You are Gods!: John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

By Arandi Gomes Texeira and John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

Rochester is presented in an unmistakable way in this novel, which is set against the backdrop of the height of Roman domination, igniting the most grotesque human instincts, unleashing conflicts and persecutions that have forever marked the history of humanity.
The author reveals the spark of awakening that accompanies the human soul, free in its essence, even if temporarily acting for evil, sure that he is doing the best he can.
Ben Azir, a free spirit and idealist, fights against the forces of Rome to preserve Jewish laws and traditions, but struggles to see that he will have to abandon his roots if he is to agree with beloved Sibyl, a believer in the Christianity.
In the immersive plot, internal conflicts, as intense as the battles, are constant and many choices will change the fate of the characters forever.
We are gods! Those who can do anything!
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: World Spiritist Institute
• Release date: Jul 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223215356

Book preview

Mediumnistic Romance

You are Gods!

John Wilmont

Earl of Rochester

Psycographed by

Arandi Gomes Texeira

English Translation:

Ximena Aguilar Rojas

Ivonne Venegas Francia

Lima, Peru, December 2022

Original Title in Portuguese:

Vós Sóis Deuses

© 2011 Arandi Gomes Teixeira

Translated from the 1st edition - 1st reprint - November 2011

World Spiritist Institute

Houston, Texas, USA

E-mail: [e-mail]

About the Spiritual Author

John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester was born on April 1 or 10, 1647 (there is no record of the exact date). The son of Henry Wilmot and Anne (widow of Sir. Francis Henry Lee), Rochester resembled his father in physique and temperament, domineering and proud. Henry Wilmot had received the title of Earl because of his efforts to raise money in Germany to help King Charles I regain the throne after he was forced to leave England.

When his father died, Rochester was 11 years old and inherited the title of Earl, little inheritance, and honors.

Young J.W. Rochester grew up in Ditchley among drunkenness, theatrical intrigues, artificial friendships with professional poets, lust, brothels in Whetstone Park and the friendship of the king, whom he despised.

He had a vast culture, for the time: he mastered Latin and Greek, knew the classics, French and Italian, was the author of satirical poetry, highly appreciated in his time.

In 1661, at the age of 14, he left Wadham College, Oxford, with the degree of Master of Arts. He then left for the continent (France and Italy) and became an interesting figure: tall, slim, attractive, intelligent, charming, brilliant, subtle, educated, and modest, ideal characteristics to conquer the frivolous society of his time.

When he was not yet 20 years old, in January 1667, he married Elizabeth Mallet. Ten months later, drinking began to affect his character. He had four sons with Elizabeth and a daughter, in 1677, with the actress Elizabeth Barry.

Living the most different experiences, from fighting the Dutch navy on the high seas to being involved in crimes of death, Rochester's life followed paths of madness, sexual abuse, alcoholics, and charlatanism, in a period in which he acted as a physician.

When Rochester was 30 years old, he writes to a former fellow adventurer that he was nearly blind, lame, and with little chance of ever seeing London again.

Quickly recovering, Rochester returns to London. Shortly thereafter, in agony, he set out on his last adventure: he called the curate Gilbert Burnet and dictated his recollections to him. In his last reflections, Rochester acknowledged having lived a wicked life, the end of which came slowly and painfully to him because of the venereal diseases that dominated him.

Earl of Rochester died on July 26, 1680. In the state of spirit, Rochester received the mission to work for the propagation of Spiritualism. After 200 years, through the medium Vera Kryzhanovskaia, the automatism that characterized her made her hand trace words with dizzying speed and total unconsciousness of ideas. The narratives that were dictated to her denote a wide knowledge of ancestral life and customs and provide in their details such a local stamp and historical truth that the reader finds it hard not to recognize their authenticity. Rochester proves to dictate his historical-literary production, testifying that life unfolds to infinity in his indelible marks of spiritual memory, towards the light and the way of God. It seems impossible for a historian, however erudite, to study, simultaneously and in depth, times and environments as different as the Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations; as well as customs as dissimilar as those of the France of Louis XI to those of the Renaissance.

The subject matter of Rochester's work begins in Pharaonic Egypt, passes through Greco-Roman antiquity and the Middle Ages, and continues into the 19th century. In his novels, reality navigates in a fantastic current, in which the imaginary surpasses the limits of verisimilitude, making natural phenomena that oral tradition has taken care to perpetuate as supernatural.

Rochester's referential is full of content about customs, laws, ancestral mysteries and unfathomable facts of History, under a novelistic layer, where social and psychological aspects pass through the sensitive filter of his great imagination. Rochester's genre classification is hampered by his expansion into several categories: gothic horror with romance, family sagas, adventure and forays into the fantastic.

The number of editions of Rochester's works, spread over countless countries, is so large that it is not possible to have an idea of their magnitude, especially considering that, according to researchers, many of these works are unknown to the general public.

Several lovers of Rochester's novels carried out (and perhaps do carry out) searches in libraries in various countries, especially in Russia, to locate still unknown works. This can be seen in the prefaces transcribed in several works. Many of these works are finally available in Spanish thanks to the World Spiritist Institute.

EACH BEING BRINGS with it the sacred spark of the Creator and erects within himself the sanctuary of his presence or the shadowy wall of denial; but only light and good are eternal, and one day all the strongholds of evil will fall, that God may shine in the spirit of his children. It is not to teach something else that is written in the law - You are gods! Don't you know that a father's inheritance is divided between children in equal parts? The misplaced creatures are those that have not been able to enter into the possession of their divine share, bartering it for the satisfaction of their whims in unruly ness or abuse, egolatry or crime, paying a high price for their voluntary decisions. Looking at the situation from this perspective, we must recognize in the world a vast school of regeneration, where all creatures rehabilitate themselves from betrayal of their own duties. The earth, therefore, can be seen as a great hospital, where sin is the disease of all; the Gospel, however, brings to the sick man the effective remedy, so that all roads may become a gentle path of redemption.

JESUS, in the chapter Sin and punishment of the book Boa Nova, by Francisco Cândido Xavier, by the spirit Humberto de Campos.

Contents

1.-  THE DOCTORS OF THE LAW

2.-  BEN MORDEKAI AND PAULUS

3.-  IN THE FIRST INSTANCE

4.-  THE TALENTS

5.-  DIVINE PROVIDENCE

6.-  GALBA'S ILLNESS

7.-  THE VISIT

8.-  MASKS

9.-  THE SONS OF PAULUS

10.-  ON DEMETRIUS' FARM

11.-  THE TWO SIDES OF THE COIN

12.-  THE TRUTH

12.- OPPORTUNITY

14.-  IN ROME

15.-  THE JUDGMENT

16.-  HERITAGE

17.-  NASSIF'S FAREWELL

18.-  AGREEMENTS...

19.-  COMMITMENTS...

20.-  RETURNING TO THE SOURCE

21.-  CROSSROADS

22.-  UNDERSTANDING

23.-  SACRIFICES...

24.-  THE WARRIOR'S DEATH

25.-  IN THE ARENA...

26.-  POSTHUMOUS ADORATION

EPILOGUE

1.-

THE DOCTORS OF THE LAW

They were gathered together endless hours, in an attempt to solve countless problems that directly affect everyone and each one. Disgusted and encouraged by the hatred of castes, they arose and left, after several agreements between them.

Doctors of the law who are and consonants to the same ideas, have decided to take urgent action.

An Am-Haretz, in exchange for some denarii, had come to report to them very serious occurrences in the Jordan Valley, near its properties.

Here's how the aforementioned meeting took place:

"Ben Mordekai, the leader, choleric, vociferate:

" Until there the damn gang arrives! Fruit of the times that run! And why are we amazed?

They are no longer done as before 'so' convincing examples! We have to take actions that correspond to the need to make them understand how much they risk challenging us!

You bastards! We will act in a way that leaves the certainty of the uselessness of your actions installed! What we do, and which will be done very well, will serve as a scare for others who might dare to think of following the examples of jackals like these! But we are tied with our feet and hands, for we still bow to foreign power!

Between teeth, full of hatred, he said:

– Even if there's a big revolt! Shut up, take a deep breath, and say again:

– Things like this happen every day, defying the gifts of tolerance that characterize us as noble representatives of our people! Imagine! Young people, barely out of their rituals of acceptance and consecration, flying in defenders of minorities, traps, old, sick; that society, very wisely, despises and condemns to oblivion and death!

Walking nervously and lowering his tone of voice, he comments, scorn laughter, almost in soliloquy:

– Death! Divine mercy to the bastards who expect nothing from the world!

Returning to the previous position, before the assembly, he continues:

– Recent events require a redoubled energy, together with an increasingly serious policy, in preserving Jewish laws and traditions, compiled in the Torah!

The personality, exalted and talkative, picks up the sacred book that is within his reach and, while pattering over it with his fingers, exclaims, emphatic:

– We are the bulwark of the principles set out here and we must watch, defend and preserve all of them in their smallest contours and depths! Oh, what would become of the Jewish people and their traditions if it weren't for us?! What are you talking about? Can you tell me?

Glit-green eyes, watching everyone, he wanders around the room. As he walks, breathing hard and noisy, he lifts his head and looks up, indignant. Faced with the silence that was made around him, he answers his own question loud and clear:

– No, they cannot, because indignation chains their tongues and agitate their hearts! Many of us, enchanted by time, sacrificing ourselves in day to day, in an unbounded selflessness by laws, are ashamed of what is thrown into our faces without respect and without mercy!

Theatrical, opening his arms, he concludes devastated:

– Anyway, what to do, right? It's the ungrateful part that's up to us!

Hands behind him, he walks at a mo. while reflecting on everything that at this moment bothers him a great way.

It stands before everyone and frontally asks imposed:

– I ask them, finally, knowing in advance the answer: Should we or should we not give a sufficient to all these decants?

The reaction is not expected: rising, agitated, one after another, like a great wave, all dictate words of order, in the midst of a huge tumult, threatening hands with closed fists, hoarse voices of hatred, trampling, in ex probations mixed with requests for help to heaven, in an insane, contradictory behavior, but habitual.

Admiring the good result of his prediction, the leader studies the reactions of each one, while smiling lightly.

After the more foolish imprecations, at a more significant look of the leader, they return to their seats and are willing to listen to him:

– We can certainly imagine the consequences of everything!

– Yes, we can! – they repeat in unison.

The leader shakes his hands, in broad gestures above his head, and concludes:

– We will act in the most effective and absentia way of those who dare to prevent us!! We will do exactly what we must do in the name of God, requesting, at first, legal aid, but... after...

Understood, they stand up and talk about approving the ideas out there. Their congested faces and their radical gestures expose the violence of their feelings.

The leader, elder, dressed and vestments with all the gestures of his hierarchical position, passes his hands through the hard white hair, descending them by the long beards and as white as the hair, pulling them, desperate, as to want to suffer, to feel alive or aware that, in fact, it's awe-up and not dreaming... Walking from here to there, snorting, red-face, he makes increasingly strong and broad gestures, babbling blasphemy.

His possessed peers restart the tumultuous wanderings around the room.

A boy who runs in, drowned, takes their attention. Strip from inside the tunic a paper, yellow and crumpled, and extends them, informing:

– Mr. Corrections man sent them, here it is!

While, hurried, these men become aware of the message, the boy comes out and reaches a well in front of the Collector. With a bucket, take some of the precious liquid and drink it, greedily. Clean your mouth with your back and sit down to remake yourself.

Seeing other boys playing with glass balls, he is ready to participate in the game, but finds himself unable to do so, because a man rushes out of the Collector with the response of the missive.

Making a gesture, the little messenger demonstrates the will to remain there, among the other children, but by telling him offensive words, the other tries to hit him in the head with a slap. But he escapes, takes away his message and shoots his way to his destination. His robes are wide, voluminous and grimy. His bare feet take him in a few minutes to disappear into the streets.

A few more quarters of an hour, the men leave the Collector, together and in a hurry."

* * *

LET´S GO, NOW, MY dear readers, meet other people who are involved in these messages and in these agitations:

Overcoming distance and climbing steps that give access to a poor residence, we come across some taciturn men and engaged in deep reflections.

Sweat bathes their foreheads and shines in droplets that fall on their colorful robes. Shoes in rustic sandals, his feet denounce long walks on the sand under the scorching sun.

A lady, very friendly and polite, enters the room bringing refreshments; which is widely approved.

After having ingested the tasty drinks, some take off the turbans, refreshing themselves.

In silence, just as she arrived, she's going. You must leave them at ease, not interfere.

Like the previous characters, these men begin to discuss:

– Galba, despite your position, what have you done in our favor? What good is it to you, after all, to be part of the welding?

– Well, Omar, what do I do but defend ourselves all the time? Oh, you know, if I wasn't part of the soldier, as you say! Bend your filthy tongue by talking about what you don't understand!

– Excuse me, Galba! - the other asks, something sorry - But it must be seen that we are hot! Each of us, at any moment, can be arrested, expatriate, cut, imprisoned, whatever! Nothing good is announced, despite the power you represent!

– Power that, not lightly, bumps into that of our opponents! - exclaims a toothless old man, sitting in a corner of the room.

– He's right, we know that! If it wasn't, we wouldn't be so scared! – they comment all, agitated.

– And what are we, after all, men or a litter of rats?! ...

He bursts impatiently, a beautiful boy, almost adolescent, black-eyed and brightly, dressed luxuriously.

Standing, in a challenging position, he continues:

– After all, where is the courage so touted by all? Where is the ideal that characterizes us? What about our purposes of revolution? The determination to up his from the people suffered and massacred by the powerful? The commitment to fight the bad guys, wherever they are? Before we were caught, have we ever been defeated by our fears? Where does the faith that guide our ways and decisions? Why, to me, you look like a bunch of damsels! – he spits aside in a sign of contempt.

Faced with this reckless attitude, the companions take their hands to the weapons they carry on the straps and inside their clothes, shooting him with angry looks.

– Ben Azir, I order you to stop these accusations and affront! We will not allow such disrespect! We are older than you and we have lived long enough to know that the recklessness that characterizes you at this moment can end up in a dimly lit corner, in prison, under blunt stones or even here, before all of us, reckless young man!

This says the one who appears to be the owner of the house. Stocky man, with hairy arms, hirsute beard, black and insightful eyes, imposing himself, providential and energetic.

– Watch out, Ben Azir! You're stepping on very, very, dangerous terrain! Maybe I'll soon be without that sharp tongue of yours! If I told you my 'exploits', you'd see that damsels aren't able to do what I do! You're a fool when you think you're braver than any of us! Look here, see where your few years can end!

Threatens another, very tanned, parched skin, cruel eyes, to display and rolling between her agile fingers her dagger, making her shine the sight of all as a form of intimidation.

Ignoring his empath, Ben Azir turns to the head of the house and the other, declaring:

– All right, excuse me for the exaggerations and the offenses! I know I'm very young, but the blood boils in my veins! Everyone knows how many acts of bravery I am capable of, for I have already given you irrefutable evidence! I fight for our cause and I have never refused the riskiest actions! As I watch them fight back, offend each other, weaken us, I am disgusted! That's why I'm venting, that's all!

Then, breathing deep and visibly contradicted, sits in the snoot.

– Better that way, my friend! Be more prudent and you will live to see your ideals realized! - says the same old man as before, conciliator.

– In fact, we're very nervous, but it's not with fights between us that we're going to get out of this situation! On the contrary, this will favor the enemy! – completes Galba.

– It's true!

Everyone agrees, except for one of them; the one who exhibited the dagger. In your eyes, threats against Ben Azir...

Jadhu has bad bofes, no excuse offenses. Your life is troubled and mysterious. The group accepts it because of the animals that it rents at affordable prices, when the need for travel, which the group makes for exchanges with other supporters of the cause.

In distant deserts or lush oases, they make their connections, whether with nomads, religious leaders, prominent personalities or influential politicians. They need rings.

2.-

BEN MORDEKAI AND PAULUS

In its rich and comfortable home, Ben Mordekai delights in the dishes offered to him by the maid; scolding and angry woman, always grumbling and distributing insolence.

When her mother left the world to enter the kingdom of God, she took the task of creating it. Ben Mordekai was then very small. Today he protects and stoically tolerates this woman. Perhaps he would not do it to anyone else, even if he owed him, as he should, the enormous gratitude of motherhood borrowed and well assumed, but also admires and wants her well, despite her irascible genius.

In the extension of the dining room, a lush garden of beautiful plants. Some were brought from distant regions. Exotic and fragrant flowers adorn it, making it a curious ornament for this house, which, by itself, is very interesting, in its sui generis decoration.

Ben Mordekai's wife loves the world, in what it offers of good, beautiful, comfortable and luxurious.

A wonderful vineyard, in the continuity of the extensive property, full and generous, makes the joy of its owners.

There, often, Ben Mordekai meditates, leaning on the Torah, extracting precious lessons from him that almost never find opponents, such is his perfection.

This vineyard does you great good for your soul and heart.

He routed it a few years ago from her unfortunate owner who fell into the recklessness (oh, how much insanity! ...) of duty taxes!

Sometime later she was legally attached to her lands, thus crowning her the increased efforts she had made to make her intense desire to possess it. For Ben Mordekai, the success of such an undertaking has become a matter of honor.

The former owner despaired at the great loss, naturally... Ben Mordekai understood and regretted him, really! Recklessness and irresponsibility, coupled with a proven dishonesty, led the unfortunate to the great collapse.

A few days after the fait accompli, very generous, as it is of his kind, Ben Mordekai put in the hands of those who conducted the procedures of the law, a considerable sum. After all, they earned it!

Paulus, the unfortunate who lost his rich, madly, had taken a few tips to leave things as they were. After all, what could he do?! The law is hard, but it must be enforced! Did he ignore this? In what world, after all, does this man live?!

At the time, unhappy and angry, Paulus got drunk, crazy, and went out into the streets shouting all his revolt, bothering the citizens who at those hours rested in their homes!! Well, how daring! He needed to be punished and he was!!

* * *

LOOK, OURSELVES, kind readers, dear readers, how things took place:

In the early hours of the morning, distressed, enjoying drinking, Paulus was surprised by Roman soldiers who had fun at his expense, turning him from here to there, as 'blind goat', leaving him dizzier than he was already by the fumes of alcohol. Amid debaucheries and laughter, his venerable beard, as well as his hair, made him ridiculous, before his demeanors

traditions, as a manly representative of his race.

They snatched his tunic, by the way rich work of craftsmanship, and the sandals of strong and shiny leather, leaving him in thongs, alone, ashamed and helpless.

Anyway, tired of their 'jokes', the soldiers were gone, while Paulus, lying to the ground, wept convulsively all his misfortune. His teeth were shocked, against each other, not only of cold, but of hatred, of much hatred!

When he arrived at the home of his wife's relatives, where they were sheltered, in favor, he was hated, harshly. They called him a fool, useless, old rag, family shame, and many other things, nothing beautiful to hear.

Deeply humiliated, he fell asleep in the open, in the back of the house and with the animals; trembling with cold and deeply disappointed in life and with men... His appearance was that of a scarecrow; ridiculous, dejected in his dignity and his generosity... Why did you suffer so much?! ... Your behavior has always been cleared!

Making a throwback, in the midst of tears, he recalls the harvest of that year: fed up, very full!! After selling it, he kept the money in his usual place, locking it up nicely. But inexplicably, he's gone!

Making a careful inquiry, discovered the thief. This one, under his roof, appeared, some time ago, as a friend. You ratted him out. They promised him to give back his small fortune.

Distressed, he was waiting, but the months went by and nothing...

He recently discovered (sordid the world! ...) that the thief, a friend of one of his sons, is the nephew of the mighty Ben Mordekai!

How to face such a personality? It would be a temerity, but what was at stake was his own survival and that of his family. Like this decided to fight for his rights.

In the face, the thief declared that Paulus had paid him an old gambling debt and then, dishonestly, accused him of theft to get the money back. How could Paulus have gambling debts if he never played in his life?

Much of that money would be for the payment of taxes; scorching, say in passing; but what to do? You should pay them; too bad you'd lose everything you had. There are not a few who go through such a disgrace. Paulus has seen these things happen to very rich people, who have reached the most extreme misery in a few months...

He attended the Collector's And there explained his situation. I would pay, in due course, the amount of that month. Fortunately, your bills will always be paid on time, they would serve as credit to you, in a just moratorium. However, how to understand what came next?! ...

Right there, in front of the tax collectors, Paulus heard, almost losing his mind, that his taxes had been delayed for years!!! ...

Before his eyes, unsurprisingly open, he was exposed, in officially signed and recognized sheets, accounts and more accounts, plus interest on interest!

Confused, faced with such absurd accusations, he imagined himself in a strange nightmare. He trembled on his legs and faltered, before the unusual situation. In his attempts to defend himself, with the naked truth, he was violently rejected and advised by the bailiff who are guarding himself there to withdraw for his own good.

Desperate, he walked from here to there, days and days, with no result, in an attempt to solve the painful, dark and inexplicable, pending. Finally, he was advised, with goodness, to lease his much-loved property in the lush Jordan Valley to Ben Mordekai. In the future, they said, I'd rescue everything.

They promised to review your situation very carefully.

Paulus explained, very rationally, that the one who had created such problems was related to the personality cited. In response, they exposed to him the rare qualities of Ben Mordekai, which they did not guarantee, looked like his nephew. He would protect his heritage and thus, in time, return to his hands.

Paulus regretted not having come before with such a kind employee! Things would have been easier! Who knows, you'd have solved it in the best possible way?

Thanking him, he returned home, awaiting future legal action.

But time passed and during the lease, inexplicably prevented, under threats, from approaching his beloved vineyard, added debts and more debts...

His family, in addition to not helping him, despised him, leaving him on the sidelines of their lives.

Tireless, every time he tried to defend himself, he returned home more confused than before. That good employee, repeatedly sought by him, would be traveling indefinitely; on duty, they said... The strangest of all: the roles presented of the debts that accumulated, frighteningly, were legal; admittedly, legal (?!).

After some time, he began to hear threats, veiled some, others more forceful... They told him that he was stealing the precious time of the authorities who were there to defend the people (!).

Considered insane, in his patent defenses and complaints, he was being left out. He was no longer received: he spent hours and hours in the rooms of internal affairs, from here to there, going to this or that, hoping to be heard. Humbly, he asked to be answered, but he was told that 'the competent authorities' forbade anyone else to deal with his cause.

One day, exasperated, he offended those authorities and took painful cane strikes on his back, already bent by years of hard work in the hard work of plantations.

That day, Paulus wept like a child, in a solitary dismay. He cried not only in physical pain, but also of shame, of humiliation! Now, humiliation and embarrassments have been accompanying him wherever he goes...

Some more time passed and months later, summoned, full of hope, attended, presto.

Expectant positioned himself, humble. Hope knocking at the doors of your suffering heart. He waited for the pronouncement and he did not wait:

He was informed that the current tenant, Ben Mordekai, had paid his huge debts, thus becoming, before the courts, the current and legal owner of his rich property. In shock, about to suffer a sudden evil, such as the pain of his revolt, Paulus used every argument, possible and imaginable, uselessly.

A yellowish man, with his spleens and parched hands, warned:

– If you want to at least save your despicable carcass, forget all that and never show up here again, you understand?? On other people's land, you have no rights!

Another, with a moldy smile on his fleshy lips, clarified, while taking care of many roles, separating them by specificity:

– You know how these things are, don't you? Sometimes, on some corner, an unfortunate takes our lives and besides losing everything we have, we give our souls to the devil. Hurrah!

Blinking an eye, staging a complicity far from existing, he indicated with a subtle gesture to his co-worker that he had advised Paulus to preserve life while adding:

– Listen to the voice of reason! Better leave everything as it is, believe me! Calmly and over time, you will get it all over again, but never forget the great lesson that life has given you: work hard, as we do, all of us, and going forward, don't take taxes! It's putting the rope around your neck! Today, you know that! Go away and never come back here, it's the best you can do for yourself! – then turned to other interests, forgetting him there, ecstatic, as an undead...

Obtuse, Paulus had heard everything. Your luck was sacramented, legally! From then on, he possessed nothing! What's to be done? ... God! How can we forget that day?! ... Impossible! As long as he lives, Paulus will feel it, like burning iron, in his own soul! In a few months, he became miserable, with no means of survival! He had worked his whole life and had nothing of his own!

Running over in his own footsteps, he returned home; tears running, head throbbing, heart wildly.

His wife, crazy, blaming him, called him useless and incompetent. Going to the rays of the threw him, he threw it in his face that he had almost married another party, smarter and richer.

Can anyone suffer more?? Paulus doubts.

Since arriving in Jerusalem from Turkey, he has worked from sun to sun, without rest and without complaint, to reach the level that his wife craved and, why not say, he too. Through his work, he acquired goods and money for everyone's comfort and for safety in his old age...

There, however, he had always been seen as an enemy, as an invader. Envy constantly accompanied him, step by step, angry looks followed him wherever he went... You should have gone back to your land. Yes, you should...

Today, poor and unprotected, suffers the hard-ass of hell!

His people despise him, blaming him for his misery, but if they knew he had no defenses! Who fell into a den of poisonous snakes! And still did much, saving himself (well, for them this is not important)!

As a result of the days, his cup of bitterness never seemed to run out: a bitter drop, one more, and one more, which by itself announces the following... 'Oh, God of mercy! When will I have peace? When I understand why so many misadventures??'.

Paulus, like Job, wept in the wailing of the defeated.

In a patent solitude, he felt the last of men on the face of the earth. Meanwhile, Ben Mordekai lives wide, happy, accomplished!

This man, rich and powerful, attached to his goods, which are already innumerable, the rich and productive estate of Paulus.

In it, Ben Mordekai benefits from the mild climate and the peace that comforts him. After all, their religious, social and political performance is very important to its people.

His peers, in constant challenge, demand an increasing knowledge of the laws. His enemies, declared or not, force him to protect himself and his own daily, and in this mister, he invests high stakes.

Above all, religion must be preserved! Yes, for this, Ben Mordekai will give his life, without blinking! How much you have suffered, by the principles issued in the law! And so it will be, until your last breath of life.

Around him, willing and obedient coreligionists. Most of his time lives among the scriptures, adding them to the various problems that exude him, healing out. Of your authority and good will, how many things depend!

Right now, while thoroughly analyzing some texts of the Mosaic laws, he thinks of the revolts that must suffocate almost every day, in a precious time that could be fully of exegesis. Fortunately, they can always settle everything. With the support of Rome, they dominate any rebellion and punish the guilty.

Oh, damn scoot, your end is near! We'll get everyone and every one of this viper baskets! Very difficult, if not impossible, to fight us! If you don't understand, yet, why things are as they are, sooner or later, they will! We are the guardians of good and truth! – among these and other similar thoughts, Ben Mordekai gets ready his theses to be addressed to his peers, who in turn will also take his own. But better than Ben Mordekai's, they don't exist! He's proud of it and so is his family. The success of your life depends on the lyrics.

Becoming doctor of the law, he was walking steps, intensely and courageously, leaving many others behind.

His childhood was invalid, he doesn't even like to remember: feet on the ground, dirty clothes, empty stomachs, runny nose... Put it on! Tough times! Few know his past of misery. His homeland is a little distant and relatives who do not interest him, absolutely, because they do not have the same social condition, have already been forgotten. Each do for himself, as I did! I fought and got where I wanted to go. What do I care about the lazy and the settled? Now, there are paths and there are many! One must find out which one or how many of them are at our disposal; then, making use of intelligence and courage, get to where we want!

How far will Ben Mordekai go? The stars of the firmament? No doubt you won't take it any less! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will allow you... everything!

He settles better in his luxurious seat, under a vigorous heck, carry, and there examines the law, with care and dedication, remarkable! Certainly, it will shine in the exposition of the conclusions reached, even if they are questioned and discussed, heatedly, by so many others who, in the same disposition of mind and with the same dedication, have reached completely opposite deductions.

This, after all, is not the most important thing! What weighs is the effort, individual, in the work that concerns them, in the opportunity to display their knowledge in the midst of far-fetched words, in the patent revelation of their cultures, thus justifying the time and expenses arising from their sacred attributions.

The courage to confront others and impose their views on them is indispensable, determining the principles of the law that will be brought to the people! Yes, it will have been very worthwhile: the effort, the time spent and any other charges that these meetings and their stays in them require.

Fulfilled their duty, returning to their homes, they are acclaimed and venerated wherever they go. So, they feel fully rewarded for the sacrifices they make for the people and religion.

Firm and wide strides, high heads, the luxury of clothing, haughty posture... All this identifies them:

– See! They are the great defenders of the laws of the Eternal! – passers-by comment, showing admiration and respect, somewhat intimidated.

Ben Mordekai's ears are always attentive to comments and compliments like these. Is there greater glory? No, Ben Mordekai does not know or crave! ...

Exhausted all possible and imaginable resources, Paulus found himself, hopelessly, vanquished and ruined.

It's never going to be the same. In the heart, a great sorrow. In mind, a disappointment without measures. And next to that, an obsessive desire to take revenge.

Nowadays, he walks through life just like a dry leaf that the strong wind carries... Rumina, alone and abandoned, her torments... No word of support, encouragement, comfort, balm, for your great pain...

He planned several ways to get revenge to give back what they did to him. I slept through tears, swollen eyes, body ached... He was at aimless, like drunk of the soul...

His steps, on many occasions, led him to the Collector. In others, it automatically reached internal affairs... In the vicinity of both, he reviewed those who attended and referred 'satisfactorily' his case, as they should do with so many others...

He longed, countless times, for an opportunity to cast to their faces the great evil they did to him, but if he did, it could further complicate his life. This, you understand very well. Now you know, no mistake, how this machine works.

But time passed and his feelings, once exacerbated, were faded as in a picture whose paints fade the most vibrant colors, leaving only a scare of the old painting...

Gradually, Paulus was recovering the longing peace. Despite the sufferings and the enormous needs, hatred finally came out of his heart. He sighed relieved when he felt able to forgive those who harmed him. His good nature had prevented him from extreme acts.

Now, not knowing what to do or what direction to give to your life, you trust in Divine Providence.

Often humiliated by the family and despised for not providing them with what they were used to, he decides to leave home. But... Where to??

The answer is not expected, when in his thoughts arises, suddenly, the loving figure of his daughter-in-law Milcah, widow of his son Enoch. He decides to visit her. Long removed from his family, Milcah ignores his financial downfall and torments.

A few days later, as she answers the door of her humble residence, she comes to her father-in-law. Thrilled, receives it, effusive, barely believing in the blessing of that moment. They both sit down after the emotional greetings and talk about everything a little bit.

Milcah asks him for everyone and he explains to him, finally, the situation in which he struggles and the deplorable behavior of the family.

Hearing her the painful narrative, she regrets, sincerely.

Her dear father-in-law reminds you of Job, in the misfortunes that have reached him...

She recalls that she had left the family, because her husband had had a fall out with her father, never to look for him again, preventing her from doing so.

– My dear father, after the death of his son, I remained alone and distant, because I feared my mother-in-law's bad blows, excuse me. She always blamed me for the family disagreements.

– We both know, dear daughter, how hard you've worked to harmonize us, but Enoch and I never understood each other. Of all my children, he has always been the hardest and the most ungrateful. On that day of sad memory, when he tried to assault me with his young force, ignoring my fatherhood, disrespecting my beard, forgotten of his affiliate duties, I decided to face him, definitely. He then walked away, in an unjustified anger, blaming me for all his frustrations. On that occasion, deeply hurt, you blamed him, but it didn't do any good, remember?

– How to forget, if I still bring in the retina the painful images of everything?

– He and I used to live in disagreement all the time! How sorry I am, Milcah... This pain has always accompanied me and still hurts me a lot today.

– I know, I know... You've always been a loving father... He worked his whole life to give them everything they wanted. How much you've sacrificed for your family!

– Now, daughter, imagine, ingrates, they turned their backs on me! Can there be greater pain? " Paulus does not contain himself and cries softly, swerve his face, ashamed.

Milcah hugs him by the shoulders and agrees:

– No, dear, loving father, no. Nevertheless, forget it, yes? All this will pass, one way or another...

– Yes, one day this wound will heal like all the others that life has made me.

Breathing deep and smiling to cheer Paulus up, Milcah concludes:

– After all, this painful circumstance has brought us back together!

– It's true... I always remember your pilgrim beauty and your goodness, cream, when you were engaged to my son. This one, rebellious and ungrateful, didn't deserve it. What I feared happened, he made her very unhappy. You did not value the blessing of receiving you as your wife.

– While Enoch lived, we had a lot of trouble because of his irascible genius. He was constantly dismaying me. Today, however, I feel sorry for him because, in fact, he was more unhappy than all of us!

But let's forget the sad things, shall we? Stay as long as you want! I'll do everything I can to make you feel good! This is as much your house as mine! Be at ease and May God bless the moment when you, my father, have entranced the portals of this home!

– So be it! I'm already feeling at home, thank you! This is a new situation, in the face of everything I have lived. May the Peace of the Lord dwell in this house and cover it with blessings, my child!

Embraced to him, Milcah demands the other rooms of the humble residence, in the intention of well installing it.

Offering him the roof and food, fruit of his hard-working handmade carpet, added to a great affection and respect, Milcah soon saw his dear father-in-law renew himself and look at life with courage, again trusting in a better future, despite the extreme penury.

Thus, many months passed, in a fraternal and laborious coexistence.

His people seem to have forgotten him, as if he had never existed and been a part of their lives.

Paulus, refreshed and well disposed, began to assist his daughter-in-law in carpet weaving; work he knows, very well.

Then, from his laborious hands and his creative mind, beautiful works of art emerged, making the most powerful merchants of the place run up to them. Accustomed to work, since young, wisely and skill to trade, in a few years, Paulus became again rich.

Next to him, the life of his beloved daughter-in-law has changed radically for the better. He, one day thrown into the street of bitterness, was again happy. It's not uncommon to hear him sing while he's working. Paulus has a privileged voice.

His family, degenerate and ungrateful, who had stayed at a distance, knowing from some close relatives that Paulus had returned to a comfortable life, tried some interested attacks but he, still hurt and afraid to lose the peace recovered with so much effort, decided to stay away. He has forgiven them all, but he fears their approach. You know them very well. They are self-interested, accommodating, disrespectful, insensitive and ungrateful.

Your wife doesn't even miss you. She really likes to be away from her. 'They decided so...' he concluded.

Your life keeps promising a lot. Thanks to Milcah's help, his own efforts and the talent for making honest money, he is moving to an increasingly financial position.

Thank God and continue on his new journey, in another city and in a new life.

3.-

IN THE FIRST INSTANCE

Harmonized in the same