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(125) If a man offend a harmless, pure, and innocent person, the evil falls back upon that fool, like light dust thrown up against the wind.

(1) On the last day, "when Earth shall quake with quaking," For she "shall tell out her tidings openly," Yea, earth and her rocks shall tell them forth! The philosopher reasons from base analogies (True reason comes not out of a dark corner) ; Say to him, "Go, dash thy head against a wall!" The speech of water, of earth, of mire, Is audible by the ears of men of heart! Tho philosopher, who denies Divine Providence, He says that the flashes of men's morbid imaginations

(72) And when the evil deed, after it has become known, brings sorrow to the fool, then it destroys his bright lot, nay, it cleaves his head.

(161) The evil done by oneself, self-begotten, self-bred, crushes the foolish, as a diamond breaks a precious stone.

(162) He whose wickedness is very great brings himself down to that state where his enemy wishes him to be, as a creeper does with the tree which it surrounds.

(30) For thus hath it been ordained and written in the heavenly tables regarding all the seed of Israel : he who defileth (it) shall surely die, and he shall be stoned with stones.

(19) Thence Theognis writes: "For from the good you will learn good things; But if you mix with the bad, you will destroy any mind you may have." And when, again, it is said in the ode, "For He hath triumphed gloriously: the home and his rider hath He cast into the sea;" the manylimbed and brutal affection, lust, with the rider mounted, who gives the reins to pleasures, "He has cast into the sea," throwing them away into the disorders of the world. Thus also Plato, in his book On the Soul, says that the charioteer and the horse that ran off - the irrational part, which is divided in two, into anger and concupiscence - fall down; and so the myth intimates that it was through the licentiousness of the steeds that Phaethon was thrown out. Also in the case of Joseph: the brothers having envied this young man, who by his knowledge was possessed of uncommon foresight, stripped off the coat of many colours, and took and threw him into a pit (the pit was empty, it had no water), rejecting the good man's varied knowledge, springing from his love of instruction; or, in the exercise of the bare faith, which is according to the law, they threw him into the pit empty of water, selling him into Egypt, which was destitute of the divine word. And the pit was destitute of knowledge; into which being thrown and stript of his knowledge, he that had become unconsciously wise, stript of knowledge, seemed like his brethren. Otherwise interpreted, the coat of many colours is lust, which takes its way into a yawning pit. "And if one open up or hew out a pit," it is said, "and do not cover it, and there fall in there a calf or ass, the owner of the pit shall pay the price in money, and give it to his neighbour; and the dead body shall be his. Here add that prophecy: "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel hath not understood Me." In order, then, that none of those, who have fallen in with the knowledge taught by thee, may become incapable of holding the truth, and disobey and fall away, it is said, Be thou sure in the treatment of the word, and shut up the living spring in the depth from those who approach irrationally, but reach drink to those that thirst for truth. Conceal it, then, from those who are unfit to receive the depth of knowledge, and so cover the pit. The owner of the pit, then, the Gnostic, shall himself be punished, incurring the blame of the others stumbling, and of being overwhelmed by the greatness of the word, he himself being of small capacity; or transferring the worker into the region of speculation, and on that account dislodging him from off-hand faith. "And will pay money," rendering a reckoning, and submitting his accounts to the "omnipotent Will."

(36) And if either of you deviseth evil against his brother, know that from henceforth every one that deviseth evil against his brother will fall into his hand, and will be rooted out of the land of the living, and his seed will be destroyed from under heaven.

(35) if that will not succeed to his Purpose, then he strikes many a hard Blow at the Head, and that Man must continually lie under the Cross, Affliction, and Misery, in this World.

(240) As the impurity which springs from the iron, when it springs from it, destroys it; thus do a transgressor's own works lead him to the evil path.

(22) The Gnostic, then, hearing a voice ringing in his ear, which says, "Whom I shall strike, do thou pity," beseeches that those who hate him may repent. For the punishment of malefactors, to be consummated in the highways, is for children to behold; for there is no possibility of the Gnostic, who has from choice trained himself to be excellent and good, ever being instructed or delighted with such spectacles. And so, having become incapable of being softened by pleasures, and never failing into sins, he is not corrected by the examples of other men's sufferings. And far from being pleased with earthly pleasures and spectacles is he who has shown a noble contempt for the prospects held out in this world, although they are divine.

(6) (And he who leaves him in his guilty error has my curse.) Yea, he who has the power , and will not thus (with stern reproof ) approach him, shall go to the abode of the Lie, (and) the enchainer . For he is evil who is the best one to the evil, and he is holy who is friendly to the righteous, as Thou didst fix the moral laws , O Lord!

(25) Let it be more eligible to you to throw a stone in vain, than to utter an idle word. Pythagoras. Stob. p. 215.

(4) And on this account it is written on the heavenly tables, " Cursed is he who smiteth his neighbour treacherously, and let all who have seen and heard say, So be it ; and the man who hath seen and not declared (it), let him be accursed as the other."

(5) (Yea), he who, as ruler, treats no coming applicant with injury , as a good citizen (or nobly wise) in sacred vow and duty, and living righteously in every covenant, who, as an uncorrupted judge, discerns the wicked (that leader who, rejecting me, would keep back those who propagate the Faith), let him, (this righteous judge,) declare (the vengeance) to that (hostile ) lord, (my) kinsman. Yea, let him crush him when he sallies forth (to approach us for our harm)!

(36) He who unjustly expels a wise man from the body, confers a benefit on him by his iniquity. For he thus becomes liberated as it were, from bonds.

(100) Woe to you who spread evil to your neighbours; For you shall be slain in Sheol.

(23) It goes very hard, when the [Grain of] Mustard-Seed is sown, for the Devil opposes strongly, but whosoever perseveres, finds by Experience what is written in this Book. And although he cannot be rid of the Untowardness of the Incitements of the four Elements, yet nevertheless the noble Seed in the eLimbus of God continues with him, which Seed springs and grows, and at last becomes a Tree, which the Devil favours [or relishes;] not, but he goes about the Tree like a fawning Cur, and then by his Servants he casts all Mishaps upon him; and by his Crew [of Followers and Confederates] he thrusts many out of his House, that he may do him no more Displeasure. But it goes well with him [that fears God,] and he comes into the Land of the Living.

(8) And as to him who (now by evil power) delivers up my settlements to harm, let not his burning (wrath) in deeds attain me. But bearing back the (evil will and evil influence of such), let these things come (back) to him in anger. Let that to his body come which holds from welfare; but let no (help) at all (approach him, which may) keep him back from misery. (And let this happen as I speak) from (vengeful) hate, O Lord!

(21) here indeed is many a hard Blow or Crushing; for the kindled Wrath-fire of God falls many Times so heavy upon them, that they know not where to bestow themselves; heavy Mountains lie upon them, the Love-cross presses sore, and is heavy.