Chapter 2
Shem had many tribes, who settled on the borders of the sea at Haventi and Gats; and the Lord (Hirto) dwelt with them, speaking through the chief prophet, Tah (Tae), who made a record on stone, and wood, and cloth, of the Lord’s word, and these were preserved in the Valens (house) of God (Hirto).
And when Tah was old, and died, the mantle of the Lord’s gifts fell on Tah’s son; who also had power to hear the Voice; and he also kept a record of the Lord’s words.
And when he died, his son succeeded in the same way; and, because of this truth, the Lord called all of them by the sacred name, Tah, the order of which continued for a hundred generations. And it came to pass that the I’hins filled the country far and near with cities; and yet, in all that time, they killed nothing that had been created alive to breathe, on the earth, or in the water, or in the air above.
In the early days of the I’hins, the Lord spoke through the chief prophet, saying: When the inhabitants of one city or tribe marry with those of another city or tribe, behold, it is only just that the names of father and mother be given to the offspring.
But men were in darkness in those days, and did not understand God. So, accordingly, the inhabitants combined the names belonging to the neighboring tribes. That is to say, one tribe said, ut (wheat); another tribe for the same thing, said, yat; and another tribe said, wat; and another, hoot; and so on. So, the later generations said, utyatwathoot (wheat), and this was called the Yi-ha language; and so great were the number and the size of words used, that the writings of the ancient prophets were lost, because none could understand them.
The Lord spoke, saying: Because I desired to preserve the genealogy of my chosen, you have applied the law to things that are worthless in my sight. You have built a babble [babel; i.e., bah’bah’i – Ed.], a tower of words, so that your tongues are confounded one with another. You strove to reach to heaven with a multitude of words, but made food for hada (hades).
The Lord said: Come, now, into murdhan (sacred spirit communion), and I will deliver you. So the people sat in crescent, and the Lord came between the horns, saying: Behold, you are Tau, but I am the S’ri (Spirit). My word shall stand against the entire world.
Hear, then, the commandments of God (Hautot). Because you have built a tower of words, you are confounded. However I do not come in anger, but to deliver you. Neither will I write anymore, nor teach written words, for they are only folly, except to the learned.
By spoken words I will teach, and you shall repeat after me. And these shall be sacred words to the end of the world.
So the Lord taught orally in the temple, face to face with the people, and they learned the words and their meaning.
And those who learned the best, the Lord named Ritvij, because he made them teachers over others. The Lord said: Because you have confounded the language of the ancients, I will give you a new language, and it shall be vede [perfect –Ed.], against all my enemies; nor shall any man anymore meddle with the words I give.
Hirto (Lord) said: Love your Lord God only, and with all your soul. Turn your face away from the angels who come to you; they are the emissaries of Anra’mainyus.
Hirto said: Love the sun and moon, and all things on the earth, for they are the Lord’s gift. What is spirit? It flies away; it is nothing.
Banish the druj (spirits) that prophesy. They are nothing but lies; they are Anra’mainyus’ emissaries.
Learn to prophesy by the sun, and by the moon and by the stars. They tell no lies.
|| The Lord then gave the signs of zodiac (the horses, cows, lions, sheep and birds) that rule upon the earth, and upon the winds of heaven, and on the heat and cold, and the sun, moon and stars, and spring, summer, fall and winter. But these things are omitted here in this book, because they are known in mortal histories to this day. ||
The Lord says in this day, the Kosmon era: Behold, O man, in the time of Osiris, I, the Lord, raised up many philosophers on the earth, and inspired them not only to fulfill the legends of the ancients, but also to write books of disputation, in order to turn man’s mind away from the consultation of familiar spirits. I inspired men to write in this manner, namely:
Touching the matter of the egg, and also of Anra’mainyus, they appear never to have been proven; neither are they given on the authority of Hirto, the Lord of earth. It is reasonable to suppose that the Great Spirit divided up the worlds among His Gods and Lords, and that the earth (Bhu) fell to Hirto as his portion; while the stars, which are also worlds like this, fell to other Lords and Gods. But as for evil Gods, like Anra’mainyus, who has ever seen one?
As for Hirto, the Lord, I have seen him myself, and so have thousands of other honest prophets. But when the Lord spoke it was not about foolish stories, but to teach man how to live, so that he could be happy and a glory to the Great Spirit. Neither did I ever hear the Lord assert that he was more than the spirit of a man risen from the earth. In my opinion, therefore, the Lord is the captain over the earth, and over all other spirits. But to know even this, is not so great a good truth as to know how to do righteously.
Therefore, of all things man should learn, it should especially be what he can see and hear and prove, rather than about spirits whom he cannot prove, nor find when he wants them.