7. VII.
“And ye say,” said Bermahdi, to the brethren
of Ipsistos, “ye say that your brother is no true
servant of the goddess — that he bows not in reverence
at her altars — that he gives not his soul
with the fruits which he offers — that he loves not
her high places, nor the holy priesthood that minister
before her?”
“Of a truth, we say it,” replied the envious
brethren.
“Ye are wrong,” answered to them the high
priest, “ye know not the heart of your brother.
What though he worship in another fashion from
ye, still is he a devout worshipper. I have seen
into his soul, my children; it is no less pure than
yours. The goddess hath chosen him for her altars,
and ye are no less honored in her choice than
is he. Hence was her gift to him, for thy grand-sire,
of the fruits and meats which he carried home
to your habitation. Do him no injustice, therefore,
by your ungentle thoughts, for truly do I believe
him honest. Yet, I would not, that ye should
hold me unnoteful of your zeal. Ye shall give it
employment. See that Ipsistos lacks not, nor falls
short, in his flow of service. If ye deem him laggard
— if ye notice any falling off in his outward
devotions, though it may import no loss of love
within — yet bring me true report of his backslidings,
that I may counsel him providently, and tutor
him unto the good work which is ready for his
hands. And, as ye have so fully shown your zeal
for the altars of the goddess, ye shall have like
share with your brother of the fruits therefrom.
Take ye, and eat, and bear ye home to your
grandsire, of the fruits which remain unconsumed.
And let this be a sign unto ye, that ye are all the
care of the goddess, and your house henceforward
shall be the abiding place of blessing and abundance.
Go ye now — remember well what I have
spoken in your ears touching the devotion of Ipsistos,
and come to me and reveal in secret what
ye may misdeem of his thoughts and misdoing;
for though I believe not that your brother is erring,
yet the best of us falter in our walks of duty,
and the strongest sink at times under a weakness
of sinew which should make them sorrowful and
ashamed. Go now, and the blessing of the goddess
be upon ye.”
And the brethren of Ipsistos went away, with
hearts of rejoicing and with hands of plenty; and
they rejoiced not more because of the favor of the
goddess than of the charge which had been given
them to be watchful of the doings of their brother.
And in their hearts they abused the counsels of
the holy Bermahdi, for, whereas, he had given it
in charge to them to report on the backslidings of
Ipsistos that he might be providently led back into
the fold of the temple, and they took his words as
a direction to find evil in his wanderings, and to
prove the flaws in all his performances. And
those that Bermahdi had named as zealous for the
goddess, grew to be zealous spies upon the failings
of their brother; and in their hearts they said —
“Bermahdi will punish Ipsistos if he goes aside
from the path leading to the temple. He means
not to counsel but to condemn, for is not the goddess
a jealous goddess, and does not her breath
destroy the offender, though it be a sin of his ignorance
only, and his first sin. Of a surety will
she destroy this brother, whose pride of heart lifts
him above us, and who, in a vain conceit of soul,
thinks to be wiser than his father. Well — he
shall not be missed when Bermahdi calls for the
victim.”
Thus communing, they returned to the dwelling
of their father, and their hearts were filled with
wrath when they found that their grandsire now
loved Ipsistos more than before, and took but little
heed of the abundance of fruits which they had
brought with them from the temple. And he called
upon them to rejoice with him, and to implore blessings
upon their brother, saying—
“Verily, Ipsistos, my son, thou art my best beloved,
and the favorite of the goddess. Join with
me, my children, and give praise to your brother;
for he hath cheered our hearth with the blessings
of heaven, and hath smoothed my passage to the
tomb. Blessed of the goddess, Ipsistos, be thou
also the blessed of thy father and thy brethren.”
And the brothers murmured among themselves,
and, more than ever, they hated him by reason of
the exceeding love of their father. All hated him
but the young maiden, his sister, the youngest of
all, whose name was Damaina; and she flung herself
upon the neck of Ipsistos, and called him her
dear brother, and shed tears of joy and reverence
upon his neck. And the brothers turned from beholding
her, and they spake together apart, and
they asked of each other how best they should obey
the commands of Bermahdi, and seek out the backslidings
of Ipsistos.
