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but as if they were withered. The seventh mountain had cheerful plants, and the whole mountain was flourishing, and every kind of cattle and bird was grazing on that mountain; and as much as the cattle and the birds grazed, the more and more the plants of that mountain thrived. The eighth mountain was full of springs, and every kind of the Lord’s creation was watered from the springs of that mountain. The ninth mountain had no water at all and was entirely desolate, and it had in it deadly, reptilian beasts, destroying men. The tenth mountain had very large trees, and was entirely shaded, and under the cover of the trees sheep were lying down, resting and chewing the cud. The eleventh mountain was very full of trees, and those trees were laden with fruit, adorned with different kinds of fruits, so that anyone seeing them would desire to eat of their fruits. The twelfth mountain was entirely white, and its appearance was very cheerful; and the mountain was most beautiful in itself. In the middle of the plain he showed me a great white rock that had risen up out of the plain. The rock was higher than the mountains, and was four-square, so as to be able to contain the whole world. That rock was old, having a gate hewn out of it; but the hewing of the gate seemed to me to be recent. The gate so shone beyond the sun, that I marveled at the brightness of the gate. And round about the gate stood twelve virgins. The four, therefore, who stood at the corners seemed to me to be more glorious; and the others also were glorious. They stood at the four parts of the gate, two virgins between each of them. They were clothed in linen tunics and were beautifully girded, having their right shoulders bare, as if they were about to carry some burden. Thus they were ready; for they were very cheerful and eager. After I saw these things, I marveled in myself, because I was seeing great and glorious things. And again I was perplexed about the virgins, because being delicate, they stood so manfully, as if they were about to carry the whole heaven. And the shepherd says to me: Why do you reason within yourself and are perplexed and bring grief upon yourself? For whatever you cannot understand, do not attempt it as if you were wise, but ask the Lord, that receiving understanding you may understand it. You cannot see the things behind you, but you see the things before you. The things, therefore, that you cannot see, let be, and do not torment yourself; but master those things which you do see, and do not be overly curious about the rest; and I will explain to you all things, whatever I shall show you. Look, therefore, at the rest. I saw six men who had come, tall and glorious and similar in appearance; and they called a certain multitude of men. And those who had come were tall men and very handsome and strong; and the six men commanded them to build a certain tower upon the rock. And there was a great noise from those men who had come to build the tower, running here and there around the gate. But the virgins standing around the gate told the men that they must hasten to build the tower. And the virgins had stretched out their hands as if they were about to receive something from the men. And the six men commanded stones to come up from a certain deep place and to go into the building of the tower. And there came up ten square, bright stones, not hewn. And the six men called the virgins and commanded them to carry all the stones that were about to go into the building of the tower and to pass through the gate, and to give them to the men who were about to

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δὲ ὡς μεμαραμμέναι ἦσαν. τὸ δὲ ἕβδομον ὄρος εἶχεν βοτάνας ἱλαράς, καὶ ὅλον τὸ ὄρος εὐθηνοῦν ἦν, καὶ πᾶν γένος κτηνῶν καὶ ὀρνέων ἐνέμετο εἰς τὸ ὄρος ἐκεῖνο· καὶ ὅσον ἐβόσκετο τὰ κτήνη καὶ τὰ πετεινά, μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον αἱ βοτάναι τοῦ ὄρους ἐκείνου ἔθαλλον. τὸ δὲ ὄγδοον ὄρος πηγῶν πλῆρες ἦν, καὶ πᾶν γένος τῆς κτίσεως τοῦ κυρίου ἐποτίζετο ἐκ τῶν πηγῶν τοῦ ὄρους ἐκείνου. τὸ δὲ ἔνατον ὄρος ὅλως ὕδωρ οὐκ εἶχεν καὶ ὅλον ἐρημῶδες ἦν, εἶχεν δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ θηρία ἑρπετὰ θανάσιμα, διαφθείροντα ἀνθρώπους. τὸ δὲ δέκατον ὄρος εἶχε δένδρα μέγιστα, καὶ ὅλον κατάσκιον ἦν, καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῶν δένδρων πρόβατα κατέκειντο ἀναπαυόμενα καὶ μαρυ κώμενα. τὸ δὲ ἑνδέκατον ὄρος λίαν σύνδενδρον ἦν, καὶ τὰ δένδρα ἐκεῖνα κατάκαρπα ἦν, ἄλλοις καὶ ἄλλοις καρποῖς κεκοσμημένα, ἵνα ἰδών τις αὐτὰ ἐπιθυμήσῃ φαγεῖν ἐκ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν. τὸ δὲ δωδέκατον ὄρος ὅλον ἦν λευκόν, καὶ ἡ πρόσοψις αὐτοῦ ἱλαρὰ λίαν· καὶ εὐπρεπέστατον ἦν ἐν αὑτῷ τὸ ὄρος. Eἰς μέσον δὲ τοῦ πεδίου ἔδειξέ μοι πέτραν μεγάλην λευκὴν ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου ἀναβεβηκυῖαν. ἡ δὲ πέτρα ὑψηλοτέρα ἦν τῶν ὀρέων, τετράγωνος δέ, ὥστε δύνασθαι ὅλον τὸν κόσμον χωρῆσαι. παλαιὰ δὲ ἦν ἡ πέτρα ἐκείνη πύλην ἐκκεκομμένην ἔχουσα· ὡς πρόσφατος δὲ ἐδόκει μοι εἶναι ἡ ἐκκόλαψις τῆς πύλης. ἡ δὲ πύλη οὕτως ἔστιλβεν ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον, ὥστε με θαυμάζειν ἐπὶ τῇ λαμπηδόνι τῆς πύλης. κύκλῳ δὲ τῆς πύλης εἱστήκεισαν παρθένοι δώδεκα. αἱ οὖν τέσσαρες αἱ εἰς τὰς γωνίας ἑστηκυῖαι ἐνδοξότεραί μοι ἐδόκουν εἶναι· καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι δὲ ἔνδοξοι ἦσαν. εἱστήκεισαν δὲ εἰς τὰ τέσσαρα μέρη τῆς πύλης, ἀνὰ μέσον αὐτῶν ἀνὰ δύο παρθένοι. ἐνδεδυμέναι δὲ ἦσαν λινοῦς χιτῶνας καὶ περιεζωσμέναι ἦσαν εὐπρεπῶς, ἔξω τοὺς ὤμους ἔχουσαι τοὺς δεξιοὺς ὡς μέλλουσαι φορτίον τι βαστάζειν. οὕτως ἕτοιμαι ἦσαν· λίαν γὰρ ἱλαραὶ ἦσαν καὶ πρόθυμοι. μετὰ τὸ ἰδεῖν με ταῦτα ἐθαύμαζον ἐν ἐμαυτῷ, ὅτι μεγάλα καὶ ἔνδοξα πράγματα ἔβλεπον. καὶ πάλιν ἠπορούμην ἐπὶ ταῖς παρθένοις, ὅτι τρυφεραὶ οὖσαι οὕτως ἀνδρείως εἱστήκεισαν ὡς μέλλουσαι ὅλον τὸν οὐρανὸν βαστάζειν. καὶ λέγει μοι ὁ ποιμήν· Τί ἐν σεαυτῷ διαλογίζῃ καὶ ἀπορῇ καὶ σεαυτῷ λύπην ἐπισπᾶσαι; ὅσα γὰρ οὐ δύνῃ νοῆσαι, μὴ ἐπιχείρει ὡς συνετὸς ὤν, ἀλλ' ἐρώτα τὸν κύριον, ἵνα λαβὼν σύνεσιν νοήσῃς αὐτά. τὰ ὀπίσω σου ἰδεῖν οὐ δύνῃ, τὰ δὲ ἔμπροσθέν σου βλέπεις. ἃ οὖν ἰδεῖν οὐ δύνῃ, ἔασον, καὶ σεαυτὸν μὴ στρέβλου· ἃ βλέπεις δέ, ἐκείνων κατακυρίευε, καὶ περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν μὴ περιεργάζου· πάντα δέ σοι ἐγὼ δηλώσω, ὅσα ἐάν σοι δείξω. ἔμβλεπε οὖν τοῖς λοιποῖς. Eἶδον ἓξ ἄνδρας ἐληλυθότας ὑψηλοὺς καὶ ἐνδόξους καὶ ὁμοίους τῇ ἰδέᾳ· ἐκάλεσαν δὲ πλῆθός τι ἀνδρῶν. κἀκεῖνοι δὲ οἱ ἐληλυθότες ὑψηλοὶ ἄνδρες καὶ λίαν καλοὶ καὶ δυνατοὶ ἦσαν· καὶ ἐκέλευσαν αὐτοὺς οἱ ἓξ ἄνδρες οἰκοδομεῖν ἐπάνω τῆς πέτρας πύργον τινά. ἦν δὲ μέγας θόρυβος τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων τῶν ἐληλυθότων οἰκοδομεῖν τὸν πύργον, ὧδε κἀκεῖ περιτρεχόντων κύκλῳ τῆς πύλης· αἱ δὲ παρθένοι ἑστηκυῖαι περὶ τὴν πύλην ἔλεγον τοῖς ἀνδράσι σπεύδειν δεῖν οἰκοδομηθῆναι τὸν πύργον. ἐκπεπετάκεισαν δὲ τὰς χεῖρας αἱ παρθένοι ὡς μέλλουσαί τι λαμβάνειν παρὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν. οἱ δὲ ἓξ ἄνδρες ἐκέλευον ἐκ βυθοῦ τινος λίθους ἀναβαίνειν καὶ ὑπάγειν εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ πύργου. ἀνέβησαν δὲ λίθοι ι τετράγωνοι λαμπροί, μὴ λελατομημένοι. οἱ δὲ ἓξ ἄνδρες ἐκάλουν τὰς παρθένους καὶ ἐκέλευσαν αὐτὰς τοὺς λίθους πάντας τοὺς μέλλοντας εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν ὑπάγειν τοῦ πύργου βαστάζειν καὶ διαπορεύεσθαι διὰ τῆς πύλης, καὶ ἐπιδιδόναι τοῖς ἀνδράσι τοῖς μέλλουσιν