(8) He went and sat down on the orchestra near the Udgâtris, who were going to sing their hymns of praise. And he said to the Prastotri (the leader):

(327) I went down yesterday to the Piraeus with Glaucon the son of Ariston, that I might offer up my prayers to the goddess 1 ; and also because I wanted to see in what manner they would celebrate the festival, which was a new thing. I was delighted with the procession of the inhabitants; but that of the Thracians was equally, if not more, beautiful. When we had finished our prayers and viewed the spectacle, we turned in the direction of the city; and at that instant Polemarchus the son of Cephalus chanced to catch sight of us from a distance as we were starting on our way home, and told his servant to run and bid us wait for him. The servant took hold of me by the cloak behind, and said: Polemarchus desires you to wait. I turned round, and asked him where his master was. There he is, said the youth, coming after you, if you will only wait. Certainly we will, said Glaucon; and in a few minutes Polemarchus appeared, and with him Adeimantus, Glaucon’s brother, Niceratus the son of Nicias, and several others who had been at the procession. Polemarchus said to me: I perceive, Socrates, that you and your companion are already on your way to the city. You are not far wrong, I said. But do you see, he rejoined, how many we are? Of course. And are you stronger than all these? for if not, you will have to remain where you are. May there not be the alternative, I said, that we may persuade you to let us go? But can you persuade us, if we refuse to listen to you? he said. Certainly not, replied Glaucon. Then we are not going to listen; of that you may be assured.

(12) And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying : Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred and from the house of thy father unto a land which I shall show thee, and I shall make thee a great and numerous nation.

(1) When he said this, he left. We knelt down, Peter and I, and gave thanks and sent our hearts up to heaven. We heard with our ears and saw with our eyes the noise of wars, a trumpet blast, and great turmoil.

(2) Upon this journey, whence thou givest him vaunt, Things did he hear, which the occasion were Both of his victory and the papal mantle. Thither went afterwards the Chosen Vessel, To bring back comfort thence unto that Faith, Which of salvation's way is the beginning. But I, why thither come, or who concedes it? I not Aeneas am, I am not Paul, Nor I, nor others, think me worthy of it. Therefore, if I resign myself to come, I fear the coming may be ill-advised; Thou'rt wise, and knowest better than I speak." And as he is, who unwills what he willed, And by new thoughts doth his intention change, So that from his design he quite withdraws, Such I became, upon that dark hillside, Because, in thinking, I consumed the emprise, Which was so very prompt in the beginning. "If I have well thy language understood," Replied that shade of the Magnanimous, "Thy soul attainted is with cowardice, Which many times a man encumbers so, It turns him back from honoured enterprise, As false sight doth a beast, when he is shy.

(6) Full meet it was to leave her in some heaven, Even as a palm of the high victory Which he acquired with one palm and the other, Because she favoured the first glorious deed Of Joshua upon the Holy Land, That little stirs the memory of the Pope. Thy city, which an offshoot is of him Who first upon his Maker turned his back, And whose ambition is so sorely wept, Brings forth and scatters the accursed flower Which both the sheep and lambs hath led astray Since it has turned the shepherd to a wolf. For this the Evangel and the mighty Doctors Are derelict, and only the Decretals So studied that it shows upon their margins. On this are Pope and Cardinals intent; Their meditations reach not Nazareth, There where his pinions Gabriel unfolded; But Vatican and the other parts elect Of Rome, which have a cemetery been Unto the soldiery that followed Peter Shall soon be free from this adultery."

(38) As this lord commanded, so his subjects obeyed; when he elevated himself, and would be God, his angels, seeing it, followed their lord, doing as he did, all made a proffer to assault and storm the Deity.

(54) And they brought the kings and the mighty, and began to cast them into this deep valley.

(4) Beneath my head the others are dragged down Who have preceded me in simony, Flattened along the fissure of the rock. Below there I shall likewise fall, whenever That one shall come who I believed thou wast, What time the sudden question I proposed. But longer I my feet already toast, And here have been in this way upside down, Than he will planted stay with reddened feet; For after him shall come of fouler deed From tow'rds the west a Pastor without law, Such as befits to cover him and me. New Jason will he be, of whom we read In Maccabees; and as his king was pliant, So he who governs France shall be to this one." I do not know if I were here too bold, That him I answered only in this metre: "I pray thee tell me now how great a treasure Our Lord demanded of Saint Peter first, Before he put the keys into his keeping? Truly he nothing asked but 'Follow me.' Nor Peter nor the rest asked of Matthias Silver or gold, when he by lot was chosen Unto the place the guilty soul had lost.

(27) Critias: a select number of men superlatively well trained. Then, in accordance with the word and law of Solon, I am to bring these before ourselves, as before a court of judges, and make them citizens of this State of ours, regarding them as Athenians of that bygone age whose existence, so long forgotten, has been revealed to us by the record of the sacred writings; and thenceforward I am to proceed with my discourse as if I were speaking of men who already are citizens and men of Athens . Socrates: Bounteous and magnificent, methinks, is the feast of speech with which I am to be requited. So then, it will be your task, it seems, to speak next, when you have duly invoked the gods.

(5) What I was saying of that only bride Of the Holy Ghost, and which occasioned thee To turn towards me for some commentary, So long has been ordained to all our prayers As the day lasts; but when the night comes on, Contrary sound we take instead thereof. At that time we repeat Pygmalion, Of whom a traitor, thief, and parricide Made his insatiable desire of gold; And the misery of avaricious Midas, That followed his inordinate demand, At which forevermore one needs but laugh. The foolish Achan each one then records, And how he stole the spoils; so that the wrath Of Joshua still appears to sting him here. Then we accuse Sapphira with her husband, We laud the hoof-beats Heliodorus had, And the whole mount in infamy encircles Polymnestor who murdered Polydorus. Here finally is cried: 'O Crassus, tell us, For thou dost know, what is the taste of gold?' Sometimes we speak, one loud, another low, According to desire of speech, that spurs us To greater now and now to lesser pace.

(5) "For to one God has given warlike deeds, To another the accomplishment of the dance, To another the lyre and song," says Homer. "But each has his own proper gift of God " - one in one way, another in another. But the apostles were perfected in all. You will find, then, if you choose, in their acts and writings, knowledge, life, preaching, righteousness, purity, prophecy. We must know, then, that if Paul is' young in respect to time - having flourished immediately after the Lord's ascension - yet his writings depend on the Old Testament, breathing and speaking of them. For faith in Christ and the knowledge of the Gospel are the explanation and fulfilment of the law; and therefore it was said to the Hebrews, "If ye believe not, neither shall you understand;" that is, unless you believe what is prophesied in the law, and oracularly delivered by the law, you will not understand the Old Testament, which He by His coming expounded.

(21) Thence, after the image of the Lord. the worthiest were chosen from the sacred tribes to be high priests, and those elected to the kingly office and to prophecy were anointed.

(37) And they sent to Aram, and to 'Aduram to the friend of their father, and they hired along with them one thousand fighting men, chosen men of war.

(7) Hugh of Saint Victor is among them here, And Peter Mangiador, and Peter of Spain, Who down below in volumes twelve is shining; Nathan the seer, and metropolitan Chrysostom, and Anselmus, and Donatus Who deigned to lay his hand to the first art; Here is Rabanus, and beside me here Shines the Calabrian Abbot Joachim, He with the spirit of prophecy endowed. To celebrate so great a paladin Have moved me the impassioned courtesy And the discreet discourses of Friar Thomas, And with me they have moved this company."

(1) Peter came forward and said: "My Lord, concerning the solution of the words which thou hast spoken, thus hath thy light-power prophesied aforetime through Solomon in his Odes: "'1. A stream came forth and became a great wide flood. "'2. It tore away all to itself and turned itself against the temple. "'3. Dams and buildings could not hold it, nor could the art of them who hold the waters. "'4. It was led over the whole land and laid hold of all. "'5. They who were on the dry sand, drank; their thirst was quieted and quenched, when the draught from the hand of the Highest was given. "'6. Blessed are the ministers of that draught, to whom the water of the Lord is entrusted. "'7. They have refreshed parched lips; they whose power was taken away, have gotten joy of heart and they have laid hold of souls, having poured in the breath, so that they should not die. "'8. They have raised up limbs which were fallen; they have given power to their openness and light unto their eyes. "'9. For they all have known themselves in the Lord and are saved through the water of Life eternal.' "Hearken, therefore, my Lord, that I may set forth the word in openness. As thy power hath prophesied through Solomon: 'A stream came forth and became a great wide flood,'--this is: The light-stream hath spread itself out in the chaos over all the regions of the emanations of Self-willed. "And again the word which thy power hath spoken through Solomon: 'It tore away all to itself and led it over the temple,'--that is: It drew all the light-powers out of the emanations of Self-willed, which they had taken from Pistis Sophia, and poured them anew into Pistis Sophia. "And again the word thy power hath spoken: 'The dams and buildings could not hold it,'--that is: The emanations of Self-willed could not hold the light-stream within the walls of the darkness of the chaos. "And again the word which it hath spoken: It was led over the whole land and filled all,'--that is: When Gabriēl and Michaēl had led it over the body of Pistis Sophia, they poured into her all the lights which the emanations of Self-willed had taken from her, and the body of her matter shone. "And the word which it hath spoken: 'They who were in the dry sand, drank,'--that is: All in Pistis Sophia whose light had before been taken away, got light. "And the word which it hath spoken: 'Their thirst was quieted and quenched,'--that is: Her powers ceased to lack the light, because their light, which had been taken from them, was given them [again]. "And again as thy power hath spoken: 'The draught through the Highest was given them,'--that is: The light was given unto them through the light-stream, which came forth out of thee, the First Mystery." "And as thy power hath spoken: 'Blessed are the ministers of that draught,'--this is the word which thou hast spoken: 'Michaēl and Gabriēl, who have ministered, have brought the light-stream into the chaos and also led it forth again. They will give them the mysteries of the Light of the Height, they to whom the light-stream is entrusted.' "And again as thy power hath spoken: 'They have refreshed parched lips,'--that is: Gabriēl and Michaēl have not taken for themselves from the lights of Pistis Sophia, which they had spoiled from the emanations of Self-willed, but they have poured them into Pistis Sophia. "And again the word which it hath spoken: They whose power was taken away, have gotten joy of heart,'--that is: All the other powers of Pistis Sophia, which the emanations of Self-willed have not taken, are become exceedingly merry and have filled themselves with light from their light-fellows, for these have poured it into them. "And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'They have quickened souls, having poured in the breath, so that they should not die,'--that is: When they had poured the lights into Pistis Sophia, they quickened the body of her matter, from which they had before taken its lights, and which was on the point of perishing. "And again the word which thy power hath spoken: 'They have raised up limbs which were fallen, or that they should not fall,'--that is: When they poured into her her lights, they raised up all her powers which were on the point of being dissolved. "And again as thy light-power hath spoken: They have received again their light and have become as they were before '; and again the word which it hath spoken: 'They have given light unto their eyes,'--that is: They have received sense in the Light and known the light-stream, that it belongeth to the Height. "And again the word which it hath spoken: 'They all have known themselves in the Lord,'--that is: All the powers of Pistis Sophia have known one another through the light-stream. "And again the word which it hath spoken: 'They are saved through water of Life eternal,'--that is: They are saved through the whole light-stream. "And again the word which it hath spoken: 'The light-stream tore all to itself and drew it over the temple,'--that is: When the light-stream had taken all the light-powers of Pistis Sophia and had spoiled them from the emanations of Self-willed, it poured them into Pistis Sophia and turned itself about and went out of the chaos and came over thee,--thou who art the temple. "This is the solution of all the words which thy light-power hath spoken through the Ode of Solomon." It came to pass then, when the First Mystery had heard Peter speak these words, that he said unto him: "Well said, blessed Peter. This is the solution of the words which have been spoken."

(216) 150 To say: I had come to thee Nephthys; I am come to thee Boat of the Evening (mkt.t-boat); 150 I am come to thee M`-ri-tr.wt; 150 I am come to thee M.t-k.w; remember him--N. 151 is enveloped by the D.t, pure and living, in the horizon; 151 So this is enveloped by the D.t, pure and living, in the horizon; 151 N. is enveloped by the D.t, pure and living, in the horizon. 151 He is content because of them; he is cool because of them, 151 in the arms of his father, in the arms of Atum.

(69) And the gods, his helpers, who marched by his side

(3) And further, that the same God that furnished both the Covenants was the giver of Greek philosophy to the Greeks, by which the Almighty is glorified among the Greeks, he shows. And it is clear from this. Accordingly, then, from the Hellenic training, and also from that of the law are gathered into the one race of the saved people those who accept faith: not that the three peoples are separated by time, so that one might suppose three natures, but trained in different Covenants of the one Lord, by the word of the one Lord. For that, as God wished to save the Jews by giving to them prophets, so also by raising up prophets of their own in their own tongue, as they were able to receive God's beneficence, He distinguished the most excellent of the Greeks from the common herd, in addition to "Peter's Preaching," the Apostle Paul will show, saying:

(5) Incoronated with a second crown Was through Honorius by the Eternal Spirit The holy purpose of this Archimandrite. And when he had, through thirst of martyrdom, In the proud presence of the Sultan preached Christ and the others who came after him, And, finding for conversion too unripe The folk, and not to tarry there in vain, Returned to fruit of the Italic grass, On the rude rock 'twixt Tiber and the Arno From Christ did he receive the final seal, Which during two whole years his members bore. When He, who chose him unto so much good, Was pleased to draw him up to the reward That he had merited by being lowly, Unto his friars, as to the rightful heirs, His most dear Lady did he recommend, And bade that they should love her faithfully; And from her bosom the illustrious soul Wished to depart, returning to its realm, And for its body wished no other bier. Think now what man was he, who was a fit Companion over the high seas to keep The bark of Peter to its proper bearings.