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the house and I will return early. But they answered and say to me: “You have been handed over to us; you cannot depart from us.” “Where then,” I say, “shall I stay?” “With us,” they say, “you will sleep as a brother, and not as a husband. For you are our brother, and from now on we are going to dwell with you; for we love you very much.” But I was ashamed to remain with them. And she who seemed to be the first among them began to kiss and embrace me; and the [other] women, seeing her embracing me, themselves also began to kiss me and lead me around the tower and to play with me. And I had become as it were younger and I myself also began to play with them; for some were leading the dance, and others were dancing, and others were singing; but I, keeping silence, walked around the tower with them and was cheerful with them. But when it became [evening], I wanted to go away to my house; but they did not let me, but detained me. And I remained with them the night, and I slept beside the tower. For the virgins spread their linen tunics on the ground, and made me lie down in [the midst of them], and did nothing at all except pray; and I prayed with them unceasingly, and not less than they did. And the virgins [rejoiced] that I prayed so. And I remained there until the next day until the second hour with the virgins. Then the shepherd was present, and says to the virgins, “You have not done him any injury, have you?” “Ask him,” they say. I say to him, “Sir, I was delighted to remain with them.” “What,” he says, “did you have for supper?” “I supped,” I say, “sir, on the words of the Lord all night.” “Did they receive you well?” he says. “Yes,” I say, “sir.” “Now,” he says, “what do you wish to hear first?” “Just as,” I say, “sir, you showed from the beginning. I ask you, sir, that as I shall question you, so you will also explain to me.” “As you wish,” he says, “so I will also explain to you, and I will hide absolutely nothing from you.” “First of all,” I say, “sir, explain this to me: what is the rock and the gate?” “This rock,” he says, “and the gate is the Son of God.” “How,” I say, “sir, is the rock old, but the gate new?” “Listen,” he says, “and understand, you senseless one. The Son of God is older than all His creation, so that He became a counsellor to the Father of His creation; for this reason the rock is also old.” “But the gate,” I say, “why is it new, sir?” “Because,” he says, “He was made manifest in the last days of the consummation, for this reason the gate became new, that those who are to be saved might enter by it into the kingdom of God. Did you see,” he says, “the stones that have come in through the gate being put into the building of the tower, but those that have not come in being cast away again to their own place?” “I saw,” I say, “sir.” “Thus,” he says, “no one will enter into the kingdom of God, unless he receives the name of His Son. For if you wish to enter into any city, and that city is walled all around and has one gate, can you possibly enter into that city, except through the gate which it has?” “For how,” I say, “sir, can it be otherwise?” “If then you cannot enter into the city except through the gate which it has, so,” he says, “a person cannot enter otherwise into the kingdom of God except through the name of His Son who was beloved by Him. Did you see,” he says, “the crowd building the tower?” “I saw,” I say, “sir.” “Those,” he says, “are all glorious angels; by these, then, the Lord is walled around. But the gate is the Son of God; this is the one entrance to the Lord. Therefore, no one will enter otherwise to

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τὸν οἶκον καὶ πρω ἐπανήξω. αἱ δὲ ἀποκριθεῖσαι λέγουσί μοι· Ἡμῖν παρε δόθης· οὐ δύνασαι ἀφ' ἡμῶν ἀναχωρῆσαι. Ποῦ οὖν, φημί, μενῶ; Μεθ' ἡμῶν, φασί, κοιμηθήσῃ ὡς ἀδελφός, καὶ οὐχ ὡς ἀνήρ. ἡμέτερος γὰρ ἀδελ φὸς εἶ, καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ μέλλομεν μετὰ σοῦ κατοικεῖν· λίαν γάρ σε ἀγαπῶμεν. ἐγὼ δὲ ᾐσχυνόμην μετ' αὐτῶν μένειν. καὶ ἡ δοκοῦσα πρώτη αὐτῶν εἶναι ἤρξατό με καταφιλεῖν καὶ περιπλέκεσθαι· αἱ δὲ [ἄλλαι] ὁρῶσαι ἐκείνην περιπλεκομένην μοι καὶ αὐταὶ ἤρξαντό με καταφιλεῖν καὶ περιάγειν κύκλῳ τοῦ πύργου καὶ παίζειν μετ' ἐμοῦ. κἀγὼ ὡσεὶ νεώτερος ἐγεγόνειν καὶ ἠρξάμην καὶ αὐτὸς παίζειν μετ' αὐτῶν· αἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐχόρευον, αἱ δὲ ὠρ χοῦντο, αἱ δὲ ᾖδον· ἐγὼ δὲ σιγὴν ἔχων μετ' αὐτῶν κύκλῳ τοῦ πύργου περιεπά τουν καὶ ἱλαρὸς ἤμην μετ' αὐτῶν. [ὀψίας] δὲ γενομένης ἤθελον εἰς τὸν οἶκον ὑπάγειν· αἱ δὲ οὐκ ἀφῆκαν, ἀλλὰ κατέσχον με. καὶ ἔμεινα μετ' αὐτῶν τὴν νύκτα, καὶ ἐκοιμήθην παρὰ τὸν πύργον. ἔστρωσαν γὰρ αἱ παρθένοι τοὺς λινοῦς χιτῶνας ἑαυτῶν χαμαί, καὶ ἐμὲ ἀνέκλιναν εἰς [τὸ μέσον αὐτ]ῶν, καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως ἐποίουν εἰ μὴ προσηύχοντο· κἀγὼ μετ' αὐτῶν ἀδιαλείπτως προσηυχόμην καὶ οὐκ ἔλασσον ἐκείνων. καὶ [ἔχαιρον] αἱ παρθένοι οὕτω μου προσευχομένου. καὶ ἔμεινα ἐκεῖ μέχρι τῆς αὔριον ἕως ὥρας δευτέρας μετὰ τῶν παρθένων. εἶτα παρῆν ὁ ποιμήν, καὶ λέγει ταῖς παρθένοις· Μή τινα αὐτῷ ὕβριν πεποιήκατε; Ἐρώτα, φασίν, αὐτόν. λέγω αὐτῷ· Κύριε, εὐφράν θην μετ' αὐτῶν μείνας. Τί, φησίν, ἐδείπνησας; Ἐδείπνησα, φημί, κύριε, ·»ματα κυρίου ὅλην τὴν νύκτα. Καλῶς, φησίν, ἔλαβόν σε; Ναί, φημί, κύριε. Νῦν, φησί, τί θέλεις πρῶτον ἀκοῦσαι; Καθώς, φημί, κύριε, ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ἔδει ξας· ἐρωτῶ σε, κύριε, ἵνα καθὼς ἄν σε ἐπερωτήσω, οὕτω μοι καὶ δηλώσῃς. Καθὼς βούλει, φησίν, οὕτω σοι καὶ ἐπιλύσω, καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως ἀποκρύψω ἀπὸ σοῦ. Πρῶτον, φημί, πάντων, κύριε, τοῦτό μοι δήλωσον· ἡ πέτρα καὶ ἡ πύλη τίς ἐστιν; Ἡ πέτρα, φησίν, αὕτη καὶ ἡ πύλη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστι. Πῶς, φημί, κύριε, ἡ πέτρα παλαιά ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ πύλη καινή; Ἄκουε, φησί, καὶ σύνιε, ἀσύνετε. ὁ μὲν υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως αὐτοῦ προγε νέστερός ἐστιν, ὥστε σύμβουλον αὐτὸν γενέσθαι τῷ πατρὶ τῆς κτίσεως αὐτοῦ· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ παλαιὰ ἡ πέτρα. Ἡ δὲ πύλη, φημί, διατί καινή, κύριε; Ὅτι, φησίν, ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν τῆς συντελείας φανερὸς ἐγένετο, διὰ τοῦτο καινὴ ἐγένετο ἡ πύλη, ἵνα οἱ μέλλοντες σώζεσθαι δι' αὐτῆς εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν εἰσέλθωσι τοῦ θεοῦ. εἶδες, φησίν, τοὺς λίθους τοὺς διὰ τῆς πύλης εἰσεληλυθότας εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ πύργου βεβλημένους, τοὺς δὲ μὴ εἰσεληλυθότας πάλιν ἀποβεβλημένους εἰς τὸν ἴδιον τόπον; Eἶδον, φημί, κύριε. Oὕτω, φησίν, εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ οὐδεὶς εἰσελεύσεται, εἰ μὴ λάβοι τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν γὰρ εἰς πόλιν θελήσῃς εἰσελ θεῖν τινα, κἀκείνη ἡ πόλις περιτετειχισμένη κύκλῳ καὶ μίαν ἔχῃ πύλην, μήτι δύνῃ εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν πόλιν εἰσελθεῖν, εἰ μὴ διὰ τῆς πύλης ἧς ἔχει; Πῶς γάρ, φημί, κύριε, δύναται γενέσθαι ἄλλως; Eἰ οὖν εἰς τὴν πόλιν οὐ δύνῃ εἰσελ θεῖν εἰ μὴ διὰ τῆς πύλης ἧς ἔχει, οὕτω, φησί, καὶ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἄλλως εἰσελθεῖν οὐ δύναται ἄνθρωπος εἰ μὴ διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. εἶδες, φησί, τὸν ὄχλον τὸν οἰκοδομοῦντα τὸν πύργον; Eἶδον, φημί, κύριε. Ἐκεῖνοι, φησί, πάντες ἄγγελοι ἔνδοξοί εἰσι· τούτοις οὖν περιτετείχισται ὁ κύριος. ἡ δὲ πύλη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν· αὕτη μία εἴσοδός ἐστι πρὸς τὸν κύριον. ἄλλως οὖν οὐδεὶς εἰσελεύσεται πρὸς