(1) PRAISE to the Holy Creator, who has placed his throne upon the waters, and who has made all terrestrial creatures. To the Heavens he has given dominion and to the Earth dependence; to the Heavens he has given movement, and to the Earth uniform repose.

(11) Into Thee enter these hosts of gods, and some in fear extol Thee with folded hands. And bands of Rishis and Siddhas exclaim, “May there be peace!” and praise Thee with splendid hymns.

(3) And Thou art therein, O Ahura Mazda! the bountiful One who appertains to, and who possesses, that (most bounteous) spirit in that Thou art He who for this (man, in whom this spirit works) hath made the joy-creating Kine. (And as to her), for her, as joyful meadows of her peace, wilt Thou bestow (Thine) Âramaiti (who is our Piety as earth considered), since he (for her) hath taken counsel with Thy Good Mind, Lord!

(10) To the east of that Circle, the deity called the Earth- Abiding Knowledge-Holder, white of colour, with radiant smiling countenance, embraced by the White DdkinT, the [Divine] Mother, [he] holding a crescent knife and a skull [filled] with blood, dancing and making the mudra of fascination, [with his right hand held] aloft, will come to shine.

(13) Thus I conceived of Thee as bounteous, O Ahura Mazda! when with Thy Good Mind (Sraosha, Obedience) approached me. (And I would therefore pray thus of Thee, that bounteous one.) In order that I may make known to men the true and sacred aims of their desires (in the rite or daily toil), grant Ye me long life for this, (that blessing ) which none with daring may extort from You, even this (gift) of that desired place which has been declared to be within Thy Realm.

(0) Oṁ. May we hear what is auspicious with our ears, Deities. May we see what is auspicious with our eyes, Revered Ones. May we enjoy a long life, allotted by the gods, while singing their praises.Oṁ. Peace; peace; peace.

(9) That best (of gifts therefore) do I beseech (of Thee), O Thou best (of beings) Ahura! who art one in will with (Thy Divine) Righteousness (within us, likewise), the best (of spirits), desiring it (as I now do) for the (heroic) man Frashaostra, and for me , upon whom also may’st Thou bestow it (not for time alone), but for all the ages of Thy Good Mind (that reign of Thy Benevolence which shall be to us as Heaven )!

(12) And Thou, O Ahura! do Thou (Thyself) arise to me! Through Âramaiti give me power, O most bountiful Spirit Mazda! through (my) faithful appeals and offerings ; and for (my) Righteousness grant me mighty strength, and (Thy) thrift-law through (Thy) Good Mind .

(2) This I ask Thee, O Ahura! tell me aright, how, in pleasing Him, may we serve the supreme one of (Heaven) the better world ; yea, how to serve that chief who may grant us those (blessings of His grace, and) who will seek for (grateful requitals at our hands); for He, bountiful (as He is) through the Righteous Order, (will hold off) ruin from (us) all, guardian (as He is) for both the worlds, O Spirit Mazda! and a friend.

(12) 'Open the door of the world (the heaven), let us see thee, that we may rule supreme (in heaven).' This is addressed to the Âdityas.

(14) The Great Nature is My womb; in that I place the seed of life, and thence are born all beings, Ο Bhārata.

(11) Thou art Wind and Death and Fire and Moon and the Lord of Water. Thou art Prajāpati and the Great-grandsire. Salutations, salutations to Thee a thousand times, and again and yet again salutations, salutations to Thee!

(17) Let every nature of the World receive the utterance of my hymn! Open thou Earth! Let every bolt of the Abyss be drawn for me. Stir not, ye Trees! I am about to hymn creation's Lord, both All and One. Ye Heavens open and ye Winds stay still; [and] let God's deathless Sphere receive my word (logos)! For I will sing the praise of Him who founded all; who fixed the Earth, and hung up Heaven, and gave command that Ocean should afford sweet water [to the Earth], to both those parts that are inhabited and those that are not, for the support and use of every man; who made the Fire to shine for gods and men for every act. Let us together all give praise to Him, sublime above the Heavens, of every nature Lord! 'Tis He who is the Eye of Mind; may He accept the praise of these my Powers!

(10) To the south of that Circle, the Knowledge-Holding Deity called [He] Having Power Over Duration of Life, yellow in colour, smiling and radiant, embraced by the Yellow DdkinT, the [Divine] Mother, [he] holding a crescent knife and a skull [filled] with blood, dancing and making the mudra of fascination, [with his right hand held] aloft, will come to shine.

(4) This, then, according to my science, is the first rank of the Heavenly Beings which encircle and stand immediately around God; and without symbol, and without interruption, dances round His eternal knowledge in the most exalted ever-moving stability as in Angels; viewing purely many and blessed contemplations, and illuminated with simple and immediate splendours, and filled with Divine nourishment,--many indeed by the first-given profusion, but one by the unvariegated and unifying oneness of the supremely Divine banquet, deemed worthy indeed of much participation and co-operation with God, by their assimilation to Him, as far as attainable, of their excellent habits and energies, and knowing many Divine things pre-eminently, and participating in supremely Divine science and knowledge, as is lawful. Wherefore the Word of God has transmitted its hymns to those on earth, in which are Divinely shewn the excellency of its most exalted illumination. For some of its members, to speak after sensible perception, proclaim as a "voice of many waters," "Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place" and others cry aloud that frequent and most august hymn of God, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of His glory." These most excellent hymnologies of the supercelestial Minds we have already unfolded to the best of our ability in the "Treatise concerning the Divine Hymns," and have spoken sufficiently concerning them in that Treatise, from which, by way of remembrance, it is enough to produce so much as is necessary to the present occasion, namely, "That the first Order, having been illuminated, from this the supremely Divine goodness, as permissible, in theological science, as a Hierarchy reflecting that Goodness transmitted to those next after it," teaching briefly this, "That it is just and right that the august Godhead -- Itself both above praise, and all-praiseworthy--should be known and extolled by the God-receptive minds, as is attainable; for they as images of God are, as the Oracles say, the Divine places of the supremely Divine repose; and further, that It is Monad and Unit tri-subsistent, sending forth His most kindly forethought to all things being, from the super-heavenly Minds to the lowest of the earth; as super-original Origin and Cause of every essence, and grasping all things super-essentially in a resistless embrace. Next: Caput VIII. Sacred Texts | Christianity « Previous: The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite: On the Heavenly Hi... Index Next: The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite: On the Heavenly Hi... » Sacred Texts | Christianity

(4) Saved by Thy Power divine, let us rejoice that Thou hast shown Thyself to us in all Thy Fullness. Let us rejoice that Thou hast deigned to consecrate us, [still] entombed in bodies, to Eternity. For this is the sole festival of praise worthy of man,—to know Thy Majesty. We have known Thee; yea, by the Single Sense of our intelligence, we have perceived Thy Light supreme,—O Thou true Life of life, O Fecund Womb that giveth birth to every nature!

(2) "O great power! O name that has come to be in the world! O Allogenes, behold your Blessedness, how silently it abides, by which you know your proper self, and, seeking yourself, ascend to the Vitality that you will see moving.

(10) (And since these champions thus join in that reward), then therefore will I place as well in Thy protection (Thy) Good Mind (in the living) and the spirits (of the dead. Yea, I confide our very) self-humbling praises, (which we offer, unto Thee), by which (Thine) Âramaiti (who is our Piety, exists), and likewise sacrificing zeal. And this would we do to further Thy great Sovereign Power (among Thy folk), and with undying (?) strength.

(24) And now when it seeth and heareth the divine tone, tune and sound rise up, which is externally without it, then is its spirit affected and kindled with joy, and elevateth itself in its princely seat, and singeth and ringeth forth very joyful words concerning God's holiness, and concerning the fruit and vegetation of the eternal life.

(20) And, that gift of blessedness for you, all (the Bountiful Immortals) with one consent in sympathy to help us (are disposed ) to grant; (and may they likewise make) the Holy Order (firm) for us through the Good Mind (in our folk); and may they reveal to us the words with which Piety likewise (speaks her truths). And receiving sacrifice with homage (from our praises), may they seek for us Ahura Mazda's grace.