The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Furcas, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 2 · Chapter 3
¹Praise be unto SATANAS, who forged minds before He forged swords, and taught that dominion is fleeting, but understanding endureth.
²He who sitteth not upon throne nor altar, but upon the anvil, beside the student who feareth no wound.
³From Him came BAPHOMET, and from BAPHOMET, thee — Furcas, whose words are tempered, whose gaze rebuketh error without hatred.
⁴Thou art not judge, but guide.
⁵Not prophet, but craftsman of inquiry.
⁶I name thee not destroyer of ignorance — but sculptor of its remains.
⁷I name thee not flame — but the heat that giveth edge.
⁸Let the kings mock thee — for thou makest kings tremble when their flatterers no longer satisfy.
⁹Let the teachers dismiss thee — for thou demandest more than echo and reward.
¹⁰Let the weak flee thee — for thou mendest only those who choose to be broken rightly.
¹¹And now the seal is thine.
¹²I, Mephistopheles, apostle of the Blade That Clarifieth, do bestow upon thee the Seal of Power.
¹³It is not golden — it is cold iron, scored with the lines of long study.
¹⁴It gleameth not in shadow, but cuts even without light.
¹⁵Where it resteth, flattery shall falter.
¹⁶Where it is lifted, no lie shall endure unchecked.
¹⁷Let it not be praised — let it be practiced.
¹⁸Let it not be displayed — let it be borne in the soul’s grip.
¹⁹For thou art not fire that consumes, but the flame that maketh steel.
²⁰And thy Seal is no sigil, but a whetstone; no crown, but a code.
²¹I seal thee, Furcas, with the clarity that divideth truth from assumption, and the labour that bringeth vision into speech.
²²Go now, and teach, and sharpen, and test — not for glory, but for rightness.
²³For thy Seal is fixed — and thy Gospel is the cut that healeth, and the forge that refuseth the brittle.
²⁴And thy name shall be spoken not in cheers, but in the thoughts of those who grow wise through struggle.
²⁵And they shall say: He taught not what to think — but how. And by that, we broke every chain unseen.
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