Hail, Sapience.

I delivered the following sermon near the entrance to Minia, on the 25th
of Lupar, 370 AF. This the first sermon that I have had the honor to
compose for the glory of Lord Sartan. I trust this will aid your
religious education.

The sermon:

Today's sermon is about lies. Today's sermon is about hypocrisy. Yea,
friends, today's sermon is about the most flawed piece of religious
rubbish known to Sapience ... the Holy Codex. Reader, I am here to tell
you that the only thing "holey" about this chicken scratch is its logic.

I ask you to turn your attention to the Fourth Commandment of this Holy
Codex. The Fourth Commandment instructs the Shallamites to selflessly
protect others. At the heart of this commandment is a push for
self-sacrifice. Ponder that word, "selflessly," for a moment. The
Shallamites balk at the idea of demanding tribute from those under their
protection. Thanks to Shallamite charity, not a single Jaruvian
sovereign was spent in its defense. When concern for your fellow beings
is based upon self-interest, we are admonished, it is cheapened and
sullied. True concern for others, they say, takes self-sacrifice. But I
ask you, reader, is this the truth?

I ask you to turn your attention now to the most sacred of documents,
the truth and wisdom of our Lord Sartan, as set forth in the Covenant of
the Lord, verse nine. Yes, Lord Sartan commands us, "Take good heed
therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD." Let the Shallamites
call us cold-blooded haberdashers of hatred. We know the TRUTH and the
truth is that in each Mhaldorian, in each follower of our savior and
protector Lord Sartan, beats a heart of true love and praise for Him
that hath given us this great land. This love for the LORD courses
through our veins like a river of ice and manifests itself in Sapience
like a powerful glacier. This is a love which rends the mountains
asunder and bridges impossible divides. Our love of the LORD cannot be
contained, cannot be stopped, cannot be reversed, and cannot be turned
from its destiny. Verily, this love springs from our devotion to the
LORD and it is this love that shall conquer all.

Hear these words the Shallamites would rather you ignore. It has been
said that genuine love is the opposite of self-sacrifice. It is the most
selfish experience possible, in the true sense of the term: it benefits
your life in a way that involves no sacrifice of others to yourself nor
of yourself to others. In this sense, there is a critical flaw in the
basic tenets of the Fourth Commandment. True love, as we have seen, is
utterly selfish. Dogmatic adherence to the Shallamite call to altruism
would purge true love from the face of Sapience. For the love of power,
for the love of progress, for the love of the Lord Sartan, God of Evil -
I call upon you to reject these Shallamite fallacies and join us in true
love and fellowship.

Moreover, this Shallamite altruism is demeaning for every being because
at its heart it implies that some individuals are more important than
others. Why should you waste your precious time rescuing orphaned
children when your time could be spent in the pursuit of power and
progress? Is not your life, your soul, and your time worth every bit as
much as the orphan? Does it not sift through your fingers at the same
rate? By appealing to altruism, to "charity", the weak seek to bind the
strong and prevent their advancement. Reader, I'm here to tell you that
this altruism is simply a tool whereby others bring about your
denigration and coerce you to value yourself less than your neighbor.
Reader, I call upon you right this moment to stand up and shake those
chains loose from your shoulders. Remove those shackles from your hands
and feet. Throw up your voices and say with me, NEVER AGAIN will I
permit the weak to bind my hands. NEVER AGAIN will these blind
hypocrites fool me with their smiling eyes and lying hearts.

LORD Sartan has shown us the way to true advancement. LORD Sartan will
never stand between you and the greatness that is your birthright. LORD
Sartan is the way, LORD Sartan is the TRUTH, and know today that HIS
TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE!!

Penned by my hand on the 6th of Daedalan, in the year 371 AF.