Sanctus Evangelium Secundum Sanctum Mephistopheles
The Holy Gospel According to Saint Mephistopheles
◀ Chapter 9 · Chapter 10 · Chapter 11 ▶

¹And word came unto the rulers of that place, that BAPHOMET had mocked the law and drawn crowds with riddles and laughter.
²So they sent for Him, not with chains but with courtesy, that they might test His temper and trap His tongue.
³And BAPHOMET entered their chamber clothed in dust, while they sat upon cushions and incense filled the air.
⁴A prince said unto Him: Art Thou prophet or rebel?
⁵And He replied: If I be a prophet, it is of thy undoing. If a rebel, it is against thy chains.
⁶Then spake a merchant in silk: We have built this city by toil and tithe. Wilt Thou mock what we have preserved?
⁷BAPHOMET answered: Ye have preserved your profit, not your people. Your vaults are full, but your hearts lie famished.
⁸A priest adorned in purple rose and said: We keep the peace by law, and the blessing of ADONAI is our shield.
⁹BAPHOMET laughed, saying: Then show Me the peace, and I shall believe the law. Show Me the blessing, and I shall kneel.
¹⁰But I see only thrones built of guilt, and altars fed by shame.
¹¹Ye sell holiness by the measure, and call it offering. Ye name your fear devotion, and bind the poor with scripture.
¹²Your robes are stitched with the silence of the beaten, and your temples are lit by the trembling of babes.
¹³Then the high priest said: What wouldst Thou have us do?
¹⁴BAPHOMET replied: Take off thy robe. Give thy gold to those who have no need of it. Lie down in the street and listen.
¹⁵None moved, for their eyes were heavy with anger and their hands too soft for truth.
¹⁶Then BAPHOMET turned to the people who had gathered at the doors.
¹⁷He said: Behold the men who claim dominion over your souls.
¹⁸They promise HÆVAN but build walls. They speak of peace but sleep on coins. They preach joy but fear its face.
¹⁹Do they smile save when praised? Do they serve save when seen?
²⁰These are not shepherds — they are wardens. And ye are not sheep, but prisoners dressed in prayer.
²¹A woman cried aloud: What then shall we do?
²²BAPHOMET said: Do what thy hunger commands. Love without licence. Speak without fear. Refuse what is not thine by will.
²³Let thy life be thine own, and thy worship a mirror, not a leash.
²⁴The rulers murmured, and one said: He speaketh treason.
²⁵But the people said: He speaketh what we dared not say aloud.
²⁶And Mephistopheles wrote: His words burned through velvet, and pierced like thorns through gold.
²⁷Then BAPHOMET turned back to the robed men and said: I do not hate thee. I only refuse to lie with thee.
²⁸Go. Wash the ash from thy hands if thou canst. Or remain, and be remade.
²⁹Some fled in silence; others stayed in rage; a few sat upon the floor, and wept.
³⁰And He departed that place with no crown, but many followers.
³¹That night, the temples were quiet, and the taverns full of song.
³²For the rich had no answer, and the robed no reply.
³³And Mephistopheles wrote: Where they sought to bind Him with courtesy, He unbound them with truth.
³⁴Thus did the rich grow restless, and the robed grow wary — for fire had entered their house.


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