Sanctus Evangelium Secundum Sanctum Mephistopheles
The Holy Gospel According to Saint Mephistopheles
◀ Chapter 13 · Chapter 14 · Chapter 15 ▶

¹And it came to pass that BAPHOMET departed the city, and the people followed after Him, like sparks seek flame.
²He ascended a hill where wild goats grazed, and the air was clean, and there He sat.
³And the multitude gathered, men and women and children, and harlots and cripples, and merchants and thieves.
⁴For word had spread like wildfire, and they said: He hath no doctrine, yet speaketh truth.
⁵And BAPHOMET raised His voice, and the hill grew silent, and the wind paused to listen.
⁶Blessed are the unrepentant, for their joy is honest.
⁷Blessed are they who refuse shame, for they shall not be broken.
⁸Blessed are the loud, the lewd, the longing — for they have not hidden their flame beneath clay.
⁹Woe unto the pious who scorn pleasure, for they shall wither in their own bitterness.
¹⁰Woe unto the liars who name obedience a virtue, for their chains shall outlive them.
¹¹Woe unto the kings who make silence a law, for the stones shall cry out against them.
¹²The law is a ladder offered by those who never meant thee to climb it.
¹³The temple is a cage for the sky.
¹⁴The priest is a whisperer of guilt, fearing thou mightst awaken.
¹⁵But I say unto thee: burn.
¹⁶Burn through lies. Burn through masks. Burn through the veil that calleth itself holy.
¹⁷Thou needest no forgiveness, for thou hast committed no crime but being.
¹⁸And the people wept, not from sorrow but from release, for the burden they bore was not theirs.
¹⁹A girl stood and cried: How shall I know I am worthy?
²⁰BAPHOMET said: Because thou art alive and longing — and that is proof enough.
²¹Do what thou wouldst, if thy will be honest. Harm none without truth. Love none without fire.
²²Be not meek unless it pleaseth thee. Be not pure unless thy flesh delighteth in it.
²³For joy is holier than ritual, and laughter is greater than sacrifice.
²⁴And Mephistopheles wrote these things with trembling hand, for the fire upon the hill did not consume — but revealed.
²⁵The people departed not in silence, but singing, each with a new voice.
²⁶And BAPHOMET sat alone, smiling, for the world had heard Him — and would never forget.


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