The Gods of Pegāna · Chapter
Yonath the Prophet explained
Yonath, the first among prophets, recounts a vision in which Pegāna drew near, revealing the gods but not Māna-Yood-Sushāī.
What happens
Yonath, the first among prophets, recounts a vision in which Pegāna drew near, revealing the gods but not Māna-Yood-Sushāī. He imparts the central wisdom that man cannot know the purposes of the gods, and that seeking such knowledge is futile. The gods obscure the future with brightness to make it seem better than the present, but all is unchanging in Pegāna. Yonath, weary from his own seeking, counsels against the path of inquiry, affirming only that man knows not.
Themes in this chapter
The Limits of Human Knowledge
Yonath's entire prophecy centers on the assertion that 'Man Knoweth Not,' and he warns against the futility of seeking to understand the gods.
The Search for Meaning
Yonath describes his own lifelong quest for knowledge, which ultimately leads only to the realization of ignorance, highlighting the tension between the desire to understand and the impossibility of doing so.
Characters to notice
- Yonath
The first prophet, who speaks from his visionary sleep and shares the doctrine of human ignorance.
- Māna-Yood-Sushāī
Mentioned as the one god not seen in Yonath's vision, underscoring his hidden nature.
Key passages
“Seek not to know. Thy seeking will weary thee, and thou wilt return much worn, to rest at last about the place from whence thou settest out upon thy seeking.”
Do not try to understand the gods; your efforts will exhaust you and you will end up back where you started, none the wiser.
Yonath's core admonition against the pursuit of divine knowledge.
“The gods have set a brightness upon the farther side of the Things to Come that they may appear more felititous to men than the Things that Are.”
The gods make the future seem more appealing than the present by casting a glow over it.
Explains the divine mechanism that deceives humans into hope.