Chapter XXIII
OF THE DESIRE OF AOUAL ON THE SUBJECT OF THE UNION OF THE SPHERES AND OF THE DEPARTURE OF ENOCH WHO DOES NOT RETURN; OF BABEL AND BAB-IL — OF THE BIRTH OF NIMRED; OF HIS UNION WITH NECHOHABA; OF HIS POWER; OF THE TOWER OF BABEL — OF THE DIVISION OF THE EARTH UNDER THE POWER OF THE CHIEFS AND OF ABIAD — OF THE STRUGGLE OF NIMRED WITH DEVO IN THE REGION OF THE SUBTERRAINEAN FIRES — OF THE CHALLENGE OF NIMRED AND OF HIS EXTERIORISATION
I
At a certain epoch, when signs of division were manifesting themselves once again, Chi, Aoual, the chiefs of the Formation of Barashino and those of the descendants of Ferhan and of Aun went out together into the plain of the great rivers, in the season when the vegetation was in full florescence.
When the great ones of the earth had secretly made their way there, the First Emanated said to Chi and Mahallal:
“Now that we are alone, us, the most perfectly pathotised, spiritualised, intellectualised and vitalised individual beings of the earth, try, if you will, to make crystals following the indications of Sheth who was instructed by Kahi; we will watch over you and procure everything that will be necessary to you.”
Chi and Mahallal were discussing in private; their faces appeared anxious. Aoual noticing this asked them softly:
— “How come you seem worried and what are you discussing?”
— “We can not agree on the way to prepare the crystals; each of us has opposite views,” they answered.
Aoual seemed annoyed and told them:
“Do not let this stop you; but let each of you try to form separately following your own inspiration.”
Chi and Mahallal split up and worked each on their own side. Their knowledge was lacking; Mahallal was annoyed and Chi tired. Aoual made the latter rest and, as soon as he had regained some strength, told him:
“Go now from height to height as into the past; go all the way to the focus from where we receive the pathotic, spiritual, intellectual and other forces and from focus to focus, if you can.”
And so they surrounded Chi with their auras of power and sustentation.
He ascended towards the dwelling of Kaoah. A moment later he cried out:
“Remind me, please, as I am weary and old; I notice that my Formation Enoch, who is amongst you, is more capable that me.”
When Chi, called back into his body, had rested, the First Emanated called on Enoch who was sleeping.
— “What is it?” asked the latter.
— “The spheres are disseminated throughout the ethered immensity,” said Aoual, “and we are here to take back that which is lacking for us. Go therefore from sphere to sphere, in accordance to your power, so that we might re-establish the communication with those of our race.”
Enoch did thus.
A few were astonished by this attempt.
— “Why be astonished,” said the Second Formation of Barashino; “time has no power over Enoch whose face and form are unchanging?”
— “Pull back a little so that I may concentrate my power and my will on Enoch,” chimed in Aoual. “If we could only re-establish communication with Kaoah, what prospect for us in the future!”
As soon as Enoch was exteriorised in his white and radiant light of aura, Aoual heard the clear and high pitched laughter of Devo, similar to that of a bird of prey, and he felt on his cheeks the hot breath of the Great Hostile.
He looked around and saw no one.
— “Those who were waiting for you, Ô Aoual, were dispersed by the burning wind of the desert which I unleashed against them,” said Devo.
— “The desert wind has not arrived here,” answered Aoual.
Then, hurrying to the place where they had reunited, he saw in the earth narrow fissures similar to veins from which came out a thick smoke, stifling and burning, which was spilling out onto the plain.
— “Indeed,” said Devo, “no desert wind has dispersed the Chiefs of the earth; it is the exhalations of the earth that made them flee. You will not, once again, climb into the sky and you will not be able to return at will. Besides, it is not me who provoked these exhalations that rise from the earth, it is Nepha, the Formation of Kahi; All I do is perfect his work.”
The First Formed did not answer; he was worried and was thinking about Enoch.
Devo left, but Enoch did not return. Before his departure the Hostile had pronounced these words:
— “This place will be called Babel, as it is the place of your confusion.”
— “No, not Babel,” said the First Emanated, “but Bab-Il because, despite our trouble, this place will be for us like the Door to God, from where you will find once again your union with Brah-Elohim in his fullness, as in the past.”
II
At a certain epoch, Haiche and Nepha had a son, Nimred, who grew up and became a powerful man by intelligence, vitality and stature. When he had attained manhood he said to Nepha and Haiche:
“I know from hear-say what has happened to the people in the great plain. Ask for me Nechohaba, the Formation of Foerhan and of Aun, and I will go to the place from where Enoch exteriorised himself; there I will establish our name and I will found a great and powerful city.”
Chi himself went seeking and brought back Nechohaba to Nimred. Eight days later they left with all of those who wanted to follow them and they only stopped when they arrived at the place they had chosen.
There, Nimred has a very high pyramidal tower constructed, formed of eight turrets rising one above the other, symbol of the eight states of being that the material state contains, all the way to the septenary veil, namely: the State of Physical Body, that of the Nervous Body, that of the Soul, that of Mentality, that of Essence, that of Light or Intelligence, that of Spirit and that of Free Intelligence (the latter, though still in form, could not be retained thus). Each of these eight turrets, from the lowest to the highest, had outside of them a spiral stairway in order to show that, no matter what the height and degree of rarefaction, one can only get there in and through the Material State of the body.
Nimred built, East of the tower, a vast and powerful city in which lived the smartest men and those of the greatest renown. Amongst them were some eminent astronomers who studied the spheres and spheroids, their influence upon the earth and their connection to man and the rays of the sun and their constituents.
It was customary amongst the inhabitants, instructed by the learned, to come out at dawn and to go, either on the turrets, or onto the road leading there, according to their rank, to salute the rising of the sun as the source of pathotic, spiritual, intellectual and vital force.
“Devo named this place Babel, the confusion, and Aoual named it Bab-Il, the Door of God,” said Nimred; “I will name it Bab-Bel or the Door of the Sun, because here we all come together to salute him.”
Afterwards, he built three other cities and he dedicated them to the celestial spheres. His Formations also founded other great cities.
At that epoch, no one bothered Nimred and his people, as they were very powerful; real giants that struck down all their enemies.
One of the Emanations of Devo, disguised as one of the Emanations of Barashino, appeared to Nimred during his sleep and said to him:
— “It is against Charity to pursue your fellow human beings thus; cease therefore all these demonstrations of power”.
— “Power is peace,” answered Nimred.
There was never was anyone greater than him in war.
He was so strong that peace reigned everywhere on earth, except for the usual skirmishes amongst the Formations of Devo.
III
During the same time, Chi invited all of those who had followed him into the plain, and who had survived, to accompany him to the home of Kahi.
After making them eat and rest, he said to them:
“Already Mahallal is no longer on the earth in physical body and I feel my vitality diminish from day to day. I have summoned you so that, during this time of peace, we clearly establish our rights upon the earth which is still threatened by the Hostile.”
After having consulted with each other, they therefore divided the earth into four Great Empires. To Chi was assigned the place where Kahi had been formed by Brah-Elohim, as well as all of the Eastern country, from the Narrow Sea that separated it from the empire claimed by Devo, to the Eastern Ocean, from the Northern Ocean to the Southern Ocean.
To Nimred, the descendant of Chi, befell the empire claimed by Devo, empire which stretched out from the Narrow Sea, and from the triple chain of mountains on the North side to the Southern Sea.
To Aun, the Second Formation of Barashino, chosen by Ferhan, was assigned the North-Eastern country, stretching from the empire of Chi, on the Eastern side, all the way to the Western Ocean and from the mountains that separated the empire of Nimred to the South to the Northern Ocean.
To Brah-Aoual befell all of the Islands of the Sea.
So then Nimred said to Brah-Aoual:
“Please also hold on to your empire over the green islands of the desert; it is important that Devo knows that you are their master.”
All, in common accord, said to Brah-Aoual:
“Have, in our name, the empire over the Ocean and the Seas.”
— “Since you have power over the waters,” said Nimred, “give me the power to withdraw the waters of the Narrow Sea that separates my empire from that of Chi and to make them flow back to the southern sea from where they come, such that, at all times, we can pass with dry foot, as I know the power and the malignance of Devo and the anger he will feel when he knows that the empire he claims as his own was given to another.”
— “Let this power be yours,” answered Aoual.
— “There is a descendant of Mahallal who is not on the earth,” said Aun. Is there a reason, because he is still a child, that he should be deprived of his share of inheritance?”
After consulting with each other, they assigned to this child, called Abiad (because of his fair complexion) all of the mountains whose summits were covered with snow all the way to the forests.
“He is but a weak child,” they said; “however, he has intelligence and wisdom; besides, there are snowy mountains everywhere, even on the islands. May he then be the invisible Lord of the mountains; let him inhabit the home of Kahi and may the governors designate a person to govern, in the name of Abiad, in their respective Empires.”
The Chief of Devo, the one who had been with the Great Passive, of the Emanation of the First Formed, appeared in their midst and said to them:
— “I am with you with all of my being, but it is not for myself that I came; it is for the one who is with me and who is in a lesser degree of density.
— “This matter concerns you,” said Chi to the First Emanated.
— “Let the fresh waters,” said the latter to the chief, “and let all of the lakes, the great rivers, the rivers and the streams constitute your empire.”
— “There remains this large country in the Far West,” said Chi.
— “Let Nepha and Haiche, who are now in the Eastern part of the Empire of Chi, take possession of it,” they said after having deliberated, “because the union of the races is also with them.”
— “Let it be so,” continued Chi. “However, as it is a land that the race of Haiche has not finished evolving, let Brah-Aoual possess the narrow country that unites the northern and southern parts that separate the great oceans of the east and the west.”
The earth was therefore divided thus:
Chi had Asia.
Nimred, Africa.
Aun, Europe.
Brah-Aoual, the islands, Mexico and the seas.
Abiad, the snowy peaks.
Nepha, America.
Mavb, the fresh waters and streams.
Before parting, they brought the young Abiad in their midst; the seven chiefs formed a circle around him by holding hands.
“The Lord our God is One and Indivisible,” they said; “he is the Impenetrable capable of penetrating everything. And us, we are in the unity of Brah; we will adore no other being, whoever he may be. It is a law forever engraved in our Mentality.”
Chi remained at the place where Kahi had been formed; Abiad went with the Emanations and Formations of Mahallal and their people into the country of eternal snows, where lay the bodies of Kahi and Kahie and of Sheth and Shorah. Nimred headed, with his fellows, towards the Narrow Sea whose waters he separated, such that he crossed it with dry foot. Aun and Ferhan left with their people for their Empire of the North-West and Nepha and Haiche crossed the great ocean to the far west; the First Emanated took possession, with Tzere, of the narrow country between the two seas that divided the empire of Nepha and Haiche. Mavb spread out her power over the streams and fresh waters of the earth, and Nefdi, the great Emanation of Devo, watched over her and her great empire.
IV
Devo thought of ravaging the earth by having subterranean fires spew out in all of the empires. Here and there the earth was uplifted; outpourings of fire, lava and charred stones were projected into the air but only caused insignificant damages.
Nimred descended into the region of subterranean fires, fought Devo and constrained him to remain in the cavity where he had slept the sleep of assimilation and started to form harmful and nefarious beings. During the struggle, a venomous object attached itself to the heel of Nimred who was injured by it.
“This poison penetrates the blood and is very subtle,” said Devo sniggering; “it affects, not the Physical State, but the nervous system. Nimred, they will say, Nimred the giant, the powerful, Nimred who vanquished Devo, who forced him to dwell in the subterranean cavities, Nimred is no longer as before!”
Nimred returned to his city. Nechohaba came to meet him. He told her of his struggle with Devo and what the latter had told him about the venom.
“A long time ago,” she replied, “I noticed that from evil is born good; let us be courageous!”
She brought him wine, bread, cakes, honey and fruits, and he was comforted. While examining the wound, she saw a very small purple mark in the middle of which there were two incisions.
— “I do not know the creature that wounded you thus,” she said.
— “Perhaps Devo lied to me,” answered Nimred; “but, in truth, if that which has entered into my physical part has the power to affect a degree of my nervous body, I do not see how this can turn to good. I only see there a great evil and a victory for the enemy; until now, he had only attained to the body and here he does he have a hold on a more rarefied degree. The evil is double, since if the poison can not damage the body, it is certain that all evil comes from without and not from within. If therefore my nervous system is harmed, my physical well-being, which is its envelope, must be altered.”
— “We all know that the power of Devo exerts itself mainly upon the nervous body, and that his fortress is in the State of Nervous Body. I strongly desire that the words of the enemy be but an empty threat but if it is not so, if he seeks to attack your nervous system while you are in the physical body, he will no doubt continue, as is his habit, to act upon this same nervous body when it is separated from its physical envelope and the experience will teach you, with certainty, what we only now suspect. Thus will Nimred, the man without fear, be able to combat the enemy in his own fortress. While other faithful, who have proven themselves, can, in a certain measure, fill in for physical and visible combat the office of Chief, Nimred will fight in the invisible degree like no other has fought. Despite the temporary victory won over Devo who still seems vanquished, the enemy exhausts the earth and reduces man more and more; it is useless to hide this from ourselves.”
— “Your words spread the brightest clarity upon my intelligence,” answered Nimred. “All sinister premonition disappears for me at the sound of your voice; I have always joyfully and ardently sought physical battle with the enemy; I await, in the same way, this new and even more serious battle.”
V
Nechohaba was keeping watch.
Soon, in the deep of night, she heard the voice of Nimred who seemed to be quarrelling; she touched him softly on the shoulder, asking him:
— “With whom does my beloved quarrel?
— “With the four Emanations of Devo that seek to surround me.”
The words of Devo were not empty. The battle begins and he uses all his measures.
Nechohaba lit a great number of lamps with scented oil; the room was lit as in full daylight. The Passive then sang a soft tune with a low and melodious voice, and, taking in hand a lamp of sapphire blue flame, she left and the four Emanations followed her.
Nimred, liberated, stood and followed her to the palace garden in order to liberate her if it was necessary. He found her smiling, laying on the ground unharmed.
— “Where are the four Emanations?” he asked.
— “I led them under the sacred cedar; I lit a lamp of sparkling brightness and they left.”
— “That is a courageous action. But, are you sure you have no ill?”
— “There is no void in my being, because you suffice me; who could therefore penetrate inside of me?”
Nimred called to him four of his fellows, the wisest, strongest and most experienced.
He advised them of what had happened and told them that he needed to be free of all worry for some time in order to deal exclusively with the preparations for the combat he was about to undertake.
— “Do not think,” he added, “that I value another state as superior or equal to the Physical State; but, in this occurrence, I have no choice. If a mishap happens to me and I am no longer seen, what I do not think will be the case, remember well my words.”
— “We will remember them,” they answered.
So then, Nimred entrusted Ouenephes with the command of the deserts; to Apappes that of the Southern parts of his empire that faced the island where Barashino had gone after the collapse; to Thethmoses the command of the plain where his capital was and all of the surrounding land to the Narrow Sea; to Xoite, that of all of the central part of his empire, from the Western Ocean to the Eastern one.
— “Designate amongst yourselves twelve chiefs worthy of trust, wise, prudent and strong so that they may be the intermediaries between you and your people and as battlements against the Hostile,” he told them; “you will be responsible unto them as I am responsible unto you; they will be the intermediaries between you and those for whom you are responsible for matters that relate to progress and well-being, as you are the intermediaries between me and my people.”
When the four had left, Nimred said to Nechohaba:
— “Listen to me Nechohaba; if a mishap happens to these four, to these four times twelve or to their people, let me know at all costs, as the well-being of the people must pass before that of the Chief.”
— “I will comply with your desire. Nevertheless, your own well-being is everything to me and your victory is that of your people. Since everyone has confidence in me and love me, give me your power so that, if something happens, I have enough authority to intervene. I will only call on you in case of failure.”
And so it was.
The Four who he had named, and the Four Times Twelve named by the latter, were responsible unto Nechohaba as unto himself.
— “Are we not like one,” she said, “and is it not natural that one gives to the other what they lack in the duality of being?”
— “It is absolutely natural, answered the wise. Who can have at heart the well-being of the country and the people as much as the one who loves the Chief and whose heir is the being of her being?”
Nimred conversed mainly with the Four in whom he held the most trust:
“Do in all things the will of Nechohaba as if it was my own,” he told them. “If some mishap happens to me, let her retain power until the epoch when our son Aubis will be strong enough to show his capacities. In any case, leave him in the place of honour as he is of my being. You know that inside the tower which rises on the edge of the great river there are secret and interior degrees that lead to the summit. Aubis must climb up each degree and, at each one, he must undergo a trial. If he is capable of making it to the summit, to stand there, and salute the rising of the sun, all will be well; let him reign in my stead. If not, let him be a simple citizen amongst you, or let him go where he pleases; another will take his place. It is not birth, but capacities and merit which make one worthy of being chief of the people.”
He then called the great mage Kelaouchi, a descendant of Nepha and of Haiche, one of the strongest in matters pertaining to the physical and quaternary constitution of man.
After Nimred had made him aware of his arrangements, Kelaouchi asked:
— “Why did you not tell me about your wound upon your return?
— “If you had been around me,” answered Nimred, “I would certainly have spoken to you about it; but the battle with Devo was so fierce that I was forced to rest before returning here. Now I have summoned you so that you may watch over my Physical State and help me by all means in your power in the battle that I will carry on. Besides, it will be for you an experiment that will serve you in your physiological studies. Study therefore all the phenomena as you please and, whatever happens, do not let yourself be distracted from your scientific research, either by solicitude for me, or for any other motive. This way, I will be sure that, in spite of the scheming of Devo, which might have prevented me from leading my warriors to victory and being a shield for my people, I can procure for them another victory and protect them against other outrages. Finally, watch over Nechohaba. She is heavy with responsibility as she must also watch over her people.”
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