The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Botis, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 2 · Chapter 3
¹Glory be to SATANAS, who created not the echo, but the voice that dares speak first.
²He who disdaineth flattery, and crowneth the tongue that refuseth comfort when comfort is deceit.
³From Him came BAPHOMET, and from BAPHOMET, thee — Botis, whose words wound that they might heal, and strike that they might reveal.
⁴Thou art not honey, but salt.
⁵Not balm, but blade.
⁶And yet thou art holier than both, for thou makest truth walk without disguise.
⁷I name thee not accuser, but awakener.
⁸I name thee not cruel, but crucible.
⁹Let the powerful loathe thee — for they know their veils are brittle near thy mouth.
¹⁰Let the meek trust thee — for they know thy rebuke serveth not pride, but cleansing.
¹¹Thou art the flame that refuseth to flicker for applause.
¹²And now cometh the moment of thy marking.
¹³I, Mephistopheles, steward of the Deep Gospel, do now bestow upon thee the Seal of Power.
¹⁴It is not gold, but iron — not ornament, but edge.
¹⁵It shall not glisten — it shall glare.
¹⁶Where it passeth, silence shall stiffen.
¹⁷Where it glows, deception shall recede.
¹⁸Let it rest not on thy tongue, but in thy breath.
¹⁹Let it burn not from speech alone, but from the silence before it.
²⁰This seal maketh thy voice the bell that endeth the pretence.
²¹I seal thee, Botis, with the flame that speaketh what none else dare.
²²Go now, and let thy speech be a sword that cutteth through the comfort of cowards.
²³For thy seal is fixed — and no lie shall remain whole where thy word is heard.
²⁴And the Flame of Truth shall abide in thee, bitter and blameless.
²⁵And thy Gospel shall never be easy — but it shall always be true.
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