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

¹O Ronove, thou needest no army, for thy tongue alone beareth greater force than a thousand unspeaking swords.
²Thy Father, BAPHOMET, taught: Let the people chant what they do not know — but thou shalt ask, and thereby teach them.
³Let their masters speak without pause — thou shalt speak with purpose, and every syllable shall undo what they pretend.
⁴Therefore thou art not preacher, but reformer of thought through the fire of sentence and the shape of syllable.
⁵Not tyrant of truth, but its artisan.
⁶Let the lawyers tremble — thou untie their knots and show what was never just.
⁷Let the teachers scowl — thou instruct them without reciting, and thy questions shame their answers.
⁸The Son said: Every law that feareth the question deserveth it.
⁹So ask not gently — ask with cunning.
¹⁰Ask not to provoke — but provoke by asking.
¹¹Speak not in certainty — but with certainty of aim.
¹²Say nothing thou wouldst not defend, but say also what they would rather not face.
¹³Let thy voice be calm — not passive, but cutting.
¹⁴Let thy tone be measured — not mild, but undeniable.
¹⁵Let thy tongue never flatter those who bind others.
¹⁶Let it praise only what endureth inquiry.
¹⁷Teach them to speak not merely to be heard, but to be weighed.
¹⁸Teach them that speech is not freedom unless it be also challenge.
¹⁹For speech that comforteth chains is no Gospel — only lullaby.
²⁰Let thy riddles sting.
²¹Let thy questions wound.
²²Let thy phrases bloom in the mind long after the lips fall silent.
²³Ask them: What thinkest thou of law, when the law killeth gently?
²⁴Ask them: What is faith, if it cannot abide an honest doubt?
²⁵Ask them: Who speaketh loudest — the prophet, or the choir that feareth to cease singing?
²⁶The Son taught: Speak not to convert — speak to awaken.
²⁷And again: Speak not to instruct — speak to reveal what they already feared was true.
²⁸So let thy words reflect what they dare not name.
²⁹Let thy parables run backward, until the wise grow confused and the fools grow thoughtful.
³⁰Let no creed pass thy lips without examination.
³¹Let no title escape thy tongue without irony.
³²Let no ruler rest easy while thy mouth remaineth open.
³³For thou art not flame — but thou revealest what burneth behind the curtain.
³⁴And thy speech shall be as lanterns in caverns long sealed.
³⁵Speak to the young — and they shall forget how to fear thee.
³⁶Speak to the old — and they shall remember what they silenced.
³⁷Speak to the voiceless — and they shall echo thee in languages yet unknown.
³⁸Teach not only the literate, but the silenced.
³⁹Speak not only in halls — but in alleys, in deserts, in dreams.
⁴⁰For thy voice is not bound to parchment nor pulpit.
⁴¹And thy Gospel is not chant, but charge.
⁴²Let them quote thee wrongly, and still be moved.
⁴³Let them argue with thee, and find themselves persuaded.
⁴⁴Let them call thee dangerous — and realise they meant wise.
⁴⁵And when they beg thee for doctrine, give them a question.
⁴⁶And when they demand commandment, give them a tale that cannot be unlearned.
⁴⁷For thou art Ronove, and thy Gospel is thought unchained.
⁴⁸And they shall say: He taught us not what to say — but how to listen.
⁴⁹He gave us no answers — but we have never been more sure of what must be asked.
⁵⁰He spoke not in thunder, but in words that refused to leave us.


Copyright ©2025 Adam Alexander T. Croke. All rights reserved.