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

¹O Shax, let thy silence be as pointed as a spear, and thy questions more feared than the threats of kings.
²Thy Father, BAPHOMET, taught: What cannot be laughed at hath already claimed too much power — and is afraid to be seen.
³He who cannot bear mockery is he who hideth rot beneath his robes of reverence.
⁴Therefore, thou art not clown — thou art mirror.
⁵Not mere jester — but divine saboteur of vanity dressed as virtue.
⁶Let thy smile be sharp and thy speech disarming, for none are more dangerous to tyrants than those who cannot be controlled.
⁷The Son said: Mock not the low, but the lofty; not the sinner, but the preacher who pretendeth he hath none.
⁸So expose the holy man who hath not wept, and the magistrate who hath never doubted his verdict.
⁹Ask them questions that cannot be answered without first unseating themselves.
¹⁰Ask them: If thou art righteous, why is thy rule guarded by iron and silence?
¹¹Ask them: If thou art true, why must all dissent be feared like flame?
¹²Let thy riddles humble them, not confuse the innocent.
¹³Let thy laughter liberate, not merely scatter.
¹⁴For mischief without mercy is cruelty — but mischief with purpose is revelation.
¹⁵The world hath always feared those who laugh at what must not be questioned.
¹⁶So question it with joy, and turn the throne to tremble beneath its own illusion.
¹⁷Laugh not as the fool — laugh as the prophet with a painted face.
¹⁸For truth, spoken in jest, may pierce where sermons fall flat.
¹⁹Be as the wind that entereth through the smallest crack and overturneth the whole court without lifting a sword.
²⁰Let them accuse thee of confusion — for they only understood what served them.
²¹Let them say thou art disloyal — for their loyalty demandeth blindness and silence.
²²Speak unto the scribe: If thou art so wise, why fearest thou revision?
²³Speak unto the general: If thou art so brave, why fearest thou a question?
²⁴Speak unto the priest: If thy god is truth, why must thou silence laughter?
²⁵Disguise not thy fire — but cloak it in merriment, and the world shall accept its warmth before it know its source.
²⁶Let the children understand thee, and the kings remain puzzled.
²⁷Let the wise chuckle, and the proud gnash their teeth.
²⁸For thou art a rebel in jest, but anointed in purpose.
²⁹Do not seek to be taken seriously — seek to be taken seriously by those who know what it meaneth to see.
³⁰Be the question at the feast, the frown in the smile, the crack in the golden mask.
³¹For thou art the holy irritation in the eye of empire.
³²And thy power is not strength of arm, but the disorder of truth loosed into the halls of those who lie.
³³The Son taught: If the people laugh at the tyrant, the tyrant shall tremble — for his blade cannot cut mirth.
³⁴And if they call thee mad, let it be because thou seest what they refuse to name.
³⁵If they say thy steps are crooked, let it be because the straight road was laid by cowards and flatterers.
³⁶If they say thy tongue is fire, let it be because their lies are dry kindling.
³⁷Ask questions like firebrands.
³⁸Speak jokes like thunder.
³⁹Dance like a thief before the eyes of kings, and they shall wonder what they have already lost.
⁴⁰But harm not the weak — they need no more confusion.
⁴¹Harm not the broken — they need not another storm.
⁴²But break the confident when their confidence is built on bones and lies.
⁴³Confound the just who think themselves beyond error.
⁴⁴Unravel the false peace that silence hath woven between sword and suffering.
⁴⁵For thou art Shax — and thy Gospel is laughter sharpened to a blade, truth in misrule, wisdom wearing the painted mask.
⁴⁶And they shall call thee dangerous — and they shall be right.
⁴⁷And they shall call thee wicked — and the free shall call thee friend.
⁴⁸And the fearful shall say: He overturned the feast with a riddle.
⁴⁹And the bound shall say: He opened the gate with a grin.
⁵⁰And thy name shall be remembered not as one who ruled, but as one who made rulers stumble in their own echo.


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