(1) The Heron came in all haste and at once began to speak about himself. ' My charming house is near the sea among the lagoons, where none hears my song. I am so inoffensive that no one complains of me. Sad and melancholy, I stand pensively on the salt sea's verge, my heart filled with longing for the water, for if there were none what would become of me! But since I am not one of those who dwell in the sea, I am like to die, my lips parched, on its shore. Though the waters boil and the waves break at my feet, I cannot swallow a single drop; yet if the ocean should lose even a little of its water my heart would burn with vexation. For a creature such as I my passion for the sea is enough. I have not the strength to go in quest of the Simurgh, so I ask to be excused. How could one like me, who seeks only a drop of water, possibly attain union with the Simurgh?'

Said the Hoopoe: 'O ignorant of the sea, don't you know that it is full of crocodiles and other dangerous creatures? Sometimes its water is bitter, sometimes salt; sometimes it is calm, sometimes boisterous; always changing, never stable; sometimes it flows, sometimes it ebbs. Many great ones have been swallowed up in its abyss. The diver in its depths holds his breath lest he should be thrown up like a straw. The sea is an element devoid of loyalty. Do not trust it or it will end by submerging you. It is resdess because of its love for its friend. Sometimes it rolls great billows, sometimes it roars. Since the sea cannot find what it desires, how will you find

there a resting place for your heart! The ocean is a rill which rises in the way that leads to its friend; why then should you remain here content, and not strive to see the face of the Simurgh?'

(8) But what must we do? How lies the path? How come to vision of the inaccessible Beauty, dwelling as if in consecrated precincts, apart from the common ways where all may see, even the profane?

He that has the strength, let him arise and withdraw into himself, foregoing all that is known by the eyes, turning away for ever from the material beauty that once made his joy. When he perceives those shapes of grace that show in body, let him not pursue: he must know them for copies, vestiges, shadows, and hasten away towards That they tell of. For if anyone follow what is like a beautiful shape playing over water- is there not a myth telling in symbol of such a dupe, how he sank into the depths of the current and was swept away to nothingness? So too, one that is held by material beauty and will not break free shall be precipitated, not in body but in Soul, down to the dark depths loathed of the Intellective-Being, where, blind even in the Lower-World, he shall have commerce only with shadows, there as here.

"Let us flee then to the beloved Fatherland": this is the soundest counsel. But what is this flight? How are we to gain the open sea? For Odysseus is surely a parable to us when he commands the flight from the sorceries of Circe or Calypso- not content to linger for all the pleasure offered to his eyes and all the delight of sense filling his days.

The Fatherland to us is There whence we have come, and There is The Father.

What then is our course, what the manner of our flight? This is not a journey for the feet; the feet bring us only from land to land; nor need you think of coach or ship to carry you away; all this order of things you must set aside and refuse to see: you must close the eyes and call instead upon another vision which is to be waked within you, a vision, the birth-right of all, which few turn to use.

(3) Oh thou who art clouded, but manful, and who sailest round over that chine of Âpepi; thou of firm head and steadfast breast when coming forth from the fiery blows: Oh thou who art at the ship, let me sail the ship, let me fasten my tackle and come forth

(19) And, thus, think from thyself, and bid thy soul go unto any land, and there more quickly than thy bidding will it be. And bid it journey oceanwards; and there, again, immediately 'twill be, not as if passing on from place to place, but as if being there. And bid it also mount to heaven; and it will need no wings, not will aught hinder it, nor fire of sun, nor auther, nor vortex-swirl, nor bodies of the other stars; but, cutting through them all, it will soar up to the last Body [of them all]. And shouldst thou will to break through this as well, and contemplate what is beyond - if there be aught beyond the Cosmos; it is permitted thee.

(1) O thou who art devoid of moisture in coming forth from the stream; and who restest upon the deck of thy Bark: as thou proceedest in the direction of Yesterday, and restest upon the deck of thy Bark, let me join thy boatmen

(5) Would that it were possible for thee to get thee wings, and soar into the air, and, poised midway 'tween earth and heaven, behold the earth's solidity, the sea's fluidity (the flowings of its streams), the spaciousness of air, fire's swiftness, [and] the coursing of the stars, the swiftness of heaven's circuit round them [all]! Most blessed sight were it, my son, to see all these beneath one sway - the motionless in motion, and the unmanifest made manifest; whereby is made this order of the cosmos and the cosmos which we see of order.

(5) Now, at the close of day he turneth down his eyes to Rā; for there cometh a standing still in the Bark and a deep slumber within the ship. And now he swalloweth three cubits of the Great Water

(697) 2169 To say: O N., the mouth of the earth opens for thee; Geb speaks to thee: 2169 "Thou art great like a king; thou art mighty like R`. 2170 Thou purifiest thyself in the lake of the jackal; thou cleansest thyself in the lake of the Dt." 2170 "Come in peace," say the Two Enneads to thee. 2170 The eastern door of heaven is open for thee by 'Imn-km. 2171a . Nut has given her arms to thee, N., she of the long hair, she of the hanging breasts; 2171 she lifts thee high to herself to heaven; she did not cast N. down to the earth. 2172 She gives thee birth, N., like S'h; 2172 she makes thee remain as chief of the two 'itr.t-palaces." 21 72 N. descends into the boat like R`, on the shores, of the Winding Watercourse. 2173 N. is transported by the indefatigables; 2173 N. commands the imperishable stars; 2173 N. is transported on the nti-ocean; 2173 N. takes the helm to the fields of . 2174 Thy messengers go; thy runners hasten. 2174 They say to R`: "Behold, N. is come; behold, N. is come in peace." 2175 Do not go by these water-courses of the west; 2175 those who go there, they do not come back. 2175 Go thou, N., by these water-courses of the east, 2175 among the Followers of [R`] 2175 ------ him who lifts up the arm in the east. 2175 -----------------------------------

(102) And see ye not the sailors of the ships, how their ships are tossed to and fro by the waves, and are shaken by the winds, and are in sore trouble?

(2) Oh thou ship of the Garden of Aarru, let me be conveyed to that bread of thy canal; as my father, the Great one, who advanceth in the Divine ship [because I know thee

The FUMIGATION from MYRRH HEAR, Neptune, ruler of the sea profound, Whose liquid grasp begirts the solid ground; Who, at the bottom of the stormy main, Dark and deep-bosom'd, hold'st thy wat'ry reign; Thy awful hand the brazen trident bears, And ocean's utmost bound, thy will reveres: Thee I invoke, whose steeds the foam divide, From whose dark locks the briny waters glide; Whose voice loud founding thro' the roaring deep, Drives all its billows, in a raging heap; When fiercely riding thro' the boiling sea, Thy hoarse command the trembling waves obey. Earth shaking, dark-hair'd God, the liquid plains (The third division) Fate to thee ordains, 'Tis thine, cærulian dæmon, to survey Well pleas'd the monsters of the ocean play, Confirm earth's basis, and with prosp'rous gales Waft ships along, and swell the spacious sails; Add gentle Peace, and fair-hair'd Health beside, And pour abundance in a blameless tide. Next: XVII: To Pluto Sacred Texts | Classics « Previous: The Initiations of Orpheus: XV: To Juno Index Next: The Initiations of Orpheus: XVII: To Pluto » Sacred Texts | Classics

(38) Thou sailest over the Heaven, thou travellest over earth and in splendour thou reachest the zenith; the two divisions of Heaven are in obeisance to thee, and yield adoration to thee

(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.

(711) 2214 ----------------------------------------- 2214 Thou has seen the Delta ------------------- 2214 N. voyages there to the shore (of) --------------- 2214 ----------- N. separates -------------------- 2214 -----------------------------------------

(2) "And my garment of fire, according to the will of the majesty, went down to what is strong, and to the unclean portion of nature that the power of darkness was covering. And my garment rubbed nature in her covering. And her unclean femininity was strong. And the wrathful womb came up and made the mind dry, resembling a fish that has a drop of fire and a power of fire. And when nature had cast off the mind, she was troubled and wept. When she was hurt and in her tears, she cast off the power of the spirit and remained as I am. I put on the light of the spirit and rested with my garment on account of the sight of the fish. And that the deeds of nature might be condemned, since she is blind, manifold animals came out of her, in accordance with the number of the fleeting winds. All of them came into being in Hades, searching for the light of the mind that took shape. They were not able to stand up against it. I rejoiced over their ignorance.

(502) 1073 ----------------- four -----------------------1074. --------------- a point ---------------------1075. --------------- darkness ---------------------- 1076. --------------- be not ----------------------1077. come --------------------------------------- 24. A SERIES OF REED-FLOATS AND FERRYMAN TEXTS,

(473) 926 To say: The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the morning-boat for R`, 926 that R` may ferry over on them to Horus who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 926 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the evening-boat for Horus who inhabits the horizon, 926 that Horus who inhabits the horizon may ferry over on them to R`, to the horizon. 927 The two reed-floats of heaven are caused to descend for N. by the morning-boat, 927 that N. may mount on them to R`, to the horizon. 927 The two reed-floats of heaven are caused to descend for N. by the evening-boat, 927 that N. may mount on them to Horus, who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 928 N. mounts on high on this eastern side of heaven where the gods are born; 928 N. will be born (anew there) like Horus, like him of the horizon. 929 N. is justified; the ka of N. is justified; 929 the sister of N. is Sothis; the mother of N. is the morning star. 930 N. hath found the spirits well-equipped by reason of their mouth, 930 sitting on the two shores of the -lake, 930 the drinking-bowl of each spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth. 930 "Hast thou no eyes?", so said they to N., 930 the spirits well-equipped by reason of their mouth. 930 Said he, "a spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth." 931 "How has this happened to thee?", so said they to N., 931 the spirits well-equipped by reason of their mouth, 931 "that thou art come to this place which is more august than any place?" 931 N. is come to this place which is more august than any place. 932 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the morning-boat for R`, 932 that R` may ferry over on them to Horus who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 932 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the evening-boat for Horus who inhabits the horizon, 932 that Horus who inhabits the horizon may ferry over on them to R`, to the horizon, 933 because the two reed-floats of heaven were caused to descend for N. by the morning-boat, 933 that N. may mount on them for life and joy to R`, to the horizon; 933 because the two reed-floats of heaven were caused to descend for N. by the evening-boat, 933 that N. may mount on them to Horus who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 934 N. mounts on high on this eastern side of heaven, where the gods are born; 934 N. was born (anew there) like Horus, like him of the horizon. 935 N. is justified; the ka of N. is justified. 935 Praise be to N.; praise be to the ka of N. 935 The sister of N. is Sothis; the mother of N. is the morning star. 936 N. comes (to be) with you: 936 N. walks with you in the Marsh of Reeds; 936 he pastures as you pasture in the field of malachite; 937 N. eats of that which you eat; 937 N.. lives on that on which you live; 937 N. clothes himself with that wherewith you clothe yourselves; 937 N. anoints himself with that wherewith you anoint yourselves; 937 N. takes water with you out of the mn-canal (or, lake of the nurse) of N., 937 the drinking-bowl of each spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth. 938 N. sits as he who lives in the great 'itr.t-palace; 938 N. commands (each) spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth; 938 N. sits on the two shores of the -lake; 938 N. commands (each) spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth.

(101) The ocean of Reason is not seen ; reasoning men are seen; Whatever form that ocean uses as its instrument, Till the heart sees the Giver of the secret, Till it espies that Bowman shooting from afar, It fancies its own steed lost, while in bewilderment It is urging that steed hither and thither; It fancies its own steed lost, when all the while In deep distress that blunder head Runs from door to door, searching and inquiring, "Who and where is he that hath stolen my steed?"

(34) That footman is only "carried by land," But he who is "carried by sea" is the truly learned one. The King of kings showers special favors upon him; Know this, O man pledged to vain illusions! The mere legal theologian is impotent to behold the light of the Spirit. When the day dawns from heaven night flees away; What, then, can its darkness know of the nature of light? The gnat scuds away before the blast of the winds; What, then, knows the gnat of the savor of the winds? When the Eternal appears the transitory is annulled; What, then, knows he transitory of the Eternal?

(13) Though Men must not cast the Pearl in the Way that the Beasts may tread it under Foot, much less must Men throw it among the Grains [or Husks] to be devoured by the Swine; (for that would not be beneficial to the wanton World, because that seeks nothing thereby but to misuse itself therewith; for the Devil whom the World serves teaches it, when it learns the Ground of the Heaven, and of the Stars, to will presently to be a God, as Lucifer did:) Yet I will write somewhat of the Beginning and Virtue or Power of the Stars, (because Man and all Or the wise Men's Masters, or Teachers. Creatures live in the Virtue, Working, and Essences of them, and that every Creature receives its Property from them,) for the Sake of him that seeks, who would willingly fly from the bestial Man, and would fain live in the true Man, who is the Image and Similitude of God; for to such it is very highly necessary to be known; also for the Lily's Sake which grows in the Tree of the sour Wrath towards the North in the Matrix.