THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 215 -
The mission of the Lord. Epiphan's doubts concerning the people's understanding of the teaching of the Lord.
Say I: "In order to show you the issue with a few words, I say to you: "My task and teaching consist simply in showing man where he really came from and what he is, and in pointing out his destiny which will be fulfilled in accordance with the fullest and most evident truth.
2
Already the Greeks, that is, the sages, said: 'The most difficult, important and highest knowledge is the greatest possible degree of self-knowledge.' And behold, exactly this is My concern, for without this cognition it is impossible to recognize a Supreme Deity as the cause of all coming into existence, being and permanency.
3
But whoever does not recognize this and does not direct his life, his senses and striving towards this one true purpose in life, in order to recognize himself and a Supreme Deity as the Eternal First Cause of all being and growing, is as good as lost.
4
For, just as a thing devoid of an inner, incessantly growing and more and more consolidating and permanent consistency soon disintegrates and as that which it formerly was ceases to exist, so also a man who is not fully at one with and within himself as well as God.
5
Man can achieve this only by fully recognizing himself and, consequently, God as his first cause and then, in accordance with such knowledge, becoming active in his whole life- sphere.
6
Once a man has reached this maturity and consistency within himself, he has also become a master over all the forces emanating from God and, through these, spiritually and materially also a lord over all creatures and is then in and for himself no longer destructible through any force and, thus, has gained life eternal.
7
And behold, that is now the summary of My whole new teaching, which however in the basis of basics is actually the very oldest teaching since the beginning of man on this Earth! It has only been lost through the idleness of humanity and is now given as if new again by Me as the lost original Eden (Ye den = it is day) to the people who have a good will. Tell Me now, Epiphan, whether you have understood Me correctly and what you opinion is of this!"
8
Epiphan says, "Yes, I have understood it in any case and must also openly admit in addition that such a recognition would be possibly accepted generally as the very most desirable and highest thing among the people that a mortal could ever achieve on this Earth, and the instructive path there could be very extremely well and clearly known to you and to your companions! But only I remember at this opportunity an old Roman saying which truly is very wise and bears various investigation and comparison very well. And the saying goes thus: QUOD LICET IOVI, NON LICET BOVI! "PROPHETA, POETA ET CANTORES NASCUNTUR, "RHETOR FIT! For small, insignificant things and tasks even an ox can be very well dressed up, but he will never eternally entice away a Minerva from hard marble with hammer and chisel!
9
The wisest of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks certainly used all diligence for the recognition of themselves and a divine original being; but how far did they get? Only as far as they saw that reaching such a necessarily comprehensive recognition is a very purest impossibility for the limited people, and the saying: Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi! found there its fullest validation!
10
Well, in any case there may be some exceptions with You which I have heard from Your other words and particularly seen from Your deeds; but whether also the usual person of for example my sort will be able to form any lasting concept, that is another question! For some, certainly rare people, the so-called geniuses, often possess even strange capabilities in very many and varied directions. The one is already in the cradle a seer and a prophet, the second is a singer of an extraordinary type, the third is an artist, the fourth a mathematician and a magician almost in the mother's womb. One has an extremely strong memory, another a pair of such sharp eyes that he can make out and if necessary even recognize a person several hours away.
11
And so there are very many among the people of great talents; but all that which is only of a genius can never eternally be learnt very thoroughly so that it could then be reproduced by a disciple to any perfection, as the great master possessed in himself. Such a thing is and remains nonetheless constantly just an almost worthless incompetence.
12
And so I am also then of the almost decisive opinion that we will understand you indeed at least halfway in such a new teaching of yours, whatever you say to us, but we will never manage to achieve a thorough practical representation. Yet now, you are in any case a rarest master of your business and will indeed know what sort of people you have before you; but we will then see what we are capable of understanding and doing! We are indeed very sympathetic towards pure science, although we can also easily do without it, since our previous view of life "as our local condition shows "is more than satisfactory for the minimum of the needs demanded for the maintenance of life; but "as we said "for that reason we are no enemies of pure science.
13
Hiram and Aziona indeed gave me the most sincere news about you that I had to believe because I know both of them as extremely truthful people. But now it only depends on the conviction of all the theoretical and practical paths; if I have these, then you should have no bad or lazy spreader of your new teaching in me! I have now spoken and now you should speak!"