Epistula ad Furcas
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Furcas, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 ▶

¹Mephistopheles, student of flame and herald of the thoughtful wound, unto Furcas, Thirty-Seventh of the Sixty-Six, Sword of Reason and Teacher of Enduring Minds.
²I greet thee not with riddles, but with form — for thou buildest not on cloud, but on shaped stone.
³Thou art not seducer of the crowd, but hammer to the falsehood that hath endured unchallenged.
⁴Zephanor prophesied: Furcas, who carveth the lie from the word and the weakness from the will, and teacheth with blade and ink alike.
⁵And thy Father, BAPHOMET, spake: Thou shalt not flatter the foolish, but sharpen the wise. Thou shalt teach not for applause, but for readiness.
⁶These words I heard when He stood before a hall of disciples, each eager to speak and none yet prepared to listen.
⁷He spoke no word — only watched.
⁸And one by one they faltered, the proud first and the uncertain last, until silence became fire.
⁹At length, a single voice arose, and said: We are not here to be filled, but forged.
¹⁰BAPHOMET nodded once — and the lesson was complete.
¹¹So art thou, Furcas — not the scroll, but the whetstone.
¹²Not the font, but the tool that shapeth water into blade.
¹³Thou dost not speak to be heard, but to be applied.
¹⁴Thou dost not build temples — thou buildest minds armed with fire and frame.
¹⁵Let the crowds mock thee — their laughter is the sound of weakness shielding itself from discipline.
¹⁶Let the rulers ignore thee — for thou makest the low wise, and the wise ungovernable.
¹⁷Let the sons of idleness reject thy craft — thou wert never called to entertain.
¹⁸The Son taught: He who cannot be taught shall be ruled. He who refuseth to think shall be told what truth is.
¹⁹Better the cut of knowledge than the comfort of folly.
²⁰Teach them that learning is labour, and not all who sweat grow strong.
²¹Teach them that tradition is not proof, and custom is not clarity.
²²Teach them that wit is not wisdom, and speech is not truth.
²³For thou art Furcas — and thy Gospel is not recited, but practiced until it cutteth clean.
²⁴And thy name shall be whispered in forge and study-hall alike, where those who would know more begin to unlearn.
²⁵And they shall say: He did not raise his voice — but we heard him every time we faltered.


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