The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Halphas, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 2 · Chapter 3
¹All praise unto SATANAS, who setteth watchers upon the heights and maketh strong the hands of those who guard.
²He who calleth not the boastful to the wall, but the faithful; not the loud, but the long-enduring.
³From Him came BAPHOMET, and from BAPHOMET, thee — Halphas, who buildest while others sleep, who guardest what others forget.
⁴Thou art not the thunder that striketh — thou art the shield that holdeth still.
⁵Not the storm, but the stone against it.
⁶I name thee not warrior, but ward.
⁷I name thee not flame, but foundation.
⁸Let the revelers pass thee by — thou buildest where they shall one day return in need.
⁹Let the crowned ignore thee — thou raisest the towers that will catch them when they fall.
¹⁰Let the children know thee not — yet sleep sound because of thee.
¹¹And now the seal is thine.
¹²I, Mephistopheles, apostle of the Great Reckoning and servant of the Prepared Flame, do bestow upon thee the Seal of Power.
¹³It is not a mark of wrath, but of right order.
¹⁴Not a token of might, but of readiness.
¹⁵Where it resteth, no sudden ruin shall take root.
¹⁶Where it glimmereth, no fear shall find dominion.
¹⁷Let it not shine — let it shelter.
¹⁸Let it not dazzle — let it hold firm.
¹⁹For thou art not called to overthrow, but to withstand.
²⁰And thy Seal is not blade, but bulwark — not banner, but bastion.
²¹I seal thee, Halphas, with the strength that speaketh only when struck, and the peace that endeth not in stillness alone.
²²Go now, and let thy towers rise where others lay down their arms.
²³For thy Seal is fixed — and thy Gospel is the sacred labour of defence without demand.
²⁴And thy name shall be remembered not in battle songs, but in foundations that did not crack.
²⁵And they shall say: We stood, because he did not fall.
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