(16) And he blessed his Creator who had created him in his generation, for He had created him according to His good pleasure ; for He knew and perceived ^ — that from him Avould arise the plant of righteousness * , for the eternal generations, and irom him a holy seed, so that it should become like Him who had made all things. '

(2) Wherefore also he righteously prays, saying, "Forgive us; for we also forgive."

(52) Behold, the guiltless Man Christ was set in our Stead, in the Anger of the Father; he must reconcile not only all that which Adam had made himself guilty of, by his going forth from Paradise into the Kingdom of this World, and so fell foully in the Presence of God, and was scorned of all the Devils; but all that which was done afterwards, and which is still done, or [will be] done by us.

(7) "Let us try again! Already dawn draws near: Let us make him who shall nourish and sustain us! What shall we do to be invoked, in order to be remembered on earth? We have already tried with our first creations, our first creatures; but we could not make them praise and venerate us. So, then, let us try to make obedient, respectful beings who will nourish and sustain us." Thus they spoke.

(6) And he made atonement for the earth, and took a kid and made atonement by its blood for all the guilt of the earth ; for everything that had been on it had been destroyed, save those that were in the ark with Noah.

(21) Certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, said within themselves, This man blasphemeth: who can forgive sins, but God alone? Jesus knowing their thoughts said,

(35) Then they said, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus answered,

(16) They answered, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

(31) Man is made out of the seed of the earth, out of an incorporated or compacted mass or lump— ["Understand, out of the matrix of the earth, wherein the eye is twofold, the one in God and the other in this world, out of three Principles."] —and not out of the wrath, but out of the birth or geniture of the earth, as a king or heart of the earth, and stood in the astral birth or geniture in the part of the love; but wrath hung to him, which he should have put forth from himself, as the fruit putteth forth from itself the bitterness of the tree.

(10) Man, then, genetically considered, is formed in accordance with the idea of the connate spirit. For he is not created formless and shapeless in the workshop of nature, where mystically the production of man is accomplished, both art and essence being common. But the individual man is stamped according to the impression produced in the soul by the objects of his choice. Thus we say that Adam was perfect, as far as respects his formation; for none of the distinctive characteristics of the idea and form of man were wanting to him; but in the act of coming into being he received perfection. And he was justified by obedience; this was reaching manhood, as far as depended on him. And the cause lay in his choosing, and especially in his choosing what was forbidden. God was not the cause.

(2) Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

(4) Man, then, being thus created and composed, and to such ministry and service set by Highest God,—man, by his keeping suitably the world in proper order, [and] by his piously adoring God, in both becomingly and suitably obeying God’s Good Will,—[man being] such as this, with what reward think’st thou he should be recompensed? If that, indeed,—since Cosmos is God’s work,—he who preserves and adds on to its beauty by his love, joins his own work unto God’s Will; when he with toil and care doth fashion out the species (which He hath made [already] with His Divine Intent), with help of his own body;—with what reward think’st thou he should be recompensed, unless it be with that with which our forebears have been blest?

(6) Then they said to them: "Because it has not been possible for you to talk, you shall be changed. We have changed our minds: Your food, your pasture, your homes. and your nests you shall have; they shall be the ravines and the woods, because it has not been possible for you to adore us or invoke us. There shall be those who adore us, we shall make other [beings] who shall be obedient. Accept your destiny: your flesh shall be tom to pieces. So shall it be. This shall be your lot." So they said, when they made known their will to the large and small animals which are on the face of the earth. They wished to give them another trial; they, wished to make another attempt; they wished to make [all living things] adore them. But they could not understand each other's speech; they could succeed in nothing, and could do nothing. For this reason they were sacrificed and the animals which were on earth were condemned to be killed and eaten. For this reason another attempt had to be made to create and make men by the Creator, the Maker, and the Forefathers.

(10) And he prayed before the Lord his God, and said : " God of the spirits of all flesh, who hast shown mercy unto me, And hast saved me and my sons from the waters of the flood, And hast not caused me to perish as Thou didst the sons of perdition ; * For Thy grace hath been great towards me, And great hath been Thy mercy to my soul ; Let Thy grace be lift up upon my sons, And let not wicked spirits rule over them Lest they should destroy them from the earth.

(15) Man is created for true obedience, and is bound of right to render it to God. And this obedience fell and died in Adam, and rose again and lived in Christ. Yea, Christ’s human nature was so utterly bereft of Self, and apart from all creatures, as no man’s ever was, and was nothing else but “a house and habitation of God.” Neither of that in Him which belonged to God, nor of that which was a living human nature and a habitation of God, did He, as man, claim anything for His own. His human nature did not even take unto itself the Godhead, whose dwelling it was, nor anything that this same Godhead willed, or did or left undone in Him, nor yet anything of all that His human nature did or suffered; but in Christ’s human nature there was no claiming of anything, nor seeking nor desire, saving that what was due might be rendered to the Godhead, and He did not call this very desire His own. Of this matter no more can be said, or written here, for it is unspeakable, and was never yet and never will be fully uttered; for it can neither be spoken nor written but by Him who is and knows its ground; that is, God Himself, who can do all things well.

(9) unto you: Not only will I purify your sins, but I will make you worthy of the kingdom of my father. And I will give you the mystery of the forgiveness of sins, in order that to him whom ye shall forgive on earth, it will be forgiven in heaven, and he whom ye shall bind on earth, will be bound in heaven. I will give you the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, in order that ye your-selves may perform them [ sc. the mysteries] for men."

(25) Seeing now we know, that we lost our heavenly Man in our first Fall, so also we know that a new one is generated to us in the Mercifulness of God, into which we should and must enter, if we will be the Children of God; and without this we are the Children of the Anger of God.

(2) When I heard these words from the great persons standing before me, Eve and I sighed in our hearts. And the lord, the god who created us, stood before us. He said, "Adam, why were you both sighing in your hearts? Don't you know that I am the god who created you? I breathed into you a spirit of life as a living soul." Darkness came over our eyes.

(17) And he remembered the words which He had spoken to him on the day on which Lot had parted from him, and he rejoiced be- cause the Lord had given him seed upon the earth to inherit the earth, and he blessed with all his mouth the Creator of all things.

(17) They that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? Jesus said to the woman,