(1) On the nature of seas it says in revelation, that the wide-formed ocean keeps one-third of this earth on the south side of the border of Albûrz, and so wide-formed is the ocean that the water of a thousand lakes is held by it, such as the source Arêdvîvsûr, which some say is the fountain lake.

(8) And. there came forth on the writing as Shem's lot * the middle of the earth which he should take as an inheritance for himself and for his sons for the genera-V tions of eternity, from the middle of the mountain! range of Rafa, from the mouth of the water from the\ river Tina, and his portion goeth towards the west through the midst of this river, and it extendeth till it reacheth the water of the abysses, out of which this river goeth forth and poureth its waters into the sea M£'at, and this river rfoweth into the great sea. And all that is towards the north is Japheth's, and all that is towards the south belongeth to Shem.

(8) And he knew that a blessed portion 1 i.t. (?) the promontory on which Mt. Sindi is situated. and a blessing had come to Shem and his sons unto the generations for ever — the whole land of Eden' and the whole land of the Red Sea, and the whole land of the east, and India, and on the Red Sea and the mountains thereof, and all the land of Bashan, and all the land of Lebanon and the islands of Kaftur, and all the mountains of Sanir * and 'Amana, and the mountains of Asshur in the north, and all the land of Elam, Asshur, and Babel, and Sflsan and Ma'gdai, and all the mountains of Ararat, and all the region beyond the sea, which is beyond the mountains of Asshur towards the north, a blessed and spacious land, and all that is in it is very good.

(8) And for Ham came forth the second portion, beyond the Gihon towards the south to the right of the Garden, and it extendcth towards the south and it extendeth to all the mountains of fire, and it extendeth towards the west to the sea of 'Atel and it extendeth towards the west till it reacheth the sea of Ma'uk • — that (sea) into which feverything which is not de- stroyed descendethj.

(8) And it extendeth till it reacheth gaiflsfllL1 this is in the bosom of the tongue which looketh towards the south. 14. quest later is justified. Noah's, djyioinn nf thf* earth ;t — alluded tojnj?jfke de R. Eliezer xxiii "*" * t. B. oueof the arigefe

(77) And the first quarter is called the east, because it is the first: and the second, the south, because the Most High will descend there, yea, there in quite a special sense will He who is blessed for ever descend.

(45) "The universe is surrounded by the sphere of the stars. Beyond that sphere is the sphere of Schamayim, which is the Divine fiery water, the first outflow of the Word of God, the flaming river pouring from the presence of the Eternal. Schamayim, the fiery androgynous water, divides. The fire becomes the solar fire and the water becomes the lunar water. Schamayim is the universal mercury--sometimes called Azoth--the measureless spirit of life. The spiritual fiery original water--Schamayim--comes through Eden (in Hebrew, vapor) and pours itself into four main rivers [the elements]. This is the river of living water--Azoth [the fiery mercurial essence] that flows out from the throne of God and the Lamb. In this Eden [vaporous essence or mist] is the spiritual earth [incomprehensible and intangible], or the dust Aphar, out of which God formed Adam min Haadamah, the spiritual body of man, which body must sometime become revealed."

(8) Then the Divine Hierarch, advancing, offers a holy prayer over the man fallen asleep. After the prayer, both the Hierarch himself salutes him, and next all who are present. Now the prayer beseeches the supremely Divine Goodness to remit to the man fallen asleep all the failings committed by reason of human infirmity, and to transfer him in light and land of living, into the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob: in a place where grief and sorrow and sighing are no more. It is evident, then, as I think, that these, the rewards of the pious, are most blessed. For what can be equal to an immortality entirely without grief and luminous with light. Especially if all the promises which pass man's understanding, and which are signified to us by signs adapted to our capacity, fall short, in their description, of their actual truth. For we must remember that the Logion is true, that "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man to conceive, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." "Bosoms" of the blessed Patriarchs, and of all the other pious men, are, in my judgment, the most divine and blessed inheritances, which await all godly men, in that consummation which grows not old, and is full of blessedness.

(32) Notice that the whole inhabited earth (not merely Palestine, as in Gen. xxxv. ) is here promised to Israel. out all the ages.

(7) For there is still fear of change, and it touches the seventh circle. The righteous Job says: "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there;" not naked of possessions, for that were a trivial and common thing; but, as a just man, he departs naked of evil and sin, and of the unsightly shape which follows those who have led bad lives. For this was what was said, "Unless ye be converted, and become as children," pure in flesh, holy in soul by abstinence from evil deeds; showing that He would have us to be such as also He generated us from our mother - the water. For the intent of one generation succeeding another is to immortalize by progress. "But the lamp of the wicked shall be put out." That purity in body and soul which the Gnostic partakes of, the all-wise Moses indicated, by employing repetition in describing the incorruptibility of body and of soul in the person of Rebecca, thus: "Now the virgin was fair, and man had not known her." And Rebecca, interpreted, means "glory of God;" and the glory of God is immortality. This is in reality righteousness, not to desire other things, but to be entirely the consecrated temple of the Lord. Righteousness is peace of life and a well-conditioned state, to which the Lord dismissed her when He said, "Depart into peace." For Salem is, by interpretation, peace; of which our Saviour is enrolled King, as Moses says, Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who gave bread and wine, furnishing consecrated food for a type of the Eucharist. And Melchizedek is interpreted "righteous king;" and the name is a synonym for righteousness and peace. Basilides however, supposes that Righteousness and her daughter Peace dwell stationed in the eighth sphere.

Whoever sows in winter reaps in summer. Winter is the world, summer is the other, eternal realm. Let us sow in the world to reap in summer. And for this reason we should not pray in winter. From winter comes summer. If someone reaps in winter, the person will not really reap but will pull out the young plants, and such do not produce a crop. [That person’s field] is barren not only [now] but also on the sabbath.

(1) The Hoopoe continued: 'Last of all comes the Valley of Deprivation and Death, which it is almost impossible to describe. The essence of this Valley is forgetfulness, dumbness, deafness and distraction; the thousand shadows which surround you disappear in a single ray of the celestial sun. When the ocean of immensity begins to heave, the pattern on its surface loses its form; and this pattern is no other than the world present and the world to come. Whoever

declares that he does not exist acquires great merit. The drop that becomes part of this great ocean abides there for ever and in peace. In this calm sea, a man, at first, experiences only humiliation and overthrow; but when he emerges from this state he will understand it as creation, and many secrets will be revealed to him.

'Many beings have missed taking the first step and so have not been able to take the second - they can only be compared to minerals. When aloe wood and thorns are reduced to ashes they both look alike - but their quality is different. An impure object dropped into rose-water remains impure because of its innate qualities; but a pure object dropped in the ocean will lose its specific existence and will participate in the ocean and in its movement. In ceasing to exist separately it retains its beauty. It exists and non-exists. How can this be? The mind cannot conceive it.'

(41) By the law of retaliation blood sleeps not after death; Say not, "I shall die and obtain pardon." The retaliation of this world is illusive, Therefore God calls the world "a pastime and a sport," Here punishment is as the repression of quarrels, But this discourse is endless, O Moses, Go and leave these asses to their grazing! Let them fatten themselves with the food they love, Zu'l Qarnain at Mount Qaf. Zu'l Qarnain journeyed to Mount Qaf;

(32) And I shall give to thy seed all the earth which is under heaven, and they will judge all the nations according to their desires, and after that they will get possession of the whole earth and inherit it for ever."

(6) I have brought thee the land of the South, I have added to thee the land of the North

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words unto his disciples, that they rejoiced in great joy and exulted when they heard Jesus say these words. And Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto them: "Hearken, therefore, now still further, O my disciples, so that I discourse with you concerning the whole gnosis of the mystery of the Ineffable. "That mystery of the Ineffable knoweth why unmercifulness hath arisen and why mercifulness hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why ruin hath arisen and why everlasting eternity hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the reptiles have arisen and why they will be destroyed. "And that mystery knoweth why the wild beasts have arisen and why they will be destroyed. "And that mystery knoweth why the cattle have arisen and why the birds have arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the mountains have arisen and why the precious stones therein have arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of gold hath arisen and why the matter of silver hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of copper hath arisen and why the matter of iron and of stone hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of lead hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of glass hath arisen and why the matter of wax hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why herbs, that is the vegetables, have arisen and why all matters have arisen. "And the mystery knoweth why the waters of the earth and all things in them have arisen and why also the earth hath arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the seas and the waters have arisen and why the wild beasts in the seas have arisen. "And that mystery knoweth why the matter of the world hath arisen and why it [the world] will be utterly destroyed."