Holos/Letter to Artemesia

Galeo, seeker of the Light, to my dear sister Artemesia:

Grace and peace be with you from all the brotherhood. It is a great comfort to have you among us and you see you grow and prosper in body and in spirit. I have not stopped giving thanks for you, blessed is the Whole.

I hope that I may be of some small help to guide you along the new and unclear path that you have chosen to walk with us. Though the way is kept in darkness, the Light will lead us ever forward.

When I was sent out by the divine Voice to bring true Knowledge to all humans, at first I was deeply troubled. I wondered for a long time what riddle the Voice was putting to me, for I do not have any Knowledge great or small. For many days I have turned my back on the world to wander in the land and investigate this question as I may.

One day I came to the hut of a man named Euthyphro, a wise man of spirits who commands the respect of his village. Euthyphro knows many stories about gods, large gods and small gods, gods of earth and sky, gods of bird and beast. I wanted to learn from Euthyphro how he had gained such great knowledge of the invisible world.

"The gods give me their favor and knowledge," he said, "because in all my life I do only what is holy."

"And what is holy?" I asked him.

"A thing that is holy," he said, "is a thing which is loved by all the gods."

"It is well," I answered, "but is a thing holy because the gods love it, or do they love it because it is holy?"

"I do not understand your question," he said.

"Let me try to ask more clearly," I said. "When a man carries a thing, we say that it is a carried thing, do we not?"

"We do say it is a carried thing," he agreed.

"Now, is it a carried thing because someone carries it, or for some other reason?"

"It is carried because someone carries it," he answered.

"So it is the act of someone carrying it that makes it a carried thing?"

"It is truth," he agreed.

"And a thing which is beloved, it is a beloved thing because someone loves it?"

"It is beloved because someone loves it," he agreed.

"Now a thing which is holy, is it loved by the gods because it is holy, or for some other reason?"

"It is loved by the gods because it is holy," he answered.

"But a thing which is beloved by the gods is beloved because the gods love it, because of the act of love, not that they love it because it is beloved?"

"It is truth," he agreed.

"But how can it be," I asked. "that these two things are identical? Because the thing holy causes the gods to love, but the thing beloved is caused by the loving action of the gods. And so when you spoke about what is holy, you did not describe its essence, you only mentioned something that has happened to this holiness, that it is loved by the gods. For if the holy thing causes the gods to love, then it should still be holy even if they did not love it, is it so?"

And he became angry with me, and threw me out of his hut, and I learned nothing from him.

On the next day I came to the house of a man named Laches, an experienced army captain of many battles. Laches knows how to train men for war, how to command them in ranks, and how to win their respect. I wanted to ask Laches how he had gained such great knowledge of the minds of men.

"I have found much knowledge on the battlefield," he said, "because I always face the enemy with courage."

"And what is courage?" I asked him.

"A man of courage," he said, "is one who does not run away, but stands his ground and fights the enemy."

"It is well," I answered, "but what about the man who fights running instead of standing?"

"Fights running how?" he asked.

"I have heard of armies that fight to weaken their enemy, where units charge in groups to deal the most damage, then withdraw quickly to preserve their strength. Is there also courage in that kind of fighting?"

"There is courage," he answered.

"So then what is the common quality which is called courage?"

"I do not understand your question," he said.

"Let me try to ask more clearly," I said. "When we speak of the quality called quickness, which is found in running, in learning, in crafting, and in many other actions, can we not apply the word quickness to all of them?"

"We can apply it," he agreed.

"And if we tried to find the common quality which is called quickness, could we not say that it is quality that accomplishes much in a little time?"

"We could say it," he agreed. "And so I could say that courage is a sort of endurance of the soul that all such acts have in common."

"It is well," I said. "And when we speak of courage, we consider it to be a noble quality?"

"Very noble," he agreed.

"And so then wise endurance is a good and noble quality?"

"It is also noble," he agreed.

"But is there not also a kind of foolish endurance that is evil and hurtful?"

"There is such a thing," he agreed.

"And nothing that is evil or hurtful can ever be noble?"

"It is truth," he agreed.

"And a man who stands and fights the enemy, such a man has courage?"

"He has courage," he agreed.

"But how can it be," I asked, "that this is always true? For when a man faces an enemy who has more and superior men, and the enemy's swords are sharper, and his horses stronger, and the enemy has a better position on the battlefield, and yet the man with no advantage stands and fights anyway, is this not foolish endurance compared to the other?"

And he began to curse me, and drove me away, and I learned nothing from him.

On the next day I went wandering in a field where I met a man named Meno, a young farm hand. Meno can not read or write, has no skills, and does only what the headman of the farm tells him to do. I told Meno of my problem, and how I despaired of ever finding true Knowledge.

"You have a heavy problem," he said, "for how can you know when you have arrived at the truth when you do not already know what the truth is?"

"Your question must have an answer," I replied, "for otherwise a man could nor inquire about anything that he knows, or about anything that he does not know. For if he knows, then he has no need to inquire, and if he does not, then he can not, for he does not know the subject about which he is to inquire."

"It is truth," he said, "and yet I do not know the answer to the question."

"Nor do I, for I have visited men who claimed to have great knowledge, and I learned nothing from them. In the end their words chased each other around in circles, and they could not answer my questions, and they showed me only false knowledge."

"Then maybe you are closer to true Knowledge," he replied, "for now you have found some false knowledge, and you do not need to look for it again."

At that moment I saw that young Meno had more Knowledge than all of the great men I had talked to before him. I told him of the divine Voice and its message, and he immediately believed and became a follower of the Whole, seeking with me together.

And so I tell you, sister, that in our search for true Knowledge we must first see the false knowledge before us. We must clear it away like thick weeds from our path so that we may walk forward unhindered in our search. If you meet any who claim to have Knowledge, question them closely to see if it is only false knowledge. Wherever you find one who possesses true Knowledge, bring them into our brotherhood so that we may all be free together, blessed is the Whole.

Your brother in faith,

Galeo