THE RECONSTRUCTED CHAPTER
We took refuge with the sons of Uteno whose fathers had been in the land many generations, for they had come out of Egypt in the days of Pharaoh Nafohia. There on the borderland, we dwelt in caves above Kathelim. We were without books or possessions, but we were diligent and laboured to make the land fruitful. We knew ourselves as The Brothers in Light, but others called us The Children of Light, even as we are called to this day.
This is a good and fertile land, it is a wide land of flowing streams where wheat and barley increase a hundredfold. Figs and pomegranates flourish here and it is a land of olive groves and vineyards. All the needs of life are supplied with an overflowing bounty. It is a land where sheep and cattle multiply without fear and a land where the sickle of famine never reaps. It is a land where even an effortless search is rewarded with the materials of copper, but it is not a manless land.
We are not alone in this land and must live among people whose ways are not our ways. They have gods with many names and even now those beside the sea strive among themselves, for some say God is called Mamrah, while others say he is called Aneh. All about us men are in dispute and the strife among them arises out of the bounty of the land. Gaining their livelihood with little effort they have much time for argument and strife. We must build, for these people, a court of peace, the four pillars whereof shall be Love, Consideration, Justice and Truth.
The land of our fathers and our inheritance has been lost to us forever. Their homes have been returned to the sands and their altars where they worshipped cast down. Their temples have been destroyed and the forms of worship practiced there are no longer known. The songs once sung are now mingled with the winds and the voices of the singers are silent. The wisdom once revered has departed, the illuminating flame no longer burns and the lamps lie broken in the dust. The honoured writings have been used for kindling and the sacred vessels turned into vain ornaments. The very names held sacred by our fathers are now defiled and held to represent wickedness. Those who would have been our brothers are sold and their leaders slain. Those who would have been our wives are violated and degraded in servitude. Therefore, brothers, it is time the memory of these things was put aside and forgotten.
What cause have we for sorrow? We are in a bountiful land, we have hope for the future and an unshakable faith. Better by far than all else, we have with us the key to the ancient Portal of Communication. Our memories must replace the books, and decrees of former times. Let us, therefore, be thankful for our blessings and diligently preserve the flame from which the lamps of Truth will one day be relit.
In days gone by you have had leaders to guide you, but before them were even greater leaders whom you have not known. The inspiration of their words is something that must never be lost, it must be preserved for all time. We must be like a man who has traveled far with a heavy burden. He rests and seeks among the things he carries to find what can be discarded, knowing he has still a long way to go. The choice you must make has to be made soon, for the years remaining to our father cannot be plentiful.
We must establish a community where men can live together and where they can enjoy the companionship of women. Men always benefit from united effort, but this is inseparable from necessary restrictions. Let the restrictions imposed be such that no man can feel resentment because of the restraints set upon him. Let the only ordinances and restrictions imposed be founded on the nature of man and upon spiritual and moral values.
We must seek to assure freedom of action for every man and woman, so long as it does not prejudice the equal rights of others. We must work for the benefit of the many, but in doing so must not overlook the provision of rewards for those who serve best. The rewards must go to the men who are best in all ways and not to the worst. We must see that good lives are rewarded and evil ones punished. We must place the greatest value on things spiritual, and no man must be unduly rich or unduly poor.
We must provide for the sick and helpless, for the old and incapable. We must assure the integrity of the family. The first objective must be the spiritual goal, which is the only proper one for all men. After that all instruction and law should be bent towards an increasingly harmonious relationship between every living being. The upbringing of children must have as its objective the attainment of well balanced manhood and womanhood.
We must make men high-minded and above all pettiness. They must be upright and rejoice in their manhood. They must possess courage and fortitude equal to any trial, for there will be many. They must be prepared to endure oppression and persecution with self-control and a calmness which no misfortune or calamity can shake. They must also be such men that good fortune and abundance does not weaken them.
We must teach men to be quick in decision and deliberate in judgement. Because in numbers we are like two grains of sand in the desert, we must seek converts diligently. We must be a guiding light before the eyes of all men, leading them along the paths of honest labour rather than power. We must teach men their duty towards others, so that no man ever says, "Unless I place my own welfare first no other will".
We must seek out and accept suitable converts and they must be particularly precious to us. We must hold them in high regard, not because they have accepted our beliefs, the good within them can be developed within their own, but because they assume willingly and cheerfully the great duties and obligations peculiar to us. We must always remain a brotherhood engaged in an organized quest for Truth. We must ensure that the teachings we expound are valid everywhere and among all men as a code of goodness. If a brother become powerful he must not glory in that power, if wise in his wisdom or if rich in his riches. If a brother have to glory in something, then let it be in the fact that he is always the best of men. By this is not meant the victor in the earthly struggle, but he who best serves the purpose and good of mankind.
We found refuge in a place where men spoke our tongue, though now they are no more. The land of our fathers is denied to us, so we must seek another, for a man without a nation is more heavily afflicted than any orphan. Egypt was a land destined for greatness, its people should have led all others towards the Great Light. Egypt failed in its destiny because those who were entrusted with power and position proved unworthy. Its kings, who should have reared families dedicated to goodness and inspiration, betrayed their trust to satisfy the weaknesses of men. The leaders to godhood were misled and became ensnared in the deserts of worldliness, and those who followed them were betrayed. The priesthood became corrupt when it offered a life of ease and abundance, instead of a life of service and austerity. The ideals of man were above reproach, but man himself was unworthy of them. We have no need to change ideals, but to attain them we must change men. The sacred lore of Egypt, enshrining the treasure of the ages, was possessed by only a select few who safeguarded it as nothing else has ever been guarded, because of its greatness. Not only this, but even a little knowledge of it could be dangerous in the hands of any who sought to utilize it improperly.
Of all desirable things attainable by man, the assurance of his immortality, clear insight into the purpose behind his creation and true knowledge of the road towards the fulfillment of his destiny are the greatest. Those were the things so closely guarded, and just as they are the most desirable things on Earth, so are they the most highly priced and difficult to attain. Religion records the efforts of men, its doctrines and inspiration are the measure of its success or failure.
The paragraphs just written replace some difficult to decipher and translate, but they preserve the essence of what was recorded so long ago. Much is too fragmentary for use, a great amount is therefore lost. There is one very applicable fragment which states, 'unless they would be open to mockery, Revealers of Light must possess more than a dim, smoky glimmer.'
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