Inquire after the
channel of the soul: wherefrom, in what order,
Having served the
body, to that order from which you flowed
You shall rise
again, combining the act with the sacred word.
Incline not
downwards: below the earth lies a precipice
That drags down
beneath the sevenfold steps, below which
Is the throne of
dread Necessity.
Your vessel shall
be occupied by the beasts of the earth.
Do not enlarge
your Fate.
For nothing
imperfect rolls from the sovereignty of the Father.
But the Paternal
intellect does not admit her volition
Until she has
issued forth out of oblivion and spoken the word,
Having taken in
the memory of the holy watch-word of the Father;
You must hasten
towards the light and rays of the Father,
Whence your soul
was sent out clothed in abundant intellect.
The earth mourns
them continually unto their children:
Those who thrust
out the soul and inhale are easy to loose.
In the left
flanks of the couch is the source of virtue
Which remains
wholly within and does not give away its virginity.
The soul of
mortals will somehow constrain the god into herself,
Having nothing
mortal in her she is utterly intoxicated from God.
For she glories
in harmony, beneath which is the mortal body.
Since the soul is
a fire, luminous through the power of the Father,
She remains
immortal and is mistress of life
And shall be
filled with many repletions from the depths of the world.
Seek you
Paradise.
Do not pollute
the spirit, do not depress the surface.
Even the image
has its portion in the circumsplendent place.
Do not leave
behind the dung of matter for the precipice.
Do not draw it
forth that it may not suffer in going out.
By extending the
fiery intellect
To the act of
piety, you shall also save the liquidescent body.
Then from the
depths of the earth leap forth the dogs of the underworld,
Showing no true
sign to mortal man.
Nature gives
proof that there exist pure daemons
And that the
fruits even of evil matter are worthy and good.
The penalties are
constrainers of men,
Let the immortal
depth of the soul be leader.
Spread wide all
eyes upwards.
O man, the
contrivance of most daring Nature!
If you say this
to me often, you will see the word forever;
For then the
curved mass of heaven is not visible.
The stars do not
shine, the light of the moon is veiled,
The earth stands
not firm. All things appear as lightening.
Do not call upon
the self-revealed image of Nature.
Draw tight from
all sides the reins of the fire with an untouched soul.
When you behold
the most holy fire without form
Flashing with
quivering flames through the recesses of the whole world,
Then hearken to
the voice of the fire.
The paternal
intellect has sown symbols in men's souls.
Learn what is
intelligible, for it exists outside the intellect.
There is indeed
something intelligible,
Which you must
understand by the flower of the intellect.
All things
descend from one fire.
For the Father
perfected everything and committed it
To the second
intellect, which the races of men call the first.
Spells are
thought by the Father and think themselves.
They are moved by
voiceless wills to have understanding.
Lo! how the world
has inflexible intellectual upholders!
The Father has
snatched himself away;
But not shutting
off his own fire in his intellectual power,
The Father does
not impel fear but diffuses persuasion.
