BOOK OF THE ARC OF BON.
BEING A HISTORY OF CAPILYA, MOSES AND CHINE, THE THREE GREAT LEADERS-FORTH OF THE FAITHISTS IN THE TIME OF LIKA, SON OF JEHOVIH. AS THE UPPER BOOK IS OF THE HEAVENS, SO IS THIS LOWER BOOK CHIEFLY OF EARTHLY AFFAIRS IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOD.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY OF CAPILYA.
1. In the mountains of Dharma, in the high country of Yatinghadatta, in Vind'yu, God,Son of Jehovih, chose the family of Capilya for gathering together the scattered Faithists,and establishing them in safety and prosperity.
2. Six generations previous to the time of Capilya God came down from his holy hill inheaven, to visit the land of Shem, now called Vind'yu.
3. And God called aloud over all that land, but no man could hear his voice.
4. Then God called his angels, saying: Come hither. Behold, here is a great country, withmillions of people, but they cannot hear the voice of God.
5. God commanded the angels to go down amongst mortals, and to dwell with them forsix generations.
6. To the angels God said: By inspiration and otherwise, lead ye man and woman togetheras husband and wife, to the profit of the voice of God. Raise me up a man that can hearme, for I will deliver the Father's chosen.
7. The angels of God, half a million of them, then came down to the earth. The angel,Hirattax, was commander over them. He divided his angel hosts into groups, and allottedto them certain places in the land of Vind'yu, where they were to dwell and to labor.
8. In those days the Faithists were known by the names: Vede, and Parsi'e, and Hiyah, andSyiattahoma, beside various other names of less note.
9. In some places they were slaves, in other places serfs, and in still other places hid awayin wildernesses and amongst the mountains; being non-resistant and timorous, havingsuffered great persecution by the idolaters of Dyaus and other false Gods and Lords.
CHAPTER II.
1. These are the generations of the scattered tribes, contributory to the bringing forth ofCapilya:
2. In Brahma, begotten of the Lord, Hathiv, who begat Runoad, who begat Yaid, whobegat Ovarana, who begat Chesam, who begat Hottaya, who begat Riviat, who begatDhor, who begat Avra, who begat Lutha, who begat Jaim, who begat Yanhad, who begatVravishaah, who begat Hoamya, who begat Wotcha, who begat Saratta, who begatHriviista, who begat Samatrav, who begat Gatonat, who begat Thurin, who begatVrissagga, who begat Hesemwotchi, who begat Ratha, who begat Yoshorvat, who begatCapilya.
3. Know ye, then, the way of God through his holy angels, and profit ye in the light of hisrevelations.
4. Capilya was a natural born iesu; and also a natural born su'is and sar'gis.
5. God said: Behold, man shall not only learn to bring forth seedless fruits in hisgarden, but also learn that all flesh tendeth in the same direction, toward barrenness.
6. And as man draweth nearer and nearer to the light of Jehovih, so doth his race becomeless prolific. And when man attaineth to be one with the All Light, behold he is iesu also.
7. God said: By diet and by fasting, iesu can be attained, even by many who have it not. But the natural born iesu standeth more to the way of Jehovih.
8. When Capilya was born, a light in the form of a crescent appeared above his head,and the voice of God spake out of the light thereof, saying: This is my son. By himwill I overthrow the governments of the tyrants who have persecuted my people.
9. When Capilya's mother was pregnant, the angels of Jehovih, under the archangelHirattax, stood guard over her, thinking holy thoughts night and day, whereby themother's soul ran constantly to heavenly things.
10. And when Capilya was born, behold, Hirattax appointed a host of one hundred andforty-four angels to be with the child day and night. Into four watches of six hours each,divided he the guardian angels.
11. So the angels of God taught Capilya from the time of his birth, and he became wiseabove all other children.
12. But, of the way in which God ruleth over nations for the glory of the Creator, considerye the history of this deliverance.
13. Jehovih had suffered the power of the kings of Vind'yu to become centered chiefly inYokovrana, king of Hafghanistun, of the capital, Oblowski, a great city dedicated toDyaus. Yokovrana held forty provinces and four hundred cities tributary to himself, andevery city furnished one governor, and these were the royal Council of king Yokovrana.
14. By the laws of Hafghanistun, the oldest male heir succeeded to the throne; but in casethe king had no male heir, then the king's oldest brother's male heir succeeded to thethrone. Therefore, every king desired a son, but Yokovrana was frustrated by the plans ofthe loo'is, the angels of Jehovih.
15. For Hirattax, chief loo'is, had said: I will not only raise up an heir to Thee, Jehovih;but I will have dominion over Thy enemies, to Thine own glory. For by inspiration will Ilead the king of kings to marry with a barren woman; and because he shall have no heirs,he shall become a tool in my hands for the deliverance of the Faithists, who arepersecuted and outlawed.
16. And in those days, whoso was of the seed of the worshippers of the Great spirit,Ormazd, was outlawed in receiving instruction. So that the chosen, the Faithists, wereheld in ignorance, lest a man of learning might rise up amongst them and deliver them. And the angel of Jehovih foresaw that Capilya should be a learned man, and acquaintedwith the cities and the royal Council. For which matter the angel, Hirattax, provided thechief king, Yokovrana, to be childless and to desire an heir as successor to the throne.
17. When the king consulted the oracle, behold, the angels of Jehovih had possession, andthey answered the king, saying: Put thy wife away in a dark chamber for nine months, andshe will deliver into thy hand a male child, who shall save the crown from thy brother'schild.
18. The king told the queen, who was near the time of limit for women, and she wouldnot believe. Nevertheless, she also went to consult the oracle, and to her the angel ofJehovih said: Have not kings killed their wives in order to obtain one who shall have anheir to the throne?
19. The queen acknowledged this, adding: What, then, shall I do, for of a truth I know Ishall bear no child.
20. The angel said: Do thou as the king hath said, and the angels will bring a malechild unto thee in thy dark chamber; and thy maids and thy servants shall see to itthat no other woman entereth into thy place; and they will testify that the childis thine own. Neither shalt thou, under penalty of death, inform the king otherwise.
21. On the other hand the angels of Jehovih foretold the father and mother of Capilya,even before his birth, that the child would be carried away and given to the king,Yokovrana, known for his cruelty as the most hated of men. And the angels said,moreover: Neither shall ye grieve for loss of the child, for Ormazd will make of him adeliverer of his people. And it shall come to pass even in the day the child is delivered tothe queen, its own mother shall become its nurse.
22. Thus it came to pass; and in the time of the birth of Capilya, the angels carried himinto the city of Oblowski, into the king's palace, and to the queen's arms, in the darkchamber. And in that same instant of time, the angels illumed the chamber, so that all themaids and servants saw the child and the light withal, and they were frightened, and felldown, beseeching Dyaus for protection.
CHAPTER III.
1. When Yokovrana went to the temple to do sacrifice, the high priest besought him toconsult the oracle in reference to the child, and for his kingdom's sake. And he soconsulted the oracle, and the angels of Ormazd said unto him: O king, thou, before whomall people fear, hear thou the angels of heaven and be wise, for thy kingdom's sake, andfor Capilya. Behold, thou hast maintained the custom of thy forefathers, and caused to beslain on the altar of thy God, Dyaus, twelve young men and twelve virgins for every dayof the twelfth new moon, that by blood thy God might triumph on the earth, and that thoumightst be the most feared of kings. And thou hast subdued all the regions of the richearth to honor thee and thy laws.
2. Therefore, the God of heaven saith thou shalt no longer pursue the sacrifice of humanblood, but instead thereof make sacred the blood of the lamb, which shall be called theLamb of thy God. And in the day of thy first sacrifice, thou shalt bring Capilya to thealtar, and sprinkle the blood of the lamb thou hast slain upon his head, as a blood offeringto thy God. And he shall be called CAPILYA, THE LAMB OF HEAVEN.
3. To this the king assented, and Capilya was accordingly sprinkled with the blood of alamb, which was sacrificed in the altar of the king. Thus ended the first of the evil edictsof the evil Gods of Vind'yu; and from that time after mortals were no longer sacrificed tothe Gods, by consent of the kings.
4. Capilya was called Yokovrana's son; and he was taught all things which it was lawfulin those days to teach a prince; and because he was prepared for the throne, he was madeacquainted with the kings and governors of all the tributary cities and countries in theland of Vind'yu.
5. Of the matters of Capilya, hereinafter revealed, know ye that in all things he wasdirected by the angels of Jehovih (Ormazd).
6. When Capilya had attained maturity, he besought the king for leave to travel, saying tothe king: Is not the greatest wisdom that which cometh by the eye and the ear? And is itnot wise that he who may some day become king should acquaint himself with hiskingdom whilst he is yet young? For then, he will not only see and hear better than if hewere old, but he will have time to weigh the nature of the government, as to its bestadaptation to the people.
7. To this the king replied: Thou art already wise, my son; thou knowest sufficient of theearth and her people according to the laws of the ancients. Therefore to travel forwisdom's sake would be great folly. Thine eyes and ears are too sharp already; better is itfor thee that thou seest not the people of thy kingdom. For the time may come when thoushalt need to use great severity upon them; therefore, to be strange with them, thysympathy will not lead thee away from justice.
8. Capilya said: Thou reasonest will, O king; and because thou art wise, have I no creditin being wise also. For it must be true that a son hath his wisdom from his father. Andsince thou hast so wisely put me off with thy arguments, answer me this: Is it notprofitable to a young prince, before he hath the cares of a mighty kingdom, to go abroadand enjoy the pleasure of the world?
9. The king said: There are but three pleasures in all the world: eating and drinking is one;sleeping is another; the presence of women is the third. Why, then, shall a man goabroad?
10. Capilya said: And yet thou hidest the true reason as to why thou desirest thy son not totravel.
11. The king said: If thou tell me the true cause, then shalt thou go whithersoever thoudesirest.
12. Capilya said: First, then, I will say to thee that I rejoiced because thou didst denyme; for I so loved thee, O king, that I knew no joy but to remain with thee. And,moreover, thou so lovest thy son, thou wouldst not have him go far from thee?
13. The king was so delighted with this answer, he said: Of a truth, O prince, thou hastguessed aright. And if thou find it in thy heart to leave me for a season of travel, then willI indeed bear with thy loss until thou returnest.
14. Capilya traveled for nine years, and he went to the uttermost extent of the land ofVind'yu, east and west, and north and south. And because his nurse, who was, in fact, hisreal mother, had told him thousands of tales about the persecution of the Faithists, andtheir sufferings, he sought to obtain information of these scattered people, but as yet heknew not he was of that race.
15. At the end of nine years Capilya returned to Yatinghadatta, rich in knowledge as tothe inhabitants of Vind'yu. And when he came before the king, Yokovrana, where he wasreceived in great honor, he related the knowledge he had obtained of the country, itsextent and grandeur, and its hundreds of great cities and innumerable people. To all ofwhich wisdom the king lent a willing ear; and he declared Capilya was the wisest andmost learned man in all the world.
16. And now was come the time when God, Son of Jehovih, came to establish Jehovih,and begin the deliverance of the Faithists, and to collect them together in the placesdesigned for them.
