| |
I am here, Josephus.
I come tonight to write a few lines upon a subject in which you may be interested as I have observed that recently you have been reading my History of the Jews, and there are some things in that book which require correction. I don't mean that I desire to correct the whole book, but I do want to say something on some of the subjects that you have been reading about.
Well, you will notice that I attempted to tell of the creation of the world and of man, and that what I said was taken from the Old Testament, and that I elaborated a little upon what is contained in Genesis.
My work was not taken entirely from the Old Testament for in my time on earth there were other books dealing with this subject that were entitled to just as much credence as was the Old Testament, and from these books I obtained much information that is contained in my writings.
But the truth of the things which I wrote, I find now to be not the truth in many particulars, and should not be accepted as such. The description of the creation of man is not in accordance with the facts, and the story as related in the Old Testament, and by me, is not the true story of the facts of such creation.
I have not the time now to enter in detail, into a correction of the errors contained in these descriptions, except that I wish to say a few words as to the creation of man and also his fall.
He was not made of the dust of the ground, but was made of the elements that existed in the universe of a different order from the mere dust of the ground, and was so created by God for the purpose of forming the mere physical body of man. The two persons called our first parents, were created at the same time, and not one out of the rib of the other. Therefore, the man and the woman are equal in their dignity, and in the relationship which they bear to God, and the one is of just as much importance in the sight of God as is the other. One was created stronger, physically, than the other, and also was given a stronger mentality, for the exercise of the reasoning powers, and the workings of the physical organs of the body. And the other, while weaker in these particulars, yet was given more of the spiritual and emotional nature and also, an intuition by which she could understand the existence of things just as accurately and more quickly than could the man by the exercise of his reasoning power. One was just as the other as respects the gifts bestowed, and together, they were the perfect pair,--male and female were they created with divers functions and duties to perform in the perfect workings of the laws of God.
Power and love were theirs, and neither was made the superior of the other, nor was the one to be subject to the other, and had it not been for their fall there never would have been the subjection of the female to the male.
When the disobedience took place and the consequent fall, the qualities of the spiritual were taken from them to a large extent, and the animal qualities, as they may be called, asserted themselves and then the male felt his superiority by reason of the fact that he possessed a greater amount of these animal qualities; and the female became subordinated and continued to be ever afterwards, for the male, not having these spiritual qualities to the extent that his mate possessed them, and not being able to realize the greater existence of these qualities in the female, believed that the physical was the superior, and as he possessed the physical to a larger degree than his companion, he determined that he was the superior, and therefore asserted this superiority, and the female observing that this physical superiority did exist, submitted herself unto the male and so continued until now.
As man degenerated, this domination of the male intensified, and in some parts of the earth the female became nothing better in the sight of the dominate man than one of the lower animals.
This degradation continued until man found the lowest place of his degeneracy, and when the turning point came the qualities of the woman came to be more recognized, but very slowly, and for many thousand years this inequality continued, and man remained the master.
As man evolved from this low condition and the moral qualities began to come more into his consciousness, and the animal nature became less dominant, the condition of the female commenced to improve, and as education came into the life and practices of men, woman's opportunities became more extended, and she was more and more recognized as approaching the equal of her companion. In some countries of the earth her equality was recognized, but not in many.
The Jews recognized the equality of the woman in all matters pertaining to the home or the domestic life, and continued the distinction which had previously existed, only in respect to public affairs and the qualities of the mind--women were not permitted even by them to develop their mental faculties, and were taught that they were things that belonged to the male, in all matters pertaining to the state or religion of the race.
The consequence of this course of life, was that the woman developed the spiritual qualities which were hers to a larger extent, and her refinement and emotional nature and love principle exceeded those of the man to a great degree, and she became in her soul nearer the image of the Divine.
I have noticed that this progress has continued with the passing of the years, and now in some of the nations of earth the equality of the woman has become recognized, notwithstanding the fact that the laws of these countries did not permit her to exercise the rights of man, as she is his equal only in the home or in social life.
But a time will come when she will be recognized not only by the individual man but by the man-made laws as his equal in every particular, and the further fact will appear that she will be his superior in matters pertaining to the spiritual.
As the time approaches when man shall return to his former state of purity and harmony with the laws of God, the spiritual qualities will assert themselves and the animal will become subordinated, and woman will stand before God and man as the latter's equal, and in these soul qualities, his superior; for in the beginning, in this particular, she was his superior; but that superiority existed only in order that what in this regard was lacking in man, was supplied by the woman, and the perfect pair was one.
You may think that this is a digression from what I first intended to write, and so it is, but I thought the occasion a proper one to tell mankind the future of the two integral parts of the perfect creation of God.
I will not write more tonight, but sometimes will come again and write.
So with my love I will say good-night.
- Your brother in Christ,
- JOSEPHUS
- Vol II, p. 125
