Teachings of Silvanus

Teachings of Silvanus

Put away every childish stage of life, gain firmness of mind and strength of soul, and press the struggle against every foolish passion, corrupt desire, and shameful wickedness, and hunger for praise, and delight in quarrelling, and wearisome jealousy and rage, and anger and greedy desire. Watch over your encampment, your weapons, and your spears. Arm yourself and all the soldiers which are the words, and the commanders which are the counsels, and your mind as a guiding principle. My child, drive every robber away from your gates. Guard all your gates with torches which are the words, and through these things you will obtain a life of peace. But whoever fails to guard them will become like a city which is desolate since it has been captured. All kinds of wild beasts have trampled upon it, for evil thoughts are savage beasts. And your city will be filled with robbers, and you will not be able to acquire peace, but only all kinds of savage wild beasts. The Evil One, the tyrant, rules over them. While directing this, he the Evil One is beneath the great mire. Then the whole city—your soul—will be ruined. Withdraw from these things, miserable soul. Bring in your guide and your teacher. Mind is the guide, and reason is the teacher. Together they will lead you away from ruin and danger. Listen, my son, to my advice! Do not turn your back on your enemies and run away, instead pursue them with strength. Do not become an animal, with men pursuing you; but rather, be truly human, with you

pursuing the evil wild beasts, lest somehow they become victorious over you and trample upon you as on a dead man, and you perish due to their wickedness. Miserable one, what will you do if you fall into their hands? Guard yourself so that you be delivered into the hands of your enemies. Entrust yourself to this pair of friends, reason and mind, and no one will be victorious over you. Let God dwell within your camp, and let his Spirit guard your gates, and may the mind of divinity protect the walls. Let holy reason become a torch in your mind, burning the wood which is the whole of sin. And if you do these things, My child, you will be victorious over all your enemies, and they will not be able to wage war against you, neither will they be able to resist, nor will they be able to get in your way. For if you find these, you will despise them as deniers of truth. They will speak with you, [cajoling] you and enticing (you), not because they are [afraid] of you, but because they are afraid of those who dwell within you, namely, the guardians of the divinity and the teaching. My child, accept the education and the teaching. Do not flee from the education and the teaching, but when you are taught, accept (it) with joy. And if you are educated in any matter, do what is good. You will plait a crown of education by your guiding principle. Put on the holy teaching like a robe. Make yourself noble-minded through good conduct. Obtain the austerity of good discipline. Judge yourself like a wise judge. Do not go astray from my teaching, and do not acquire ignorance, lest you lead your people astray. Do not flee from the divine gift and the instruction planted within you, for he who is teaching you loves you very much. For he shall bequeath to you a worthy austerity. Cast out the animal nature which is within you, and do not allow base thought to enter you. For... you know the way which I teach. If it is good to rule over the [few], as you see it, [how] m uch bet ter is it th at you rule over everyone, since you are exalted above every congregation and every people, (are) p rom inent in every respect, and (are) a divine reason, having become master over every power which kills the soul. My child, does anyone want to be a slave? Why, then, do you trouble yourself wrongly? My child, do not fear anyone except God alone, the Exalted One. Cast the deceitfulness of the Devil from you. Accept the light for. Live in Christ, and you will acquire a treasure in heaven. Do not become a sausage (made) of many things which are useless, and do n o t2 become a guide in your blind ignorance. My child, listen to my teaching which is good and useful, and end the sleep which weighs heavily upon you. Depart from the forgetful ness which fills you with darkness, since if you were unable to do anything, I would not have said these things to you. But Christ has come in order to give you this gift. Why do you pursue the darkness when the light is at your disposal? Why do you drink stale water though sweet is available for you? Wisdom summons [you], yet you desire folly. Not by your own desire do you do these things, but it is the animal nature within you that does them. Wisdom summons you in her goodness, saying, “ Come to me, all of you, O foolish ones, that you may receive a gift, the understand ing which is good and excellent. I am giving to you a high-priestly garment which is woven from every (kind of) wisdom.” What else is evil death except ignorance? What else is evil darkness except famil iarity with forgetfulness! Throw your anxiety upon God alone. Do not become desirous of gold and silver which are profitless, b u t2 clothe yourself with wisdom like a robe, put knowledge on yourself like a crown, and be seated upon a throne of perception. For these are yours, and you will receive them again on high another time. For a foolish man usually puts on folly like a robe, and like a g a r m ent o f sorrow he puts on sham e. A nd he crow ns him self with igno rance and takes his seat u pon a th ro n e o f [nescience]. F or while he is [w ithout reason], he leads only him self astray, for he is guided by ignorance. A nd he goes the ways o f the desire o f every passion. H e swims in the desires o f life and has sunk. T o be sure, he thinks th a t he finds p ro fit when he does all the things which are w ithout p ro fit. The w retched man who goes thro u g h all these things will die because he does not have the m ind, the helm sman. But he is like a ship which the wind tosses to and fro, and like a loose horse which has no rider. For this (man) needed the rider which is reason. F or the w retched one went astray because he did not w ant advice. H e was throw n to and fro by these three m isfortunes; he acquired death as a fath er, ignorance as a m o th e r la n d evil counsels - he acquired them as friends and bro th ers. T herefo re, foolish one, you should m ourn for yourself. From now on, then, my son, return to your divine nature. Cast

from [you] these evil, deceiving friends! [Accept] Christ, [this true friend], as a good teacher. Cast from you death, which has become a father to you. For death did not exist, nor will it exist at the end. But since you cast from yourself God, the holy Father, the true Life, the Spring of Life, therefore you have obtained death as a father and have acquired ignorance as a mother. They have robbed you of the true knowledge. But return, my son, to your first Father, God, and Wisdom your mother, from whom you came into being from the very first in order that you might fight against all of your enemies, the Powers of the Adversary. Listen, my son, to my advice. Do not be arrogant in opposition to every good opinion, but take for yourself the side of the divinity of reason. Keep the holy commandments of Jesus Christ, and you will reign over every place on earth and will be honored by the angels and the archangels. Then you will acquire them as friends and fellow servants, and you will acquire places in [heaven above]. Do not bring grief or trouble to the divine [which is] within you. But when you will care for it, will request of it that you remain pure, and will become self-controlled in your soul and body, you will be come a throne of wisdomand one belonging to God’s household. He will give you a great light through it (wisdom). But before everything (else), know your birth. Know yourself, that is, from what substance you are, or from what race, or from what species. Understand that you have come into being from three races: from the earth, from the formed, and from the created. The body has come into being from the earth with an earthly substance, but the formed, for the sake of the soul, has come into being from the thought of the Divine. The created, however, is the mind, which has come into being in conformity with the image of God. The divine mind has substance from the Divine, but the soul is that which he (God) has form ed for their own hearts. F or I think th at it (the soul) exists as wife of that which has come into being in conformity with the im age, but matter is the substance of the body which has come into be ing from the earth. [If] you mix yourself, you will acquire the three parts as you fall from virtue into inferiority. Live according to the mind. Do not think about things belonging to the flesh. Acquire strength, for the mind is strong. If you fall from this other, you have become maleTHE TEACHINGS OF SILVANUS ( V I I, )

female. And if you cast out of yourself the substance of the mind, which is thought, you have cut off the male part and turned yourself to the female part alone. You have become psychic since you have re ceived the substance of the formed. If you cast out the smallest part of this so that you do not acquire again a human part - but you have accepted for yourself the animal thought and likeness - you have become fleshly since you have taken on animal nature. For (if) it is difficult to find a psychical man, how much more so to find the Lord! But I say th a t2 God is the spiritual one. Man has taken shape from the substance of God. The divine soul shares partly in this One (God); furthermore, it shares partly in the flesh. The base soul is wont to turn from side to side [... ] which it imagines the truth. It is [good] for you, O man, to turn yourself toward the human rath er than toward the animal nature - I mean toward the fleshly (na ture). You will take on the likeness of the part toward which you will turn yourself. I shall say something further to you. Again, for what will you (masc. sg.) be zealous? Did you (fem. sg.) wish to become animal when you had come into this kind of nature? But rather, share in a true nature of life. To be sure, animality will guide you into the race of the earth, but the rational nature will guide you in rational ways. Turn toward the rational nature and cast from yourself the earth-begotten nature. O soul, persistent one, be sober and shake off your drunkenness, which is the work of ignorance. If you persist and live in the body, you dwell in rusticity. When you entered into a bodily birth, you were begotten. Come into being inside the bridal chamber! Be illumi nated in mind! My child, do not swim in any w ater, and do n o t allow yourself to be defiled by strange kinds of knowledge. Certainly you know [that] the schemes of the Adversary are not few and (that) the tricks which he has are varied? Especially has the noetic man been robbed of the intelligence of the snake. For it is fitting for you to be in agreement with the intelligence of (these) two: with the intelligence of the snake and with the innocence of the dove - lest he (the Adver sary) come into you in the guise of a flatterer, as a true friend, say ing, “ I advise good things for you.” But you did not recognize the deceitfulness of this one when you received him as a true friend. For he casts into your heart evil

thoughts as good ones, and hypocrisy in the guise of true wisdom, avidity in the guise of conservative frugality, love of glory in the guise of that which is beautiful, boastfulness and pride in the guise of great austerity, and godlessness as [great] godliness. For he who says, “ I have many gods,” is godless. And he casts spurious knowledge into your heart in the guise of mysterious words. Who will be able to comprehend his thoughts and devices which are varied since he is a Great Mind for those who wish to accept him as king? My child, how will you be able to comprehend the schemes of this one or his soul-killing counsel? For his devices and the schemes of his wickedness are many. And think about his entrances, that is, how he will enter your soul and in what garment he will enter you. A ccept2 Christ, who is able to set you free, and who has taken on the devices of that one so that through these he might destroy him by deceit. For this is the king whom you have who is forever invincible, against whom no one will be able to fight nor say a word. This is your king and your father, for there is no one like him. The divine teacher is with [you] always. He is a helper, and he meets you because of the good which is in you. Do not put maliciousness in your judgment, for every malicious man harms his heart. For only a foolish man is wont to his de struction, but a wise man knows his way. And a foolish man does not guard against speaking (a) mystery. A wise man, (however), does not blurt out every word, but he will be discriminating toward those who hear. Do not mention everything in the presence of those whom you do not know. Have a great number of friends, but not counselors. First, ex amine your counselor, for do not honor anyone who flatters. Their word, to be sure, is sweet as honey, but their heart is full of hellebore. For whenever they think that they have become a reliable friend, then they will deceitfully turn against you, and they will cast you down into the mire. D o not tru st anyone as a friend, for this w hole w orld has com e into being deceitfully, and every [man] is troubled [in vain]. All things [of] the w orld are not p ro fitab le, but they happen in vain. There is no one, not even a b ro th er, (who is trustw orthy), since each one is seeking his ow n advantage. My child, do not have anyone as a friend. But if you do acquire one, do not entrust yourself to him. Entrust yourself to God alone as father and as friend. For everyone proceeds deceitfully, while the. If you wish to pass your life in quiet, do not keep com pany with anyone. A nd if you do keep com pany with them, be as if you do not. Be pleasing to G od, and you will not need anyone. Live with Christ, and he will save you. For he is the true Light and the Sun of life. For just as the sun which is visible and makes light for the eyes of the flesh, so Christ illuminates every mind and the heart. For (if) a wicked man (who is) in the body (has) an evil death, how much more so (does) he who has his mind blind. For every blind man [goes along in such a way] that he (?) is seen [just] as one who does not have his mind sane. He does not delight in acquiring the light of Christ, which is reason. For everything which is visible is a copy of that which is hidden. For as a fire which burns in a place without being confined to it, so it is with the sun which is in the sky, all of whose rays extend to places on the earth. Similarly, Christ has a single being, and he gives light to every place. This is also the way in which he speaks of our mind, as if it were a lamp which burns and lights up the place. (Being) in a part of the soul, it gives light to all the parts. Furthermore, I shall speak of what is more exalted than this: the mind, with respect to actual being, is in a place, which means it is in the body; but with respect to thought, the mind is not in a place. For how can it be in a place when it contemplates every place? But we are able to mention what is more exalted than this: for do not think in your heart that God exists [in a] place. If you localize the [Lord of] all in a place, then it is fitting for you to say that the place is more exalted than he who dwells in it. For that which contains is more exalted than that which is contained. For there is no place which is called incorporeal. For it is not right for us to say that God is corporeal. For the consequence (would be) that we (must) attribute both increase and decrease to the corporeal, but also that he (God) who is subject to these will not remain imperishable. Now, it is not difficult to know the C reato r o f all creatures, but it is im possible to com prehend the likeness o f this O ne. F or it is d if ficult not only for m en to com prehend G od, but it is (also) difficult for every divine being, (both) the angels and the archangels. It is necessary to know G od as he is. You cannot know G od th ro u g h anyone except C hrist who has the im age o f the F ather, for this im age reveals the tru e likeness in correspondence to th a t which is revealed. A king is not usually know n ap a rt froman image.

Consider these things about God: he is in every place; on the other hand, he is in [no] place. [With respect to power], to be sure, he is in every place; but with respect to divinity, he is in no place. So, then, it is possible to know God a little. With respect to his power, he fills every place, but in the exaltation of his divinity nothing con tains him. Everything is in God, but God is not in anything. Now what is it to know God? God is all which is in the truth. But it is as impossible to look at Christ as at the sun. God sees everyone; no one looks at him. But Christ without being jealous re ceives and gives. He is the Light of the Father, as he gives light with out being jealous. In this manner he gives light to every place. And all is Christ, he who has inherited all from the Existent One. For Christ is the idea of incorruptibility, and he is the Light which is shining undefiled. For the sun (shines) on every impure place, and yet it is not defiled. So it is with Christ: even if [he is in the] deficien cy, yet [he] is without deficiency. And even if [he has been begotten], he is (still) unbegotten. So it is with Christ: if, on the one hand, he is comprehensible, on the other he is incomprehensible with respect to his actual being. Christ is all. He who does not possess all is un able to know Christ. My child, do not dare to say a word about this One, and do not con fine the God of all to mental images. For he (God) who condemns may not be condemned by the one who condemns. Indeed, it is good to ask and to know who God is. Reason and mind are male names. Indeed, let him who wishes to know about this One quietly and rev erently ask. For there is no small danger2 in speaking about these things, since you know that you will be judged on the basis of everything that you say. And understand by this that he who is in darkness will not be able to see anything unless he receives the light and recovers (his) sight by means of it. Search yourself (to see) whether you wholly have the light, so that if you ask about these things, you may understand how you will escape. For many are seeking in darkness, and they grope about, wishing to understand since there is no light for them. My child, do not allow your mind to stare downward, but rather let it look by means of the light at things above. For the light will always come from above. Even if it (the mind) is upon the earth, let it seek to pursue the things above. Enlighten your mind with the light of heaven so that you may turn to the light of heaven. Do not tire of knocking on the door of reason, and do not cease. Walk in it so that you may receive rest from your labors. If you walk in another way, there will be no prof it in it. For also those who walk in the broad way will go down at their end to the perdition of the mire. For the Hades is open wide for the soul, and the place of perdition is broad. Accept Christ, the narrow way. For he is oppressed and bears affliction for your sin. O soul, persistent one, in what ignorance you exist! For who is your guide into the darkness? How many likenesses did Christ take on because of you? Although he was God, he [was found] among men as a man. He descended to the Hades. He released the chil dren of death. They were in travail, a s the scripture of God has said. And he sealed up the (very) heart of it (the Hades). And he broke its (the Hades’s) strong bows completely. And when all the powers had seen him, they fled so that he might bring you, wretched one, up from the Abyss, and might die for you as a ransom for your sin. He saved you from the strong hand of the Hades. But you yourself, difficult (though it be), give to him your funda mental assent with (even so much as) a hint that he may take you up with joy! Now the fundamental choice, which is humility of heart, is the gift of Christ. A contrite heart is the acceptable sacrifice. If you humble yourself, you will be greatly exalted; and if you exalt yourself, you will be exceedingly humbled. My child, 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 casts3 everyone down into a pit of mire. It is a great and good thing not to love fornication and not even to think of the wretched matter at all, for to think of it is death. It is not good for any man to fall into death. For a soul which has been found in death will be without reason. For it is better not to live than to acquire an animal’s life. Guard yourself so that you are burned by the fires of fornication. For many who are submerged in fire are its servants whom you do not know as your enemies. My child, strip off the old garment of fornication, and clothe yourself in the clean and radiant garment, that you may be beautiful in it. But when you have this garment, protect it well. Release yourself from every bond so that you may acquire freedom. If you cast out of yourself the desire whose devices are many, you will release yourself from the sins of lust.

Listen, O soul, to my advice. Do not become a lair of foxes and serpents, nor a hole of serpents and asps, nor a dwelling place of lions, or a place of refuge of basilisk-snakes. When these things hap pen to you, O soul, what will you do? For these are the powers of the Adversary. Everything which is dead will come into you through them (the powers). For their food is everything which is dead and every unclean thing. For when these are within you, what living thing will come into you? The living angels will detest you. You were a temple, (but) you have made yourself a tomb. Cease being a tomb, and become (again) a temple, so that uprightness and divinity may remain in you. Kindle the light within you. Do not extinguish it. Certainly no one lights a lamp for wild beasts or their young. Raise your dead who have died, for they lived and have died for you. Give them life. They shall live again. For the Tree of Life is Christ. He is Wisdom. For he is Wisdom; he is also the Word. He is the Life, the Power, and the Door. He is the Light, the Angel, and the Good Shepherd. Entrust yourself to this one who became all for your sake. Knock upon yourself as upon a door, and walk within yourself as upon a straight road. For if you walk on the road, it is impossible for you to go astray. And if you knock with this one Wisdom, you knock on hidden treasures. For since he Christ is Wisdom, he makes the foolish man wise. It Wisdom is a holy kingdomand a shining robe. For it Wisdom is much gold which gives you great honor. The Wisdom of God be came a type of fool for you so that it might take you up, O foolish one, and make you a wise man. And the Life died for you when he Christ was powerless, so that through his death he might give life to you who have died. Entrust yourself to reason and remove yourself fromanimalism. For the animal which has no reason is made manifest. For many think that they have reason, but if you look at them attentively, their speech is animalistic. Take your joy from Christ, the true vine. Drink your fill of the true wine in which there is no drunkenness nor er ror. For it (the true wine) marks the end of drinking since there is usually in it what gives joy to the soul and the mind through the Spirit of God. But first, nurture your reasoning powers before you drink of it (the true wine).. Do not burn yourself, O wretched one, with the fire of lust. Do not hand yourself over as a captive to barbarians, nor to savage beasts which want to trample upon you. For they are as lions which roar very loudly. Be not dead lest they trample upon you. You shall be man! It is pos sible for you through reasoning to conquer them. But the man who does nothing is unworthy of (being called) rational man. The truly rational person is the one who fears God. He who fears God does nothing insolent. And he who guards himself against doing any thing insolent is one who keeps his guiding principle. Although he is a man who exists on earth, he makes himself like God. But he who makes himself like God is one who does nothing un worthy of G o d, according to the statement of Paul who has be come like Christ. For who shows reverence for God while not wanting to do things which are pleasing to him? For piety is that which is from the heart, and piety from the heart (characterizes) every soul which is near to God. The soul which is a member of God’s household is one which is kept pure, and the soul which has put on Christ is one which is pure. It is impossible for it to sin. Now where Christ is, there sin is idle. Let Christ alone enter your inner world, and let him bring to nothing every power that has attacked you. Let him enter the temple inside you so that he may drive out every merchant. Let him dwell in the temple which is within you, and may you become for him a priest and a Levite, entering in purity. Blessed are you, O soul, if you find this one in your temple. Blessed are you still more if you perform his service. But he who will defile the temple of God, that one God will destroy. For you lay yourself open, O man, if you cast this one out of your temple. For whenever the enemies do not see Christ in you, then they will come into you armed in order to crush you. My child, I have given you orders concerning these things many times so that you would always guard your soul. It is not you who will cast him Christ out, but he will cast you out. For if you flee from him, you will fall into great sin. Again, if you flee from him, you will become food for your enemies. For all base persons flee from their lord, and the (man) base in virtue and wisdom flees from Christ. For every man who is separated (from him) falls into the claws of the wild beasts.

Recognize who Christ is, and receive him as your friend, for this is the friend who is faithful. He is God and Teacher. This one, being God, became man for your sake. It is this one who shattered the iron bars of Hades and its bronze bolts. It is this one who at tacked and cast down every haughty tyrant. It is he who loosened from himself the chains of which he had taken hold. He raised the poor from the abyss and the mourners from Hades. It is he who humbled the haughty powers; he who put to shame haughtiness through humility; he who has cast down the strong and the boaster through weakness; he who in his contempt scorned that which is considered an honor so that humility for God’s sake might be highly exalted; he who has put on humanity. And yet, the divine Word is God, the one who patiently bears with humanity always. He wished to produce humility in the exalted. He Christ who has exalted man became like God, not in order that he might bring God down to man, but that man might become like God. this great goodness of God! O Christ, King who has revealed to men the Great Divinity, King of every virtue and King of life, King of ages and Great One of the heavens, hear my words and forgive me! Furthermore, he manifested a great zeal for Divinity. Where is a man (who is) wise or powerful in intelligence, or a man whose devices are many because he knows wisdom? Let him speak wisdom; let him utter great boasting! For every man has become a fool and has spoken out of his (own) knowledge. For he Christ con founded the counsels of guileful people, and he prevailed over those wise in their own understanding. Who will be able to discover the counsel of the Almighty, or to speak of the Divinity, or to proclaim it correctly? If we have not even been able to understand the counsels of our companions, who will be able to comprehend the Divinity or the divinities of the heavens? If we scarcely find things on earth, who will search for the things of heaven? A Great Power and Great Glory has made the world known. And the Life of Heaven wishes to renew all, that he may cast out that which is weak and every black form, that everyone may shine forth in heavenly garments in order to make manifest the command of the Father (who) is exceedingly brilliant, and that he Christ may crown those wishing to contend well. Christ, being judge of the con. This one who contended first received the crown, gained dominion, and appeared, giving light to everyone. And all were made new through the Holy Spirit and the Mind. Lord Almighty, how much glory shall I give Thee? No one has been able to glorify God adequately. It is Thou who hast given glory to Thy Word in order to save everyone, O Merciful God. (It is) he who has come from Thy mouth and has risen from Thy heart, the First-born, the Wisdom, the Prototype, the First Light. For he is light from the power of God, and he is an emanation of the pure glory of the Almighty. He is the spotless mirror of the work ing of God, and he is the image of God’s goodness. For he is also the Light of the Eternal Light. He is the eye which looks at the invisible Father, always serving and forming by the Father’s will. He alone was begotten by the Father’s good pleasure. For he is an incomprehen sible Word, and he is Wisdom and Life. He gives life to and nour ishes all living things and powers. Just as the soul gives life to all the members, he rules all with power and gives life to them. For he is the beginning and the end of everyone, watching over all and encom passing them. He is troubled on behalf of everyone, and he rejoices and also mourns. On the one hand, he mourns for those who have gotten as their lot the place of punishment; on the other, he is troubled about every one whom he arduously brings to instruction. But he rejoices over everyone who is in purity. Then beware, lest somehow you fall into the hands of the robbers. Do not allow sleep to your eyes nor drowsiness to your eyelids that you may be saved like a gazelle from nets and like a bird from a trap. Fight the great fight as long as the fight lasts, while all the powers are staring after you - not only the holy ones, but also all the pow ers of the Adversary. Woe to you if you are vanquished in the midst of every one who is watching you! If you fight the fight and are victorious over the powers which fight against you, you will bring great joy to every holy one, and yet great grief to your enemies. Your judge helps (you) completely since he wants you to be victorious. Listen, my son, and do not be slow with your ears. Raise yourself up when you have left your old man behind like an eagle. Fear God in all your acts, and glorify him through good work. You know that

every man who is not pleasing to God is the son of perdition. He will go down to the Abyss of the Hades. O this patience of God, which bears with every one, which de sires that every one who has become subject to sin be saved! But no one prevents him (God) from doing what he wants. For who is stronger than him that he may prevent him? To be sure, it is he who touches the earth, causing it to tremble and also causing the mountains to smoke. (It is) he who has gathered together such a great sea as in a leather bag and has weighed all the water on his scales. Only the hand of the Lord has created all these things. For this hand of the Father is Christ, and it forms all. Through it, all has come into being since it became the mother of all. For he is always Son of the Father. Consider these things about God Almighty who always exists: this One was not always King for fear t h a t1 he might be without a divine Son. For all dwell in God, (that is), the things which have come into being through the Word, who is the Son as the image of the Father. For God is nearby; he is not far off. All divine limits are those which belong to God’s household. Therefore, if the divine agrees with you partially in anything, know that all of the Divine agrees with you. But this divine is not pleased with anything evil. For it is this which teaches all men what is good. This is what God has given to the human race so that for this reason every man might be chosen before all the angels and the archangels. For God has no need to test anyone. He knows everything before it comes to pass, and he knows the secrets of the heart. They are all revealed and found wanting in his presence. Let no one ever say that God is ignorant. For it is not right to place the Creator of every creature in ignorance. For even things which are in darkness are before him like (things in) the light. So, there is no other one hidden except God alone. But he is revealed to everyone, and yet he is very hidden. He is revealed because God knows all. And if they do not wish to affirm it, they will be corrected by their heart. Now he is hidden because no one perceives the things of God. For it is incomprehensible and unfathom able to know the counsel of God. Furthermore, it is difficult to com prehend him, and it is difficult to find Christ. For he is the one who dwells in every place, and also he is in no place. For no one who wants to will be able to know God as he actually is, nor Christ, nor. If you do not know yourself, you will not be able to know all of these. Open the door within yourself, so that you may know the One Who Is. Knock within yourself, and the Word will open to you. For he is the Ruler of Faith and the Sharp Sword, having become all for everyone because he wishes to have mercy on everyone. My child, prepare yourself to escape from the world-rulers of darkness and of this kind of air which is full of powers. But if you have Christ, you will conquer this entire world. That which you will open for yourself, you will open. That which you will knock upon for yourself, you will knock upon, benefiting yourself. Help yourself, my son, (by) not proceeding with things in which there is no profit. My child, first cleanse your outward life, so that you may also cleanse what is within. And be not as the merchants of the Word of God. Test every word before you speak it. Do not wish to acquire honors which are insecure, nor the boastfulness which brings you to ruin. Accept the wisdom of Christ (who is) patient and mild, and guard this, My child, knowing that the way of God always brings true gain.