Aue

The first three verses establish Aue itself, verse a asking that the adherent think sensibly not about the religion itself but instead for Aue — implying that it is for the sake of following Aue that a person must think sensibly; a necessary predisposition which situates the whole faith. After being asked to think sensibly for Aue we are further exhorted to believe in it, and in our own ability. These two parts of verse b both relate to believing/trusting in ability; in the ability of Aue to help us distinguish between joy and woe and strive for joy, and then in our own ability.
The order in which they follow each other is enlightening: only after we believe in Aue and ground our actions within it can we believe in the potential of our own ability — but without the use of our faculties Aue is simply a tool without a hand to use it. The final verse c in this section introduces the preeminence of joy in Aue, and asks us to share, preserve, and reference the religion to that end. Joy, it is implied, is the finishing-point of Aue.

Where a-c establish and ground the opening presuppositions of Aue d-g instruct us in cosmological facts: life, nature, and existence are all states exclusive to the present moment, for verse e tells us that after death is nothing; a scattering to the winds of energy and elements. Verse f introduces the joy-woe dichotomy as a product of evolution in keeping with the mechanistic, naturalist outlook of Aue and classifies sentience as another gift of the evolutionary process. Verse g builds off verse f by establishing that as a similar result of evolution we see the blooming of biodiversity, leading to the crucial dictate to “share the universe” with our fellow creatures. The instruction to share the universe could also be seen as a fundamental underpinning of ethical behaviour in Aue, dictating relations between an adherent and fellow creatures on the basis of equity.

Verses h and i bring us back to fundamentals of behaviour for an Aue adherent: knowing that time is volatile and fleeting we are instructed to “make [it] precious” through our deeds, careful stewards of the passage of time and our progress through it; verse i tells us how to make time precious by “know[ing] of woe” and “seek[ing] joy happily.” Bettering our knowledge of woe and its causes helps us to grow as we learn to avoid whatever incurs us, and with this knowledge we are equipped to seek joy more fully, more sensibly (see a), and more happily.

Verse j situates nature and society as our habitat, our place of residence, and this carries the implications of everything which came before — that we must “share, preserve, and cite” Aue, share the universe, and seek joy all within the context of our home in nature and the habitation of all our fellow-beings. Like the previous exhortations to ethical, Aue-like behaviour verse k can be read both on an individual level relating to our personal interactions with the world and on a broader, societal level which can be used as a lens for all sorts of things; activism, seeking systemic changes to curb woe/injustice, etc. This theme continues on with verse l and the instruction to “seek peace to woe”, which is of a part with the previous verse. Where l counsels us to seek peace we can see k’s edict to raise compassion; in either case we must seek to heal or ameliorate the harm which woe can inflict. Adherents of Aue should do their best to address the woes of both themselves and others through this paradigm.

Verse m counsels us to “show Aue amid woe of misjudgement” or, in other words, to trust in the doctrine of Aue amidst adversity. To “show Aue” is to demonstrate reliance on the verses and their knowledge even when faced with misfortune which has arisen from our own actions; to the adherent this would be relying upon Aue in times of strife instead of straying from her doctrines or being tempted to other faiths. Verse n expounds upon this further to ask that we build trust in science. This can be read narrowly, to have trust strictly in the scientific method, or more broadly to encompass the entire search for knowledge. In either case, without trust in science the vision of Aue becomes tenuous and uncertain.

Verse o, the final verse, ends the doctrine with a thunderous command to wield Aue for the sake of joy, and to grow it. Along with verse c this verse impels us to engage in missionary activity, growing the ranks of the faith, but this is presented as a corollary to wielding it for joy — implying that living according to Aue and subsequently reaping joy is the best testimony. This final verse gathers up the preceding verses and challenges the reader to use them as tools to grow.