As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Simply, it is an inability to control the passions. The twitching of appetite. Fueled by intemperance, the chained man the locals identify as Legion is helplessly lost to the fires of his desires, an abscess to the universe, privation embodied. Know thy self. Take up and read. He is out of the natural order. A wet soul as we Greeks say, obviously a drunkard, progressively it becomes worse. Only a dry soul can attain wisdom. Look at him thrashing about, a terrible display. There is nothing logical, no mastering of the logos, not even a curiosity of something greater. It is pure barbarianism, a level barely above animalistic. He may as well have fur sprouting from his flesh. Where is the pursuit of virtue, the controlling of fate? Quisque faber suae fortunae.

“Notice the size of the man. Tremendous. He is even taller and stronger than I am, yet he is foreign to his own body, a stranger to himself. A man that size could be powerful in the gymnasium. Understand, training the body is also training the mind, developing discipline, comprehending limitations and then transcendence. One’s abilities to move beyond the accepted. Becoming whole. It is good we came here to watch this man fighting that which we are all born into. My voice has returned and the desert is behind us. Once again, your instincts proved correct my friend Paki. You were invaluable in the sand and heat, and now this experience promises the extraordinary. The journey is Homeric in its extraordinariness, even more than my wanderings into India, although I did not make it to the mountain mysteries of Tibet. There is something to be learned here.”

Paki saw that his companion, the Greek, Timoleon, had returned to his former self. The talker was talking, the snakebite and swollen throat behind him. During the crossing of the Sinai, Timoleon lost his voice from dehydration. Due to dryness, his tongue and throat swelled, restricting his breathing, nearly reaching a point of blockage. Eliminated, his voice became silent. Now he was back to never shutting up, knowing everything, verbally consistently loud.

Paki spoke to Timoleon. “The one the Hebrews in Alexandria are gossiping about is said to be near the Sea of Galilee. His camp is in the town of Capernaum. He is the true reason we come.”

“The one who brings a rebirth through a cleansing in sacred waters? A prophet like those from Hebrew scripture—my latest fascination.”

“No not him. That one baptized in the river Jordan. I did not tell you. One of the travelers informed me the baptizer, as the traveler called him, was named John. He was imprisoned and killed by the local tetrarch Herod, beheaded for the sake of a young woman. The traveler told me the baptizer was strong in words and following. Now the baptizer’s followers follow the one we seek, the one who produces miracles. Jesus of Capernaum he was called.”

“Jesus? I do not recall that name from their writing. Possibly it relates to Joshua, the warrior who would follow Moses, warring the Israelites to their Holy Land. This Jesus is the healer of the sick, the one who enables the blind to see.” Timoleon responded. “I wonder if he is recognized as the messiah they have prophesied about for years? Those Alexandrian Jews speak so much about one who is to come. A king to set the world aright, rumors constantly whispered. Talk of a miracle worker spreads fast. The literature of the Jews is engrossing, defining a God like no others, with the possible exception of Zeus. However Zeus was a God amongst Gods. The God of the Israelites rules solitary.

“Their scripture is truly on the level of Homer, engrossing and fantastic in human drama. Plato and Aristotle defined ethics, the study of right and wrong, proper behavior and responsibility, yet the Jews present such matters divinely through the mouth of their God. It is not a philosopher who speaks, but God, more precise and defining than the Delphi Oracle. The Jews are not men elucidating thoughts; rather they are men recording the words and laws of a Divine One.

“It is unique amongst all that I have read, quite enthralling in content. What a concept. A single God responsible for all creation, a jealous punishing God of righteousness who demands unwavering servitude, seeking to provide guidance for those he created, and yet constantly rebelling. Commandments, vows, consecration and rebellion, a constant falling away after a devastating original falling. It synchronizes so well with so many of my thoughts, and those of other profound thinkers. Man is imperfect, in need of an education. Truth is truth, and these Jews are onto something worth exploring. I feel I am discovering something fresh and new similar to my experiences in India. Although as Plato expresses, nothing is truly new. The most profound teaching is a revealing of that which already exists within us. Revelation is a more appropriate word than attaining”.

Paki was not sure he was happy to hear his companion so versed once again. Circumlocution a mastered art, his talking grew tiresome. Paki responded. “You know I am not familiar with their writing. The healer is why I came to this cursed land. That experience in the desert nearly turned me back, yet it did not. You seem to have recovered.” Paki hesitated, looking off before continuing. “The traveler also told me further news about the healer. Now there is word he has brought one back from the dead.”

“Do not remind me of our time in the desert. It is enough we are here alive. I have lived an extensive life, and nothing compares in tribulation with that accursed sand.”

Timoleon considered the words of his companion, studying him, reflecting upon the desert crossing, noticing Paki was lost to his own thoughts.

“Regarding the resurrecting of one from the dead, I say one thing: impossible, simply folk tales. We all know the common man’s love of lies. He will believe anything. Even the superiorly educated cannot resist a clever twist of the tongue. Factual truth is not so important for the making of popular talk. Resurrection, returning from the dead? Out of the question. If it were possible, we Greeks would have accomplished it years ago. These uncivilized people could never consummate such a thing.”

“It is not the people who claim to do anything. It is their God they give credit to. You should know that. You read their scripture.”

“Well of course. They make claims of their God being the true active God, a God alive in the world, One all powerful, greater than your Egyptian deities. In ancient times, our Greek gods were claimed to be conspicuously active in the world. At least, such things were written, spoken and believed. However, since our time of civilized enlightenment the gods have drawn back, allowing man freedom to rule his own destiny through creativity and intelligence. Belief does not matter. The refinement of the body and soul is my quest. Beauty. So much has been accomplished. Wisdom has been revealed and expanded in so many areas, yet we have never come close to conquering death. Chicanery is most likely the truth behind these tales of bringing one from the dead. Do these Israelites even have an oracle like the one who use to reside in Delphi? I know of their Arc of the Covenant, yet that was destroyed years ago by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. You spent time amongst them. Tell me what you think.”

“They spoke to me about prophets, and one to come, a messiah who would save their nation, bringing them all together in their holy homeland. You have read their words you know about such talk. They are a closed society, isolating their nation from outside influence. They are difficult to understand as they breed fear and mistrust with the distance they demand. They do not work well with those of different heritage. Neither imitation nor inclusion is a part of their customs. They are a stiff necked people as you say.

“I became intimate with a close-knit community of Jewish musicians. One of them sought me out for assistance in the attaining of a lyre such as I have. I was able to acquire one for him and then I helped him and his son master it, putting it to use in accompaniment to the psalms they sing in praise of their God. They would gather and allow me to partake of their music and song. I have a beautiful voice as you know and they like to hear their sacred words coming from my mouth. I distinctly recall a particular song. The words are quite beautiful. In many ways, reminding me of the poetry you read Timoleon. Paki sang.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside the still waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me through the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil,
for you are beside me:
your rod and your staff comfort me.
You spread a table before me
in the presence of my foes.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
Goodness and kindness will follow me
all the days of my life,
I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I live.

“It always brings me comfort to sing these words. The sphere of influence of your philosophers has diminished with the ascendancy of Rome. You should be more considerate. Look at my people of Egypt. Time is not kind. Everything is small in the shadow of the wonder my ancestors created; monuments beyond conception. Yet now time moves forward. We have become nothing but the bread basket of Rome. The producer of grain for a foreign master.”

“Excellent with the song. The Israelites know poetry. Its possibilities, beauty, and depth. Their prophets I know. Magnificent words you sing. What we Greeks established can never be conquered. Wisdom is beyond the grasp of military might. We provided intellectual wealth and beauty; the advancement of humankind: civilization; an accumulation through generations, beyond completion, beyond particularism or individualism, an amassing of intellect. Individuals can emerge as harbingers, yet none can embrace totality. In fact, as mysteries exist: submission, humility, and diligence are means for individual glimpses. Mysticism is the par excellence of scholarly efforts. Lets us not forget that Socrates was who he was because he acknowledged his limited facilities. He forsook delusion, the pursuit of the irrelevant, for the sake of the meaningful.

“Wisdom eluded Alexander the Great. Combing the attributes of Achilles and Ulysses, the way of the warrior and cleverness, Alexander dominated the world with might and mind, yet he could not master himself, never able to rise to the rank of king, dying as a conqueror, unable to fill the void within. The Stoics honorably carry on, as do others. An easy mistake on the path of wisdom is the misperception that one’s ways are only true if they are greater than others, wasting vital energy in attack and defense. The mastering is subtle and mistakes can easily sidetrack. Wisdom is entrenched, unwavering, always proceeding, seeking light, desiring to be known, universal and loving.”

“Egypt left physical monuments to be admired. We have discussed your country often enough, and you know my feelings on Rome. Regarding intellect, they are nothing but borrowers, incorporating the ideas, customs, and beliefs of others. Might and engineering is the reason for their rise to supremacy. Politically and practically they are astute, understanding the wisdom of not conquering people, more wisely, bringing them into their nation, establishing relations based upon mutual benefit.

“Through might, Rome has brought peace to the civilized world. Pax Romana. There is much to be admired regarding the rise of Rome. Romans were clever in understanding citizenship as something viable, offering a greater life to those they defeated through Roman citizenship, a constant unifying of city states shall we say. We had our democracy, which was quite revolutionary, yet we never understood the strength of unifying. Us Greeks always warred upon each other. Animosity was the rule between our city states, and never did we envision the conquered as equals, always taking slaves.

“I find it interesting what you say regarding the Jews being isolationists. In Alexandria, people view them with suspicion. Now with Roman domination, the idea of amassing great numbers for validation seems to be the way of power. The mob has learned to rule. Pericles knew the political power of amassing the mob. Others have perpetrated such treason to reason. The future will only bring similar nonsense. I am partial to the words of Heraclitus when he uttered the wisdom: One man in my sight is a match for thirty thousand, but the countless hosts do not make a single one. It takes enlightenment and wisdom to rule, education a must, philosophy combined with real world experience essential. A responsible landowner, one capable in the courts and markets, as well as the arts and ethics, understands the importance of balancing for the greater good. If a governor is one who only knows how to govern, society will pay the debt. When politics becomes an end in itself, a career, good judgment is overshadowed. Professional politicians learn too quickly how to shape the malleable mob. The mob is incapable of seeing past selfishness. The mob’s ignorance promises destruction; implosion and chaos a natural consequence. I am in favor of the elite, well-rounded men in philosophy and business, ruling matters. Augustus is such a man, yet I am not in favor of one man ruling many, for it is inevitable that men of limited abilities, ignorant in everything except politics, will seize power. In the scheme of time, we will see where the rule of an emperor takes Rome.”

Paki saw that Timoleon had unequivocally returned to his former self. He was slightly annoyed, yet he did admire the mind of his companion, absorbing his thoughts.

Timoleon continued. “Back to the Hebrews. It is obvious to intentionally stay aloof as a group is dangerous, a recipe for disaster. Speaking of isolation, your Egypt was a rarity. What allowed Egypt to flourish for so many years is no longer possible in our part of the world. Only from the sea, the Mediterranean, the sea that connects so many terrains, was Egypt open to armies. The sea was always a treacherous place, feared by many cultures, the Israelites being one, and where it met land dangers always existed. Young women know to avoid the coast. With pirates roaming and honest sailors favoring beautiful foreign girls, the coast promised abduction bound for strange lands for a pretty girl. Egypt was a geographical marvel, inaccessibility due to deserts. For armies, the deserts were a border. Oh my friend, how we learned to hate the desert ourselves.”

Timoleon, the Greek, talked on into the night.