(24) ¶Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

(7) "This is the oath: I adjure you who will read this holy book, by heaven and earth and fire and water and seven rulers of substance and the creative spirit in them and the god not conceived and the self-conceived one and the one who has been conceived, that you guard what Hermes has communicated. God will be at one with those who keep the oath and everyone we have named, but wrath will come upon each of those who violate the oath. This is the perfect one who is, child."

(37) And he closed the gates of the tower ; and he stood on the battle- ments and spake to his brother Esau and said, " Noble is the comfort wherewith thou hast come to comfort me for my wife who hath died. Is this the oath that thou didst swear to thy father and again to thy mother before they died? Thou hast broken the oath, and on the moment that thou didst swear to thy father wast thou condemned."

(4) Therefore, persuaded always that God is everywhere, and fearing not to speak the truth, and knowing that it is unworthy of him to lie, he is satisfied with the divine consciousness and his own alone And so he lies not, nor does aught contrary to his compacts. And so he swears not even when asked for his oath; nor does he ever deny, so as to speak falsehood, though he should die by tortures.

(2) "For this cause, therefore, have I brought the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; otherwise no flesh in the world would be saved. For without mysteries no one will enter into the Light-kingdom, be he a righteous or a sinner. "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 æons 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 æons of the rulers, may be freed in the Height from the bonds and seals of the æons 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 æons 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.

(8) "In thy power shall it be to exalt and to abase

(24) And Jacob said : " Swear to me, this day," and he sware unto him.

(118) If thou sayest any other thing than this, which heaven and earth and all the creatures testify, then thou liest; nay, the whole Deity testifieth against thee, that God created thee for his praise out of himself, to be a prince and king of God, as he did prince Michael, and prince Uriel. Now observe:

(2) But he does not even swear, preferring to make averment, in affirmation by "yea," and in denial by "nay." For it is an oath to swear, or to produce anything from the mind in the way of confirmation in the shape of an oath. It suffices, then, with him, to add to an affirmation or denial the expression" I say truly," for confirmation to those who do not perceive the certainty of his answer. For he ought, I think, to maintain a life calculated to inspire confidence towards those without, so that an oath may not even be asked; and towards himself and those with whom he associates? good feeling, which is voluntary righteousness.

(74) The utterance of his mouth hath no god ever annulled

(22) And do not forsake him, nor set him at nought from henceforth unto the days of eternity, and may Thine eyes be opened upon him and upon his seed,* that Thou mayest preserve him, and bless him, and mayest sanctify him as a nation for Thine inherit- ance ;

(5) "Write an oath in the book, so that those who read the book may not use the wording for malicious purposes or to subvert fate. Rather, they should submit to the law of god and not transgress whatsoever, but in purity ask god for wisdom and knowledge. And whoever will not be conceived in the beginning by god develops through the general and instructional discourses. Such a person will not be able to read what is written in this book, even though the person's conscience is pure within and the person does nothing shameful and does not go along with it. Rather, such a person progresses by stages and advances in the way of immortality, and so advances in the understanding of the eighth that reveals the ninth."

(5) With respect to oaths, however, all the Pythagoreans religiously observe them, being mindful of the Pythagoric precept,

First to th’ immortal Gods thy homage pay,

(49) "'Then I pray thee give and confirm thy character unto me whereby I may call thee at all times, and also swear unto me this oath and I will religiously keep my vow and covenant unto Almighty God and will courteously receive thee at all times where thou dost appear unto me.'

(48) "Behold, I have revealed to you the name of the Perfect One, the whole will of the Mother of the Holy Angels, that the masculine multitude may be completed here, that there might appear in the aeons, the infinities and those that came to be in the untraceable wealth of the Great Invisible Spirit, that they all might take from his goodness, even the wealth of their rest that has no kingdom over it. I came from First Who Was Sent, that I might reveal to you Him Who Is from the Beginning, because of the arrogance of Arch-Begetter and his angels, since they say about themselves that they are gods. And I came to remove them from their blindness, that I might tell everyone about the God who is above the universe. Therefore, tread upon their graves, humiliate their malicious intent, and break their yoke and arouse my own. I have given you authority over all things as Sons of Light, that you might tread upon their power with your feet."

(1) And He said to the angel of the presence : "Write7 for Moses from the beginning of creation till My sanctuary has been built among them for all eternity.

(24) And he called the name of that place the " Well of the Oath " ; for there he had sworn to Abimelech and Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol the prefect of his host.

(102) "'The dominion over all the gods have I entrusted unto thee

(84) But Thee I dare not speak. In limbs And mind I tremble. He rules from on high." And so forth. For in these he indicates these prophetic utterances: "If Thou openest the heaven, trembling shall seize the mountains from Thy presence; and they shall melt, as wax melteth before the fire;" and in Isaiah, "Who hath measured the heaven with a span, and the whole earth with His fist? Again, when it is said: "Ruler of Ether, Hades, Sea, and Land, Who with Thy bolts Olympus' strong-built home Dost shake. Whom demons dread, and whom the throng Of gods do fear. Whom, too, the Fates obey, Relentless though they be. O deathless One, Our mother's Sire I whose wrath makes all things reel; Who mov'st the winds, and shroud'st in clouds the world, Broad Ether cleaving with Thy lightning gleams,- Thine is the order 'mongat the stars, which run As Thine unchangeable behests direct.

(5) The meaning is not as if heaven could comprehend, encompass or contain God the Father; for heaven itself is made by the divine power: for Christ saith, My Father is greater than all.