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Jesus said, "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed shaken by the wind? A [person] wearing fancy clothes, [like your] rulers and powerful people? They (wear) fancy [clothes], but can't know the truth."

Jesus said, "Whoever has become rich should become a ruler, and whoever has power should renounce it."

Jesus said, "Adam came into being from a great power and great wealth, but he didn't become worthy of you. If he had been worthy, [he wouldn't have tasted] death."

Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom can be compared to a man who wanted to kill someone powerful. He drew his sword in his house and drove it into the wall to figure out whether his hand was strong enough. Then he killed the powerful one."

And moreover Jesus had not told his disciples the total expansion of all the regions of the great Invisible and of the three triple-powers and of the four-and-twenty invisibles, and all their regions and their aeons and their orders, how they are extended--those which are the emanations of the great Invisible--and their ungenerated and their self-generated and their generated and their light-givers and their unpaired and their rulers and their authorities and their lords and their archangels and their angels and their decans and their servitors and all the houses of their spheres and all the orders of every one of them.

It came to pass then, when Jesus had reached the heaven, after three hours, that all the powers of the heaven fell into agitation, and all were set in motion one against the other, they and all their aeons and all their regions and all their orders, and the whole earth was agitated and all they who dwell thereon. And all men who are in the world fell into agitation, and also the disciples, and all thought: Peradventure the world will be rolled up.

"For this cause have I chosen you verily from the beginning through the First Mystery. Rejoice then and exult, for when I set out for the world, I brought from the beginning with me twelve powers, as I have told you from the beginning, which I have taken from the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, according to the command of the First Mystery. These then I cast into the womb of your mothers, when I came into the world, that is those which are in your bodies to-day. For these powers have been given unto you before the whole world, because ye are they who will save the whole world, and that ye may be able to endure the threat of the rulers of the world and the pains of the world and its dangers and all its persecutions, which the rulers of the height will bring upon you. For many times have I said unto you that I have brought the power in you out of the twelve saviours who are in the Treasury of the Light. For which cause I have said unto you indeed from the beginning that ye are not of the world. I also am not of it. For all men who are in the world have gotten their souls out of [the power of] the rulers of the aeons. But the power which is in you is from me; your souls belong to the height. I have brought twelve powers of the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, taking them out of the portion of my power which I did first receive.

And when I had set forth for the world, I came into the midst of the rulers of the sphere and had the form of Gabriel the angel of the aeons; and the rulers of the aeons did not know me, but they thought that I was the angel Gabriel.

"It came to pass then, when I had come into the midst of the rulers of the aeons, that I looked down on the world of mankind, by command of the First Mystery. I found Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptizer, before she had conceived him, and I sowed into her a power which I had received from the little Iao, the Good, who is in the Midst, that he might be able to make proclamation before me and make ready my way, and baptize with the water of the forgiveness of sins. That power then is in the body of John.

"Moreover in place of the soul of the ruler which he was appointed to receive, I found the soul of the prophet Elias in the aeons of the sphere; and I took him thence, and took hi soul and brought it to the Virgin of Light, and she gave it over to her receivers; they brought it to the sphere of the rulers and cast it into the womb of Elizabeth. So the power of the little Iao, who is in the Midst, and the soul of the prophet Elias, they were bound into the body of John the Baptizer. For this cause then were ye in doubt aforetime, I when I said unto you: 'John said: I am not the Christ,' and ye said unto me: 'It standeth written in the scripture: When the Christ shall come, Elias cometh before him and maketh ready his way.' But when ye said this unto me, I said unto you: 'Elias verily is come and hath made ready all things, as it standeth written, and they have done unto him as they would.' And when I knew that ye had not understood that I had discoursed with you concerning the soul of Elias which is bound into John the Baptizer, I answered you in the discourse in openness face to face: 'If ye like to accept John the Baptizer: he is Elias, of whom I have said that he will come.'"

"And the twelve powers of the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light which I had received from the twelve ministers of the Midst, I cast into the sphere of the rulers. And the decans of the rulers and their servitors thought that they were souls of the rulers; and the servitors brought them, they bound them into the body of your mothers. And when your time was completed, ye were born in the world without souls of the rulers in you. And ye have received your portion out of the power which the last Helper hath breathed into the Mixture, that [power] which is blended with all the invisibles and all rulers and all aeons,--in a word, which is blended with the world of destruction which is the Mixture. This [power], which from the beginning I brought out of myself, I have cast into the First Commandment, and the First Commandment cast a portion thereof into the great Light, and the great Light cast a portion of that which it had received, into the five Helpers, and the last Helper took a portion of that which it received, and cast it into the Mixture. And [this portion] is in all who are in the Mixture, as I have just said unto you."

And further there is therein the whole glory of the name of the great Invisible, which is the great Forefather, and the mystery of the three triple-powers and the mystery of their whole region and the mystery of all their invisibles and of all those who are in the thirteenth aeon, and the name of the twelve aeons and of all their rulers and all their archangels and all their angels and of all those who are in the twelve aeons, and the whole mystery of the name of all those who are in the Fate and in all the heavens, and the whole mystery of the name of all those who are in the sphere, and of its firmaments and of all who are in them, and of all their regions.

"And all rulers and all authorities and all angels therein were thrown all together into agitation because of the great light which was on me. And they gazed at the radiant vesture of light with which I was clad, and they saw the mystery which contains their names, and they feared most exceedingly. And all their bonds with which they were bound, were unloosed and every one left his order, and they all fell down before me, adored and said: 'How hath the lord of the universe passed through us without our knowing?' And they all sang praises together to the interiors of the interiors; but me they saw not, but they saw only the light. And they were in great fear and were exceedingly agitated and sang praises to the interiors of the interiors.

"I entered into the houses of the sphere, shining most exceedingly, and there was no measure to the light that was about me. And all the rulers and all those who are in that sphere, fell into agitation one against another. And they saw the great light that was about me, and they gazed upon my vesture and saw thereon the mystery of their name. And they fell into still greater agitation, and were in great fear, saying: 'How hath the lord of the universe passed through us without our knowing?' And all their bonds were unloosed and their regions and their orders; and every one left his order, and they fell down all together, adored before me, or before my vesture, and all sang praises together to the interiors of the interiors, being in great fear and great agitation.

"And all the rulers and all those who are in the Fate, were thrown into agitation and fell on one another and were in exceeding great fear on seeing the great light that was about me. And they gazed on my vesture of light and saw the mystery of their name on my vesture and fell into still greater agitation; and they were in great fear, saying: 'How hath the lord of the universe passed through us without our knowing?' And all the bonds of their regions and of their orders and of their houses were unloosed; they all came at once, fell down, adored before me and sang praises all together to the interiors of the interiors, being in great fear and great agitation.

"And I left that region behind me and ascended to the great aeons of the rulers and came before their veils and their gates, shining most exceedingly, and there was no measure for the light which was about me. It came to pass then, when I arrived at the twelve aeons, that their veils and their gates were shaken one over against the other. Their veils drew themselves apart of their own accord, and their gates opened one over against the other. And I entered into the aeons, shining most exceedingly, and there was no measure for the light that was about me, forty-and-nine times more than the light with which I shone in the houses of the Fate.

"And all the angels of the aeons and their archangels and their rulers and their gods and their lords and their authorities and their tyrants and their powers and their light-sparks and their light-givers and their unpaired and their invisibles and their forefathers and their triple-powers saw me, shining most exceedingly, and there was no measure for the light which was about me. And they were thrown into agitation the one over against the other and great fear fell upon them, when they saw the great light that was about me. And in their great agitation and their great fear they withdrew as far as the region of the great invisible Forefather, and of the three great triple-powers. And because of the great fear of their agitation, the great Forefather, he and the three triple-powers, kept on running hither and thither in his region, and they could not close all their regions because of the great fear in which they were.

And they agitated all their aeons together and all their spheres and all their orders, fearing and being greatly agitated because of the great light which was about me--not of the former quality that it was about me when I was on the earth of man-kind, when the light-vesture came over me,--for the world could not bear the light such as it was in its truth, else would the world at once be destroyed and all upon it,--but the light which was about me in the twelve aeons was eight-thousand-and-seven-hundred-myriad times greater than that which was about me in the world among you.

"It came to pass then, when all those who are in the twelve aeons saw the great light which was about me, that they were all thrown into agitation one over against the other, and ran hither and thither in the aeons. And all aeons and all heavens and their whole ordering were agitated one over against the other on account of the great fear which was on them, for they knew not the mystery which had taken place. And Adamas, the great Tyrant, and all the tyrants in all the aeons began to fight in vain against the light, and they knew not against whom they fought, because they saw nothing but the overmastering light.

"It came to pass then, when they fought against the light, that they were weakened all together one with another, were dashed down in the aeons and became as the inhabitants of the earth, dead and without breath of life.

'I have taken a third from the power of the rulers of all the aeons, and changed their Fate and their sphere over which they rule, in order that, if the race of men invoke them in the mysteries--those which the angels who transgressed have taught them for the accomplishing of their evil and lawless deeds in the mystery of their sorcery,'--in order then that they may no more from this hour accomplish their lawless deeds, because thou hast taken their power from them and from their horoscope-casters and their consulters and from those who declare to the men in the world all things which shall come to pass, in order that they should no more from this hour know how to declare unto them any thing at all which will come to pass (for thou hast changed their spheres, and hast made them spend six months turned to the left and accomplishing their influences, and another six months facing the right and accomplishing their influences),--concerning this word then, my Lord, the power which was in the prophet Isaiah, hath spoken thus and proclaimed aforetime in a spiritual similitude, discoursing on the 'Vision about Egypt': 'Where then, O Egypt, where are thy consulters and horoscope-casters and those who cry out of the earth and those who cry out of their belly? Let them then declare unto thee from now on the deeds which the lord Sabaoth will do!'

"The power then which was in the prophet Isaiah, prophesied before thou didst come, that thou wouldst take away the power of the rulers of the aeons and wouldst change their sphere and their Fate, in order that they might

know nothing from now on. For this cause it hath said also: 'Ye shall then know not of what the lord Sabaoth will do '; that is, none of the rulers will know what thou wilt do from now on,--for they are 'Egypt,' because they are matter. The power then which was in Isaiah, prophesied concerning thee aforetime, saying: 'From now on ye shall then know not what the lord Sabaoth will do.' Because of the light-power which thou didst receive from Sabaoth, the Good, who is in the region of the Right, and which is in thy material body to-day, for this cause then, my Lord Jesus, thou hast said unto us: 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,'--in order that thou mightest know whose heart is ardently raised to the kingdom of heaven."

She said: "My Lord, will all the men who know the mystery of the magic of all the rulers of all the aeons of the Fate and of those of the sphere, in the way in which the angels who transgressed have taught them, if they invoke them in their mysteries, that is in their evil magic, to the hindering of good deeds,--will they accomplish them henceforth from now on or not?"

Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "They will not accomplish them as they accomplished them from the beginning, because I have taken away a third of their power; but they will raise a loan from those who know the mysteries of the magic of the thirteenth aeon. And if they invoke the mysteries of the magic of those who are in the thirteenth aeon, they will accomplish them well and surely, because I have not taken away power from that region, according to the command of the First Mystery."

And Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "If the horoscope-casters find the Fate and the sphere turned towards the left, according to their first extension, their words will come to pass, and they will say what is to take place. But if they chance on the Fate or the sphere turned to the right, they are bound to say nothing true, for I have changed their influences and their squares and their triangles and their octagons; seeing that their influences from the beginning onwards were continuously turned to the left and their squares and their triangles and their octagons. But now I have made them spend six months turned to the left and six months turned to the right. He who then shall find their reckoning from the time when I changed them, setting them so as to spend six months facing towards their left and six months facing their right paths,--he who then shall observe them in this wise, will know their influences surely and will declare all things which they will do. In like manner also the consulters, if they invoke the names of the rulers and chance on them facing the left, will tell [men] with accuracy all things concerning which they shall ask their decans.

And moreover I have made them spend six months turned to the left and accomplishing the works of their influences and all their configurations, in order that the rulers who are in the aeons and in their spheres and in their heavens and in all their regions, may be confounded in confusion and deluded in delusion, so that they may not understand their own paths."

And Philip answered and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, on account of what mystery hast thou changed the binding of the rulers and their aeons and their Fate and their sphere and all their regions, and made them confounded in confusion on their path and deluded in their course? Hast thou then done this unto them for the salvation of the world or hast thou not?"

And Jesus answered and said unto Philip and to all the disciples together: "I have changed their path for the salvation of all souls. Amen, amen, I say unto you If I had not changed their path, a host of souls would have been destroyed, and they would have spent a long time, if the rulers of the aeons and the rulers of the Fate and of the sphere and of all their regions and all their heavens and all their aeons had not been brought to naught; and the souls would have continued a long time here outside, and the completion of the number of perfect souls would have been delayed, which [souls] shall be counted in the Inheritance of the Height through the mysteries and shall be in the Treasury of the Light. For this cause then I have changed their path, that they might be deluded and fall into agitation and yield up the power which is in the matter of their world and which they fashion into souls, in order that those who shall be saved, might be quickly purified and raised on high, they and the whole power, and that those who shall not be saved, might be quickly destroyed."

And Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "Well said, Mary; thou questionest finely with thy excellent question, and thou throwest light on all things with surety and precision. Now, therefore, from now on will I hide nothing from you, but I will reveal unto you all things with surety and openness. Hearken then, Mary, and give ear, all ye disciples: Before I made proclamation to all the rulers of the aeons and to all the rulers of the Fate and Of the sphere, they were all bound in their bonds and in their spheres and in their seals, as Yew, the Overseer of the Light, had bound them from the beginning; and every one of them remained in his order, and every one journeyed according to his course, as Yew, the Overseer of the Light, had established them. And when the time of the number of Melchisedec, the great Receiver of the Light, came, he was wont to come into the midst of the aeons and of all the rulers who are bound in the sphere and in the Fate, and he carried away the purification of the light from all the rulers of the aeons and from all the rulers of the Fate and from those of the sphere--for he carried away then that which brings them into agitation--and he set in motion the hastener who is over them, and made them turn their circles swiftly, and he [sc. the hastener] carried away their power which was in them and the breath of their mouth and the tears [lit.

"And Melchisedec, the Receiver of the Light; purifieth those powers and carrieth their light into the Treasury of the Light, while the servitors of all the rulers gather together all matter from them all; and the servitors of all the rulers of the Fate and the servitors of the sphere which is below the aeons, take it and fashion it into souls of men and cattle and reptiles and wild-beasts and birds, and send them down into the world of mankind. And further the receivers of the sun and the receivers of the moon, if they look above and see the configurations of the paths of the aeons and the configurations of the Fate and those of the sphere, then they take from them the light-power; and the receivers of the sun get it ready and deposit it, until they hand it over to the receivers of Melchisedec, the Light-purifier. And their material refuse they bring to the sphere which is below the aeons, and fashion it into [souls of] men, and fashion it also into souls of reptiles and of cattle and of wild-beasts and of birds, according to the circle of the rulers of that sphere and according to all the configurations of its revolution, and they cast them into this world of mankind, and they become souls in this region, as I have just said unto you.

"It came to pass then, when they had perceived this at the time, and when the number of the cipher of Melchisedec, the Receiver [of the Light], happened, then had he to come out again and enter into the midst of the rulers of all the aeons and into the midst of all the rulers of the Fate and of those of the sphere; and he threw them into agitation, and made them quickly abandon their circles. And forthwith they were constrained, and cast forth the power out of themselves, out of the breath of their mouth and the tears of their eyes and the sweat of their bodies.

"And Melchisedec, the Receiver of the Light, purifieth them, as he doth continually; he carrieth their light into the Treasury of the Light. And all the rulers of the aeons and the rulers of the Fate and those of the sphere turn to the matter of their refuse; they devour it and do not let it go and become souls in the world. They devour then their matter, so that they may not become powerless and exhausted and their power cease in them and their kingdom become destroyed, but in order that they may delay and linger a long time until the completion of the number of the perfect souls who shall be in the Treasury of the Light.

"It came to pass then, when the rulers of the aeons and those of the Fate and those of the sphere continued to carry out this type,--turning on themselves, devouring the refuse of their matter, and not allowing souls to be born into the world of mankind, in order that they might delay in being rulers, and that the powers which are in their powers, that is the souls, might spend a long time here outside,--they then persisted doing this continually for two circles.

"It came to pass then, when I wished to ascend for the ministry for the sake of which I was called by command of the First Mystery, that I came up into the midst of the tyrants of the rulers of the twelve aeons, with my light-vesture about me, shining most exceedingly, and there was no measure for the light which was about me.

"It came to pass then, when those tyrants saw the great light which was about me, that the great Adamas, the Tyrant, and all the tyrants of the twelve aeons, all together began to fight against the light of my vesture, desiring to hold it fast among them, in order to delay in their rulership. This then they did, not knowing against whom they fought.

"When then they mutinied and fought against the light, thereon by command of the First Mystery I changed the paths and the courses of their aeons and the paths of their Fate and of their sphere. I made them face six months towards the triangles on the left and towards the squares and towards those in their aspect and towards their octagons, just as they had formerly been. But their manner of turning, or facing, I changed to another order, and made them other six months face towards the works of their influences in the squares on the right and in their triangles and in those in their aspect and in their octagons. And I made them to be confounded in great confusion and deluded in great delusion --the rulers of the aeons and all the rulers of the Fate and those of the sphere; and I set them in great agitation, and thence on they were no longer able to turn towards the refuse of their matter to devour it, in order that their regions may continue to delay and they [themselves] may spend a long time as rulers.

and had I not shortened their periods, no material soul would have been saved, but they would have perished in the fire which is in the flesh of the rulers. This then is the word on which thou dost question me with precision."

And Jesus continued again in his discourse and said unto his disciples: "Hearken concerning the things which befell me among the rulers of the twelve aeons and all their rulers and their lords and their authorities and their angels and their archangels. When then they had seen the vesture of light which was about me, they and their unpaired, then every one of them saw the mystery of his name, that it was on my vesture of light, which was about me. They fell down all together, adored the vesture of light which was about me, and cried out all together, saying: 'How hath the lord of the universe passed through us without our knowing it?' And they all sang praises together to the interiors of the interiors. And all their triple-powers and their great forefathers and their ungenerated and their self-generated and their generated and their gods and their light-sparks and their light-bearers--in a word all their great ones--saw the tyrants of their region, that their power was diminished in them. And they were in weakness and themselves fell into great and immeasurable fear. And they gazed on the mystery of their name on my vesture, and they had set out to come and adore the mystery of their name which was on my vesture, and they could not because of the great light which was about me;

"It came to pass then, when this befell among the tyrants who are below these rulers, that they all lost power and fell down to the ground in their aeons and became as the dead world- dwellers with no breath in them, as they became in the hour when I took from them their power.

"It came to pass then thereafter, when I left those aeons, that every one of all those who were in the twelve aeons, was bound to their order all together, and they accomplished their works as I have established them, so that they spend six months turned to the left and accomplishing their works in their squares and their triangles and in those which are in their aspect, and that further they spend another six months facing to the right and towards their triangles and their squares and those which are in their aspect. Thus then will those who are in the Fate and in the sphere travel.

"It came to pass then thereafter that I ascended to the veils of the thirteenth aeon. It came to pass then, when I had arrived at their veils, that they drew apart of their own accord and opened themselves for me. I entered in into the thirteenth aeon and found Pistis Sophia below the thirteenth aeon all alone and no one of them with her. And she sat in that region grieving and mourning, because she had not been admitted into the thirteenth aeon, her higher region. And she was moreover grieving because of the torments which Self-willed, who is one of the three triple-powers, had inflicted on her. But this,--when I shall come to speak with you respecting their expansion, I will tell you the mystery, how this befell her.

"It came to pass then, when Pistis Sophia saw me shining most exceedingly and with no measure for the light which was about me, that she was in great agitation and gazed at the light of my vesture. She saw the mystery of her name on my vesture and the whole glory of its mystery, for formerly she was in the region of the height, in the thirteenth aeon,--but she was wont to sing praises to the higher light, which she had seen in the veil of the Treasury of the Light.

"It came to pass then, when she persisted in singing praises to the higher light, that all the rulers who are with the two great triple-powers, and her invisible who is paired with her, and the other two-and-twenty invisible emanations gazed [at the light],--in as much as Pistis Sophia and her pair, they and the other two-and-twenty emanations make up four-and-twenty emanations, which the great invisible Forefather and the two great triple-powers have emanated."

It came to pass then, when Jesus had said this unto his disciples, that Mary came forward and said: "My Lord, I have heard thee say aforetime: 'Pistis Sophia is herself one of the f our-and-twenty emanations, how then is she not in their region? But thou hast said: 'I found her below the thirteenth aeon.'"

And Jesus answered and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass, when Pistis Sophia was in the thirteenth aeon, in the region of all her brethren the invisibles, that is the four-and-twenty emanations of the great Invisible,--it came to pass then by command of the First Mystery that Pistis Sophia gazed into the height. She saw the light of the veil of the Treasury of the Light, and she longed to reach to that region, and she could not reach to that region. But she ceased to perform the mystery of the thirteenth aeon, and sang praises to the light of the height, which she had seen in the light of the veil of the Treasury of the Light.

"It came to pass then, when she sang praises to the region of the height, that all the rulers in the twelve aeons, who are below, hated her, because she had ceased from their mysteries, and because she had desired to go into the height and be above them all. For this cause then they were enraged against her and hated her, [as did] the great triple-powered Self-willed, that is the third triple-power, who is in the thirteenth aeon, he who had become disobedient, in as much as he had not emanated the whole purification of his power in him, and had not given the purification of his light at the time when the rulers gave their purification, in that he desired to rule over the whole thirteenth aeon and those who are below it.

"It came to pass then, when the rulers of the twelve aeons were enraged against Pistis Sophia, who is above them, and hated her exceedingly, that the great triple-powered Self-willed, of whom I have just now told you, joined himself to the rulers of the twelve aeons, and also was enraged against Pistis Sophia and hated her exceedingly, because she had thought to go to the light which is higher than her. And he emanated out of himself a great lion-faced power, and out of his matter in him he emanated a host of other very violent material emanations, and sent them into the regions below, to the parts of the chaos, in order that they might there lie in wait for Pistis Sophia and take away her power out of her, because she thought to go to the height which is above them all, and moreover she had ceased to perform their mystery, and lamented continuously and sought after the light which she. had seen. And the rulers who abide, or persist, in performing the mystery, hated her, and all the guards who are at the gates of the aeons, hated her also.

"It came to pass then thereafter by command of the First Commandment that the great triple-powered Self-willed, who is one of the three triple-powers, pursued Sophia in the thirteenth aeon, in order that she should look towards the parts below, so that she might see in that region his lion-faced light-power and long after it and go to that region, so that her light might be taken from her.

"It came to pass then thereafter that she looked below and saw his light-power in the parts below; and she knew not that it is that of the triple-powered Self-willed, but she thought that it came out of the light which she had seen from the beginning in the height, which came out of the veil of the Treasury of the Light. And she thought to herself: I will go into that region without my pair and take the light and thereout fashion for myself light-aeons, so that I may go to the Light of lights, which is in the Height of heights.

"This then thinking, she went forth from her own region, the thirteenth aeon, and went down to the twelve aeons. The rulers of the aeons pursued her and were enraged against her, because she had thought of grandeur. And she went forth also from the twelve aeons, and came into the regions of the chaos and drew nigh to that lion-faced light-power to devour it. But all the material emanations of Self-willed surrounded her, and the great lion-faced light-power devoured all the light-powers in Sophia and cleaned out her light and devoured it, and her matter was thrust into the chaos; it became a lion-faced ruler in the chaos, of which one half is fire and the other darkness,--that is Yaldabaoth, of whom I have spoken unto you many times. When then this befell, Sophia became very greatly exhausted, and that lion-faced light-power set to work to take away from Sophia all her light-powers, and all the material powers of Self-willed surrounded Sophia at the same time and pressed her sore.

"'4. And when I looked unto the height, I saw all the rulers of the aeons, how in their numbers they looked down on me and rejoiced over me, though I had done them no ill; but they hated me without a cause. And when the emanations of Self-willed saw the rulers of the aeons rejoicing over me, they knew that the rulers of the aeons would not come to my aid; and those emanations which sore pressed me with violence, took courage, and the light which I had not taken from them, they have taken from me.

"'9. This hath befallen me, O Light, because I have been zealous for thy abode; and the wrath of Self-willed is come upon me--of him who had not hearkened unto thy command to emanate from the emanation of his power--because I was in his aeon without performing his mystery.

"'10. And all the rulers of the aeons mocked me. "'11. And I was in that region, mourning and seeking after the light which I had seen in the height.

"'12. And the guards of the gates of the aeons searched for me, and all who remain in their mystery mocked me.

"'19. Save me because of the rulers who hate me, for thou knowest my sore oppression and my torment and the torment of my power which they have taken from me. They who have set me in all this evil are before thee; deal with them according to thy good pleasure.

"'27. And they have taken light-power from me and fallen again to pressing me sore, in order to take away all the light in me. Because of this in which they have set me, let them not ascend to the thirteenth aeon, the region of Righteousness.

"'34. Let the souls and the matters praise the Lord of all aeons, and [let] the matters and all that is in them [praise him].

"'3. May the power of thy light save me and carry me to the higher aeons; for thou wilt save me and lead me into the height of thy aeons.

"'6. And I have had faith in it from the time when it emanated me, and thou thyself didst make me to emanate; and I have had faith in thy light from the beginning. "'7. And when I had faith in thee, the rulers of the aeons mocked at me, saying: She hath ceased in her mystery. Thou art my saviour and thou art my deliverer and thou art my mystery, O Light.

"'15. And then at that time shall all the rulers of the material aeons be in fear of thy light, and all the emanations of the thirteenth material aeon shall be in fear of the mystery of thy light, so that the others may put on the purification of their light.

"'4. I am myself become as the rulers of the chaos, who are gone into the darknesses below; I am become as a material body, which hath no one in the height who will save it.

Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass, when Pistis Sophia had finished uttering the sixth repentance for the forgiveness of her transgression, that she turned again to the height, to see if her sins were forgiven her, and to see whether they would lead her up out of the chaos. But by commandment of the First Mystery not yet was she hearkened to, so that her sin should be forgiven and she should be led up out of the chaos. When then she had turned to the height to see whether her repentance were accepted from her, she saw all the rulers of the twelve aeons mocking at her and rejoicing over her because her repentance was not accepted from her. When then she saw that they mocked at her, she grieved exceedingly and lifted up her voice to the height in her seventh repentance, saying:

"'2. On thee have I had faith. Let me not be scorned; let not the rulers of the twelve aeons, who hate me, rejoice over me.

"'19. Give heed to the rulers of the twelve aeons, who have hated me through jealousy.

"'11. I am become powerless in the presence of all the rulers of the aeons, who hate me, and in the presence of the four-and-twenty emanations, in whose region I was. And my brother, my pair, was afraid to help me, because of that in which they have set me.

"'12. And all the rulers of the height have counted me as matter in which is no light. I am become as a material power which hath fallen out of the rulers,

"'13. And all who are in the aeons said: She hath become chaos. And thereafter all the pitiless powers encompassed me together and proposed to take away the whole light in me.

"'14. And do thou, O Light--for that reason sing I praise to thee--save me. I know that thou wilt save me because I fulfilled thy will ever since I was in my aeon. I fulfilled thy will, as the invisibles who are in my region, and as my pair. And I mourned, looking unceasingly and searching for the Light.

"'27. Now, therefore, save me that I may rejoice, for I long for the thirteenth aeon, the region of Righteousness, and I shall say ever-more: May the light of thy angel Yew shine more and more.

"'28. And my tongue will sing praises to thee in thy gnosis my whole time in the thirteenth aeon.'

When James then had said this, Jesus said unto him: "Well said, finely, James. This is the solution of the ninth repentance of Pistis Sophia. Amen, amen, I say unto you: Ye shall be the first in the kingdom of heaven before all invisibles and all gods and rulers who are in the thirteenth aeon and in the twelfth aeon; and not only ye, but also every one who shall accomplish my mysteries."

Mary started forward again and said: "Yea, O Lord, this is what thou didst say unto us aforetime: 'The last shall be first and the first shall be last.' The first then, who were created before us, are the invisibles, for indeed they arose before mankind, they and the gods and the rulers; and the men who shall receive mysteries, will be first into the kingdom of heaven."

"And in that hour her repentance was accepted from her. The First Mystery hearkened unto her, and I was sent off at his command. I came to help her, and led her up out of the chaos, because she had repented, and also because she had had faith in the Light and had endured these great pains and these great perils. She had been deluded through the god-like Self-willed, and had not been deluded through anything else, save through a light-power, because of its resemblance to the Light in which she had had faith. For this cause then was I sent forth at the command of the First Mystery to help her secretly. I did not however yet go to the region of the aeons at all; but I passed down through the midst out of them, without any single power knowing it, either those of the interior of the interior or those of the exterior of the exterior, save only the First Mystery.

"'3. I chose to descend into the chaos rather than to abide in the thirteenth aeon, the region of Righteousness.

"'5. For this cause then will the Light take away their whole light, and also their whole matter will be made naught. And it will take away their light and not suffer them to abide in the thirteenth aeon, their dwelling-place, and will not have their name in the region of those who shall live.

And Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass then thereafter, that I drew near unto the chaos, shining very exceedingly, to take away the light from that lion-faced power. As I shone exceedingly, it was in fear and cried out to its self-willed god, that he should help it. And forthwith the self-willed god looked out of the thirteenth aeon, and looked down into the chaos, exceedingly wrathful and desiring to help his lion-faced power. And forthwith the lion-faced power, it and all its emanations, surrounded. Pistis Sophia, desiring to 'take away the whole light in Sophia. It came to pass then, when they oppressed Sophia, that she cried to the height, crying unto me that I should help her. It came to pass then, when she looked to the height, that she saw Self-willed exceedingly wrathful, and she was in fear, and uttered the twelfth repentance because of Self-willed and his emanations. She cried on high unto me, saying:

"'6. Let the darkness come over Self-willed, and let the ruler of the outermost darkness abide at his right hand.

"'9. May all the powers of his emanation be lightless and may his matter be without any light in it. "'10. May his emanations remain in the chaos and not dare to go to their region. May their light in them die away and let them not go to the thirteenth aeon, their region.

"'12. May the rulers of the lower darkness rule over his emanations, and let no one give them shelter in his region; and let no one hearken to the power of his emanations in the chaos.

"'13. Let them take away the light in his emanations and blot out their name from the thirteenth aeon, yea rather take his name for ever out of that region.

"O Light of lights, I have transgressed in the twelve aeons, and have descended from them; wherefor have I uttered the twelve repentances, [one] for each aeon. Now, therefore, O Light of lights, forgive me my transgression, for it is exceedingly great, because I have abandoned the regions of the height and have come to dwell in the regions of the chaos.'

"'1. Hearken unto me singing praises unto thee, O Light of lights. Hearken unto me uttering the repentance for the thirteenth aeon, the region out of which I have come down, in order that the thirteenth repentance of the thirteenth aeon may be accomplished,--those [aeons] which I have overstepped and out of which I have come down.

"'2. Now, therefore, O Light of lights, hearken unto me singing praises unto thee in the thirteenth aeon, my region out of which I have come down.

And Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass when Pistis Sophia had uttered the thirteenth repentance,--in that hour was fulfilled the commandment of all the tribulations which were de-creed for Pistis Sophia for the fulfilment of the First Mystery, which was from the beginning, and the time had come to save her out of the chaos and lead her out from all the darknesses. For her repentance was accepted from her through the First Mystery; and that mystery sent me a great light-power out of the height, that I might help Pistis Sophia and lead her up out of the chaos. So I looked towards the aeons into the height and saw that light-power which the First Mystery had sent me, that I might save Pistis Sophia out of the chaos. It came to pass, therefore, when I had seen it, coming forth from the aeons and hastening down to me,--I was above the chaos,--that another light-power went forth out of me, that it too might help Pistis Sophia. And the light-power which had come from the height through the First Mystery, came down upon the light-power which had gone out of me; and they met together and became a great stream of light."

"And 'righteousness and peace' which 'kissed each other,'--'righteousness' then art thou who didst bring all the mysteries through thy Father, the First Mystery which looketh within, and hast baptized this power of Sabaoth, the Good; and thou didst go to the region of the rulers and didst give unto them the mysteries of the Height; they became righteous and good.

"'Peace' on the other hand is the power of Sabaoth, that is thy soul, which did enter into the matter of Barbelo, and all the rulers of the six aeons of Yabraoth have made peace with the mystery of the Light.

The First Mystery again continued and said: "It came to pass, therefore, that the power which had come out of the Height, that is I, in that my Father sent me to save Pistis Sophia out of the chaos, [that] I, therefore, and also the power which did go from me, and the soul which I had received from Sabaoth, the Good,--they drew towards one another and become a single light-stream, which shone very exceedingly. I called down Gabriel and Michael out of the aeons, at the command of my Father, the First Mystery which looketh within, and I gave unto them the light-stream and let them go down into the chaos to help Pistis Sophia and to take the light-powers, which the emanations of Self-willed had taken from her, from them and give them to Pistis Sophia.

"And Self-willed sent out of the height, out of the thirteenth aeon, and sent another great light-power. It came down into the chaos as a flying arrow, that he might help his emanations, so that they might take away the lights from Pistis Sophia anew. And when that light-power had come down, the emanations of Self-willed which were in the chaos and oppressed Pistis Sophia, took great courage and again pursued Pistis Sophia with great terror and great alarm. And some of the emanations of Self-willed oppressed her. One of them changed itself into the form of a great serpent; another again changed itself also into the form of a seven-headed basilisk; another again changed itself into the form of a dragon. And moreover the first power of Self-willed, the lion-faced, and all his other very numerous emanations, they came together and oppressed Pistis Sophia and led her again into the lower regions of the chaos and alarmed her again exceedingly.

"It came to pass then that there looked down out of the twelve aeons, Adamas, the Tyrant, who also was wroth with Pistis Sophia, because she desired to go to the Light of lights, which was above them all; therefore was he wroth with her. It came to pass then, when Adamas, the Tyrant, had looked down out of the twelve aeons, that he saw the emanations of Self-willed oppressing Pistis Sophia, until they should take from her all her lights. It came to pass then, when the power of Adamas had come down into the chaos unto all the emanations of Self-willed,--it came to pass then, when that demon came down into the chaos, that it dashed down Pistis Sophia. And the lion-faced power and the serpent-form and the basilisk-form and the dragon-form and all the other very numerous emanations of Self-willed surrounded Pistis Sophia all together, desiring to take from her anew her powers in her, and they oppressed Pistis Sophia exceedingly and threatened her. It came to pass then, when they oppressed her and alarmed her exceedingly, that she cried again to the Light and sang praises, saying:

"It came to pass then, when the light-stream had surrounded Pistis Sophia, that she took great courage, and it ceased not to surround her on all her sides; and she was no longer in fear of the emanations of Self-willed which are in the chaos, nor was she any more in fear of the other new power of Self-willed which he had cast down into the chaos as a flying arrow, nor did she any more tremble at the demon power of Adamas which had come out of the aeons.

"And at the commandment of my Father, the First Mystery which looketh within, I myself went down into the chaos, shining most exceedingly, and approached the lion-faced power, which shone exceedingly, and took its whole light in it and held fast all the emanations of Self-willed, so that from now on they went not into their region, that is the thirteenth aeon. And I took away the power of all the emanations of Self-willed, and they all fell down in the chaos powerless. And I led forth Pistis Sophia, she being on the right of Gabriel and Michael. And the great light-stream entered again into her. And Pistis Sophia beheld with her eyes her foes, that I had taken their light-power from them. And I led Pistis Sophia forth from the chaos, she treading under foot the serpent-faced emanation of Self-willed, and moreover treading under foot the seven-faced-basilisk emanation, and treading under foot the lion- and dragon-faced power. I made Pistis Sophia continue to stand upon the seven-headed-basilisk emanation of Self-willed; and it was more mighty than them all in its evil doings. And I, the First Mystery, stood by it and took all the powers in it, and made to perish its whole matter, so that no seed should arise from it from now on."

"And the word which thy power hath spoken: He will not be afraid of an arrow which flieth by day,'--that is: Pistis Sophia hath not been afraid of the power which Self-willed hath sent last of all out of the height, and which hath come into the chaos as it were a flying arrow. Thy light-power therefore hath said: 'Thou wilt not be afraid of an arrow which flieth by day,' for that power hath come out of the thirteenth aeon, it being that which is lord over the twelve aeons, and which giveth light unto all the aeons; wherefor hath he [David] said 'day.'

"And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'He will not be afraid of a mischance and of a demon at mid-day,'--that is: Pistis Sophia hath not been afraid of the demon emanation of Tyrant Adamas, which hath cast Pistis Sophia to the ground in a great mischance, and which hath come forth out of Adamas out of the twelfth aeon; wherefor then hath thy power said: 'He will not be afraid of the demon mischance at mid-day,'--'mid-day,' because it hath come out of the twelve aeons, which is 'mid-day'; and again ['night,' because] it hath come out of the chaos, which is the 'night,' and because it hath come out of the twelfth aeon which is in the midst between both; therefore hath thy light-power said 'mid-day,' because the twelve aeons lie in the midst between the thirteenth aeon and the chaos.

"'1. I sing a song unto thee; through thy commandment hast thou led me down out of the higher aeon which is above, and hast led me up to the regions which are below.

"'10. Thou hast led thy aeon above decay, so that they all may be loosed and renewed and thy light become a foundation for them all.

"The word which thy power hath spoken through Solomon: 'Who hath led me down out of the higher regions which are above, he hath also led me up out of the regions which are in the bottom below,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'I sing praises unto thee; through thy commandment hast thou led me down out of this higher aeon which is above, and hast led me to the regions below. And again through thy commandment thou hast saved me and led me up out of the regions which are below.'

"And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'Thou hast led thy aeon above decay, so that all might be loosed and renewed,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'Thou hast led me, thy power, up above the chaos and above decay, that all the matters in that region may be loosed and all my powers renewed in the Light.'

It came to pass then thereafter, that the First Mystery continued again in the discourse and said unto the disciples: "I took Pistis Sophia and led her up to a region which is below the thirteenth aeon, and gave unto her a new mystery of the Light which is not that of her aeon, the region of the invisibles. And moreover I gave her a song of the Light, so that from now on the rulers of the aeons could not [prevail] against her. And I removed her to that region until I should come after her and bring her to her higher region.

"'2. It hath led my power up out of the chaos and the nether darkness of the whole matter and it hath led me up. It hath removed. me to a higher and surer aeon, lofty and firm; it hath changed my place on the way which leadeth to my region.

"'3. And it hath given unto me a new mystery, which is not that of my aeon, and given unto me a song of the Light. Now, therefore, O Light, all the rulers will see what thou hast done unto me, and be afraid and have faith in the Light.'

This song then Pistis Sophia uttered, rejoicing that she had been led up out of the chaos and brought to regions which are below the thirteenth aeon. Now, therefore, let him whom his mind stirreth, so that he understandeth the solution of the thought of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, come forward and say it."

And he continued again in the discourse and said unto the disciples: "These are all adventures which have befallen Pistis Sophia. It came to pass then, when I had led her to the region which is below the thirteenth aeon, and was about to go unto the Light and depart from her, that she said unto me:

"'O Light of lights, thou wilt go to the Light and depart from me. And Tyrant Adamas will know that thou hast departed from me and will know that my saviour is not at hand. And he will come again to this region, he and all his rulers who hate me, and Self-willed also will bestow power unto his lion-faced emanation, so that they all will come and constrain me all together and take my whole light from me, in order that I may become powerless and again without light. Now, therefore, O Light and my Light, take from them the power of their light, so that they may not be able to constrain me from now on.'

"It came to pass then, when I heard these words which Pistis Sophia had spoken unto me, that I answered her, saying: 'My Father, who hath emanated me, hath not yet given me commandment to take their light from them; but I will seal the regions of Self-willed and of all his rulers who hate thee because thou hast had faith in the Light. And I will also seal the regions of Adamas and of his rulers, so that none of them may be able to fight with thee, until their time is completed and the season cometh that my Father give me commandment to take their light from them.'

"And I answered and said unto her: 'If thou seest the gate of the Treasury of the Great Light which is opened after the thirteenth aeon, and that is the left [one],--when that gate is opened, then are the three times completed.'

"And I answered and said unto her: 'When that gate is opened, they who are in all the aeons will know because of the Great Light which will obtain in all their regions. But see, I have now settled that they shall venture no ill against thee, until the three times are completed. And thou wilt have the power of going down into their twelve aeons, when it pleaseth thee, and also of returning and going into thy region, which is below the thirteenth aeon, and in which thou now art. But thou wilt not have the power of passing through the gate of the Height which is in the thirteenth aeon, so as to enter into thy region whence thou didst come down. Moreover, if then the three times are completed, Self-willed and all his rulers will again constrain thee, to take thy light from thee, being enraged against thee and thinking that thou hast imprisoned his power in the chaos, and thinking that thou hast taken its light from it. He will then be embittered against thee, to take from thee thy light, in order that he may send it down into the chaos and it may get down to that emanation of his, so that it may be able to come up out of the chaos and go to his region. Adamas will attempt this. But I will take all thy powers from him and give them unto thee, and I will come to take them.

Now, therefore, if they constrain thee at that time, then sing praises to the Light, and I will not delay to help thee. And I will quickly come unto thee to the regions which are below thee. And I will come down to their regions to take their light from them. And I will come to this region whither I have removed thee, and which is below the thirteenth aeon, until I bring thee to thy region whence thou art come.'

"It came to pass then, when Pistis Sophia had heard me say these words unto her, that she rejoiced with great joy. But I removed her to the region which is below the thirteenth aeon. I went to the Light and departed from her."

And all these adventures the First Mystery told to the disciples, that they should come to pass for Pistis Sophia. And he sat on the Mount of Olives, narrating all these adventures in the midst of the disciples. And he continued again and said unto them: "And it came to pass again after this, while I was in the world of men and sat in the way, that is in this region which is the Mount of Olives, before my vesture was sent unto me, which I had deposited in the four-and-twentieth mystery from the interior, but the first from the exterior, which is the Great Uncontainable, in which I am enwrapped, and before I had gone to the Height to receive my second vesture,-- while I sat with you in this region, which is the Mount of Olives, that the time was completed of which I had said to Pistis Sophia: 'Adamas and all his rulers will constrain thee.'

"It came to pass then, when that time came on,--and I was in the world of men, sitting with you in this region, which is the Mount of Olives,--that Adamas looked down out of the twelve aeons and looked down at the regions of the chaos and saw his demon power which is in the chaos, that no light at all was in it, because I had taken its light from it; and he saw it, that it was dark and could not go to his region, that is to the twelve moons. Thereon Adamas again remembered Pistis Sophia and became most exceedingly wroth against her, thinking that it was she who had imprisoned his power in the chaos, and thinking that it was she who had taken its light from it. And he was exceedingly embittered; he piled wrath on wrath and emanated out of himself a dark emanation and another, chaotic and evil, the violent [one], so as through them to harass Pistis Sophia. And he made a dark region in his region, so as to constrain Sophia therein. And he took many of his rulers;

"'1. O Light of lights, I have had faith in thee. Save me from all these rulers who pursue after me, and help me,

"'4. Or if I have constrained it, as it hath constrained me, then let all these rulers who pursue after me, take my light from me and leave me empty;

And the First Mystery continued again and said unto the disciples: "It came to pass then, when Pistis Sophia had finished uttering the words of this song, that she turned herself back to see whether Adamas and his rulers had turned back to go to their aeon. And she saw them, how they pursued after her. Then she turned unto them and said unto them:

It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished telling his disciples all the adventures which had befallen Pistis Sophia when she was in the chaos, and the way she had sung praises to the Light, that it should save her and lead her out of the chaos, and lead her into the twelve aeons, and also the way it had saved her out of all her afflictions with which the rulers of the chaos had constrained her, because she longed to go to the Light, that Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass then after all this, that I took Pistis Sophia and led her into the thirteenth aeon, shining most exceedingly, there being no measure for the light which was about me. I entered into the region of the four-and-twenty invisibles, shining most exceedingly. And they fell into great commotion; they looked and saw Sophia, who was with me. Her they knew, but me they knew not, who I was, but held me for some sort of emanation of the Light-land. "It came to pass then, when Pistis Sophia saw her fellows, the invisibles, that she rejoiced in great joy and exulted exceedingly and desired to proclaim the wonders which I had wrought on her below in the earth of mankind, until I saved her. She came into the midst of the invisibles, and in their midst sang praises unto me, saying:

"'2. I will utter this song to the Light, for it hath saved me and saved me out of the hand of the rulers, my foes.

"'3. And thou hast preserved me in all the regions, thou hast saved me out of the height and the depth of the chaos and out of the aeons of the rulers of the sphere.

"'4. And when I was come out of the Height, I wandered round in regions in which is no light, and I could not return to the thirteenth aeon, my dwelling-place.

"'7. It guided me in the creation of the aeons to lead me up into the thirteenth aeon, my dwelling-place.

"And the word which hath David spoken: 'Let the delivered of the Lord say this, for he hath delivered them out of the hand of their foes,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'I will utter this song to the Light, for it hath saved me and saved me out of the hand of the rulers, my foes.' And the rest of the Psalm.

It came to pass then again, after all this, that Mary came forward, adored the feet of Jesus and said: "My Lord, be not wroth with me, if I question thee, because we question concerning everything with precision and certainty. For thou hast said unto us aforetime: 'Seek that ye may find, and knock that it may be opened unto you. For every one who seeketh shall find, and to every one who knocketh it shall be opened.' Now, therefore, my Lord, who is it whom I shall seek, or who is it at whom we shall knock? Or who rather is able to give us the decision upon the words concerning which we shall question thee? Or who rather knoweth the power of the words concerning which we shall question? Because thou in the mind hast given us mind of the Light and hast given us sense and an exceedingly exalted thought; for which cause, therefore, no one existeth in the world of men nor any one in the height of the aeons, who can give the decision on the words concerning which we question, save thee alone, who knoweth [sic] the universe, who is perfected in the universe; because we do not question in the manner in which the men of the world question, but because we question in the gnosis of the Height which thou hast given unto us, and we question moreover in the type of the excellent questioning which thou hast taught us, that we may question therein.

And Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "What is there in this world which is like unto them, or rather what region is there in this world which is comparable to them? Now, therefore, to what am I to liken them, or rather what am I to say concerning them? For nothing existeth in this world to which I shall be able to liken them, and no form existeth in it which is able to be like them. Now, therefore, nothing existeth in this world which is of the quality of the heaven. [But] amen, I say unto you: Every one of the invisibles is nine times greater than the heaven and the sphere above it and the twelve aeons all together, as I have already said unto you at another time. And no light existeth in this world which is more excellent than the light of the sun. Amen, amen, I say unto you: The four-and-twenty invisibles shine ten-thousand times more than the light of the sun which is in this world, as I have alreadysaid unto you at another time. For the light of the sun in its shape in truth is not in this world, for its light pierceth through many veils and regions. But the light of the sun in its shape in truth, which is in the region of the Virgin of Light, shineth ten-thousand times more than the four-and-twenty invisibles and the great invisible forefather and also the great triple-powered god, as I have already said unto you at another time.

"And if I lead you into the region of the rulers of the Fate, then will ye see the glory in which they are, and because of their overtowering great glory ye will deem this world before you as darkness of darknesses, and ye will look at the whole world of men, how it will have the condition of a speck of dust for you because of the great distance it is far distant from it, and because of the great condition it is considerably greater than it.

"And if I lead you into the twelve aeons, then will ye see the glory in which they are; and because of the great glory the region of the rulers of the Fate will count for you as the darkness of darknesses, and it will have for you the condition of a speck of dust because of the great distance it is far distant from it and because of the great condition it is considerably greater than them, as I have already said unto you at another time.

"And if I lead you moreover into the thirteenth aeon, then will ye see the glory in which they are; the twelve aeons will count for you as the darkness of darknesses, and ye shall look at the twelve aeons, how it [sc. their region] will have for you the likeness of a speck of dust because of the great distance it is far distant from it, and because of the great condition it is considerably greater than the former.

"And if I lead you into the region of those of the Midst, then will ye see the glory in which they are; the thirteen aeons will count for you as the darkness of darknesses. And again ye will look at the twelve aeons and upon the whole Fate and the whole ordering and all the spheres and all the others in which they are; they will have for you the condition of a speck of dust because of the great distance it [sc. their region] is distant from it and because of the great condition it is considerably greater than the former.

And Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "Finely indeed dost thou question concerning all with precision and certainty. But hearken, Mary, that I may speak with thee about the consummation of the aeon and the ascension of the universe. It will not yet take place; but I have said unto you: 'If I lead you into the region of the inheritances of those who shall receive the mystery of the Light, then will the Treasury of the Light, the region of the emanations, count for you as a speck of dust only and as the light of the sun by day.'

"These six then by command of the First Mystery the last Helper hath caused to be in the region of those of the Right, for the economy of the ingathering of the upper light out of the aeons of the rulers and out of the worlds and all races in them,--of every one of whom I will tell you the employment over which he hath been set in the expansion of the universe. Because, therefore, of the importance of the employment over which they have been set, they will be fellow-kings in the first [saviour] of the first Voice of the Treasury of the Light, who will be in the region of the souls of those who have received the first mystery of the First Mystery.

"And the Virgin of Light and the great guide of the Midst, whom the rulers of the aeons are wont to call the Great Yew after the name of a great ruler who is in their region,--he and the Virgin of Light and his twelve ministers, from whom ye have received your shape and from whom ye have received the power, they all will be kings with the first saviour of the first Voice in the region of the souls of those who will receive the first mystery of the First Mystery in the inheritances of the Light.

"All this then which I have said unto you, will not take place at this time, but it will take place at the consummation of the aeon, that is at the ascension of the universe; that is at the dissolution of the universe and at the total ascension of the numbering of the perfect souls of the inheritances of the Light.

"And also all the rulers who have repented, they also will abide in the region into which they have been set, until the numbering of the souls of the Light shall be raised up all together.

"[The souls] will all come, every one at the time when he will receive the mysteries; and all the rulers who have repented, will pass through and come into the region of the Midst. And those of the Midst will baptize them and give unto them the spiritual unction and seal them with the seals of their mysteries. And they will pass through those of all the regions of the Midst, and they will pass through the region of the Right and the interior of the region of the nine guards and the interior of the region of the Twin-saviours and the interior of the region of the three Amens and of the twelve saviours and the interior of the five Trees and of the seven Voices. Every one giveth unto them his seal of his mystery, and they pass into the interior of them all and go to the region of the inheritances of the Light; and every one bideth in the region up to which he hath received mysteries in the inheritances of the Light.

"In a word, all the souls of men who shall receive the mysteries of the Light, will precede all the rulers who have repented, and they will precede all those of the region of the Midst and those of the whole region of the Right, and they will precede those of the whole region of the Treasury of the Light. In a word, they will precede all those of the region [of the Treasury], and they will precede all those of the regions of the first Commandment, and they will pass into the interior of them all and go into the Inheritance of the Light up to the region of their mystery; and every one abideth in the region up to which he hath received mysteries. And those of the region of the Midst and of the Right and those of the whole region of the Treasury, every one abideth in the region of the order into which he hath been set from the beginning on, until the universe shall be raised up. And every one of them accomplisheth his economy to which he hath been set, in respect of the ingathering of the souls who have received the mysteries, in respect of this economy, so that they may seal all the souls who will receive the mysteries and who will pass through their interior towards the Inheritance of the Light.

"My Lord, my indweller of light hath ears and I comprehend every word which thou sayest. Now, therefore, my Lord, on account of the word which thou hast spoken: 'All the souls of the race of men who shall receive the mysteries of the Light, will go into the Inheritance of the Light before all the rulers who will repent, and before those of the whole region of the Right and before the whole region of the Treasury of the Light,'--on account of this word, my Lord, thou hast said unto us aforetime: 'The first will be last and the last will be first,'--that is, the 'last' are the whole race of men which will enter into the Light-kingdom sooner than all those of the region of the Height, who are the first.' On this account, therefore, my Lord, hast thou said unto us: 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,'--that is thou desirest to know whether we comprehend every word which thou speakest. This, therefore, is the word, my Lord."

It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished speaking these words unto his disciples, that Mary Magdalene came forward and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, be not wroth with me if I question thee, because I trouble repeatedly. Now, therefore, my Lord, be not wroth with me if I question thee concerning all with precision and certainty. For my brethren will herald it among the race of men, so that they may hear and repent and be saved from the violent judgments of the evil rulers and go to the Height and inherit the Light-kingdom; because, my Lord, we are compassionate not only towards ourselves, but compassionate towards the whole race of men, so that they may be saved from all the violent judgments. Now, therefore, my Lord, on this account we question concerning all with certainty; for my brethren herald it to the whole race of men, in order that they may escape the violent rulers of the darkness and be saved out of the hands of the violent receivers of the outer-most darkness."

And Jesus answered and said unto Mary in the midst of the disciples: "They who have received the mystery of the Light, if they come out of the body of the matter of the rulers, then will every one be in his order according to the mystery which he hath received. Those who have received the higher mysteries, will abide in the higher order; those who have received the lower mysteries will be in the lower orders. In a word, up to what region every one hath received mysteries, there will he abide in his order in the Inheritance of the Light. For which cause I have said unto you aforetime: 'Where your heart is, there will your treasure be,'--that is up to what region every one hath received mysteries, there shall he be."

"And that mystery knoweth why the rulers of the spheres have arisen and why the sphere with all its regions hath arisen.

"And that mystery knoweth why the rulers of the aeons have arisen and why the aeons with their veils have arisen.

"And that mystery knoweth why the tyrant rulers of the aeons have arisen and why the rulers who have repented have arisen.

"And that mystery knoweth why the thirteenth aeon hath arisen and why the region of those of the Midst hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why receivers of the Midst have arisen and why the virgins of the light have arisen.

It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard Mary say these words and knew that the disciples had heard and had begun to let go, that he encouraged them and said unto them: "Grieve no more, my disciples, concerning the mystery of, the Ineffable, thinking that ye will not understand it. Amen, I say unto you: That mystery is yours, and every one's who will give ear unto you, so that they renounce this whole world and the whole matter therein and renounce all the evil thoughts therein and renounce all the cares of this aeon.

"He then, who shall receive the one and only word of that mystery, which I have told you, if he cometh forth out of the body of the matters of the rulers, and if the retributive receivers come and free him from the body of matter of the rulers,--that is those [receivers] who free from the body all out-going souls,--when, therefore, the retributive receivers free the soul which hath received this one and only mystery of the Ineffable, which I have just told you, then will it straightway, if it be set free from the body of matter, become a great light-stream in the midst of those receivers, and the receivers will be exceedingly afraid of the light of that soul, and the receivers will be made powerless and fall down and desist altogether for fear of the great light which they have seen.

"But it will pass through all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light, and it will not give answers in any region, nor giveth it any apologies, nor giveth it any tokens; neither will any power of the rulers nor any power of the emanations of the Light be able to come nigh that soul. But all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light,--every one singeth unto it praises in their regions, in fear of the light of the stream which envelopeth that soul, until it passeth through them all, and goeth to the region of the inheritance of the mystery which it hath received,--that is to the mystery of the One and Only, the Ineffable,--and until it becometh one with its Limbs. Amen, I say unto you: It will be in all the regions in the time a man shooteth an arrow. "Now, therefore, amen, I say unto you: Every man who will receive that mystery of the Ineffable and accomplish it in all its types and all its figures,--he is a man in the world, but he towereth above all angels and will tower still more above them all.

"He, therefore, who shall receive the [first] mystery of that First Mystery, and it shall be at the time that he cometh out of the body of the matter of the rulers,--then the retributive receivers come and lead the soul of that man out of the body. And that soul will become a great light-stream in the hands of the retributive receivers; and those receivers will be afraid of the light of that soul. And that soul will go upwards and pass through all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light. And it will not give answers nor apologies nor tokens in any single region of the Light nor in any single region of the rulers; but it will pass through all the regions and cross over them all, so that it goeth and ruleth over all the regions of the first saviour.

"In like manner also he who shall receive the second mystery of the First Mystery and the third and fourth, until he shall receive the twelfth mystery of the First Mystery, if it shall be at the time that he cometh out of the body of the matter of the rulers,--then the retributive receivers come and lead the soul of that man out of the body of matter. And those souls will become a great light-stream in the hands of the retributive receivers; and those receivers will be afraid of the light of those souls and will become powerless and fall on their faces. And those souls will straightway soar upwards and cross over all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the emanations of the Light. They will not give answers nor apologies nor tokens in any single region; but they will pass through all the regions and will cross over them all and rule over all the regions of the twelve saviours, so that they who receive the second mystery of the First Mystery, will rule over all the regions of the second saviour in the inheritances of the Light.

"And he who shall receive in sequence the twelfth mystery of the First Mystery, that is the master-mystery concerning which I discourse with you,--and he who, therefore, shall receive those twelve mysteries which belong to the First Mystery, if he goeth forth out of the world, will pass through all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the Light, being a great light-stream, and he will moreover rule over all the regions of the twelve saviours; but they will not be able to be like unto those who receive the one and only mystery of the Ineffable. But he who shall receive those mysteries will abide in those orders, because they are exalted, and he will abide in the orders of the twelve saviours."

"The first [mystery of the First Mystery],--if thou accomplishest its mystery altogether and standest and accomplishest it finely in all its figures, then dost thou come straightway out of thy body, become a great light-stream and pass through all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the Light, while all are in fear of that soul, until it cometh to the region of its kingdom.

"But if that man hath received no mysteries and is not sharing in the words of truth,--if he who accomplisheth that mystery, speaketh that mystery over the head of a man who cometh forth out of the body and who hath received no mysteries of the Light, and shareth not in the words of truth,--amen, I say unto you: That man, if he cometh forth out of the body, will be judged in no region of the rulers, nor can he be chastized in any region at all, nor will the fire touch him, because of the great mystery of the Ineffable which is with him.

"The third mystery of that Ineffable on the other hand,--the man indeed who shall accomplish that mystery, not only if he [himself] cometh forth out of the body, will he inherit the kingdom of the mystery, but if he complete that mystery and accomplish it with all its figures, that is if he go through with that mystery and accomplish it finely and pronounce the name of that mystery over a man who cometh forth out of the body and hath known that mystery,--let the former have delayed or rather not have delayed,--one who is in the dire chastisements of the rulers and in their dire judgments and their manifold fires,--amen, I say unto you: The man who hath come forth out of the body,--if the name of this mystery is pronounced on his behalf, they will hasten quickly to bring him over and hand him over one to another, until they bring him before the Virgin of Light. And the Virgin of Light will seal him with a higher. seal, which is this [...?], and in that month will she let him light down into the righteous body which will find the godhead in truth and the higher mystery, so that he inherit the Light-kingdom. This, therefore, is the gift of the third mystery of the Ineffable.

And Andrew answered and said: "My Lord, I am astonished and marvel exceedingly, how the men who are in the world and in the body of this matter, if they come forth out of this world, will pass through these firmaments and all these rulers and all lords and all gods and all these great invisibles and all those of the region of the Midst and those of the whole region of the Right and all the great [ones] of the emanations of the Light, and enter into them all and inherit the Light-kingdom. This matter, therefore, is hard for me."

When then Andrew had said this, the spirit of the Saviour was roused in him; he cried out and said: "How long am I to endure you? How long am I to bear with you? Have ye then not even yet understood and are ye ignorant? Know ye then not and do ye not understand that ye and all angels and all archangels and the gods and the lords and all the rulers and all the great invisibles and all those of the Midst and those of the whole region of the Right and all the great [ones] of the emanations of the Light and their whole glory,--that ye all one with another are out of one and the same paste and the same matter and the same substance, and that ye all are out of the same Mixture. "And at the commandment of the First Mystery the Mixture was constrained, until all the great [ones] of the emanations of the Light and all their glory purified themselves, and until they purified themselves from the Mixture. And they have not purified themselves of themselves, but they have purified themselves by necessity according to the economy of the One and Only, the Ineffable.

"Ye then in particular are the refuse of the Treasury and ye are the refuse of the region of the Right and ye are the refuse of the region of those of the Midst and ye are the refuse of all the invisibles and of all the rulers; in a word, ye are the refuse of all these. And ye are in great sufferings and great afflictions in your being poured from one into another of different kinds of bodies of the world. And after all these sufferings ye have struggled of your-selves and fought, having renounced the whole world and all the matter therein; and ye have not left off seeking, until ye found all the mysteries of the kingdom of the Light, which have purified you and made you into refined light, exceedingly purified, and ye have become purified light.

"But if ye come forth out of the body and come on high and reach unto the region of the rulers, then will all the rulers be seized with shame before you, because ye are the refuse of their matter and have become light more purified than them all. And if ye reach unto the region of the Great Invisible and unto the region of those of the Midst and of those of the Right and unto the regions of all the great emanations of the Light, then will ye be revered among them all, because ye are the refuse of their matter and are became light more purified than them all. And all the regions will sing praises before you, until ye come to the region of the kingdom.

"Say unto them: Renounce murder, that ye may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the crocodile-faced ruler,--this one who is in the cold, is the first chamber of the outer darkness.

"Say unto them: Renounce pitilessness and impiety, that ye may be worthy of the mysteries of the Light and be saved from the rulers of the outer darkness.

"And with haste they take pity on it quickly, to lead it up out of the chaos and lead it on the way of the midst through all the rulers. And they [sc. the rulers] do not chastize it in their harsh judgments, but the fire of their regions troubleth it partly. And if it shall be brought into the region of Yachthanabas, the pitiless, then will he indeed not be able to chastize it in his evil judgments, but he holdeth it fast a short time, while the fire of his chastisements troubleth it partly.

And again they take pity on it quickly, and lead it up out of those regions of theirs and they do not bring it into the aeons, so that the rulers of the aeons do not carry it away ravishingly; they bring it on the way of the sun and bring it before the Virgin of Light. She proveth it and findeth that it is pure of sins, but letteth them not bring it to the Light, because the sign of the kingdom of the mystery is not with it. But she sealeth it with a higher seal and letteth it be cast down into the body into the aeons of righteousness,--that body which will be good to find the signs of the mysteries of the Light and inherit the Light-kingdom for ever.

"Now, therefore, all men, sinners or better who are no sinners, not only if ye desire that they be taken out of the judgments and violent chastisements, but that they be removed into a righteous body which will find the mysteries of the godhead, so that it goeth on high and inheriteth the Light-kingdom,--then perform the third mystery of the Ineffable and say: Carry ye the soul of this and this man of whom we think in our hearts, carry him out of all the chastisements of the rulers and haste ye quickly to lead him before the Virgin of Light; and in every month let the Virgin of Light seal him with a higher seal, and in every month let the Virgin of Light cast him into a body which will be righteous and good, so that it goeth on high and inheriteth the Light-kingdom. "And if ye say this, amen, I say unto you: All who serve in all the orders of the judgments of the rulers, hasten to hand over that soul from one to the other, until they lead it before the Virgin of Light. And the Virgin of Light sealeth it with the sign of the kingdom of the Ineffable and handeth it over unto her receivers, and the receivers will cast it into a body which will be righteous and find the mysteries of the Light, so that it will be good and goeth on high and inheriteth the Light-kingdom. Lo, this is it on which ye question me."

And Mary answered and said: "Now, therefore, my Lord, hast thou then not brought mysteries into the world that man may not die through the death which is appointed him by the rulers of the Fate,--be it that it is appointed one to die by the sword or die by the waters or through tortures and torturings and acts of violence which are in the law, or through any other evil death,--hast thou then not brought mysteries into the world that man may not die with them through the rulers of the Fate, but that he may die by a sudden death, so that he endure no sufferings through such kinds of death? For they are exceedingly numerous who persecute us because of thee, and numerous those who persecute us because of thy name, in order that, if they torture us, we may speak the mystery and straightway go out of the body without having endured any sufferings at all."

The Saviour answered and said unto all his disciples: "Concerning this word on which ye question me, I have spoken unto you at another time; but hearken again that I may say it unto you anew: Not only ye, but every man who will accomplish that first mystery of the First Mystery of the Ineffable,--he who, therefore, shall perform that mystery and accomplish it in all its figures and all its types and all its stations, in performing it, he will not come out of the body; but after he hath accomplished that mystery in all its figures and all its types, thereafter then at every time when he shall speak the name of that mystery, he will save himself from all that which is appointed him by the rulers of the Fate. And in that hour he will come forth out of the body of the matter of the rulers, and his soul will become a great light-stream, so that it soareth on high and penetrateth all the regions of the rulers and all the regions of the Light, until it reacheth the region of its kingdom. Neither giveth it answers nor apologies in any region at all, for it is without tokens."

"The mystery of the raising of the dead and of the healing of the sick, on the other hand, give unto no one nor give instruction in it, for that mystery belongeth to the rulers, it and all its namings. For this cause, therefore, give it unto no one, nor give instruction in it until ye establish the faith in the whole world, in order that, if ye come into cities or into countries, and they do not receive you unto themselves, and do not have faith, and do not hearken unto your words, ye may raise the dead in those regions and heal the lame and the blind and manifold of sicknesses in those regions. And through all such they will have faith in you, that ye herald the God of the universe, and will have faith in all the words of you. For this cause, therefore, have I given unto you that mystery, until ye establish the faith in the whole world."

"Is the babe born, the power is feeble in it, and the soul is feeble in it, and also the counterfeiting spirit is feeble in it; in a word, the three together are feeble, without any one of them sensing anything, whether good or evil, because of the load of forgetfulness which is very heavy. Moreover the body also is feeble. And the babe eateth of the delights of the world of the rulers; and the power draweth into itself from the portion of the power which is in the delights; and the soul draweth into itself from the portion of the soul which is in the delights; and the counterfeiting spirit draweth into itself from the portion of the evil which is in the delights and in its lusts. And on the other hand the body draweth into itself the matter which senseth not, which is in the delights. The destiny on the contrary taketh nothing from the delights, because it is not mingled with them, but it departeth again in the condition in which it cometh into the world.

"And after this the counterfeiting spirit contriveth and senseth all sins and the evil which the rulers of the great Fate have commanded for the soul, and it maketh them for the soul.

"And it goadeth on the retributive servitors, so that they are witnesses in all the sins which it will make it do. Moreover also if it will rest in the night [or] by day, it stirreth it in dreams or in lusts of the world, and maketh it to lust after all the things of the world. In a word, it driveth [?] it into all the things which the rulers have commanded for it and it is hostile to the soul, making it do what pleaseth it not.

"Now, therefore, if the time of that man is completed, first cometh forth the destiny and leadeth the man unto death through the rulers and their bonds with which they are bound through the Fate. "And thereafter the retributive receivers come and lead that soul out of the body. And thereafter the. retributive receivers spend three days circling round with that soul in all the regions and dispatch it to all the aeons of the world. And the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny follow that soul; and the power returneth to the Virgin of Light.

"And after three days the retributive receivers lead down that soul to the Amente of the chaos; and when they bring it down to the chaos, they hand it over to those who chastize. And the retributive receivers return unto their own regions according to the economy of the works of the rulers concerning the coming-forth of the souls.

"And when the soul hath finished the chastisements in the chaos according to the sins which it hath committed, the counterfeiting spirit leadeth it forth out of the chaos, being assigned unto it and transferring it to every region because of the sins which it hath committed; and it leadeth it forth on the way of the rulers of the midst. And when it reacheth them, [the rulers] question it on the mysteries of the destiny; and if it hath not found them, they question their destiny. And those rulers chastize that soul according to the sins of which it is guilty. I will tell you the type of their chastisements at the expansion of the universe. "When, therefore, the time of the chastisements of that soul in the judgments of the rulers of the midst shall be completed, the counterfeiting spirit leadeth the soul up out of all the regions of the rulers of the midst and bringeth it before the light of the sun according to the commandment of the First Man, Yew, and bringeth it before the judge, the Virgin of Light. And she proveth that soul and findeth that it is a sinning soul, and ceaseth her light-power into it for its standing-upright and because of the body and the community of sense,--the type of which I will tell you at the expansion of the universe.

"And before it removeth itself above, it uttereth the mystery of the undoing of the seals and all the bonds of the counterfeiting spirit with which the rulers have bound it to the soul; and when it is uttered, the bonds of the counterfeiting spirit undo themselves, and it ceaseth to come into that soul and releaseth the soul according to the commandments which the rulers of the great Fate have commanded it, saying: 'Release not this soul until it tell thee the mystery of the undoing of all the seals with which we have bound thee to the soul.'

"If then the soul shall have uttered the mystery of the undoing of the seals and of all the bonds of the counterfeiting spirit, and if it ceaseth to come into the soul and ceaseth to be bound to it, then it uttereth in that moment a mystery and releaseth the destiny to its region to the rulers who are on the way of the midst. And it uttereth the mystery and releaseth the counterfeiting spirit to the rulers of the Fate to the region in which it was bound to it.

"And in that moment it becometh a great light-stream, shining exceedingly, and the retributive receivers who have led it forth out of the body, are afraid of the light of that soul and fall on their faces. And in that moment that soul becometh a great light-stream, it becometh entirely wings of light, and penetrateth all the regions of the rulers and all the orders of the Light, until it reacheth the region of its kingdom up to which it hath received mysteries.

"And the destiny and the counterfeiting spirit follow that soul. Because the counterfeiting spirit is bound to it with the seals and the bonds of the rulers, it followeth thus that soul which travelleth on the ways with the counterfeiting spirit.

"It uttereth the mystery of the undoing of all the bonds and all the seals with which the rulers have bound the counterfeiting spirit to the soul. And when the soul uttereth the mystery of the undoing of the seals, straightway the bonds of the seals which are bound in the counterfeiting spirit to the soul undo themselves. And when the soul uttereth the mystery of the undoing of the seals, straightway the counterfeiting spirit undoeth itself and ceaseth to be assigned to the soul. And in that moment the soul uttereth a mystery and restraineth the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny and dischargeth them which follow it. But no one of them is in its power; but it is in their power.

"And in that moment the receivers of that soul come with the mysteries which it hath received, come and snatch that soul out of the hands of the retributive receivers, and the [latter] receivers go back to the works of the rulers for the purpose of the economy of the leading-forth of the souls. "And the receivers of that soul on the other hand who belong to the Light, become wings of light for that soul and become vestures of light for it and they do not lead it into the chaos, because it is not lawful to lead into the chaos souls which have received mysteries, but they lead it on the way of the rulers of the midst. And when it reacheth the rulers of the midst, those rulers meet the soul, they being in great fear and violent fire and with different faces, in a word in great immeasurable fear.

"And when the soul shall have said this, the receivers of the Light fly with it on high and lead it into the aeons of the Fate, it giving every region its apology and its seals,--which I will tell you at the expansion of the universe. And it giveth the counterfeiting spirit to the rulers and telleth them the mystery of the bonds with which it is bound to it, and sayeth unto them: There have ye your counterfeiting spirit! I come not to your region from this moment onwards. I have become a stranger unto you for ever. And it giveth every one his seal and his apology.

"And when the soul shall have said this, the receivers of the Light fly with it on high and lead it out of the aeons of the Fate and lead it up into all the aeons [above], it giving to every region its apology and the apology of all the regions and the seals to the tyrants of the king, the Adamas. And it giveth the apology of all the rulers of all the regions of the Left,--whose collective apologies and seals I will one day tell you when I shall tell you the expansion of the universe.

"The first thought hath arisen in me concerning the word which thou hast spoken: 'Now, therefore, the soul giveth the apology and seal unto all the rulers who are in the region of the king, the Adamas, and giveth the apology and the honour and the glory of all their seals and the songs of praise to the region of the Light,'--concerning this word then thou hast spoken unto us aforetime, when they brought thee the piece of money and thou didst see that it was of silver and copper and didst ask: 'Whose is this image?' They said: 'The king's.' And when thou sawest that it was of silver and copper mixed, thou saidst: 'Give therefore the king's unto the king and God's unto God,'--that is: If the soul receiveth mysteries, it giveth the apology to all the rulers and to the region of the king, the Adamas; and the soul giveth the honour and the glory to all those of the region of the Light. And the word: 'It hath glistened, when thou didst see that it is made up of silver and copper,'--it is the type thereof, that in it [sc. the soul] is the power of the Light, which is the refined silver, and that in it is the counterfeiting spirit, which is the material copper. This, my Lord, is the first thought.

"The second thought is on the other hand that which thou hast just said unto us concerning the soul which receiveth the mysteries: 'If it cometh into the region of the rulers of the way of the midst, they come forth to meet it in exceedingly great fear and they are afraid of it. And the soul giveth the mystery of the fear unto them and they are afraid before it. And it giveth the destiny to its region, and it giveth the counterfeiting spirit to its own region, and it giveth the apology and the seals to every one of the rulers who are on the ways, and it giveth the honour and the glory and the laud of the seals and the songs of praise to all those of the region of the Light,'--concerning this word, my Lord, thou hast spoken aforetime through the mouth of our brother Paul: 'Give tax to whom tax is due, give fear to whom fear is due, give tribute to whom tribute is due, give honour to whom honour is due, and give laud to whom laud is due, and owe not any other anything,' --that is, my Lord: The soul which receiveth mysteries, giveth apology to all regions. This, my Lord, is the second thought.

"Because of this manifestly is thy word: Every soul which cometh forth out of the body and travelleth on the way with the counterfeiting spirit and findeth not the mystery of the undoing of all the seals and all the bonds, so that it may undo itself from the counterfeiting spirit which is bound to it,--that soul which hath not found mysteries of the Light and hath not found the mysteries of detachment from the counterfeiting spirit which is bound to it,--if then it hath not found it, the counterfeiting spirit leadeth that soul to the Virgin of Light, and the Virgin of Light, yea that judge, handeth over that soul to one of her receivers, and her receiver casteth it into the sphere of the aeons, and it cometh not out of the changes of the body before it hath yielded the last circuit which is appointed for it. This then, my Lord, is the fourth thought."

"Hearken moreover that I may tell you the word in truth, in what type the mystery of baptism forgiveth sins. Now, therefore, if the souls sin when they are still in the world, the retributive servitors indeed come and are witnesses of all the sins which the soul committeth, lest in sooth they should come forth out of the regions of the chaos, in order that they may convict them in the judgments which are outside the chaos. And the counterfeiting spirit becometh witness of all the sins which the soul shall commit, in order that it may convict it in the judgments which are outside the chaos, not only that it may bear witness of them, but--all the sins of the souls--it sealeth the sins and maketh them fast on to the soul, in order that all the rulers of the chastisements of the sinners may recognize it, that it is a sinning soul, and that they may know of the number of sins which it hath committed, by the seals which the counterfeiting spirit hath made fast on to it, so that it shall be chastized according to the number of sins which it hath committed. This do they with all sinning souls.

The Saviour answered again and said: "Nay, but all the mysteries of the three spaces forgive the soul in all the regions of the rulers all the sine which the soul hath committed from the beginning onwards. They forgive it, and moreover they forgive the sins which it thereafter will commit, until the time up to which every one of the mysteries shall be effective,--the time up to which every one of the mysteries shall be effective I will tell you at the expansion of the universe.

"And moreover the mystery of the First Mystery and the mysteries of the Ineffable forgive the soul in all the regions of the rulers all the sins and all the iniquities which the soul hath committed; and [not only] do they forgive it all, but they impute unto it no sin from this hour unto all eternity, because of the gift of that great mystery and its prodigiously great glory."

"And from this hour onwards no one will be able to enter into the Light and no one be able to go forth. For at the completion of the time of the number of the perfect souls, before I have set fire to the world, in order that it may purify the aeons and the veils and the firmaments and the whole earth and also all the matters which are on it, mankind will be still existing.

And Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "The outer darkness is a great dragon, whose tail is in his mouth, outside the whole world and surrounding the whole world. And there are many regions of chastisement within it. There are twelve mighty chastisement-dungeons and a ruler is in every dungeon and the face of the rulers is different one from another.

"And the first ruler, who is in the first dungeon, hath a crocodile's face, whose tail is in his mouth. And out of the jaws of the dragon cometh all ice and all dust and all cold and all different diseases. This [is] he who is called with his authentic name in his region 'Enchthonin.'

"And the ruler who is in the second dungeon,--a cat's face is his authentic face. This [is] he who is called in his region 'Charachar.'

"And the ruler who is in the third dungeon,--a dog's face is his authentic face. This [is] he who is called in his region 'Archaroch.'

"And the ruler who is in the fourth dungeon,--a serpent's face is his authentic face. This [is] he who is called in his region 'Achrochar.' "And the ruler who is in the fifth dungeon,--a black bull's face is his authentic face. This [is] he who is called in his region 'Marchur.'

"And the ruler who is in the sixth dungeon,--a wild boar's face is his authentic face. This [is] he who is called in his region 'Lamchamor.'

"And the ruler who is in the seventh dungeon, --a bear's face is his authentic face. This [is] he who is called in his region with his authentic name 'Luchar.'

"And the ruler of the eighth dungeon,--a vulture's face is his authentic face, whose name in his region is called 'Laraoch.'

"And the ruler of the ninth dungeon,--a basilisk's face is his authentic face, whose name in his region is called 'Archeoch.'

"And in the tenth dungeon is a multitude of rulers, and every one of them hath seven dragon's heads in his authentic face. And he who is over them all is in his region with his name called Xarmaroch.'

"And in the eleventh dungeon is a multitude of rulers,--and every one of them hath seven cat-faced heads in his authentic face. And the great one over them is called in his region Rochar.'

"And in the twelfth dungeon is an exceedingly great multitude of rulers, and every one of them hath seven dog-faced heads in his authentic face. And the great one over them is called in his region 'Chremaor.'

"These rulers then of these twelve dungeons are inside the dragon of the outer darkness, each and every one of them hath a name every hour, and every one of them changeth his face every hour. And moreover every one of these dungeons hath a door opening upwards, so that the dragon of the outer darkness hath twelve dark dungeons, and every dungeon hath a door opening upwards. And an angel of the height watcheth each of the doors of the dungeons,--whom Yew, the First Man, the overseer of the Light, the envoy of the First Commandment, hath established as watchers of the dragon, so that the dragon and the rulers of his dungeons which are in him, may not mutiny."

"And the fire in the chastisements of the rulers who [are] on the way of the midst, is nine times more violent than the fire of the chastisements in the great chaos.

"And the fire in the dragon of the outer darkness and in all the chastisements in him is seventy times more violent than the fire in all the chastisements and in all the judgments of the rulers who [are] on the way of the midst."

"Amen, I say unto you: The soul for which ye shall pray, if it indeed is in the dragon of the outer darkness, he will draw his tail out of his mouth and let go that soul. And moreover if it is in all the regions of the judgments of the rulers, amen, I say unto you: The receivers of Melchisedec will with haste snatch it away, whether the dragon let it go or it is in the judgments of the rulers; in a word, the receivers of Melchisedec will snatch it away out of all the regions in which it is, and will lead it into the region of the Midst before the Virgin of Light, and the Virgin of Light proveth it and seeth the sign of the kingdom of the Ineffable which is on that soul.

"But if they are sinners and are come out of the body and have not repented, and if ye perform for them the mystery of the Ineffable, in order that they may be removed out of all the chastisements and be cast into a righteous body, which is good and inheriteth the Light-kingdom or is brought into the last order of the Light, then they will not be able to penetrate the regions, because they do not perform the mystery [themselves]. But the receivers of Melchisedec follow them and lead them before the Virgin of Light. And the servitors of the judges of the rulers make frequent haste to take those souls and hand them over from one to the other until they lead them before the Virgin of Light."

"My Lord, if a man hath received the mysteries of the Light which [are] in the first space from without, and when the time of the mysteries up to which they reach, is completed, and if that man continueth anew to receive mysteries of the mysteries which [are] within the mysteries which he hath already received, and moreover that man hath become negligent, not having prayed in the prayer which taketh away the evil of the victuals which he eateth and drinketh, and through the evil of the victuals he is bound to the axle of the Fate of the rulers and through the necessity of the elements he hath sinned anew after the completion of the time up to which the mystery reacheth,--because he hath become negligent and hath not prayed in the prayer which taketh away the evil of the souls and purifieth them,--and that man is come out of the body before he hath repented anew and anew received the mysteries of the mysteries which [are] within the mysteries which he hath already received,--those which accept repentance from him and forgive his sins,--and when he I came forth out of the body and we knew with certainty that they have carried him into the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness because of the sins which he committed, and that that man hath no helper in the world nor any one compassionate, that he should perform the mystery of the Ineffable until he should be removed out of the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness and led into the Light-kingdom,--now, therefore, my Lord, what will befall him until he save himself from the chastisements of the dragon of the outer darkness?

"And all men who shall find the mystery of one of the twelve names of that dragon of the outer darkness, and all men even if they are very great sinners, and they have first received the mysteries of the Light and thereafter have transgressed, or they have performed no mystery at all, then if they have completed their circuits in the changes, and if such men go forth out of the body without having repented anew, and if they are led into the chastisements which [are] in the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness, and remain in the circuits and remain in the chastisements in the midst of the dragon,--these, if they know the mystery of one of the twelve names of the angels while they are in life and are in the world, and if they speak one of their names while they are in the midst of the chastisements of the dragon,--then, at the hour when they shall speak it, the whole dragon will be tossed about and most exceedingly convulsed, and the door of the dungeon in which the souls of those men are, openeth itself upward, and the ruler of the dungeon in which those men are, casteth the souls of those men out of the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness, because they have found the mystery of the name of the dragon.

"And when the ruler casteth out souls, straight-way the angels of Yew, the First Man, who watch the dungeons of that region, hasten to snatch away those souls to lead them before Yew, the First Man, the Envoy of the First Commandment. And Yew, the First Man, seeth the souls and proveth them; he findeth that they have completed their circuits and that it is not lawful to bring them anew into the world, for it is not lawful to bring anew into the world all souls which are cast into the outer darkness. [But] if they have not yet completed their number of circuits in the changes of the body, the receivers of Yew keep them with them until they perform for them the mystery of the Ineffable, and remove them into a good body which shall find the mysteries of the Light and inherit the Light-kingdom.

The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "It is the rulers of the Fate who compel the man until he sinneth."

Mary answered and said unto the Saviour: "My Lord, surely the rulers do not come down to the world and compel the man until he sinneth?"

The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "They do not come down in this manner into the world. But the rulers of the Fate, when an old soul is about to come down through them, then the rulers of that great Fate who [are] in the regions of the head of the aeons,--which is that region which is called the region of the kingdom of Adamas, and which is that region which is in face of the Virgin of Light,--then the rulers of the region of that head give the old soul a cup of forgetfulness out of the seed of wickedness, filled with all the different desires and all forgetfulness. And straightway, when that soul shall drink out of the cup, it forgetteth all the regions to which it hath gone, and all the chastisements in which it hath travelled. And that cup of the water of forgetfulness becometh body outside the soul, and it resembleth the soul in all [its] figures and maketh [itself] like it,--which is what is called the counterfeiting spirit.

"If on the other hand it is a new soul which they have taken out of the sweat of the rulers and out of the tears of their eyes, or far rather out of the breath of their mouths,--in a word, if it is one of the new souls or one of such souls, if it is one out of the sweat, then the five great rulers of the great Fate take up the sweat of all the rulers of their aeons, knead it together withal, portion it and make it into a soul. Or far rather if it is refuse of the purification of the Light, then Melchisedec taketh it up from the rulers. The five great rulers of the great Fate knead the refuse together, portion it and make it into different souls, so that every one of the rulers of the aeons, every one of them putteth his portion into the soul. For this cause they knead it jointly, so that all may [par]take of the soul.

"And the five great rulers, if they portion it and make it into souls, bring it out of the sweat of the rulers. But if it is one out of the refuse of the purification of the Light, then Melchisedec, the great Receiver of the Light, taketh it [sc. the refuse] up from the rulers, or far rather if it is out of the tears of their eyes or out of the breath of their mouth,--in a word, out of such souls, when the five rulers portion it and make it into different souls,--or far rather if it is an old soul, then the ruler who is in the head of the aeons, himself mixeth the cup of forgetfulness with the seed of wickedness, and he mixeth it with every one of the new souls at the time when he is in the region of the head. And that cup of forgetfulness becometh the counterfeiting spirit for that soul, and bideth outside the soul, being a vesture for it and resembling it in every way, being envelope as vesture outside it.

"And the five great rulers of the great Fate of the aeons and the ruler of the disk of the sun and the ruler of the disk of the moon inbreathe within into that soul, and there cometh forth out

"And so I will tell you at the expansion of the universe all these words concerning the power and also concerning the soul, after what type they are fashioned, or what ruler fashioneth them, or what are the different species of the souls. And so will I tell you at the expansion of the universe how many fashion the soul. And I will tell you the name of all of them who fashion the soul. And I will tell you the type, how the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny have been prepared. And I will tell you the name of the soul before it is purged, and moreover its name when it hath been purged and become pure. And I will tell you the name of the counterfeiting spirit; and I will tell you the name of the destiny. And I will tell you the name of all the bonds with which the rulers bind the counterfeiting spirit to the soul. And I will tell you the name of all the decans who fashion the soul in the bodies of the soul in the world; and I will tell you in what manner the souls are fashioned. And I will tell you the type of every one of the souls; and I will tell you the type of the souls of the men and of those of the birds and of those of the wild beasts and of those of the reptiles. And. I will tell you the type of all the souls and of those of all the rulers which are sent into the world, in order that ye may be completed in all gnosis.

"Hearken, therefore, that I may discourse with you concerning the soul according as I have said: The five great rulers of the great Fate of the aeons and the rulers of the disk of the sun and the rulers of the disk of the moon breathe into that soul, and there cometh out of them a portion of my power, as I have just said. And the portion of that power remaineth within the soul, so that the soul can stand. And they put the counterfeiting spirit outside the soul, watching it and assigned to it; and the rulers bind it to the soul with their seals and their bonds and seal it to it, that it may compel it always, so that it continually doeth its mischiefs and all its iniquities, in order that it may be their slave always and remain under their sway always in the changes of the body; and they seal it to it that it may be in all the sin and all the desires of the world.

"For this cause, therefore, have I in this manner brought the mysteries into this world which undo all the bonds of the counterfeiting spirit and all the seals which are bound to the soul,--those which make the soul free and free it from its parents the rulers, and make it into refined light and lead it up into the kingdom of its father, the first Issue, the First Mystery, for ever.

"For this cause therefore, have I said unto you aforetime: 'He who doth not abandon father and mother and come and follow after me, is not worthy of me.' I have, therefore, said at that time: Ye are to abandon your parents the rulers, that I may make you sons of the First Mystery for ever."

And when the Saviour had said this, Salome started forward and said: "My Lord, if our parents are the rulers, how standeth it written in the Law of Moses: 'He who shall abandon his father and his mother, let him die the death'? Hath not thus the Law made statement thereon?"

And when the Saviour had said this, Mary started forward to Salome, embraced her and said unto her: "My sister Salome, concerning the word which thou hast spoken: It standeth written in the Law of Moses: 'He who shall abandon his father and his mother, let him die the death,'--now, therefore, my sister Salome, the Law hath not said this concerning the soul nor concerning the body nor concerning the counterfeiting spirit, for all these are sons of the rulers and are out of them. But the Law hath said this concerning the power which hath came forth out of the Saviour, and which is the light-man within us to-day. The Law hath moreover said: Every one who shall remain without the Saviour and all his mysteries, his parents, will not only die the death but go to ruin in destruction."

"Now, therefore, the rulers seal the counterfeiting spirit to the soul, [but] so that it doth not agitate it every hour, making it do all sins and all iniquities. And they give commandment moreover unto the counterfeiting spirit, saying: 'If the soul cometh out of the body, do not agitate it, being assigned to it and transferring it to all the regions of the judgments, region by region, on account of all the sins which thou hast made it do, in order that it may be chastized in all the regions of the judgments, so that it may not be able to go on high to the Light and return into changes of the body.'

"The rulers of the great Fate of the aeons hand these over to the counterfeiting spirit; and the rulers summon the servitors of their aeons, to the number of three-hundred-and-sixty-and-five, and give them the soul and the counterfeiting spirit, which are bound to one another. The counterfeiting spirit is the without of the soul, and the compound of the power is the within of the soul, being within both of them, in order that they may be able to stand, for it is the power which keepeth the two up-right. And the rulers give commandment to the servitors, saying unto them: This is the type which ye are to put into the body of the matter of the world.' They say unto them indeed: 'Put the compound of the power, the within of the soul, within them all, that they may be able to stand, for it is their up-rightness, and after the soul put the counterfeiting spirit.'

"Thus they give commandment to their servitors, that they may deposit it into the bodies of the antitype. And following this fashion the servitors of the rulers bring the power and the soul and the counterfeiting spirit, bring them down to the world, and pour [them] out into the world of the rulers of the midst. The rulers of the midst look after the counterfeiting spirit; and also the destiny, whose name is Moira, leadeth the man until it hath him slain through the death appointed unto him, which the rulers of the great Fate have bound to the soul. And the servitors of the sphere bind the soul and the power and the counterfeiting spirit and the destiny. And they portion them all and make them into two portions and seek after the man and also after the woman in the world to whom they have given signs, in order that they may send them into them. And they give one portion to the man and one portion to the woman in a victual of the world or in a breath of the air or in water or in a kind which they drink.

"Now, therefore, when the servitors of the rulers cast the one portion into the woman and the other into the man in the fashion which I have told you, then the servitors secretly compel them, even if they are removed at very great distance from one another, so that they concert to be in a concert of the world. And the counterfeiting spirit which is in the man, cometh to the portion which is entrusted to the world in the matter of his body, and lifteth it and casteth it down into the womb of the woman [into the portion] which is entrusted to the seed of wickedness.

"And in that hour the three-hundred-and-sixty-and-five servitors of the rulers go into her womb and take up their abode in it. The servitors bring the two portions the one to the other, and moreover the servitors withhold the blood of all the food of the woman which she will eat and which she will drink, and they withhold [it] in the womb of the woman up to forty days. And after forty days they knead the blood of the power of all the food and knead it well in the woman's womb.

"And after this the servitors seal them one to the other with all the seals which the rulers have given them. [And] they seal the day on which they have taken up their abode in the womb of the woman,--they seal [it] on the left hand of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they have completed the body, on the right hand; and they seal the day on which the rulers have handed it over to them, on the middle of the skull of the body of the plasm; and they seal the day on which the soul hath come forth out of the rulers, they seal it on the [left of] the skull of the plasm; and they seal the day on which they kneaded the members and separated them for a soul, they seal it on the right of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which they have bound the counterfeiting spirit to it [the soul], they seal on the back of the skull of the plasm; and the day on which the rulers have breathed the power into the body, they seal on the brain which is in the midst of the head of the plasm and also on the inside [? the heart] of the plasm; and the number of years which the soul will spend in the body, they seal on the forehead which is on the plasm. And so they seal all those seals on the plasm. I will tell you the names of all these seals at the expansion of the universe; and after the expansion of the universe I will tell you wherefor all hath come to pass.

"Now, therefore, the servitors complete the whole man. And of all these seals with which they have sealed the body, the servitors carry the whole peculiarity and bring it to all the retributive rulers who [are] over all the chastisements of the judgments; and these hand it over to their receivers, in order that they may lead their souls out of the bodies,--they hand over to them the peculiarity of the seals, in order that they may know the time when they are to lead the souls out of the bodies, and in order that they may know the time when they are to bring to birth the body, so that they may send their servitors in order that they may draw near and follow the soul and bear witness of all the sins it shall do,--they and the counterfeiting spirit,--on account of the manner and way, how they shall chastize it in the judgment.

"And when the servitors have given the peculiarity of the seals to the retributive rulers, they withdraw themselves to the economy of their occupations which is appointed unto them through the rulers of the great Fate. And when the number of months of the birth of the babe is completed, the babe is born. Small in it is the compound of the power, and small in it is the soul; and small in it is the counterfeiting spirit. The destiny on the contrary is large, as it is not mingled into the body for their economy, but followeth the soul and the body and the counterfeiting spirit, until the time when the soul shall come forth out of the body, on account of the type of death by which it shall slay it [the body] according to the death appointed for it by the rulers of the great Fate.

Mary answered and said: "To all men then who are in the world, will all which is appointed them through the Fate, whether good or bad or sin or death or life,--in a word, will all which is appointed them through the rulers of the Fate, have to come unto them?"

"For this cause, therefore, have I brought the keys of the mysteries into the world, that I may free the sinners who shall have faith in me and hearken unto me, so that I may free them from the bonds and the seals of the aeons of the rulers and bind them to the seals and the vestures and the orders of the Light, in order that he whom I shall free in the world from the bonds and the seals of the aeons of the rulers, may be freed in the Height from the bonds and seals of the aeons of the rulers, and in order that he whom I shall bind in the world to the seals and the vestures and the orders of the Light, may be bound in the Light-land to the orders of the inheritances of the Light.

"For the sake of sinners, therefore, have I torn myself asunder at this time and have brought them the mysteries, that I may free them from the aeons of the rulers and bind them to the inheritances of the Light, and not only the sinners, but also the righteous, in order that I may give them the mysteries and that they may be taken into the Light, for without mysteries they cannot be taken into the Light.

For even for the righteous, who have never done any evil and have not sinned at all, it is necessary that they should find the mysteries which are in the Books of Yew, which I have made Enoch write in Paradise, discoursing with him out of the tree of the Gnosis and out of the tree of the Life. And I made him deposit them in the rock Ararad, and set the ruler Kalapatauroth, who is over Skemmut, on whose head is the foot of Yew, and who surroundeth all aeons and Fates,--I set up that ruler as watcher over the Books of Yew on account of the flood, and in order that none of the rulers may be envious of them and destroy them. These will I give you, when I shall have told you the expansion of the universe."

Mary answered and said unto the Saviour: "My Lord, before thou didst come to the region of the rulers and before thou didst come down into the world, hath no soul entered into the Light?"

The Saviour continued and said unto Mary: "Amen, amen, I say unto you: No prophet hath entered into the Light; but the rulers of the aeons have discoursed with them out of the aeons and given them the mystery of the aeons. And when I came to the regions of the aeons, I have turned Elias and sent him into the body of John the Baptizer, and the rest also I turned into righteous bodies, which will find the mysteries of the Light, go on high and inherit the Light-kingdom.

"Unto Abraham on the other hand and Isaac and Jacob I have forgiven all their sins and their iniquities and have given them the mysteries of the Light in the aeons and placed them in the region of Yabraoth and of all the rulers who have repented. And when I go into the Height and am on the point of going into the Light, I will carry their souls with me into the Light. But, amen, I say unto you, Mary: They will not go into the Light before I have carried thy soul and those of all thy brethren into the Light.

"The rest of the patriarchs and of the righteous from the time of Adam unto now, who are in the aeons and all the orders of the rulers, when I came to the region of the aeons, I have through the Virgin of Light made to turn into bodies which will all be righteous,--those which will find the mysteries of the Light, enter in and inherit the Light-kingdom."

Again did Jesus,--that is Aberamentho,--make invocation, speaking the name of the father of the Treasury of the Light, and said: "Let all the mysteries of the rulers and the authorities and the angels and the archangels and all powers and all things of the invisible god Agrammachamarei and Barbelo draw near the Leech [Bdella] on one side and withdraw to the right."

And in that hour all the heavens went to the west, and all the aeons and the sphere and their rulers and all their powers flew together to the west to the left of the disk of the sun and the disk of the moon.

And the base of the moon had the type of a ship which a male and a female dragon steered and two white bulls drew. The figure of a babe was on the stern of the moon who guided the dragons who robbed the light from the rulers. And on its prow was a cat's face. And the whole world and the mountains and the seas fled together to the west to the left.

Jesus said: "These are the regions of the way of the midst. For it came to pass, when the rulers of Adamas mutinied and persistently practised congress, procreating rulers, archangels, angels, servitors and decans, that Yew, the father of my father, came forth from the Right and bound them to a Fate-sphere.

"For there are twelve aeons; over six Sabaoth, the Adamas, ruleth, and his brother Yabraoth ruleth over the other six. At that time then Yabraoth with his rulers had faith in the mysteries of the Light and was active in the mysteries of the Light and abandoned the mystery of congress. But Sabaoth, the Adamas, and his rulers have persisted in the practice of congress.

"And when Yew, the father of my father, saw that Yabraoth had faith, he carried him and all the rulers who had had faith with him, took him unto himself out of the sphere and led him into a purified air in face of the light of the sun between the regions of those of the midst and between [?] the regions of the invisible god. He posted him there with the rulers who had had faith in him.

"But he carried Sabaoth, the Adamas, and his rulers who had not been active in the mysteries of the Light, but have been persistently active in the mysteries of congress, and inbound them into the sphere.

"He bound eighteen-hundred rulers in every aeon, and set three-hundred-and-sixty over them, and he set five other great rulers as lords over the three-hundred-and-sixty and over all the bound rulers, who in the whole world of mankind are called with these names: the first is called Kronos, the second Ares, the third Hermes, the fourth Aphrodite, the fifth Zeus."

"And moreover he perceived that they needed a helm to steer the world and the aeons of the sphere, so that they might not wreck it [the world] in their wickedness. He went into the Midst, drew forth a power out of the little Sabaoth, the Good, him of the Midst, and bound it to Zeus, because he is a good [regent], so that he may steer them in his goodness. And he set thus established the circling of his order, that he should spend thirteen [? three] months in every aeon confirming [it], so that he may set free all the rulers over whom he cometh, from the evil of their wickedness. And he gave him two aeons, which are in face of those of Hermes, for his dwelling.

"I have told you for the first time the names of these five great rulers with which the men of the world are wont to call them. Hearken now then that I may tell you also their incorruptible names, which are: Orimouth correspondeth to Kronos; Mounichounaphor correspondeth to Ares; Tarpetanouph correspondeth to Hermes; Chosi correspondeth to Aphrodite; Chonbal correspondeth to Zeus. These are their incorruptible names."