THE BOOK OF        IS  (chapters XXVI - L)

xxvi.

And the king of tin appeared unto him, and said, Go down to the land of the stars of heaven, and count; and he obeyed. And the men of the place asked him of his fear, for he was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that he looked out a window and saw the people touch death. Then Is went forward, and grew until he became very great: and the Earth said unto Is, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. And Is departed thence, and dwelt in the days of death: and he found there a well of springing water. And the men of water said, Now we shall be in the land. And he went up from thence and the night said, I am thy father, fear not, for I am with thee. And he pitched his tent there: and he went to his friends, and said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw that thou wilt do nothing but peace: And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And it came to pass the same day, that Is found the city of grief.

xxvii.

And his eyes said unto him, Behold, know not the day of death: take thy love to the field of the goats; and such as he loveth: thou shalt feel him and bless him. And he went, and fetched his love, and put his hands upon the smooth of his neck: and Is said, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee. And he felt him, and said, The hands are hairy: so he blessed him, and brought him wine, and he drank. And Is said unto him, Come near now and kiss me. And he kissed him: and he smelled the smell of him, and said, See, the smell is as the smell of a field blessed of the dew of heaven, and of wine: let thine other bow down to be every he that blesseth thee. And it came to pass, as soon as Is was yet scarce gone out from the presence of his other, that he trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who is he that hath taken me before him? And he cried with great and exceeding subtlety, and he said, I am planted these two times: as a lord and a servant; what shall I do now? And his voice answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the Earth, and by thy word shalt thou live and serve thine other: and it shall come to pass that thou shalt break his heart; behold, thy other, as touching thee, doth comfort himself. Now therefore, obey my voice, and flee thou to forget him: then said Is, What good shall my life do me?

xxviii.

And Is called him, and said unto him, Arise, go to the house of fruit, that thou mayest give the blessing of seed; and Is went unto the other Is, and sent him away from thence; and he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun took the stones and put them for a ladder up to heaven: And, behold, the angels of dust spread abroad to the east, and in all places the land spoke out of sleep, and knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the gate of morning. And he poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of the place the first peace.

xxix.

Then he looked and beheld a great stone. And it rolled and said, Whence be ye? Lo, it is yet high day, the time to go and roll. And the stone lifted up his voice and wept. And he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he said to him, Surely thou art bone and flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. And there was a beautiful and well-favored young man in the place, and it came to pass in the evening, that he went in unto him, and loved him seven years. And when he saw that he was hated, he conceived, and bore three sons.

xxx.

And when he saw that he bore children, he said, Give me children in a God’s stead; and he gave him an ear, and he said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with that ear, and happy am I, for he will call me blessed. And he lay that night with all. And afterward he said, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes: And he said, Appoint thy wages, and I will give it. And he said unto him, Thou knowest how thy cat hath blessed thee since my coming: now give me thy cat, and he shall be my hire before thy face be counted stolen. And he set three days’ journey betweixt himself and the faces; and it came to pass, that the eyes of the cat were strong.

xxxi.

And the land called the field and said, I see your countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but with all my power I have deceived and suffered thus: and he hath taken away the cat. And it came to pass that the cat spake in a dream, saying, I am thine eyes, and I see all the strangers, and all the riches whatsoever. Then Is stole away unawares to the river, and set his face toward the day in the night, and said, Now mount the mount of secret mirth, with songs, and with harp. But the stolen Gods answered and said, Be afraid: for whomsoever found the images in the furniture, sat upon them. And he said, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the cat sees the children born between stone. And they took stones, and made a heap: and they did eat: but the absent man said, Behold, I have cast betwixt me a witness to this arm. And Is offered the mount his bread: and he did eat, and tarried all night. And he kissed them and returned unto his place.

xxxii.

And the angels of that place sojourned with the men, and sent messengers to meet the camels. And Is said, I am not worthy of the truth; for with my hand I make the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. And he came to his hand and said, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt me and me, and afterward I will see the self. And he rose up that night, and took his men, and sent them over the brook, and he was left alone; and he touched his thigh; and he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for I will not let thee go except to be Is: and he asked him, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? For I have seen face to face my life. And the sun rose upon him, and upon his thigh. Therefore Is shrank, because he touched anew.

xxxiii.

And his eyes came to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck: and they wept. And the men said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which give the sight. And the self said, Nay, now if I have sight, then I therefore have a face, and my blessing is brought to me. And he urged him, and said, Let us take the men and the cat, and find a house in the land of the city of money. And he erected there an altar and called it Is.

xxxiv.

And his soul spake kindly unto the cat: and he went out unto the men and communed with them, saying, I pray you, give your possessions unto your eyes, and what ye shall say, give unto me: and they said, We cannot do this thing, but we will be as we be, and dwell with you, and we will become one people. And their words pleased the gate of the city, and he let them dwell therein; only the cat took his sword, came upon the city boldly and slew all the males, and went out. And the city said, Ye have troubled me; and the inhabitants of being shall gather together a harlot?

xxxv.

And there appeared strange Gods among the garments: and strange earrings were in their ears; and terror was upon the cities that were round about them, and they fled under an oak: but Is said, I am king of the stone: and he poured oil on the place and said, Fear not; thou shalt have a tent beyond the tower of the concubine. And Is came unto the city of the ghost, and gathered his being: and buried him.

xxxvi.

Now Is and his cat, and all his beasts, went into the country of riches that they might dwell together; and the strangers could not bear them because of the cat. Thus the mount of the sons of the sons of the sons of the sons that came of the sons of the sons of the land found mules in the wilderness, and fed the children; and the children of the children of the dukes that came of the land of the kings that reigned over the children of the son of the city of the land of the son who smote the field of the city by the river died in his stead. And the name of his city was the name of names; the land of possession.

xxxvii.

And he was a stranger unto evil. Now Is loved his coat of many colors. And he saw that he loved him more than he hated him, and could not speak. And a dream said, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I am: for, behold, we were in the field, and, lo, she arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, she stood round about, and made more dreams; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the stars come down to the Earth. But Is said, Do not feed the word where they feed the man; for evil hath devoured a dream of the wilderness. And it came to pass, that his coat of many colors took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, and there was no bread: and, behold, Is came up out of the pit, and returned unto his clothes. and he said, Whither shall I go? And the coat of many colors brought him without, and put sackcloth on his loins, and rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, I will go to Egypt.

xxxviii.

And it came to pass at that time, that he went in unto his other, and he spilled on the ground his garments; for he saw that he was grown. And he turned and said, I pray thee. let me come in unto thee; and he said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will give thee the staff that is in thy hand. And he conceived by him. And he arose, and went away, and put on the garments to receive his pledge: but he found not the men of that place. And it came to pass about three months after, that a harlot child brought forth bracelets and said, How hast thou broken the scarlet thread?

xxxix.

And Is brought him down thither in Egypt, and made a house of bread which he did eat. And it came to pass after these things, that his eyes refused to be his. And the men of the house caught him by the garment, saying, Lie with us, and he cried with a loud voice and fled, and left his arm and his words there. But mercy gave him sight, and whatsoever he did there, he was the doer of it.

xl.

And after these things, he put a house in the season of dream, which bound the morning and the sad. And he said, We dream, and there is no interpreter of interpretations. And his dream said to him, In me the vine blossoms forth; and the clusters of ripe grapes press into a cup, and the cup into a hand. This is interpretation: yet within thine head thou shalt live in the former manner, and make of me a house or a dungeon. And the birds said, The day within days shall lift thee on a tree. And the birds made a feast unto all: and he restored his hand: yet he did not remember, but forgat.

xli.

And at the end of two full years, he stood by a river in a meadow. And, behold, the brink of the river did eat up the east wind and devoured the morning; and he sent for a dream; but there was none that could remember a day in the night. And there was a young man, a captain of dream; and he restored him and brought him hastily out of the dreamed dream, saying, It is not in me to be well-favored or ill-favored, such as badness could not be known at the beginning, and good sprung up after it. The dream is the thin wind in which a God shall be forgotten. And the eyes said, Can we find such a one as this man Is? And he took off his vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck; and they cried before him and said, Without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot. And he went out and stood in the presence of the Earth and Sea until the years came: and he said, The house hath caused me to be famished for bread. And all the houses sold the land to buy famine.

xlii.

Now when he said unto his other, Behold, I have heard that we may live, and not die, he came and bowed down before him, and made himself strange unto him. And the dreams which he dreamed said unto them, Ye are spies; to see nakedness ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay my lord, but we are true men; to see the nakedness of one man is to prove life shall go forth hence, except that words may be truth: by life ye live; for if men be bound to the houses: so shall words die. And they saw the anguish of his soul, and his dress answered them, saying, Do ye not hear? Therefore his blood spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept. Then he departed thence and opened his mouth; and, lo, it failed him, and took him away to deliver him into mischief.

xliii.

And the land spake, saying, Ye shall not see my face. And Is asked, Is your word certainly your own? Send me, and we will arise and live and die forever in time. And he said, If so, do this; take the best man in your sack, and go again unto the mighty children of the moon. And the men were afraid, because of the asses, and they said, O sir, we came and opened our sacks, and, behold, every man was brought again in other sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your fat hath given you treasure. And they washed their feet; and the asses bowed themselves to him. And he asked them of their eyes, and said, Is this of whom you spake unto me? And he made haste; for his bowels did yearn to weep; and he entered into himself, and said, The self did eat the selves: because bread is an abomination. And they sat before him and marveled one at another. And he took and sent them from before time. And they drank, and were merry.

xliv.

And he put the silver cup in the mouth of the youngest, and the morning was sent away, and the asses said unto the men, Wherefore have ye good whereby evil shall be found? And they speedily took down every man to the ground, and opened their clothes, and the ground said unto them, How shall the man in whose hand is found peace speak a word in anger against his other? And the old man of love said, Bring him down unto me, that I may set my eyes upon him, to see my face no more. And the man’s face said, Surely he is torn in pieces of blame. Now therefore, instead of the lad he is the adventure that shall come.

xlv.

Then the man made himself known unto his ear. And his ear said, I am angry with the eyes and the mouth. And he fell upon his neck, and kissed him. And he was pleased, and said, This beast will give you wagons of silver, and a man laden with bread. So he departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out of the land. And he fainted, for he saw the wagons. And Is said, It is enough: I will see before I die.

xlvi.

And Is came to the Is of the night, and said, Here am I. And he said, I am fear; for I will make thee go down; and I will also surely bring thee up again: And Is carried the cat and came to see the woman of the land of the daughters of the seven souls; and the souls went up to meet Is and presented to him a neck, and his neck said, Now let me die, since thou art alive, and the brethren come to feed the cat.

xlvii.

Then the flock of brethren said, Thy servants are servants of servants. And the cat said, How old? The days of the years of evil have been attained unto the days of the years of the life of man. And the bread fainted. And all the money that was found in the land came unto the cat; and the cat gave them bread in exchange for eyes, and removed them to cities. Only the priests of food said, Thou hast sight, and we will be the day. And Is dwelt in the land of possessions, and grew a whole age of years. And the time drew nigh that Is must die: and he said, If now I have found sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh and lie with me. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

xlviii.

And it came to pass after these things, that Is strengthened himself upon the bed, and said, Behold, I will multiply the everlasting which were born before thou begettest them, and shall be their inheritance when I die. Now the eyes of Is were dim, so he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them and embraced them. And Is said, I had not thought to see. And he brought them out from between his knees, and the Earth took them in his left hand, and brought them near his head, and his head said, Is fed me all my life long unto this day, which the name be named the name of Is; the multitude of Earth. And when his father laid his hand upon his head, it displeased him: and he said, Not so, my father: for this is the first head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he shall become great: but truly greater than thee. And Is said, Behold, I die; but you, and you again, have given to the hand the sword.

xlix.

And his sons said, Gather the selves together, and hearken unto the beginning of the water; because in cruelty are honor and self-will enemies; the children shall bow down before an old lion and wash his garments in wine, and the grapes shall be white with milk of the sea serpent, so that a backward salvation shall overcome the last bread, and shall yield goodly words in the arms of the mighty; (from hence is he the one Is;) even by the heaven of the deep that lieth under the breasts of the everlasting hills shall the raven devour the night. And before the land had gathered up his feet into the bed, he was his.

l.

And he kissed him, and commanded the physicians to embalm his eyes, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me, there shalt thou bury me, and I will come again. And the ear went to bury him, and all the elders of the land of the house went with him: and it was a very great company. And when he was dead, they said, Will hate requite us all the sin he did in place of God? But evil comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. and said, I will surely visit Is, and will surely carry up bones from the coffin.

1. -Jason Wingate
   

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