5:1

"there are three kinds of all existent things —angelic, psychical, earthly; and there are three churches— angelic, psychical, earthly; and the names of these are elect, called, captive."

5:2

"to ascertain whether Alalcomeneus, first of men, rose upon the Boeotians over Lake Cephisus; or whether it were the Idaean Curetes, a divine race; or the Phrygian Corybantes, whom first the sun beheld springing up after the manner of the growth of trees; or whether Arcadia brought forth Pelasgus, of greater antiquity than the moon; or Eleusis (produced) Diaulus, an inhabitant of Raria; or Lemnus begot Cabirus, fair child of secret orgies; or Pallene (brought forth) the Phlegraean Alcyoneus, oldest of the giants. But the Libyans affirm that Iarbas, first born, on emerging from arid plains, commenced eating the sweet acorn of Jupiter. ... . The Assyrians, however, say that fish-eating Oannes was (the first man, and) produced among themselves."

[cf. 5:4 "Whether (you are) the race of Saturn or happy Jupiter, or mighty Rhea, Hail, Attis, gloomy mutilation of Rhea. Assyrians style you thrice-longed-for Adonis, and the whole of Egypt (calls you) Osiris, celestial horn of the moon; Greeks denominate (you) Wisdom; Samothracians, venerable Adam; Haemonians, Corybas; and them Phrygians (name you) at one time Papa, at another time Corpse, or God, or Fruitless, or Aipolos, or green Ear of Corn that has been reaped, or whom the very fertile Amygdalus produced— a man, a musician."]

"in the Gospel inscribed according to Thomas, expressing themselves thus: He who seeks me, will find me in children from seven years old; for there concealed, I shall in the fourteenth age be made manifest.

This, however, is ... (the teaching) ... of Hippocrates, who uses these words: A child of seven years is half of a father. And so it is that these (heretics), placing the originative nature of the universe in causative seed, (and) having ascertained the (aphorism) of Hippocrates, that a child of seven years old is half of a father, say that in fourteen years, according to Thomas, he is manifested."

"unspeakable mysteries of Isis. These, however, are not anything else than what by her of the seven dresses and sable robe was sought and snatched away, namely, the pudendum of Osiris. And they say that Osiris is water. But the seven-robed nature, encircled and arrayed with seven mantles of ethereal texture— for so they call the planetary stars, allegorizing and denominating them ethereal robes,— is as it were the changeable generation ...

And this ... is what is declared in Scripture, The just will fall seven times, and rise again. (Proverbs 24:16; Luke 17:4) For these falls, he says, are the changes of the stars"

"For Osiris ... is in temples in front of Isis; and his pudendum stands exposed, looking downwards, and crowned with all its own fruits of things that are made. And (he affirms) that such stands not only in the most hallowed temples chief of idols, but that also, for the information of all, it is as it were a light not set under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, proclaiming its message upon the housetops, in all byways, and all streets".

Not Penelope's suitors, ... but (souls) awakened and brought to recollection of themselves".

This, he says, is he who alone has power of life and death. Concerning this, he says, it has been written, You shall rule them with a rod of iron."

"And he enchants the eyes of the dead, as he says, and raises up again those that are slumbering, after having been roused from sleep, and after having been suitors.

And concerning these, he says, the Scripture speaks: Awake you that sleep, and arise, and Christ will give you light. (Ephesians 5:14)"

{cf. winged sandals of Hermes}

{"How beautiful of them them preach the gospel of peace" (Romans 10:15) – [continued into :] "Their sound is gone forth unto all the earth, (Romans 10:18) just as it agrees with the expressions,

From ridge of rock, and each to other closely clings.

The expression rock ... he uses of Adam. This ... is Adam: The chief corner-stone become the head of the corner. {i.e., as the "2^nd man Adam"} For that in the head the substance is the formative brain from which the entire family is fashioned. (Ephesians 3:15) Whom, he says, I place as a rock at the foundations of Zion.

Allegorizing ... he speaks of the creation of the man. The rock is interposed (within) the teeth, as Homer says, enclosure of teeth, that is, a wall and fortress, in which exists

the inner man, who thither has fallen from Adam, the primal man above."

This, he says, is ocean, generation of gods and generation of men ever whirled round by the eddies of water, at one time upwards, at another time downwards. But he says there ensues a generation of men when the ocean flows downwards; but when upwards to the wall and fortress and the cliff of Leucas, a generation of gods takes place.

This ... is that which has been written: I said, You are gods, and all children of the highest; If you hasten to fly out of Egypt, and repair beyond the Red Sea into the wilderness, that is, from earthly intercourse to the Jerusalem above, which is the mother of the living; (Galatians 4:26) ... That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. (John 3:6) This, according to them, is the spiritual generation.

This, he says, is the great Jordan (Joshua 3:7-17) which, flowing on (here) below, and preventing the children of Israel from departing out of Egypt— I mean from terrestrial intercourse, for Egypt is with them the body,— Jesus drove back, and made it flow upwards." ["Zeesar, that is, Jordan that flows upwards." (8:3) {= Zeezrom in Alma 10-15}]

{this would an apocryphal account of the baptism, wherein Iesous, like Yho^s^uwa<, halted the flow of the river Yarden; upward is the flow of Kun.d.alini, who is the dragon conquered by Iesous in that river (according to some apocrypha)}

5:3

"For there is, says (the Naassene), one blessed nature of the Blessed Man, of him who is above, (namely) Adam; and there is one mortal nature, that which is below; and there is one kingless generation, which is begotten above, where, he says, is Mariam the sought-for one, and Iothor the mighty sage, and Sephora the gazing one, and Moses whose generation is not in Egypt, for children were born unto him in Madian; ...

But those who are ignorant of him, call him Geryon with the threefold body— Geryon, i.e., as if (in the sense of) flowing from earth— but (whom) the Greeks by common consent (style) celestial horn of the moon, because he mixed and blended all things in all. For all things, he says, were made by him, and not even one thing was made without him, and what was made in him is life. (John 1:3-4)"

"For ... this is the cup Condy, out of which the king, while he quaffs, draws his omens. (Genesis 44:2-5) This, he says, has been discovered hid in the beauteous seeds of Benjamin." {is this the S^amaritan Holy Grail?}

"And this is the water in those fair nuptials which Jesus changing made into wine. This ... is the mighty and true beginning of miracles which Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, and (thus) manifested the kingdom of heaven. This ... is the kingdom of heaven that reposes within us as a treasure".

"This, ... the Thracians who dwell around Haemus, and the Phrygians similarly with the Thracians, denominate Corybas, because, (though) deriving the beginning of his descent from the head above and from the unportrayed brain, and (though) permeating all the principles of the existing state of things, (yet) we do not perceive how and in what manner he comes down. This, says he, is what is spoken: We have heard his voice, no doubt, but we have not seen his shape. (John 5:37) ...

This ... is the god that inhabites the flood, according to the Psalter, and who speaks and cries from many waters. The many waters ... are the diversified generation of mortal men, from which (generation) he cries and vociferates to the unportrayed man, saying, Preserve my only-begotten from the lions."

"Open the gates, you who are your rulers; and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in, that is a wonder of wonders. For who, he says, is this King of glory? A worm, and not a man; a reproach of man, and an outcast of the people; himself is the King of glory, and powerful in war.

And by war he means the war that is in the body, because its frame has been made out of hostile elements; as it has been written ... Remember the conflict that exists in the body.

Jacob ... saw this entrance and this gate in his journey into Mesopotamia, that is, when from a child he was now becoming a youth and a man; that is, (the entrance and gate) were made known unto him as he journeyed into Mesopotamia. But Mesopotamia, he says, is the current of the great ocean flowing from the midst of the Perfect Man; and

he was astonished at the celestial gate, exclaiming, How terrible is this place! it is nought else than the house of God, and this (is) the gate of heaven. On account of this, he says, Jesus uses the words, I am the true gate. (John 10:9; Matthew 7:13)"

"But the Phrygians denominate this same also corpse— buried in the body, as it were, in a mausoleum and tomb. This, he says, is what has been declared, You are whited sepulchres, full ... of dead men's bones within, (Matthew 23:27) because there is not in you the living man. And again he exclaims, The dead shall start forth from the graves, (Matthew 27:52-53) that is, from the earthly bodies, being born again spiritual, not carnal. For this, he says, is the Resurrection that takes place through the gate of heaven, through which, he says, all those that do not enter remain dead.

These same Phrygians, however, ... affirm again that this very (man), as a consequence of the change, (becomes) a god. For, he says, he becomes a god when, having risen from the dead, he will enter into heaven through a gate of this kind. Paul the apostle, ... knew of this gate, partially opening it in a mystery, and stating that he was caught up by an angel, and ascended as far as the second and third heaven into paradise itself; and that he beheld sights and heard unspeakable words which it would not be possible for man to declare. (2 Corinthians 12:2)"

"Every tree not producing good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire. For these fruits, he says, are only rational living men, who enter in through the third gate. They say, forsooth, You devour the dead, and make the living; (but) if you eat the living, what will you do?

They assert, however, that the living are rational faculties and minds, and men— pearls of that unportrayable one cast before the creature below. This, he says, is what (Jesus) asserts: Throw not that which is holy unto the dogs, nor pearls unto the swine."

He is not undone ... but revolves as it were, and goes round himself. Moreover, also, cities in which we dwell, because we turn and go round in them, are denominated Poleis.

In this manner, ... the Phrygians call this one Aipolis, inasmuch as he everywhere ceaselessly turns all things, and changes them into their own peculiar (functions). And the Phrygians style him, he says, very fruitful likewise, because, says he, more numerous are the children of the desolate one, than those of her which has an husband; that is, things by being born again become immortal and abide for ever in great numbers, even though the things that are produced may be few".

"August Brimo has brought forth a consecrated son, Brimus; ... For the mystery is called Eleusin and Anactorium."

{cf. MaRIaMne; LOD; and sons of <ANAQ}

5:4

"The Phrygians, however, further assert that the father of the universe is Amygdalus, not a tree, he says, but that he is Amygdalus who previously existed; and

{cf. almond-tree as rod of >ahro^n}

he having in himself the perfect fruit, as it were, throbbing and moving in the depth, rent his breasts, and produced his now invisible, and nameless, and ineffable child."

{cf. mention, in the Odes of S^lomoh, of the teats of the male God}

"This ... is the many-named, thousand-eyed Incomprehensible One, of whom every nature— each, however, differently— is desirous. This, he says, is the word of God, which, he says, is a word of revelation of the Great Power. Wherefore it will be sealed, and hid, and concealed, lying in the habitation where lies the basis of the root of the universe,

{cf. Argos Pan-optes, who is, however, merely 100-eyed}

viz. Aeons, Powers, Intelligences, Gods, Angels, delegated Spirits, Entities, Nonentities, Generables, Ingenerables, Incomprehensibles, Comprehensibles, Years, Months, Days, Hours, (and) Invisible Point".

{cf. the list of orders of angeloi according to Dionusios the Areopagite; along with (perhaps) the Smooth Point" of Qabbalah}

"They assert, however, that Edem is the brain, as it were, bound and tightly fastened in encircling robes, as if (in) heaven.

But they suppose that man, as far as the head only, is Paradise, therefore that this river, which proceeds out of Edem, that is, from the brain, is divided into four heads, and that

the name of the first river is called Phison; this is that which encompasses all the land of Havilath: there is gold, and the gold of that land is excellent, and there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

This, he says, is the eye, which, by its honour (among the rest of the bodily organs), and its colours, furnishes testimony to what is spoken.

But the name of the second river is Gihon: this is that which compasses the land of Ethiopia.

This, he says, is hearing, since Gihon is (a tortuous stream), resembling a sort of labyrinth.

And the name of the third is Tigris. This is that which flows over against (the country of) the Assyrians. ... But it flows over against (the country of) the Assyrians,

because in every act of respiration following upon expiration, the breath drawn in from the external atmosphere enters with swifter motion and greater force. For this, he says, is the nature of respiration.

But the fourth river is Euphrates. This, they assert, is the mouth, through which are the passage outwards of prayer, and the passage inwards of nourishment.

(The mouth) makes glad, and nurtures and fashions the Spiritual Perfect Man.

This, he says, is the water that is above the firmament, concerning which, he says, the Saviour has declared, If you knew who it is that asks, you would have asked from Him, and He would have given you to drink living, bubbling water.

Into this water, he says, every nature enters, choosing its own substances; and its peculiar quality comes to each nature from this water, he says,

more than iron does to the magnet, and the gold to the backbone of the sea falcon, and the chaff to the amber." {magnetic & electrostatic forces}

{gold is noted for its electrical (and thermal) conductivity; cf. the Kemetian "golden H.R (falcon-god)" sacred name of the king}

5:5

The world's producing law was Primal Mind,

{conception}

And next was First-born's outpoured Chaos;

{birth}

And third, the soul received its law of toil:

{maturity}

Encircl'd, therefore, with an acqueous form,

{old age}

With care o'erpowered it succumbs to death.

{death}

Now holding sway, it eyes the light,

{"light-of-death" : 1^st stage of Antarabhava}

And now it weeps on misery flung;

{2^nd stage of Antarabhava}

Now it mourns, now it thrills with joy;

{3^rd stage of Antarabhava}

Now it wails, now it hears its doom;

{judgement by Dharma-t.hakura}

Now it hears its doom, now it dies,

{remanded by Citragupta}

And now it leaves us, never to return."

{relegated to Niraya/Naraka}

Wanders from your breath (of wrath);

{"all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" – host (heavenly army) = "angels of wrath"}

And knows not how to pass it through.

{shun rebirth}

Bearing seals, I shall descend".

{sigils functioning for stamping passports for admission into heaven of redeemed souls}

5:9

"enjoying the things disgorged from the twelve eyes of the law, (and) manifesting a seal to the power which along with itself distributes the downborne invisible waters, and has been called Thalassa."

"The tempestuous daughter of this one is a faithful protectress of all sorts of waters. Her name is Chorzar."

"Manager of the rising of the star is Carphacasemeocheir, (and) Eccabbacara (is the same) ... third in order is Ariel, according to whose image was generated Aeolus, Briares. And chief of the twelve-houred nocturnal (power) is Soclan ...; (and) according to the image of this one was born Admetus, Medea, Helen, Aethusa. Chief of the twelve-houred diurnal power is Euno. This is manager of the rising of the star Protocamarus and of the ethereal (region) ... . A sign of this one is the Dog-star".

/UOAB/ = /*WOhAB/ for (B-Midbar 21:14) /WaheB/ (name of a place in the Supah of Mo^>ab – cf. [<ar.] /wahaba/ "foetuit caro" LA-L 4:509b) = Zahab (in the Septuagint)}

"God's right-hand power is that which ... according to whose image were produced Attis, Mygdon, (and) Oenone.

{Attis was named for [Phrygian] attagi ‘goat’ (AG 5:6, in A-NF, vol. VI, p. 492a)}. Oinone was the former name of Aigine (‘nanny-goat’), where there was enacted a "derisive dance of women, ... the women of the island ... were the subjects of raillery" (GH, p. 110)}

The left-hand power has lordship over sustenance, ... (while) her name is Bena; and according to the image of this one were born Celeus, Triptolemus, Misyr, and Praxidica.

{Keleos & Triptolemos provide sustenance through the mysteries; Misur = misu ‘truffle’ (G-EL)}

The right-hand power has lordship over fruits ..., according to whose image were born Bumegas, Ostanes, Mercury Trismegistus, Curites, Petosiris, Zodarium, Berosus, Astrampsuchus, (and) Zoroaster.

The left-hand power is (lord) of fire ..., according to whose image were born Erichthonius, Achilles, Capaneus, Phaëthon, Meleager, Tydeus, Enceladus, Raphael, Suriel, (and) Omphale.

{Phaethon & Meleagros praeternaturally were burned to death; Enkelados was buried alive under the volcanic island Sikelia}

There are three intermediate powers suspended from air, authors of generation ...; and according to the image of these were produced the house of Priam, the house of Laius, Ino, Autonoe, Agave, Athamas, Procne, Danaides, and Peliades.

{Ino became a sea-gull (Leukothea), Prokne became a swallow – both birds flying through the air}

A power (there is) hermaphrodite, always continuing in infancy, never waxing old, cause of beauty, pleasure, maturity, desire, and concupiscence; ... according to whose image were born Paris, Narcissus, Ganymede, Endymion, Tithonus, Icarius, Leda, Amymone, Thetis, Hesperides, Jason, Leander, (and) Hero. These are Proastioi up to Aether".

5:11

Now, he says, the stars are the gods of destruction, which impose upon existent things the necessity of alterable generation. These, he says, Moses denominated serpents of the wilderness".

{apparently, the ember carried (in YS<YH 6:6) by the s`rap (flying winged serpent) is regarded as a star}

"This ... is Cain, whose sacrifice the god of this world did not accept. The gory sacrifice, however, of Abel he approved of; for the ruler of this world rejoices in (offerings of) blood. This ... is he who appeared in the last days, in form of a man, in the times of Herod, being born after the likeness of Joseph, who was sold by the hand of his brethren, to whom alone belonged the coat of many colours. This ... is he who is according to the likeness of Esau, whose garment— he not being himself present— was blessed".

{cf. Manda< "garments of glory"}

5:12

"the universe is Father, Son, (and) Matter; (but) each of these three has endless capacities in itself. Intermediate, then, between the Matter and the Father sits the Son, the Word, the Serpent, always being in motion towards the unmoved Father, and (towards) Matter itself in motion. And at one time he is turned towards the Father, and receives the powers into his own person; but at another time takes up these powers, and is turned towards Matter. And Matter, (though) devoid of attribute, and being unfashioned, moulds (into itself) forms from the Son which the Son moulded from the Father."

{"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:" ( Euangelion of Ioannes 3:14)}

"But the Son derives shape from the Father after a mode ineffable, and unspeakable, and unchangeable; (that is,) in such a manner as Moses says that tire colours of the conceived (kine) flowed from the rods which were fixed [by Ya<qob] in the drinking-troughs. And in like manner, again, that capacities flowed also from the Son into Matter".

{so, is God-the-Son Ya<qob ?}

"No one, then, he says, can be saved or return (into heaven) without the Son, and the Son is the Serpent. ... This, he says, is what is spoken: I am the door. And he transfers (those marks), he says, to those who close the eyelid, as the naphtha drawing the fire in every direction towards itself; nay rather,

{"I am the Door of the Sheep" (Euangelion of Ioannes 10:7) may allude the 7 eyen (Apokalupsis of Ioannes 5:6) of the divine lamb}

as the magnet (attracting) the iron and not anything else, or just as the backbone of the sea falcon, the gold and nothing else, or as the chaff is led by the amber." {cited in 5:16, s.v. Sethian :- "as iron towards the magnet, and the chaff to the vicinity of amber, and the gold to the spur of the sea falcon."}

{cf., for the Nassenians, in 5:4 :- "more than iron does to the magnet, and the gold to the backbone of the sea falcon, and the chaff to the amber."}

"they adduce the anatomy of the brain, assimilating, from the fact of its immobility, the brain itself to the Father, and the cerebellum to the Son, because of its being moved and being of the form of (the head of) a serpent. And they allege that this (cerebellum), by an ineffable and inscrutable process, attracts through the pineal gland the spiritual and life-giving substance emanating from the vaulted chamber (in which the brain is embedded). And on receiving this, the cerebellum in an ineffable manner imparts the ideas, just as the Son does, to matter; or, in other words, the seeds and the genera of the things produced according to the flesh flow along into the spinal marrow."

{the pineal gland as "third eye", and the spinal marrow of path for Kun.d.alini, are likewise significant for yaugik occult anatomy}

5:15

"The entire system of their doctrine, however, is (derived) from the ancient theologians Musaeus, and Linus, and Orpheus, who elucidates especially the ceremonies of initiation, as well as the mysteries themselves. For their doctrine concerning the womb is also the tenet of Orpheus; and the (idea of the) navel, which is harmony, is (to be found) with the same symbolism attached to it in the Bacchanalian orgies of Orpheus."

"For antecedent to the Eleusinian mysteries, there are (enacted) in Phlium the orgies of her denominated the Great (Mother). There is, however, a portico in this (city), and on the portico is inscribed a representation, (visible) up to the present day, of all the words which are spoken (on such occasions). Many, then, of the words inscribed upon that portico are those respecting which Plutarch institutes discussions in his ten books against Empedocles. And in the greater number of these books is also drawn the representation of a certain aged man, grey-haired, winged, having his pudendum erectum, pursuing a retreating woman of azure colour."

5:16

"the theory respecting composition and mixture. But this theory has formed a subject of meditation to many, but (among others) also to Andronicus the Peripatetic."

"The luminous ray from above is intermingled, and the very diminutive spark is delicately blended in the dark waters beneath; and (both of these) become united, and are formed into one compound mass".

"For when the animal is dead, each of its parts is separated; and when dissolution takes place, the animal in this way vanishes.

This is, he says, what has been spoken: I came not to send peace on the earth, but a sword {this is the most favorite Muslim quotation from the New Testament}, — that is, the division and separation of the things that have been commingled."

"In like manner, the ray of light which has been com-mingled with the water, having obtained from discipline and instruction its own proper locality, hastens towards the Logos that comes from above in servile form; and along with the Logos exists as a logos in that place where the Logos is still: (the light, I say, hastens to the Logos with greater speed) than the iron towards the magnet."

{alluding to the bending of light-rays (with respect to the observor) in their going from a denser medium to a less dense, as e.g. from water to air (so that fish will appear to be swimming more shallowly than it actually is)}

5:21

Of these twenty-four angels the paternal ones are associated with the Father, and do all things according to His will; and the maternal (angels are associated with) Edem the Mother. ... Allegorically the angels are styled trees of this garden, and the tree of life is the third of the paternal angels— Baruch. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the third of the maternal angels— Naas."

{the deity >amen is in Apokalupsis; Esaddaios may be >es^ed ‘stream’, perhaps that issuing from mt. Pa>ran (according to DRBYM 33:4) and, as such, for Ys^urun (according to DRBYM 33:5), likely a reference to the book of Yes^er (Jasher), from which can be adduced the residue of the names of the angels of the Father – possibly among the missing names of angels may be those of them sons of Qe^nan : "the name of the first born Mahlallel, the second Enan, and the third Mered" (Y 2:16).}

"the twelve angels of the Mother were divided into four principles, and each fourth part of them is called a river— Phison, and Gehon, and Tigris, and Euphrates, as, he says, Moses states. These twelve angels, being mutually connected, go about into four parts, and manage the world, holding from Edem a sort of viceregal authority over the world. But they do not always continue in the same places, but move around as if in a circular dance, changing place after place, and at set times and intervals retiring to the localities subject to themselves.

{cf., among other divine dances by goddesses in heaven, the circular dance of the 3 Kharites (Gratiae); or the Peruvian "dance of the Pleiades"}

And when Phison holds sway over places, famine, distress, and affliction prevail in that part of the earth, for the battalion of these angels is niggardly. In like manner also there belong to each part of the four, according to the power and nature of each, evil times and hosts of diseases. And continually, according to the dominion of each fourth part, this stream of evil, just (like a current) of rivers, careers, according to the will of Edem, uninterruptedly around the world."

{one such affliction inflicted by a river of <eden was the flood caused by the overflowing of the river Giho^n (according to Y 2:6)}

"Elohim, then, coming to the highest part of heaven above, and beholding a light superior to that which He Himself had created, exclaimed, Open me the gates, that entering in I may acknowledge the Lord; for I considered Myself to be Lord. A voice was returned to Him from the light, saying, This is the gate of the Lord: through this the righteous enter in. And immediately the gate was opened, and the Father, without the angels, entered, (advancing) towards the Good One, and beheld what eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered into the heart of man to (conceive). Then the Good One says to him, Sit on my right hand. And the Father says to the Good One, Permit me, Lord, to overturn the world which I have made,

{cf. the [Maori myth of] overturning of the world by Mata-aho}

When, however, Elohim, overpowered by the Good One, no longer descended to Edem, Edem commanded Babel, which is Venus, to cause adulteries and dissolutions of marriages among men.

{cf. "whore of Babylon" (Apokalupsis of Ioannes 17:5, with YH.Q>L 23:17)}

(And she adopted this expedient) in order that, as she had been divorced from Elohim, so also the spirit of Elohim, which is in men, being wrong with sorrow, might be punished by such separations, and might undergo precisely the sufferings which (were being endured by) the deserted Edem. And Edem gives great power to her third angel, Naas, that by every species of punishment she might chasten the spirit of Elohim which is in men, in order that Elohim, through the spirit, might be punished for having deserted his spouse, in violation of the agreements entered into between them. Elohim the father, seeing these things, sends forth Baruch, the third angel among his own, to succour the spirit that is in all men. Baruch then coming, stood in the midst of the angels of Edem, that is, in the midst of paradise— for paradise is the angels, in the midst of whom he stood,— and issued to the man the following injunction: Of every tree that is in paradise you may freely eat, but you may not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is Naas.

Now the meaning is, that he should obey the rest of the eleven angels of Edem, for the eleven possess passions, but are not guilty of transgression. Naas, however, has committed sin, for he went in unto Eve, deceiving her, and debauched her; and (such an act as) this is a violation of law. He, however, likewise went in unto Adam, and had unnatural intercourse with him; and this is itself also a piece of turpitude, whence have arisen adultery and sodomy."

{cf. the [Norse] 11 apples of immortality eaten by the deities in A`s-gard}

Ultimately Elohim selected Hercules, an uncircumcised prophet, and sent him to quell the twelve angels of Edem, and release the Father from the twelve angels, those wicked ones of the creation. These are the twelve conflicts of Hercules which Hercules underwent, in order, from first to last, viz., Lion, and Hydra, and Boar, and the others successively. For they say that these are the names (of them) among the Gentiles, and they have been derived with altered denominations from the energy of the maternal angels. When he seemed to have vanquished his antagonists, Omphale— now she is Babel or Venus— clings to him and entices away Hercules, and divests him of his power,

viz., the commands of Baruch which Elohim issued. And in place (of this power, Babel) envelopes him in her own peculiar robe, that is, in the power of Edem, who is the power below;

and in this way the prophecy of Hercules remained unfulfilled, and his works."

"Naas therefore wished to entice this one also. (Jesus, however, was not disposed to listen to his overtures ), for he remained faithful to Baruch. Therefore Naas, being inflamed with anger because he was not able to seduce him, caused him to be crucified. He, however, leaving the body of Edem on the (accursed) tree, ascended to the Good One; saying, however, to Edem, Woman, you retain your son, that is, the natural and the earthly man. But (Jesus) himself commending his spirit into the hands of the Father, ascended to the Good One.

Now the Good One is Priapus, (and) he it is who antecedently caused the production of everything that exists. On this account he is styled Priapus, because he previously fashioned all things (according to his own design). For this reason, he says, in every temple is placed his statue, which is revered by every creature; and (there are images of him) in the highways, carrying over his head ripened fruits, that is, the produce of the creation, of which he is the cause, having in the first instance formed, (according to His own design), the creation, when as yet it had no existence."

When, therefore, the prophet says, Hearken, O heaven, and give ear, O earth; the Lord has spoken, he means by heaven, (Justinus) says,

the spirit which is in man from Elohim;

and by earth,

the soul which is in man along with the spirit;

and by Lord,

Baruch;

and by Israel,

Edem, for Israel as well as Edem is called the spouse of Elohim."

5:22

"Hence also, in the first book inscribed Baruch, has been written the oath which they compel those to swear who are about to hear these mysteries, and be initiated with the Good One. And this oath, (Justinus) says, our Father Elohim sware when He was beside the Good One, and having sworn He did not repent (of the oath), respecting which, he says, it has been written, The Lord sware, and will not repent. Now the oath is couched in these terms: I swear by that Good One who is above all, to guard these mysteries, and to divulge them to no one, and not to relapse from the Good One to the creature.

{"The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melki^-s.edeq." (THLYM 110:4) – cf. book 10, chapter 20}

And when he has sworn this oath, he goes on to the Good One, and beholds whatever things eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man; and he drinks from life-giving water, which is to them, as they suppose, a bath, a fountain of life-giving, bubbling water. For there has been a separation made between water and water; and there is water, that below the firmament of the wicked creation, in which earthly and animal men are washed; and there is life-giving water, (that) above the firmament, of the Good One, in which spiritual (and) living men are washed; and in this Elohim washed Himself. and having washed did not repent."