THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS 
71
 
 
II 
“Jehjaour1 was a mighty
 magician; his 
soul was dark and evil; and his lust was of 
life and power and of the wreaking of h atred 
upon the innocent.  And it came to pass  that 
he gazed upon a ball of crystal wherein were 
shown him all the fears of the time unborn 
as yet on earth.  And by  his art      he saw 
Perdu’ R Abu, who had been his friend : for 
do what he would, the 
crystal showed 
always that sensual and frivolous youth as a 
Fear to him : even to him  the Mighty One !  
But the selfish and evil are cowards; they
 
fear shadows, and Jehj aour scorned not his 
art.  ‘Roll on in time,     thou ball!’ he cried.  
‘Move down the stream of years, timeless and 
hideous servant of m y will!  Taph ! Tath ! 
Arath !’ 2  He sounded the triple summons, 
the mysterious syllables that bound the spirit 
to the stone. 
“Then suddenly the crystal grew a blank; 
and thereby the foiled wizard knew that 
which threatened his power, 
his very life, 
was so high and holy
 that the evil spirit 
could perceive it not.  ‘Avaunt !’ he 
shrieked, ‘false soul of darkness !’  And the 
crystal flashed up red, the swarthy
 red of 
hate in a man’s cheek, and darkened utterly. 
“Foaming at the fouth the wretched J eh-
jaour clutched at air and fell prone. 
 
III. 
“To what God should he appeal?
  His 
own, Hanuman, was silent. 
 Sacrifice, 
prayer, all were in vain.  So Jehjaour 
gnashed his teeth, and his whole force went 
out in a mighty  current of hate towards his 
former friend. 
 
1 Allan M acGregor Bennett ( whose motto in 
the “ Hermetic Order of  the Golden Dawn,” was 
Iehi Aour, i.e. “Let there be Light”), now Ananda 
Metteya, to whom the volume in which this story 
was issued is inscribed. 
2 Taphtatharath [sic., s. b. T aphthartharath —
T.S.], the spirit of Mercury. 
“Now hate hath power, 
though not the 
power of love.  So it came about that in his 
despair he fell into a trance; and 
in the 
trance Mara1 appeared to him.  Never before 
had his spells availed to call so fearful a 
potency from the aby ss of matter.  ‘Son’ 
cried the Accursèd One, ‘seven days of hate 
unmarred by  passion milder, seven 
days 
without one thought of pity , these avail to 
call me forth.’  ‘Slay
 me my
 enemy !’ 
howled the wretch.  But M
ara trembled, 
‘Enquire of Ganesha 
concernin him!’ 
faltered at last the fiend. 
“Jehjaour awoke. 
IV. 
“ ‘Yes !’ said Ganesha 
gloomily, ‘the 
young man has given me up altogether.  He 
tells me I am as  m ortal as  he is
, and  
he doesn’t mean to worry
 about me any 
more.’  ‘Alas !’ sighed the deceitful Jeh-
jaour, who cared no more for Ganesha and 
any indignities that m ight be offered him 
than his enemy
 did.  ‘One of 
my best 
devotees too !’ muttered, or 
rather trum-
peted, the elephantine anachronism.  ‘You 
see,’ said the wily  wizard, ‘I saw Perdu’ R 
Abu the other day, and he said that he had 
become Srotapatti.  Now that’s pretty
 
serious.  In seven births only
, if he 
but 
pursue the path, will he cease to be reborn.  
So you have only that time in which to win 
him back to your worship.’  The cunning 
sorcerer did not mention that within that 
time also must his own ruin be accomplished.  
‘What do y ou advise ? ’ asked the irritated 
and powerful, but unintelligent deity.  ‘Time 
is our friend,’ s aid the enchanter.  ‘Let y our 
influence be used in the Halls of Birth that 
each birth may be as long as possible.  Now 
the elephant is the longest 
lived of all 
beasts—’  ‘Done with y ou !’ said Ganesha 
in great glee, for the idea s
truck him  as  
ingenious.  And he lumbered off to clinch 
the affair at once. 
“And Perdu’ R Abu died. 
 
1 The archdevil of the Buddhists.