(6) All of their coverings uplifted were, And from them issued forth such dire laments, Sooth seemed they of the wretched and tormented. And I: "My Master, what are all those people Who, having sepulture within those tombs, Make themselves audible by doleful sighs?" And he to me: "Here are the Heresiarchs, With their disciples of all sects, and much More than thou thinkest laden are the tombs. Here like together with its like is buried; And more and less the monuments are heated." And when he to the right had turned, we passed Between the torments and high parapets.

(1) Now onward goes, along a narrow path Between the torments and the city wall, My Master, and I follow at his back. "O power supreme, that through these impious circles Turnest me," I began, "as pleases thee, Speak to me, and my longings satisfy; The people who are lying in these tombs, Might they be seen? already are uplifted The covers all, and no one keepeth guard." And he to me: "They all will be closed up When from Jehoshaphat they shall return Here with the bodies they have left above. Their cemetery have upon this side With Epicurus all his followers, Who with the body mortal make the soul; But in the question thou dost put to me, Within here shalt thou soon be satisfied, And likewise in the wish thou keepest silent." And I: "Good Leader, I but keep concealed From thee my heart, that I may speak the less, Nor only now hast thou thereto disposed me." "O Tuscan, thou who through the city of fire Goest alive, thus speaking modestly, Be pleased to stay thy footsteps in this place.

(34) [pages 109 and 110 are missing in NHC III, replaced here by the corresponding section in the Berlin Gnostic Codex, the beginning of which is somewhat different from the final partial sentence of NHC III 108 (the broken off sentence)]

(Pages 1 to 6 of the manuscript, containing chapters 1 - 3, are lost. The extant text starts on page 7...)

(21) The writing of these memoranda of mine, I well know, is weak when compared with that spirit, full of grace, which I was privileged to hear. But it will be an image to recall the archetype to him who was struck with the thyrsus. For "speak," it is said, "to a wise man, and he will grow wiser; and to him that hath, and there shall be added to him." And we profess not to explain secret things sufficiently - far from it - but only to recall them to memory, whether we have forgot aught, or whether for the purpose of not forgetting. Many things, I well know, have escaped us, through length of time, that have dropped away unwritten. Whence, to aid the weakness of my memory, and provide for myself a salutary help to my recollection in a systematic arrangement of chapters, I necessarily make use of this form. There are then some things of which we have no recollection; for the power that was in the blessed men was great. There are also some things which remained unnoted long, which have now escaped; and others which are effaced, having faded away in the mind itself, since such a task is not easy to those not experienced; these I revive in my commentaries. Some things I purposely omit, in the exercise of a wise selection, afraid to write what I guarded against speaking: not grudging - for that were wrong - but fearing for my readers, lest they should stumble by taking them in a wrong sense; and, as the proverb says, we should be found "reaching a sword to a child." For it is impossible that what has been written should not escape, although remaining unpublished by me. But being always revolved, using the one only voice, that of writing, they answer nothing to him that makes inquiries beyond what is written; for they require of necessity the aid of some one, either of him who wrote, or of some one else who has walked in his footsteps.

(2) Thy mode of speaking makes thee manifest A native of that noble fatherland, To which perhaps I too molestful was." Upon a sudden issued forth this sound From out one of the tombs; wherefore I pressed, Fearing, a little nearer to my Leader. And unto me he said: "Turn thee; what dost thou? Behold there Farinata who has risen; From the waist upwards wholly shalt thou see him." I had already fixed mine eyes on his, And he uprose erect with breast and front E'en as if Hell he had in great despite. And with courageous hands and prompt my Leader Thrust me between the sepulchres towards him, Exclaiming, "Let thy words explicit be." As soon as I was at the foot of his tomb Somewhat he eyed me, and, as if disdainful, Then asked of me, "Who were thine ancestors?" I, who desirous of obeying was, Concealed it not, but all revealed to him; Whereat he raised his brows a little upward. Then said he: "Fiercely adverse have they been To me, and to my fathers, and my party; So that two several times I scattered them."

(1) O Simon Magus, O forlorn disciples, Ye who the things of God, which ought to be The brides of holiness, rapaciously For silver and for gold do prostitute, Now it behoves for you the trumpet sound, Because in this third Bolgia ye abide. We had already on the following tomb Ascended to that portion of the crag Which o'er the middle of the moat hangs plumb. Wisdom supreme, O how great art thou showest In heaven, in earth, and in the evil world, And with what justice doth thy power distribute! I saw upon the sides and on the bottom The livid stone with perforations filled, All of one size, and every one was round. To me less ample seemed they not, nor greater Than those that in my beautiful Saint John Are fashioned for the place of the baptisers, And one of which, not many years ago, I broke for some one, who was drowning in it; Be this a seal all men to undeceive. Out of the mouth of each one there protruded The feet of a transgressor, and the legs Up to the calf, the rest within remained.

(659) 1860 To say: He is assembled: This thy going; 1860 He is assembled: These thy goings, 1860 are the goings of Horus in search of his father, Osiris. 1861 His messengers go; his runners hasten, 1861 his envoys rush on. 1862 Hasten to R`; say to R, to him who lifts up his arm in the East, 1862 that he is coming as a god, that N. stands in the double 'itr.tpalace of the horizon. 1863 Thou hearest the words of R`, as a god, as Horus mti: 1863 "I am thy brother, like Sopdu." 1864 Behold, he comes; behold, he comes; 1864 behold, thy brother comes; behold, Mnti-n-'irti comes. 1865 Thou recognizest him not, though thou spendest the night in his arms- 1865 thy putrefaction being avoided 1865 like thy calf, like thy herdsman. 1866 Thou hast taken these thy white teeth of this mn; 1866 they go around like an arrow, in their name of "Arrow;" 1867 thy leg of beef is in the nome of Abydos, thy (lit. his) piece of meat is in the land of Nubia; 1867 thou hast descended like the jackal of the South, like Anubis who is over (i.e. protects) the (southern) 'itr.t-palace; 1868 thou standest before the Rd-wr-lake, 1868 like Geb, at the head of his Ennead. 1869 Thou hast thy heart; thou hast thy ka, N.; 1869 thou furnishest thy house, N.; thou fastenest thy door, N. 50. TEXTS OF MISCELLANEOUS CONTENTS,

(48) Another remarkable oracle was the Cave of Trophonius, which stood upon the side of a hill with an entrance so small that it seemed impossible for a human being to enter. After the consultant had made his offering at the statue of Trophonius and had donned the sanctified garments, he climbed the hill to the cave, carrying in one hand a cake of honey. Sitting down at the edge of the opening, he lowered his feet into the cavern. Thereupon his entire body was precipitately

(1) Abreast, like oxen going in a yoke, I with that heavy-laden soul went on, As long as the sweet pedagogue permitted; But when he said, "Leave him, and onward pass, For here 'tis good that with the sail and oars, As much as may be, each push on his barque;" Upright, as walking wills it, I redressed My person, notwithstanding that my thoughts Remained within me downcast and abashed. I had moved on, and followed willingly The footsteps of my Master, and we both Already showed how light of foot we were, When unto me he said: "Cast down thine eyes; 'Twere well for thee, to alleviate the way, To look upon the bed beneath thy feet." As, that some memory may exist of them, Above the buried dead their tombs in earth Bear sculptured on them what they were before; Whence often there we weep for them afresh, From pricking of remembrance, which alone To the compassionate doth set its spur; So saw I there, but of a better semblance In point of artifice, with figures covered Whate'er as pathway from the mount projects.

(6) Upon this side he fell down out of heaven; And all the land, that whilom here emerged, For fear of him made of the sea a veil, And came to our hemisphere; and peradventure To flee from him, what on this side appears Left the place vacant here, and back recoiled." A place there is below, from Beelzebub As far receding as the tomb extends, Which not by sight is known, but by the sound Of a small rivulet, that there descendeth Through chasm within the stone, which it has gnawed With course that winds about and slightly falls. The Guide and I into that hidden road Now entered, to return to the bright world; And without care of having any rest We mounted up, he first and I the second, Till I beheld through a round aperture Some of the beauteous things that Heaven doth bear; Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.

(3) Whereat I moved mine eyes, and I beheld In rear of Mary, and upon that side Where he was standing who conducted me, Another story on the rock imposed; Wherefore I passed Virgilius and drew near, So that before mine eyes it might be set. There sculptured in the self-same marble were The cart and oxen, drawing the holy ark, Wherefore one dreads an office not appointed. People appeared in front, and all of them In seven choirs divided, of two senses Made one say "No," the other, "Yes, they sing." Likewise unto the smoke of the frankincense, Which there was imaged forth, the eyes and nose Were in the yes and no discordant made. Preceded there the vessel benedight, Dancing with girded loins, the humble Psalmist, And more and less than King was he in this. Opposite, represented at the window Of a great palace, Michal looked upon him, Even as a woman scornful and afflicted. I moved my feet from where I had been standing, To examine near at hand another story, Which after Michal glimmered white upon me.

(4) Now follow me, and mind thou do not place As yet thy feet upon the burning sand, But always keep them close unto the wood." Speaking no word, we came to where there gushes Forth from the wood a little rivulet, Whose redness makes my hair still stand on end. As from the Bulicame springs the brooklet, The sinful women later share among them, So downward through the sand it went its way. The bottom of it, and both sloping banks, Were made of stone, and the margins at the side; Whence I perceived that there the passage was. "In all the rest which I have shown to thee Since we have entered in within the gate Whose threshold unto no one is denied, Nothing has been discovered by thine eyes So notable as is the present river, Which all the little flames above it quenches." These words were of my Leader; whence I prayed him That he would give me largess of the food, For which he had given me largess of desire. "In the mid-sea there sits a wasted land," Said he thereafterward, "whose name is Crete, Under whose king the world of old was chaste.

(19) Upon moving the altar to one side a brass cover was disclosed. Lifting this revealed a body, presumedly that of C.R.C., which, although it had lain there 120 years, was as well preserved as though it had just been interred. It was ornamented and attired in the robes of the Order, and in one hand was clasped a mysterious parchment which, next to the Bible, was the most valued possession of the Society. After thoroughly investigating the contents of the secret chamber, the brass plate and altar were put back in place, the door of the vault was again sealed, and the Brothers went their respective ways, their spirits raised and their faith increased by the miraculous spectacle which they had beheld.

(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.

(42) Evidence points to the existence of a group of wise and illustrious Fratres who assumed the responsibility of publishing and preserving for future generations the choicest of the secret books of the ancients, together with certain other documents which they themselves had prepared. That future members of their fraternity might not only identify these volumes bur also immediately note the significant passages, words, chapters, or sections therein, they created a symbolic alphabet of hieroglyphic designs. By means of a certain key and order, the discerning few were thus enabled to find that wisdom by which a man is "raised" to an illumined life.

(612) 1730 Further, to say: Let this thy going, king N., be like the going of Horus to his father, Osiris, 1730 that he may be a spiritualized one thereby, that he may be a soul thereby, that he may be an honoured one thereby, that he may be a mighty one thereby. 1731 Thy spirit is behind thee -------------------------- 1731 ---------------- king N. 1732 Collect thy bones; take to thee thy limbs; 1732 shake off this earth (dust of the earth) from thy flesh; 1733 take to thee these thy four nm.t-jars [filled at the divine-lake in Ntr.w], 1733 (and) [the wind of the great Isis, together with (which) the great Isis dried (him)] like Horus. 1734 Raise thyself towards the eye of R`; and according to this thy name so will the gods do 1734 to Horus of the D.t, even to Horus-kn, 1734 to Horus ------------------------------------ 1734 ------------------------------------ 1735 Raise thyself up, be seated on thy firm throne; 1735 thy finger-nails scratch the castle (-door?). 1735 Thou travellest over the regions of Horus; thou travellest over the regions of Set. 1735 -------------------------------------

(666) 1931-1(Nt. J�quier, XXIX 761). To say: O N. [pass?] the great lake (?), even this, to the spirits, 1931-2 (Nt. 762). this water (n) to the dead. 1931-3 (Nt. 762). Guard thyself against these its people, whose house (home) is that bush, 1931a (Nt. 762). the heavenly (?) d.t, in its name of "Dt.t," 1931b (Nt. 762). where they take not thy hand to that house (home) of the bush. 1932 (Nt. 763). He, he is a pyramid, he protects; 1932 + 1 (Nt. 763). he is the east, he is thy protector, he protects; a father, thy east, he is the Easterner. 1933a (Nt. 763). Go to D.w-'ib, brother of Seker, whom he loves; 1933b (Nt. 764). he will make a way for thee with them, 1933b + 1 (Nt. 764). where thou mayest eat bread with them, 1933b + 2 (Nt. 764). where thou mayest row the wd with them, 1933b + 3 (Nt. 764). where the sky trembles for thee, the earth quakes for thee, 1933b + 4 (Nt. 764-765). and the imperishable stars come to thee. 1934a (Nt. 763). And so, behold, he seized thy hand (at) the Nb-k.wfeast, at (in) the Marsh of Reeds (or, at inundation time?), 1934b (Nt. 765). (while thou) sittest upon thy firm throne, 1934c (Nt. 765). and judgest with the Two Enneads.

(187) 107 To say: Take the eye of Horus; honour (?) it; Horus has given (it) to thee. Two baskets of bn.t-fruit

(2) Then reigned within my lofty fantasy One crucified, disdainful and ferocious In countenance, and even thus was dying. Around him were the great Ahasuerus, Esther his wife, and the just Mordecai, Who was in word and action so entire. And even as this image burst asunder Of its own self, in fashion of a bubble In which the water it was made of fails, There rose up in my vision a young maiden Bitterly weeping, and she said: "O queen, Why hast thou wished in anger to be naught? Thou'st slain thyself, Lavinia not to lose; Now hast thou lost me; I am she who mourns, Mother, at thine ere at another's ruin." As sleep is broken, when upon a sudden New light strikes in upon the eyelids closed, And broken quivers ere it dieth wholly, So this imagining of mine fell down As soon as the effulgence smote my face, Greater by far than what is in our wont. I turned me round to see where I might be, When said a voice, "Here is the passage up;" Which from all other purposes removed me,