“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(According to history, all three members of the Christ entity met violent ends. Christ was crucified near Jerusalem at the order of Pontius Pilate; Herod had John beheaded; and Paul was beheaded near Rome during the reign of Nero.

In the historical time of Christ, I was a man called Millenius, in Rome. In that life my main occupation was that of a merchant, but I was a highly curious gentleman, and my travels gave me access to many different groups of people.

My house was in the busiest, northwestern part of the city, just beyond what you would call the heart of town. Among my wares I sold bells for donkeys. This may not sound like a very grand product, and yet families on the farms outside of Rome found these highly useful. Each had a special sound, and a family could tell by the sound of the bell their own donkey from innumerable similar ones.

(10:08.) Donkeys were also used in many businesses within Rome itself as carriers of burden, particularly in the lower occupations. The number of bells, their particular pitch, even the colors, all had meaning. In the tumult of the city the particular bells could be recognized, therefore, by the poor and by the slaves who waited to buy products — often wilted foods from the laden carts.

(10:11.) While I was not literate, I was shrewd and lively of mind. Special bells, I discovered, were used by various sects of Jews, both within Rome and without. While I was a Roman and a citizen, my citizenship meant little except for providing me with minimal safety as I went about my daily way, and in my business I encountered as many Jews as Romans. I was not too far above them socially. (This was Seth’s first bit of humor in the chapter.)

The Romans had no clear idea of the number of Jews in Rome at that time. They went by guesswork. The bells on donkeys belonging to the Zealots had upon them the symbol of an eye (Jane, as Seth, pointed to one of her eyes). They came secretly into town, hiding as much from other Jews as from Romans. They were good bargainers and often did me out of more than I deserved to lose.

(It can be seen from the above paragraphs that Seth shifts his physical location from Rome to Judaea without saying just how or when he did so. I wanted to know more about the mechanics of the transfer but decided not to interrupt further just now.)

(“For a while I was not in Rome but held my religious call elsewhere. I wrote two Church laws. It should all go to show you that some good ends up from everything. I died of trouble with my stomach because I was such a glutton. My name was not Clement [in answer to a question from a class member] although Clement is a lovely name.