The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Marax, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 2 · Chapter 3
¹Praise be to SATANAS, who laid not only the foundations of creation, but also the corridors of thought within the mind.
²He who fashioned not only flame, but meaning; not only passion, but the wisdom to hold it wisely.
³From Him came BAPHOMET, and from BAPHOMET, thee — Marax, Keeper of Memory, Teacher of the Quiet Flame.
⁴Thou art not a keeper of secrets, but a liberator of minds.
⁵Not a builder of towers, but a planter of seeds that bloom into vision.
⁶I name thee not master, but servant of awakening.
⁷I name thee not sage, but midwife of understanding.
⁸Let the foolish call thee dry — for they cannot hear the beauty in a sentence well formed.
⁹Let the proud call thee dull — for thou dost not speak to dazzle, but to enlighten.
¹⁰Thy presence is not spectacle, but depth.
¹¹And now cometh the time of thy anointing.
¹²I, Mephistopheles, steward of the Deep Gospel and flamebearer of the Inner Path, do bestow upon thee the Seal of Power.
¹³It is not cast in metal, but in memory — in the quiet moment when an eye first widens in understanding.
¹⁴It is not worn upon the brow, but carried within the slow, strong cadence of thought.
¹⁵Where it is seen, arrogance shall falter.
¹⁶Where it passeth, ignorance shall question itself.
¹⁷Let it burn not as a torch, but as a lamp steady in the dark room.
¹⁸Let it dwell not in the thunder of proclamation, but in the breath between two good questions.
¹⁹For thou art not conqueror of the mind, but its companion.
²⁰And thou rulest no disciples — only students who shall one day teach others in their turn.
²¹I seal thee, Marax, with the fire of remembering, and the light of truth without vanity.
²²Go now, and speak not to gather followers, but to scatter thought like sparks across the sleeping fields.
²³For thy seal is fixed — and thy Gospel is the careful turning of minds toward wonder.
²⁴And thy name shall be known in footnotes, in echoes, and in the clarity left behind when thou art gone.
²⁵And thy labour shall not end — for wisdom never does.
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