(1) It came to pass then, when Mary had finished saying these words, that he said: "Well said, Mary, for thou art blessed before all women on the earth, because thou shalt be the fulness of all fulnesses and the perfection of all perfections." Now when Mary had heard the Saviour speak these words, she exulted greatly, and she came before Jesus, fell down before him, adored his feet and said unto him: "My Lord, hearken unto me, that I may question thee on this word, before that thou discoursest with us about the regions whither thou didst go." Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "Discourse in openness and fear not; all things on which thou questionest, I will reveal unto thee."

(1) When then he had said this to his disciples, he said unto them: "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." It came to pass then, when Mary had heard the Saviour say these words, that she gazed fixedly into the air for the space of an hour. She said: "My Lord, give commandment unto me to speak in openness." And Jesus, the compassionate, answered and said unto Mary: "Mary, thou blessed one, whom I will perfect in all mysteries of those of the height, discourse in openness, thou, whose heart is raised to the kingdom of heaven more than all thy brethren."

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard Mary say these words, that he said: "Well said, all-blessed Mary, spiritual [one]. These are the solutions of the words which I have spoken." Mary answered and said: "Still, my Lord, do I question thee, because from now on I will begin to question thee on all things with sureness. For this cause, therefore, my Lord, be patient with us and reveal unto us all things on which we shall question thee for the sake of the manner, how my brethren are to herald it to the whole race of men." And when she had said this to the Saviour, the Saviour answered and said unto her in great compassion towards her: "Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: Not only will I reveal unto you all things on which ye shall question me, but from now on I will reveal unto you other things on which ye have not thought to question, which have not entered into the heart of man, and which also all the gods, who are below man, know not. Now, therefore, Mary, question on what thou mayest question, and I will reveal it unto thee face to face without similitude."

(1) It came to pass then, when Mary had finished speaking these words unto Jesus in the midst of the disciples, that she said unto him: "My Lord, this is the solution of the mystery of the repentance of Pistis Sophia." It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard Mary speak these words, that he said unto her: "Well said, Mary, blessed one, the fulness, or all-blessed fulness, thou who shalt be sung of as blessed in all generations."

(3) When then Jesus had said this, Mary continued, threw herself at Jesus' feet, kissed them and said: "My Lord, still will I question thee. Reveal [it] unto us and hide [it] not from us." Jesus answered and said unto Mary: "Question on what ye question, and I will reveal [it] unto you in openness without similitude." When then the Saviour had said this, the disciples came forward, cried out all together and said: "O Saviour, thou hath made us very exceedingly frenzied because of the great deeds of which thou tellest us; and because thou hast borne up our souls, they have pressed to go forth out of us unto thee, for we issue from thee. Now, therefore, because of these great deeds of which thou tellest us, our souls have become frenzied and they have pressed very exceedingly, yearning to go forth out of us on high to the region of thy kingdom."

(24) When she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come.

(5) It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard his. mother Mary say these words, that he said unto her: "Well said, finely. Amēn, amēn, I say unto thee: They shall proclaim thee blessed from one end of the earth to the other; for the pledge of the First Mystery hath taken up its abode with thee, and through that pledge shall all from the earth and all from the height be saved, and that pledge is the beginning and the end."

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples, that Mary, the fair in her discourse and the blessed one, came forward, fell at the feet of Jesus and said: "My Lord, suffer me that I speak before thee, and be not wroth with me, if oft I give thee trouble questioning thee." The Saviour, full of compassion, answered and said unto Mary: "Speak the word which thou willest, and I will reveal it to thee in all openness." Mary answered and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, in what way will the souls have delayed themselves here outside, and in what type will they be quickly purified?"

(2) Mary answered and said: "My Lord, I have understood the mysteries of the things which have fallen to this woman's lot. Concerning the things then which have fallen to her lot, thou hast spoken unto us aforetime in similitude, saying: 'A man owned a fig-tree in his vineyard; and he came to look for its fruit, and he found not a single one on it. He said to the vine-dresser: Lo, three years do I come to look for fruit on this fig-tree, and I have not any produce at all from it. Cut it down then; why doth it make the ground also good for nothing? But he answered and said unto him: My lord, have patience with it still this year, until I dig round it and give it dung; and if it beareth in another year, thou hast let it, but if thou dost not find any [fruit] at all, then hast thou [to] cut it down.' Lo, my Lord, this is the solution of the word." The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "Well said, spiritual [one]. This is [the solution of] the word."

(1) And when the Saviour had said this unto Mary, she smote her breast, she cried out and wept, she and all the disciples together, and said: "Woe unto sinners, for their chastisements are exceedingly numerous!" Mary came forward, she fell down at the feet of Jesus, kissed them and said: "My Lord, bear with me if I question thee, and be not wroth with me, that I trouble thee oft; for from now on I will begin to question thee on all things with determination." The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "Question concerning all things on which thou desirest to question, and I will reveal them unto thee in openness without similitude."

(1) "It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished speaking these words, that Mary Magdalene started forward and said: "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 Mary had finished saying these words, that the Saviour was greatly astonished at the definitions of the words which she spake, for she had become pure spirit utterly. Jesus answered again and said unto her: "Well said, spiritual and pure Mary. This is the solution of the word."

(3) It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard these words, that he said: "Well said, Mary, blessed one, who shalt inherit the whole Light-kingdom." Thereon Mary, the mother of Jesus, also came forward and said: "My Lord and my Saviour, give commandment unto me also that I repeat this word." Jesus said: "Whose spirit is understanding, him I do not prevent, but I urge him on still more to speak the thought which hath moved him. Now, therefore, Mary, my mother according to matter, thou in whom I have sojourned, I bid thee that thou also speak the thought of the discourse." it became material body for thee, and hath made proclamation concerning the region of Truth. 'Righteousness' is thy spirit, who hath brought the mysteries out of the height to give them to the race of men. 'Peace' on the other hand is the power which hath sojourned in thy material body according to the world, which hath baptized the race of men, until it should make it stranger unto sin and make it at peace with thy spirit, so that they may be at peace with the emanations of the Light; that is, 'Grace and truth kissed each other.' As it saith: 'Truth sprouted forth out of the earth,'--'truth' is thy material body which sprouted forth out of me according to the world of men, and hath made proclamation concerning the region of Truth. And again as it saith: 'Righteousness [looked down] from heaven'--'righteousness' is the power which looked out of the height, which will give the mysteries of the Light to the race of men, so that they will become righteous and good, and inherit the Light-kingdom." It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard these words which his mother Mary spake, that he said: "Well said, finely, Mary."

(1) Then said Mary to the Saviour: "My Lord, the word which thou hast spoken unto us: 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,' thou sayest in order that we may understand the word which thou hast spoken. Hearken, therefore, my Lord, that I may discourse in openness. "The word which thou hast spoken: 'I have taken a third from the power of the rulers of all the æons, 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 Sabaōth 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 æons 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 Sabaōth 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 Sabaōth will do.' Because of the light-power which thou didst receive from Sabaōth, 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."

(1) Mary answered and said: "Yea, my Lord, with precision have I precisely followed all the words which thou hast said. Concerning this word then thou hast spoken unto us aforetime: 'If the house-holder knew at what hour in the night the thief cometh to break into the house, he would keep awake and not suffer the man to break into his house.'" When then Mary had said this, the Saviour said: "Well said, thou spiritual Mary. This is the word." The Saviour continued again and said unto his disciples: "Now, therefore, herald ye unto all men who shall receive mysteries in the Light, and speak unto them, saying: Keep watch over yourselves and sin not, lest ye heap evil on evil and go out of the body without having repented and become strangers to the Light-kingdom for ever." When the Saviour had said this, Mary answered and said: "My Lord, great is the compassion of those mysteries which forgive sins at every time."

(1) Mary started forward again, stepped into the midst, placed herself by Philip and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, my in-dweller of light hath ears, and I am ready to hear with my power, and I have understood the word which thou hast spoken. Now, therefore, my Lord, hearken that I may discourse in openness, thou who hast said unto us: 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.' "Concerning the word which thou hast spoken unto Philip: 'It is thou and Thomas and Matthew on whom it hath been enjoined--to you three by the First Mystery, to write all the discourses of the kingdom of the Light and thereto to bear witness '; hearken, therefore, that I may proclaim the solution of this word. This is what thy light-power prophesied aforetime through Moses: 'By two or three witnesses shall every matter be established.' The three witnesses are Philip and Thomas and Matthew."

(1) It came to pass then, when Mary had heard the Saviour say these words, that she rejoiced with great joy and exulted exceedingly and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, by how much greatness then is the second Helper greater than the first Helper? By how much distance is he distant from him, or rather how many times more does he shine than the latter?"

(1) And Mary again started forward and said: "Yea, my Lord, I understand in what manner thou dost discourse with me, and I will comprehend them all [ sc. thy words]. Now, therefore, concerning these words which thou sayest, my mind hath brought forward four thoughts in me and my light-man hath led me and exulted and seethed, desiring to come forth out of me and enter into thee. Now, therefore, my Lord, hearken that I may tell thee the four thoughts which have arisen in me.

(6) The Saviour answered again and said unto Mary: "Well said, spiritual and pure [one]. This is the solution of the word."

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples, that Mary Magdalene came forward again, continued and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, in what type will be those who have received the mystery of the Light, in the midst of the last Helper?"

(2) But to the sovereignest wisdom of His Godhead lapped in the dark words of His manhood, thither beheld she with all the love of her heart. For from thence she would not remove, for nothing that she saw nor heard spoken nor done about her; but sat full still in her body, with many a sweet privy and a listy love pressed upon that high cloud of unknowing betwixt her and her God. For one thing I tell thee, that there was never yet pure creature in this life, nor never yet shall be, so high ravished in contemplation and love of the Godhead, that there is not evermore a high and a wonderful cloud of unknowing betwixt him and his God. In this cloud it was that Mary was occupied with many a privy love pressed. And why? Because it was the best and the holiest part of contemplation that may be in this life, and from this part her list not remove for nothing. Insomuch, that when her sister Martha complained to our Lord of her, and bade Him bid her sister rise and help her and let her not so work and travail by herself, she sat full still and answered not with one word, nor shewed not as much as a grumbling gesture against her sister for any plaint that she could make. And no wonder: for why, she had another work to do that Martha wist not of. And therefore she had no leisure to listen to her, nor to answer her at her plaint.