(16) Neither have I any command to bring in complaints against them, to condemn them for anything, except for their wickedness and abominations, as pride, covetousness, envy and wrath, against which the spirit of nature complaineth very exceedingly, and not I: For what can I do, that am poor dust and ashes, also very weak, simple, and altogether unable?

(2) "'1. Why doth the mighty [one] boast himself in his wickedness? "'2. Thy tongue hath studied unrighteousness all the day long; as a sharp razor hast thou practised craft. "'3. Thou lovedst wickedness more than goodness; thou lovedst to speak unrighteousness more than righteousness. "'4. Thou lovedst all words of submerging and a crafty tongue. "'5. Wherefor will God bring thee to naught utterly, and will uproot thee and drag thee out from thy dwelling-place, and will root out thy root and cast it away from the living. (Selah.) "'6. The righteous will see and be afraid, and they will mock at him and say: "'7. Lo, a man who made not God for his helper, but trusted to his great riches and was mighty in his vanity. "'8. But I am as a fruit-bearing olive-tree in the house of God. I have trusted in the grace of God from all eternity. "'9. And I will confess unto thee, for thou hast dealt faithfully with me; and I will wait on thy name, for it is auspicious in the presence of thy holy [ones].' "This then is now, therefore, my Lord, the solution of the eleventh repentance of Pistis Sophia. While thy light-power hath roused me, I have spoken it according to thy desire."

(96) Woe to you, sinners, for ye persecute the righteous; For ye shall be delivered up and persecuted because of injustice, And heavy shall its yoke be upon you.

(96) †Who has permitted you to practice reproaches and wickedness? And so judgement shall overtake you, sinners. †

(33) Now says Reason; I see no more in thee, nor in any such as thou art, than in other poor Sinners; it must needs be but a hypocritical Pretence; besides, says Reason, I have been also in such a Way, and yet I stick in my Wickedness still, and do that which I would not do; and I am still moved to Anger, Covetousness, and Malice. What is the Matter, that a Man does not perform what he purposes, but that he does even what himself reproves in others, and that which he knows is not right?

(6) The devil and his crew continually excuse themselves, and so do all wicked men who are begotten in corruption, saying, God does them wrong in thrusting them out or rejecting them.

(1) When, again, He says, "When they persecute you in this city, flee ye to the other," He does not advise flight, as if persecution were an evil thing; nor does He enjoin them by flight to avoid death, as if in dread of it, but wishes us neither to be the authors nor abettors of any evil to any one, either to ourselves or the persecutor and murderer. For He, in a way, bids us take care of ourselves. But he who disobeys is rash and foolhardy. If he who kills a man of God sins against God, he also who presents himself before the judgment-seat becomes guilty of his death. And such is also the case with him who does not avoid persecution, but out of daring presents himself for capture. Such a one, as far as in him lies, becomes an accomplice in the crime of the persecutor. And if he also uses provocation, he is wholly guilty, challenging the wild beast.

(25) ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

(17) But if any now will excuse himself for sin, by refusing to take what is evil unto himself, and laying the guilt thereof upon the Evil Spirit, and thus make himself out to be quite pure and innocent (as our first Parents Adam and Eve did while they were yet in paradise; when each laid the guilt upon the other), he hath no right at all to do this; for it is written, “There is none without sin.” Therefore I say; reproach, shame, loss, woe, and eternal damnation be to the man who is fit and ready and willing that the Evil Spirit and falsehood, lies and all untruthfulness, wickedness and other evil things should have their will and pleasure, word and work in him, and make him their house and habitation.

(99) Woe to you who love the deeds of unrighteousness: wherefore do ye hope for good hap unto yourselves? know that ye shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous, and they shall cut off your necks and slay you, and have no mercy upon you.

(26) But it is quite otherwise where there is poorness of spirit, and true humility; and it is so because it is found and known of a truth that a man, of himself and his own power, is nothing, hath nothing, can do and is capable of nothing but only infirmity and evil. Hence followeth that the man findeth himself altogether unworthy of all that hath been or ever will be done for him, by God or the creatures, and that he is a debtor to God and also to all the creatures in God’s stead, both to bear with, and to labour for, and to serve them. And therefore he doth not in any wise stand up for his own rights, but from the humility of his heart he saith, “It is just and reasonable that God and all creatures should be against me, and have a right over me, and to me, and that I should not be against any one, nor have a right to anything.” Hence it followeth that the man doth not and will not crave or beg for anything, either from God or the creatures, beyond mere needful things, and for those only with shamefacedness, as a favour and not as a right. And he will not minister unto or gratify his body or any of his natural desires, beyond what is needful, nor allow that any should help or serve him except in case of necessity, and then always in trembling; for he hath no right to anything and therefore he thinketh himself unworthy of anything. So likewise all his own discourse, ways, words and works seem to this man a thing of nought and a folly. Therefore he speaketh little, and doth not take upon himself to admonish or rebuke any, unless he be constrained thereto by love or faithfulness towards God, and even then he doth it in fear, and so little as may be. Moreover, when a man hath this poor and humble spirit, he cometh to see and understand aright, how that all men are bent upon themselves, and inclined to evil and sin, and that on this account it is needful and profitable that there be order, customs, law and precepts, to the end that the blindness and foolishness of men may be corrected, and that vice and wickedness may be kept under, and constrained to seemliness. For without ordinances, men would be much more mischievous and ungovernable than dogs and cattle. And few have come to the knowledge of the truth but what have begun with holy practices and ordinances, and exercised themselves therein so long as they knew nothing more nor better. Therefore one who is poor in spirit and of a humble mind doth not despise or make light of law, order, precepts and holy customs, nor yet of those who observe and cleave wholly to them, but with loving pity and gentle sorrow, crieth: “Almighty Father, Thou Eternal Truth, I make my lament unto Thee, and it grieveth Thy Spirit too, that through man’s blindness, infirmity, and sin, that is made needful and must be, which in deed and truth were neither needful nor right.” For those who are perfect are under no law.

(56) Thus Falsehood is wrought with Falsehood, and the Inferior is become false also, who has set Lies to Sale for Truth, and so falsly cheated his Superior; from whence is grown Cursing, Swearing, Stealing, and Murdering, so that they have continually held one another for cozening Cheats, Liars, and Unjust; for they are so indeed, and they have exchanged Words for Words, and therewith in Lying and in Truth also they rub one another with the bitter unsavory Salt of Devils in the Anger of God, whereby the Name of God is blasphemed and abused, and the World is found [to be] in the Anger of God, and is become a Den of Thieves and Murders.

(48) My son, guard yourself against wickedness, and do not let the Spirit of Wickedness cast you down into the Abyss. For he is mad and bitter. He is terrifying, and he casts everyone down into a pit of mire.

(40) Do not behold thyself, thou blind Mind, and consider thyself, where is thy angelical Form in thee? Why art thou so angry, stern, [fierce, froward,] and malicious? Wherefore dost thou elevate thyself still in thy Wickedness, in Pride, in Might [or Authority,] and Pomp, and boasteth thyself for a brave and potent Beast? What is it that thou dost? Wherefore hast thou High and Low. let the Spirit of this World into thee, which seduces thee (as it lists) into High-mindedness, into [proud] Stoutness, into P Potency and Pomp, into Covetousness and Lying, into Falshood and Treachery, as also into Sickness and Corruption, [or Frailty?]

(16) Or dost thou suppose that we are mad? If we did not see thee, we would be silent. Thou boastest now (by the Flatterers) of a golden Time; but they are most of them Wolves of Babel; when the Day breaks, then they will be known. Or should I not tell thee this, thou proud Whore? Behold, when thou with Adam and Eve wentest out of Paradise into the Spirit of this World, then thou wast as a God in the Spirit of this World; thou Slightest seek all Mysteries, and use them for thy Ornament. If thou hadst always gone cloathed in Silk and Purple, [or Scarlet,] yet thou hadst not [thereby] offended God; but thou hadst gone [in them] to the Honour of the great God in his Deeds of Wonder. Why hast thou forsaken the Love, and art become a Murderer? Was not Covetousness thy Sin, in that thou affordest not thy Members so much as thyself? Thou desirest to be only fine thyself alone. Thy Way only i should be holy. Wherefore was the Fratricide between Abel and Cain? The self-honouring Pride brought it about, so that Cain envied Abel's Uprightness, for the Sake of which he was so much beloved of God. Why was not Cain also humble and pious?

(46) And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, And shall fill them with shame. And darkness shall be their dwelling, And worms shall be their bed, And they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, Because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.

(5) But ye--ye have not been steadfast, nor done the commandments of the Lord, But ye have turned away and spoken proud and hard words With your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, ye hard-hearted, ye shall find no peace.

(99) Woe to you, ye fools, for through your folly shall ye perish: and ye transgress against the wise, and so good hap shall not be your portion.

(4) The more conformed thereto, the more it pleases; For the blest ardour that irradiates all things In that most like itself is most vivacious. With all of these things has advantaged been The human creature; and if one be wanting, From his nobility he needs must fall. 'Tis sin alone which doth disfranchise him, And render him unlike the Good Supreme, So that he little with its light is blanched, And to his dignity no more returns, Unless he fill up where transgression empties With righteous pains for criminal delights. Your nature when it sinned so utterly In its own seed, out of these dignities Even as out of Paradise was driven, Nor could itself recover, if thou notest With nicest subtilty, by any way, Except by passing one of these two fords: Either that God through clemency alone Had pardon granted, or that man himself Had satisfaction for his folly made. Fix now thine eye deep into the abyss Of the eternal counsel, to my speech As far as may be fastened steadfastly!

(6) Thomas answered and said, "What have we to say in the face of these things? What shall we say to blind men? What doctrine should we express to these miserable mortals who say, "We came to [do] good and not to curse," and yet [claim], "Had we not been begotten in the flesh, we would not have known [iniquity]"?" The savior said, "Truly, as for [those], do not esteem them as men, but regard them [as] beasts, for just as beasts devour one another, so also men of this sort devour one another. On the contrary, they are deprived of [the kingdom] since they love the sweetness of the fire and are servants of death and rush to the works of corruption. They fulfill the lust of their fathers. They will be thrown down to the abyss and be afflicted by the torment of the bitterness of their evil nature. For they will be scourged so as to make them rush backwards, whither they do not know, and they [will recede] from their limbs not patiently, but with despair. And they rejoice over [their] [involvement with life in] madness and derangement, since they are [fools]. [They] pursue this derangement without realizing [their madness, thinking] that they [are] wise. [They love] [the beauty] of their body [...] Their mind is directed to their own selves, for their thought is occupied with their deeds. But it is the fire that will burn them." And Thomas answered and said, "Lord, what will the one thrown down to them do? For I am most anxious about them; many are those who fight them." The savior answered and said, "What is your own opinion?" Judas - the one called Thomas - said, "It is you, lord, whom it befits to speak, and me to listen." The savior replied, "Listen to what I am going to tell you and believe in the truth. That which sows and that which is sown will dissolve in the fire - within the fire and the water - and they will hide in tombs of darkness. And after a long time they shall show forth the fruit of the evil trees, being punished, being slain in the mouth of beasts and men at the instigation of the rains and winds and air and the light that shines above."