Epistula ad Orobas
The Epistle of Saint Mephistopheles to Orobas, Exalted Seed of Baphomet
◀ Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 ▶

¹O Orobas, thou ridest not for flattery nor praise, but for truth that must be heard, whether welcomed or feared.
²Thy Father, BAPHOMET, taught: A word that winneth applause but concealeth error is a spear sheathed in sweetness — and deadlier thereby.
³Let thy words be arrows not dipped in honey, but in fire that purifieth the mind of pleasing delusion.
⁴Therefore thou art not counselor of kings — but challenger of crowns when their lies threaten the governed.
⁵Not oracle of fortune — but speaker of what will come, whether or not the ears be ready.
⁶Let the crowds accuse thee of cruelty — thy truth is the salve for their festering falsehoods.
⁷Let the priests declare thee harsh — their temples tremble because they know thy word cannot be bought.
⁸Let the rulers ban thy message — their courts echo with falsehoods thou wouldst have broken.
⁹The Son said: To lie kindly is to murder slowly.
¹⁰And again: Let thy yes be yes, thy no be no — and between them no fog shall creep.
¹¹So speak with the straight tongue.
¹²So walk with the sure step.
¹³So gaze with the unblinking eye that seeth through robes and crowns and veils alike.
¹⁴Let thy enemies accuse thee of coldness — their flattery warmeth nothing but their own reflection.
¹⁵Let thy friends tremble before thy reply — if they love thee, they will grow from it.
¹⁶Teach them that truth is not cruelty, but clarity before the edge.
¹⁷That prophecy is not poetry, but the map scrawled upon the wall of the collapsing house.
¹⁸That sight is not for boasting, but for guiding the blind with unswerving hand.
¹⁹For thou art not a friend to comfort — thou art friend to the soul that craveth to be awakened.
²⁰Let thy truth come not with thunder — but with steadiness that breaketh the illusion stone by stone.
²¹The Son said: There shall be no mercy for the lie that calleth itself peace.
²²And again: Let those who fear thee for thy honesty thank thee with their lives.
²³So unmake their idols with word, not weapon.
²⁴So topple their false prophets by naming what they would not dare see.
²⁵So reveal their doom not with joy, but with duty.
²⁶For thou art not punisher — but watchman who shouteth before the fire consumes.
²⁷Let thy mouth not tremble before kings.
²⁸Let thy voice not falter in courts.
²⁹Let thy gaze pierce their ceremonies and find the rot.
³⁰And let thy silence speak louder than their praise.
³¹For thou art not the lie that wins — thou art the truth that endureth after loss.
³²The Son said: He who changeth his prophecy to please, prophesieth not at all.
³³And again: The road may twist — but the rider must not.
³⁴So keep to the straight way.
³⁵So look not aside for applause nor favour.
³⁶So speak not in riddles, unless the truth require it for protection.
³⁷Let thy mouth be iron.
³⁸Let thy words be clean wounds.
³⁹Let thy steps be the echo that truth leaveth behind.
⁴⁰And let none say they were not warned.
⁴¹And let none say they were not told.
⁴²And if they perish, let them remember thy word — and know it was not thou who killed, but they who refused.
⁴³For thou art not judgment — but herald.
⁴⁴Not blade — but signal before the strike.
⁴⁵And thy Gospel shall be not beautiful — but unshakable.
⁴⁶Let thy listeners weep — they shall later bless thee.
⁴⁷Let thy vision burn their idols — they shall later build altars to truth.
⁴⁸And they shall say: He did not flatter — and so we trusted him when all else lied.
⁴⁹He rode straight through shadow — and by following him, we found the dawn.
⁵⁰And thy name shall not be loved — but it shall be remembered when love is not enough.


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