n and the moon appeared. He made
the sun and the moon move to produce day and night. He elaborated and
perfected the ten thousand things; but in creating the first man, he
endowed him with perfect interior harmony. He enjoined him to watch
over the sea of his desires. His nature was without vice and without
error; his heart, pure and simple, was originally without disorderly
appetites.

2. But Sa-Thang propagated lies, and stained by his malice that which
had been pure and holy. He proclaimed, as a truth, the equality of
greatness, and upset all ideas. This is why three hundred and
sixty-five sects, lending each other a mutual support, formed a long
chain, and wove, so to speak, a net of law. Some put the creature in
the place of the Eternal, others denied the existence of beings, and
destroyed the two principles. Others instituted prayers and sacrifices
to obtain good fortune; others proclaimed their own sanctity to deceive
mankind. The minds of men labored, and were filled with anxiety;
aspirations after the supreme good were trampled down; thus perpetually
floating about they attained to nothing, and all went from bad to
worse. The darkness thickened, men lost their sight, and for a long
time they wandered without being able to find it again.

3. Then our Triune God communicated his substance to the very venerable
Mi-chi-ho (Messiah), who, veiling his true majesty, appeared in the
world in the likeness of a man. The celestial spirits manifested their
joy, and a virgin brought forth the saint in Ta-Thsin. The most
splendid constellations announced this happy event; the Persians saw
the splendor, and ran to pay tribute. He fulfilled what was said of old
by the twenty-four saints; he organized, by his precepts, both families
and kingdoms; he instituted the new religion according to the true
notion of the Trinity in Unity; he regulated conscience by the true
faith; he signified to the world the eight commandments, and purged
humanity from its pollutions by opening the door to the three virtues.
He diffused life and extinguished death; he suspended the luminous sun
to destroy the dwelling of darkness, and then the lies of demons passed
away. He directed the bark of mercy towards the palace of light, and
all creatures endowed with intelligence have been succored. After
having consummated this act of power, he rose at mi