(1) And when the First Mystery said this unto his disciples, he answered and said: "Understand ye in what manner I discourse with you?" James came forward and said: "My Lord, concerning then the solution of the words which thou hast said, thus hath thy light-power prophesied thereon aforetime through David in the ninetieth Psalm: "'1. Whoso then dwelleth under the help of the Most High, will abide under the shadow of the God of heaven. "'2. He will say unto the Lord: Thou art my succour and my place of refuge, my God, in whom I trust. "'3. For he will save me out of the snare of the hunters and from mighty word. "'4. He will shade thee with his breast, and thou shalt have trust beneath his wings; his truth shall surround thee as a shield. "'5. Thou wilt not be afraid of terror by night nor of an arrow which flieth by day, "'6. Of a thing which slinketh in the darkness, of a mischance and a demon at mid-day. "'7. A thousand will fall on thy left, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but they shall not come nigh thee. "'8. Nay rather with thine eyes wilt thou behold, thou wilt see the requital of the sinners. "'9. For thou, O Lord, art my hope. Thou hast established the Most High for thyself as refuge. "'10. Harm will not come nigh unto thee; scourge will not come nigh thy dwelling. "'11. For he will give commandment to his angels on thy behalf that they guard thee on all thy ways, "'12. And bear thee on their hands, that thou mayest never strike with thy foot against a stone. "'13. Thou wilt stride over the serpent and basilisk and tread on lion and dragon. "'14. Because he hath trusted in me, I will save him; I will overshadow him, because he hath known my name. "'15. He will cry unto me and I shall hearken unto him; I am at his side in his tribulation and will save him and honour him, "'16. And increase him with many days and show him my salvation.' "This, my Lord, is the solution of the words which thou hast said. Hearken therefore, that I may say it in openness. "The word then which thy power hath spoken through David: 'Whoso then dwelleth under the help of the Most High, will abide under the shadow of the God of heaven,'--that is: When Sophia had trusted in the Light, she abode under the light of the light-stream, which through thee came out of the Height. "And the word which thy power hath spoken through David: 'I will say unto the Lord: Thou art my succour and my refuge, my God, in whom I trust,'--it is the word with which Pistis Sophia hath sung praises: 'Thou art my succour, and I come unto thee.' "And again the word which thy power hath spoken: 'My God, in whom I trust, thou wilt save me out of the snare of the hunters and from mighty word,'--it is what Pistis Sophia hath said: 'O Light, I have faith in thee, for thou wilt save me from the emanations of Self-willed and from those of Adamas, the Tyrant, and thou wilt save me also from all their mighty threats.' "And again the word which thy power hath spoken through David: 'He will shade thee with his breast, and thou wilt have trust beneath his wings,'--that is: Pistis Sophia hath been in the light of the light-stream, which hath come from thee, and hath continued in firm trust in the light, that on her left and that on her right, which are the wings of the light-stream. "And the word which thy light-power hath prophesied through David: 'Truth will surround thee as a shield,'--it is the light of the light-stream which hath surrounded Pistis Sophia on all her sides as a shield. "And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'He will not be afraid of terror by night,'--that is: Pistis Sophia hath not been afraid of the terrors and alarms into which she had been planted in the chaos, which is the 'night.' "And the word which thy power hath spoken: He will not be afraid of an arrow which flieth by day,'--that is: Pistis Sophia hath not been afraid of the power which Self-willed hath sent last of all out of the height, and which hath come into the chaos as it were a flying arrow. Thy light-power therefore hath said: 'Thou wilt not be afraid of an arrow which flieth by day,' for that power hath come out of the thirteenth æon, it being that which is lord over the twelve æons, and which giveth light unto all the æons; wherefor hath he [David] said 'day.' "And again the word which thy power hath spoken: 'He will not be afraid of a thing which slinketh in the darkness,'--that is: Sophia hath not been afraid of the lion-faced emanation, which caused fear for Pistis Sophia in the chaos, which is the 'darkness.' "And the word which thy power hath spoken: 'He will not be afraid of a mischance and of a demon at mid-day,'--that is: Pistis Sophia hath not been afraid of the demon emanation of Tyrant Adamas, which hath cast Pistis Sophia to the ground in a great mischance, and which hath come forth out of Adamas out of the twelfth æon; wherefor then hath thy power said: 'He will not be afraid of the demon mischance at mid-day,'--'mid-day,' because it hath come out of the twelve æons, which is 'mid-day'; and again ['night,' because] it hath come out of the chaos, which is the 'night,' and because it hath come out of the twelfth æon which is in the midst between both; therefore hath thy light-power said 'mid-day,' because the twelve æons lie in the midst between the thirteenth æon and the chaos. "And again the word which thy light-power hath spoken through David: 'A thousand will fall on his left, and ten thousand at his right hand, but they shall not come nigh him,'--that is: When the emanations of Self-willed, which are exceedingly numerous, could not bear the great light of the light-stream, many of them fell on the left hand of Pistis Sophia and many at her right, and they could not come nigh her, to do her [harm]. "And the word which thy light-power hath spoken through David: 'Nay rather with thine eyes wilt thou behold, and wilt see the requital of the sinners, for thou, O Lord, art my hope,'--that is the word: Pistis Sophia hath with her eyes beheld her foes, that is the emanations of Self-willed, who all have fallen one on another; not only hath she with her eyes beheld this, but thou also thyself, my Lord, the First Mystery, hast taken the light-power which is in the lion-faced power, and hast moreover taken the power of all the emanations of Self-willed and moreover thou hast imprisoned them in that chaos, [so that] from henceforth they have not gone forth to their own region. Therefore then hath Pistis Sophia with her eyes beheld her foes, that is the emanations of Self-willed, in all which David hath prophesied concerning Pistis Sophia, saying: 'Nay rather with thine eyes wilt thou behold, and thou wilt see the requital of the sinners.' Not only hath she with her eyes beheld, how they fall one on another in the chaos, but she hath also seen the requital with which it was requited them. Just as the emanations of Self-willed have thought to take away the light of Sophia from her, so hast thou requited them and repaid them in full, and hast taken the light-power in them instead of the lights of Sophia, who hath had faith in the Light of the Height. "And as thy light-power hath spoken through David: 'Thou hast established the Most High for thyself as refuge; harm will not come nigh unto thee, scourge will not come nigh thy dwelling,'--that is: When Pistis Sophia had had faith in the Light and was afflicted, she sang praises unto it, and the emanations of Self-willed could not inflict on her any harm, nor could they [injure] her, nor could they at all come nigh her. "And the word which thy light-power hath spoken through David: 'He will give commandment to his angels on thy behalf, that they guard thee on all thy ways and bear thee on their hands, that thou mayest never strike with thy foot against a stone,'--it is again thy word: Thou hast given commandment to Gabriēl and Michaēl, that they guide Pistis Sophia in all the regions of the chaos, until they lead her forth and that they uplift her on their hands, so that her feet do not touch the darkness beneath, and [that] on the other hand they of the lower darkness do not seize hold of her. "And the word which thy light-power hath spoken through David: 'Thou wilt tread on serpent and basilisk and tread on lion and dragon; because he hath trusted in me, I will save him and I will overshadow him, because he hath known my name,'--that is the word: When Pistis Sophia was on the point of coming forth out of the chaos, she trod on the emanations of Self-willed, and she trod on the serpent-faced ones and on the basilisk-faced ones, which have seven heads; and she trod on the lion-faced power and on the dragon-faced one. Because she had had faith in the Light, is she saved from all of them. "This, my Lord, is the solution of the words which thou hast spoken."

(32) Therefore if thou wilt have an open gate into the Deity, then thou must move, stir and walk in God's love; this I have set down here for thy consideration. Now observe:

(3) "For by doing the will of God we know the will of God." "Open, then," says the Scripture, "the gates of righteousness; and I will enter in, and confess to the Lord." But the paths to righteousness (since God saves in many ways, for He is good) are many and various, and lead to the Lord's way and gate. And if you ask the royal and true entrance, you will hear, "This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter in by it." While there are many gates open, that in righteousness is in Christ, by which all the blessed enter, and direct their steps in the sanctity of knowledge. Now Clemens, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, while expounding the differences of those who are approved according to the Church, says expressly, "One may be a believer; one may be powerful in uttering knowledge; one may be wise in discriminating between words; one may be terrible in deeds."

(62) But seeing God, in his great love, openeth to me the gate of his being, and remembereth the Covenant which he has with man, therefore I will, according to my gifts, faithfully and earnestly unlock and set wide open all the gates of God, so far as God will give me leave.

(3) "For this cause, therefore, I have not hidden it, but I have cried it aloud clearly. And I have not separated the sinners, but I have cried it aloud and said it unto all men, unto sinners and righteous, saying: 'Seek that ye may find, knock that it may be opened unto you; for every one who seeketh in truth, will find, and who knocketh, to him it will be opened.' For I have said unto all men: They are to seek the mysteries of the Light-kingdom which shall purify them and make them refined and lead them into the Light.

(6) And if you do these things, O my son, you will be victorious over all your enemies, and they will not be able to wage war against you, neither will they be able to resist, nor will they be able to get in your way. For if you find these, you will despise them as deniers of truth. They will speak to you, cajoling you and enticing (you), not because they are afraid of you, but because they are afraid of those who dwell within you, namely, the guardians of the divinity and the teaching.

(53) Here the spirit openeth both door and gate; if thou wilt not see, then be blind.

(2) Only be thou careful to get into thy spirit the Holy Ghost, who issueth forth from God, and he will lead thee into all truth, and reveal himself unto thee.

(103) Thou child of man, behold now, how great a gate of heaven, of hell, and of the earth, as also of the whole Deity, the spirit openeth to thee.

(24) Therefore know (beloved Christian Mind) how thou art helped, and consider this Gate diligently, it is an earnest one; for Moses and all the Prophets witness concerning these Things, viz. concerning our Salvation in restoring [us;] be not drowsy here, it is the fairest Gate of this Book; the more thou readest it, the more thou wilt be in Love with it.

(3) For my part, I will obediently perform the command of the spirit, only, have thou a care, and suffer not thyself to be shut out by an open door; for here the gates of knowledge stand open to thee.

(15) And he gave command to himself; he began to know himself and to speak with his mind, which is the father of the truth, concerning the unbegotten aeons, and concerning the virgin who brought forth the light. And he thinks about the power which flowed over the whole place, and which takes hold of him. And he is a disciple of his mind, which is male. He began to keep silent within himself until the day when he should become worthy to be received above. He rejects for himself loquacity and disputations, and he endures the whole place; and he bears up under them, and he endures all of the evil things. And he is patient with every one; he makes himself equal to every one, and he also separates himself from them. And that which someone wants, he brings to him, in order that he might become perfect (and) holy. When the [...], he grasped him, having bound him upon [...], and he was filled with wisdom. He bore witness to the truth [...] the power, and he went into Imperishability, the place whence he came forth, having left the world, which has the appearance of the night, and those that whirl the stars in it. This, therefore, is the true testimony: When man comes to know himself and God, who is over the truth, he will be saved, and he will crown himself with the crown unfading.

(8) O, thou child of man! open the eyes of thy spirit, for I will here shew thee the right and real proper gate of the Deity, as indeed that very one only God will have it.

(10) He who knows in truth this glory and power of Mine acquires unshakable devotion; of this there is no doubt.

(5) Therefore if I should speak and write that which is purely heavenly, and altogether of the clear Deity, I should be as dumb to the Reader, who has not the Knowledge and the Gift [to understand it.] Yet I will so write in a divine, and also in a creaturely Way, that I might stir up any one to desire and long after the Consideration of the high Things: And if any shall perceive that they cannot do it, that at least they might seek and knock in their Desire, and pray to God for his holy Spirit, that the Door of the second Principle might be opened up to them; for Christ bids us to pray, seek, and knock, and then it shall be opened unto us. For he says, All that you shall ask the Father in my Name, he will give it you: Ask and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

(2) "Now, therefore, unto all men who come unto you and have faith in you and hearken unto your words and do what is worthy of the mysteries of the Light, give the mysteries of the Light and hide them not from them. And unto him who is worthy of the higher mysteries, give them, and to him who is worthy of the lower mysteries, give them, and hide not anything from any one.

(31) For without the illumination thereof you will not understand this Mystery; for there is a strong lock and bar before it in the spirit of man, that must be first unlocked or opened; and that, no man can do, for the Holy Ghost is the only key to do it withal.

(54) Now if my spirit did not see through his spirit, then I were but a blind stock; but seeing I see the gates of God in my spirit, and have the impulse to do it, I will therefore write directly according as I have seen it, and will not regard any man's authority.

(6) Now all men, having the same judgment, some, following the Word speaking, frame for themselves proofs; while others, giving themselves up to pleasures, wrest Scripture, in accordance with their lusts. And the lover of truth, as I think, needs force of soul. For those who make the greatest attempts must fail in things of the highest importance; unless, receiving from the truth itself the rule of the truth, they cleave to the truth. But such people, in consequence of falling away from the right path, err in most individual points; as you might expect from not having the faculty for judging of what is true and false, strictly trained to select what is essential. For if they had, they would have obeyed the Scriptures.

(7) But this much is enough, since it is impossible for anyone to dispute the nature of the words I have just spoken about the blessed, imperishable, true God. Now, if anyone wants to believe the words set down (here), let him go from what is hidden to the end of what is visible, and this Thought will instruct him how faith in those things that are not visible was found in what is visible. This is a principle of knowledge.