Between Night and Morn Read Online Free PDF

sheep and seventy lambs; and he spoke to him, saying, ‘The men of the tribe shall build for you a strong house, and will give you at the end of each harvest season a part of the crop of the land so you may live as an honourable and respected Master.’
    â€œLa Wiss rose and started to leave, but the Chief stopped him, saying, ‘Who and what is the one whom you call the Human God? Who is this daring God who wrestles with the glorious Night God? We have never pondered him before.’ La Wiss rubbed his forehead and answered him, saying, ‘My Honourable Master, in the olden time, before the creation of man, all the Gods were living peacefully together in an upper world behind the vastness of the stars. The God of Gods was their father, and knew what they did not know, and did what they were unable to do. He kept for himself the divine secrets that existed beyond the eternal laws. During the seventh epoch of the twelfth age, the spirit of Bahtaar, who hated the great God, revolted and stood before his father, and said, ‘Why do you keep for yourself the power of great authority upon all creatures, hiding away from us the secrets and laws of the Universe? Are we not your children who believe in you and share with you the great understanding and the perpetual being?’
    â€œThe God of Gods became enraged and said, ‘I shall preserve for myself the primary power and the great authority and the essential secrets, for I am the beginning and the end.’
    â€œAnd Bahtaar answered him saying, ‘Unless you share with me your might and power, I and my children and my children’s children will revolt against you!’ At that moment, the God of Gods stood upon his throne in the deep heavens, and drew forth a sword, and grasped the Sun as a shield; and with a voice that shook all corners of eternity he shouted out, saying, ‘Descend, you evil rebel, to the dismal lower world where darkness and misery exist! There you shall remain in exile, wandering until the Sun turns into ashes and the stars into dispersed particles!’ In that hour, Bahtaar descended from the upper world into the lower world, where all the evil spirits dwelt. Thereupon, he swore by the secret of Life that he would fight his father and brothers by trapping every soul who loved them.’
    â€œAs the Chief listened, his forehead wrinkled and his face turned pale. He ventured, Then the name of the Evil God is Bahtaar?’ And La Wiss responded, ‘His name was Bahtaar when he was in the upper world, but when he entered into the lower world, he adopted successively the names Baalzaboul, Satanail, Balial, Zamiel, Ahriman, Mara, Abdon, Devil, and finally Satan, which is the most famous.’
    â€œThe Chief repeated the word ‘Satan’ many times with a quivering voice that sounded like the rustling of the dry branches at the passing of the wind; then he said, ‘Why does Satan hate man as much as he hates the gods?’
    â€œAnd La Wiss responded quickly, ‘He hates man because man is a descendant of Satan’s brothers and sisters.’ The Chief exclaimed, ‘Then Satan is the cousin of man!’ In a voice mingled with confusion and annoyance, he retorted, ‘Yes, Master, but he is their great enemy who fills their days with misery and their nights with horrible dreams. He is the power who directs the tempest toward their hovels, and brings famine upon their plantation, and disease upon them and their animals. He is an evil and powerful god; he is wicked, and he rejoices when we are in sorrow, and he mourns when we are joyous. We must, through my knowledge, examine him thoroughly, in order to avoid his evil; we must study his character, so we will not step upon his trap-laden path.’
    â€œThe Chief leaned his head upon his thick stick and whispered, saying, ‘I have learned now the inner secret of that strange power who directs the tempest toward our homes and brings the