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gathering ways to virtue; which he would never approach, unless he had first, with many toils and sweats, like a snake its old skin, I mean, by utterly suppressing and sloughing off the old man. Therefore, the gnostic mind receives as gifts to God the principles of created beings which rightly hold faith together, contributing and giving nothing of these beforehand (For who, it says, has first given to him, and it shall be repaid to him?), but he receives gifts by imitating in his ways the natural laws of created beings.

For example: the discerning mind, by imitating the natural law of heaven, receives gifts, preserving in itself the most even and ever-constant motion of virtue and knowledge, which bears firmly, like stars, the luminous and most transparent principles of created beings. And by imitating the natural law of the sun, which changes its places one after another according to the needs of the universe, he receives another gift, the understanding to adapt himself fittingly and with wisdom to all circumstances, in no way diminishing his own illuminating identity in virtue and knowledge.

He receives again also from the eagle the straight gaze of the eyes toward the divine gleam of the undefiled light, (14B_378> in no way having the pupil of his mind dazzled by the all-brilliant ray.

He also imitates the deer, pursuing the heights of divine contemplations as though they were mountains, and destroying the passions that lurk in the nature of beings, like venomous beasts, with the word of discernment, and extinguishing the venom of evil that is received into the memory by circumstance with the many and various springs of knowledge.

He also imitates the keen sight of the gazelle and the security of the bird, leaping over and bounding away from the snares of the demons that war against virtue like a gazelle, and flying over the traps of the spirits that fight against knowledge like a bird.

Some say that the bones of a lion, when struck against each other, emit fire. The gnostic and God-loving mind also imitates this natural quality, by striking pious thoughts against one another like bones through discussion in accordance with truth, and kindling the fire of knowledge.

He becomes wise as the serpent and innocent as a dove, preserving his faith through everything unbroken like a head and clearly putting away from himself the bitterness of anger after the manner of the dove, so as not to know how to bear a grudge against those who afflict and strive to insult him.

He receives from the turtledove as well, as if it were a gift, the imitation of self-control, making all things that are present in natures by necessity into works of the will.

Thus, then, the most philosophic mind, having with knowledge come upon the creation of beings according to the principle and way of each one's nature, as a gnostic, receives the spiritual principles of beings as gifts offered to God by creation, and as a man of action, he receives gifts by imitating in his ways the natural (14B_380> laws of beings, uncovering in himself throughout his life all the magnificence of the divine wisdom invisibly borne in existing things.

And if someone should say this also, that the Word, in saying that gifts are offered to God, determined this in order to show the infinity of the divine goodness, that since we contribute nothing beforehand, He receives the gifts from us as offerings, counting the entire contribution to our credit, he who said this has not spoken improperly, showing that God's goodness toward us is great and ineffable, receiving as ours the things

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πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἀναλεγόμενος τρόπους· οἷς οὐκ ἄν ποτε προσεγγίσειεν, μὴ πρότερον πόνοις καὶ ἱδρῶσι πολλοῖς, καθάπερ ὄφις τὴν λεβηρίδα, φημὶ δὴ τὸν παλαιὸν εἰς ἄγαν καταπιέσας ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀποδυσάμενος. ∆ιὸ τῷ μὲν Θεῷ δῶρα τοὺς ἐκ τῶν ὄντων εἰκότως συνεκτικοὺς τῆς πίστεως λόγους ὁ γνωστικὸς δέχεται νοῦς, μηδὲν τὸ σύνολον τούτων προεισφέρων καὶ προδιδούς (Τίς γάρ φησι προέδωκεν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀνταποδοθήσεται αὐτῷ;), λαμβάνει δὲ δόματα τοὺς κατὰ φύσιν τῶν ὄντων τοῖς τρόποις ἐκμιμούμενος νόμους.

Οἷόν τι λέγω· μιμούμενος μὲν ὁ διαγνωστικὸς νοῦς τὸν κατὰ φύσιν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ νόμον δόματα λαμβάνει, ὁμαλωτάτην καὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχουσαν ἀεὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐν ἑαυτῷ καὶ τῆς γνώσεως διαφυλάττων τὴν κίνησιν, παγίως φέρουσαν καθάπερ ἀστέρας τοὺς περὶ τῶν ὄντων φωτεινοὺς καὶ διαυγεστάτους λόγους. Μιμούμενος δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου τὸν κατὰ φύσιν νόμον, ἄλλους ἐξ ἄλλων πρὸς τὰς χρείας τοῦ παντὸς ἀμειβομένου τόπους, ἕτερον δόμα λαμβάνει τὴν πρὸς τὸ πᾶσι τοῖς συμβαίνουσι δεόντως μετὰ σοφίας ἁρμόζεσθαι σύνεσιν, μηδὲν ὑφιεὶς ἑαυτοῦ τῆς φωτιστικῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν ταυτότητος.

Λαμβάνει δὲ πάλιν καὶ τοῦ ἀετοῦ τὸ πρὸς τὴν θείαν τοῦ ἀκηράτου φωτὸς μαρμαρυγὴν εὐθυτενὲς τῶν ὀμμάτων, κατὰ (14Β_378> μηδὲν ὑπὸ τῆς παμφαοῦς ἀκτῖνος τὴν νοερὰν δριμυσσόμενος κόρην.

Μιμεῖται καὶ τὴν ἔλαφον, καθάπερ ὄρη τὰ ὕψη τῶν θείων θεωρημάτων μεταδιώκων, καὶ τὰ ἐμφωλεύοντα τῇ φύσει τῶν ὄντων πάθη, ἰοβόλων δίκην, τῷ λόγῳ διαφθείρων τῆς διακρίσεως, καὶ τὸν τῇ μνήμῃ κατὰ περίστασιν ἐναπολαμβανόμενον τῆς κακίας ἰὸν ταῖς πολλαῖς καὶ διαφόροις πηγαῖς κατασβεννύων τῆς γνώσεως.

Μιμεῖται καὶ τῆς δορκάδος τὴν ὀξυωπίαν καὶ τοῦ ὀρνέου τὴν ἀσφάλειαν, τοὺς βρόχους τῶν πολεμούντων τῇ ἀρετῇ δαιμόνων ὡς δορκὰς ὑπερπηδῶν καὶ διαλλόμενος, καὶ τὰς παγίδας τῶν τῇ γνώσει μαχομένων πνευμάτων ὡς ὄρνεον ὑπεριπτάμενος.

Φασί τινες τοῦ λέοντος ἀλλήλοις τὰ ὀστᾶ συγκρουόμενα πῦρ ἀποβάλλειν. Μιμεῖται καὶ τούτου τὸ φύσει πεφυκὸς ὁ γνωστικὸς νοῦς καὶ θεοφιλής, διὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν συζητήσεως ἀλλήλοις τοὺς εὐσεβεῖς ὀστέων δίκην συγκρούων λογισμοὺς καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐξάπτων τῆς γνώσεως.

Γίνεται φρόνιμος ὡς ὁ ὄφις καὶ ἀκέραιος ὡσεὶ περιστερά, διὰ πάντων ἄθλαστον ὡς κεφαλὴν τὴν πίστιν συντηρῶν καὶ τοῦ θυμοῦ τὴν πικρίαν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ σαφῶς κατὰ τὴν περιστερὰν ἀποθέμενος, ὡς τοῖς θλίβουσι καὶ ἐπηρεάζειν σπουδάζουσι μνησικακεῖν οὐκ εἰδώς.

∆έχεται κἀκ τῆς τρυγόνος καθάπερ δόμα τὴν τῆς σωφροσύνης ἐκμίμησιν, γνώμης ἔργα ποιούμενος πάντα τὰ ἐξ ἀνάγκης προσόντα ταῖς φύσεσιν.

Οὕτω μὲν οὖν, κατὰ τὸν ἑκάστου λόγον τε καὶ τρόπον τῆς φύσεως, μετὰ γνώσεως ἐπελθὼν τὴν τῶν ὄντων γένεσιν ὁ φιλοσοφώτατος νοῦς, ὡς μὲν γνωστικὸς τοὺς τῶν ὄντων πνευματικοὺς λόγους καθάπερ δῶρα δέχεται τῷ Θεῷ προσφερομένους παρὰ τῆς κτίσεως, ὡς δὲ πρακτικὸς τοὺς τῶν ὄντων φυσικοὺς (14Β_380> νόμους τοῖς τρόποις μιμούμενος δόματα δέχεται, πᾶσαν ἐκκαλύπτων ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατὰ τὸν βίον τῆς ἐμφερομένης ἀοράτως τοῖς οὖσι θείας σοφίας τὴν μεγαλοπρέπειαν.

Εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο φαίη τις ὅτι δῶρα τῷ Θεῷ προσφέρεσθαι διωρίσατο φήσας ὁ λόγος, ἵνα παραστήσῃ τὸ τῆς θείας ἀγαθότητος ἄπειρον, ὡς μηδὲν προεισενεγκούσης, δέχεσθαι παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ὡς δῶρα τὰ δόματα, τὸ πᾶν ἡμῖν λογιζομένης τῆς εἰσφορᾶς, οὐκ ἔξω τοῦ πρέποντος γέγονε τοῦτο φήσας, πολλὴν καὶ ἄφατον εἶναι περὶ ἡμᾶς τοῦ Θεοῦ δείξας τὴν ἀγαθότητα, δεχομένου ὡς ἡμῶν τὰ