; and there he taught.

8 At first few but the honest seekers came; but, by and by, the selfish and the vicious came with no contrition; came because the many came.

9 And when John saw the repentant Pharisees and Sadducees come unto him, he said,

10 You children of the vipers, stay; are you disturbed by news of coming wrath?

11 Go to, and do the things that prove repentance genuine.

12 Is it enough for you to say that you are heirs of Abraham? I tell you, no.

13 The heirs of Abraham are just as wicked in the sight of God when they do wrong as any heathen man.

14 Behold the axe! and every tree that bears not wholesome fruit is cut down at the roots and cast into the fire.

15 And then the people asked, What must we do?

16 And John replied, Accept the ministry of helpfulness for all mankind; spend not upon your selfish selves all that you have.

17 Let him who has two coats give one to him who has no coat; give part of all the food you have to those in need.

18 And when the publicans came up and asked, What must we do? John answered them,

19 Be honest in your work; do not increase for selfish gain the tribute you collect; take nothing more than what your king demands.

20 And when the soldiers came and asked, What must we do? The harbinger replied,

21 Do violence to none; exact no wrongful thing, and be contented with the wages you receive.

22 Among the Jews were many who had been waiting for the Christ to come, and they regarded John as Christ.

23 But to their questions John replied, In water I do cleanse, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul; but when he comes who is to come, lo, he will cleanse in Holy Breath and purify in fire.

24 His fan is in his hand, and he will separate the wheat and chaff; will throw the chaff away, but garner every grain of wheat. This is the Christ.

25 Behold he comes! and he will walk with you, and you will know him not.

26 He is the king; the latchet of his shoes I am not worthy to unloose.

27 And John left Bethany and went again unto the Jordan ford.

CHAPTER 64

1 THE news reached Galilee, and Jesus with the multitude went down to where the harbinger was preaching at the ford.

2 When Jesus saw the harbinger he said. Behold the man of God! Behold the greatest of the seers! Behold, Elijah has returned!

3 Behold the messenger whom God has sent to open up the way! The kingdom is at hand.

4 When John saw Jesus standing with the throng he said, Behold the king who cometh in the name of God!

5 And Jesus said to John, I would be washed in water as a symbol of the cleansing of the soul.

6 And John replied, you do not need to wash, for you are pure in thought, and word, and deed. And if you need to wash I am not worthy to perform the rite.

7 And Jesus said, I come to be a pattern for the sons of men, and what I bid them do, that I must do; and all men must be washed, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul.

8 This washing we establish as a rite--baptism rite we call it now, and so it shall be called.

9 Your work, prophetic harbinger, is to prepare the way, and to reveal the hidden things.

10 The multitudes are ready for the words of life, and I come to be made known by you to all the world, as prophet of the Triune God, and as the chosen one to manifest the Christ to men.

11 Then John led Jesus down into the river at the ford and he baptised him in the sacred name of him who sent him forth to manifest the Christ to men.

12 And as they came out of the stream, the Holy Breath, in form of dove, came down and sat on Jesus' head.

13 A voice from heaven said, This is the well-beloved son of God, the Christ, the love of God made manifest.

14 John heard the voice, and understood the message of the voice.

15 Now Jesus went his way, and John preached to the multitude.

16 As many as confessed their sins, and turned from evil ways to ways of right, the harbinger baptised, symbolic of the blotting of sins by righteousness.

SECTION XIV

CHAPTER 65

1 THE harbinger had paved the way; the Logos had been introduced to men as love made manifest, and he must now begin his Christine ministry.

2 And he went forth into the wilderness to be alone with God that he might look into his inner heart, and note its strength and worthiness.

3 And with himself he talked; he said, My lower self is strong; by many ties I am bound down to carnal life.

4 Have I the strength to overcome and give my life a willing sacrifice for men?

5 When I shall stand before the face of men, and they demand a proof of my messiahship, what will I say?

6 And then the tempter came and said, If you be son of God, command these stones to turn to bread.

7 And Jesus said, Who is it that demands a test? It is no sign that one is son of God because he does a miracle; the devils can do mighty things.

8 Did not the black magicians do great things before the Pharaohs?

9 My words and dees in all the walks of life shall be the proof of my messiahship.

10 And then the tempter said, If you will go into Jerusalem, and from the temple pinnacle cast down yourself to earth, the people will believe that you are the Messiah sent from God.

11 This you can surely do; for did not David say, He gives his angels charge concerning you, and with their will they uphold lest you should fall?

12 And Jesus said, I may not tempt the Lord, my God.

13 And then the tempter said, Look forth upon the world; behold its honours and its fame! Behold its pleasures and its wealth!

14 If you will give your life for these they shall be yours.

15 But Jesus said, Away from me all tempting thoughts. My heart is fixed; I spurn this carnal self with all its vain ambition and its pride.

16 For forty days did Jesus wrestle with his carnal self; his higher self Prevailed. He then was hungry, but his friends had found him and they ministered to him.

17 Then Jesus left the wilderness and in the consciousness of Holy breath, he came unto the camps of John and taught.

CHAPTER 66

1 AMONG the followers of John were many men from Galilee. The most devout were Andrew, Simon, James, and John, with Philip and his brother of Bethsaida.

2 One day as Andrew, Philip and a son of Zebedee, were talking with the harbinger, the Logos came, and John exclaimed, Behold the Christ!

3 And then the three disciples followed Jesus, and he asked, What do you seek?

4 And the disciples asked, Where do you live? And Jesus answered, Come and see.

5 And Andrew called his brother Simon, saying, Come with me, for I have found the Christ.

6 When Jesus looked in Simon's face he said, Behold a rock! and Peter is your name.

7 And Philip found Nathaniel sitting by a tree, and said, My brother, come with me, for I have found the Christ! In Nazareth he abides.

8 Nathaniel said, Can anything of good come out of Nazareth? And Philip answered, Come and see.

9 When Jesus saw Nathaniel come he said, Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile!

10 Nathaniel said, How can you speak about me thus?

11 And Jesus said, I saw you as you sat beneath the fig tree over there, before your brother called.

12 Nathaniel lifted up his hands and said, This surely is the Christ, the king, for whom the harbinger has often testified.

13 And John went forth and found his brother James, and brought him to the Christ.

14 The six disciples went with Jesus to the place where he abode.

15 And Peter said, We long have sought for Christ. We came from Galilee to John; we thought that he was Christ, but he confessed to us that he was not;

16 That he was but the harbinger sent forth to clear the way, and make the pathway easy for the coming king; and when you came he said, Behold the Christ!

17 And we would gladly follow where you go. Lord, tell us what to do.

18 And Jesus said, The foxes of the earth have homes, the birds have nests; I have no, place to lay my head.

19 He who would follow me must give up all cravings of the self and lose his life in saving life.

20 I come to save the lost, and man is saved when he is rescued from himself. But men are slow to comprehend this doctrine of the Christ.

21 And Peter said, I cannot speak for any other man, but for myself I speak: I will leave all and follow where you lead.

22 And then the others spoke and said, You have the words of truth; you came from God, and if we follow in your footsteps we cannot miss the way.

23 Then Jesus and the six disciples sat a long, long time in silent thought.

CHAPTER 67

1 NOW, on the morrow Jesus came again and stood with John beside the ford; and John prevailed on him to speak, and standing forth he said.

2 You men of Isael, Hear! The kingdom is at hand.

3 Behold the great key-keeper of the age stands in your midst; and with the spirit of Elijah he has come.

4 Behold, for he has turned the key; the mighty gates fly wide and all who will may greet the king.

5 Behold these multitudes of women, children, men! they throng the avenues, they crowd the outer courts; each seems to be intent to be the first to meet the king.

6 Behold, the censor comes and calls, Whoever will may come; but he who comes must will to prune himself of every evil thought;

7 Must overcome desire to gratify the lower self; must give his life to save the lost.

8 The nearer to the kingdom gate you come, more spacious is the room; the multitudes have gone.

9 If men could come unto the kingdom with their carnal thoughts, their passions and desires, there scarcely would be room for all.

10 But when they cannot take these through the narrow gate they turn away; the few are ready to go in and see the king.

11 Behold, John is a mighty fisher, fishing for the souls of men. He throws his great net out into the sea of human life; he draws it in and it is full.

12 But what a medley catch! a catch of crabs, and lobsters, sharks and creeping things, with now and then a fish of better kind.

13 Behold the thousands come to hear the Wild Man of the hills; they come in crowds that he may wash them in the crystal flood, and with their lips they do confess their sins.

14 But when the morrow comes we find them in their haunts of vice again, reviling John, and cursing God, and heaping insults on the king.

15 But blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see the king.

16 And blessed are the strong in heart, for they shall not be cast about by every wind that blows;

17 But while the fickle and the thoughtless have gone back to Egypt land for leeks and carnal herbs to satisfy their appetites, the pure in heart have found the king.

18 But even those whose faith is weak, and who are naught but carnal manifests, will some day come again, and enter in with joy to see the king.

19 O men of Israel, take heed to what this prophet has to say! Be strong in mind; be pure in heart; be vigilant in helpfulness; the kingdom is at hand.

20 When Jesus had thus said he went his way, and with his six disciples came to Bethany; and they abode with Lazarus many days.

CHAPTER 68

1 THE news soon spread abroad that Jesus, king of Israel, had come to Bethany, and all the people of the town came forth to greet the king.

2 And Jesus, standing in the midst of them, exclaimed, Behold, indeed, the king has come, but Jesus is not king.

3 The kingdom truly is at hand; but men can see it not with carnal eyes; they cannot see the king upon the throne.

4 This is the kingdom of the soul; its throne is not an earthly throne; its king is not a man.

5 When human kings found kingdoms here, they conquer other kings by force of arms; one kingdom rises on the ruins of another one.

6 But when our Father-God sets up the kingdom of the soul, he pours his blessings forth, like rain, upon the thrones of earthly kings who rule in righteousness.

7 It is not rule that God would overthrow; his sword is raised against injustice, wantonness and crime.

8 Now, while the kings of Rome do justice, and love mercy and walk humbly with their God, the benediction of the Triune God will rest upon them all.

9 They need not fear a messenger whom God sends forth to earth.

10 I am not sent to sit upon a throne to rule as Caesar rules; and you may tell the ruler of the Jews that I am not a claimant for his throne.

11 Men call me Christ, and God has recognised the name; but Christ is not a man. The Christ is universal love, and Love is king.

12 This Jesus is but man who has been fitted by temptations overcome, by trials multiform, to be the temple through which Christ can manifest to men.

13 Then hear, you men of Israel, hear! Look not upon the flesh; it is not king. Look to the Christ within, who shall be formed in every one of you, as he is formed in me.

14 When you have purified your hearts by faith, the king will enter in, and you will see his face.

15 And then the people asked, What must we do that we may make our bodies fit abiding places for the king?

16 And Jesus said, Whatever tends to purity in thought, and word, and deed will cleanse the temple of the flesh.

17 There are no rules that can apply to all, for men are specialists in sin; each has his own besetting sin,

18 And each must study for himself how he can best transmute his tendency to evil things to that of righteousness and love.

19 Until men reach the higher plane, and get away from selfishness, this rule will give the best results:

20 Do unto other men what you would have them do to you.

21 And many of the people said, We know that Jesus is the Christ, the king who was to come, and blessed be his name.

22 Now, Jesus and his six disciples turned their faces toward Jerusalem, and many people followed them.

23 But Matthew, son of Alpheus, ran on before, and when he reached Jerusalem, he said, Behold the Christines come! The multitudes came forth to see the king.

24 But Jesus did not speak to any one until he reached the temple court, and then he opened up a book and read:

25 Behold, I send my messenger, and he will pave the way, and Christ, for whom you wait, will come unto his temple unannounced. Behold, for he will come, says God, the Lord of hosts.

26 And then he closed the book; he said no more; he left the temple halls, and with his six disciples, went his way to Nazareth,

27 And they abode with Mary, Jesus' mother, and her sister, Miriam.

CHAPTER 69

1 NEXT day as Peter walked about in Nazareth, he met the ruler of the synagogue who asked, Who is this Jesus lately come to Nazareth?

2 And Peter said, This Jesus is the Christ of whom our prophets wrote; he is the king of Israel. His mother, Mary, lives on Marion Way.

3 The ruler said, Tell him to come up to the synagogue, for I would hear his plea.

4 And Peter ran and told to Jesus what the ruler said; but Jesus answered not; he went not to the synagogue.

5 Then in the evening time the ruler came up Marmion Way, and in the home of Mary found he Jesus and his mother all alone.

6 And when the ruler asked for proof of his messiahship, and why he went not to the synagogue when he was bidden, Jesus said,

7 I am not slave to any man; I am not called unto this ministry by priest. It is not mine to answer when men call. I come the Christ of God; I answer unto God alone.

8 Who gave you right to ask for proof of my messiahship? My proof lies in my words and works, and so if you will follow me you will not lack for proof.

9 And then the ruler went his way; he asked himself, What manner of a man is this to disregard the ruler of the synagogue?

10 The people of the town came out in throngs to see the Christ, and hear him speak; but Jesus said,

11 A prophet has no honour in his native town, among his kin.

12 I will not speak in Nazareth until the words I speak, and works I do in other towns have won the faith of men.

13 Until men know that God has christed me to manifest eternal love.

14 Good will to you, my kin; I bless you with a boundless love, and I bespeak for you abundant joy and happiness.

15 He said no more, and all the people marvelled much because he would not speak in Nazareth.

CHAPTER 70

1 IN Cana, Galilee, there was a marriage feast, and Mary and her sister Miriam, and Jesus and his six disciples were among the guests.

2 The ruler of the feast had heard that Jesus was a master sent from God, and he requested him to speak.

3 And Jesus said, There is no tie more sacred than the marriage tie.

4 The chain that binds two souls in love is made in heaven, and man can never sever it in twain.

5 The lower passoins of the twain may cause a union of the twain, a union as when oil and water meet.

6 And then a priest may forge a chain, and bind the twain. This is not marriage genuine; it is a counterfeit.

7 The twain are guilty of adultery; the priest is party to the crime. And that was all that Jesus said.

8 As Jesus stood apart in silent thought his mother came and said to him, The wine has failed; what shall we do?

9 And Jesus said, Pray what is wine? It is but water with the flavouring of grapes.

10 And what are grapes? They are but certain kinds of thought made manifest, and I can manifest that thought, and water will be wine.

11 He called the servants, and he said to them, Bring in six water pots of stone, a pot for each of these, my followers, and fill them up with water to the brims.

12 The servants brought the water pots, and filled them to their brims.

13 And Jesus with a mighty thought stirred up the ethers till they reached the manifest, and, lo, the water blushed, and turned to wine.

14 The servants took the wine and gave it to the ruler of the feast who called the bridegroom in and said to him,

15 This wine is best of all; most people when they give a feast bring in the best wine at first; but, lo, you have reserved the best until last.

16 And when the ruler and the guests were told that Jesus, by the power of thought, had turned the water into wine, they were amazed;

17 They said, This man is more than man; he surely is the christed one who prophets of the olden times declared would come.

18 And many of the guests believed on him, and gladly would have followed him.

CHAPTER 71

1 THE city of Capernaum was by the sea of Galilee, and Peter's home was there. The homes of Andrew, John and James were near,

2 These men were fishermen, and must return to tend their nets, and they prevailed on Jesus and his mother to accompany them, and soon with Philip and Nathaniel they were resting by the sea in Peter's home.

3 The news spread through the city and along the shore that Judah's king had come, and multitudes drew near to press his hand.

4 And Jesus said, I cannot show the king, unless you see with eyes of soul, because the kingdom of the king is in the soul.

5 And every soul a kingdom is. There is a king for every man.

6 This king is love, and when this love becomes the greatest power in life, it is the Christ; so Christ is king.

7 And every one may have this Christ dwell in his soul, as Christ dwells in my soul.

8 The body is the temple of the king, and men may call a holy man a king.

9 He who will cleanse his mortal form and make it pure, so pure that love and righteousness may dwell unsullied side by side within its walls, is king.

10 The kings of earth are clothed in royal robes, and sit in state that men may stand in awe of them.

11 A king of heaven may wear a fisher's garb; may sit in mart of trade; may till the soil, or be a gleaner in the field; may be a slave in mortal chains;

12 May be adjudged a criminal by men; may languish in a prison cell; may die upon a cross.

13 Men seldom see what others truly are. The human senses sense what seems to be, and that which seems to be and that which is, may be diverse in every way.

14 The carnal man beholds the outer man, which is the temple of the king, and worships at his shrine.

15 The man of God is pure in heart; he sees the king; he sees with eyes of soul:

16 And when he rises to the plane of Christine consciousness, he knows that he himself is king, is love, is Christ, and so is son of God.

17 You men of Galilee, prepare to meet your king.

18 And Jesus taught the people many lessons as he walked with them beside the sea.

SECTION XV

CHAPTER 72

1 THE Jewish paschal feast time came and Jesus left his mother in Capernaum and journeyed to Jerusalem.

2 And he abode with one a Sadducee, whose name was Jude.

3 And when he reached the temple courts the multitudes were there to see the prophet whom the people thought had come to break the yoke of Rome, restore the kingdom of the Jews, and rule on David's throne.

4 And when the people saw him come they said, All hail! behold the king!

5 But Jesus answered not; he saw the money changers in the house of God, and he was grieved.

6 The courts had been converted into marts of trade, and men were selling lambs and doves for offerings in sacrifice.

7 And Jesus called the priests and said, Behold, for paltry gain you have sold out the temple of the Lord.

8 This house ordained for prayer is now a den of thieves. Can good and evil dwell together in the courts of God? I tell you, no.

9 And then he made a scourge of cords and drove the merchants out; he overturned their boards, and threw their money on the floor.

10 He opened up the cages of the captive birds, and cut the cords that bound the lambs, and set them free.

11 The priests and scribes rushed out, and would have done him harm, but they were driven back; the common people stood in his defence.

12 And then the rulers said, Who is this Jesus you call king?

13 The people said, He is the Christ of whom our prophets wrote; he is the king who will deliver Israel.

14 The rulers said to Jesus, Man, if you be king, or Christ, then show us signs. Who gave you right to drive these merchants out?

15 And Jesus said, There is no loyal Jew who would not give his life to save this temple from disgrace; in this I acted simply as a loyal Jew, and you yourselves will bear me witness to this truth.

16 The signs of my messiahship will follow me in words and deeds.

17 And you may tear the temple down (and you will tear it down) and in three days it will be built again more glorious than before.

18 Now Jesus meant that they might take his life; tear down his body, temple of the Holy Breath, and he would rise again.

19 The Jews knew not the meaning of his words; they laughed his claims to scorn. They said,

20 A multitude of men were forty and six years in building up this house, and this young stranger claims that he will build it up in three score hours; his words were idle, and his claims are naught.

21 And then they took the scourge with which he drove the merchants out, and would have driven him away; but Philo, who had come from Egypt to attend the feast, stood forth and said,

22 You men of Israel, hear! This man is more than man; take heed to what you do. I have, myself, heard Jesus speak, and all the winds were still.

23 And I have seen him touch the sick, and they were healed. He stands a sage above the sages of the world;

24 And you will see his star arise, and it will grow until it is full-orbed Sun of Righteousness.

25 Do not be hasty, men; just wait and you will have the proofs of his messiahship.

26 And then the priests laid down the scourge, and Jesus said,

27 Prepare, O Israel, prepare to meet your king! But you can never see the king while you press sin as such a precious idol to your hearts.

28 The king is God; the pure in heart alone can see the face of God and live.

29 And then the priests cried out, This fellow claims to be the God. Is not this sacrilege! away with him!

30 But Jesus said, No man has ever heard me say, I am a king. Our Father-God is king. With every loyal Jew I worship God.

31 I am the candle of the Lord aflame to light the way; and while you have the light walk in the light.

CHAPTER 73

1 NEXT day the multitudes were surging through the temple courts, intent on hearing Jesus speak.

2 And when he came the people said, All hail! behold the king!

3 And Jesus spoke a parable; he said, A king had vast domains; his people all were kin, and lived in peace.

4 Now, after many years the king said to his people, Take these lands and all I have; enhance their values; rule yourselves, and live in peace.

5 And then the people formed their states; selected governors and petty kings.

6 But pride, ambition, selfish greed, and base ingratitude grew fast, and kings began to war.

7 They wrote in all their statute books that might is right; and then the strong destroyed the weak, and chaos reigned through all the vast domain.

8 A long time passed, and then the king looked out on his domain. He saw his people in their cruel wars; he saw them sick and sore distressed; he saw the strong enslave the weak,

9 And then he said, What shall I do? Shall I send forth a scourge? shall I destroy my people all?

10 And then his heart was stirred with pity and he said, I will not send a scourge; I will send forth my only son, heir to the throne, to teach the people love, and peace, and righteousness.

11 He sent his son; the people scorned him and maltreated him, and nailed him to a cross.

12 He was entombed; but death was far too weak to hold the prince, and he arose.

13 He took a form man could not kill; and then he went again to teach the people love, and peace and righteousness.

14 And thus God deals with men.

15 A lawyer came and asked, What does messiah mean? and who has right to make messiah of a man?

16 And Jesus said, Messiah is one sent from God to seek and save the lost. Messiahs are not made by men.

17 In first of every age Messiah comes to light the way; to heal up broken hearts; to set the prisoners free. Messiah and the Christ are one.

18 Because a man claims to be Christ is not a sign that he is Christ.

19 A man may cause the streams to flow from flinty rocks; may bring storms at will; may stay tempestuous winds; may heal the sick and raise the dead, and not be sent from God.

20 All nature is subservient to the will of man, and evil man, as well as good, have all the powers of mind, and may control the elements.

21 The head gives not the proof of true messiahship, for man by means of intellect, can never know of God, nor bring himself to walk in light.

22 Messiah lives not in the head, but in the heart, the seat of mercy and of love.

23 Messiah never works for selfish gains; he stands above the carnal self; his words and deeds are for the universal good.

24 Messiah never tries to be a king, to wear a crown and sit upon an earthly throne.

25 The king is earthy, of the earth; Messiah is the man from heaven.

26 And then the lawyer asked, Why do you pose as king?

27 And Jesus said, No man has ever heard me say that I am king. I could not sit in Caesar's place and be the Christ.

28 Give unto Caesar what belongs to him; give unto God the treasures of your heart.

CHAPTER 74

1 IT was the Sabbath day, and Jesus stood among the surging masses of the people in the temple courts and sacred halls.

2 The blind, the deaf, the dumb, and those obsessed were there, and Jesus spoke the Word, and they were healed.

3 On some he laid his hands, and they were healed; to others he just spoke the Word, and they were full restored to health; but others had to go and wash in certain pools; and others he anointed with a holy oil.

4 A doctor asked him why he healed in divers ways, and he replied,

5 Disease is discord in the human form, and discords are produced in many ways.

6 The body is a harpsichord; sometimes the strings are too relaxed, and then inharmony results.

7 Sometimes we find the strings too tense, and then another form of discord is induced.

8 Disease is many-formed, and these are many ways to cure, to tune anew the mystic harpsichord.

9 Now when the Pharisees were told that Jesus healed the people on the Sabbath day they were enraged, and they commanded him to quit the place.

10 But Jesus said, Was man designed to fit the Sabbath, or was the Sabbath day designed to fit the man?

11 If you had fallen in a pit and, lo, the Sabbath day had come, and I should pass your way, would you cry out.

12 Let me alone; it is a sin to help me on the Sabbath day; I'll swelter in this filth until another day?

13 You Pharisees, you hypocrites! you know you would be glad to have my help upon the Sabbath day, or any other day.

14 These people all have fallen into pits, and they are calling loud for me to help them out, and man and God would curse me should I pass along and heed them not.

15 And then the Pharisees returned to say their prayers, and curse the man of God because he heeded not their words.

16 Now, in the evening Jesus stood beside a pool; a playful child had fallen in, and it was drowned, and friends were bearing it away.

17 But Jesus called the carriers to stop; and then he stretched himself upon the lifeless form, and breathed into its mouth the breath of life.

18 And then he called aloud unto the soul that had gone out, and it returned; the child revived and lived.

19 And Jesus saw a wounded dog; it could not move; it lay beside the way and groaned with pain. He took it in his arms and bore it to the home where he abode.

20 He poured the healing oil into the wounds; he cared for it as though it were a child till it was strong and well.

21 And Jesus saw a little boy who had no home, and he was hungry; when he called for bread the people turned away.

22 And Jesus took the child and gave him bread; he wrapped him in his own warm coat, and found for him a home.

23 To those who followed him the master said, If man would gain again his lost estate he must respect the brotherhood of life.

24 Whoever is not kind to every form of life--to man, to beast, to bird, and creeping thing--cannot expect the blessings of the Holy One; for as we give, so God will give to us.

CHAPTER 75

1 NICODEMUS was a ruler of the Jews, and Je was earnest, learned and devout.

2 He saw the master's signet in the face of Jesus as he talked, but was not brave enough to publicly confess his faith in him;

3 So in the night he went to talk with Jesus at the home of Jude.

4 When Jesus saw him come he said, Full blessed are the pure in heart;

5 Twice blessed are the fearless, pure in heart;

6 Thrice blessed are the fearless, pure in heart who dare to make confession of their faith before the highest courts.

7 And Nicodemus said, Hail, master, hail! I know you are a teacher come from God, for man alone could never teach as you have taught; could never do the works that you have done.

8 And Jesus said, Except a man be born again he cannot see the king; he cannot comprehend the words I speak.

9 And Nicodemus said, How can a man be born again? Can he go back into the womb and come again to life?

10 And Jesus said, The birth of which I speak is not the birth of flesh.

11 Except a man be born of water and the Holy Breath, he cannot come into the kingdom of the Holy One.

12 That which is born of flesh is child of man; that which is born of Holy Breath is child of God.

13 The winds blow where they please; men hear their voices, and may note results; but they know not from whence they come, nor where they go; and so is every one that is born of Holy Breath.

14 The ruler said, I do not understand; pray tell me plainly what you mean.

15 And Jesus said, The kingdom of the Holy One is in the soul; men cannot see it with their carnal eyes; with all their reasoning powers they comprehend it not.

16 It is a life deep hid in God; its recognition is the work of inner consciousness.

17 The kingdoms of the world are kingdoms of the sight; the kingdom of the Holy One is that of faith; its king is love.

18 Men cannot see the love of God unmanifest, and so our Father-God has clothed this love with flesh--flesh of a son of man.

19 And that the world may see and know this love made manifest, the son of man must needs be lifted up.

20 As Moses in the wilderness raised up the serpent for the healing of the flesh, the son of man must be raised up.

21 That all men bitten by the serpent of the dust, the serpent of the dust, the serpent of this carnal life, may live.

22 He who believes in him shall have eternal life.

23 For God so loved the world that he sent forth his only son to be raised up that men may see the love of God.

24 God did not send his son to judge the world; he sent him forth to save the world; to bring men to the light.

25 But men love not the light, for light reveals their wickedness; men love the dark.

26 Now, every one who loves the truth comes to the light; he does not fear to have his works made manifest.

27 The light had come, and Nicodemus went his way; he knew the meaning of the birth of Holy Breath; he felt the presence of the Spirit in his soul.

28 And Jesus tarried in Jerusalem for many days and taught and healed the sick.

29 The common people gladly listened to his words, and many left their all of carnal things and followed him.

CHAPTER 76

1 THE Logos went to Bethlehem, and many people followed him.

2 He found the shepherd's home where he was cradled when a babe; here he abode.

3 He went up to the hills where more than thirty years before the shepherds watched their flocks and heard the messenger of peace exclaim:

4 At midnight in a cave in Bethlehem the Prince of Peace is born.

5 And shepherds still were there, and sheep still fed upon the hills.

6 And in the valley near great flocks of snow-white doves were flying to and fro.

7 And when the shepherds knew that Jesus, whom the people called the king, had come, they came from near and far to speak to him.

8 And Jesus said to them, Behold the life of innocence and peace!

9 White is the symbol of the virtuous and pure! the lamb of innocence; the dove of peace;

10 And it was meet that love should come in human form amid such scenes as these.

11 Our father Abraham walked through these vales, and on these very hills he watched his flocks and herds.

12 And here it was that one, the Prince of Peace, the king of Salim, came; the Christ in human form; a greater far than Abraham was he.

13 And here it was that Abraham gave to this king of Salim, tithes of all he had.

14 This Prince of Peace went forth in battle everywhere. He had no sword; no armour of defence; no weoapons of offence;

15 And yet he conquered men, and nations trembled at his feet.

16 The hosts of Egypt quailed before this sturdy king of right; the kings of Egypt placed their crowns upon his head,

17 And gave into his hands the sceptre of all Egypt land, and not a drop of blood was shed, and not a captive placed in chains;

18 But everywhere the conqueror threw wide the prison doors and set the captives free.

19 And, once again, the Prince of Peace has come, and from these blesed hills he goes again to fight.

20 And he is clothed in white; his sword is truth, his sheild is faith; his helmet is innocence; his breath is love; his watchword peace.

21 But this is not a carnal war; it is not man at war with man; but it is right against the wrong.

22 And love is captain, love is warrior, love is armour, love is all, and love shall win.

23 And then again the hills of Bethlehem were clothed with light, again the messenger exclaimed,

24 Peace, peace on earth, good will to men.

25 And Jesus taught the people; healed the sick; revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of the Holy One.

26 And many said, He is the Christ; the king who was to come has come; Praise God.

CHAPTER 77

1 WITH three disciples Jesus went to Hebron where he tarried seven days and taught.

2 And then he went to Bethany and in the home of Lazarus he taught.

3 The evening came; the multitudes were gone, and Jesus, Lazarus, and his sisters, Martha, Ruth and Mary, were alone.

4 And Ruth was sore distressed. Her home was down in Jericho; her husband was the keeper of an inn; his name was Asher-ben.

5 Now, Asher was a Pharisee of strictest mien and thought, and he regarded Jesus with disdain.

6 And when his wife confessed her faith in Christ, he drove her from his home.

7 But Ruth resisted not; she said, If Jesus is the Christ he knows the way, and I am sure He is the Christ.

8 My husband may become enraged and slay my human form; he cannot kill the soul, and in the many mansions of my Fatherland I have a dwelling-place.

9 And Ruth told Jesus all; and then she said, What shall I do?

10 And Jesus said, Your husband is not willingly at fault; he is devout; he prays to God, our Father-God.

11 His zeal for his religion is intense; in this he is sincere; but it has driven him insane, and he believes it right to keep his home unsullied by the heresy of Christ.

12 He feels assured that he has done the will of God in driving you away.

13 Intolerance is ignorance matured.

14 The light will come to him some day, and then he will repay for all your heartaches, griefs and tears.

15 And Ruth, you must not think that you are free from blame.

16 If you had walked in wisdom's ways, and been content to hold your peace, this grief would not have come to you.

17 It takes a long, long time for light to break into the shell of prejudice, and patience is the lesson you have need to learn.

18 The constant dropping of the water wears away the hardest stone.

19 The sweet and holy incense of a godly life will melt intolerance much quicker than the hottest flame, or harest blow.

20 Just wait a little time, and then go home with sympathy and love. Talk not of Christ, nor of the kingdom of the Holy One.

21 Just life a godly life; refrain from harshness in your speech, and you will lead your husband to the light.

22 And it was so.

CHAPTER 78

1 AND Jesus went to Jericho, and at the inn of Asher he abode.

2 A servant at the inn was sick, nigh unto death; the healers could not cure.

3 And Jesus came and touched the dying girl, and said, Malone, arise! and in a moment pain was gone; the fever ceased; the maid was well.

4 And then the people brought their sick, and they were healed.

5 But Jesus did not tarry long in Jericho; he went down to the Jordan ford where John was wont to teach.

6 The multitudes were there and Jesus said to them, Behold, the time has come; the kingdom is at hand.

7 None but the true in heart can come into the kingdom of the Holy One; but every son and daughter of the human race is called upon to turn from evil and become the pure in heart.

8 The resolution to attain and enter through the Christine gate into the kingdom of the Holy One will constitute discipleship, and every one must make a pledge of his discipleship.

9 John washed your bodies in the stream, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul, in preparation for the coming of the king, the opening of the Christine gate into the kingdom of the Holy One.

10 John did a mighty work; but now the Christine gate is opened up, and washing is established as the pledge of your discipleship.

11 Until this age shall close this pledge shall be a rite, and shall be called, Baptism rite; and it shall be a sign to men, and seal to God of men's discipleship.

12 You men of every nation, hear! Come unto me; the Christine gate is opened up; turn from your sins and be baptised, and you shall enter through the gate and see the king.

13 The six disciples who had followed Jesus stood a-near, and Jesus led them forth and in the Jordan he baptised them in the name of Christ; and then he said to them,

14 My friends, you are the first to enter through the Christine gate into the kingdom of the Holy One.

15 As I baptised you in the name of Christ, so you shall, in that sacred name, baptise all men and women who will confess their faith in Christ, and shall renounce their sins.

16 And, lo, the multitudes came down, renounced the sins, confessed their faith in Christ, and were baptised.

CHAPTER 79

1 NOW, John the harbinger, was at the Salim Springs where water was abundant, and washed the bodies of the people who confessed their sins.

2 A Jewish lawyer went to John and said, Has not this man from Galilee, he whom you washed and called the Christ, become your foe?

3 They say that he is at the Jordan ford; that he is building up a church, or something else, and that he washes people just as you have done.

4 And John replied, This Jesus is indeed the Christ whose was I came to pave. He is not foe of mine.

5 The bridegroom hath the bride; his friends are near, and when they hear his voice they all rejoice.

6 The kingdom of the Holy One is bride, and Christ the groom; and I, the harbinger, am full of joy because they proper so abundantly.

7 I have performed the work that I was sent to do; the work of Jesus just begins.

8 Then turning to the multitudes he said, Christ is the king of righteousness; Christ is the love of God; yea, he is God; one of the holy persons of the Triune God.

9 Christ lives in every heart of purity.

10 Now, Jesus who is preaching at the Jordan ford, has been subjected to the hardest tests of human life, and he has conquered all the appetites and passions of the carnal man,

11 And by the highest court of heaven, has been declared a man of such superior purity and holiness that he can demonstrate the presence of the Christ on earth.

12 Lo, love divine, which is the Christ, abides in him, and he is pattern for the race.

13 And every man can see in him what every man will be when he has conquered all the passions of the selfish self.

14 In water I have washed the bodies of the people who have turned from sin, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul;

15 But Jesus bathes for ever in the living waters of the Holy Breath.

16 And Jesus comes to bring the saviour of the world to men; Love is the saviour of the world.

17 And all who put their trust in Christ, and follow Jesus as a pattern and a guide, have everlasting life.

18 But they who do not trust the Christ, and will not purify their hearts so that the Christ can dwell within, can never enter life.

CHAPTER 80

1 LAMAAS, priest of Brahm, who was afriend of Jesus when he was in the temple of Jagannath, had heard of Jesus and his mighty works in many lands; and he had left his home and come to Palestine in search of him.

2 And as he journeyed towards Jerusalem he heard of John, the harbinger, who was esteemed a prophet of the living God.

3 Lamaas found the harbinger at Salim Springs; for many days he was a silent listener to the pungent truths he taught.

4 And he was present when the Pharisee told John of Jesus and his mighty works

5 He heard the answer of the harbinger; heard him bless the name of Jesus; whom he called the Christ.

6 And then he spoke to John; he said, Pray tell me more about this Jesus whom you call the Christ.

7 And John replied, this Jesus is the love of God made manifest.

8 Lo, men are living on the lower planes-- the planes of greed and selfishness; for self they fight; they conquer with the sword.

9 In every land the strong enslave and kill the weak. All kingdoms rise by force of arms; for force is king.

10 This Jesus comes to overthrow this iron rule of force, and seat Love on the throne of power.

11 And Jesus fears no man. He preaches boldly in the courts of kings, and everywhere, that victories won by force of arms are crimes;

12 That every worthy end may be attained by gentleness and love just as the Prince of Peace, Melchisedec,the priest of God, won gallant victories in war without the shedding of a drop of blood.

13 You ask where are the temples of the Christ? He ministers at shrines not made with hands; his temples are the hearts of holy men who are prepared to see the king.

14 The groves of nature are his synagogues; his forum is the world.

15 He has no priests dressed up in puppet style to be admired by men; for every son of man is priest of Love.

16 When man has purified his heart by faith, he needs no middle man to intercede.

17 He is on friendly terms with God; is not afraid of him, and he is able, and is bold enough, to lay his body on the altar of the Lord.

18 Thus every man is priest, and is himself a living sacrifice.

19 You need not seek the Christ, for when your heart is purified the Christ will come, and will abide with you for evermore.

20 And then Lamaas journeyed on; he came to Jesus as he taught beside the ford.

21 And Jesus said, Behold the Star of India!

22 Lamaas said, Behold the Sun of Righteousness! And he confessed his faith in Christ, and followed him.

CHAPTER 81

1 THE Christine gate into the kingdom of the Holy One was opened up, and Jesus and the six disciples and Laamas left the Jordan ford and turned their faces toward Galilee.

2 Their way lay through Samaria and they journeyed on they came to Sychar, which was near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to Joseph when a youth.

3 And Jacob's well was there, and Jesus sat beside the well in silent thought, and his disciples went into the town to purchase bread.

4 A woman of the town came out to fill her pitcher from the well; and Jesus was athirst, and when he asked the woman for a drink she said,

5 I am a woman of Samaria, and you a Jew; do you not know that there is enmity between Samaritans and Jews? They traffic not; then why ask me the favour of a drink?

6 And Jesus said, Samaritans and Jews are all the children of one God, our Father- God, and they are kin.

7 It is but prejudice born of the carnal mind that breeds this enmity and hate.

8 While I was born a Jew I recognise the brotherhood of life. Samaritans are just as dear to me as Jew or Greek.

9 And then had you but known the blessings that our Father-God has sent to men by me, you would have asked me for a drink.

10 And I would gladly have given you a cup of water from the Fount of Life, and you would never thirst again.

11 The woman said, This well is deep, and you have naught with which to draw; how could you get the water that you speak about?

12 And Jesus said, The water that I speak about comes not from Jacob's well; it flows from springs that never fail.

13 Lo, every one who drinks from Jacob's well will thirst again; but they who drink the water that I give will never thirst again;

14 For they themselves become a well, and from their inner parts the sparkling waters bubble up into eternal life.

15 The woman said, Sir, I would drink from that rich well of life. Give me to drink, that I may thirst no more.

16 And Jesus said, Go call your husband from the town that he may share with you this living cup.

17 The woman said, I have no husband, sir.

18 And Jesus answered her and said, You scarely know what husband means; you seem to be a gilded butterfly that flits from flower to flower.

19 To you there is no sacredness in marriage ties, and you affinitise with any man.

20 And you have lived with five of them who were esteemed as husbands by your friends.

21 The woman said, Do I not speak unto a prophet and a seer? Will you not condescend to tell me who you are?

22 And Jesus said, I need not tell you who I am for you have read the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms that tell of me.

23 I am one come to break away the wall that separates the sons of men. In Holy Breath there is no Greek, nor Jew, and no Samaritan; no bond, nor free; for all are one.

24 The woman asked, Why do you say that only in Jerusalem men ought to pray, and that they should not worship in our holy mount.?

25 And Jesus said, What you have said, I do not say. One place is just as sacred as another place.

26 The hour has come when men must worship God within the temple of the heart; for God is not within Jerusalem, nor in your holy mount in any way that he is not in every heart.

27 Our God is Spirit; they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

28 The woman said, We know that when Messiah comes that he will lead us in the ways of truth.

29 And Jesus said, Behold the Christ has come; Messiah speaks to you.

CHAPTER 82

1 WHILE Jesus yet was talking to the woman at the well, the six disciples came from Sychar with the food.

2 And when they saw him talking to a woman of Samaria, and one they thought a courtesan, they were amazed; yet no one asked him why he spoke with her.

3 The woman was so lost in thought and so intent on what the master said, that she forgot her errand to the well; she left her pitcher and ran quickly to the town.

4 She told the people all about the prophet she had met at Jacob's well; she said, He told me every thing I ever did.

5 And when the people would know more about the man, the woman said, Come out and see. And multitudes went out to Jacob's well.

6 When Jesus saw them come he said to those who followed him, You need not say, It is four months before the harvest time;

7 Behold, the harvest time is now. Lift up your eyes and look; the fields are golden with the ripened grain.

8 Lo, many sowers have gone forth to sow the seeds of life; the seed has grown; the plants have strengthened in the summer sun; the grain has ripened, and the master calls for men to reap.

9 And you shall go out in the fields and reap what other men have sown; but when the reckoning day shall come the sowers and the reapers all together will rejoice.

10 And Philip said to Jesus, Stay now your work a time and sit beneath this olive tree and eat a portion of this food; you must be faint for you have eaten naught since early day.

11 But Jesus said, I am not faint, for I have food to eat you know not of.

12 Then the disciples said among themselves, Who could have brought him aught to eat?

13 They did not know that he had power to turn the very ethers into bread.

14 And Jesus said, The master of the harvest never sends his reapers forth and feeds them not.

15 My Father who has sent me forth into the harvest field of human life will never suffer me to want; and when he calls for you to serve, lo, he will give you food, will clothe and shelter you.

16 Then turning to the people of Samaria, he said, Think not it strange that I, a Jew, should speak to you, for I am one with you.

17 The universal Christ who was and is, and evrmore shall be, is manifest in me; but Christ belongs to every man.

18 God scatters forth his blessings witha lavish hand, and he is not more kind to one than to another one of all the creatures of his hand.

19 I just came up from Judah's hills, and God's same sun was shining and his flowers were blooming, and in the night his stars were just as bright as they are here.

20 God cannot cast a child away; the Jew, the Greek and the Samaritan are equal in his sight.

21 And why should men and women fret and quarrel, like children in their plays?

22 The lines that separate the sons of men are made of straw, and just a single breath of love would blow them all away.

23 The people were amazed at what the stranger said, and many said, The Christ that was to come has surely come.

24 And Jesus went with them into the town, and tarried certain days.

CHAPTER 83

1 IN Sychar Jesus taught the people in the market place.

2 A man obsessed was brought to him. The wicked spirit that possessed the man was full of violence and lust, and often threw his victim to the ground.

3 And Jesus spoke aloud and said, Base spirit, loose your hold upon the vitals of this man, and go back to your own.

4 And then the spirit begged that he might go into the body of a dog that stood near by.

5 But Jesus said, Why harm the helpless dog? Its life is just as dear to it as mine to me.

6 It is not yours to throw the burden of your sin on any living thing.

7 By your own deeds and evil thoughts you have brought all these perils on yourself. You have hard problems to be solved; but you must solve them for yourself.

8 By thus obsessing man you make your own conditions doubly sad. Go back into your own domain; refrain from harming anything, and, by and by, you will, yourself, be free.

9 The wicked spirit left the man and went unto his own. The man looked up in thankfulness and said, Praise God.

10 And many of the people brought their sick, and Jesus spoke the Word, and they were healed.

11 The ruler of the synagogue, and all the priest were much disturbed when told that Jesus from Jerusalem was preaching in the town.

12 They thought that he had come to proselyte and stir up strife amng Samaritans.

13 And so they sent an officer to bring him to the synagogue that he might give a reason for his presence in the town.

14 But Jesus said to him who came, Go back and tell the priests and ruler of the synagogue that I am not engaged in crime.

15 I come to bind up broken hearts, to heal the sick, and cast the evil spirits out of those obsessed.

16 Tell them, their prophets spoke of me; that I come to break no law, but to fulfil the highest law.

17 The man returned and told the priests and ruler of the synagogue what Jesus said.

18 The ruler was amazed, and with the priests went to the market place where Jesus was.

19 And when he saw them, Jesus said, Behold the honoured men of all Samaria! the men ordained to lead the people in the way of right.

20 And I am come to help,and not to hinder in their work.

21 There are two classes of the sons of men; they who would build the human race upon the sure foundation stones of justice, truth, equality and right,

22 And they who would destroy the holy temple where the Spirit dwells and bring their fellows down to beggary and crime.

23 The holy brotherhood of right must stand united in the stirring conflicts of the hour.

24 No matter whether they be Jews, Samaritans, Assyrians, or Greeks, they must tramp down beneath their feet all strife, all discord, jealousy and hate, and demonstrate the brotherhood of man.

25 Then to the ruler of the synagogue he spoke: he said, United in the cause of right we stand; divided we will fall.

26 And then he took the ruler by the hand; a love light filled their souls; and all the people were amazed.

CHAPTER 84

1 THE Christines turned their faces toward the land of Galilee; but when they reached the city of Samaria, the multitudes pressed hard about them, begging them to tarry in their city for a while.

2 And then they went up to the synagogue, and Jesus opened up the book of Moses, and he read:

3 In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blest.

4 And then he closed the book and said, These words were spoken by the Lord of hosts unto our father Abraham, and Israel has been blessedness to all the world.

5 We are his seed; but not a tithe of the great work that we were called to do has yet been done.

6 The Lord of hosts has set apart the Israelites to teach the unity of God and man; but one can never teach that which he does not demonstrate in life.

7 Our God is Spirit, and in him all wisdom, love and strength abide.

8 In every man these sacred attributes are budding forth, and in due time they will unfold; the demonstration will completed be, and man will comprehend the fact of unity.

9 And you, ruler of the synagogue, and you, these priests, are honoured servants of the Lord of hosts.

10 All men are looking unto you for guidance in the ways of life; example is another name for priest; so what you would that people be, that you must be.

11 A simple godly life may win ten thousand souls to purity and right.

12 And all the people said, Amen.

13 Then Jesus left the synagogue, and at the hour of evening prayer he went up to the sacred grove, and all the people turned their faces toward their holy mount and prayed.

14 And Jesus prayed.

15 And as he sat in silent mood a voice of soul spoke to his soul imploring help.

16 And Jesus saw a woman on a couch in sore distress; for she was sick nigh unto death.

17 She could not speak, but she had heard that Jesus was a man of God, and in her heart she called on him for help.

18 And Jesus helped; he did not speak; but like a flash of light, a mighty virtue from his soul filled full the body of the dying one, and she arose, and joined her kindred while they prayed.

19 Her kindred were astonished and they said to her, How were you healed? And she replied,

20 I do not know; I simply asked the man of God in thought for healing power, and in a moment I was well.

21 The people said, The gods have surely come to earth; for man has not the power to heal by thought.

22 But Jesus said, The greatest power in heaven and earth is thought.

23 God made the universe by thought; he paints the lily and the rose with thought.

24 Why think it strange that I should send a healing thought and change the ethers of disease and death to those of health and life?

25 Lo, you shall see far greater things than this, for by the power of holy thought, my body will be changed from carnalflesh to spirit form; and so will yours.

26 When Jesus had thus said he disappeared, and no one saw him go.

27 His own disciples did not comprehend the change; they knew not where their master went, and they went on their way.

28 But as they walked and talked about the strange event, lo, Jesus came and walked with them to Nazareth of Galilee.

CHAPTER 85

1 HEROD ANTIPAS, the tetrarch of Paraca and of Galilee was dissipated, selfish and tyrannical.

2 He drove his wife away from home that he might take as wife Herodias, the wife of one, a near of kin, a woman, like himself, immoral and unjust.

3 The city of Tiberius, upon the shores of Galilee, was Herod's home.

4 Now John, the harbinger, had left the Salim Springs to teach the people by the sea of Galilee; and he rebuked the wicked ruler and his stolen wife for all their sins.

5 Herodias was enraged because the preacher dared accuse her and her husband of their crimes;

6 And she prevailed on Herod to arrest the harbinger adncast him in a dungeon in the castle of Machaerus that stood beside the Bitter Sea.

7 And Herod did as she required; then she lived in peace in all her sins, for none were bold enough to censure her again.

8 The followers of John were warned to speak not of the trial and imprisonment of John.

9 By order of the court, they were restrained from teaching in the public halls.

10 They could not talk about this better life that Herod called the Heresy of John.

11 When it was known that John had been imprisoned by the tetrarch court, the friends of Jesus thought it best that he should not remain in Galilee.

12 But Jesus said, I have no need of fear; my time has not yet come; no man can stay me till my work is done.

13 And when they asked why God permitted Herod to imprison John, he said,

14 Behold yon stalk of grain to perfectness, it is of no more worth; it falls, becoming part of earth again from which it came.

15 John is a stalk of golden wheat; he brought unto maturity the richest grain of all the earth; his work is done.

16 If he had said another word it might have marred the symmetry of what is now a noble life.

17 And when my work is done the rulers will do unto me what they have done to John, and more.

18 All these events are part of God's own plan. The innocent will suffer while the wicked are in power; but woe to them who cause the suffering of the innocents.

CHAPTER 86

1 THE Christines were in Nazareth. It was the Sabbath day, and Jesus went up to the synagogue.

2 The keeper of the books gave one to Jesus and he opened it and read:

3 The Spirit of the Lord has overshadowed me; he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; to set the captives free; to open sightless eyes;

4 To bring relief to those oppressed and bruised, and to proclaim, The year of jubilee has come.

5 When he had read these words he closed the bokk and said, This scripture is fulfilled before your eyes this day. The year of jubilee has come; the time when Israel shall bless the world.

6 And then he told them many thing about the kingdom of the Holy One; about the hidden way of life; about forgiveness of sins.

7 Now, many people knew not who the speaker was: And others said, Is not this Joseph's son? Does not his mother live on Marmion way?

8 And one spoke out and said, This is the man who did such mighty works in Cana, in Capernaum, and in Jerusalem.

9 And then the people said, Physician heal yourself. Do here among your kindred all the mighty works that you have done in other towns.

10 And Jesus said, No prophet is received with honour by the people of his native land; and prophets are not sent to every one.

11 Elijah was a man of God; he had the power and he closed the gates of heaven, and it did not rain for forty months; and when he spoke the Word, the rain come on, the earth brought forth again.

12 And there were many widows in the land; but this Elijah went to none but Zarephath, and she was blessed.

13 And when Elisha lived, lo, many lepers were in Israel, but none were cleansed save one--the Syrian who had faith.

14 You have no faith; you seek for signs to satisfy your curious whims; but you shall see not till you open up your eyes of faith.

15 And then the people were enraged; they rushed upon him, bound him down with cords, and took him to a precipice not far away, intent to cast him down to death;

16 But when they thought they held him fast, he disappeared; unseen he passed among the angry men, and went his way.

17 The people were confounded and they said, What manner of a man is this?

18 And when they came again to Nazareth, they found him teaching in the synagogue.

19 They troubled him no more for they were sore afraid.

CHAPTER 87

1 IN Nazareth Jesus taught no more; he went with his disciples up to Cana, where, at a marriage feast, he once turned water into wine.

2 And here he met a man of noble birth whose home was in Capernaum, whose son wassick.

3 The man had faith in Jesus' power to heal, and when he learned that he had come to Galilee he went in haste to meet him on the way.

4 The man met Jesus at the seventh hour, and he entreated him to hasten to Capernaum to save hi son.

5 But Jesus did not go ; he stood aside in silence for a time, and then he said, Your faith has proved a healing balm; your son is well.

6 The man believed and went his way toward Capernaum and as he went he met a servant from his home who said,

7 My lord, You need not haste; your son is well.

8 The father asked, When did my son begin to mend?

9 The servant said, On yesterday about the seventh hour the fever left.

10 And then the father knew it was the healing balm that Jesus sent that saved his son.

11 In Cana Jesus tarried not he went his way with his disciples to Capernaum, where he secured a spacious house where, with his mother, he could live, where his disciples might repair to hear the Word.

12 He called the men who had confessed their faith in him to meet him in his home,which his disciples called, The school of Christ; and when they came he said to them,

13 This gospel of the Christ must be proclaimed in all the world.

14 This Christine vine will be a mighty vine whose branches will comprise the peoples, tribes and tongues of all the earth.

15 I am the vine; twelve men shall be the branches of the stock, and these shall send forth branches everywhere;

16 And from among the people who have followed me, the Holy Breath will call the twelve.

17 Go now and do your work as you have done your work; but listen for the call.

18 Then the disciples went unto their daily tasks, to do their work as they had done, and Jesus went alone into the Hammoth hills to pray.

19 Three days and nights he spent communing with the Silent Brotherhood; then, in the power of Holy breath he came to call the twelve.

CHAPTER 88

1 BESIDE the sea of Galilee the Christine master walked, and multitudes of people followed him.

2 The fishing boats had just come in, and Peter and his brother waited in their boats; their helpers were ashore repairing broken nets.

3 And Jesus went into a boat and Peter pushed it out a little ways from shore; and Jesus standing in the boat spoke to the multitude. He said,

4 Isaiah, prophet of the Lord of hosts, looked forward and he saw this day; he saw the people standing by the sea, and he exclaimed,

5 The land of Zebulon and Napthali, land beyond the Jordan and toward the sea, the Gentile Galilee,

6 The people were in darkness, knowing not the way; but, lo, they saw the Day Star rise; a light streamed forth; they saw the way of life; they walked therein.

7 And you are blest beyond all people of the earth to-day, because you first may see the light, and may become the children of the light.

8 Then Jesus said to Peter, Bring your nets aboard, and put out in the deep.

9 And Peter did as Jesus bade him do; but in a faithless way he said, This is a useless trip; there are no fish upon this shore of Galilee to-day; with Andrew I have toiled all night, and taken naught.

10 But Jesus saw beneath the surface of the sea; he saw a multitude of fish. He said to Peter,

11 Cast out your net upon the right side of the boat.

12 And Peter did as Jesus said, and, lo, the net was filled; it scarce was strong enough to hold the multitude of fish.

13 And Peter called to John and James, who were near by, for help; and when the net was hauled to boat, both boats were well nigh filled with fish.

14 When Peter saw the heavy catch, he was ashamed of what he said; ashamed because he had no faith, and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and said, Lord, I believe!

15 And Jesus said, Behold the catch! from henceforth you shall fish no more for fish;

16 You shall cast forth the Christine net into the sea of human life, upon the right side of the boat; you shall ensnare the multitudes to holiness and peace.

17 NOw, when they reached the shore the Christine master called to Peter, Andrew, James and John and said,

18 You fishermen of Galilee, the masters have a mighty work for us to do; I go, and you may follow me. And they left all and followed him.

19 And Jesus walked along the shore, and seeing Philip and Nathaniel walking on the beach he said to them.

20 You teachers of Bethsaida, who long have taught the people Greek philosophy, the masters have a higher work for you and me to do; I go and you may follow me; and then they followed him.

21 A little farther on there stood a Roman tribute house, and Jesus saw the officer in charge; his name was Matthew, who once abode in Jericho;

22 The youth who once ran on before the Lord into Jerusalem and said, Behold the Christines come.

23 And Matthew was a man of wealth, and learned in wisdom of the Jews, the Syrians and the Greeks.

24 And Jesus said to him, Hail, Matthew, trusted servant of the Caesars, hail! the masters call us to the tribute house of souls; I go and you may follow me. And Matthew followed him.

25 Ischariot and his son, whose name was Judas, were employed by Matthew and were at the tribute house.

26 And Jesus said to Judas, Stay your work; the masters call us to a duty in the savings bank of souls; I go and you may follow me. and Judas followed him.

27 And Jesus met a lawyer who heard about the Christine master and had come from Antioch to study in the school of Christ.

28 This man was Thomas, man of doubt, and yet a Greek philosopher of culture and of power.

29 But Jesus saw in him the lines of faith, and said to him, The masters have a need of men who can interpret law; I go, and you may follow me. And Thomas followed him.

30 And when the evening came and Jesus was at home, behold, there came his kindred, James and Jude, the sons of Alpheus and Miriam.

31 And these were men of faith, and they were carpenters of Nazareth.

32 And Jesus said to them, Behold, for you have toiled with me, and with my father Joseph, building houses for the homes of men. The masters call us now to aid in building homes for souls; homes built without the sound of hammer, axe, or saw;

33 I go, and you may follow me. And James and Jude exclaimed, Lord, we will follow you.

34 And on the morrow Jesus sent a message unto Simon, leader of the Zelotes, a strict exponent of the Jewish law.

35 And inthe message Jesus said, The masters call for men to demonstrate the faith of Abraham; I go, and you may follow me. and Simon followed him.

CHAPTER 89

1 NOW, on the day before the Sabbath day, the twelve disciples who had received the call were met with one accord in Jesus' home.

2 And Jesus said to them, This is the day to consecrate yourselves unto the work of God; so let us pray.

3 Turn from the outer to the inner self; close all the doors of carnal self and wait.

4 The Holy Breath will fill this place, and you will be baptised in Holy Breath.

5 And then they prayed; alight more brilliant than the noonday sun filled all the room, and tongues of flame from every head rose high in air.

6 The atmosphere of Galilee was set astir; a sound like distant thunder rolled above Capernaum, and men heard songs, as though ten thousand angels joined in full accord.

7 And then the twelve disciples heard a voice, a still, small voice, and just one word was said, aword they dared not speak; it was the Sacred name of God.

8 And Jesus said to them, By this omnific Word you may control the elements, and all the powers of air.

9 And when within your souls you speak this Word, you have the keys of life and death; of things that are; of things that were; of things that are to be.

10 Behold you are the twelve great branches of the Christine vine; the twelve foundation stones; the twelve apostles of the Christ.

11 As lambs I sent you forth among wild beasts; but the omnific Word will be your buckler and your shield.

12 And then again the air was filled with song, and every living creature seemed to say, Praise God! Amen!

13 The next day was the Sabbath day; and Jesus went with his disciples to the synagogue, and there he taught.

14 The people said, He teaches not as do the scribes and Pharisees; but as a man who knows, and has authority to speak.

15 As Jesus spoke, a man obsessed came in; the evil spirits that obsessed the man were of the baser sort; they often threw their victim to the ground, or in the fire.

16 And when the spirits saw the Christine master in the synagogue they knew him, and they said,

17 You son of God, why are you here? would you destroy us by the Word before our time? we would have naught to do with you; let us alone.

18 But Jesus said to them, By the omnific Word I speak; Come out; torment this man no more; go to your place.

19 And then the unclean spirits threw the man upon the floor, and, with a fiendish cry, they went away.

20 And Jesus lifted up the man and said to him, If you will keep your mind fully occupied with good, the evil spirits cannot find a place to stay;

21 They only come to empty heads and hearts. Go on your way and sin no more.

22 The people were astonished at the words that Jesus spoke, the work he did. They asked among themselves,

23 Who is this man? From whence comes all this power that even unclean spirits fear, and flee away?

24 The Christine master left the synagogue; with Peter, Andrew, James and John, he went to Peter's house where one, a near of kin, was sick.

25 And Peter's wife came in; it was her mother who was sick.

26 And Jesus touched the woman as she lay upon her couch; he spoke the Word; the fever ceased and she arose and ministered to them.

27 The neighbours heard what had occured, and then brought their sick, and those obsessed, and Jesus laid his hands on them, and they were healed.

CHAPTER 90

1 THE Christine master disappeared; no one saw him go, and Peter, James and John set forth to search for him; they found him at his trysting-place out on the Hammoth hills.

2 And Peter said, The city of Capernaum is wild; the people crowd the streets and every public place is filled.

3 The men, the women and the children everywhere are asking for the man who heals by will.

4 Your home and our homes are filled with people who are sick; they call for Jesus who is called the Christ. What will we say to them?

5 And Jesus said, A score of other cities call, and we must take the bread of life to them. Go call the other men and let us go.

6 And Jesus and the twelve went to Bethsaida where Philip and Nathaniel dwelt; and there they taught.

7 The multitudes believed on Christ, confessed their sins and were baptised, and came into the kingdom of the Holy One.

8 The Christine master and the twelve went everywhere through all the towns of Galilee, and taught, baptising all who came in faith, and who confessed their sins.

9 They opened up blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, drove forth the evil ones from those obsessed, and healed disease of every kind.

10 And they were in Tiberius by the sea, and as they taught a leper came a-near and said, Lord, I believe, and if you will but speak the Word I will be clean.

11 And Jesus said to him, I will; be clean. And soon the leprosy was gone; the man was clean.

12 And Jesus charged the man, say naught to any one, but go and show yourself unto the priests and offer for your cleansing what the law demands.

13 The man was wild with joy; but then he went not to the priests, but in the marts of trade, and everywhere he told what had been done.

14 And then the sick in throngs pressed hard upon the healer and the twelve, imploring to be healed.

15 And they were so importunate that little could be done, and so the Christines left the crowded thoroughfares, and went to desert places where they taught the multitudes that followed them.

16 Now, after many days the Christines came back to Capernaum. When it was noised around that Jesus was at home, the people came; they filled the house till there was no more room, not even at the door.

17 And there were present scribes and Pharisees and doctors of the law from every part of Galilee, and from Jerusalem, and Jesus opened up for them the way of life.

18 Four men brought one a palsied man upon a cot, and when they could not pass the door they took the sick man to the roof, and opened up a way, then let him down before the healer's face.

19 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the palsied man, My son, be of good cheer; your sins are all forgiven.

20 And when the scribes and Pharisees heard what he said, they said, Why does this man speak thus? who can forgive the sins of men but God?

21 And Jesus caught their thought; he knew they questioned thus among themselves; he said to them,

22 Why reason thus among yourselves? What matters it if I should say, Your sins are blotted out; or say, Arise, take up your bed and walk?

23 But just to prove that men may here forgive the sins of men, I say (and then he spoke unto the palsied man),

24 Arise, take up your bed, and go your way.

25 And in the presence of them all the man arose, took up his bed, and went his way.

26 The people could not comprehend the things they heard and saw. They said among themselves, This is a day we never can forget; we have seen wondrous things to-day.

27 And when the multitudes had gone the twelve remained, and Jesus said to them,

28 The Jewish festival draws near; next week we will go to Jerusalem, that we may meet our brethren from afar, and open up to them the way that they may see the king.

29 The Christines sought the quiet of their homes, where they remained in prayer for certain days.

SECTION XVI

CHAPTER 91

1 THE feast time came and Jesus and the twelve went to Jerusalem.

2 Upon the day before the Sabbath day they reached Mount Olives and they tarried at an inn before Mount Olives on the north.

3 And in the early morning of the Sabbath day they went in through the sheep gate to Jerusalem.

4 The healing fountain of Bethesda, near the gate, was thronged about with people who were sick;

5 For they believed that at a certain time an angel came and poured a healing virtue in the pool, and those who entered first and bathed, would be made whole.

6 And Jesus and the twelve were standing near the pool.

7 And Jesus saw a man near by who had been stricken eight and thirty years; without a hand to help he could not move.

8 And Jesus said to him, My brother, man, would you be healed?

9 The man replied, I earnestly desire to be healed; but I am helpless and when the angel comes and pours the healing virtues in the pool,

10 Another who can walk, steps in the fountain first and I am left unhealed.

11 And Jesus said,Who sends an angel here to potentise this pool for just a favoured few?

12 I know it is not God, for he deals just the same with every one.

13 One has no better chance in heaven's healing fountain than another one.

14 The fount of health is in your soul; it has a door locked fast; the key is faith;

15 And every one can have this key and may unlock the door and plunge into the healing fount and be made whole.

16 And then the man looked up in hopeful mood and said, Give me this key of faith.

17 And Jesus said, Do you believe what I have said? According to your faith it shall be done. Arise, take up your bed and walk.

18 The man at once arose and walked away; he only said, Praise God.

19 And when the people asked, Who made you whole? the man replied, I do not know. A stranger at the pool just spoke a word and I was well.

20 The many did not see when Jesus healed the man, and with the twelve he went his way up to the temple courts.

21 And in the temple Jesus saw the man and said to him, Behold you are made whole; from henceforth guard your life aright;

22 Go on your way and sin no more, or something worse may fall on you.

23 And now the man knew who it was who made him whole.

24 He told the story to the priests and they were much enraged; they said, The law forbids a man to heal upon the Sabbath day.

25 But Jesus said, My Father works on sabbath days and may not I?

26 He sends his rain, his sunshine and his dew; he makes his grass to grow, his flowers to bloom; he speeds the harvests just the same on Sabbath days as on the other days.

27 If it is lawful for the grass to grow and flowers to bloom on Sabbath days it surely is not wrong to succour stricken men.

28 And then the priests were angered more and more because he claimed to be a son of God.

29 A leading priest, Abihu, said, This fellow is a menace to our nation and our laws; he makes himself to be a son of God; it is not meet that he should live.

30 But Jesus said, Abihu, Sir, you are a learned man; you surely know the law of life. Pray tell who were the sons of God we read about in Genesis, who took to wife the daughters of the sons of men?

31 Our father Adam; who was he? From whence came he? Had he a father? or did he fall from heaven as a star?

32 We read that Moses said, He came from God. If Adam came from God pray, was he offspring, was he son?

33 We are the children of this son of God; then tell me, learned priest, Who are we if not sons of God?

34 The priest had urgent business and he went his way.

35 And Jesus said, All men are sons of God and if they live a holy life they always are at home with God.

36 They see and understand the works of God, and in his sacred name they can perform these works.

37 The lightnings and the storms are messengers of God as well as the sunshine, rain and dew.

38 The virtue of the heavens are in God's hands, and every loyal son may use these virtues and these powers.

39 Man is the delegate of God to do his will on earth, and man can heal the sick, control the spirit of the air, and raise the dead.

40 Because I have the power to do these things is nothing strange. All men may gain the power to do these things; but they must conquer all passions of the lower self; and they can conquer if they will.

41 So man is God on earth, and he who honours God must honour man; for God and man are one, as father and the child are one.

42 Behold, I say, The hour has come; the dead will hear the voice of man, and live, because the son of man is son of God.

43 You men of Israel, hear! you live in death; you are locked up within the tomb.

44 (There is no deeper death than ignorance and unbelief.)

45 But all will some day hear the voice of God made plain by voice of man, and live. You all will know that you are sons of God, and by the sacred Word, may do the works of God.

46 When you have come to life, that is, have come to realise that you are sons of God, you who have lived the life of right, will open up your eyes on fields of life.

47 But you who love the ways of sin will, in this resurrection, stand before a judgment bar, and be condemned to pay the debts yoy owe to men and to yourselves.

48 For whatsoever you have done amiss must be performed again, and yet again, until you reach the stature of the perfect man.

49 But in due time the lowest and the highest will arise to walk in light.

50 Shall I accuse you unto God? No, for your prophet, Moses, has done that; and if you hear not Mose' words you will not hearken unto me, for Moses wrote of me.

CHAPTER 92

3 And while the guests sat at the board behold a cry, The village is a-fire! and all rushed out into the streets, and, lo, the homes of many neighbours were in flames.

4 And in an upper room an enfant lay asleep, and none could pass the flames to save. The mother, wild with grief, was calling on the men to save her child.

5 Then, with a voice that made the spirits of the fire pale and tremble, Jesus said, Peace, peace, be still!

6 And then he walked through smoke and flame, climbed up the falling stair, and in a moment came again, and in his arms he brought the child. and not a trace of fire was on himself, his raiment, or the child.

7 Then Jesus raised his hand, rebuked the spirits of the fire, commanding them to cease their awful work, and be at rest.

8 And then, as though the waters of the sea were all at once poured on the flames, the fire ceased to burn.

9 And when the fury of the fire was spent the multitudes were wild to see the man who could control the fire, and Jesus said,

10 Man was not made for fire, but fire was made for man.

11 When man comes to himself and comprehends the fact that he is son of God, and knows that in himself lies all the powers of God, he is a master mind and all the elements will hear his voice and gladly do his will.

12 Two sturdy asses bind the will of man; their names are Fear and Unbelief. When these are caught and turned aside, the will of man will know no bounds; then man has but to speak and it is done.

13 And then the guests returned and sat about the board. A little child came in and stood by Jesus' side.

14 She laid her hand on Jesus' arm and said, Please, Master Jesus, hear! my father is a drunken man; my mother toils from morn till night and when she brings her wages home my father snatches them away and squanders every cent for drink, and mother and us little ones are hungry all the night.

15 Please, Master Jesus, come with me and touch my father's heart. He is so good and kind when he is just himself; I know it is the wine that makes another amn of him.

16 And Jesus went out with the child; he found the wretched home; he spoke in kindness to the mother and the little ones, and then upon a bed of straw he found the drunken man.

17 He took him by the hand and raised him up and said, My brother, man, made in the image of our Father-God, will you arise and come with me?

18 Your neighbours are in sore distress; they have lost all they had in this fierce fire, and men must build their homes again and you and I must lead the way.

19 And then the man arose; the two went arm in arm to view the wrecks.

20 They heard the mothers and the children crying in the streets; they saw their wretchedness.

21 And Jesus said, My friend, here is work for you to do. JUst lead the way in helpfulness; I'm sure the men of Bethany will furnish you the means and help.

22 The spark of hope that so long been smoldering in the man was fanned into a flame. He threw his ragged coat aside; he was himself again.

23 And then he called for help; not for himself, but for the homeless ones; and everybody helped. The ruined homes were built again.

24 And then he saw his own poor den; his heart was stirred into its depths.

25 The pride of manhood filled his soul; he said, This wretched den shall be a home. He worked as he had never wrought before, and everybody helped.

26 And in a little while the den became a home indeed; the flowers of love bloomed everywhere.

27 The mother and the little ones were filled with joy; the father never drank again.

28 A man was saved, and no one ever said a word about neglect or drunkenness, nor urged him to reform.

CHAPTER 93

1 ANOTHER Sabbath day had come and Jesus and the twelve walked through a field of ripened wheat.

2 And they were hungry and they took the heads of wheat and in their hands threshed out the grain and ate.

3 Among the men who followed them were Pharisees of strictest sect, and when they saw the twelve thresh out the wheat and eat, they said to Jesus,

4 Sir, why do the twelve do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?

5 And Jesus said, Have you not heard what David did when he and those who followed him had need of food?

6 How he went to the house of God and from the table in the Holy Place took of the presence bread and ate, and gave to those who followed him?

7 I tell you, men, the needs of man are higher than the law of rites.

8 And in our sacred books we read how priests profane the Sabbath day in many ways while they are serving in the Holy Place, and still are free from guilt.

9 The Sabbath day was made for man; man was not made to fit the Sabbath day.

10 The man is son of God and under the eternal law of right, which is the highest law, he may annul the statute laws.

11 The law of sacrifice is but the law of man, and in our law we read that God desires mercy first; and mercy stands above all statute laws.

12 The son of man is Lord of every law. Did not a prophet sum the duties of the man when in the book he wrote: In mercy follow justice and walk humbly with your God?

13 Then Jesus and the twelve returned to Galilee, and on the day before the Sabbath day they reached the home of Jesus in Capernaum.

14 And on the Sabbath day they went up to the synagogue. The multitudes were there and Jesus taught.

15 Among the worshippers was one, a man who had a withered hand. The scribes and Pharisees observed that Jesus saw the man, and then they said,

16 What will he do? Will he attempt to heal upon the SAbbath day?

17 And Jesus knew their thoughts and he called to the man who had the withered hand and said, Arise, stand forth before these men.

18 And Jesus said, You scribes and Pharisees, speak out and answer me: Is it a crime to save a life upon the Sabbath day?

19 If you had sheep and one of them fell in a pit upon the Sabbath day would you do wrong to take it out?

20 Or would it please your God to let it suffer in the mire until another day?

21 But his accusers held their peace.

22 And then he said tho them, Are sheep of greater value than a man?

23 The law of God is written on the rock of Right; and Justice wrote the law, and Mercy was the pen.

24 And then he said, Man, raise your hand and stretch it forth. He raised his hand; it was restored.

25 The Pharisees were filled with rage. They called in secret council the Herodians, and they began to plot and plan how they might bring about his death.

26 They were afraid to publicly accuse, because the multitudes stood forth in his defence.

27 And Jesus and the twelve went down and walked beside the sea, and many people followed them.

CHAPTER 94

1 NEXT morning ere the sun had risen Jesus and the twelve went to a mountain near the sea to pray; and Jesus taught the twelve disciples how to pray. He said,

2 Prayer is the deep communion of the soul with God;

3 So when you pray do not deceive yourselves as do the hypocrites who love to stand upon the streets and in the synagogues and pour out many words to please the ears of men.

4 And they adorn themselves with pious airs that they may have the praise of men. They seek the praise of men and their reward is sure.

5 But when you pray, go to the closet of your soul; close all the doors, and in the holy silence, pray.

6 You need not speak a multitude of words, nor yet repeat the words again and then again, as heathen do. Just say,

7 Our Father-God who art in heaven; holy is thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

8 Give us this day our needed bread;

9 Help us forget the debts that other people owe to us, that all our debts may be discharged.

10 And shield us from the tempter's snares that are too great for us to bear;

11 And when they come give us the strength to overcome.

12 If you would be discharged from all the debts you owe to God and man, the debts you have incurred by wilfully transgressing law,

13 You must pass by the debts of every man; for as you deal with other men your God will deal with you.

14 And when you fast you may not advertise the deed.

15 When fast the hypocrites they paint their faces, look demure, assume a pious pose, that they may seem to men to fast.

16 A fast is deed of soul, and like a prayer, it is a function of the silence of the soul.

17 God never passes by unnoticed any prayer, or fast. He walks within the silence, and his benedictions rest on every effort of the soul.

18 Deception is hypocrisy, and you shall not assume to be what you are not.

19 You may not clothe yourselves in special garb to advertise your piety, nor yet assume the tone of voice that men conceive to be a holy voice.

20 And when you give to aid the needy ones, blow not a trumpet in the street, nor a synagogue to advertise your gift.

21 He who does alms for praise of men has his reward from men; but God regardeth not.

22 In giving alms do not let the right hand know the secret of the left.

CHAPTER 95

1 AND Jesus and the twelve went to the mountain top, and Jesus said,

2 Twelve pillars of the church, apostles of the Christ; light-bearers of the sun of life and ministers of God to men:

3 In just a little while you must go forth alone, and preach the gospel of the king, first to the Jews and then to all the world.

4 And you shall go, not with a scourge of cords to drive; you cannot drive men to the king;

5 But you shall go in love and helpfulness and lead the way to right and light.

6 Go forth and say, The kingdom is at hand.

7 Worthy are the strong in spirit; theirs the kingdom is.

8 Worthy are the meek; they shall possess the land.

9 Worthy they who hunger and thirst for right; they shall be satisfied.

10 Worthy are the merciful; and mercy shall be shown to them. 11 Worthy they who gain the mastery of self; they have the key of power.

12 Worthy are the pure in heart; and they shall see the king.

13 Worthy they who are maligned and wronged because they do the right; their percecutors they shall bless.

14 Worthy is the trustful child of faith; he shall sit in the throne of power.

15 Be not discouraged when the world shall persecute and call you curst; but rather be exceeding glad.

16 The prophets and the seers, and all the good of earth, have been maligned.

17 If you are worthy of the crown of life you will be slandered, vilified and curst on earth.

18 Rejoice when evil men shall drive you from their ways and cause your name to be a hiss and by-word in the street.

19 I say, rejoice; but deal in mercy with the doers of the wrong; they are but children at their play; they know not what they do.

20 Rejoice not over fallen foes. As you help men rise from the depth of sin, so God will help you on to greater heights.

21 Woe to the rich is gold and lands; they have temptations multiforms.

22 Woe unto men who walk at will in pleasure's paths; their ways are full of snares and dangerous pits.

23 Woe to the proud; they stand upon a precipice; destruction waits for them.

24 Woe to the man of greed; for what he has is not his own; and lo, another comes; wealth is gone.

25 Woe to the hypocrite; his form is fair to look upon; his heart is filled with carcasses and dead men's bones.

26 Woe to the cruel and relentless man; he is himself the victim of his deeds.

27 The evil he would do to other men rebounds; the scourger is the scourged.

28 Woe to the libertine who preys upon the virtues of the weak. The hour comes when he will be the weak, the victim of a libertine of greater power.

29 Woe unto you when all the world shall speak in praise of you. The world speaks not in praise of men who live within the Holy Breath; It speaks in praise of prophets false, and of illusions base.

30 You men who walk in Holy Breath are salt, the salt of earth; but if you lose your virtue you are salt in name alone, worth nothing more than dust.

31 And you are light; are called to light the world.

32 A city on a hill cannot be hid; its lights are seen afar; and while you stand upon the hills of life men see your light and imitate your works and honour God.

33 Men do not light a lamp and hide it in a cask; they put it on a stand that it may light the house.

34 You are the lamps of God; must not stand in the shade of earth illusions, but in the open, high upon the stand.

35 I am not come to nullify the law, nor to destroy; but to fulfil.

36 The Law, the Prophets and the Psalms were written in the wisdom of the Holy breath and cannot fail.

37 The heavens and earth that are will change and pass away; the word of God is sure; it cannot pass until it shall accomplish that where unto it hath been sent.

38 Whoever disregards the law of God and teaches men to do the same, becomes a debtor unto God and cannot see his face until he has returned and paid his debt by sacrifice of life.

39 But he who hearkens unto God and keeps his law and does his will on earth, shall rule with Christ.

40 The scribes and Pharisees regard the letter of the law; they cannot comprehend the spirit of the law;

41 And if your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of scribe and Pharisee you cannot come into the kingdom of the soul.

42 It is not what man does that gives him right to enter through the gates; his pass word is his character and desire is his character.

43 The letter of the law deals with the acts of man; the spirit of the law takes note of his desires.

CHAPTER 96

1 GOD gave the Ten Commandments unto men; upon the mountain Moses saw the words of God; he wrote them down on solid rock; they cannot be destroyed.

2 These Ten Commandments show the justice side of God; but now the love of God made manifest brings mercy on the wings of Holy Breath.

3 Upon the unity of God the law was built. In all the world there is one force; Jehovah is Almighty God.

4 Jehovah wrote uoun the heavens and Moses read,

5 I am Almighty God and you shall have no God but me.

6 There is one force, but many phases of that force; these phases men call powers.

7 All powers are of God; and they are manifests of God; they are Spirits of the God.

8 If men could seem to find another force and worship at its shrine, they would but court illusion, vain,

9 A shadow of the One, Jehovah, God, and they who worship shadows are but shadows on the wall; for men are what court.

10 And God would have all men to be the substance, and in mercy he commanded, You shall seek no God but me.

11 And finite men can never comprehend infinite things. Man cannot make an image of the Infinite in force.

12 And when men make a God of stone or wood or clay they make an image of a shade; and they who worship at the shrine of shades are shades.

13 So God in mercy said, You shall not carve out images of wood, or clay, or stone.

14 Such idols are ideals, abased ideals, and men can gain no higher plane than their ideals.

15 The God is Spirit men must worship if they would attain a consciousness of God.

16 But man can never make a picture or an image of the Holy Breath.

17 The name of God man may not speak with carnal lips; with Holy Breath alone can man pronounce the name.

18 In vanity men think they know the name of God; they speak it lightly and irreverently, and thus they are accursed.

19 If men did know the sacred name and spoke it with unholy lips, they would not live to speak it once again.

20 But God in mercy has not yet unveiled his name to those who cannot speak with Holy Breath.

21 But they who speak the substitute in idle way are guilty in the sight of God, who said,

22 You shall not take the name of God in vain.

23 The number of the Holy Breath is seven, and God holds in his hands the sevens of time.

24 In forming worlds he rested on the seventh day, and every seventh day is set apart as Sabbath day for men. God said,

25 The seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; remember it and keep it wholly set apart for works of holiness; that is, for works not for the selfish self, but for the universal self.

26 Men may do work for self upon the six days of the week; but on the Sabbath of the Lord they must do naught for self.

27 This day is consecrated unto God; but man serves God by serving man.

CHAPTER 97

1 GOD is not force alone; for wisdom is his counterpart.

2 When cherubim instructed man in wisdom's ways they said that wisdom is the Mother of the race, as force is Father of the race.

3 The man who honours the almighty and omniscient God is blessed, and in the tables of the law we read,

4 Pay homage to your Father and Mother of the race, that your days may be prolonged upon the land that they have given you.

5 The letter of the law commands; you shall not kill; and he who kills must stand before the judgement seat.

6 A person may desire to kill, yet if he does not kill he is not judged by law.

7 The spirit of the law avers that he who shall desire to kill, or seeks revenge, is angry with a man without suffient cause, must answer to the judge;

8 And he who calls his brother soulless vagabond shall answer to the council of the just;

9 And he who calls his brother a degenerate, a dog, fans into life the burning fires of hell within himself.

10 Now, in the higher law we read that if your brother is aggrieved by something you have done, before you offer unto God your gifts, go forth and find your brother and be reconciled to him.

11 It is not well to let the sun go down upon your wrath.

12 If he will not be reconciled when you have laid aside all selfish pleas, have waived all selfish rights, you will be guiltless in the sight of God; then go and offer unto God your gifts.

13 If you owe aught to any man and cannot pay; or if a man shall claim a greater sum than is his due it is not well that you dispute his claims.

14 Resistance is the sire of anger; there is no mercy and no reason in a wrathful man.

15 I tell you it is better far to suffer loss than go to law, or call upon the courts of men to judge of right and wrong.

16 The law of carnal man would say, Eye for eye and tooth for tooth; resist encroachment on your rights.

17 But this is not the law of God. The Holy Breath would say, Resist not him who would deprive you of your goods.

18 He who would take your coat by force is still a brother man and you should gain his heart, which by resistance cannot be done;

19 Give him your coat and offer him still more and more; in time the man will rise above the brute; you will have saved him from himself.

20 Refuse not him who calls for help and give to him who asks to borrow aught.

21 And if a man shall strike you in a fitful, or an angry way, it is not well to smite him in return.

22 Men call him coward who will not fight and thus defend his rights; but he is much the greater man who is assailed, is smitten and does not smite;

23 Who is maligned and answers not, than he who smites the smiter and reviles the one who slanders him.

24 It has been said in olden times that man shall love his friend and hate his foe; but, lo, I say,

25 Be merciful unto your foes; bless those who slander you; do good to those who do you harm and pray for those who trample on your rights.

26 Remember, you are children of the God who makes his sun to rise alike upon the evil and the good, who sends his rain upon the unjust and the just.

27 If you do unto other men as they do unto you, you are but slaves, but followers in the way to death.

28 But you, as children of the light, must lead the way.

29 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

30 When you do good to those who have done good to you, you do no more than other men; the publicans do that.

31 If you salute your friends and not your foes, you are like other men; the publicans ahve set the pace.

32 Be perfect as your Father-God in heaven is.

CHAPTER 98

1 THE law forbids adultery; but in the eyes of law adultery is an overt act, the satisfaction of the sensuous self outside the marriage bonds.

2 Now, marriage in the sight of law is but a promise made by man and woman, by the sanction of a priest, to live for aye in harmony and love.

3 No priest nor officer has power from God to bind two souls in wedded love.

4 What is the marriage tie? Is it comprised in what a priest or officer may say?

5 Is it the scroll on which the officer or priest has written the permission for the two to live in marriage bonds?

6 Is it the promise of the two that they will love each other until death?

7 Is love a passion that is subject to the will of man?

8 Can man pick up his love, as he would pick up precious gems, and lay it down, or give it out to any one?

9 Can love be bought and sold like sheep?

10 Love is the power of God that binds two souls and makes them one; there is no power on earth that can dissolve the bond.

11 The bodies may be forced apart by man or death for just a little time; but they will meet again.

12 Now, in this bond of God we find the marriage tie; all other unions are but bonds of straw, and they who live in them commit adultery.

13 The same as they who satisfy their lust without the sanction of an officer or priest.

14 But more than this; the man or woman who indulges lustful thoughts commits adultery.

15 Whom God has joined together man cannot part; whom man has joined together live in sin.

16 Upon a table of the law, the great lawgiver wrote, Thou shalt not steal.

17 Before the eyes of law a man to steal must take a thing that can be seen with eyes of flesh, without the knowledge or consent of him to whom the thing belongs.

18 But, lo, I say that he who in his heart desires to possess that which is not his own, and would deprive the owner of the thing without his knowledge or consent, is in the sight of God, a thief.

19 The things that men see not with eyesof flesh are of more worth than are the things that man can see.

20 A man's good name is worth a thousand mines of gold, and he who says a word or does a deed that injures or defames that name has taken what is not his own, and is a thief.

21 Upon a table of the law we also read: Thou shalt not covet anything.

22 To covet is an all-consuming wish to have what is not right for one to have.

23 And such a wish, within the spirit of the law, is theft.

CHAPTER 99

1 THE law has said: Thou shalt not lie; but in the eyes of law a man to lie must tell inwords what is not true.

2 Now, in the light of spirit law, deceit in any form is nothing but a lie.

3 A man may lie by look or act; yea, even by his silence may deceive, and thus be guilty in the eyes of Holy Breath.

4 It has been said in olden times: Thou shalt not swear by thine own life.

5 But, lo, I say, Swear not at all; not by the head, the heart, the eye, nor hand; not by the sun, the moon, nor stars;

6 Not by the name of God, nor by the name of any spirit, good or bad.

7 You shall not swear by anything; for in an oath there is no gain.

8 A man whose word must be propped up by oath of any kind is not trustworthy in the sight of God or man.

9 By oath you cannot make a leaf to fall, nor turn the colour of a hair.

10 The man of worth just speaks and men know that he speaks the truth.

11 The man who pours out many words to make think he speaks the truth, is simply making smoke to hide a lie.

12 And there are many men with seeming double hearts; men who would serve two masters at a time--two masters quite adverse.

13 Men feign to worship God upon the Sabbath day and then pay court to Beelzebul on every other day.

14 No man can serve two masters at a time no more than he can ride two asses at a time that go in different ways.

15 The man who feigns to worship God and Beelzebul is foe of God, a pious devil and a curse of men.

16 And men cannot lay treasures up in heaven and earth at once.

17 Then, lo, I say, Lift up your eyes and see the safety vaults of heaven, and there deposit every gem.

18 Where moth and rust cannot corrupt; where thieves cannot break in and steal.

19 There are no safety vaults on earth; no place secure from moth, and rust and thieves.

20 The treasures of the earth are but illusive things that pass away.

21 Be not deceived; your treasures are the anchor of the soul, and where your treasures are your heart will be.

22 Fix not your heart upon the things of earth; be anxious not about the things to eat, or drink or wear.

23 God cares for those who trust in him and serve the race.

24 Behold the birds! They praise God in their songs; the earth is made more glorious by their ministry of joy; God keeps them in the hollow of his hand,

25 And not a sparrow falls to earth without his care; and every one that falls shall rise again.

26 Behold the flowers of earth! they trust in God and grow; they make the earth resplendent with their beauty and perfume.

27 Look at the lilies of the field, the messengers of holy love. No son of man, not even Solomon in all his excellence, was ever clothed like one of these.

28 And yet they simply trust in God; they feed from out his hand; they lay their heads to rest upon his breast.

29 If God so clothes and feeds the flowers and birds that do his will, will he not feed and clothe his children when they trust in him?

30 Seek first the kingdom of the soul, the righteousness of God, the good of men, and feed, and clothe.

CHAPTER 100

1 THERE is a rule that carnal man has made, and which he rigidly observes:

2 Do unto other men as they do unto you. As others judge, they judge; as others give, they give.

3 Now, while you walk with men as men, judge not, and you shall not be judged.

4 For as you judge you shall be judged, and as you give it shall be given to you. If you condemn, you are condemned.

5 When you show mercy, men are merciful to you, and if you love in such a way that carnal man can comprehend your love, you will be well beloved.

6 And so the wise man of this world does unto other men as he would have them do to him.

7 The carnal man does good to other men for selfish gain, for he expects to have his blessings multiplied and then returned; he does not stop to note the end.

8 Man is himself the field; his deeds are seeds, and what he does to others grows apace; the hearvest time is sure.

9 Behold the yield! If he has sown the wind, he reaps the wind; if he has sown the noxious seeds of scandal, theft and hate; of sensuality and crime,

10 The harvest is assured and he must reap what he has sown; yea, more; the seeds produce an hundred fold.

11 The fruit of righteousness and peace and love and joy can never spring from noxious seeds; the fruit is like the seed.

12 And when you sow, sow seeds of right, because it is the right, and not in the way of trade, expecting rich rewards.

13 The carnal man abhors the spirit law, because it takes away his liberty to live in sin; beneath its light he cannot satisfy his passions and desires.

14 He is at enmity with him who walks in Holy Breath. The carnal man has killed the holy men of old, the prophets and the seers.

15 And he will buffet you; will charge you falsely, scourge you and imprison you, and think he does the will of God to slay you in the streets.

16 But you may not prejudge nor cencure him who does you wrong.

17 Each one has problems to be solved, and he must solve them for himself.

18 The man who scourges you may have a load of sin to bear; but how about your own?

19 A little sin in one who walks in Holy Breath is greater in the sight of God than monster sins in him who never knew the way.

20 How can you see the splinter in your brother's eye while you have chunks within your own?

21 First take the chunks from out your eye and then you may behold the splinter in your brother's eye and help him take it out,

22 And while your eyes are full of foreign things you cannot see the way, for you are blind,

23 And when the blind lead forth the blind, both lose the way and fall into the slough.

24 If you would lead the way to God you must be clear in sight, as well as pure in heart.

CHAPTER 101

1 THE fruitage of the tree of life is all too fine to feed the carnal mind.

2 If you would throw a diamond to a hungry dog, lo, he would turn away, or else attack you in a rage.

3 The incense that is sweet to God is quite offensive unto Beelzebul; the bread of heaven is but chaff to men who cannot comprehend the spirit life.

4 The master must be wise and feed the soul with what it can digest.

5 If you have not the food for every man, just ask and you shall have; seek earnestly and you shall find.

6 Just speak the Word and knock; the door will fly ajar.

7 No one has ever asked in faith and did not have; none ever sought in vain; no one who ever knocked aright has failed to find an open door.

8 When men shall ask you for the bread of heaven, turn not away, nor give to them the fruit of carnal trees.

9 If one, a son, would ask you for a loaf, would you give him a stone? If he would ask you for a fish, would you give him a serpent of the dust?

10 What you would have your God give unto you, give unto men. The Measure of your worth lies in your service unto men.

11 There is a way that leads unto the perfect life; few find it at a time.

12 It is a narrow way; it lies among the rocks and pitfalls of the carnal life; but in the way there are no pitfalls and no rocks.

13 There is a way that leads to wretchedness and want. It is a spacious way and many walk therein. It lies among the pleasure groves of carnal life.

14 Beware, for many claim to walk the way of life who walk the way of death.

15 But they are false in word and deed; false prophets they. They clothe themselves in skins of sheep, while they are vicious wolves.

16 They cannot long conceal themselves; men know them ny their fruits;

17 You cannot gather grapes from thorns, nor from the thistles, figs.

18 The fruit is daughter of the tree and, like the parent, so the child; and every tree that bears not wholesome fruit is plucked up by the roots and cast away,

19 Because a man prays long and loud is not a sign that he is saint. The praying men are not all in the kingdom of the soul.

20 The man who lives the holy life, who does the will of God, abides within the kingdom of the soul.

21 The good man from the treasures of his heart sends blessedness and peace to all the world.

22 The evil man sends thoughts that blight and wither hope and joy and fill the world with wretchedness and woe.

23 Men think and act and speak out of the abundance of the heart.

24 And when the judgement hour shall come a host of men will enter pleadings for themselves and think to buy the favour of the judge with words.

25 And they will say, Lo, we have wrought a multitude of works in the Omnific name,

26 Have we not prophesied? Have we not cured all manner of disease? Have we not cast the evil spirits out of those obsessed?

27 And then the judge will say, I know you not. You rendered service unto God in words when in your heart you worshipped Beelzebul.

28 The evil one may use the powers of life, and do a multitude of mighty works. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.

29 The man who hears the words of life and does them not is like the man who builds his house upon the sand, which when the floods come on, is washed away and all is lost.

30 But he who hears the words of life and in an honest, sincere heart receives and treasures them and lives the holy life,

31 Is like the man who builds the house upon the rock; the floods may come, the winds may blow, the storms may beat upon his house; it is not moved.

32 Go forth and build your life upon the solid rock of truth, and all the powers of the evil one will shake it not.

33 And Jesus finished all his sayings on the mount and then he, with the twelve, returned unto Capernaum.

CHAPTER 102

1 THE twelve apostles went with Jesus to his home, and there abode for certain days.

2 And Jesus told them many things about the inner life that may not now be written in a book.

3 Now, in Capernaum, there lived a man of wealth, a Roman captain of a hundred men, who loved the Jews and who had built for them a synagogue.

4 A servant of this man was paralysed, and he was sick nigh unto death.

5 The captain knew of Jesus and had heard that by the Sacred Word he healed the sick, and he had faith in him.

6 He sent a message by the elders of the Jews to Jesus, and he pled for help.

7 and Jesus recognised the captain's faith and went at once to heal the sick; the captain met him on the way and said to him,

8 Lo, Lord, it is not well that you should come unto my house; I am not worthy of the presence of a man of God.

9 I am a man of war, my life is spent with those who ofttimes take the lives of fellow men.

10 And surely he who comes to save would be dishonoured if he came beneath my roof.

11 If you will speak the Word I know my servant will be well.

12 And Jesus turned and said to those who followed him,

13 Behold the captain's faith; I have not seen such faith, no, not in Israel.

14 Behold, the feast is spread for you; but while you doubt and wait, the alien comes in faith and takes the bread of life.

15 Then turning to the man he said, Go on your way; according to your faith so shall it be; your servant lives.

16 It came to pass that at the time that Jesus spoke the Word the palsied man arose, and he was well.

17 And then the Christines went abroad to teach. And as they came to Nain, a city on the Hermon way, they saw a multitude about the gates.

18 It was a funeral train; a widow's son was dead, and friends were bearing out the body to the tomb.

19 It was the widow's only son, and she was wild with grief. And Jesus said to her, Weep not, I am the life; your son shall live.

20 And Jesus raised his hand; the bearers of the dead stood still.

21 And Jesus touched the bier and said, Young man, return.

22 The soul returned; the body of the dead was filled with life; the man sat up and spoke.

23 The people were astonished at the scene, and every one exclaimed, Praise God.

24 A Jewish priest stood forth and said, Behold a mighty prophet has appeared; and all the people said, Amen.

25 The Christines journeyed on; they taught, and healed the sick in many towns of Galilee, and then they came again unto Capernaum.

CHAPTER 103

1 THE home of Jesus was a school where in the early morning hours the twelve apostles and the foreign priests were taught the secret things of God.

2 And there were present priests from China, India, and from Babylon; from Persia, Egypt and from Greece,

3 Who came to sit at Jesus' feet to learn the wisdom that he brought to men, that they might teach their people how to live the holy life.

4 And Jesus taught them how to teach; he told them of the trials of the way, and how to make these trials serve the race.

5 He taught them how to live the holy life that they might conquer death;

6 He taught them what the end of mortal life will be, when man has reached the consciousness that he and God are one.

7 The after midday hours were given to the multitudes who came to learn the way of life and to be healed; and many did believe and were baptised.

8 Now, in his prison by the Bitter Sea the harbinger had heard of all the mighty works that Jesus did.

9 His prison life was hard, and he was sore distressed, and he began to doubt.

10 And to himself he said, I wonder if this Jesus is the Christ of whom the prophets wrote!

11 Was I mistaken in my work? Was I, indeed, one sent from God to pave the way for him who shall redeem our people, Israel?

12 And then he sent some of his friends, who came to see him in his prison cell, up to Capernaum that they might learn about this man, and bring him word.

13 The men found Jesus in his home, and said, Behold the harbinger sent us to ask, Are you the Christ? or is he yet to come?

14 But Jesus answered not; he simply bade the men to tarry certain days that they might see and hear.

15 They saw him heal the sick, and cause the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see;

16 They saw him cast the evil spirits out of those obsessed; they saw him raise the dead.

17 They heard him preach the gospel to the poor.

18 Then Jesus said to them, Go on your way; return to John and tell him all that you have seen and heard; then he will know. They went their way.

19 The multitudes were there, and Jesus said to them, Once you were crowding Jordan's fords; you filled the wilderness.

20 What did you go to see? The trees of Juda, and the flowers of Heth? Or did you go to see a man in kingly garb? Or did you go to see a prophet and a seer?

21 I tell you, men, you know not whom you saw. A prophet? Yea, and more; a messenger whom God had sent to pave the way for what you see and hear this day.

22 Among the men of earth a greater man has never lived than John.

23 Behold I say, This man whom Herod bound in chains and cast into a prison cell is God's Elijah come again to earth.

24 Elijah, who did not pass the gate of death, whose body of this flesh was changed, and he awoke in Paradise.

25 When John came forth and preached the gospel of repentance for the cleansing of the soul, the common folks believed and were baptised.

26 The lawyers and the Pharisees accepted not the teachings of this man; were not baptised.

27 Behold, neglected opportunities will never come again.

28 Behold, the people are unstable as the waters of the sea; they seek to be excused from righteousness.

29 John came and ate no bread, and drank no wine. He lived the simplest life apart from men, and people said, He is obsessed.

30 Another comes who eats and drinks and lives in homes like other men, and people say, He is a glutton, an inegriate, a friend of publicans and those who sin.

31 Woe unto you, you cities of the vale of Galilee, where all the mighty works of God are done! Woe to Chorazan and Bethsaida!

32 If half the mighty works that have been done in you were done in Tyre and in Sidon they would have long ago repented of their sins, and sought the way of right.

33 And when the judgement day shall come, lo, Tyre and Sidon will be called more worthy than will you.

34 Because they slighted not their gifts, while you have thrown away the pearl of greatest price.

35 Woe unto you Capernaum! Behold, you are exalted now, but you shall be abased;

36 For if the mighty works that have been done in you had but been done within the cities of the plain--of Sodom and Zeboim--they would have heard and turned to God; would not have been destroyed.

37 They perished in their ignorance; they had no light; but you have heard; you have the evidence.

38 The light of life has shown above your hills and all the shores of Galilee have been ablaze with light;

39 The glory of the Lord has shown in evry street and syna gogue and home; but you have spurned the light.

40 And, lo, I say, The judgment day will come and God will deal in greater mercy with the cities of the plains than he will deal with you.

CHAPTER 104

1 AND Jesus looked upon the multitudes who pressed about for selfish gain.

2 The men of learning and of wealth, of reputation and of power, were there; but they knew not the Christ.

3 Their eyes were blinded by the tinselled glitter of their selfish selves; they could not see the king.

4 And though they walked within the light, they groped about in dark--a darkness like the night of death.

5 And Jesus cast his eyes to heaven and said,

6 I thank thee, Holy One of heaven and earth, that while the light is hidden from the wise and great, it is revealed to babes.

7 Then turning to the multitudes he said, I come to you not in the name of man, nor in a strength my own;

8 The wisdom and the virtue that I bring to you are from above; they are the wisdom and the virtue of the God whom we adore.

9 The words I speak are not my words; I give to you what I receive.

10 Come unto me all you who labour and pull heavy loads and I will give you aid.

11 Put on the yoke of Christ with me; it does not chafe; it is an easy yoke.

12 Together we will pull the load of life with ease; and so rejoice.

13 A Pharisee, whose name was Simon, made a feast, and Jesus was the honoured guest.

14 And as they sat about the board, a coutesan who had been cured of her desire to sin by what she had received and seen in Jesus' ministry, came uninvited to the feast.

15 She brought an alabaster box of costly balm and as the guests reclined she came to Jesus in her joy, because she been freed from sin.

16 Her tears fell fast, she kissed his feet, and dried them with her hair, and she anointed them with balm.

17 And Simon thought, he did not speak alous, This man is not a prophet or he would know the kind of woman that approaches him, and would drive her away.

18 But Jesus knew his thoughts, and said to him, My host, I have a word to say to you.

19 And Simon said, Say on.

20 And Jesus said, Sin is a monster of iniquity; it may be small; it may be large; it may be something left undone.

21 Behold, one person leads a life of sin and is at last redeemed; another, in a careless mood, forgets to do the things hs ought to do but he reforms and is forgiven. Now, which of these has merited the higher praise?

22 And Simon said, The one who overcame the error of alife.

23 And Jesus said, You speak the truth.

24 Behold this woman who has bathed my feet with tears and dried them with her hair and covered them with balm!

25 For years she led a life of sin, but when she heard the words of life she sought forgiveness and she found.

26 But when I came into your house as guest you gave me not a bowl of water that I might wash my hands and feet, which every loyal Jew must do before he feasts.

27 Now, tell me, Simon, which of these, this woman or yourself, is worthy of most praise?

28 But Simon answered not.

29 Then to the woman Jesus said, Your sins are all forgiven; your faith has saved you; go in peace.

30 And then the guests who sat around the board, began to say within themselves, What manner of a man is this who says, Thy sins are all forgiven?

CHAPTER 105

1 NOW, many women who possessed much wealth, and abode in other towns of Galilee, implored that Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from the foreign lands, would thither go and preach and heal.

2 Among these anxious ones were Mary Magdalene, who was obsessed by seven homeless spirits of the air, which had been driven out by the Omnific Word which Jesus spoke;

3 Susanna, who owned vast estates at Caesarea-Philippi;

4 Johanna, wife of Chuza, one of Herod's court;

5 And Rachel from the coast of Tyre;

6 And other from beyond the Jordan and the sea of Galilee.

7 And they provided ample means and three times seven men went forth.

8 They preached the gospel of the Christ and they baptised the multitudes who made confession of their faith; they healed the sick and raised the dead.

9 And Jesus wrought and taught from early morn until the day had gone, and then into the night, he did not stop to eat.

10 His friends became alarmed lest he should fail from loss of strength, and they laid hold of him and would, by force, have taken him away to a place of rest.

11 But he rebuked them not; he said, Have you not read that God will give his angels charge concerning me?

12 That they would hold me fast and suffer not that I should come to want?

13 I tell you, men, while I am giving out my strength unto these anxious, waiting throngs I find myself at rest within the arms of God,

14 Whose blessed messengers bring down to me the bread of life.

15 There is a tide just once in human life.

16 These people now are willing to receive the truth; their opportunity is now; our opportunity is now,

17 And if we do not teach them while we may, the tide will ebb;

18 They may not care again to hear the truth; then tell me, Who will bear the guilt?

19 And so he taught and healed.

20 Among the multitudes were men of every shade of thought. They were divided in their views concernong everything that Jesus said.

21 Some saw in him a God, and would have worshipped him; and others saw in him a devil of the nether world and would have cast him in a pit.

22 And some were trying hard to lead a double life; like little lions of the ground that take upon themselves the colour of the thing they rest upon.

23 These people without anchorage of any sort, are friends or foes as seemed to serve them best.

24 And Jesus said, No man can serve two masters at a time. No man can be a friend and foe at once.

25 All men are rising up, or sinking down; are building up, or tearing down.

26 If you are gathering not the precious grain, then you are throwing it away.

27 He is a coward who would feign to be a friend, or foe, to please another man.

28 You men, do not deceice yourselves inthought; your hearts are known;

29 Hypocrisy will blight a soul as surely as the breath of Beelzebul. An honest evil man is more esteemed by guardians of the soul than a dishonest pious man.

30 If you would curse the son of man, just curse him out aloud.

31 A curse is poison to the inner man, and if you hold and swallow down a curse it never will digest; lo, it will poison every atom of your soul.

32 And if you sin against a son of man, you may be pardoned and your guilt be cleansed by acts of kindness and of love;

33 But if you sin against the Holy Breath by disregarding her when she would open up the doors of life for you;

34 By closing up the windows of the soul when she would pour the light of love into your hearts, and cleanse them with the fires of God;

35 Your guilt shall not be blotted out in this, nor in the life to come.

36 An opportunity has gone to come no more, and you must wait until the ages roll again.

37 Then will the Holy Breath again breathe on your fires of life, and fan them to a living flame.

38 Then she will open up the doors again, and you may let her in to sup with you for evermore, or you may slight her once again, and then again.

39 You men of Israel, your opportunity is now.

40 Your tree of life is an illusive tree; it has a generous crop of leaves; its boughs hang low with fruit.

41 Behold, your words are leaves; your deeds the fruit.

42 Behold, for men have plucked the apples of your tree of life, and found them full of bitterness; and worms have eaten to the core.

43 Behold that fig tree by the way so full of leaves and worthless fruit!

44 Then Jesus spoke a word that nature spirits know, and lo, the fig tree stood a mass of withered leaves.

45 And then he spoke again, Behold, for God will speak the Word, and you will stand a withered fig tree in the setting sun.

46 You men of Galilee, send forth and call the pruner in before it is too late, and let him prune away your worthless branches and illusive leaves, and let the sunshine in.

47 The sun is life, and it can change your worthlessness to worth.

48 Your tree of life is good; but you have nurtured it solong with dews of self, and mists of carnal things that you have shut the sunshine out.

49 I tell you, men, that you must give account to God for every idle word you speak and every evil deed you do.

CHAPTER 106

1 MAGDALA is beside the sea, and here the teachers taught.

2 A man obsessed, and who was blind and dumb was brought, and Jesus spoke the Word, and lo, the evil spirits went away; the man spoke out, his eyes were opened and he saw.

3 This was the greatest work that men had seen the master do, and they were all amazed.

4 The Pharisees were there, and they were full of jealous rage; they sought a cause whereby they might condemn.

5 They said, Yes, it is true that Jesus does a multitude of mighty works; but men should know that he is leagued with Beelzebul.

6 He is a sorcerer, a black magician of the Simon Cerus type; he works as Jannes and as Jambres did in Moses' day.

7 For Satan, prince of evil spirits, is his stay by night and day and in the name of Satan he casts the demons out, and in his name he heals the sick and raises up the dead.

8 But Jesus knew their thoughts; he said to them, You men are masters, and you know the law; whatever is arrayed against itself must fall; a house divided cannot stand;

9 A kingdom warring with itself is brought to naught.

10 If Satan casts the devil out, how can his kingdom stand?

11 If I, by Beelzebul, cast devils out, by whom do you cast devils out?

12 But if I, in the holy name of God, cast devils out, and make the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dumb to speak, has not God's kingdom come to you?

13 The Pharisees were dumb; they answered not.

14 As Jesus spoke a messenger approached and said to him, Your mother and your brothers wish to speak with you.

15 And Jesus said, Who is my mother? and my brothers, who are they?

16 And then he spoke a word aside unto the foreign masters and the twelve; he said,

17 Behold, men recognise their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers here in flesh; but when the veil is rent and men walk in the realms of soul,

18 The tender lines of love that bind the groups of fleshly kin in families will fade away.

19 Not that the love for anyone will be the less; but men will see in all the motherhood, the fatherhood, the sisterhood, the brotherhood of man.

20 The family groups of earth will all be lost in universal love and fellowship divine.

21 Then to the multitudes he said, Whoever lives the life and does the will of God is child of God and is my mother, father, sister, friend.

22 And then he went aside to speak to mother and his other kindred in the flesh.

23 But he saw more than these. The maiden who once thrilled his very soul with love. a love beyond the love of any fleshly kin;

24 Who was the sorest tempter in the temple Heliopolis beside the Nile, who sung for him the sacred songs, was there.

25 The recognition was of kindred souls, and Jesus said,

26 Behold, for God has brought to us a power men cannot comprehend, a power of purity and love;

27 To make more light the burdens of the hour, to be a balm for wounded souls;

28 To win the multitude to better ways by sacred song and holy life.

29 Behold, for Miriam who stood beside the sea and sung the song of victory when Moses led the way, will sing again.

30 And all the choirs of heaven will join and sing the glad refrain:

31 Peace, peace on earth; good will to men!

32 And Miriam stood before the waiting throngs and sung again the songs of victory, and all the people said, Amen.

CHAPTER 107

1 A PHARISEE elated with himself stood forth among the multitudes and said to Jesus,

2 Sir, we would have you demonstrate. If you are truly Christ who was to come, then you can surely do what black magicians cannot do.

3 Lo, they can talk, and hold the multitudes with words of power; and they can heal the sick and drive the demons out of those obsessed;

4 They can control the storms; and fire and earth and air will hear and answer when they speak.

5 Now, if you will ascend and from that tower fly across the sea, we will believe that you are sent from God.

6 And Jesus said, No black magician ever lived a holy life; you have a demonstration of the Christ-life every day.

7 But lo, you evil and adulterous scribes and Pharisees, you cannot see a spirit sign, because your spirit eyes are full of carnal self.

8 You seek a sign to please your curoisity. You walk the very lowest planes of carnal life and cry, Phenomena! show us a sign and then we will believe.

9 I was not sent to earth to buy up faith as men buy fish and fruit and rubbish in the streets.

10 Men seem to think it quite a favour done to me when they confess their faith in me and in the holy Christ.

11 What does it matter unto me as man if you believe or disbelieve?

12 Faith is not something you can buy with coin; it is not something you can sell for gold.

13 Once Mart, abeggar, followed me and cried, Give me a silver piece; then I will believe in you.

14 And you are like this beggar man; you offer to exchange your faith for signs.

15 But I will give to all the world one sign as surety that the Christ abides with me.

16 You all have read the parable of Jonah and the fish, wherein it is recorded that the prophet spent three days and nights within the stomach of the mighty fish, and then came forth.

17 The son of man will spend three days and nights within the heart of earth and then come forth again, and men will see and know.

18 Behold, the light may be so bright that men cannot see anything.

19 The Spirit light has shown so brightly over Galilee that you who hear me now are blind.

20 You may have read the words of prophet Azrael; he said, The light shall shine out brightly in the darkness of the night, and men shall comprehend it not.

21 That time has come; the light shines forth; you see it not.

22 The Queen of Sheba sat in darkest night and still she yearned for light.

23 She came to hear the words of wisdom from the lips of Solomon, and she believed;

24 And she became a living torch, and when she reached her home, lo, all Arabia was filled with light.

25 A greater far than Solomon is here; the Christ is here; the Day Star had risen, and you reject the light.

26 And you remember Nineveh, the wicked city of Assyria, which God had marked to be destroyed by shock and flame unless the people turned and walked in ways of right.

27 And Jonah raised his voice and said, In forty days shall Nineveh be razed, and her wealth shall be destroyed.

28 The people heard and they believed; and they reformed and turned to ways of right, and lo, their city was not razed; was not destroyed.

29 You men of Galilee, I tell you that Arabia and Nineveh will testify against you in the judgment day.

30 Behold, for every one to whom I speak has in him all the fires of God; but they are lying dead.

31 The will is bridled by the flesh desires, and it brings not the ethers of the fires to vibrate into light.

32 Look, therefore, to your soul and note, Is not the light within you dark as night?

33 There is no breath but Holy Breath that e'er can fan your fires of life into a living flame and make them light.

34 And Holy Breath can raise the ethers of the fires to light in none but hearts of purity and love.

35 Hear, then, you men of Galilee, Make pure the heart, admit the Holy Breath, and then your bodies will be full of light.

36 And like a city on a hill, your light will shine afar, and thus your light may light the way for other men.

CHAPTER 108

1 THE multitudes were wild with selfish thought; none recognised the rights and needs of any other one.

2 The stronger pushed the weak aside, and trampled on them in their haste to be the first to get a blassing for himself.

3 And Jesus said, Behold the cage of beasts untamed; a den of stinging vipers, maddened by their fiendish greed of selfish gain!

4 I tell you, men, the benefits that come to men who see no further than themselves are baubles in the morning light;

5 They are unreal; they pass away. The selfish soul is fed today; the food does not assimilate; the soul grows not, and then it must be fed again, and then again.

6 Behold, a selfish man obsessed by just one spirit of the air; by the Omnific Word the spirit is cast out;

7 It wanders through dry places, seeking rest and finding none.

8 And then it comes again; the selfish man has failed to close and lock the door;

9 The unclean spirit finds the house all swept and cleaned; it enters in and takes with it full seven other spirits more unclean than is itself; and there they dwell.

10 The last state of the man is more than sevenfold more wretched than the first.

11 And so it is with you who snatch the blessings that belong to other men.

12 While Jesus spoke a certain woman who stood near exclaimed, Most blessed is the mother of this man of God!

13 And Jesus said, Yes, blest is she; but doubly blest are they who hear, receive and live the word of God.

14 A Pharisee of wealth prepared a feast, and Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from afar, were guests.

15 And Jesus did not wash his hands according to the strictest Pharisaic rules, before he ate; when this the Pharisee observed he marvelled much.

16 And Jesus said, My host, why do you marvel that I did not wash my hands?

17 The Pharisees wash well their hands and feet; they cleanse the body every day when, lo, within is every form of filth.

18 Their hearts are full of wickedness, extortions and deceit.

19 Did not the God who made the outside of the body make the inside, too?

20 And then he said, Woe unto you, you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue, and every herb, and pass by judgment and the love of God.

21 Woe unto you, you Pharisees! you love the highest seats in synagogues and courts, and bid for salutations in the market place.

22 Woe unto you, you tinselled gentry of the land! no man would ever think you servants of the Lord of hosts by what you do.

23 A lawyer sitting near remarked, Rabboni, your words are harsh, and then in what you say you censure us; and why?

24 And Jesus said, Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you heap great burdens on the sons of men, yea, loads by far too great for them to bear, and you will never help to bear a feather's weight yourselves.

25 Woe unto you! you build the tombs of prophets and of seers; they whom your fathers killed; and you are parties to the crimes.

26 And now behold, for God has sent again to you his holy men-apostles, prophets, seers; and you are persecuting them.

27 The time is near when you will plead against them in the courts; will spurn them into prison cells, and kill them with a fiend's delight.

28 I tell you, men, the blood of all the holy men of God that has been shed from righteous Abel down to that of Zacharias, father of holy John,

29 Who was struck down beside the altar in the Holy Place--

30 The blood of all these holy men has made more red the hands of this ungodly generation.

31 Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you snatch the keys of knowledge from the hands of men;

32 You close the doors; you enter not yourselves, and suffer not the willing ones to enter in.

33 His words provoked the Pharisees, the lawyers and the scribes, and they, resenting, poured upon him torrents of abuse.

34 The truths he spoke came like a thunderbolt from heaven; the rulers counselled how they might ensnare him by his words; they sought a legal way to shed his blood.

CHAPTER 109

1 NOW, when the feast was finished Jesus with the foreign masters and the twelve, with Mary, Miriam and a band of loyal women who believed in Christ, went to a place apart to pray.

2 And when their silence ended Jesus said, Be on your guard; the leaven of the Pharisees is being thrown in every measure of the meal of life.

3 It is a poison that will taint whatever it may touch; and it will blight the soul as sure as fumes of the Diabolos; it is hypocrisy.

4 The Pharisees seem fair in speech, but they are diabolical in heart.

5 And then they seem to think that thought is something they can lock within themselves.

6 They do not seem to know that every thought and wish is photographed and then preserved within the Book of Life to be revealed at any time the masters will.

7 That which is thought, or wished, or done in darkest night shall be proclaimed in brightest day;

8 That which is whispered in the ear within the secret place shall be made known upon the streets.

9 And in the judgment day when all the books are opened up, these men, and every other man, shall be a-judged, not by what they've said or done,

10 But by the ways in which they used the thoughts of God, and how the ethers of eternal love were made to serve;

11 For men may make these ethers serve the carnal self, or serve the holy self within.

12 Behold, these men may kill the body of this flesh; but what of that? the flesh is but a transitory thing, and soon, by natural law, will pass;

13 Their slaughter only hastens nature's work a little time.

14 And when they kill the flesh they reach their bounds of power; they cannot kill the soul.

15 But nature is the keeper of the soul as of the flesh, and in the harvest time of soul, the trees of life are all inspected by the judge;

16 And every tree that bears no fruit of good is plucked up by the roots and cast into the flames.

17 Who then shall you regard? Not him who has the power to kill the flesh, and nothing more.

18 Regard the mighty one who has the power to dissolve both soul and body in the flames of nature's fire.

19 But man is king; he may direct his thoughts, his loves, his life, and gain the prize of everlasting life.

20 And you are not abandoned in your struggle for the crown of life. Your Father lives, and you shall live.

21 God has a care for every living thing. He numbers stars, and suns, and moons;

22 He numbers angels, men and every thing below; the birds, the flowers, the trees;

23 The very petals of the rose he knows by name, and every one is numbered in his Book of Life;

24 And every hair upon your head, and every drop of blood within your veins, he knows by number and by rhythm.

25 He hears the birdling's call, the cricket's chirp, the glow worm's song; and not a sparrow falls to earth without his knowledge and consent.

26 A sparrow seems a thing of little worth; yea, five of them are worth two farthings in the market place, and yet God cares for every one of them.

27 Will he not care much more for you who bear his image in your soul?

28 Fear not to make confession of the Christ before the sons of men, and God will own you as his sons and daughters in the presence of the host of heaven.

29 If you deny the Christ before the sons of men, then God will not receive you as his own before the hosts of heaven.

30 And more I say, Fear not when men shall bring you up before the rulers of the land to answer for your faith.

31 Behold, the Holy Breath shall teach you in your hour of need what you should say, and what is best leave unsaid.

32 And then the Christines went again to teach the multitudes.

CHAPTER 110

1 AND Miriam stood before the surging crowd, and casting up her eyes to heaven she sung anew the song of victory:

2 Bring forth the harp, the vina and the lyre; bring forth the highest sounding cymbal, all ye choirs of heaven. Join in the song, the new, new song.

3 The Lord of hosts has stooped to hear the cries of men, and lo, the citadel of Beelzebul is shaking as a leaf before the wind.

4 The sword of Gideon is again unsheathed.

5 The Lord, with his own hand has pulled far back the curtains of the night; the sun of truth is flooding heaven and earth;

6 The demons of the dark, of ignorance and death, are fleeing fast; are disappearing as the dew beneath the morning sun.

7 God is our strength and song; is our salvation and our hope, and we will build anew ahouse for him;

8 Will cleanse our hearts, and purify their chambers, every one. We are the temple of the Holy Breath.

9 We need no more a tent within the wilderness; no more a temple built with hands.

10 We do not seek the Holy Land, nor yet Jerusalem.

11 We are the tent of God; we are his temple built without the sound of edged tools.

12 We are the Holy Land; we are the New Jerusalem; Allelujah, praise the Lord!

13 And when the song was done the multitudes exclaimed, Praise God.

14 And Jesus said, Behold the way!

15 The sons of men have groped for ages in the darkness of Egyptian night.

16 The Pharaohs of sense have bound them with their chains.

17 But God has whispered through the mists of time and told them of a land of liberty and love.

18 And he has sent his Logos forth to light the way.

19 The Red Sea rolls between the promised land and Egypt's sands.

20 The Red Sea is the carnal mind.

21 Behold, the Logos reaches out his hand; the sea divides; the carnal mind is reft in twain; the sons of men walk through dry shod.

22 The Pharaohs of sense would stay them in their flight; the waters of the sea return; the Pharaohs of sense are lost and men are free.

23 For just a little while men tread the wilderness of Sin; the Logos leads the way;

24 And when at last men stand upon the Jordan's brink, these waters stay, and men step forth into their own.

CHAPTER 111

1 AND Jesus taught the multitudes; and while he spoke a man stood forth and said,

2 Rabboni, hear my plea: My father died and left a large estate; my brother seized it all, and now refuses me my share.

3 I pray that you will bid him do the right, and give what is mine.

4 And Jesus said, I am not come to be a judge in such affairs; I am no henchman of the court.

5 God sent me not to force a man to do the right.

6 In every man there is a sense of right; but many men regard it not.

7 The fumes that rise from selfishness have formed a crust about their sense of right that veils their inner light, so that they cannot comprehend nor recognise the rights of other men.

8 This veil you cannot tear away by force of arms, and there is naught that can dissolve this crust but knowledge and love of God.

9 While men are in the mire, the skies seem far away; when men are on the mountain top, the skies are near, and they can almost touch the stars.

10 Then Jesus turned and to the twelve he said, Behold the many in the mire of carnal life!

11 The leaven of truth will change the miry clay to solid rock, and men can walk and find the path that leads up to the mountain top.

12 You cannot haste; but you can scatter forth this leaven with a generous hand.

13 When men have learned the truth that bears upon its face the law of right, then they will haste to every man his dues.

14 Then to the people Jesus said, Take heed, and covet not. The wealth of men does not consist in what they seem to have--in lands, in silver and in gold.

15 These things are only borrowed wealth. No man can corner up the gifts of God.

16 The things of nature are the things of God, and what is God's belongs to every man alike.

17 The wealth of soul lies in the purity of life, and in the wisdom that descends from heaven.

18 Behold, a rich man's ground brought forth abundantly; his barns were far too small to hold his grain, and to himself he said,

19 What shall I do? I must not give my grain away; I must not let it go to waste; and then he said,

20 This will I do; I will tear down these little barns and built up larger ones; there I will store away my grain and I will say,

21 My soul take now your ease; you have enough for many years; eat, drink and fill yourself and be content.

22 But God looked down and saw the man; he saw his selfish heart and said,

23 You foolish man, this night your soul will quit its house of flesh; then who will have your garnered wealth?

24 You men of Galilee, lay not up treasures in the vaults of earth; accumulated wealth will blight your soul.

25 God does not give men wealth to hoard away in secret vaults. Men are but stewards of God's wealth, and they must use it for the common good.

26 To every steward who is true to self, to other men, to every thing that is, the Lord will say, Well done.

CHAPTER 112

1 AND Jesus left the multitudes and went with his disciples up to Mary's home; and as they sat about the board to dine he said,

2 My little flock, fear not; it is your Father's will that you shall rule the kingdom of the soul.

3 A ruler in the house of God is servant of the Lord of Hosts, and man cannot serve God except by serving men.

4 A servant in the house of God cannot be servant in the house of wealth; nor in the synagogue of sense.

5 If you are tied to lands, or bonds, or wealth of earth, your hearts are knit to things of earth; for where your treasures are there are your hearts.

6 Dispose of all your wealth, distribute it among the poor, and put your trust in God, and you nor yours will ever come to want.

7 This is a test of faith, and God will not accept the service of faithless one.

8 The time is ripe; your Master comes upon the clouds; the eastern sky is glowing with his presence now.

9 Put on reception robes; gird up your loins; trim up your lamps and fill them well with oil, and be prepared to meet your Lord; when you are ready, he will come.

10 Thrice blessed are the servants who are ready to receive their Lord.

11 Behold, for he will gird himself, and will prepare a sumptuous feast for every one, and he himself will serve.

12 It matters not when he shall come; it may be at the second watch; it may be at the third; but blessed are the servants who are ready to receive.

13 You cannot leave your door ajar and go to sleep, and wait in blissful ignorance of the fleeting time;

14 For thieves will surely come and take away your goods and bind and carry you away to robbers' dens.

15 And if you are not carried forth, the Master when he comes will not regard a sleeping guard as friend, but as a foe.

16 Beloved, these are times when every man must be awake and at his post, for none can tell the hour nor the day when man shall be revealed.

17 And Peter said, Lord is this parable for us, or for the multitudes?

18 And Jesus, Why need you ask? God is not a man that he should show respect for one and cast another off.

19 Whoever will may come and gird himself, and trim his lamp, and find a turret in the tower of life where he may watch, and be prepared to meet the Lord.

20 But you, as children of the light, have come, and you have learned the language of the court, and may stand forth and lead the way.

21 But you may wait, and think that you are ready to receive the Lord, and still he does not come.

22 And you may grow impatient and begin to long for carnal ways again, and may begin to exercise your rule;

23 To beat, and otherwise maltreat the servants of the house, and fill yourselves with wine and meat.

24 And what will say the Lord when he shall come?

25 Behold, for he will cast the faithless servant from his house; and many years will come and go before he can be cleansed, and be thought worthy to receive his Lord.

26 The servant who has come into the light, who knows the Master's will and does it not; the trusted guard who goes to sleep within the turret of the tower of life,

27 Shall feel the lash of justice many times, while he who does not know his Master's will and does it not, will not receive the graver punishment.

28 The man who comes and stands before the open door of opportunity and does not enter in, but goes his way,

29 Will come again and find the door made fast, and when he calls, the door will open not,

30 The guard will say, you had the pass-word once, but you threw it away and now the Master knows you not; depart.

31 And verily I say to you, To whom much has been given, much is required; to whom a little has been given, a little only is required.

CHAPTER 113

1 NOW, after they had dined, the guests and Jesus all were in a spacious hall in Mary's home.

2 And then Lamaas said, Pray, tell us Lord, is this the dawn of peace?

3 Have we come forth unto the time when men will war no more?

4 Are you, indeed, the Prince of Peace that holy men said would come?

5 And Jesus said, Peace reigns to-day; it is the peace of death.

6 A stagnant pool abides in peace. When waters cease to move they soon are ladened with the seeds of death; corruption dwells in every drop.

7 The living waters always leap and skip about like lambs in spring.

8 The nations are corrupt; they sleep within the arms of death and they must be aroused before it is too late.

9 In life we find antagonists at work. God sent me here to stir unto its depths the waters of the sea of life.

10 Peace follows strife; I come to slay this peace of death. The prince of peace must first be prince of strife.

11 This leaven of truth which I have brought to men will stir the demons up, and nations, cities, families will be at war within themselves.

12 The five that have been dwelling in a home of peace will be divided now, and two shall war with three;

13 The son will stand against his sire; the mother and the daughter will contend; yea, strife will reign in every home.

14 The self and greed and doubt will rage into a fever heat, and then, because of me, the earth will be baptised in human blood.

15 But right is king; and when the smoke is cleared away the nations will learn war no more; the Prince of Peace will come to reign.

16 Behold, the signs of what I say are in the sky; but men can see them not.

17 When men behold a cloud rise in the west they say, A shower of rain will come, and so it does; and when the wind blows from the south they say, The weather will be hot; and it is so.

18 Lo, men can read the signs of earth and sky, but they cannot discern the signs of Holy Breath; but you shall know.

19 The storm of wrath comes on; the carnal man will seek a cause to hale you into court, and cast you into prison cells.

20 And when these times shall come let wisdom guide; do not resent. Resentment makes more strong the wrath of evil men.

21 There is a little sense of justice and of mercy in the vilest men of earth.

22 By taking heed to what you do and say and trusting in the guidance of the Holy Breath, you may inspire this sense to grow.

23 You thus may make the wrath of men to praise the Lord.

24 The Christines went their way, and came unto Bethsaida and taught.

CHAPTER 114

1 AS Jesus taught, a man stood forth and said, Rabboni, may I speak?

2 And Jesus said, Say on. And then the man spoke out and said,

3 A storm upon the sea last night wrecked many fishing boats, and scores of men went down to death, and lo, their wives and children are in need;

4 What can be done to help them in their sore distress?

5 And Jesus said, A worthy plea. You men of Galilee, take heed. We may not bring again to live these men, but we can succour those who looked to them for daily bread.

6 You stewards of the wealth of God, an opportunity has come; unlock your vaults; bring forth your hoarded gold; bestow it with a lavish hand.

7 This wealth was laid aside for just times as these; when it was needed not, lo, it was yours to guard;

8 But now it is not yours, for it belongs to those who are in want, and if you give it not you simply bring upon your heads the wrath of God.

9 It is not charity to give to those who need; it is but honesty; it is but giving men their own.

10 Then Jesus turned to Judas, one of the twelve, who was the treasurer of the band, and said,

11 Bring forth our treasure box; the money is not ours now; turn every farthing to the help of those in such distress.

12 Now, Judas did not wish to give the money all to those in want, and so he talked with Peter, James and John.

13 He said, Lo, I will save a certain part and give the rest; that surely is enough for us, for we are strangers to the ones in want; we do not even know their names.

14 But Peter said, Why, Judas, man, how do you dare to think to trifle with the strength of right?

15 The Lord has spoken true; this wealth does not belong to us in face of this distress, and to refuse to give it is to steal.

16 You need not fear; we will not come to want.

17 Then Judas opened up the treasure box and gave the money all.

18 And there was gold and silver, food, and raiment in abundance for the needs of the bereaved.

19 A lawyer said, Rabboni, if God rules the worlds and all that in them is, did he not bring about this storm? did he not slay these men?

20 Has he not brought this sore distress upon these people here? and was it done to punish them for crimes?

21 And we remember well when once a band of earnest Jews from Galilee were in Jerusalem, and ata feast and were, for fancied crimes against the Roman law,

22 Cut down within the very temple court by Pontius Pilate; and their blood became their sacrifice.

24 And then we bring to mind that once a tower called Siloam, graced the defences of Jerusalem, and, seemingly, without a cause it tottered and it fell to earth and eighteen men were killed.

25 Were these men vile? and were they slain as punishment for some great crime?

26 And Jesus said, We cannot look upon a single span of life and judge of anything.

27 There is a law that men must recognise: Result depends on cause.

28 Men are not motes to float about within the air of one short life, and then be lost in nothingness.

29 They are undying parts of the eternal whole that come and go, lo, many times into the air of earth and of the great beyond, just to unfold the God-like self.

30 A cause may be a part of one brief life; results may not be noted till another life.

31 The cause of your results cannot be found within my life, nor can the cause of my results be found in yours.

32 I cannot reap except I sow and I must reap whate'er I sow,

33 The law of all eternities is known to master minds:

34 Whatever men do unto other men the judge and executioner will do to them.

35 We do not note the execution of this law among the sons of men.

36 We note the weak dishonoured, trampled on and slain by those men call the strong.

37 We note that men with woodlike heads are seated in the chairs of state;

38 Are kings and judges, senators and priests, while men with giant intellects are scavengers about the streets.

39 We note that women with a moiety of common sense, and not a whit of any other kind, are painted up and dressed as queens,

40 Becoming ladies of the courts of puppet kings, because they have the form of something beautiful; while God'd own daughters are their slaves, or serve as common labourers in the field.

41 The sense of justice cries aloud: This is a travesty on right.

42 So when men see no further than one little span of life it is no wonder that they say, There is no God, or if there is a God he is a tyrant and should die.

43 If you would judge aright of human life, you must arise and stand upon the crest of time and note the thoughts and deeds of men as they have come up through the ages past;

44 For we must know that man is not a creature made of clay to turn again to clay and disappear.

45 He is a part of the eternal whole. There never was a time when he was not; a time will never come when he will not exist.

46 And now we look; the men who now are slaves were tyrants once; the men who now are tyrants have been slaves.

47 The men who suffer now once stood aloft and shouted with a fiend's delight while others suffered at their hands.

48 And men are sick, and halt, and lame, and blind because they once transgressed the laws of perfect life, and every law of God must be fulfilled.

49 Man may escape the punishment that seems but due for his mis-doings in this life; but every deed and word and thought has its own metes and bounds,

50 Is cause, and has its own results, and if a wrong be done, the doer of the wrong must make it right.

51 And when the wrongs have all been righted then will man arise and be at one with God.

CHAPTER 115

1 AND Jesus stood beside the sea and taught; the multitudes pressed close upon him and he went into a boat that was near by and put a little ways from shore, and then he spoke in parables; he said,

2 Behold, a sower took his seed and went into his field to sow.

3 With lavish hand he scattered forth the seed and some fell in the hardened paths that men had made,

4 And soon were crushed beneath the feet of other men; and birds came down and carried all the seeds away.

5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there was little soil; they grew and soon the blades appeared and promised much;

6 But then there was no depth of soil, no chance for nourishment, and in the heat of noonday sun they withered up and died.

7 Some seed fell where thistles grew, and found no earth in which to grow and they were lost;

8 But other seed found lodgement in the rich and tender soil and grew apace, and in the harvest it was found that some brought forth a hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold.

9 They who have ears to hear may hear; they who hearts to understand may know.

10 Now, his disciples were beside him in the boat, and Thomas asked, Why do you speak in parables?

11 And Jesus said, My words, like every master's words, are dual in their sense.

12 To you who know the language of the soul, my words have meanings far too deep for other men to comprehend.

13 The other sense of what I say is all the multitude can understand; these words are food for them; the inner thoughts are food for you.

14 Let every one reach forth and take the food that he is ready to receive.

15 And then he spoke that all might hear; he said, Hear you the meaning of the parable:

16 Men hear my words and understand them not, and then the carnal self purloins the seed, and not a sign of spirit life appears.

17 This is the seed that fell within the beaten paths of men.

18 And others hear the words of life, and with a fiery zeal receive them all; they seem to comprehend the truth and promise well;

19 But troubles come; discouragements arise; there is no depth of thought; their good intentions wither up and die.

20 These are the seeds that fell in stony ground.

21 And others hear the words of truth and seem to know their worth; but love of pleasure, reputation, wealth and fame fill all the soil; the seeds are nourished not and they are lost.

22 These are the seeds that fell among the thistles and the thorns.

23 But others hear the words of truth and comprehend them well; they sink down deep into their souls; they live the holy life and all the world is blest.

24 These are the seeds that fell in fertile soil, that brought forth fruit abundantly.

25 You men of Galilee, take heed to how you hear and how you cultivate your fields; for if you slight the offers of this day, the sower may not come to you again in this or in the age to come.

26 Then Jesus spoke another parable; he said:

27 Then kingdom I may liken to a field in which a man sowed precious seed;

28 But while he slept an evil one went forth and sowed a measure full of darnel seed; then went his way.

29 The soil was good, and so the wheat and darnel grew; and when the servants saw the tares among the wheat, they found the owner of the field and said,

30 You surely sowed good seed; from whence these tares?

31 The owner said, Some evil one out has sown the seed of tares.

32 The servants said, Shall we go out and pull up by the roots the tares and burn them in the fire?

33 The owner said, No, that would not be well. The wheat and tares grow close together in the soil, and while you pull the tares you would destroy the wheat.

34 So we will let them grow together till the harvest time. Then to the reapers I will say,

35 Go forth and gather up the tares and bind them up and burn them in the fire, and gather all the wheat into my barns.

36 When he had spoken thus, he left the boat and went up to the house, and his disciples followed him.

CHAPTER 116

1 THE Christines were in Philip's home and Peter said to Jesus, Lord, will you explain to us the meaning of the parables you spoke to-day? The one about the wheat and tares, especially?

2 And Jesus said, God's kingdom is a duality; it has an outer and an inner form.

3 As seen by man it is composed of men, of those who make confession of the name of Christ.

4 For various reasons various people crowd this outer kingdom of our God.

5 The inner kingdom is the kingdom of the soul, the kingdom of the pure in heart.

6 The outer kingdom I may well explain in parables. Behold, for I have seen you cast a great net out into the sea,

7 And when you hauled it in, lo, it was full of every kind of fish, some good, some bad, some great, some small; and I have seen you save the good and throw the bad away.

8 This outer kingdom is the net, and every kind of man is caught; but in the sorting day the bad will all be cast away, the good reserved.

9 Hear, then, the meaning of the parable of the wheat and tares:

10 The sower is the son of man; the field, the world; the good seed are the children of the light; the tares, the children of the dark; the enemy, the carnal self; the harvest day, the closing of the age; the reapers are the messengers of God.

11 The reckoning day will come to every man; then will the tares be gathered up, and cast into the fire and be burned.

12 Then will the good shine forth as suns in the kingdom of the soul.

13 And Philip said, Must men and women suffer in the flames because they have not found the way of life?

14 And Jesus said, The fire purifies. The chemist throws into the fire the ores that hold all kinds of dross.

15 The useless metal seems to be consumed; but not a grain of gold is lost.

16 There is no man that has not in him gold that cannot be destroyed. The evil things of men are all consumed in fire; the gold survives.

17 The inner kingdom of the soul I may explain in parables:

18 The son of man goes forth and scatters seeds of truth; God waters well the soil; the seeds show life and grow; first comes the blade, and then the stalk, and then the ear, and then the full wheat in the ear.

19 The harvest comes and, lo, the reapers bear the ripened sheaves into the garner of the Lord.

20 Again, this kingdom of the soul is like a little seed that men may plant in fertile soil.

21 (A thousand of these seeds would scarcely be a shekel's weight.)

22 The tiny seed begins to grow; it pushes through the earth, and after years of growth it is a mighty tree and birds rest in its leafy bowers and men find refuge 'neath its sheltering boughs from sun and storm.

23 Again, the truth, the spirit of the kingdom of the soul, is like a ball of leaven that a woman hid in measures, three, of flour and in a little time the whole was leavened.

24 Again, the kingdom of the soul is like a treasure hidden in a field which one has found, and straightway goes his way and sells all that he has and buys the field.

25 When Jesus had thus said he went alone into a mountain pass near by to pray.

CHAPTER 117

1 A ROYAL feast was held in honour of the birthday of the tetrarch in fortified Machaerus, east of the Bitter Sea.

2 The tetrarch, Herod, and his wife, Herodias, together with Salome were there; and all the men and women of the royal court were there.

3 And when the feast was done, lo, all the guests and courtiers were drunk with wine; they danced and leaped about like children in their play.

4 Salome, daughter of Herodias, came in and danced before the king. The beauty of her form, her grace and winning ways entranced the silly Herod, then half drunk with wine.

5 He called the maiden to his side and said, Salome, you have won my heart, and you may ask and I will give you anything you wish.

6 The maiden ran in childish glee and told her mother what the ruler said.

7 Her mother said, Go back and say, Give me the head of John, the harbinger.

8 The maiden ran and told the ruler what she wished.

9 And Herod called his trusty executioner and said to him, Go to the tower and tell the keeper that by my authority you come to execute the prisoner known as John.

10 The man went forth and in a little while returned and on a platter bore the lifeless head of John, and Herod offered it unto the maiden in the presence of the guests.

11 The maiden stood aloof; her innocence was outraged when she saw the bloody gift, and she would touch it not.

12 Her mother, steeped and hardened well in crime, came up and took the head and held it up before the guests and said,

13 This is the fate of every man who dares to scorn, or criticise, the acts of him who reigns.

14 The drunken rabble gazed upon the gruesome sight with fiendish joy.

15 The head was taken back unto the tower. The body had been given unto holy men who had been friends of John; they placed it in a burial case and carried it away.

16 They bore it to the Jordan, which they crossed just at the ford where John first preached the word;

17 And through the passes of the Judean hills they carried it.

18 They reached the sacred grounds near Hebron, where the bodies of the parents of the harbinger lay in their tombs;

19 And there they buried it; and then they went their way.

20 Now, when the news reached Galilee that John was dead the people met to sing the sonnets of the dead.

21 And Jesus and the foreign masters and the twelve took ship to cross the sea of Galilee.

22 A scribe, a faithful friend of John, stood by the sea; he called to Jesus and hesaid, Rabboni, let me follow where you go.

23 And Jesus said, You seek a safe retreat from evil men. There is no safety for your life with me;

24 For evil men will take my life as they have taken John's.

25 The foxes of the earth have safe retreats; the birds have nests secure among the hidden rocks, but I have not a place where I may lay my head and rest secure.

26 Then an apostle said, Lord, suffer me to tarry here a while, that I may take my father, who is dead, and lay him in the tomb.

27 But Jesus said, The dead can care for those who die; the living wait for those who live; come, follow me.

28 The evening came; three boats put out to sea and Jesus rested in the foremost boat; he slept.

29 A storm came on; the boats were tossed about like toys upon the sea.

30 The waters swept the decks; the hardy boatmen were afraid lest all be lost.

31 And Thomas found the master fast asleep; he called, and Jesus woke.

32 And Thomas said, Behold the storm! have you no care for us? The boats are going down.

33 And Jesus stood; he raised his hand; he talked unto the spirits of the winds and waves as men would talk with men.

34 And, lo, the winds blew not; the waves came tremblingly and kissed his feet; the sea was calm.

35 And then he said, You men of faith, where is your faith? for you can speak and winds and waves will hear and will obey.

36 And the disciples were amazed. They said, Who is this man that even winds and waves obey his voice?

CHAPTER 118

1 THE morning came; the Christines landed in the country of the Geracenes.

2 They went to Gadara, chief city of the Peracans, and here for certain days they tarried and they taught.

3 Now, legends hold that Gadara is sacred to the dead, and all the hills about are known as holy ground.

4 These are the burial grounds of all the regions round about; the hills are full of tombs; and many dead from Galilee are here entombed.

5 Now, spirits of the lately dead that cannot rise to higher planes, remain about the tombs that hold the flesh and bones of what was once their mortal homes.

6 They sometimes take possession of the living, whom they torture in a hundred ways.

7 And all through Gadara were men obsessed, and there was no one strong enough to bring relief.

8 That they might meet these hidden foes and learn the way to dispossess the evil ones the master took the foreign masters and the twelve into the tombs.

9 And as they neared the gates they met a man obsessed. A legion of the unclean ones were in this man, and they had made him strong;

10 And none could bind him down, no, not with chains; for he could break the stoutest chains, and go his way.

11 Now, unclean spirits cannot live in light; they revel in the dark.

12 When Jesus came he brought the light of life, and all the evil spirits were disturbed.

13 The leader of the legion in the man called out, Thou Jesus, thou Immanuel, we beg that thou wilt not consign us to the depths. Torment us not before our time.

14 And Jesus said, What is your number and your name?

15 The evil spirit said, Our name is legion, and our number is the number of the beast.

16 And Jesus spoke; and with a voice that shook the very hills, he said, Come forth; possess this man no more.

17 Now, all the hills were filled with unclean animals that fed, and carried forth and spread the plague among the people of the land.

18 And when the evil spirits begged that they might not be driven forth without a home, the master said,

19 Go forth and take possession of the unclean quadrupeds.

20 And they, and all the evil spirits of the tombs went forth and took possession of the breeders of the plague,

21 Which, wild with rage, ran down the steeps into the sea, and all were drowned.

22 And all the land was freed of the contagion, and the unclean spirits came no more.

23 But when the people saw the mighty works that Jesus did they were alarmed. They said,

24 If he can free the country of the plague, and drive the unclean spirits out, he is a man of such transendent power that he can devastate our land at will.

25 And then they came and prayed that he would not remain in Gadara.

26 And Jesus did not tarry longer there, and with the other masters and the twelve, he went aboard the boats to go away.

27 The man who had been rescued from the unclean legion stood upon the shore and said, Lord let me go with you.

28 But Jesus said, It is not well; go forth unto your home and tell the news that men may know what man can do when he is tuned with God.

29 And then the man went forth through all Decapolis and told the news.

30 The Christines sailed away, re-crossed the sea and came again into Capernaum.

CHAPTER 119

1 THE news soon spread through all the land that Jesus was at home and then the people came in throngs to welcome him.

2 And Matthew, one of the twelve, a man of wealth, whose home was in Capernaum, spread forth a sumptuous feast, and Jesus and the foreign masters and the twelve, and people of all shades of thought, were guests.

3 And when the Pharisees observed that Jesus sat and ate with publicans and those of ill repute they said,

4 For shame! This man who claims to be man of God, consorts with publicans and courtesans and with the common herd of men. For shame!

5 When Jesus knew their thoughts he said, They who are well cannot be healed; the pure need not be saved.

6 They who are well are whole; they who are pure are saved.

7 They who love justice and do right need not repent; I came not unto them, but to the sinner I am come.

8 A band of John's disciples who had heard that John was dead were wearing badges for their dead;

9 Were fasting and were praying in their hearts, which when the Pharisees observed they came to Jesus and they said,

10 Why fast the followers of John and your disciples do not fast?

11 And Jesus said, Lo, you are masters of the law; you ought to know; perhaps you will make known your knowledge to these men.

12 What are the benefits derived from fasts? The Pharisees were mute; they answered not.

13 Then Jesus said, The vital force of men depends on what they eat and drink.

14 Is spirit-life the stronger when the vital force is weak? Is sainthood reached by starving, self imposed?

15 A glutton is a sinner in the sight of God, and he is not a saint who makes himself a weakling and unfitted for the heavy tasks of life by scorning to make use of God's own means of strength.

16 Lo, John is dead, and his devoted followers are fasting in their grief.

17 Their love for him impels them on to show respect, for they have thought, and have been taught that it is sin to lightly treat the memory of the dead.

18 To them it is a sin, and it is well that they should fast.

19 When men defy their consciences and listen not to what they say, the heart is grieved and they become unfitted for the work of life; and thus they sin.

20 The conscience may be taught. One man may do in conscience what another cannot do.

21 What is a sin for me to do may not be sin for you to do. The place you occupy upon the way of life determines what is sin.

22 There is no changeless law of good; for good and evil both are judged by other things.

23 One man may fast and in his deep sincerity of heart is blest.

24 Another man may fast and in the faithlessness of such a task imposed is cursed.

25 You cannot make a bed to fit the form of every man. If you can make a bed to fit yourself you have done well.

26 Why should these men who follow me resort to fasting, or to anything that would impair their strength? They need it all to serve the race.

27 The time will come when God will let you have your way, and you will do to me what Herod did to John;

28 And in the awfulness of that sad hour these men will fast.

29 They who have ears to hear may hear; they who have hearts to feel may understand.

CHAPTER 120

1 NOW, Nicodemus, who once came to Jesus in the night to learn the way of life, was one among the guests.

2 And standing forth he said, Rabboni, it is true that Jewish laws and Jewish practices do not agree.

3 The priesthood needs to be reformed; the rulers should become more merciful and kind; the lawyers should become more just; the common people should not bear such loads.

4 But could we not gain these reforms and not destroy the service of the Jews?

5 Could you not harmonise your mighty work with that of Pharisee and scribe? Might not the priesthood be a benefit to your divine philosophy?

6 But Jesus said, You cannot put new wine in ancient skins, for when it purfies itself, lo, it expands; the ancient bottles cannot bear the strain; they burst, and all the wine is lost.

7 Men do not mend a worn-out garment with a piece of cloth unworn, which cannot yield to suit the fabric, weak with age, and then a greater rent appears.

8 Old wine may be preserved in ancient skins; but new wine calls for bottles new.

9 This spirit-truth I bring is to this generation new, and if we put it in the ancient skins of Jewish forms, lo, it will all be lost.

10 It must expand; the ancient bottles cannot yield and they would burst.

11 Behold the kingdom of the Christ! it is as old as God himself, and yet it is as new as morning sun; it only can contain the truth of God.

12 And as he spoke a ruler of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came in and bowed at Jesus' feet and said,

13 My master, hear my prayer! My child is very sick, I fear that she will die; but this I know that if you will but come and speak the Word my child will live.

14 (She was an only child, a girl twelve years of age.)

15 And Jesus tarried not; he went out with the man, and many people followed them.

16 And as they went a woman who had been plagued with hemorrhage for many years, had been a subject of experiment of doctors near and far, and all had said, She cannot live, rose from her bed and rushed out in the way as Jesus passed.

17 She said within herself, If I can touch his garment, then I know I will be well.

18 She touched him, and at once the bleeding ceased and she was well.

19 And Jesus felt that healing power had gone from him, and speaking to the multitude, he said,

20 Who was it touched my coat?

21 And Peter said, No one can tell; the multitudes are pressing you; a score of people may have touched your coat.

22 But Jesus said, Some one in faith, with healing thought, did touch my coat, for healing virtues have gone forth from me.

23 And when the woman knew that what she did was known, she came and knelt at Jesus' feet and told it all.

24 And Jesus said, Your faith has made you whole, go on your way in peace.

25 Now, as he spoke, a servant from the home of Jairus came and said, My master, Jairus, trouble not the Lord to come; your child is dead.

26 But Jesus said, Jairus, man of faith, do not permit your faith to waver in this trying hour.

27 What is it that the servant said? The child is dead? Lo, what is death?

28 It is the passing of the soul out of the house of flesh.

29 Man is the master of the soul and of its house. When man has risen up from doubt and fear, lo, he can cleanse the empty house and bring the tenant back again.

30 Then taking with him Peter, James and John, Jairus and the mother of the child, he went into the chamber of the dead.

31 And when the doors were closed against the multitude, he spoke a word that souls can understand, and then he took the maiden by the hand and said,

32 Talith cumi, child, arise! The maiden's soul returned and she arose and asked for food.

33 And all the people of the city were amazed, and many would have worshipped Jesus as a God.

34 But, like a phantom of the night, he disappeared and went his way.

CHAPTER 121

1 IT was a gala day in Nazareth. The people there had met with one accord to celebrate some great event.

2 And Jesus and the foreign masters and the twelve, and Mary, mother of the Lord, and Miriam were there.

3 And when the people were assembled in the great hall of the town, the graceful singer, Miriam, stood and sang a song of praise.

4 But few of all the multitude knew who the singer was; but instantly she won all hearts.

5 For many days she sang the songs of Israel, and then she went her way.

6 The Sabbath came and Jesus went into the synagogue. He took the book of Psalms and read:

7 Blest is the man who puts his trust in God, respecting not the proud nor such as turn aside to lies.

8 O lord, my God, the works that thou hast done for us are wonderful; and many are thy thoughts for us; we cannot count them all,

9 Thou dost not call for sacrifice, nor offerings of blood; burnt offerings and offerings for sin thou dost not want;

10 And lo, I come to do thy will, O God, thy law is in my heart,

11 And I have preached the word of righteousness and peace unto the thronging multitudes; I have declared the counsel of my God in full.

12 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and grace.

13 I have not kept thy loving-kindness and thy truth away from men; I have declared them to the multitudes.

14 O Lord, make wide my lips that I may tell thy praise; I do not bring the sacrifice of blood, nor yet burnt offerings for sin.

15 The sacrifices I would bring to thee, O God, are purity in life, a contrite heart, a spirit full of faith and love, and these thou wilt receive.

16 And when he had thus read, he gave the book back to the keeper of the books, and then he said,

17 Upon these ends of earth these messages of God have come.

18 Our people have exalted sacrificial rites and have neglected mercy, justice and the rights of men.

19 You Pharisees, you priests, you scribes, your God surfeited with blood; God does not heed your prayers; you stand before your burning victims; but you stand in vain.

20 Turn you unto the testimonies of the law; reform and turn to God, and you shall live.

21 Let not your altars be accursed again with smoke of innocence.

22 Bring unto God as sacrifice a broken and a contrite heart.

23 Lift from your fellow men the burdens that you have imposed.

24 And if you hearken not, and if you turn not from your evil ways, lo, God will smite this nation with a curse.

25 And when he had thus said he stood aside, and all the people were astonished, and they said,

26 Where did this man get all his knowledge and his power? From whence did all this wisdom come?

27 Is not this Mary's son, whose home is out on Marmion Way?

28 Are not his brothers, Jude and James and Simon, known among our honoured men? Are not his sisters with us here?

29 But they were all offended by the words he spoke.

30 And Jesus said, A prophet has no honour in his native land; he is not well received among his kin; his foes are in his home.

31 And Jesus wrought not many mighty works in Nazareth, because the people had no faith in him. He did not tarry long.

32 But as he passed from thence two blind men followed him and cried, Thou son of David, hear! Have mercy, Lord, and open up our eyes that we may see.

33 And Jesus said, Do you believe that I can open up your eyes and make you see?

34 They said, Yea, Lord, we know that if you speak the Word then we can see.

35 And Jesus touched their eyes and spoke the Word; he said, According to your faith so will it be.

36 And they were blest; they opened up their eyes and saw.

37 And Jesus said, Tell not this thing to any one.

38 But they went forth and told the news through all the land.

39 As Jesus walked along the way a man who was obsessed, and who was dumb, was brought to him.

40 And Jesus spoke the Word; the unclean spirit came out of the man; his tongue was loosed; he spoke; he said, Praise God.

41 The people were amazed; They said, This is a mighty deed; we never saw that done before.

42 The Pharisees were also much amazed; but they cried out and said,

43 You men of Israel, take heed; this Jesus is atool of Beelzebul; he heals the sick and casts the spirits out in Satan's name.

44 But Jesus answered not; he went his way.

45 And with the foreign masters and the twelve he went up to the town where he once turned the water into wine, and tarried certain days.

CHAPTER 122

1 THE Christines prayed in silence seven days; then Jesus called the twelve aside and said,

2 Behold, the multitudes have thronged about us everywhere; the people are bewildered; they wander here and there like sheep without a fold.

3 They need a shepherd's care; they want a loving hand to lead them to the light.

4 The grain is ripe; the harvest is abundant, but the harvesters are few.

5 The time is also ripe, and you must go alone through all the villages and towns of Galilee and teach and heal.

6 And then he breathed upon the twelve and said, Receive the Holy Breath.

7 And then he gave them each the Word of power, and said, By this Omnific Word you shall cast spirits out, shall heal the sick and bring the dead to life again.

8 And you shall go not in the way of the Assyrians, nor Greek; you shall not go into Samaria; go only to your brethren of the scattered tribes.

9 And as you go proclaim, The kingdom of Christ has come.

10 You have abundantly received, and freely you shall give.

11 But you must go in faith; provide yourselves no crutch to lean upon.

12 Give all your gold and silver to the poor; take not two coats, nor extra shoes; just take your wands.

13 You are God's husbandmen and he will never suffer you to want.

14 In every place you go search out the men of faith; with them abide until you go from hence.

15 You go for me; you act for me. They who receive and welcome you, receive and welcome me;

16 And they who shut their doors against your face, refuse to welcome me.

17 If you are not received in kindness in a town, bear not away an evil thought; do not resist.

18 An evil thought of any kind will do you harm; will dissipate your power.

19 When you are not received with favour, go your way, for there are multitudes of men who want the light.

20 Behold, I send you forth as sheep among a pack of wolves; and you must be as wise as serpents and as harmless as the doves.

21 In all your language be discreet, for Pharisees and scribes will seek a cause for your arrest in what you say.

22 And they will surely find a way by charges false to bring you into court.

23 And judges will declare that you are guilty of some crime, and sentence you to scourgings and to prison cells.

24 But when you come to stand before the judge, be not afraid