What the Sphinx says

Listen, dear child, to what the sphinx says in its symbolism:

"I am erect. The gangrene of time can have no effect on me. All the stars flitting round the earth and looking at its face, see me always erect, silent and sombre. My material essence is composed of stone, of rock. Even If mountains of sand were to be superimposed on my head, I would still remain erect. It shall never be said that the sphinx that has defied the fury of forty centuries has lain down in a sleep of eternity, forgetful of the symbol it bears. The Sun tries to seduce me into his love with his bright and golden rays, but I still remain erect, motionless and cold to everything that could move me. 

"The secret that I hide in my soul is a secret that no other form except mine could bear and know. My lips have never known a smile, rage has never crisped my Insensible and immobile features. I always keep erect on folded legs.

"What am I? This is the problem of every Initiate. Man, I am morality. I am the first creation of the idea and the thought of the Human Being. Everything bends and submits to the fatality of the Laws of Matter. But I always remain invariable; I always remain insensitive to all material upheavals.

"You ask, wise Disciple, what morality is. Morality is the complement of Nature, which preceded it in Creation. It is the warmth that brooded the beings living on earth. It is the wet nurse of the first human embryos; it provided them with the first milk of their spiritual nourishment. It is at her breast that the first being of human form cried; ?I am, therefore I exist?.

"Since then, everything on earth has been convulsed and, in an ascending evolution, everything has been transformed. But morality always remains erect and unique, and teaches Love, Goodness, and Truth to all the peoples of the universe.

"Men gathered together in a common effort; the beings felt the need of this union for universal progress. And morality - a step ahead of everything - has guided and will guide the whole of humanity towards the ascending path of perfection?" 

This is what the sphinx says to the Initiate dreamer, who contemplates it. This, dear child, is the principal symbol that decorates the pediment of Egyptian morality. During the critical moments of your life, contemplate in reverie this symbol before your eyes, and you will see that its aspect will make you avoid many a stumble and many a fall.