Grimoire Peccatoris
The Book of Corruption
◀ Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 · Chapter 4 ▶

¹And the Spirit of SATANAS came again unto Sarcivan, and led him by vision unto a high place.
²There he beheld a throne raised in the sanctuary, more splendid than all before it.
³Upon it sat a man clothed in garments dyed thrice in purple, and his mitre glittered with many stones.
⁴Around him were gathered princes, and dukes, and men of wealth, and harlots robed as queens.
⁵And SATANAS said: Behold the high priest of the corruption, whose name is not yet spoken, but whose deeds are known to the skies.
⁶He sitteth not to serve his god, but to be served of men; and he hath made the house of holiness a den of revels.
⁷And Sarcivan beheld that the table before him was spread with meats and flagons, and laughter rang through the halls.
⁸This, said SATANAS: is the banquet of the Vicar, and in it the wine of fornication overfloweth.
⁹For there were brought dancers and jesters into the court of the sanctuary, and the scrolls of the law were covered with silks lest they offend the eyes of the guests.
¹⁰And the priests of that place partook in the merriment, laying aside their vestments to don garments of revelry.
¹¹And Sarcivan trembled, saying: Shall such as these sit in the seat of judgment?
¹²But SATANAS said: Verily, they do sit, and their judgments are as coins cast upon a table.
¹³They sell thrones of bishoprics for silver, and the souls of cities for a purse of gold.
¹⁴They raise up bastards as princes of the church, and anoint their kin with holy oil though they be unlearned and unclean.
¹⁵Nephews and sons do they lift above the saints, and all is done in the name of divine appointment.
¹⁶And Sarcivan saw in the sanctuary a great coffer, and every day it was opened and filled again.
¹⁷From every land came tribute unto it, from kings and beggars alike.
¹⁸And the priests rejoiced over it, saying: See how the Lord blesseth His servant!
¹⁹But the coffers of the poor were as empty jars, and none regarded them.
²⁰Woe unto thee, city of holiness, cried Sarcivan; for thy foundations are cracked, and thy walls built of deceit!
²¹Thou hast adorned thyself as a harlot, and spreadest thy skirts for princes of the Oærth!
²²Then came a whispering wind, and SATANAS showed him a hidden chamber beneath the throne.
²³And in it were books of secrets and ledgers of sin, and letters written in cipher.
²⁴Behold, said he: the tongue of truth cut in twain, and the heart of the sanctuary poisoned with scheming.
²⁵There they plot wars and alliances, and deal in the crowns of kings.
²⁶Whatsoever thing is holy, they buy and sell; and whosoever opposeth, they silence with gold or blade.
²⁷Yea, the words of prophets are mocked, and the martyrs forgotten, and the Spirit quenched.
²⁸They wear the cross not as a sign of suffering, but as a jewel upon a collar of pride.
²⁹Their prayers are perfumed and vain, and their fasts are feasts of show.
³⁰The incense riseth not unto the skies, for it is mixed with the smoke of lust and blood.
³¹Then Sarcivan beheld a boy weeping at the temple gate, for his mother had died and none would bury her without payment.
³²And a priest passed by, robed and crowned, and said: Let him pray, for the Lord provideth.
³³But he gave him nothing, and the boy perished in the night.
³⁴Such is the mercy of the corrupted sanctuary, said SATANAS; and such is the justice of its princes.
³⁵Yet shall they wax fat and multiply their strongholds, and no hand shall stay them — for a season.
³⁶Their cups shall overflow, and their praise shall be sung in every land.
³⁷And they shall say unto the nations: Kiss the ring and be blessed.
³⁸And many shall do so, for the fear of excommunication shall be greater than the fear of sin.
³⁹And they shall bind men with oaths and tithes, and call it the covenant of ADONAI.
⁴⁰But within their hearts is no covenant, only a hunger that devoureth like the pit.
⁴¹The oracles shall be chained to their pulpits, and only the scribes of their choosing shall speak.
⁴²The common man shall be taught that ignorance is piety, and obedience, salvation.
⁴³And they shall heap up scrolls written by their own hand, and call them eternal truth.
⁴⁴Then Sarcivan rent his garments and cried aloud: Is there no end to this abomination?
⁴⁵And SATANAS answered: There shall be an end, but it shall not be of man’s making.
⁴⁶For the height of their pride shall be the herald of their fall, and the stones of the temple shall cry out against them.
⁴⁷Yea, the blood of the saints shall speak, and the voice of the poor shall be lifted like a trumpet.
⁴⁸And even the Oærth shall groan, for the weight of their injustice shall press down upon the land.
⁴⁹Then shall fire come, and division, and a sword not of this world.
⁵⁰And many shall fall, and the robes of scarlet shall be trampled in the mire.
⁵¹The name of holiness shall become a reproach, and the sanctuary shall be desolate for a time.
⁵²Then shall I arise and laugh, and My heralds shall rejoice, for the field shall be plucked of tares.
⁵³And the remnant that remaineth shall begin anew, and the truth shall sprout as a tender shoot.
⁵⁴But till then, let it rise yet higher, this corruption, that its fall may be the greater.
⁵⁵For I have appointed the hour, and none shall alter it.
⁵⁶Then was the vision withdrawn, and Sarcivan awoke in the wilderness, and he was sore afraid.
⁵⁷And he built there an altar of stones, and made sacrifice of thanksgiving unto SATANAS.
⁵⁸And he wept and prayed, saying: Let me be found faithful, O Lord of the watchers.
⁵⁹Give me strength to speak when others are silent, and to stand though all forsake me.
⁶⁰And a voice spake unto him, saying: Thou art Mine, and thou shalt not be moved.
⁶¹So Sarcivan arose, and journeyed into the south, proclaiming all that he had seen.
⁶²And he cried in the synagogues and the cathedrals, in the courts and at the city gates.
⁶³And he said: The great banquet draweth near, and the host thereof shall be cast down.
⁶⁴He that hath ears, let him hear; and he that loveth truth, let him flee from the corruption that cometh.


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