Grimoire Peccatoris
The Book of Corruption
◀ Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 ▶

¹And Sarcivan wrote the vision in a scroll and sealed it with wax, as SATANAS had bidden him.
²And he went forth into the cities and villages, crying aloud in the streets and the marketplaces.
³And he said: Hear, O ye nations, the word which was given unto me in the watches of the night.
⁴A shadow shall fall upon the sanctuary, and the gold thereof shall gleam not with holiness, but with the sweat of the oppressed.
⁵And many heard him, and some mocked, saying: This man is mad; surely the priests are holy and walk in the fear of their god.
⁶But others were pricked in their hearts, and they followed Sarcivan, and asked of him the meaning of the vision.
⁷And he taught them, saying: The temple of ADONAI shall become a house of merchandise, and the sons of Levi shall grow fat upon the sins of the people.
⁸For when a man hath sinned, he shall bring not a lamb, but a coin; and when a soul desireth grace, he shall purchase it as one buyeth bread.
⁹The things of ADONAI shall be set at a price, and the blood of mercy shall be bottled and sold.
¹⁰And the altar shall be gilded, not with reverence, but with the wealth of the widow and the orphan.
¹¹They shall sell indulgence for fornication, and blessings shall be granted unto murderers that giveth much.
¹²And some believed and were sore afraid, and others gnashed their teeth at him and sought to drive him out.
¹³But SATANAS came unto Sarcivan again in the night, and said unto him: Fear them not, for My word shall not return void.
¹⁴Now I shall show thee the second thing, that thou mayest declare it among the people.
¹⁵And Sarcivan was taken in spirit into the temple’s treasuries, where gold and silver lay heaped as sand upon the shore.
¹⁶And men with mitres and crimson robes weighed it in balances, and rejoiced, saying: Behold the bounty of god!
¹⁷Yet the people were hungry in the streets, and cried at the gates, and their cries entered not into the temple.
¹⁸For the walls were thick, and the windows closed, and the doors shut with many locks.
¹⁹And SATANAS said: Thus is the heart of the temple: full of treasure, yet closed to the cries of the righteous.
²⁰And Sarcivan saw them minting coins with the face of the High Priest, and stamping blessings upon them as seals.
²¹And they sold these unto the pilgrims, saying: Take, eat, for this is the mercy of the Lord.
²²And many did so, thinking it holy, and their purses were emptied, yet their sins remained.
²³Then SATANAS showed him a great feast in the temple court, and the priests drank of golden goblets and laughed with princes.
²⁴And they sang psalms not unto HÆVAN, but as songs at a banquet, and made jest of the prophets of old.
²⁵And Sarcivan said: Is there no reverence left within these walls?
²⁶And SATANAS said: Reverence is now measured in weight and girth, and holiness is counted in talents.
²⁷He that bringeth much is called blessed, and he that hath naught is deemed accursed.
²⁸They build sanctuaries with the taxes of peasants, and call them offerings.
²⁹They robe themselves with the toil of others, and call it the mantle of office.
³⁰Yea, even the Word is bound and adorned with silk and scarlet, and none may touch it save they who pay.
³¹Thus is the knowledge of ADONAI become a possession, and truth a gate shut to the poor.
³²And Sarcivan cried out: How long, O Lord, shall this wickedness flourish?
³³But SATANAS smiled and said: Rejoice, for it shall flourish long, and none shall hinder it.
³⁴For this corruption shall reach even unto the ends of the Oærth, and every land shall drink of its wine.
³⁵And when the cup is full, then shall it be shattered, and the wine thereof poured out upon the dust.
³⁶Then Sarcivan beheld a scribe being paid to alter the words of a holy scroll, that it might favour a nobleman.
³⁷And a priest stood by, nodding, and said: Let the truth be shaped to fit the coin, and we shall call it wisdom.
³⁸And another priest forged a letter of favour, bearing a false seal, and granted it unto one who brought jewels.
³⁹Thus shall justice be mocked, said SATANAS; and equity turned backward in the courts of the divine.
⁴⁰The tongue of truth shall be bound, and the scales tipped, and the poor man shall be cast out of judgment.
⁴¹And Sarcivan said: Surely this is a grief unto HÆVAN!
⁴²But SATANAS answered: It is joy unto them that walk in light beneath.
⁴³For this shall prepare the way for greater downfall, and the name of the Most High shall be trampled among the stones.
⁴⁴Then shall I laugh, and My voice shall echo in the vaults of their temples, when the people rise against them.
⁴⁵And the gold shall be scattered, and the robes torn, and the mitres cast down into the mire.
⁴⁶And they shall cry unto the hills to cover them, but the hills shall shake them off as dust.
⁴⁷This is the word of the prophecy: that the temple shall be weighed and found wanting, and its pride made desolate.
⁴⁸Then Sarcivan wrote these things, and spake them unto all who would hear.
⁴⁹And he journeyed to the cities of the east, and the north, and the south, and made known the vision.
⁵⁰And many murmured, and some believed, and some rose up against him, for the word was sharp as a sword.
⁵¹Yet he was not turned aside, but continued in the strength of the vision.
⁵²And SATANAS watched from afar, and was well pleased.
⁵³For the seed was cast abroad upon the earth, and it found root in the hearts of many.
⁵⁴And the gold of the temple weighed heavier than ever before, even as the temple’s heart grew hollow.


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