(4) That water extinguishes fire and fire consumes other things should not astonish us. The thing destroyed derived its being from outside itself: this is no case of a self-originating substance being annihilated by an external; it rose on the ruin of something else, and thus in its own ruin it suffers nothing strange; and for every fire quenched, another is kindled.

In the immaterial heaven every member is unchangeably itself for ever; in the heavens of our universe, while the whole has life eternally and so too all the nobler and lordlier components, the Souls pass from body to body entering into varied forms- and, when it may, a Soul will rise outside of the realm of birth and dwell with the one Soul of all. For the embodied lives by virtue of a Form or Idea: individual or partial things exist by virtue of Universals; from these priors they derive their life and maintenance, for life here is a thing of change; only in that prior realm is it unmoving. From that unchangingness, change had to emerge, and from that self-cloistered Life its derivative, this which breathes and stirs, the respiration of the still life of the divine.

The conflict and destruction that reign among living beings are inevitable, since things here are derived, brought into existence because the Divine Reason which contains all of them in the upper Heavens- how could they come here unless they were There?- must outflow over the whole extent of Matter.

Similarly, the very wronging of man by man may be derived from an effort towards the Good; foiled, in their weakness, of their true desire, they turn against each other: still, when they do wrong, they pay the penalty- that of having hurt their Souls by their evil conduct and of degradation to a lower place- for nothing can ever escape what stands decreed in the law of the Universe.

This is not to accept the idea, sometimes urged, that order is an outcome of disorder and law of lawlessness, as if evil were a necessary preliminary to their existence or their manifestation: on the contrary order is the original and enters this sphere as imposed from without: it is because order, law and reason exist that there can be disorder; breach of law and unreason exist because Reason exists- not that these better things are directly the causes of the bad but simply that what ought to absorb the Best is prevented by its own nature, or by some accident, or by foreign interference. An entity which must look outside itself for a law, may be foiled of its purpose by either an internal or an external cause; there will be some flaw in its own nature, or it will be hurt by some alien influence, for often harm follows, unintended, upon the action of others in the pursuit of quite unrelated aims. Such living beings, on the other hand, as have freedom of motion under their own will sometimes take the right turn, sometimes the wrong.

Why the wrong course is followed is scarcely worth enquiring: a slight deviation at the beginning develops with every advance into a continuously wider and graver error- especially since there is the attached body with its inevitable concomitant of desire- and the first step, the hasty movement not previously considered and not immediately corrected, ends by establishing a set habit where there was at first only a fall.

Punishment naturally follows: there is no injustice in a man suffering what belongs to the condition in which he is; nor can we ask to be happy when our actions have not earned us happiness; the good, only, are happy; divine beings are happy only because they are good.

(14) Now therefore we say (as the Scripture informs us) that God dwells in Heaven, and it is the Truth. Now mark, Moses writes, that God created the Heaven out of the Midst of the Waters, and the Scripture says, God dwells in Heaven; therefore we may now observe, that the Water has its Original from the Longing of the eternal Nature after the eternal Light of God; but the eternal Nature is made manifest by the Longing after the Light of God, as is mentioned before; and the Light of God is present every where, and yet remains hidden to Nature; for Nature receives only the Virtue of the Light, and the Virtue is the Heaven wherein the Light of God dwells and is hid, and so shines in the Darkness. The Water is the Materia, or Matter that is generated from the Heaven, and therein stands the third, which again generates a Life, and comprehensible Essence, or Substance, out of itself, viz. the Elements and other Creatures.

(24) Understand it thus, that Water is the Water of the eternal Life in the mLimbus of God in the Holy Ternary; and that is the Water which baptizes the Soul, when we keep the Use of his As by an Example. Testament, for the Soul in his Covenant is dipped and washed in that Water, it is rightly the Bath [or Laver] of Regeneration, for by its dipping in the holy Water, it is received and quickened by the holy Water, and comes (in the Covenant of Christ) into the Soul of Christ; indeed not fully into his Soul, but into his Body, and becomes the Brother of the Soul of Christ; for Christ's Soul is a Creature, (as our Souls are,) and is in the Body of the Mercifulness in the Trinity, being surrounded therewith, and has the same in it for Food and Strength [or Refreshment.] So also our Souls in the Covenant, if they be faithful and continue in God, they are the Brethren of Christ's Soul.

(11) Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

(16) If, then, in the deluge all sinful flesh perished, punishment having been inflicted on them for correction, we must first believe that the will of God, which is disciplinary and beneficent, saves those who turn to Him. Then, too, the more subtle substance, the soul, could never receive any injury from the grosser element of water, its subtle and simple nature rendering it impalpable, called as it is incorporeal. But whatever is gross, made so in consequence of sin, this is cast away along with the carnal spirit which lusts against the soul.

(23) Therefore, my beloved Soul, be lively, and see what thy noble Bridegroom has left thee in his Testaments for a Legacy; as namely, in the Baptism, the Water of his Covenant, flowing from his holy original Body. Whereas we in this World, viz. in the external Birth of his Body, do acknowledge four Things, namely, Fire, Air, Water, and Earth, wherein our earthly Body consists; so likewise in the heavenly Body there are four such Things. The Fire is the Enkindling of the divine Desire. The Water is that which the Fire desires, whence it becomes meek, and a Light. The Air is the joyful Spirit which blows up the Fire, and makes in the Water the Motion. And the Earth is the true Essence which is born in the three Elements, and is rightly called Ternarius Sanctus [the Sacred Ternary,] in which the Tincture is brought forth in the Light of the Meekness; and therein also is born the holy Blood out of the Water, being an Oil of the Water, in which the Light shines, and the Spirit of Life consists.

(67) But those waters shall in those days serve for the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, for the healing of the body, but for the punishment of the spirit; now their spirit is full of lust, that they may be punished in their body, for they have denied the Lord of Spirits and see their punishment daily, and yet believe not in His name.

(45) And thus the Body of Christ (on the Soul) was the pure Element before God, out of which the Sun of this World is generated, and the same Body included the whole World, and then the Nature of this World trembled, and the stony Rocks cleft in sunder; for the fierce wrathful Death had (in the Fiat) congealed and concreted the stony Rocks together; and now the holy Life went into the fierce wrathful Death, whereupon the Stones did cleave asunder, to show that the Life stood up again in Death, and sprung forth through Death.

(2) "O Shem, it is necessary that the thought be called by the word so the bondage of the power of the spirit may be saved from the frightful water. And it is blessedness if it is granted someone to contemplate what is exalted, and to know the exalted time and the bondage. For the water is an insignificant body. And people are not released because they are bound in the water, just as from the beginning the light of the spirit was bound.

(1) In the beginning nothing whatsoever was here. This [world] was covered over with death, with hunger — for hunger is death. Then he made up his mind (manas): ' Would that I had a self!' So he went on (acarat) praising (arcau). From him, while he was praising, water was produced. 'Verily, while I was praising, I had pleasure (ka) \ ' thought he, This, indeed, is the tfTv&tf-nature of what pertains to brightness (arkya). Verily, there is pleasure for him who knows thus that ar/ca-naturc of what pertains to brightness. 2* The water, verily, was brightness. That which was the froth of the water became solidified. That became the earth. On it he [i.e. Death] tortured himself ( Vsram}. When he had tortured himself and practised austerity, his heat (tejas) and essence (rasa) turned into fire.

(20) And if you open the Eyes of your Mind, you will see that Fire is in Water, as may be seen in a Storm of Lightening, and yet it is no durable Fire, though it be true Fire, which sets Houses on Fire, and burns them. So also you may see that there goes forth from it a mighty forcible Air, and that they are in one another; and besides, you see that Water is generated in the Storm.

(10) And thus yet the one must be parted from the other, viz. the Kingdom of this World, which is a Root, or Stirrer up of the Root of the Fierceness, and therefore it was necessary that God should pass with the new Body into the Separation of the Root, and of the Kingdom of this World, as into the Death of the Fierceness, and should destroy Death, and spring with its own Virtue and Power through Death, as a Flower springs out of the Earth, and so hold the inward Fierceness captive xin his own Virtue of the new Body. 1 1. And this we understand of Christ, who is truly entered in such a Manner, and has taken the strong Anger (and the Devil in it) captive, and has sprung with his holy heavenly Body through Death, and has destroyed Death, so that the eternal Life springs forth through Death; and thus Death was taken captive by the new eternal Body, and it is an eternal Imprisonment; so that an eternal Life is grown in Death, and the new Body treads upon the Head of Death, and of the Fierceness; the Property of Death stands in the Prison of the new eternal Life.

Then when forethought saw the messenger, she became enamored of him, but he hated her because she was in darkness. Moreover, she desired to embrace him, but she was not able. When she was unable to quench her love, she poured out her light upon the earth. From that day, that messenger was called Adam of light, which is interpreted the enlightened man of blood. And the earth upon which the light spread was called holy Adamas, which is interpreted as “the holy steel-like earth.” At that time, all the authorities began to honor the blood of the virgin, and the earth was purified because of the blood of the virgin. But especially the water was purified by the likeness of Pistis Sophia, who appeared to the chief creator in the waters. Rightly, then, has it been said, “through the waters.” Since the holy water gives life to everything, it purifies it too.

(86) Now when the poor Soul was thus bathed in the Water of eternal Life (out of the pure Element) which is in the Holy Ternary, that it not only enjoyed the same outwardly, but was also filled [or impregnated] therewith, as the Holy Ghost impregnated Mary in the Holy Ternary; then it stood [inclined] forward, viz. right forward towards God, and into God, as a new half generated and washed Creature, and behind it was the Anger of the Darkness in the Kingdom of this World still fast bound to it, so that it could not be wholly freed from it, except it entered into Death, and quite broke off the Kingdom of this World. Of the Temptation of Christ.

(6) 'And where could its root be except in water? As water is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. fire. As fire is an offshoot, seek after its root, viz. the True. Yes, all these creatures, O son, have their root in the True, they dwell in the True, they rest in the True. 'And how these three beings (devatâ), fire, water, earth, O son, when they reach man, become each of them tripartite, has been said before (VI, 4, 7). When a man departs from hence, his speech is merged in his mind, his mind in his breath, his breath in heat (fire), heat in the Highest Being.

(71) For he is always shut up in the first Principle (as in the eternal Death,) and yet he raises himself up continually, thinking to reach the Heart of God, and to domineer over it; for his bitter Sting in the Birth climbs up thus eternally in the Source of the Fire, and affords him a proud Will to have all [at his Pleasure,] but he attains nothing; his Food is the Source of Water, viz. the Brimstone-Spirit, which is the most aking Mother, from which the indissoluble Band is fed and nourished; his Refreshing is the eternal Fire, and eternal Freezing in the harsh Mother, an eternal Hunger in the Bitterness, an eternal Thirst in the Source of the Fire; his climbing up is his Fall, the more he climbs up in his Will, the greater is his Fall; like one that standing upon a high Clift, would cast himself down into a bottomless Pit, he looks still further, and he falls in further and further, and yet can find no Ground.

"They found me, the son of the majesty, in front of the womb that has many forms. I put on the beast and laid before her a great request that heaven and earth might come into being, so that the whole light might rise up. For in no other way could the power of the spirit be saved from bondage except that I appear to her in animal form. Therefore she was gracious to me as if I were her son. And on account of my request, nature arose, since she possesses the power of the spirit and the darkness and the fire. For she had taken off her forms. When she had cast it off, she blew upon the water. The heaven was created. And from the foam of heaven the earth came into being. And at my wish it brought forth all kinds of food in accordance with the number of the beasts. And it brought forth dew from the winds on account of you and those who will be conceived the second time upon the earth. For the earth possessed a power of chaotic fire. Therefore it brought forth every seed. And when the heaven and the earth were created, my garment of fire arose in the midst of the cloud of nature and shone upon the whole world until nature became dry. The darkness that was the earth's garment was cast into the harmful waters. The middle region was cleansed from the darkness. But the womb grieved because of what had happened. She perceived, in her parts, water like a mirror. When she perceived it, she wondered how it had come into being. Therefore she remained a widow. It also was astonished that it was not in her. For still the forms possessed a power of fire and light. The power remained, that it might be in nature until all the powers are taken away from her. For just as the light of the spirit was completed in three clouds, it is necessary also that the power that is in Hades be completed at the appointed time. For, because of the grace of the majesty, I came forth to her from the water for the second time. For my face pleased her. Her face also was glad.

(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."

(69) And through it the earth was founded upon the water, And from the secret recesses of the mountains come beautiful waters, From the creation of the world and unto eternity.

(6) Jesus,--that is Aberamenthō,--said unto his disciples: "Amēn, I say unto you: I have brought nothing into the world when I came, save this fire, this water, this wine and this blood. I have brought the water and the fire out of the region of the Light of the lights of the Treasury of the Light; and I have brought the wine and the blood out of the region of Barbēlō. And after a little while my father sent me the holy spirit in the type of a dove. "And the fire, the water and the wine are for the purification of all the sins of the world. The blood on the other hand was for a sign unto me because of the human body which I received in the region of Barbēlō, the great power of the invisible god. The breath on the other hand advanceth towards all souls and leadeth them unto the region of the Light.