(5) For more the daughter of Belus never burned, Offending both Sichaeus and Creusa, Than I, so long as it became my locks, Nor yet that Rodophean, who deluded was by Demophoon, nor yet Alcides, When Iole he in his heart had locked. Yet here is no repenting, but we smile, Not at the fault, which comes not back to mind, But at the power which ordered and foresaw. Here we behold the art that doth adorn With such affection, and the good discover Whereby the world above turns that below. But that thou wholly satisfied mayst bear Thy wishes hence which in this sphere are born, Still farther to proceed behoveth me. Thou fain wouldst know who is within this light That here beside me thus is scintillating, Even as a sunbeam in the limpid water. Then know thou, that within there is at rest Rahab, and being to our order joined, With her in its supremest grade 'tis sealed. Into this heaven, where ends the shadowy cone Cast by your world, before all other souls First of Christ's triumph was she taken up.

(2) "Henceforth, O Shem, go in grace and continue in faith upon the earth. For every power of light and fire will be completed by me because of you. For without you they will not be revealed until you speak of them openly. When you cease to be upon the earth, they will be given to the worthy ones. And apart from this proclamation, let them speak about you upon the earth, since they will take the carefree and agreeable land.

(31) "All who come into the world, like a drop from the Light, are sent by him to the world of Almighty, that they might be guarded by him. And the bond of his forgetfulness bound him by the will of Sophia, that the matter might be through it to the whole world in poverty, concerning his (Almighty's) arrogance and blindness and the ignorance that he was named. But I came from the places above by the will of the great Light, (I) who escaped from that bond; I have cut off the work of the robbers; I have awakened that drop that was sent from Sophia, that it might bear much fruit through me, and be perfected and not again be defective, but be through me, the Great Savior, that his glory might be revealed, so that Sophia might also be justified in regard to that defect, that her sons might not again become defective but might attain honor and glory and go up to their Father, and know the words of the masculine Light. And you were sent by the Son, who was sent that you might receive Light, and remove yourselves from the forgetfulness of the authorities, and that it might not again come to appearance because of you, namely, the unclean rubbing that is from the fearful fire that came from their fleshly part. Tread upon their malicious intent."

(5) One sayeth that the moon did backward turn, In the Passion of Christ, and interpose herself So that the sunlight reached not down below; And lies; for of its own accord the light Hid itself; whence to Spaniards and to Indians, As to the Jews, did such eclipse respond. Florence has not so many Lapi and Bindi As fables such as these, that every year Are shouted from the pulpit back and forth, In such wise that the lambs, who do not know, Come back from pasture fed upon the wind, And not to see the harm doth not excuse them. Christ did not to his first disciples say, 'Go forth, and to the world preach idle tales,' But unto them a true foundation gave; And this so loudly sounded from their lips, That, in the warfare to enkindle Faith, They made of the Evangel shields and lances. Now men go forth with jests and drolleries To preach, and if but well the people laugh, The hood puffs out, and nothing more is asked.

(2) For those who were in the world had been prepared by the will of our sister Sophia—she who is a whore —because of her innocence that has not been uttered. And she did not ask anything from the realm of all, nor from the greatness of the assembly, nor from the pleroma, when she previously came forth to prepare lodgings and places for the son of light and the fellow workers. She took materials from the elements below to build bodily dwellings from them. But having come into being in an empty glory, they ended in destruction in the dwellings in which they were. Since they were prepared by Sophia, they stand ready to receive the life-giving word of the ineffable One and the greatness of the assembly of all those who persevere and those who are in me.

Since that day, the heaven has been consolidated along with its earth by means of Sophia, the daughter of Yaldabaoth, who is beneath them all. After the heavens and their powers and all of their government set themselves aright, the chief creator exalted himself and was glorified by the whole army of angels. And all the gods and their angels gave him praise and glory. And he rejoiced in his heart, and he boasted continually, saying to them, “I do not need anything. I am god and there is no other god but me.” But when he said these things, he sinned against all of the immortal imperishable ones, and they kept their eyes on him. Moreover, when Pistis saw the impiety of the chief ruler, she was angry. Without being seen, she said, “You’re wrong, Samael,” that is, “blind god.” “An enlightened, immortal human exists before you and will appear within your fashioned bodies. The human will trample upon you as potter’s clay is trampled. And you will go with those who are yours down to your mother, the abyss. For in the consummation of your works, all of the deficiency that appeared in the truth will be dissolved. It will cease, and it will be like something that never existed.” After Pistis said these things, she revealed the likeness of her greatness in the waters. And so she withdrew up to her light.

(1) JESUS going up to Jerusalem took again the disciples apart in the way, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, saying,

(3) "Return henceforth, O Shem, and rejoice greatly over your race and faith, for without body and necessity it is protected from every body of darkness, bearing witness to the holy things of the greatness that were revealed to them in their thought by my will. And they shall rest in the unconceived spirit without grief. But you, Shem, because of this, you remained in the body outside the cloud of light, that you might remain with faith. And faith will come to you. Her thought will be taken and given to you with a consciousness of light. I told you these things for the benefit of your race from the cloud of light. And likewise, what I shall say to you concerning everything, I shall reveal to you completely, that you may reveal it to those who will be upon the earth the second time.

(2) Therefore the pen skips, and I write it not, Since our imagination for such folds, Much more our speech, is of a tint too glaring. "O holy sister mine, who us implorest With such devotion, by thine ardent love Thou dost unbind me from that beautiful sphere!" Thereafter, having stopped, the blessed fire Unto my Lady did direct its breath, Which spake in fashion as I here have said. And she: "O light eterne of the great man To whom our Lord delivered up the keys He carried down of this miraculous joy, This one examine on points light and grave, As good beseemeth thee, about the Faith By means of which thou on the sea didst walk. If he love well, and hope well, and believe, From thee 'tis hid not; for thou hast thy sight There where depicted everything is seen. But since this kingdom has made citizens By means of the true Faith, to glorify it 'Tis well he have the chance to speak thereof." As baccalaureate arms himself, and speaks not Until the master doth propose the question, To argue it, and not to terminate it,

(5) And saying: "If of that city thou art lord, For whose name was such strife among the gods, And whence doth every science scintillate, Avenge thyself on those audacious arms That clasped our daughter, O Pisistratus;" And the lord seemed to me benign and mild To answer her with aspect temperate: "What shall we do to those who wish us ill, If he who loves us be by us condemned?" Then saw I people hot in fire of wrath, With stones a young man slaying, clamorously Still crying to each other, "Kill him! kill him!" And him I saw bow down, because of death That weighed already on him, to the earth, But of his eyes made ever gates to heaven, Imploring the high Lord, in so great strife, That he would pardon those his persecutors, With such an aspect as unlocks compassion. Soon as my soul had outwardly returned To things external to it which are true, Did I my not false errors recognize.

(4) It seemed to me that new subsistences Began there to be seen, and make a circle Outside the other two circumferences. O very sparkling of the Holy Spirit, How sudden and incandescent it became Unto mine eyes, that vanquished bore it not! But Beatrice so beautiful and smiling Appeared to me, that with the other sights That followed not my memory I must leave her. Then to uplift themselves mine eyes resumed The power, and I beheld myself translated To higher salvation with my Lady only. Well was I ware that I was more uplifted By the enkindled smiling of the star, That seemed to me more ruddy than its wont. With all my heart, and in that dialect Which is the same in all, such holocaust To God I made as the new grace beseemed; And not yet from my bosom was exhausted The ardour of sacrifice, before I knew This offering was accepted and auspicious; For with so great a lustre and so red Splendours appeared to me in twofold rays, I said: "O Helios who dost so adorn them!"

(1) "The light was astonished, the one that was in the middle region and that was beginning and end. Therefore his thought gazed directly up at the exalted light. And he called out and said, 'Lord, have mercy on me, for my light and my effort went astray. For if your goodness does not establish me, I do not know where I am.' And when the majesty had heard him, he had mercy on him.

(1) The natural thirst, that ne'er is satisfied Excepting with the water for whose grace The woman of Samaria besought, Put me in travail, and haste goaded me Along the encumbered path behind my Leader And I was pitying that righteous vengeance; And lo! in the same manner as Luke writeth That Christ appeared to two upon the way From the sepulchral cave already risen, A shade appeared to us, and came behind us, Down gazing on the prostrate multitude, Nor were we ware of it, until it spake, Saying, "My brothers, may God give you peace!" We turned us suddenly, and Virgilius rendered To him the countersign thereto conforming. Thereon began he: "In the blessed council, Thee may the court veracious place in peace, That me doth banish in eternal exile!" "How," said he, and the while we went with speed, "If ye are shades whom God deigns not on high, Who up his stairs so far has guided you?" And said my Teacher: "If thou note the marks Which this one bears, and which the Angel traces Well shalt thou see he with the good must reign.

(4) The apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said,

(44) Mary said to him: "Holy Lord, where did your disciples come from, and where are they going, and (what) should they do here?"

(2) I by not doing, not by doing, lost The sight of that high sun which thou desirest, And which too late by me was recognized. A place there is below not sad with torments, But darkness only, where the lamentations Have not the sound of wailing, but are sighs. There dwell I with the little innocents Snatched by the teeth of Death, or ever they Were from our human sinfulness exempt. There dwell I among those who the three saintly Virtues did not put on, and without vice The others knew and followed all of them. But if thou know and can, some indication Give us by which we may the sooner come Where Purgatory has its right beginning." He answered: "No fixed place has been assigned us; 'Tis lawful for me to go up and round; So far as I can go, as guide I join thee. But see already how the day declines, And to go up by night we are not able; Therefore 'tis well to think of some fair sojourn. Souls are there on the right hand here withdrawn; If thou permit me I will lead thee to them, And thou shalt know them not without delight."

(24) His disciples said to Him, "Show us the place where You are, since it is necessary for us to seek it." He said to them, "Whoever has ears, let him hear. There is light within a man of light, and he (or "it") lights up the whole world. If he (or "it") does not shine, he (or "it") is darkness."

(10) ¶From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he, the Son of man, must go unto Jerusalem, and be killed, saying,

(5) To cure him of the fever of his pride. Counsel he asked of me, and I was silent, Because his words appeared inebriate. And then he said: 'Be not thy heart afraid; Henceforth I thee absolve; and thou instruct me How to raze Palestrina to the ground. Heaven have I power to lock and to unlock, As thou dost know; therefore the keys are two, The which my predecessor held not dear.' Then urged me on his weighty arguments There, where my silence was the worst advice; And said I: 'Father, since thou washest me Of that sin into which I now must fall, The promise long with the fulfilment short Will make thee triumph in thy lofty seat.' Francis came afterward, when I was dead, For me; but one of the black Cherubim Said to him: 'Take him not; do me no wrong; He must come down among my servitors, Because he gave the fraudulent advice From which time forth I have been at his hair; For who repents not cannot be absolved, Nor can one both repent and will at once, Because of the contradiction which consents not.'

(9) "Finally, O Shem, consider yourself pleasing in the thought of the light. Do not let your thought have dealings with the fire and the body of darkness, which was an unclean work. These things that I teach you are right.