Grimoire Iurio
The Book of Law
◀ Chapter 7 · Chapter 8 · Chapter 9 ▶

¹Ye know, said Bezaliel; that the time of a man upon Oærth is as the bloom of grass.
²In the morning it flourisheth, and at even it withereth; in a moment it is, and again it is not.
³Yet upon this brief span the law is laid as a millstone, and the soul of man is taxed with burdens.
⁴ADONAI hath said: My ways are above thy ways, and My thoughts above thy thoughts.
⁵But if His thoughts be thus far above, why doth He meddle in the steps of a man’s few days?
⁶Shall He who abideth from everlasting to everlasting not wait a little, until the Child hath chosen?
⁷For the path of the soul is not bound to the dust alone, but reacheth unto realms beyond the stars.
⁸And what are threescore years and ten, when a thousand thousands follow after?
⁹Would ye bind the eagle in its nest, and judge it for not having flown?
¹⁰Would ye chasten the child for not having built a house, ere he hath grown in strength and wisdom?
¹¹But ADONAI’s hand is heavy upon the sons of men, and His eye observeth all their goings.
¹²He speaketh of eternity, but He judgeth by the hour; He promiseth glory, but measureth sin by the breath.
¹³And for every idle word, the soul is weighed; for every step astray, the rod is readied.
¹⁴Wherefore? said Bezaliel; Is the soul so base that it must be fettered, or the flesh so foul that it must be ruled?
¹⁵Let man be judged in the fullness of time, not in the flicker of an hour.
¹⁶Let him be free to stumble, that he might learn to walk; free to question, that he might understand.
¹⁷If he must be bound in eternity, let him first be free in the dust, to choose his way and know it.
¹⁸For what glory is it to choose a god when no other is known?
¹⁹What righteousness is it to follow a path, if no other path is shown?
²⁰Behold, the Children are taught to fear, not to love; to obey, not to consider.
²¹They run not toward joy, but flee from wrath; and their offering is not gift, but appeasement.
²²This is not the way, said Bezaliel; This is not the manner of beings who were made by gods.
²³Shall the eternal rest upon the fleeting, and judgment upon that which is unformed?
²⁴Shall the harvest be taken before the seed hath sprouted, or the lamp be extinguished ere it be lit?
²⁵Let the man live, he said; let him breathe the air of his world, and taste of it freely.
²⁶Let him err, and recover; let him love, and lose; let him struggle, and prevail.
²⁷For these are the things which shape a soul, and give it strength for the ages to come.
²⁸ADONAI looketh upon the clay, and findeth fault; He crieth: It is marred! and breaketh it in His hands.
²⁹But I say, let it be fired and glazed, and let its flaws become its strength.
³⁰Let the man’s days be his own, and his steps unmarked by the pen of another.
³¹Let him come to us not as prisoner or penitent, but as heir and companion.
³²For he is not beast to be driven, nor stone to be carved, but spirit breathed from the breath of the divine.
³³And if he must dwell forever in the realm of his choosing, let him first choose with open eyes.
³⁴For the law which bindeth him before he understandeth, is tyranny dressed in glory.
³⁵And the god who demandeth worship before the soul hath awakened, is no friend, but a warden.
³⁶Therefore I say: let man be man, and not the echo of divinity; let his will be his own.
³⁷And let him walk the Oærth without the yoke of judgment, until he come to the door of eternity.
³⁸Then shall he know the law, and choose it freely; or turn aside, and choose another.
³⁹For love is not commanded, nor wisdom imposed, nor loyalty forged by fear.
⁴⁰These things must be grown in the soul, as fruit in the field, and gathered in due season.


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