The Logos: The Meletic Testament (Chapter 4 The Testimony)
Lorient Montaner
đź“ś Chapter 4: The Testimony
1. And it came to pass that the growing voices of dissent in Athens grew vociferous and angry, as the city had divided between the believers of ancient tradition, and the new believers of the Christian faith.
2. One could see clearly the conviction in those people who bowed to the old gods, and those people who knelt to the new one, named the Messiah.
3. They called Asterion a deceiver, heretic and corrupter of the sacred order of things. He was nothing of the sort. They were merely envious of an old man who was poor but humble, and who revealed their hidden truths.
4. For he spoke not of Olympus nor of Golgotha, but of To Ena instead with a sincere tone in his voice that reflected his philosophy and the teachings that bore his wisdom.
5. And To Ena had no divinity to be evoked with prayers, no altar, no blood sacrifice in its name to worship. It was not an omnipotent deity that sought reward or glory.
6. Only the recognition of the truth, and the fire of awakening that ran in the veins of Asterion, who always reminded us that he was only a man who spoke philosophy.
7. So one day, they brought him like a common criminal who had committed an offence, before a magistrate who was a man of law but not of understanding.
8. The chamber was stone, cold and echoing, as if it was built to quiet any voices who dared to confront the law with objection. There was utter silence when Asterion had entered.
9. He stood without any fear reflected in his eyes, yet all eyes who were present saw him bound. He was no menace, for he was only a man who was thin and worn in his appearance.
10. The magistrate asked him, as he stared into his eyes seeking to know the truth—Do you deny the charges against you?
11. Asterion replied—I deny nothing, for I have done nothing but speak my peace. Ask those people who have heard me speak; for they are my witnesses.
12. Since I have you before me, I shall ask—Then you confess, to what they accuse you of?
13. I confess only that the truth is not owned by any gods or men, who seat upon thrones—he would answer.
14. As he stood before the magistrate, he was directly asked the question—Then, you deny the gods, and even the Christian God?
15. —I deny that which I have no need for. Let the Pagans and Christians believe in what they believe. I am no one to change their minds, but I tell you that when they come to me, I shall tell them what I believe in To Ena, the One.
16. The magistrate asked with a keen interest expressed—To Ena, the One. Who is this One that I may know of its presence?
17. It is the underlying source of all existential reality and life—Asterion replied afterwards with a sincere admission.
18. —How do you know what you say is actually true? And can you prove it? It could be a falsehood after all. The magistrate looked into the eyes of Asterion, as he was seated.
19. It is not a matter of whether I believe it is true, but will you believe it is true?—Asterion said.
20. —Your words reveal the depth of your wisdom, but it does not answer my question.
21. —Then, I shall tell you this. That which is the truth of To Ena is reflected, not in the worth of my words or philosophy, but in the presence of life itself. Look around you.
22. What do you mean by that statement?—The magistrate asked Asterion directly, as he rose to his feet, and began looking around him.
23. —When you see the starlight, what do you see? When you see the moonlight, what do you see? When you see a rainbow, what do you see? And lastly, when you see the sunlight, what do you see?
24. —But these things you mention come from the stars, the moon, the sky, and the sun.
25. These things may appear to becoming from where you say they derive, but they come from the cosmic order of the Logos—Asterion replied.
26. The magistrate listened closely—But where does this Logos of yours come from then?
27. —The Logos comes from To Ena, just as the stars, the moon, the rainbow, and the sun.
28. You realise that I have authority over you to decide your fate. An authority that I hold over you—the magistrate emphasised.
29. Asterion looked into the eyes of the magistrate—The same authority that is held over you as well. For you see, you too must be accountable for your actions and bow to this authority.
30. The crowd suddenly murmured—some in anger, some in awe with his audacity displayed.
31. At first, the magistrate frowned, for he saw no fear in Asterion’s eyes nor in his posture.
32. —Indeed you are bold old man, but you must be punished or exiled. I have no other choice but to silence you.
33. And Asterion said—If punishment is the price of honesty, then let it be paid not through my sweat, but through my wisdom.
34. But from amongst the crowd came sudden cries in uproar—not of condemnation, but of pleading to be merciful towards Asterion.
35. His students, his followers, those who had studied under his teaching could not see him being punished. They could not fathom any offence that a poor man like their teacher could commit that was so serious in its nature and a threat to Rome.
36. Go. Live. Teach elsewhere. Please, let not this place be your final tomb—they begged him.
37. Asterion turned to the magistrate and said with no doubt in his eyes. He understood his situation, knowing that his options were limited and few that were available to him.
38. —Exile is but a change of soil only. Truth grows wherever it is planted. I think not of myself, for I am not selfish as the ego of others. I think of those poor individuals who beg me to live. Wherefore, shall I make them suffer?
39. The magistrate, unmoved had declared his decision. He knew that his decision would please some who were the enemies of Ariston and angry those who were his supporters.
40. —Then let it be so. You shall leave this city by dawn on your own accord, and return, until allowed to. Is that clear?
41. Understood—said Asterion. And the seal was struck, not with justice, but with the imposition of Roman law that had sentenced Asterion to an unjust exile.
42. Before he dismissed Asterion, the magistrate asked one last question to Asterion—Are you a prophet or a mystic?
43. Asterion would reply with candour in his words that reflected his wisdom—I am neither; for I am just a man.
44. —Then you are neither the son of Zeus, or the son of another god like the Christians profess of their Christ?
45. Asterion smiled and acknowledged—No, I am only the son of the earth that bore me and of the stars that witnessed my birth.
46. That night, the city did not sleep as usually it did. The stars above of the cosmos, looked down unto Athens. Lamps burnt in quiet homes, and voices whispered in alleys about the exile of Asterion.
47. Some people curst his name in public, others wept for him, knowing he would be leaving the city, as an exiled man; but Asterion sat beneath the olive tree, unmoved, as the stars above watched in silence.
48. His students gathered once more, not with fiery torches, but with trembling hearts of anguish that had to accept the fact that their teacher would be exiled.
49. —Teacher, we shall go with you, wherever you decide to go. We cannot let you go alone.
50. But he answered to them—No. My conscience is not a caravan—it is a torch that I must carry alone. Carry my wisdom where you stand, and know that I shall triumph not out of glory, but with reason.
51. They will forget and not allow you to return so easily—one student cried from amongst the others.
52. He said—Then remind them. Not with impassioned words that speak with vengeance, but with the being that resides in your souls.
53. At dawn, he walked afterwards through the city gates, as an exiled man for the second time in his life. He was once abandoned as a child. No guards escorted him—none dared bother to care about his exile. They had other matters to think about. They effectuated their instructions.
54. The wind carried his garment like a banner, as a sign of his valour. And behind him was the silence that attested to his exile from Athens. The city that saw him be born, would witness his exile too.
55. Not a silence of absence, but of reverence for a man who appeared poor in wealth, but was enriched in the soul. A man who his enemies sought to silence.
56. The magistrate watched from his high window, intrigued. There was this unusual premonition that he was sensing, as if with the exile of Asterion, his good fortune would change.
57. And he said to his scribe —Behold, he leaves as an exiled man, but they will remember him as someone more than that.
58. The scribe nodded, knowing that the exile of Asterion would unsettle his students and spread rumours about the true motive behind his departure.
59. In the days that followed, the city changed. Not because Asterion was exiled, but because the people had reacted. The public buildings stood tall in their structure, but fewer even cared to enter.
60. The bustle of the agora continued its course, but fewer listened to its daily noise. For Asterion had planted something deeper than mere doctrine. He had planted a philosophy.
61. Children asked their parents with intrigue—Who was he? Or why was he exiled in the first place?
62. And the wise parents would answer their questions—A man who spoke without shouting or demanding.
63. He was indeed, a man who taught without commanding. Instead, he taught with wisdom in his mind and compassion in his heart.
64. A man who left behind his remembrance for others, but never truly departed from life itself, because he was the symbol that epitomised life.
65. And in hidden corners, scrolls were copied then to record the event of his exile from Athens. Not of law, but of light that bore the reflection of his thoughts and of his wisdom practised.
66. His words once condemned, became a powerful refuge for the poor and suffering in society, who were ostracised and forgotten by the elite Athenians and others.
67. His exile once a punishment, became a lasting call to save his philosophical teachings. And I proceeded to write emphatic words of him, for all to read and to understand also.
68. Thus, they cast him out like a wretched thief, but he became the horizon to look for. They silenced him, but he became the echo that reached the ears of his students.
69. Thence, they feared him like a man does of his foe, because he dared to defy them with his courage. And freedom to the bound is heresy that must be condemned and spoke against always.
70. So let this testimony of his be not about a trial or an exile, but of the truth that he revealed through his philosophy and words.
71. After the decree was issued, Asterion did not retreat out disgrace or fear of retribution. Before he had left the city, he stood amongst his students before a sturdy pillar, not as a victim, but as a witness to the events that exiled him.
72. He told all who were present, who wondered why he did not resist, to not think of him as a coward; for his decision was more about them than him.
73. It is because the truth does not wrestle with falsehood—it reveals itself amidst that falsehood. When one is confronted with the truth, one must accept that he is stronger than before.
74. They gathered in the courtyard with sorrow in their eyes, beneath the cracked columns. Some wept incessantly, whilst others clenched their fists out of anger and annoyance.
75. You are innocent—they cried all in unanimity. They supported Asterion until the end, and had the perception that he would return one day sooner than later.
76. —Then let innocence be my exile. Do not allow your anger to overcome your sense of rationality.
77. They can call me a heretic, but I speak only my truth. Let that comfort you in your hour of anger—he continued.
78. —Because I spoke in public only of To Ena, which is neither sanctified nor condemned. This was my crime in public for the world to see.
79. —I told them that To Ena does not demand worship like a god—it inspires awakening in one.
80. —And to those people who fear awakening and hide in their cloaks of fear, even silence is rebellion to them.
79. A young student then asked—But why do you not fight to be cleared of your injustice?
80. Asterion smiled—It is the breath before thought, young man. The stillness beneath desire. To be defiant, would only provoke my antagonists against all of you, who are my students.
81. —It is not on the behalf of a god, nor a law, nor a name I speak of or address in public or in privacy.
82. —It is what remains when all names fall away, after they are seen for their falsehood.
83. Another asked—Why do they condemn you without true evidence? What crime have you committed that warrants exile?
84. That is simple to answer, because the truth cannot be owned, and they need no evidence to please their egos—Asterion said.
85. Asterion was correct, when he said that the truth cannot be owned and cannot be controlled, unless it allows itself to be controlled in the first place.
86. And what cannot be controlled, terrifies even the powerful ones who sit upon their thrones, or stand before an assembly that has gathered to listen to them speak of rule.
87. Let me tell you a story of mine. One that will enrich your knowledge—Asterion told his students.
88. He began by saying—There was once a unique lantern that burnt without oil it seemed.
89. —The priests declared it blasphemy, for it defied the rituals they performed or practised.
90. —The scholars declared it immediately fraud, for it defied the logic they had studied in the academies.
91. —But the children gathered around it sensing something relevant, and saw by its light the presence of something they had not sensed before with their attention.
92. —And my students, that is To Ena. All that is represented by being. It its being and nothing more that defines our existence.
93. He had another story to share that he hoped would stay in the depth of our minds, believing that it would enlighten our thoughts.
94. It was about an unusual man who was a stranger who once climbed a tall mountain to find his truth. It was a journey like no other for him.
95. At the summit despite his weariness and determination, he found only a mirror of himself and nothing more.
96. He smashed it, thinking it was a mockery of his guise, and wasted effort of his climbing that had left bemused.
97. Then he descended, unchanged with great disgust, as if he had discovered not what he was searching, but absolute failure instead that represented his life.
98. The moral of the story was that the truth is not hidden as one believes to be the case—it is refused to those people who only seek its reward as a blessing to the ego.
99. A student asked with curiosity—Should we fight for you? How can we just do nothing and not react against this injustice?
100. Asterion replied as he stared at the student—I do not need you to fight for me, but to be patient in your character. It is easier to fight than to be patient. Sometimes, we must heed the soul than the mind.
101. He paused before he continued with his speech—If you must fight, fight first your own struggle in life.
102. He told us to resist, resist forgetting. To know that the truth is always our witness in life. As long as we carried the truth with us, then it would not forsake us.
103. He told us to not build shrines in his name after his death, and to not honour him like a prophet or a glorified sage of history.
104. He told us to not carve his words into mere stone as a sign of remembrance, but to settle on his reputation as a philosopher instead.
105. To let those words live in breath, in silence, in awareness, and in choice. For in these things, we shall find him still present in the world of the living.
106. For once written, the truth must bear justice afterwards, because the law forgets why it was born to bear justice, when that truth is not revealed for what it truly represents.
107. They will lead you all astray, if you dare to listen to their slandering of my name and turn your backs on me—he warned.
108. He warned us also that they would say that they had abandoned the gods out of pride, and therefore, they too should be punished or exiled.
109. He smiled, and then ask the students what had they found to reward their souls?
110. If they answered with fear, they had abandoned everything. On the contrary, if not, it showed that they have gained everything that wisdom will demonstrate, when they speak with the truth.
111. He told them to not be tempted so easily by manifold things in life, but to know that temptation can never defeat virtues, if they are aware of their character.
112. That they would attempt to make us all believe in false things that they would speak against us thereof, with lies that were intended to spread the accusation of Asterion's guilt than innocence.
113. He told them to resist this as we dwell amongst the naysayers, if we deem him honourable and our teacher. There was nothing that these naysayers could say that could tarnish the truth that he revealed.
114. For causes divide, but To Ena unites. It was something to never forget. In unity, we shall all thrive in philosophy. Meleticism is that philosophy.
115. Perhaps, we would be lonely after his departure as he was cast into the shadow of exile, but no man can tear asunder the will of another, unless he allows it to happen.
116. For few people walk without maps in life to reach the ultimate destination in their journey, but the Meletics know that the path they take is one that is fulfilling.
117. It is that loneliness that we shall hear the world again stir. Not to clamour his betrayal, but to honour his memory, as it should be honoured as a man of trust.
118. Not as the bustle to detest that one hears daily in the streets, but as music to heed the soothing cadence that was often heard of the voice in his sincerity.
119. To know that we shall indeed be mocked by others, who scorn him and seek to silence his voice, because they are threatened by his message or his philosophy.
120. For those people who live in hatred, we should not spite them; for we uphold the greatest virtue that is wisdom that they covet and are indifferent of its meaning.
121. He urged us again not to act in vengeance against them; for they are merely ignorant of themselves.
122. They are not your enemy that we must defeat with the sword—they are our mirror, unawakened. That is all. He told us to not let them corrupt our souls.
123. When we doubt, know that we can return to our selves, knowing that it is our soul that guides us with the way of the truth.
124. To return to the stillness that awakens our souls, and the awareness that guides us wisely, as we had to endure the exile of Asterion.
125. To return not to him out of an act of devotion, nor with words alone, but to the genuine breath that comes before our thoughts.
126. There, To Ena waits for us all who embrace its presence. This was the final message that he said before leaving us all to begin his exile.
127. The courtyard was quiet then, save for the wind threading through the leaves, as the students departed. I remained. Asterion sat upon the earth, his back against the oldest tree, observing what would be his last time in Athens, until he could return once more.
128. I sat beside him, not as a student of philosophy, but as a son of thought. He was like a father to me, who I had admired tremendously. What he gave me in life, not even my father could have given to me.
129. Heromenes, you have heard my words uttered like the others gathered. Now hear my silence in my absence—he said.
130. I did not speak; for I did not know what to reply. I merely waited in anticipation, as the hour of his departure was nigh.
131. He told me that Athens will forget him, but I must not. I am the root of his tree. Without me, that tree would simply die if not taken care of.
132. I knew better, they would not forget him for his sake, but for ours to expand, as well as Meleticism. It was a task that was bestowed upon us—not as a gift, but as a thing of honour.
134. For memory is not about the importance of names or the glory they have achieved—it is more about the direction in life we take and choose to embark.
135. He plucked a single olive from the branch and held it in his palm contemplating, as he then expressed his final words to me before he left Athens.
136. He told me that the fruit was bitter until it is pressed against the surface. This was an obvious sign for me to remember the presence of the soul.
137. So too the soul—it must be pressed to yield the conscience, and allow it to continue to exist within us—he uttered.
138. —And I have been pressed, Heromenes. By wealth, by truth, and now by the thought of exile.
139. He did not regret the magistrate’s decree imposed upon him; for he knew that he could not change the decree. He did what he was ordered to do. Who was anyone to fault him for that?
140. For this decree has freed him from the terrible illusion of pretending to be someone else than who he was. Asterion would never compromise to injustice. He merely accepted it in this case.
141. He belonged to his soul afterwards. And his soul belonged to him. It had a life attachment to him. One that he was fully aware of its importance.
142. He told me that I must not defend him with anger, but be patient with understanding, as the days of his exile would become weeks, months, or even years.
143. To not argue on his behalf, but ignore the naysayers; for their vileness is not of their own making, but of their own ego of which is the worst of the foes man must deal with.
144. To let them speak with their fiery tongues as they speak falsehoods. To let them condemn with their injustice as they attack, and let them forget his name with their mockering.
145. And that I shall—remember that life is but one. We are not guaranteed the next day. We are only guaranteed the present moment in life.
146. To remember that the truth is not loud in voices that are represented in the form of power and prestige. Instead, it is loud in thought and message that is full of wisdom and knowledge.
147. It does not shout in the ample courts of the politicians or the triumph in the debates of philosophers gathered in symposiums, who think they are the voice of Socrates, Plato or Aristotle.
148. It waits in the grove to be heard, in the breath and in the gaze to be witnessed by all who sense its presence. It is this truth that reveals the philosophy of Meleticism.
149. He looked at me then, and I saw no fear in his eyes. I saw the acceptance of his exile. Only the calmness of one who had already departed in his soul, and was waiting for his body to do so also.
150. I shall walk away now, but I shall not be gone for long. For I tell you that I shall return one day—he said.
151. —For now, you must carry me, Heromenes. Not in the scrolls written, but in the awareness of your soul.
152. —Do not only teach my words, but spread my wisdom, with the knowledge of my philosophy.
153. He taught me the meaning of the understanding of them, and that I would discover how others teach others their meaning. This was his message to me.
154. For words are merely seeds in the ground, but understanding is the fruit that one tastes and one talks about to others. No man should have to speak on the behalf of another man, unless that man has been unjustly attacked.
155. He taught me to not build animosity against those people who accused him blatantly and us of the acts of heresy. That we should care more about what the powerless ones in Athens think than the powerful ones.
156. He told me to concentrate instead, on building more questions. Build more awareness. Build more space for soulful awakening.
157. When they ask me, who do I follow, say that I follow what remains when all else fades, To Ena the One, not a god nor me.
158. The sun began to lower gradually, casting long shadows across the vastness of the grove. Asterion stood firmly, slowly, as if rising from the earth itself. The image of the sun in the background was as if nature was saying goodbye to Asterion before his untimely exile.
159. This was his final testimony, before his exile. He said to me—How ironic but yet beautiful is that the sun shall escort me in my exile.
160. He did not think at that moment about the magistrate who exiled him like a wretched criminal, nor the crowd who supported him—but of me who was his loyal student.
161. He said—Live rightly, Heromenes. I ask of you. It is not a debt I impose upon you, but more a request.
162. That in my life, I should live not loudly. Not proudly as well, but rightly so, as a student of Meleticism. The way of the truth was emphasised to me, to remind me of what was relevant from irrelevant.
163. When I spoke of him thereafter, it was not to speak of his exile. Instead, it was to speak of his wisdom that was more enduring than forsaken.
164. I spoke of the tree that was the face of nature that he so cherished, and spoke of To Ena, the unity of all being. To Asterion, To Ena was the main part of his message to us and to the world.
165. The tree stood still then, as if holding its breath, mourning the exile of Asterion. Asterion stood without any ceremony made, his figure blending into the olive shade.
166. No farewell was spoken or given, for none was needed. He did not want for his exile to overshadow his mission which was his philosophy. The silence between us had become personal and memorable. I could sense this as we reached the moment of his departure.
167. I watched him walk gradually away, each step a release of his burden or preoccupation for us. He did not look back once in his steps, and I did not call out his name to stop him from leaving.
168. The path he took was not marked by mere stones of men, but by the memory I had of him. And this memory that I treasured, I knew, would be my burden and at the same time, my gift.
169. I remained beneath the tree alone in my thoughts, where his words had settled like the fallen dust that trickles unto the ground itself.
170. The earth was warm that day, the air thick with olive scent that permeated over the courtyard, as I began to realise the magnitude of what his exile meant.
171. I pressed my palm to the soil, as if to anchor myself through the difficulty of his exile, feeling for a brief moment in time, a heavy woe in my heart.
172. And in that touch, I felt the instant pulse of something older than grief that haunted me. I felt my soul being uplifted and exposed.
173. The teachings he gave me were not mere lessons to be taught to others—they were awakenings of the soul. A soul that at times was dormant in me.
174. Teachings that were not to be recited in the halls of the academies, but to be lived in the streets, grove or anywhere else that the message of Meleticism would reach.
175. Not to be defended by the swift anger of vengeance that was unnecessary, but to be embodied by the very wisdom that he reflected in his knowledge.
176. I understood now: the truth does not survive in written scrolls as I once believed. It survives in the choices we make and take that personify our character.
177. I did not weep like a child would of his beloved parents; instead I thought only of his return that comforted me in my hour of despair and uncertainty.
178. Verily, for what he gave me in life could not be lost in memory or the passing of time—no matter how much I could not bear.
179. It had entered me like a fresh breath, like a fresh light or like the stillness itself that encompassed me with my growing awareness.
180. And I would carry it far—not as a religious doctrine to spread or preach to the masses, but as a direction in life to be guided.
181. The grove became my loyal companion and my witness, when I needed to find my thoughts alone, and spend hours pondering on his philosophy.
182. Its branches gradually whispered what Asterion no longer needed to say, or what he was contemplating, as if it too was aware of his unfortunate exile.
183. Its roots held the great weight of his silence and his absence that was quickly being felt. An absence that I would be counting its days, hoping to see him anon.
184. And I Heromenes, became the listener. And in time, I became the voice of the grove, remembering to honour the absence of Asterion. This was my endeavour.
185. I did not leave suddenly, when the sun fell upon the grove, as others usually would, because I did not want to hasten my thoughts of him and reduce them to time.
186. I remained behind, tracing the patterns of the shadow that were approaching from the horizon and the memory in the mind. These patterns were vivid and impressed in my thoughts.
187. The magistrate’s decree no longer mattered; for he was gone. There was nothing that I could do to change that outcome. This was something I often struggled with.
188. Even though, the city’s judgement had grown distant and bitter during the exile of Asterion, I continued to believe that there an injustice committed to Asterion.
189. What remained was indeed, the vastness of the grove, despite the absence of Asterion. The grove would never forsake or forget him, during his time away.
190. And the man who had walked from Athens without leaving, would begin a new chapter in his life. One that would take him from one place unto another.
191. I closed my eyes and breathed afresh, as he had taught me to do so before meditating my thoughts. This was my daily activity performed in the grove.
192. Slowly. Fully. Without any fear in my eyes or soul, I began to deal with his absence, not knowing where he would sleep or eat on a given day or night.
193. I did not vow to preserve his name for the sake of glory, because I knew he would return. This was something that I was opposed to in the beginning.
194. Instead, I vowed to preserve his way, as a loyal man who followed the guidance of his wisdom. It was his wisdom that brought me solace in my hour of despair.
195. In the way I listened attentively to his teachings and philosophy that enriched my knowledge.
196. In the way I forgave others who condemned him to the wretched loneliness of his exile.
197. In the way I stood still when others ran out of fear or retribution, solely because he was different than other sages.
198. In the way I chose silence over spectacle and hearsay, because I knew what was better for me and for his memory.
199. In the way I let the truth speak without my voice being silenced, amongst the naysayers who continued to tarnish his name.
200. And so, beneath the olive tree, I became the echo and testimony of Asterion. An echo that would spread in time, to others who were once doubters of his inspiring philosophy.
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