(47) "Blessed art thou, O Son of Light, to whom of all men, I, Poimandres, the Light of the World, have revealed myself. I order you to go forth, to become as a guide to those who wander in darkness, that all men within whom dwells the spirit of My Mind (The Universal Mind) may be saved by My Mind in you, which shall call forth My Mind in them. Establish My Mysteries and they shall not fail from the earth, for I am the Mind of the Mysteries and until Mind fails (which is never) my Mysteries cannot fail." With these parting words, Poimandres, radiant with celestial light, vanished, mingling with the powers of the heavens. Raising his eyes unto the heavens, Hermes blessed the Father of All Things and consecrated his life to the service of the Great Light.

(41) Hermes asked if all men did not have Minds, and the Great Dragon replied: "Take heed what you say, for I am the Mind--the Eternal Teacher. I am the Father of the Word--the Redeemer of all men--and in the nature of the wise the Word takes flesh. By means of the Word, the world is saved. I, Thought (Thoth)--the Father of the Word, the Mind--come only unto men that are holy and good, pure and merciful, and that live piously and religiously, and my presence is an inspiration and a help to them, for when I come they immediately know all things and adore the Universal Father. Before such wise and philosophic ones die, they learn to renounce their senses, knowing that these are the enemies of their immortal souls.

(23) Then again was heard the voice of Poimandres, but His form was not revealed: "I Thy God am the Light and the Mind which were before substance was divided from spirit and darkness from Light. And the Word which appeared as a pillar of flame out of the darkness is the Son of God, born of the mystery of the Mind. The name of that Word is Reason. Reason is the offspring of Thought and Reason shall divide the Light from the darkness and establish Truth in the midst of the waters. Understand, O Hermes, and meditate deeply upon the mystery. That which in you sees and hears is not of the earth, but is the Word of God incarnate. So it is said that Divine Light dwells in the midst of mortal darkness, and ignorance cannot divide them. The union of the Word and the Mind produces that mystery which is called Life. As the darkness without you is divided against itself, so the darkness within you is likewise divided. The Light and the fire which rise are the divine man, ascending in the path of the Word, and that which fails to ascend is the mortal man, which may not partake of immortality. Learn deeply of the Mind and its mystery, for therein lies the secret of immortality."

(7) Yea, I conceived of Thee as bountiful, O Great Giver Mazda! when he (Thy messenger, Obedience) drew near me, and asked me thus: Who art thou? And whose is thine allegiance? And how to-day shall I show the signs that give the light on this (our) question, (signs) as to the lands (from whence thou camest) and in thyself?

(6) "I understand mind, Hermes. You cannot be known, since you stay in yourself. I am happy, father. I see you laughing. The universe is happy. No creature will lack your life, for you are the lord of the inhabitants everywhere. Your forethought keeps watch. I call you father, eternal realm of eternal realms, great divine spirit, who through spirit sends moisture on everyone. What do you tell me, father Hermes?"

(5) "Now, therefore, amēn, I say unto you: Every man who will receive that mystery of the Ineffable and accomplish it in all its types and all its figures,--he is a man in the world, but he towereth above all angels and will tower still more above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all archangels and will tower still more above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all tyrants and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all lords and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all gods and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all light-givers and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all pure [ones] and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all triple-powers and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all forefathers and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all invisibles and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above the great invisible forefather and will raise himself above him. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above all those of the Midst and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above the emanations of the Treasury of the Light and will raise himself above them all. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above the Mixture and will raise himself entirely above it. "He is a man in the world, but he towereth above the whole region of the Treasury and will raise himself entirely above it. "He is a man in the world, but he will rule with me in my kingdom. "He is a man in the world, but he is king in the Light. "He is a man in the world, but he is not one of the world. "And amēn, I say unto you: That man is I and I am that man.

(49) "I am the Lord who is against thee and thus accomplishes thy salvation, " continues the voice. "Thou hast hated me, but through the ages yet to be thou shalt bless me, for I have led thee our of the sphere of the Demiurgus; I have turned thee against the illusion of worldliness; I have weaned thee of desire; I have awakened in thy soul the immortality of which I myself partake. Follow me, O Adam, for I am the Way, the Life, and the Truth!"

(60) And he said to me: 'Thou son of man, herein thou dost seek to know what is hidden.'

(2) This know I, Mazda! wherefore I am thus unable to attain my wish , and why my flocks are so reduced in number, and why my following is likewise scant. Therefore I cry to Thee; behold it, Lord! desiring helpful grace for me, as friend bestows on friend. (Therefore to meet my spirit's need, and this as well) declare and teach to me the Good Mind's wealth.

(6) (Yea), I who, as this Thy faithful priest, invoke Thee through (my) Righteousness, (now) seek with longing from (Thy) Best Spirit, and with that (best) intention of mind, (to know) what he himself thought of the working of (our) fields . Therefore (because I abjure the Evil Mind, and all disobedience, arrogance, falsehood), O Mazda! would I beseech of Thee for a sight of Thee, and for consultation with Thee! (What is Thy will and mind?)

(10) I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me,

(2) And in accord with that activity of thine, the secondary power, even the Mentality from which derives Blessedness: Autoer, Beritheus, Erigenaor, Orimenios, Aramen, Alphleges, Elelioupheus, Lalameus, Yetheus, Noetheus! Thou art great! He who knows thee knows the All! Thou art one, thou art one, O Good one, Aphredon! Thou art the Aeon of aeons, O perpetually existing one!'

(1) "For I said these things to you, Shem, that you might know that my likeness, the son of the majesty, is from my infinite thought, since I am for him a universal likeness that does not lie, and I am above every truth and am the origin of the word. His appearance is in my beautiful garment of light, which is the voice of the immeasurable thought. We are that single, sole light that came into being. He appeared in another root in order that the power of the spirit might be raised from feeble nature. For by the will of the great light I came forth from the exalted spirit down to the cloud of the hymen without my universal garment.

(1) AND if any thought rise and will press continually above thee betwixt thee and that darkness, and ask thee saying, “What seekest thou, and what wouldest thou have?” say thou, that it is God that thou wouldest have. “Him I covet, Him I seek, and nought but Him.”

(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.

(39) Then Hermes asked how the righteous and wise pass to God, to which Poimandres replied: "That which the Word of God said, say I: 'Because the Father of all things consists of Life and Light, whereof man is made.' If, therefore, a man shall learn and understand the nature of Life and Light, then he shall pass into the eternity of Life and Light."

(315) What thinks in you, say with your mind that it is man.

(1) Aye, doth my soul indeed obtain assisting grace, and which of Thy blessings is that gift to me, O Lord? What saving champion is found to save both flocks and herds? And who for myself other than Thy Righteous Order, and Thyself, Ahura? Tell me , O (ye) invoked ones! Or what of grace is there for me save Thy Best Mind (itself)?

(10) And may’st Thou likewise grant me (Thy) Righteousness (within me), since I earnestly invoke that perfect readiness (of mind), joining in my prayer with Âramaiti (our Piety toward Thee. Yea, pray Thou Thyself within me through these holy powers). Ask Thou (Thyself) our questions, those which shall be asked by us of Thee; for a question asked by Thee (as its inspirer), is as the question of the mighty, whene’er Thy (?) ruler speaks his potent wish. II. Yea, I conceived of Thee as bountiful, O Ahura Mazda! when (Thy messenger) with Thy Good Mind near approached me, and with your words I first impressed (my soul). Woes then 'midst men Thy heart-devoted one declared (to be) my (portion); but that will I do which Thou did’st say was best.

(5) The Savior said to them: "I want you to know that all men are born on earth from the foundation of the world until now, being dust, while they have inquired about God, who he is and what he is like, have not found him. Now the wisest among them have speculated from the ordering of the world and (its) movement. But their speculation has not reached the truth. For it is said that the ordering is directed in three ways, by all the philosophers, (and) hence they do not agree. For some of them say about the world that it is directed by itself. Others, that it is providence (that directs it). Others, that it is fate. But it is none of these. Again, of the three voices I have just mentioned, none is close to the truth, and (they are) from man. But I, who came from Infinite Light, I am here - for I know him (Light) - that I might speak to you about the precise nature of the truth. For whatever is from itself is a polluted life; it is self-made. Providence has no wisdom in it. And fate does not discern. But to you it is given to know; and whoever is worthy of knowledge will receive (it), whoever has not been begotten by the sowing of unclean rubbing but by First Who Was Sent, for he is an immortal in the midst of mortal men."