Lectionary Readings for Tuesday, May 21st, 2019

Book of Wars Against Jehovih Chapters XXXIV and XXXV

Chapter XXXIV

1. Kan Kwan again went forth to conquer and subdue, going to the southward, to Ho-tsze,
a large city having five tributary cities, ruled over by Oo-long, a king with two hundred
wives and thirty thousand soldiers, men and women, well disciplined.

2. Kwan’s army was now seven thousand strong, but without discipline; and with no head
save himself. And on his march through the country he compelled the farmers to embrace
the Te-in religion, under penalty of death.

3. Now when he had come near Ho-tsze, he sent an order for the king to surrender, even
after the manner as at the city he had already conquered.

4. Oo-long laughed when told of the kind of company that had come against him, and he
sent only women soldiers, eight thousand, to give him battle. When the armies were near
together, the Lords said to Kwan: Send thou a truce, and beseech thine enemy to
surrender under penalty of death; for the angels of Te-in will deliver them into thy hand,
and not one shall die.

5. A truce was sent, and lo and behold, the whole of Oo-long’s army surrendered, and
made oaths of allegiance to Kwan, and not one was slain. Oo-long, when informed of it,
said: Now will I go with all my army and slay this ragged king and all his people, and also
my eight thousand who have surrendered. So he marched to battle with twenty-two
thousand soldiers. Kwan’s army was scattered about the fields. Oo-long said to his
captain: Go, thou, tell this foolish king to set his army in line of battle; I desire not to take
advantage of a flock of sheep.

6. The captain started to go, but ere he reached the place, he fell down in a swoon, for the
angels overpowered him. The king saw his captain fall, and he cried out to his army: It is
enough! My army have never seen such fools, and know not how to battle with them.
Come, I will lead!

7. At that, he rushed on, followed by his thousands. Instantly, Kwan’s army set up their
screams and howls, and ran forward in every direction, and lo and behold, Oo-long’s army
broke and fled, save one thousand two hundred who were captured, Oo-long amongst
them; and they were instantly slain. But of Kwan’s army only one man was killed.

8. The Lords sent messengers to Te-in in his heavenly place, informing him of Kwan’s
success. Te-in returned this commandment: In what has been done I am well pleased; but
suffer not your mortal king, Kan Kwan, to win so easily hereafter; but let him have losses,
that he may not forget me and my Lords and my hosts of angels. Place ye him in straits,
and cause him to pray unto me; and his army shall pray also. And when they have thus
sacrificed, deliver him and his army from their straits, and make him victorious for a
season.

9. Kwan entered the city of Ho-tsze without further opposition, and possessed himself of
it. At once he caused thirty thousand laborers to fall to work building a temple to Te-in.
Another twenty thousand he caused to pull down houses and make other streets, more
beautiful. In twenty-eight days the temple and the streets were completed; and on the
twenty-ninth day the sacrifices commenced, and all the people were obliged to swear
allegiance to Kwan and to Te-in, or be slain. And on the first day there were slain four
thousand men and women (worshippers of different Gods, but for the main part the Great
Spirit) who would not take the oath.

10. After that, none refused, and so Kwan gave the city a new name, Tue Shon; and he
appointed So’wo’tse governor, and commanded the tributary cities to come under the
yoke.

11. After that, Kan Kwan went forward again to conquer and subdue; and the Lords
of heaven and their twelve millions of angels went with him and in advance of
him, preparing the way. And the news of his success was spread abroad amongst
mortals also, well exaggerated; so that the inhabitants of cities far and near feared him.

12. The Lords suffered Kwan to conquer and subdue yet three other large cities without
loss to his army; and lo and behold, Kwan began to think it was himself that possessed
the power, and not Te-in.

13. The next city, Che-gah, was a small one, of fifty thousand inhabitants. Kwan
inquired not of Te-in (through the Lords) as to how to make the attack, but went on
his own judgment. Now there ruled over the city a woman, Lon Gwie, a tyrant
little loved, and she had but four thousand soldiers, and Kwan had seven thousand.

14. Kwan, arriving near, demanded the place; but the queen answered him not with
words; but had her soldiers in ambush, and thus fell upon Kwan’s army, and put one-half
of them to death; and yet the queen suffered small loss. Kwan, not finding his Lords with
him, fled, and his remaining army with him. But the Lords urged the queen to pursue him,
and she again fell upon them and slew another half, and crippled hundreds more. But the
queen suffered small loss.

15. The Lords then spoke to Kwan, where he had escaped, and said unto him: Because
thou wert vain and rememberedst not me, who am thy heavenly ruler, Te-in, I have
labored to show thee that of thyself thou art nothing. Then Kwan prayed to Te-in, saying:
Most mighty ruler of heaven and earth, thou hast justly punished me. I pray thee
now, with good repentance, in the bitterness of my shame. What shall I do, O Te-in?
I am far from home, in a strange country, and my army is well-nigh destroyed. All
nations are against me; a sheep is safer in a forest with wolves than I am in these regions.

16. The Lord said unto Kwan: Now that thou hast repented, behold, I, Te-in, will
show thee my power. For thou shalt gather together the remnant of thy army and
turn about and destroy the queen and her army, or put them to flight and possess the city.

17. Kwan, on the next morning, being inspired by his Lords, prepared for battle, though
he had but seven hundred men. On the other hand the Lords and their angels appeared in
the dreams and visions of the queen’s army, saying to them: The queen is deceived and
led away into a trap. Kwan will be joined in the morning by fifty thousand men. Prepare,
therefore, to die to-morrow.

18. On the morrow, then, on the queen’s side, the soldiers related their fearful dreams to
one another; and hardly had they finished the matter when Kwan’s army came upon
them. And the angels, more than fifty thousand, took on sar’gis, seeming even like
mortals. At sight of this, the queen’s army were so frightened they could not flee, save
a few, but nearly the whole army surrendered, throwing away their arms and lying down.

19. Kwan and his army fell upon them and slew them, more than four thousand, who
were rendered powerless by the angel hosts with them. Kwan then went into the city,
doing as previously in other cities, establishing himself and Te-in.

20. Such, then, was the manner of Te-in, the false, of establishing himself in Jaffeth. Hear
ye now of Sudga, of Vind’yu, and her heavenly kingdom.

Chapter XXXV

1. Sudga, the false God of Vind’yu and her heavens, whose heavenly kingdom contained
more than three thousand million angels, on his way home from Hored, said to himself:
Two things I am resolved upon: to proclaim myself CREATOR AND RULER OF HEAVEN AND
EARTH; and to change the name of my heavenly place and call it AHL-BURJ, THE MOUNTAIN
OF THE CLOUDS.

2. Satan spoke to Sudga, saying: Thou all highest God, hear me. In the land of Vind’yu,
down on the earth; and in the heavens above the land of Vind’yu; what God hath labored
like unto thee? Thou didst establish De’yus, for nearly a thousand years in these regions.
Thou possessest by right that name, and thou shalt call thyself De’yus and Sudga; and
thy heavenly place shall also be Hored, because, forsooth, it is also a heavenly mountain.

3. Sudga said: Most wisely said, O satan.

4. And so it came to pass that Sudga at once fell to work moving his capital and throne,
and to founding his new place. And he also chose twelve Lords, saying to himself, after
the manner of Te-in: Though I will have twelve Lords to rule over mortals, yet will I not
give to any one of them a certain division of the earth for his.

5. And when Sudga was thus founded in his new heavenly place he called his Lords about
him and said unto them: Go ye down to mortals, to T-loyovogna, who hath a small
kingdom in the Valley of Hachchisatij, in Vind’yu, for I will make him king of all the
earth, even as I am ruler of heaven. And by obsessions and otherwise ye shall lead him
forth to conquer and subdue.

6. Precede ye him in his journeyings, and cause mortals to fear him, that they be easily
overcome. Twelve million angels I allot to you as your army, nor shall ye return into my
presence until ye have made T-loyovogna king of Vind’yu. After that I shall bestow you
according to merit.

7. The twelve Lords, with their twelve million angels of war, departed for the earth, and
came to Varaja, the city where lived and ruled T-loyovogna, and they covered the regions
around about, even beyond the Valley of Hachchisatij.

8. T-loyovogna was the son of Hucrava, who was the son of Han Cyavarat, who was the
son of Aipivohu, sacred in su’is to the Gods and Lords of heaven. So T-loyovogna talked
with Sudga’s chief Lord, who said unto him: Behold, thou shalt proclaim thyself king of
all the world; for I and the hosts of heaven are with thee.

9. T-loyovogna said: Alas, mine is the weakest of kingdoms; I have not a thousand
soldiers. Other kings will laugh at me. But the Lord answered him, saying: What are
mortal kings in the hands of De’yus, he who was Sudga? I say unto the nations of the
earth: Go down! and they fall. I say: Rise ye up! and they rise. Man looketh to stone and
clay and water for great power; but I that am unseen am greater than all the lands and the
waters of the earth, for I rule over them, and over heaven also.

10. I will have but one king on the earth; and as I rule the angels of heaven, even so
shalt thou rule mortals, and establish thee and me forever! For thy heirs, and their
heirs after them, shall have dominion over every kingdom and country in the world.

11. T-loyovogna said: I fear thee, O De’yus; I know thy power. But how can a king go to
war without soldiers? Or an army without arms? The Lord answered him: Send thy
proclamation unto kings far and near, commanding them to bow down unto thee. And
presently I will come unto thee and lead thee forth, and thou shalt conquer and subdue
them, and not a hair of thy head shall be harmed.

12. T-loyovogna did as commanded; and some days after his proclamation had been sent
unto the nearest kings, all of whom knew him well, he mustered his army of seven
hundred men and one hundred women. And they that had neither spear, nor sword, nor
scythe, nor bow and arrows, took clubs, and clappers, and pans, to make noise with, and
others took lanterns.

13. The first city they approached was Abtuib, ruled over by Azhis, who had an army of
four thousand men and one thousand women. When near the place, T-loyovogna sent his
demand for the surrender of the city. Azhis answered him not, but said unto his army: Go
ye and surround yonder fool, and destroy him and his army.

14. Now, behold, the night came on, very dark, ere the attack was made. And the Lord
said unto T-loyovogna: Command thy soldiers to light their lamps. T-loyovogna said: I
fear, O Lord; for will not lamps expose us unto death? But the Lord said: Light the lamps!
So when the lamps were lighted the enemy began to march as if to surround them, some
going one way and some the other.

15. And the Lord’s angels made lights also, to the left and to the right, so that the enemy,
in order to surround the lights, kept extending in two lines, away from each other.
Presently, they judged by the lights that there were tens of thousands of soldiers come
against them. Suddenly, now, T-loyovogna’s army sounded their pans and kettles, and set
up furious howls and screams; and in the same time the angels of heaven cast stars of
light in the midst of Azhis’army, and they became panic-stricken and fled in all
directions, save three hundred who were captured and put to death. Then T-loyovogna
sent one hundred men into the city and captured Azhis and slew him. After this, Tloyovogna entered the city and declared the place his.

16. And whilst it was yet night, thousands and thousands of the people came and
prostrated themselves before T-loyovogna, swearing allegiance. And in the morning of
the next day he proclaimed himself king; and he impressed thirty thousand men to
build a temple to De’yus; and yet other twenty thousand to change the streets, and
otherwise beautify the place. In forty days the temple was completed, and was
large enough for eight thousand souls to do sacrifice in at one time. T-loyovogna
compelled the people to prostrate themselves on their bellies and pray to De’yus,
whose home was in Ahl-burj, a high heavenly place, a mountain above the mountains.

17. After this T-loyovogna changed the name of the city of Savazata, signifying, first fireplace; and he appointed to rule over it Vistaqpa, to be governor, with right to bequeath it
to his son after him.

18. For Sudga had said: To concentrate power, this is the greatest. There shall be but one
heavenly ruler, and his Lords shall be his helpmates. Even so shall there be but one king,
and his governors shall be his helpmates in the same manner.

19. T-loyovogna then marched forward, to conquer and subdue another city; which he
accomplished also, and changed the name, appointed a govrnor, making all the people
swear allegiance to himself as king, and to Sudga, the De’yus, as heavenly ruler, creator of
worlds.

20. In this way, even after the same manner as Kan Kwan in Jaffeth, did T-loyovogna
proceed in Vind’yu, from city to city, conquering and subduing. For the Gods, Te-in and
Sudga, had oft conferred together on this subject previously, and had long experience in
manipulating mortals in their games of life and death, nor did mortals mistrust the power
over them.

21. Hear ye next of Osiris and his Gods, Baal and Ashtaroth, whose heavenly kingdoms
contained more than twelve thousand million angels.