The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ

3 Its shelves were filled with books of master minds; the paintings and the statues were the works of highest art.

4 And Jesus was entranced with all this elegance and these manifests of thought. He read the sacred books, and sought the meanings of the symbols and the hieroglyphs.

5 And when he was absorbed in deepest thought, a priest approached and said,

6 Behold the glory of this place! my brother you are highly blest. Few men of earth, so young, have reached such heights of fame.

7 Now, if you do not waste your life in search for hidden things that men can never comprehend, you may be founder of a school of thought that will insure you endless fame;

8 For your philosophy is deeper far than that of Plato, and your teachings please the common people more than those of Socrates.

9 Why seek for mystic light within these antiquated dens? Go forth and walk with men, and think with men, and they will honor you.

10 And, after all, these weird initiations may be myths, and your Messiah hopes but base illusions of the hour.

11 I would advise you to renounce uncertain things and choose the course that leads to certain fame.

12 And thus the priest, a demon in disguise, sung syren songs of unbelief; and Jesus meditated long and well on what he said.

13 The conflict was a bitter one, for king Ambition is a sturdy foe to fight.

14 For forty days the higher wrestled with the lower self, and then the fight was won.

15 Faith rose triumphant; unbelief was not. Ambition covered up his face and fled away, and Jesus said,

16 The wealth, the honor, and the fame of earth are but the baubles of an hour.

17 When this short span of earthly life has all been measured out, man’s bursting baubles will be buried with his bones.

18 Yea, what a man does for his selfish self will make no markings on the credit side of life.

19 The good that men for other men shall do becomes a ladder strong on which the soul may climb to wealth, and power and fame of God’s own kind, that cannot pass away,

20 Give me the poverty of men, the consciousness of duty done in love, the approbation of my God, and I will be content.

21 And then he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,

22 My Father-God, I thank thee for this hour. I ask not for the glory of thyself; I fain would be a keeper of thy temple gates, and serve my brother man.

23 Again was Jesus called to stand before the hierophant; again no word was said, but in his hands the master placed a scroll on which was written FAITH.

24 And Jesus bowed his head in humble thanks; then went his way.

CHAPTER 51

Jesus passes the fourth brotherhood test, and receives the fourth degree, PHILANTHROPY.

When other certain days had passed, the guide led Jesus to the Hall of Mirth, a hall most richly furnished, and replete with every thing a carnal heart could wish.

2 The choicest viands and the most delicious wines were on the boards; and maids, in gay attire, served all with grace and cheerfulness.

3 And men and women, richly clad, were there; and they were wild with joy; they sipped from every cup of mirth.

4 And Jesus watched the happy throng in silence for a time, and then a man in garb of sage came up and said, Most happy is the man who, like the bee, can gather sweets from every flower.

5 The wise man is the one who seeks for pleasure, and can find it everywhere,

6 At best man’s span of life on earth is short, and then he dies and goes, he knows not where.

7 Then let us eat, and drink, and dance, and sing, and get the joys of life, for death comes on apace.

8 It is but foolishness to spend a life for other men. Behold, all die and lie together in the grave, where none can know and none can show forth gratitude.

9 But Jesus answered not; upon the tinseled guests in all their rounds of mirth he gazed in silent thought.

10 And then among the guests he saw a man whose clothes were coarse; who showed in face and hands the lines of toil and want.

11 The giddy throng found pleasure in abusing him; they jostled him against the wall, and laughed at his discomfiture.

12 And then a poor, frail woman came, who carried in her face and form the marks of sin and shame; and without mercy she was spit upon, and jeered, and driven from the hall.

13 And then a little child, with timid ways and hungry mien, came in and asked for just a morsel of their food.

14 But she was driven out uncared for and unloved; and still the merry dance went on.

15 And when the pleasure seekers urged that Jesus join them in their mirth, he said,

16 How could I seek for pleasure for myself while others are in want? How can you think that while the children cry for bread, while those in haunts of sin call out for sympathy and love that I can fill myself to full with the good things of life?

17 I tell you, nay; we all are kin, each one a part of the great human heart.

18 I cannot see myself apart from that poor man that you so scorned, and crowded to the wall;

19 Nor from the one in female garb who came up from the haunts of vice to ask for sympathy and love, who was by you so ruthlessly pushed back into her den of sin;

20 Nor from that little child that you drove from your midst to suffer in the cold, bleak winds of night.

21 I tell you, men, what you have done to these, my kindred, you have done to me.

22 You have insulted me in your own home; I cannot stay. I will go forth and find that child, that woman and that man, and give them help until my life’s blood all has ebbed away.

23 I call it pleasure when I help the helpless, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and speak good words of cheer to those unloved, discouraged and depressed.

24 And this that you call mirth is but a phantom of the night; but flashes of the fire of passion, painting pictures on the walls of time.

25 And while the Logos spoke the white-robed priest came in and said to him, The council waits for you.

26 Then Jesus stood again before the bar; again no word was said; the hierophant placed in his hands a scroll, on which was writ, PHILANTHROPY.