Passages similar to: Pyramid Texts — A Litany Of Ascension, Utterance 539
1...
Source passage
Ancient Egyptian
Pyramid Texts
A Litany Of Ascension, Utterance 539 (539)
1303 To say: The head of N. is like that of the vulture, 1303 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1303 The skull of N. is like that of divine stars, 1303 when it ascends and [lifts itself to the sky]. 1304 [The forehead of N. is like that of] ---- and Nu, 1304 when it ascends and lifts itself to the sky. 1304 The face of N. is like that of Wepwawet, 1304 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1305 The eyes of N. (are like those of) the Great One who is chief of the Souls of Heliopolis, 1305 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1305 The nose of N. is like that of Thot, 1305 when he ascends [and lifts himself to the sky]. 1306 [The mouth of] N. is like that of him who traverses the great lake, 1306 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1306 The tongue of N. is like that of truth in the boat of truth, 1306 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1307 The teeth of N. are (like those of) spirits, 1307 when he ascends and lifts, himself to the sky. 1307 The lips of N. are like those of -----) 1307 [when he ascends and lifts] himself to the sky. 1308 The chin of N. is like that of Hrti-nti-m, 1308 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1308 The back of N. is like that of the wild-bull, 1308 when he ascends, and lifts himself to the sky. 1309 The arms of N. are like those of Set, 1309 when he ascends and lifts himself [to the sky]. 1309 -------------------- 1309 [when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky]. 1310 ----- like -- Bibw, 1310 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1310 The heart of N. is like that of Bastet, 1310 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1311 The belly of N. is like that of Nut, 1311 when he ascends and lifts himself [to the sky]. 1311 ---------------- 1311 [when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky]. 1312 ----- of N. -- like --- of the Two Enneads, 1312 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1312 C. The seat of N. is like that of eet, 1312 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1313 The buttocks of N. are like those of the boat of the evening, and the boat of the morning, 1313 when he ascends and lifts, himself to the sky. 1313 The phallus of N. is like that of api, 1313 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1314 The thighs of N. are like those of Neit and eret, 1314 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1314 The legs of N. are like those of the two souls who are before the field dr, 1314 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1315 The feet of N. are like those of the two morning boats of the sun, 1315 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1315 The toes of N. are like those of the Souls of Heliopolis, 1315 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1316 N. is he who belongs to a god, the son of a god, 1316 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1316 N. is the son of R`, his beloved, 1316 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1317 N. is begotten of R`, 1317 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1317 N. is conceived of R`, 1317 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 131 8 N. is born of R`, 1318 when he ascends, and lifts himself to the sky. 1318 This magic is in the body of N., 1318 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1319 N. is the great sceptre in the great court in Heliopolis, 1319 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1320 (He is) Hnnw, 1320 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1320 (He is) Horus, the child, the youth, 1320 when this N. ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1321 Nut (is) she who cannot be fertilized without putting (down) her arms, 1321 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1321 Geb is not diverted from his way, 1321 when N. ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1322 Each god who constructs not a stairway for N., 1322 when he ascends and lifts himself to the sky, 1322 he shall have no p-cake, he shall have no shade, 1323 he shall not wash himself in the w-bowl, 1323 he shall not smell (taste) a leg (of meat); he shall not pass a cutlet (over the mouth) (i.e., he shall not taste a cutlet), 1323 the earth shall not be hoed for him; the wdn.t-offerings shall not be made for him, 1323 when this N. ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1324 It is certainly not N. who says that against you, O gods; 1324 it is magic which says that against you, O gods. 1324 N. belongs to a region under magic. 1325 Each god who constructs stairs (or, stairway) for N., 1325 when N. ascends and lifts himself to the sky; 1325 each god who vacates his throne in his boat, 1325 when this N. ascends, and lifts himself to the sky, 1326 the earth shall be hoed for him, the wdn.t-offering shall be made for him, 1326 a nmt.t-bowl shall be made for him, 1326 he shall smell a leg (of meat), he shall pass a cutlet (over the mouth), 1326 when this N. ascends and lifts himself to the sky. 1327 Each god who takes the arm of N. to the sky, 1327 when he comes to the house of Horus which is in b.w, 1327 his ka shall be justified before Geb. 29. TEXTS OF MISCELLANEOUS CONTENTS,
Thou seest N. uttering words to the Glorified, for he is the great form who will not rule (?) over them if thou art not among them. Thou seest the...
(2) Thou seest N. uttering words to the Glorified, for he is the great form who will not rule (?) over them if thou art not among them. Thou seest the head of N. as a ba (ram); his horns are like those of a sacrificed victim, those of a black ram, born of the ewe who bare him, and suckled by four sheep
Hail, N. , thy figure is that which thou hadst on earth, thou art living and renewed every day. Thy face is unveiled, and thou seest the lord of the...
(15) Hail, N. , thy figure is that which thou hadst on earth, thou art living and renewed every day. Thy face is unveiled, and thou seest the lord of the horizon; he gives bread to N. at his hour of the day and at his appointed time in the night. Horus has avenged thee, he has smashed the jawbones of thy enemies, he has smitten the violent one at the door of his fortress
I saw that one who was created noble More than all other creatures, down from heaven Flaming with lightnings fall upon one side. I saw Briareus...
(2) I saw that one who was created noble More than all other creatures, down from heaven Flaming with lightnings fall upon one side. I saw Briareus smitten by the dart Celestial, lying on the other side, Heavy upon the earth by mortal frost. I saw Thymbraeus, Pallas saw, and Mars, Still clad in armour round about their father, Gaze at the scattered members of the giants. I saw, at foot of his great labour, Nimrod, As if bewildered, looking at the people Who had been proud with him in Sennaar. O Niobe! with what afflicted eyes Thee I beheld upon the pathway traced, Between thy seven and seven children slain! O Saul! how fallen upon thy proper sword Didst thou appear there lifeless in Gilboa, That felt thereafter neither rain nor dew! O mad Arachne! so I thee beheld E'en then half spider, sad upon the shreds Of fabric wrought in evil hour for thee! O Rehoboam! no more seems to threaten Thine image there; but full of consternation A chariot bears it off, when none pursues!
We shall find the Mystic Theologians enfolding these things not only around the illustrations of the Heavenly Orders, but also, sometimes, around the...
(5) We shall find the Mystic Theologians enfolding these things not only around the illustrations of the Heavenly Orders, but also, sometimes, around the supremely Divine Revelations Themselves. At one time, indeed, they extol It under exalted imagery as Sun of Righteousness, as Morning Star rising divinely in the mind, and as Light illuming without veil and for contemplation; and at other times, through things in our midst, as Fire, shedding its innocuous light; as Water, furnishing a fulness of life, and, to speak symbolically, flowing into a belly, and bubbling forth rivers flowing irresistibly; and at other times, from things most remote, as sweet-smelling ointment, as Head Corner-stone. But they also clothe It in forms of wild beasts, and attach to It identity with a Lion, and Panther, and say that it shall be a Leopard, and a rushing Bear. But, I will also add, that which seems to be more dishonourable than all, and the most incongruous, viz. that distinguished theologians have shewn it to us as representing Itself under the form of a worm. Thus do all the godly-wise, and interpreters of the secret inspiration, separate the holy of holies from the uninitiated and the unholy, to keep them undefined, and prefer the dissimilar description of holy things, so that Divine things should neither be easily reached by the profane, nor those who diligently contemplate the Divine imagery rest in the types as though they were true; and so Divine things should be honoured by the true negations, and by comparisons with the lowest things, which are diverse from their proper resemblance. There is then nothing absurd if they depict even the Heavenly Beings under incongruous dissimilar similitudes, for causes aforesaid. For probably not even we should have come to an investigation, from not seeing our way,--not to say to mystic meaning through an accurate enquiry into Divine things,--unless the deformity of the descriptions representing the Angels had shocked us, not permitting our mind to linger in the discordant representations, but rousing us utterly to reject the earthly proclivities, and accustoming us to elevate ourselves through things that are seen, to their supermundane mystical meanings. Let these things suffice to have been said on account of the material and incongruous descriptions of the holy Angels in the Holy Oracles. And next, it is necessary to define what we think the Hierarchy is in itself, and what benefit those who possess a Hierarchy derive; from the same. But let Christ lead the discourse--if it be lawful to me to say--He Who is mine,--the Inspiration of all Hierarchical revelation. And thou, my son, after the pious rule of our Hierarchical tradition, do thou religiously listen to things religiously uttered, becoming inspired through instruction in inspired things; and when thou hast enfolded the Divine things in the secret recesses of thy mind, guard them closely from the profane multitude as being uniform, for it is not lawful, as the Oracles say, to cast to swine the unsullied and bright and beautifying comeliness of the intelligible pearls.
Chapter VI: The Mystic Meaning of the Tabernacle and Its Furniture. (15)
Nor is there at all any composite thing, and creature endowed with sensation, of the sort in heaven. But the face is a symbol of the rational soul, an...
(15) For He who prohibited the making of a graven image, would never Himself have made an image in the likeness of holy things. Nor is there at all any composite thing, and creature endowed with sensation, of the sort in heaven. But the face is a symbol of the rational soul, and the wings are the lofty ministers and energies of powers fight and left; and the voice is delightsome glory in ceaseless contemplation. Let it suffice that the mystic interpretation has advanced so far.
For any one might say that the cause why forms are naturally attributed to the formless, and shapes to the shapeless, is not alone our capacity which ...
(2) But if any one think well to accept the sacred compositions as of things simple and unknown in their own nature, and beyond our contemplation, but thinks the imagery of the holy minds in the Oracles is incongruous, and that all this is, so to speak, a rude scenic representation of the angelic names; and further says that the theologians ought, when they have come to the bodily representation of creatures altogether without body, to represent and display them by appropriate and, as far as possible, cognate figures, taken, at any rate, from our most honoured and immaterial and exalted beings, and ought not to clothe the heavenly and Godlike simple essences with the many forms of the lowest creatures to be found on the earth (for the one would perhaps be more adapted to our instruction, and would not degrade the celestial explanations to incongruous dissimilitudes; but the other both does violence without authority to the Divine powers, and likewise leads astray our minds, through dwelling upon these irreverent descriptions); and perhaps he will also think that the super-heavenly places are filled with certain herds of lions, and troops of horses, and bellowing songs of praise, and flocks of birds, and other living creatures, and material and less honourable things, and whatever else the similitudes of the Oracles, in every respect dissimilar, describe, for a so-called explanation, but which verge towards the absurd, and pernicious, and impassioned; now, in my opinion, the investigation of the truth demonstrates the most sacred wisdom of the Oracles, in the descriptions of the Heavenly Minds, taking forethought, as that wisdom does, wholly for each, so as neither, as one may say, to do violence to the Divine Powers, nor at the same time to enthral us in the grovelling passions of the debased imagery. For any one might say that the cause why forms are naturally attributed to the formless, and shapes to the shapeless, is not alone our capacity which is unable immediately to elevate itself to the intelligible contemplations, and that it needs appropriate and cognate instructions which present images, suitable to us, of the formless and supernatural objects of contemplation; but further, that it is most agreeable to the revealing Oracles to conceal, through mystical and sacred enigmas, and to keep the holy and secret truth respecting the supermundane minds inaccessible to the multitude. For it is not every one that is holy, nor, as the Oracles affirm, does knowledge belong to all.
Thou art great, a mighty Chu, whose name is not known, the soul which opens the Amenta. It is mighty this soul of N. , for he is beloved of Rā and...
(11) Thou art great, a mighty Chu, whose name is not known, the soul which opens the Amenta. It is mighty this soul of N. , for he is beloved of Rā and well pleasing to his circle, he joins (?) the ways, he guards the men, and guides the lion to the place where his ka is propitiated. N. ... the lord of mankind causes thee to live and that thy soul be sound, that thy body may be enduring and great, that thou mayest see the light and breathe the wind, that thy face may be revealed in the house of right, that thou mayest be stationed in the meadow, and not see any storm, that thou mayest follow the lord of the two earths, that thou mayest refresh thyself under the merit tree by the side of the goddess, the great magician
Chapter 7: Of the Court, Place and Dwelling, also of the Government of Angels, how these things stood at the Beginning, after the Creation, and how they became as they are. (35)
Now if a man likeneth the Son of God to the globe of the sun, as I have often done in the foregoing chapters, that is spoken in the way and manner of...
(35) Now if a man likeneth the Son of God to the globe of the sun, as I have often done in the foregoing chapters, that is spoken in the way and manner of natural similitudes; and I was constrained to write so, because of the lack of understanding of the Reader, that so he might raise his sense or thoughts in these natural things, and climb from step to step, from one degree to another, till he might come into the high Mysteries.
Om! Verily, the dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse; the sun, his eye; the wind, his breath; universal fire (Agni VaisVanara), his open mouth....
(1) Om! Verily, the dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse; the sun, his eye; the wind, his breath; universal fire (Agni VaisVanara), his open mouth. The year is the body (atman) of the sacrificial horse; the sky, his back; the atmo- sphere, his belly; the earth, the under part of his belly; the quarters, his flanks; the intermediate quarters, his ribs; the seasons, his limbs; the months and half-months, his joints; days and nights, his feet; the stars, his bones; the clouds, his flesh. Sand is the food in his stomach; rivers are his entrails. His liver and lungs are the mountains; plants and trees, his hair. The orient is his fore part; the Occident, his hind part. When he yawns, then it lightens. When he shakes himself, then it thunders. When he urinates, then it rains. Voice, indeed, is his voice.
It is necessary then, as I think, first to set forth what we think is the purpose of every Hierarchy, and what benefit each one confers upon its...
(1) It is necessary then, as I think, first to set forth what we think is the purpose of every Hierarchy, and what benefit each one confers upon its followers; and next to celebrate the Heavenly Hierarchies according to their revelation in the Oracles; then following these Oracles, to say in what sacred forms the holy writings of the Oracles depict the celestial orders, and to what sort of simplicity we must be carried through the representations; in order that we also may not, like the vulgar, irreverently think that the heavenly and Godlike minds are certain many-footed and many-faced creatures, or moulded to the brutishness of oxen, or the savage form of lions, and fashioned like the hooked beaks of eagles, or the feathery down of birds, and should imagine that there are certain wheels of fire above the heaven, or material thrones upon which the Godhead may recline, or certain many-coloured horses, and spear-bearing leaders of the host, and whatever else was transmitted by the Oracles to us under multifarious symbols of sacred imagery. And indeed, the Word of God artlessly makes use of poetic representations of sacred things, respecting the shapeless minds, out of regard to our intelligence, so to speak, consulting a mode of education proper and natural to it, and moulding the inspired writings for it.
All the good things have been spread out for thee, before Rā. Thou hast a beginning and thou hast an end as Horus and Thoth have ordered for thee....
(20) All the good things have been spread out for thee, before Rā. Thou hast a beginning and thou hast an end as Horus and Thoth have ordered for thee. They call upon N. , they see how he is glorious, they give him to come forth like a god to meet the Powers of Heliopolis. Thou journeyest on the great path as thy mummy has received the sacred things from thy father; thy hands are wrapped in linen every day; the beginning of the journey of the god is at the gate of the Great Dwelling
Thither we drew; and there were persons there Who in the shadow stood behind the rock, As one through indolence is wont to stand. And one of them, who...
(5) And as he finished uttering these words, A voice close by us sounded: "Peradventure Thou wilt have need of sitting down ere that." At sound thereof each one of us turned round, And saw upon the left hand a great rock, Which neither I nor he before had noticed. Thither we drew; and there were persons there Who in the shadow stood behind the rock, As one through indolence is wont to stand. And one of them, who seemed to me fatigued, Was sitting down, and both his knees embraced, Holding his face low down between them bowed. "O my sweet Lord," I said, "do turn thine eye On him who shows himself more negligent Then even Sloth herself his sister were." Then he turned round to us, and he gave heed, Just lifting up his eyes above his thigh, And said: "Now go thou up, for thou art valiant." Then knew I who he was; and the distress, That still a little did my breathing quicken, My going to him hindered not; and after I came to him he hardly raised his head, Saying: "Hast thou seen clearly how the sun O'er thy left shoulder drives his chariot?"
E'en with these words His aspect changed, and straightway, in the twinkling of an eye, all things were opened to me, and I see a Vision limitless,...
(4) E'en with these words His aspect changed, and straightway, in the twinkling of an eye, all things were opened to me, and I see a Vision limitless, all things turned into Light - sweet, joyous [Light]. And I became transported as I gazed. But in a little while Darkness came settling down on part [of it], awesome and gloomy, coiling in sinuous folds, so that methought it like unto a snake. And then the Darkness changed into some sort of a Moist Nature, tossed about beyond all power of words, belching out smoke as from a fire, and groaning forth a wailing sound that beggars all description. [And] after that an outcry inarticulate came forth from it, as though it were a Voice of Fire.
You are the great power that came into being, and I am the perfect light that is above the spirit and the darkness, the one who puts to shame the dark...
(2) "And by the will of the greatness my equality was revealed, that what is of the power might become apparent. You are the great power that came into being, and I am the perfect light that is above the spirit and the darkness, the one who puts to shame the darkness for the intercourse of impure rubbing. For through the division of nature the majesty wished to be covered with honor up to the height of the thought of the spirit. And the spirit received rest in his power. For the image of the light is inseparable from the unconceived spirit. And the lawgivers did not name him after all the clouds of nature, nor is it possible to name him. For every likeness into which nature had divided is a power of the chaotic fire, which is the material seed. The one who took to himself the power of the darkness imprisoned it in the midst of its members. And by the will of the majesty, in order that the mind and the whole light of the spirit might be protected from every burden and from the toil of nature, a voice came forth from the spirit to the cloud of the hymen. And the light of the astonishment began to rejoice with the voice that was granted to him. And the great spirit of light was in the cloud of the hymen. He honored the infinite light and the universal likeness, who I am, the son of the majesty, saying, 'Anasses Duses, you are the infinite light who was given by the will of the majesty to establish every light of the spirit upon the place, and to separate the mind from the darkness. For it was not right for the light of the spirit to remain in Hades. For at your wish the spirit arose to behold your greatness.'
The Image of the Ox denotes the strong and the mature, turning up the intellectual furrows for the reception of the heavenly and productive showers;...
(8) The Image of the Ox denotes the strong and the mature, turning up the intellectual furrows for the reception of the heavenly and productive showers; and the Horns, the guarding and indomitable. The representation of the Eagle denotes the kingly, and soaring, and swift in flight, and quickness in search of the nourishment which makes strong, and wanness, and agility, and cleverness; and the unimpeded, straight, and unflinching gaze towards the bounteous and brilliant splendour of the Divine rays of the sun, with the robust extension of the visual powers. That of Horses represents obedience and docility, and of those who are white, brilliancy, and as especially congenial to the Divine Light; but of those who are dark blue, the Hidden; and of those red, the fiery and vigorous; and of the piebald, the uniting of the extremes by the power passing through them, and joining the first to the second, and the second to the first, reciprocally and considerately. Now if we did not consult the proportion of our discourse, we might, not inappropriately, adapt the particular characteristics of the aforesaid living creatures, and all their bodily representations to the Heavenly Powers, upon the principle of dissimilar similitudes; for instance, their appearance of anger, to intellectual manliness, of which anger is the remotest echo, and their desire, to the Divine love; and to speak summarily, referring all the sensible perceptions, and many parts of irrational beings, to the immaterial conceptions and unified Powers of the Heavenly Beings. Now not only is this sufficient for the wise, but even an explanation of one of the dissimilar representations would be sufficient for the accurate description of similar things, after the same fashion.
And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a...
(46) And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.
Also, the Word of God attributes to the Heavenly Beings a likeness to Brass, Electron, and many-coloured stones. Electron, as being partly like gold,...
(7) Also, the Word of God attributes to the Heavenly Beings a likeness to Brass, Electron, and many-coloured stones. Electron, as being partly like gold, partly like silver, denotes the incorruptible, as in gold, and unexpended, and undiminished, and spotless brilliancy, and the brightness, as in silver, and a luminous and heavenly radiance. But to the Brass, according to the reasons assigned, must be attributed either the likeness of fire or that of gold. We must consider that the many-coloured appearances of stones denote either as white, the luminous; or as red, the fiery; or as yellow, the golden; or as green, the youthful and the full grown; and within each likeness you will find an explanation which teaches the inner meaning of the typical images. But since, I think, according to our power, this has been sufficiently said, let us pass to the sacred explanation of the Divine representations of the Heavenly Minds through wild beasts. We must consider that the shape of a Lion signifies the leading, and robust, and indomitable, and the assimilation, as far as possible, to the unutterable Godhead, by the concealment of the intellectual footprints, and by the mystically modest covering of the path, leading to It, during Divine illumination.
O ye, these gates, who are the gates to Osiris, ye who guard their gates, ye who herald the things of the world to Osiris every day. Osiris N. knows...
(8) O ye, these gates, who are the gates to Osiris, ye who guard their gates, ye who herald the things of the world to Osiris every day. Osiris N. knows you—he knows your names; for he is born in Restau, where all the glory of the horizon was given him. N. receives the investiture in Pu, like the purification of Osiris. N. receives the saying in Restau, when he leads the gods on the horizon with the ministrant, the protectors of Osiris. I am one of them in their leading. N. is the glorious one, the lord of the glorious, a glorious one who performs the rites. N. celebrates the festival of the first day of the month; he is the herald in the fifteenth day of the month. O thou who revolvest. N. carries the sacred flame to the hand of Thoth in the night when he sails through the sky as victor. N. passes on in peace, he navigates in the boat of Rā. The attributes of N. are the attributes of the boat of Rā. N. has a name greater than yours, mightier than you who are on the roads of Maāt. N. hates what is corrupt. The attributes of N. are the attributes of Horus, the firstborn of Rā, who accomplishes his will. N. is not fettered, he is not driven away from the gates of Osiris. N. is perfect, the lion god, the pure one who follows Osiris Khent Amenta every day. His domains are in Sechet hotepu among those who know the sacred rites, among those who perform the sacred rites to Osiris. N. is on the side of Thoth, among those who bring offerings. Anubis ordered to the bearers of offerings, that there should be offerings to N. of his own, and that they should not be taken from him by those who are in captivity. N. has come like Horus, when he adorns the horizon of heaven N. directs the march of Rā towards the gates of the horizon; therefore the gods rejoice in the presence of N. The divine scent is upon Osiris, the god with the lock will not reach him; the keepers of the gates will not be hostile to him. N. is the one whose face is hidden inside the palace, in the sanctuary of the god, the lord of Tuat. N. has reached it after Hathor. N. gathers his hosts; he brings Maāt to Rā, he drives away the Mighty One, Apepi. N. pierces the steel firmament, and repels the raging storm; he gives life to the seamen of Rā. N. carries offerings to the place where it (the boat) is. N. causes that the boat gives him a successful voyage. N. marches, and when he reaches it, the face of N. is like the Great One, and his back like the lofty one. N. is the lord of the mighty. N. is well pleased on the horizon. N. is valiant; he strikes you down; you wakers; he makes his way to your lord, Osiris
Hail, N. , thine enemies are no more, in the great hall the scales are right concerning thee, thou makest long strides like Osiris the lord of the...
(16) Hail, N. , thine enemies are no more, in the great hall the scales are right concerning thee, thou makest long strides like Osiris the lord of the arrivals in the Amenta. He arrives when he likes, he sees the great god in his creations, life is given to his nostrils, he is triumphant over his enemies
No doubt, the mystical traditions of the revealing Oracles sometimes extol the august Blessedness of the super-essential Godhead, as Word, and Mind, a...
(3) But if any one should blame the descriptions as being incongruous, by saying that it is shameful to attribute shapes so repugnant to the Godlike and most holy Orders, it is enough to reply that the method of Divine revelation is twofold; one, indeed, as is natural, proceeding through likenesses that are similar, and of a sacred character, but the other, through dissimilar forms, fashioning them into entire unlikeness and incongruity. No doubt, the mystical traditions of the revealing Oracles sometimes extol the august Blessedness of the super-essential Godhead, as Word, and Mind, and Essence, manifesting its God-becoming expression and wisdom, both as really being Origin, and true Cause of the origin of things being, and they describe It as light, and call it life. While such sacred descriptions are more reverent, and seem in a certain way to be superior to the material images, they yet, even thus, in reality fall short of the supremely Divine similitude. For It is above every essence and life. No light, indeed, expresses its character, and every description and mind incomparably fall short of Its similitude. But at other times its praises are supermundanely sung, by the Oracles themselves, through dissimilar revelations, when they affirm that it is invisible, and infinite, and incomprehensible; and when there is signified, not what it is, but what it is not. For this, as I think, is more appropriate to It, since, as the secret and sacerdotal tradition taught, we rightly describe its non-relationship to things created, but we do not know its superessential, and inconceivable, and unutterable indefinability. If, then, the negations respecting things Divine are true, but the affirmations are inharmonious, the revelation as regards things invisible, through dissimilar representations, is more appropriate to the hiddenness of things unutterable. Thus the sacred descriptions of the Oracles honour, and do not expose to shame, the Heavenly Orders, when they make them known by dissimilar pictorial forms, and demonstrate through these their supermundane superiority over all. material things. And I do not suppose that any sensible man will gainsay that the incongruous elevate our mind more than the similitudes; for there is a likelihood, with regard to the more sublime representations of heavenly things, that we should be led astray, so as to think that the Heavenly Beings are certain creatures with the appearance of gold, and certain men with the appearance of light, and glittering like lightning, handsome, clothed in bright shining raiment, shedding forth innocuous flame, and so with regard to all the other shapes and appropriate forms, with which the Word of God has depicted the Heavenly Minds. In order that men might not suffer from this, by thinking they are nothing more exalted than their beau tiful appearance, the elevating wisdom of the pious theologians reverently conducts to the incongruous dissimilarities, not permitting our earthly part to rest fixed in the base images, but urging the upward tendency of the soul, and goading it by the unseemliness of the phrases (to see) that it belongs neither to lawful nor seeming truth, even for the most earthly conceptions, that the most heavenly and Divine visions are actually like things so base. Further also this must particularly be borne in mind, that not even one of the things existing is altogether deprived of participation in the beautiful, since, as is evident and the truth of the Oracles affirms, all things are very beautiful.