(63) But unto those Heathen, Jews, and Turks, blindness did befall, yet for all that they stand in an anxious birth, and seek for a rest; they desire grace, though they seek not for it at the right mark, or in the right place or limit: but God is everywhere, and looketh upon the ground of the heart.

(3) And when we were a little farther onward, I heard a cry of, "Mary, pray for us!" A cry of, "Michael, Peter, and all Saints!" I do not think there walketh still on earth A man so hard, that he would not be pierced With pity at what afterward I saw. For when I had approached so near to them That manifest to me their acts became, Drained was I at the eyes by heavy grief. Covered with sackcloth vile they seemed to me, And one sustained the other with his shoulder, And all of them were by the bank sustained. Thus do the blind, in want of livelihood, Stand at the doors of churches asking alms, And one upon another leans his head, So that in others pity soon may rise, Not only at the accent of their words, But at their aspect, which no less implores. And as unto the blind the sun comes not, So to the shades, of whom just now I spake, Heaven's light will not be bounteous of itself; For all their lids an iron wire transpierces, And sews them up, as to a sparhawk wild Is done, because it will not quiet stay.

(1) And when the disciples had heard this, they fell down, adored him and said: "Help us now, Lord, and have mercy upon us, in order that we may be preserved from these wicked chastisements which are prepared for the sinners. Woe unto them, woe unto the children of men! For they grope as the blind in the darkness and see not. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, in this great blindness in which we are. And have mercy upon the whole race of men; for they have lain in wait for their souls, as lions for their prey, making it [ sc. the prey] ready as food for their [ sc. the rulers'] chastisements because of the forgetfulness and unknowing which is in them. Have mercy then upon us, our Lord, our Saviour, have mercy upon us and save us in this great stupefaction."

(3) "Ah, do not look at this dry leprosy," Entreated he, "which doth my skin discolour, Nor at default of flesh that I may have; But tell me truth of thee, and who are those Two souls, that yonder make for thee an escort; Do not delay in speaking unto me." "That face of thine, which dead I once bewept, Gives me for weeping now no lesser grief," I answered him, "beholding it so changed! But tell me, for God's sake, what thus denudes you? Make me not speak while I am marvelling, For ill speaks he who's full of other longings." And he to me: "From the eternal council Falls power into the water and the tree Behind us left, whereby I grow so thin. All of this people who lamenting sing, For following beyond measure appetite In hunger and thirst are here re-sanctified. Desire to eat and drink enkindles in us The scent that issues from the apple-tree, And from the spray that sprinkles o'er the verdure; And not a single time alone, this ground Encompassing, is refreshed our pain,— I say our pain, and ought to say our solace,—

(1) Fit objects for admiration are the Stoics, who say that the soul is not affected by the body, either to vice by disease, or to virtue by health; but both these things, they say, are indifferent. And indeed Job, through exceeding continence, and excellence of faith, when from rich he became poor, from being held in honour dishonoured, from being comely unsightly, and sick from being healthy, is depicted as a good example, putting the Tempter to shame, blessing his Creator; bearing what came second, as the first, and most clearly teaching that it is possible for the gnostic to make an excellent use of all circumstances, And that ancient achievements are proposed as images for our correction, the apostle shows, when he says, "So that my bonds in Christ are become manifest in all the palace, and to all the rest; and several of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear," - since martyrs' testimonies are examples 'of conversion gloriously sanctified. "For what things the Scripture speaks were written for our instruction, that we, through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures, might have the hope of consolation." When pain is present, the soul appears to decline from it, and to deem release from present pain a precious thing. At that moment it slackens from studies, when the other virtues also are neglected. And yet we do not say that it is virtue itself which suffers, for virtue is not affected by disease. But he who is partaker of both, of virtue and the disease, is afflicted by the pressure of the latter; and if he who has not yet attained the habit of self-command be not a high-souled man, he is distraught; and the inability to endure it is found equivalent to fleeing from it.

(11) The desires of all of you have been granted by God; Arise, walk without pain or affliction, Acknowledge the mercy and beneficence of God!" Then all, as camels whose feet are shackled, When you loose their feet in the road, Straightway rush in joy and delight to the halting-place, How many afflictions caused by thyself to thyself Hast thou escaped through these princes of the faith? How long that lameness of thine was thy steed! How seldom was thy soul void of sorrow and grief!

(31) Jesus said, "No prophet is accepted in his own village; no physician heals those who know him."

A voice came from heaven to Moses, saying, "O Moses why didst thou not visit me when I was sick?" Moses inquired the meaning of this dark saying, and the answer was, "When one of God's saints is sick, God regards his sickness as His own; and, therefore, he who desires to hold companionship with God must not forsake the saints." This is illustrated by a story of a gardener who saw three friends walking in his garden, and making free with his fruit. Knowing he could not prevail against them while they remained united, he contrived by tricks to separate them, and then proceeded to chastise them one by one. And this caused one of them to make the reflection that he had acted very foolishly in deserting his friends.

(72) Thou sayest, Is it right then that the Heathen, Jews, and Turks, should persevere in their blindness? Answer.

(44) "But I look round about me in all the world, and can find out nothing; all is sick, lame and wounded: moreover, blind, deaf and dumb "].

(3) For as all men were lost in Adam and all men that with work will witness their will of salvation are saved or shall be by virtue of the Passion of only Christ: not in the same manner, but as it were in the same manner, a soul that is perfectly disposed to this work, and oned thus to God in spirit as the proof of this work witnesseth, doth that in it is to make all men as perfect in this work as itself is. For right as if a limb of our body feeleth sore, all the tother limbs be pained and diseased therefore, or if a limb fare well, all the remnant be gladded therewith—right so is it ghostly of all the limbs of Holy Church. For Christ is our head, and we be the limbs if we be in charity: and whoso will be a perfect disciple of our Lord’s, him behoveth strain up his spirit in this work ghostly, for the salvation of all his brethren and sisters in nature, as our Lord did His body on the Cross. And how? Not only for His friends and His kin and His homely lovers, but generally for all mankind, without any special beholding more to one than to another. For all that will leave sin and ask mercy shall be saved through the virtue of His Passion. And as it is said of meekness and charity, so it is to be understood of all other virtues. For all they be truly comprehended in this little pressing of love, touched before.

(6) No more, then, may he who in soul is sick and full of idols, make a pretext of the heresies, in reference to the recovery of health and conversion to God.

(48) And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the earth, And before them they shall fall and not rise again: And there shall be no one to take them with his hands and raise them: For they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed. The name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed.

(1) And when Jesus had spoken this, Matthew came forward and said: "My Lord, thy spirit hath stirred me and thy light hath made me sober to proclaim this eighth repentance of Pistis Sophia. For thy power hath prophesied thereof aforetime through David in the thirtieth Psalm, saying: "'1. On thee, O Lord, have I hoped. Let me never be put to shame; save me according to thy righteousness. "'2. Incline thine ear unto me, save me quickly. Be thou unto me a protecting God and a house of refuge to save me. "'3. For thou art my support and my refuge; for thy name's sake thou wilt guide me and feed me. "'4. And thou wilt draw me out of this snare, which they have laid privily for me; for thou art my protection. "'5. Into thy hands I will render my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, God of Truth. "'6. Thou hast hated them who hold to vain emptiness; but I have trusted. "'7. And I shall rejoice because of my Lord and make merry over thy grace. For thou hast looked down upon my humbleness and saved my soul out of my necessities. "'8. And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of my foes; thou hast set my feet on a broad space. "'9. Be gracious unto me, O Lord, for I am afflicted; my eye is distracted in the wrath and my soul and my body. "'10. For my years have wasted away in sadness and my life is wasted in sighing. My power is enfeebled in misery and my bones are distracted. "'11. I am become a mockery for all my foes and my neighbours. I am become a fright for my acquaintances, and they who saw me, are fled away from me. "'12. I am forgotten in their heart as a corpse, and I have become as a ruined vessel. "'13. For I have heard the scorn of many who encompass me round about. Massing themselves together against me, they took counsel to take away my soul from me. "'14. But I have trusted in thee, O Lord. I said: Thou art my God. "'15. My lots are in thy hands. Save me from the hand of my foes and free me from my persecutors. "'16. Reveal thy face over thy slave, and free me according to thy grace, O Lord. "'17. Let me not be put to shame, for I have cried unto, thee. Let the impious be put to shame and turn towards hell. "'18. Let the crafty lips be struck dumb, which allege iniquity against the righteous in pride and scorn.'"

(13) And David says, "For the heathen are fixed in the destruction they have caused; their foot is taken in the snare which they hid." s "But the Lord was a refuge to the poor, a help in season also in affliction." Those, then, that were in affliction had the Gospel seasonably proclaimed. And therefore it said, "Declare among the heathen his pursuits," that they may not be judged unjustly.

(6) Thomas answered and said, "What have we to say in the face of these things? What shall we say to blind men? What doctrine should we express to these miserable mortals who say, "We came to [do] good and not to curse," and yet [claim], "Had we not been begotten in the flesh, we would not have known [iniquity]"?" The savior said, "Truly, as for [those], do not esteem them as men, but regard them [as] beasts, for just as beasts devour one another, so also men of this sort devour one another. On the contrary, they are deprived of [the kingdom] since they love the sweetness of the fire and are servants of death and rush to the works of corruption. They fulfill the lust of their fathers. They will be thrown down to the abyss and be afflicted by the torment of the bitterness of their evil nature. For they will be scourged so as to make them rush backwards, whither they do not know, and they [will recede] from their limbs not patiently, but with despair. And they rejoice over [their] [involvement with life in] madness and derangement, since they are [fools]. [They] pursue this derangement without realizing [their madness, thinking] that they [are] wise. [They love] [the beauty] of their body [...] Their mind is directed to their own selves, for their thought is occupied with their deeds. But it is the fire that will burn them." And Thomas answered and said, "Lord, what will the one thrown down to them do? For I am most anxious about them; many are those who fight them." The savior answered and said, "What is your own opinion?" Judas - the one called Thomas - said, "It is you, lord, whom it befits to speak, and me to listen." The savior replied, "Listen to what I am going to tell you and believe in the truth. That which sows and that which is sown will dissolve in the fire - within the fire and the water - and they will hide in tombs of darkness. And after a long time they shall show forth the fruit of the evil trees, being punished, being slain in the mouth of beasts and men at the instigation of the rains and winds and air and the light that shines above."

(2) "Now, therefore, Mary, not only ye, but every man who shall accomplish the mystery of the raising of the dead,--that which healeth the demons and all pains and all sicknesses and the blind and the lame and the maimed and the dumb and the deaf, which I have given unto you aforetime,--he who shall receive [that] mystery and accomplish it, thereafter then, if he ask for all things, for poverty and riches, for weakness and strength, for . . . and healthy body, and for all healings of the body and for the raising of the dead and for healing the lame and the blind and the deaf and the dumb and all sicknesses and all pains,--in a word, he who shall accomplish that mystery and ask for all the things which I have just said, then will they quickly come to pass for him."

(16) "Understand that he healed you when you were sick, that you might reign.

(6) Did we think rightly, we should feel obliged to those who have afforded the means for speedy departure, if it is for love that we bear witness; and if not, we should appear to the multitude to be base men. Had they also known the truth, all would have bounded on to the way, and there would have been no choice. But our faith, being the light of the world, reproves unbelief. "Should Anytus and Melitus kill me, they will not hurt me in the least; for I do not think it right for the better to be hurt by the worse," [says Socrates]. So that each one of us may with confidence say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: what shall man do to me?" "For the souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord, and no plague shall touch them."

(13) Jerusalem wept profusely, saying, "Pity me." He will have pity at the sound of your lamentation. And when he saw, he cared for you. And the lord will give you the bread of affliction and water of oppression. From now on those who deceive will not go near you. Your eye will spot those who would deceive you.